Friday, 26 February 2010

Alfa's Focus rival/Aston Martin Rapide/Car Show bloopers/BMW X5


The Geneva motor show is only a couple of days away, and it looks like most of the news that’s going to be released, has been and gone. So not much left to report apart from this spy footage we’ve found of the Alfa’s Giulietta – a new Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf rival. We’ve also found of a preview for the new BMW X5 which sounds like it’s been done by the movie voice over guy... “It was a time of four...by four”... sorry... We’ve been trying to hunt down some motor show outtakes, come on people we know they're out there, but few have made it onto the internet. However, here’s a clip of a stand girl getting a little more than she bargained for by one admiring onlooker. We've also found some stuff from the Detroit show and just to prove even the pros can get it wrong, here's some footage from the Top Gear editing floor. And here are a couple more from the nation's favourite car show. To finish off the bloopers section here's some outtake film of a car TV show... some jems here... Good news for Smoked Out is that we’ve just got Loui Batley – formerly of Hollyoaks – to bring you all the news from the show, so tune in next week for that, it promises to be a good one. Elsewhere, the latest Jaguar XJ has been a long time coming, and we can’t wait to get our mits on one, in the meantime here's some footage of it being tested. Speaking of luxury saloons, they don’t get much more prestigious than the £140k Aston Martin Rapide. Official footage of the prestige four-door has just become available. Don’t forget to check out the Geneva Preview video on the main player, plus we’re now on twitter, and will update our account with all the comings and goings: http://www.twitter.com/smokedoutshow

Thursday, 25 February 2010

New Porsche Cayenne/Pimped Roller/Bye-bye Hummer/Full launch coming soon


Porsche is going to be busy at the Geneva Motor show, not only is it launching the Porsche 911 Turbo S – teaser video available on Smoked out – plus a racing hybrid version of the 911 GT3, and some cheaper versions of the Panamera, but there’s also a new Cayenne too. That’s almost all the cars in their range. While on the subject of Porsche, here’s a good tutorial for Tiger Woods’ wife or scallywags who like golf. Putters are no good for smashing a car window, no wonder the ‘driver’ is the best tool for the job. Onto other business, and more news from Geneva, this time in the form of a ‘pimped out Roller.’ It’s a Special edition 720hp Rolls Royce Ghost with gold-varnished wheels and side skirts and will probably never be seen around the likes of Moss Side. It’ll do 0-62 in four and a half seconds and a top speed of 193mph and takes pride of place on the Rolls stand at Geneva. Speaking of pimped out rides, here’s a Hummer on 30, yes 30 inch rims. And it’s kind of apt the footage has just been released as news is coming in that the off-roading company is closing down. Hearing a car company going out of business is no laughing matter, however we thought we’d lighten the mood with this funny clip of a Hummer getting stuck crossing river, so they send in another to help it, and that one gets stuck too... In fact there’s quite a few clips of Hummers getting stuck. Here’s another. And another. And one more. They clearly need one of these, or one of these. We’ve got a little more tweaking to do with Smoked Out before the fanfare launch next week, so if you’ve any thoughts on the site – good or not so good – then please drop us a line via the contact us link at the top right hand side of the screen.

Wednesday, 24 February 2010

New Smoked Out video/Audi RS5/Mercedes F800 Concept/Gran takes on CLK/Volvo S60


With less than a week to go before the doors open at the Geneva Motor Show, it’s time to look at some of the cars we can expect to see. So we’ve put together a round-up of ten of the most exciting cars that will be unveiled. Obviously there’ll be a lot of surprises there too, so be sure to come back to smoked out on Tuesday for videos from the show. On the subject of Geneva, leaked images of the new 444hp Audi RS5 swarm the motoring press today. How leaked they are remain to be seen, however it’s sure to attract a lot of attention at the show. No video footage has been ‘leaked’ yet, but there’s no shortage of spy clips on the internet. Also appearing at the show is the F800 Style concept car, a kind of crystal ball look into the future of Mercedes’ design and technology. Although it’s powered by a 300hp V6 engine this is an eco-car, with an extra 109hp from an electric motor together pumping out 68g/km and a combined fuel economy just short of 100mpg. On the subject of Mercedes, here’s a classic clip of a bloke in a CLK who’s impatience with a granny backfires. And with it being advert week on Smoked Out, here’s a Mercedes E-Class ad that actually made it to air. Finally, Smoked Out has some teaser video footage of the BMW 3 Series and Audi A4 rival, the new Volvo S60.

Tuesday, 23 February 2010

More McLaren videos/Mini Countryman/Air-powered car


Big news of the day is video footage of the new Mini Countryman. It makes its world debut at the Geneva show which kicks off next week. Come back to Smoked Out for all the news, gossip and girls from the show. Speaking of Mini, here's a Cooper getting rear-ended by a BMW... We just love the reaction of the pedestrian... Last week we brought you footage of American chat-show host Jay Leno talking about the new McLaren MP4-12C. Well, the British supercar-maker has released official footage of the story behind the new MP4-12C. The second story behind the MP4-12C was released today and looks at the performance car testing programme. The Ferrari 458 Italia rival is due next year, and frankly, we can't wait. Onto other Smoked Out business, and this week's video theme is car commercials that never made it onto the telly, and starts with an evil Ford Ka and a kid with a pottymouth. Fox news in America is debating whether 'air cars' are the future of motoring, it's not April fools day already is it? However, we think it would be a good propulsion system for the Renault Wind... Ending on lighter note, is this clip of a Chinese guy who'd had one to many before jumping in his car hitting pretty much everything on the road. Turns out he'd falled asleep behind the wheel, as was still in the land of nod when they caught up with his bashed up motor.

