Top Gear On YouTube (officially now)

They have their own channel and everything. Happy Days

Speaking of next cars

Look what just appeared for sale down the road.....

New 911 (or 997 and a half) Promo

My eternal indecisiveness is further elevated whenever I watch a new Porsche video (about what my next car might be). The choice is still at least a year and a half away, but current front runners are (not in any order) 911 (s or GT3), Elise or Exige supercharged, Caterham R500, Nissan GTR and the Audi R8. And of course, replacing the M3 in my garage with the newer version.

I have a feeling that cars as we know them won't be around for too long, so I'm seriously tempted to get a back to basics pure driving experience car, and then a daily driver (or see if I can keep the M), which further complicates my decision. I normally have an ordered list in my head of what's next at all times, but the whole GTR vs GT3 vs Caterham are all so different cars, that I'm in a confused state. I guess it's a nice confused state to be in though, and I'll probably end up getting none of them if/when the time comes. You never know, maybe I'll get rich and just put the deposit down on the F430 Scuderia - the lottery is up to $75 million at the minute.

Anyway, enough rambling, here's the video

Kinetic Energy Isn't So Hot

What happens when you try out a fancy new system on your F1 car for capturing the braking energy and re-using it down the straight for a few extra mph's? Just watch the guy to the left and find out - guess it still needs a little work...

Lotus Eagle

Some people leaked the details before the planned British Motor Show release, so here you go. Somewhere in the middle of this car is a 3.5 V6 from Toyota pushing out over 280 bhp. Hopefully it's gonna keep the traditional "corners on rails" handling of all the other Lotus's, and very little weight to ensure it goes and stops quickly and easily.

Official press conference is tomorrow, so there's likely to be lots more pretty pictures and details then - stay tuned.

GT-R on Top Gear

Still in shock at where on the leaderboard it ended up.....

Ferrari Friday

If the F430 Scuderia isn't fast enough for you, there's this little gem from Novitec - they added a couple of superchargers on there, along with some other bits and pieces to make sure you stay on the road, and sent it out for some lucky people to play with. Unfortunately, they decided their press car was going to be yellow, which is pretty unforgiveable in my book. And only an extra $74k over the base price? Bargain if you ask me.

Next up is the new California, moving it's roof gracefully from open to close. I think I want one now....



And that's it for now. Posting may be greatly reduced for the next 5 or 6 days as I take some much needed vacation, which will include leaving my laptop at home for the duration, so I can really relax and get some rest. Lots of photos to show at the end of next week no doubt though. And if you're around NYC and want to meet up (and we haven't already discussed it), I can always be contacted on Twitter if it manages to stay up....

TVRs - Nice Cars Those Were

Sometimes you forget how amazing TVR's look until your brother sends you a car park shot. And two of them in the same place? I just love the fact that the bonnet looks like it's covered in shark fins, especially in that color.

Alfa Mito GTA

Following on from the posting on the Alfa Mito last week, here's what looks like the Alfa GTA version. Rumored to be pepped up to around 230 bhp, it's definitely a looker for me.

Small Cars for America

With gas (petrol) prices finally getting up to the prices I used to see growing up in the UK, I'm not alone in hoping to see a few more cars come over from Europe in the next couple of years. Obviously, my wishes are driven more by the fact that they have way better hot hatches over there, so our motives may be slightly different.

Anyway, the new Alfa once again works it's way into my heart and soul. MiTo, you will be mine

Mercedes iPhone Dock

Confession time - I put in my order for a new 3G iPhone yesterday, so only a month or so to go before I get my hands on (please, please let the exchange synching work like a dream). Obviously, Mercedes were thinking about me when they announced this little toy yesterday - the iPhone dock. It charges your phone, hooks it into the phone system in the car, and allows you to get at your music from the hifi. Now all I have to do is work out two things - can they retrofit it to existing cars, and can the wife survive without the CD space....

2009 Audi A7

I realize I've been slacking a little lately, so I'm going to make an effort to get out at least one post per day (on weekdays, just in case).

