Tag: trouble

Top Gear crew makes pit stop, has trouble charging electric cars [w/video]

Filed under: Nissan, Peugeot, Celebrities, Humor, Electric

Jeremy Clarkson gets a push in a Nissan Leaf

Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson gets a push in a Nissan Leaf – Click above to watch the video after the break

It would seem that the guys from Top Gear are back to giving electric vehicles the what-for. According to The Lincolnite, James May and Jeremy Clarkson were respectively spotted piloting a Peugeot iOn and a Nissan Leaf through England during a cross-country trek (which is exactly what electric cars are for, right?).

The duo stopped by Lincolnshire County to ask about the nearest place to charge their alternative-fuel steeds, only to find that the entire municipality is bereft of chargers. Apparently May and Clarkson then set about driving around the city until their vehicles died and they were forced to get a tow.

If this all sounds familiar, that’s because Top Gear rustled up a mess of snakes the last time Clarkson jumped behind the wheel of an EV. After depicting the Tesla Roadster as suffering a brake failure and running out of power, Tesla shot back refuting what happened as pure fiction. That little dust-up has yet to settle.

The truth is that the vast majority of people come to Top Gear to be entertained, and most viewers probably realize that there’s plenty of editing that goes into each segment. We seriously doubt that most EV buyers use the UK show as a go-to resource, but that doesn’t stop the constant ragging on alternative fuels from growing trite.

Check out the video after the break.

Continue reading Top Gear crew makes pit stop, has trouble charging electric cars [w/video]

Top Gear crew makes pit stop, has trouble charging electric cars [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 May 2011 20:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vettel gets in trouble in Turkey for driving, then drinking

Filed under: Motorsports, Government/Legal, Middle East

Vettel drinks champagne on the podium in Turkey

Ruh-roh. It looks like Sebastian Vettel hasn’t quite ingratiated himself with his hosts in Istanbul, though there’s no telling what (if any) repercussions might ensue.

According to reports, Vettel was told before the start of this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix that, if he were to win, he would not be allowed to drink the champagne. Not because alcohol isn’t permitted in Turkey – while in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain the traditional bubbly is replaced with a sparkling non-alcoholic beverage in deference to the ban on alcohol under Sharia (Muslim law), Turkey, while predominantly Muslim, is a more liberal country. No, the instructions were given specifically to Vettel because of a new Turkish law that places the minimum drinking age at 24. And Vettel (both the youngest race winner and the youngest world champion in F1 history) is just 23. As you can see above, drink champagne he did.

Now Vettel isn’t the youngest driver on the grid this year. Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari and Sauber’s Sergio Perez are all younger, but given their track records compared to Vettel’s… well, let’s just say the bookies weren’t giving even odds on that particular bet.

The restrictions in Turkey extend as well to a ban on advertising alcohol, forcing some teams to temporarily jettison their liquor sponsors (much as they did when tobacco advertising was banned in certain countries, but not others). McLaren, for example, is sponsored by Johnnie Walker scotch whisky, as Force India is by Whyte & Mackay, while Sauber is sponsored by Jose Cuervo tequila. (Ferrari is apparently no longer sponsored by Martini, while we assume Vettel and Webber simply left the vodka out of their Red Bulls for this round.)

Will Vettel face some sort of punishment at the hands of the Turkish authorities? We’d hate to think what that would entail, but one way or another, he’ll be legal by next year’s grand prix. That is, assuming the race takes place again next year; an increase in the fees by Bernie Ecclestone could mean that this year’s was the last for Istanbul Park.

Vettel gets in trouble in Turkey for driving, then drinking originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 May 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You’ll feel safe inside a Land Rover, no matter what sort of trouble you’re in

Filed under: SUV, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Land Rover, Humor

land rover lr4

Land Rover LR4 is a safe place… regardless of the trouble you’re in – Click above to watch video after the jump

Land Rover builds tough vehicles, and it believes that occupants should feel safe when inside of them. We believe most people have a similar definition when discussing vehicular safety, but Land Rover owners might have other definitions of safety as well…

In a new commercial, Land Rover shows us that its LR4 is a safe haven from one soon-to-be-angry significant other that just discovered her man is a pathological liar. He’s not named Jean-Luc, does not speak with a French accent and has a whole host of other things to confess. Thankfully, he can do so from the safety of his Land Rover.

It’s not just this particular liar that feels safe either, as the LR4 can get dirty cops to comfortably confess and an timid manager to confront “the office sword collector.” Click past the jump to watch the scenes unfold.

