Merry Christmas from PetrolBlog
As 2010 draws to a close and everyone’s attention turns to eating, drinking and generally being merry, I wanted to take this opportunity to wish both my readers a very Happy Christmas. I genuinely can’t thank you enough for reading PetrolBlog, I’m still amazed that there’s anybody who is interested in what I have to say. I really didn’t think PetrolBlog would make it past a month! Thank you to all those have given me positive comments, subscribed to the blog or have followed me on twitter. I owe every single one of you a Hobnob or two. Read more 
PetrolBlog Car of the Year 2010
Let’s get one thing out of the way first. I’m under no illusion that car manufacturers and enthusiasts are laying awake at night waiting for the announcement of the PetrolBlog Car of the Year 2010. I’m equally certain that in 100 years time, motoring historians won’t be searching the interweb to find out who scooped the award. But I wanted to mark the end of PetrolBlog’s first year with a look back at the cars I’ve owned and driven in 2010 and attempt to pick an overall winner. The only criteria is that I’ve either had to own or borrow the car for at least a week. So this rules out hire cars, track day cars and the times I’ve been asked to move a friend’s car off their driveway. Read more
PetrolBlog Green Car of the Year 2010
The votes have been cast and the results are in…. Read more
Gritter lorry overturns in Devon
In the early hours of Saturday morning, while most of us were tucked up in bed, Devon’s gritter lorries were out clearing our roads. Sadly one of these lorries fell foul of the worsening conditions and the result can be seen in the pictures. The incident occurred on the hill beween Lydford village and Lydford Gorge and seemingly the driver did a brilliant job to avoid careering all the way down the hill and on to the bridge that crosses the Gorge. The results of the lorry crashing through the bridge are unthinkable. Read more
Last orders: Honda Civic Type-R
Unless you’ve been stuck in an Australian jungle or a Chilean mine, you will have heard that the Honda Civic Type-R is about to be killed off in the UK. When Big Ben rings in the new year the sublime VTEC engine will be no longer acceptable on our roads, falling foul of the new Euro V emissions regulations. Love or loathe the Type-R badge, it would take a cold hearted petrolhead not to mourn the passing of Honda’s racing arm, so rather than let it pass away quietly I decided to take one final hoorah on the highway to the VTEC zone. Read more
PetrolBlog Green Car of the Year 2010
Green Car of the Year. When it comes to automotive awards, this is one category that manufacturers really want to win. An opportunity to win some much needed kudos points and a chance to generate some green-related PR over your competition.
Well as part of the lavish end of year PetrolBlog awards ceremony, this is your chance to vote for the PetrolBlog Green Car of the Year 2010. You have selected 20 green cars over the past few months, but now it is your chance to vote for the best. Don’t worry if your ultimate green car hasn’t been featured yet, there will be more updates in 2011. So vote for your favourite – the poll closes at 23:59 on the 17th December 2010. Only one vote per person. Read more
An old Alfa is for life, not just for Christmas
It is the kind of detail only a petrolhead would notice. Forget the controversy surrounding a cold dog, I doth my cap to John Lewis for featuring an Alfa Romeo 164 in their Christmas television ad. You can see the fine Italian specimen at 34 seconds. Well, the rear three quarter anyway! Read more
Joker in the pack: Škoda Superb estate
Car naming is a tricky business. Once a name has been agreed, there are a number of checks to be made. The most crucial of which would be potential trademark infringements and global translation issues. Check out Pajero and Nova for just two of the most embarrassing translation problems. Read more
Guest blog: My first quattro
Garry Phillips, a new guest blogger on PetrolBlog gives his account of the first time he encountered an Audi quattro in the wild. Read more
Time to say goodbye: Honda Civic Type-R
It’s last orders at the bar for the Honda Civic Type-R. Production for the UK market has ceased due to the Euro V emissions regulations, so you have until the end of December to officially order a Type-R car in the UK. Read more
10 more green cars sitting on a blog
Back in September, I posted ten images on PetrolBlog with the aim of proving to a ‘Prominent PR Person’ that green cars rock. Sadly, I failed in my attempt, but through the power of Twitter I did discover that the love of green cars runs quite deep within petrolhead circles. So much so that the #greencarsrock hash tag often makes an appearance should a rather lovely green car appear on the high street.
Well I thought it was about time to compile another list. Here are the best ten from today. Image credits at the end. Read more
Bah Humbug! A seasonal message from @FailCar
Never one to shy away from controversy, FailCar has been at it again. I’m reliably informed that his hands were shaking from anger while writing this. My hands have been shaking a lot recently, but I think this has more to do with the cold temperatures. But anyway, back to FailCar and here’s a seasonal rant. Read more
PetrolBlog meets…@Petrolthreads
Automotive attire falls strictly in to two categories. On the one hand there’s the frankly dreadful manufacturer-led or cheesy high-street clobber. Then there’s the infinitely cooler rags you’ll find on the internet or advertised in the back of car magazines. Petrolthreads is a company which falls firmly into the latter and is a purveyor of some of the finest automotive t-shirts on the net. Indeed, regular viewers of Fifth Gear may have spotted Jonny Smith and Tom Ford wearing some of Petrolthread’s finest attire. Read more
Winter driving: Carlsson style
So once again, much of Britain grinds to a halt under the weight of some unexpected early snowfall. Cars abandoned at the roadside, schools closed and many people deciding to ‘work from home’. In just about every other country affected by harsh winters, driving on snow or ice is considered the norm and causes little disruption to people’s daily lives. Read more
