Autoblog UK

Don't know what to get your other half/little one/gran/in-laws for Christmas? Look no further, here's a present that would make anyone happy: a road kill calendar.

The gory little number, featuring foxes, badgers and other woodland creatures has been released just in time for Christmas and is supposedly a massive hit already.

The "artist" behind this delightful idea is a Mr Kevin Beresford. The 57-year-old man travelled the UK for a while, stopping at gruesome sights of dead animals and snapping away.

He claims having received a large amount of orders already and believes the provoking photos are a refreshing change to the usual calendar material: "I think customers are fed up with Peter Andre's six-pack and want something different. It's good to push the boundaries" he adds.

Now it's really a matter of taste. Which do you prefer checking out over your morning coffee? Peter Andre? Or a pureed badger?

Playing Russian roulette has apparently become slightly boring and predictable. That's according to the Bulgarians, who decided it was about time to come up with a better, riskier and stupider version of the game.

The rules are simple – take a car, race it insanely fast through red lights at night against others and see if you make it first and alive. If you do, you could win up to £5,000. If you don't, well...

With a large selection of deaths on offer – embedded in a post, underneath a truck, off a ravine, choking on your air-bag etc, this game is much more exciting than the old Russian roulette with its one and only option.

However, there is a strict set of rules you will have to follow in order to get your money. For example, if you touch your brakes or crash into a pedestrian you will be disqualified and can wave bye-bye to the mullah. That is whether the pedestrian dies or not.

The game started in the busy streets of Sofia at the end of the summer and is very popular among SUV male drivers in their early twenties. The little daredevils are keeping the authorities busy as they try to tackle the problem. The illegal races are also attracting large and blood-thirsty crowds of spectators, who inadvertently might end up being part of the game.

Kids, don't try this at home...

It seems that animals in the US have no issues crashing (into) others' vehicles. They also seem superstrong, going on pretty deadly journeys only to escape unharmed and – according to photographic evidence – a little smug.

Following the adventures of the travelling Harlem cat last week, a coyote has adopted the same means of travel, taking an eight-hour journey under the bonnet of an apparently very comfy Honda Fit.

A brother and sister on a 600-mile journey to Nevada hit the coyote at 75mph. They didn't stop, being pretty sure the poor thing would have been killed on the spot. However, when they eventually reached their destination they discovered him snugly wedged between the radiator and bumper.

The siblings, Daniel and Tevyn East, failed to spot the furry intruder twice when they stopped for petrol. Daniel East was amazed when he discovered the death-cheating animal which he named Tricky. "Somehow the conditions were just right for it to survive the trip" he commented.

Tricky the coyote was taken to the shelter only to escape hours later. Probably trying to hitch a ride home....

Car mania continues apace. With each new generation of models comes improved performance, despite the fact that our roads are increasingly congested. "What's the point?" asks one lot. "To showcase the possibilities of technology, especially at the top end of the market," replies another. "Limousines in the 500bhp league, which the average motorist can't handle without electronic driving aids. And environmentally hostile to boot," grumble the first group. "Abundance and potential for people with enough money," enthuse the second. The truth and therein the raison d'être of such cars probably lies somewhere in between. Or is it just a case of arrogance and a self-justifying proposition ?

The scrappage allowance devised by Germany's Chancellor Merkel is being adopted by other governments. In order to help out their ailing auto industry, the UK government are planning to introduce a similar scheme amounting to £2,000 for every owner willing to scrap a vehicle that is older than nine years. Details of the British allowance have still to be hammered out between the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but it is quite apparent that they will be using the German scheme as a model. The British Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders made it known that £2,000 would be the minimum amount sufficient to give an effective boost to the industry. The SMMT estimates the costs for the first twelve months the system is in place at around £160 million.

Last week, the United States also expressed an interest in this successful idea from Europe: in a dramatic address to the automotive sector, President Obama praised the recycling allowance as exemplary and pledged to introduce a version tailored to US needs. However, Obama will have to set aside a significantly larger sum in his budget than the UK, as there are well over 250 million cars and trucks on American roads. Of these, at least 30 percent are older than 15 years, which makes 75 million owners eligible for a handout.

The main thing that speaks in favour of the Tata Nano is its price tag of US $ 2,500. This is what you would otherwise have to shell out for a Honda Civic with around 140,000 miles on the clock. So what do you in fact get for the price of a rather expensive lawn mower? A car! Yes, a car with some 33 HP and a four-speed gearbox! If the driver floors it for 17 seconds, he'll get to an impressive speed of just under 60 mph.

Should he have the brazen cheek of also putting a passenger and a heavy load of shopping on board, then he'll just have to dream of the top speed.

However, there are a few extras: the luxury version offers a radio and air conditioning. But if you want to go for both extras, you'll have to make do with 50 mph. On reflection, the Honda Civic is not such a bad car.

For the third year in a row, the Los Angeles Auto Show will be held in the fall. The 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show will feature more than 20 world premieres of production and/or concept vehicles from global automakers during the show's Press Days on Nov. 19 and 20. To date, world debuts are confirmed from Buick, Cadillac, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Lamborghini, Lincoln, Lexus, Mazda, Mercury, Nissan, Porsche and Volkswagen.

Some of the world debuts already confirmed for the 2008 LA Auto Show include Nissan's next generation Z and the highly anticipated redesign of the legendary Ford Mustang. In addition to the record number of world debuts, an expected 16 North American debuts have already been scheduled, including Honda's all-new hybrid vehicle concept, the Insight. Also, Ferrari has confirmed it will show the appropriately-named Ferrari California, its first retractable hardtop convertible.



In addition to the major debuts, this year's show will highlight the latest "green" auto technology with significant alternative fuel vehicle news. Also, for the fourth year in a row, Green Car Journal will unveil the coveted "Green Car of The Year Award." This award continues to grow in significance as consumer demand for more fuel efficient and environmentally positive vehicles increases exponentially.

The five models are important milestones for their manufacturers. The VW and BMW clean diesels are leading edge models signaling the advent of highly efficient, advanced diesel sedans that meet emissions certification in all 50 states. Ford's Fusion Hybrid, a full hybrid, is this automaker's first hybrid sedan. Saturn's Vue 2-Mode is GM's first application of its two mode hybrid system in a V-6 front-drive platform. The smart fortwo is a new-for-the-U.S., fuel efficient micro car with a small eco footprint.
Carlos Ghosn, president and CEO of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Renault S.A., will kick off the Los Angeles Auto Show by delivering the Motor Press Guild (MPG) keynote address the morning of Nov. 19, 2008.



Today's race cars have ground-breaking technology to improve speed, power, performance and safety but what a difference 17 years into the future can make. Imagine race cars that go beyond the expectations and challenges of racing today, such as never needing to stop for re-fueling or collision avoidance assistance technology for enhanced safety.

Nine of Southern California's automotive design studios did just that, predicting how auto racing will change by the year 2025. The designs are part of the fifth annual Los Angeles Auto Show's Design Challenge, where studios including Audi, BMW, GM, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Volkswagen are pitted against each other to showcase their talents and further explore new ideas in automotive design.