First one in my new routine is an alleged spy shot of the Audi A7. Apart from the fact that it could realistically be anything under there, this has to be the best camo shot I've seen. The old cover the thing in a weird black rubber/plastic at key parts (similar to the Colorado obsession with those hideous black 'bra' things they cover the front of the car with to prevent stone chips on their paintwork) is obviously old school now. Not sure how the sack is going to survive under high speed (meaning over 20mph from the look of this thing) testing, but that's not really our problem, is it.

Source: The German site Bilder

Denver Exotic Car Show

Ferrari, originally uploaded by Aaron in Denver.

I managed to spend a couple of hours (rain free) down at the Denver Exotic Car show. Plenty of great cars there that could have easily kept me entertained for hours. I took a few photos (subtle understatement) and they're here.

I was going to tell you I met Mr Wallace there, but after the last photo he seems like he's gone publicity shy, so I'll keep it to myself.

RMCBMWCCA Spring Driving School

IMG_1384.JPG, originally uploaded by Aaron in Denver.

So the day finally arrived, and I got to spend the whole day (well, a lot of it) driving pretty fast around the track in Pueblo. George came along with his Porsche, and was grinning nearly as much as I was.

Technically I guess it was spring, but it certainly felt like summer, and my face is red enough to prove it. Rumor was that Sunday was going to be even hotter, so I'm glad I hadn't picked that day in the end (although doing both days is always tempting).

We had a few visitors come down to watch, and luckily they also took control of the camera for the day, so there's a small subset of the photos they took here. There were about 600 in total, so loading them all up on Flickr didn't seem like a practical approach. If you were in Group C or D, I've probably got a shot or two of your car, so let me know if you want me to take a look and send them direct.

One week to go

And just when I thought I had the excitement level under control, Leslie goes and posts about her Lotus driving school.

Still, I need the week to try and get my heel and toe'ing to a decent enough level not to kill me next week. That means if you're in front of me this week on my drive to work, be warned.

(and if you don't know what I'm taking about in this post, you obviously haven't spoken to me in the last 6 months ;-)

2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage

With an upgraded 4.7 litre V8 engine, modified suspension and steering geometry, the V8 Vantage somehow gets to be even more attractive than it was when it was first released. This has to be one of the prettiest cars on the road, and now that it's pushing out 420bhp it should drive through my dreams that little bit faster. And you can still get it with a manual gearbox (yay!)

Too many cars, to little time and money. I better work harder on making my millions.

BMW Car Club - Car Control Clinic

IMG_0501.JPG, originally uploaded by Aaron in Denver.

So this year I wasn't driving, but Wee Dod was, so I went up for an hour to take some pics and offer a bit of moral support.

Judging from the smile, I think George liked it (a lot), so the real driving school down in Pueblo in a couple of weeks should be a blast.

Managed to take way too many pics of course (and thanks to Cliff who provided a few photography pointers - "hold the camera like this", "don't keep pressing" etc etc), but I loaded a selection up on Flickr here if you wanna check them out.

Horsepower Takes on Original Meaning

So someone in Dubai took the horsepower thing a little too literally (or maybe they just dreamed of the good old days) and came up with this little invention. It actually does have a host of electronics in there, but they're all powered by the horse on the treadmill inside. It even has a battery that gets charged by the horse when he's feeling energetic, to make up for the times when he turns into a total lazy slob.

Although that's all well and good (although I'm a little worried that the whole going to the bathroom while on a treadmill may create a few issues...), what the world really needs is more of these hamster powered cars.....

Car Crash Weekend - Ferrari Edition

(This post makes me cry a little inside)

So last week was a couple of race cars involved in a little touchy feely with things they shouldn't have (pit crew and a stray dog). Today is a bit of a Ferrari special - I'm not sure if last week was just a really bad week for Ferrari crashes, or if it's the in vogue thing for the car blogs to post, with no car shows going on at the minute.

Anyway, first up is the sensible Dutch guy who decided he needed a quick bath. With his car.

Second up is the kid we all used to hate at school - the one who's Dad gives him the keys to his latest speed mobile, so he can show off to his mates. It looks like this one might not be allowed to borrow the car anymore.....