Continue reading You’ll feel safe inside a Land Rover, no matter what sort of trouble you’re in

You’ll feel safe inside a Land Rover, no matter what sort of trouble you’re in originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 04 May 2011 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WRC Jordan Rally delayed due to political unrest, stormy seas and engine trouble

Filed under: Motorsports, Middle East

Sebastien Loeb

Sebastien Loeb drives the 2010 Jordan Rally

Mounting a rally is never easy to begin with. Organizing one in the Middle East amidst the greatest popular upheaval in the region’s considerable history, however, is another matter entirely. We recently reported on the potential effects which demonstrations and revolutions across the region could have on motorsport competition, and now it’s all come home to roost.

Only two months after protests forced the cancelation of the Bahrain Grand Prix, a number of unpredictable factors have caused the delay – but not the cancellation – of the WRC rally in Jordan. Although the Hashemite Kingdom itself has remained relatively stable, getting the cars and equipment there this year proved a unique hassle. Teams were cautioned against trying to go through the Suez Canal due to the situation in Egypt, and with protests kicking into high gear in Syria, Plan B was out, too. Organizers ended up shipping by sea from Italy to Israel, only to be faced by further setbacks.

Stormy weather reportedly dictated it unsafe for the ship to dock in Haifa – Israel’s northern port on the Mediterranean – leaving it stranded one kilometer offshore. When the harbor finally gave the all-clear for the ship to dock, one of its engines wouldn’t start, forcing tug-boats to bring it in and shutting down all traffic in the port in the process. The shipment was then delayed in customs and took fourteen hours to finally reach the Jordanian coast of the Dead Sea where the garages are being set up.

The rally is now set to begin on Friday, two days behind schedule, but ready to go nonetheless. Meanwhile, the ship has since been impounded by the Israeli ministry of transportation until its engine can be repaired, forcing organizers to make alternative arrangements for getting their cars and gear back to Italy for the Sardinia rally on May 5.

[Source: Autosport | Image: McKlein/Citroën]

WRC Jordan Rally delayed due to political unrest, stormy seas and engine trouble originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mommy blogger makes trouble for Toyota

Filed under: Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Safety, Toyota

Swagger Wagon Mommy Rachel Drummond

Toyota has seen more than its fair share of negative press over the past year and a half, but is the Japanese automaker willing to pay “mommy bloggers” to spread positive news? Mom site Dear Crissy reports that it received an email offering a $10 Amazon gift card in exchange for a post that highlights the fact that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found no software issues that led to the company’s unintended acceleration woes.

The email, which reportedly came from a company called Mommy Networks, cited Toyota’s damaged reputation, adding “we’re helping to spread the positive news.” The email asked for a blog post about NHTSA’s release with links to a few articles, some love on social networking sites and “thumbs up” votes for YouTube videos.

For its part, Toyota denies having anything to do with the offer, adding that the company “adheres to the highest standards when working with media, journalists and blogger and we find any sort of payment for editorials or blogs unethical and illegal according to FCC guidelines.”

Dear Crissy has since published an update indicating that the site has been contacted by both Mommy Networks and Toyota, both of which claim no affiliation with each other. Mommy Networks has since gone on to post a mea culpa on its website to both Crissy and Toyota.

[Sources: Dear Crissy via The Consumerist, MommyNetworks.org| Image: Toyota]

Mommy blogger makes trouble for Toyota originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Urine trouble now, Audi driver

Filed under: Etc., Safety, Videos, Audi, Humor

Something ’round yonder bend is waiting – Click above to watch video after the jump

When you gotta go, you gotta go. We’re not talking about dying, we’re talking about answering nature’s clarion call. However, the individual seen in this video very nearly combined the two. While the side of a seemingly empty road might provide an ample spot for an emergency bathroom, you should be sure it is, in fact, empty. This one is not.

An Audi driver was on the road, apparently enjoying his German sedan con brio when he lost control. Did he succumb to oversteer because he spied a man relieving himself, or because of the camera man filming the his buddy? Perhaps he saw both – or perhaps he saw neither. In fact, perhaps the video isn’t even real, but it certainly looks it. If it’s the real deal, we wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn than more than one person soiled themselves in the making of this video.

Hop the jump to view the clip and tell us what you think in Comments. Top tip, Marshall!

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Urine trouble now, Audi driver

Video: Urine trouble now, Audi driver originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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