The last one is probably the most amazing. Despite pretty much losing the top half of the car to the crash barrier, the driver and passenger of this F355 made it out alive. At least they had the decency to use one of the older Ferrari's when they were crashing......

Caterham R500 vs a Ducatti

I don't want to start a bike vs car war here (or anywhere else for that matter), so that means you Matthew and Graham. All I want to do is point out that I think I may have finally decided on my next car. I doubt it will handle in the snow though, so I'm going to have to get something for the winter out here, or save enough money to keep the M3 as my daily driver.

Anyway, if you watch this and don't find the urge to go out and buy one straight away, you're probably on the wrong blog - you really should be here.

Car Crashing Weekend

And not just any type of crashing - the kind of crashing by experienced motor racing stars that typically don't happen. The video below is Danica Patrick taking out a member of her own team in pretty spectacular fashion, and this link is the son of Ayrton Senna, Bruno, being taken out of the race (and not being very happy about it) when a stray dog wandered onto the track. The dog obviously didn't survive, so if you're squeamish about that sort of thing (hi wife!) I wouldn't recommend clicking through.

Ferrari California

I obviously want one (unless the statement about the dual clutch transmission means there is no manual operation, in which case I'll politely spend my money somewhere else - my first Ferrari will have a metal gate around a manual stick).

More details via Jalopnik here

Maserati's not beautiful enough?

Then maybe you need to check out this page.

New STi Ads

Finally, someone at Subaru remembered what the STi was all about. If only they had shown the guys who designed the new one this ad before they started (and the engineers who dialed in the understeer as well for that matter), and I might have gone out and bought another one.

Audi RS 6 Teaser

This has to got to be one of the most impressive ads for a car I've seen in a long time. And it hardly has any cars in, but I guess it is just a teaser until the RS6 gets released later in the year (with over 500bhp by the way)

Caterham R500 Superlight

Always one of the cars that will eventually end up in my garage when I'm a super-rich multicar type person, Caterham have released teaser shots for the latest R500 Superlight. Staying true to the original Lotus approach of speed and handling by keeping the weight down, this one promises to be a cracker.

And last post of the night - I need to eat...

My Favorite Ad

I know, I'm biased (not that I have this version of course). And one of the cool things about this is it's actually real video with camera slots cut into the side of the engine, along with the needed light holes as well. I've never seen the inside of an engine when it's running before - have you?

Shocking Big Wheels

Hmm.. I saw both of these today, and I just can't work out which one I hate more. The fact that people obviously spent a decent amount of time on putting these together could well be more worrying than the end result.

GT-R - More US Videos

It looks like the GT-R is doing the rounds for magazine and website testing, so lots of new videos of some track time are shooting up over YouTube and the various sites. The more I read about this car, the more enticing it's becoming. Still wishing for a real gearbox though - I guess that these days that firmly puts me in the old school camp...



Oh, yeah, and as a complete aside, I've signed up for my second ever BMW High Performance Driving school thing down at Pueblo. And as luck (and immaculate organization) would have it, the Lijit team are going to be attending the same day. It's going to be another great day, and the excitement is building already.

Worst Car "Body" Kit Ever

It's not big, and it's not clever

First US Based GT-R on Video

Right here....

New Scirocco Official Pics

I've posted about this car before, that seems to have been in the works since 1989. It looks like it's finally got it's production clothes on, but still doesn't appear to be making it's way across the pond. Haven't read the release date plans yet, but I'm hoping they change their mind and make it available over here.

If you jump through, you'll get to see the most hideous leather seats ever...

Finally Kia Makes a Car Thats Cool

Well, it looks cool anyway.

Small Car Heaven - Fiat Abarth 500

I've been waiting for the official announcement of this little pocket rocket for a long time, and now it's finally here!

Not super quick, but super cute and super small, and the upgrade to the body and wheels looks cool. Now, if only they'd start shipping them over here, I'd be able to buy one.

What's been going on?

Not too much to be perfectly honest. It appears that a large percentage of the women of child bearing age in our company all got together and planned a synchronized pregnancy, we got to spend the whole day with Holly and Meaghan yesterday, followed by dinner at North with the usual suspects, and we've been on a bit of a shopping blowout for the new year - I got my first new snowboard since I got here in 1997, and we ordered Heidi's new car - delivery won't be for a couple of months though (on the car, the snowboard is in my possession). I might even try and take a day off work next week to rendezvous with the wife in the mountains to see if I can actually snowboard on something that isn't going to restrict my speed to 5 miles an hour. Accidents are expected.....

Catch Up

So I've got half an hour before the official first game in the return of Kevin Keegan to Newcastle, and I have to say I'm pretty excited. Of course, it could all end up horribly wrong, but at least now we know we'll go down fighting, the crowd will be behind the team, and we might actually play some football on the ground for a change. I was a little hesitant (and shocked) when the announcement was first made, but having received more txts and calls in the last 4 days from Newcastle than I have at pretty much anytime since I got out here, I can tell the town is buzzing once again. It should be a good night for a couple of beers on the Quayside (or taking in the UFC fight that's happening over there).

On whether or not Shearer should join KK as a no 2 or coach or whatever, to be honest, I don't think I care. I heard on the grapevine the two of them don't really get on, but no idea if that's true or not. I think it would probably be better if Shearer waited for a bit, enjoyed his time on Match of the Day, finished all his coaching badges and then had another look in 2 years or so. But, they're both their own men, and pretty determined, so I'm sure they'll sort it out amongst themselves, and ultimately do what is best for the club.

So, lots of stuff going on the last couple of weeks, and I've struggled to keep up with a pretty hectic work schedule, so I thought I'd try and get a whole list of stuff off the backlog in one easy post.

Mac fever reaches the living room

My next chair

HD fights back with $129 player and 7 free disks

Some car websites lost a lot of visitors last year

The GT-R race car looks a little special, even in orange

The new M3 is going to cost less than $60k

And there's pics of the M3 Convertible floating around

The worst gadgets from CES

If you need some cooking guidance from the web

Hugh Laurie makes the top 10 of favorite US personalities !?

Geotag your photos on the cheap(ish)

Movies with the most F-words (I want to know who sat through and counted...)

And finally for now, eggs any way you like them....

CES and Cars

Gadgets and cars at the same event? Sounds like heaven to me, but having seen a couple of the pics from the show, it looks a little like overkill in certain demo cars.

Take the car to the left for example - are you even going to get past level 1 or 2 on the volume meter before your ears start to bleed? And do you have to be a midget to watch the screen?

Anyway, more pics of various cars and their LCD screens here (and this one wasn't even a finalist for the worst placed screen placement).

Skyline GT-R Initial Tests - 0-60 in 3.3. secs!!

Inside Line gets the star prize for getting a full featured review out on the web - and it appears that the GT-R is going to be faster than anyone had hoped.

For the second time in a week, I'm seriously tempted to go down to the Nissan garage and put down a deposit....

New Doors?

And I always thought the Lambo door mod was cool.

Porsche 928 - The Nightmare Version

When I was growing up, the 928 was high on my wish list of cars. It stayed on there for a very long time, in part coz despite it being so old by the time it finally ceased production it still looked pretty modern, and in part due to it being available for purchase second hand at a price I could almost grasp affording (think 5000 pounds or so). Now, of course, I would never have been able to afford the insurance, or the petrol (gas), and if anything ever went wrong, it would completely bankrupt me for the rest of my life. So, I didn't buy one, although one of the guys who used to go surfing did get one and ran it successfully for about 18 months before the expensive repairs kicked in.

Anyway, this is all leading up to this following video, in which someone has completely massacred one of my childhood dreams. I've asked myself why a few times, and apart from the obvious "I need a fast truck" I'm at a loss for words - I thought that's why they had the high performance Dodge and Ford trucks (if you ever see someone trying to drive one of these 500 hp things in the snow in Denver, give them a wide berth - it's funny to watch, but not when you're in the lane next to them). And Porsche apparently helped him get approval to take it on the road...