Friday, 19 February 2010

McLaren MP4-12C/Ferrari Enzo vs McLaren F1/Enzo crashes


Although the McLaren MP4-12C won’t be making an appearance at the Geneva Motor Show, disappointingly, it’s set to be officially unveiled just a week later. Come back to Smoked Out for the latest videos then. In the meantime, here’s a few McLaren teasers including American chat-show host and uber-petrolhead, Jay Leno talking about the forthecoming model, then he rides shotgun in a pre-production model. The MP4-12C has big shoes to fill, and here’s some footage of the classic F1 up against the Ferrari Enzo in a hypercar shootout. Talk about tough day at the office. Speaking of the Exotic Ferraris, here’s some classic footage of Eddie Griffin crashing an Enzo... Sounds expensive, and it probably was expensive too, and to keep the theme going of crashed Fezzas, here’s someone showing off and making a complete mess of it. We’ve just updated our site with a couple of videos including the new Renault Wind and behind-the-scenes look at creating the Bentley Muslanne. We leave you with a retro road test of our very own Jon Quirk, who's moved onto pastures new, driving a classic XK120 around Paris.

Thursday, 18 February 2010

VW Polo GTI/Jaguar XKR Speed/Honda Accord


Surprise, surprise, we lead today’s Smoked out news with... more Geneva Motor Show preview stuff. First off Volkswagen who after scooping the European Car of the Year awards for its Polo, has gone and made its supermini a bit more fun, step forward the Polo GTI. No footage on the ‘mint with the go go go’ but we did find some footage of this Polo GTi advert. Meanwhile, we brought you news of the Jaguar XKR Speed, and here’s some footage Smoked Out has got its hands on. It also looks like there’s a new Honda Accord on the way too, however, looking at this teaser video it’s going to be a real spot-the-difference with the old one. Rinspeed is going all skater-boy, with this teaser video of its electric UC? concept car, which also makes its debut at Geneva. The driver of this lorry clearly didn’t see the ‘low bridge’ sign. I think you know what’s coming!

Wednesday, 17 February 2010

New Peugeot/New Lotus/New Bentley...


The pre-Geneva news keeps rolling in! First off Peugeot, who is set to unveil a taste of what we can expect from its replacement for its tired looking 407. It’s badged ‘5 by Peugeot’ but in reality it’s more likely to be called the 508 when it goes on sale next year. In the meantime, the ‘5’ remains a concept, but we expect to see a production ready version at the Paris show later in the year. There’s also a new Lotus Elise on the way too, the owner of this Exige might be interested, once he’s finished picking it out of a tree. Elsewhere, fancy a £200k hairdryer? Well, Bentley has announced plans to turn its fastest ever car, the Continental supersports, into a drop-top. It’s powered by the same 6.0-litre W12 and pumps out 621hp meaning a 0-62mph time of 3.9 secs, and a 202mph top speed. Probably best avoided for people with wigs. Speaking of Bentley, here’s an unusual vid we found of a Bentley seen in the Apollo 14 footage, who said the moon-landing was a hoax?

Sunday, 14 February 2010

Parking madness/Nissan road test/New Porsche/Vauxhall Meriva/20 car pile-up


This week we’re carrying on the theme of parking with a bunch of videos of people who park legally, but carelessly and, well, badly, starting with a driver who parks their BMW on top of two cars, before realising they didn’t want to park there anyway... Naughty, Naughty. Onto news, and last week we brought you news of the Nissan Juke, the baby-SUV crossover with questionable looks. We’ve finished washing our eyes now and found this Nissan Z test, which we’re calling ‘now that’s what I call a road test companion.’ In a recent poll by UK motoring website MSN Cars, the Ferrari 458 Italia was nominated the most exciting car of 2009. In other news, Porsche has announced an even faster version of the 911 turbo – as if we needed one – called the 911 Turbo S, catchy. Speaking 911, here’s a clip from the archives of our beloved Jeremy Clarkson getting it wrong in a GT3. Not quite as exotic as the Porsche is the new Vauxhall Meriva with rear doors you’re more likely to find in a Rolls-Royce. The supermini-mpv is due to make its World debut at the Geneva Motor Show at the beginning of March. Elsewhere, are you fed up with a plain, boring garage? Well, check out this link to some of the world’s most exotic garages. It might inspire to you crack out some MDF this weekend. Finally, we thought the snow created havoc with roads around the UK, but in Kansas it's been so bad it caused a massive 20 car pile-up on the interstate. Amazingly there are no reports of any serious injuries.

Thursday, 11 February 2010

Official Nissan Juke/Audi A1/VW Touareg/Volvo S60


While Honda and Toyota were firing out press releases about recalls, Nissan was busy unveiling its new baby-SUV crossover, the Juke. We’ve got all the details of the Juke from the launch coming next week, in the meantime, here’s some footage of the love-it-or-hate-it baby-Qashqai. And in true Smokedout fashion, we’ve found an amusing advert for the Patrol. It’s not just Nissan who’ve been beating the Geneva rush. Audi has pulled back the covers on its Mini rival, badged the A1. The Volkswagen Touareg has been around for a while and was in desperate need of a new lease of life, and that’s exactly what VW has done. Here’s some footage of the new Touareg in action.
Meanwhile the Swedes, in particular Volvo, are trying to ditch their dull but safe image, and this is exactly the car that should do the trick. It’s the next-generation Volvo S60, and it really should shake things up in the compact executive segment. Speaking of Volvo here’s a classic clip of a Volvo with an alarm system we want.

Tuesday, 9 February 2010

Prius recall dominates the news...


It appears things aren’t getting any easier for Toyota as the company announced a worldwide recall of its Prius hybrid car. It’s no laughing matter, however these Prius adverts should raise a smile. They never made it to air, and with a slogan ‘Prius: good for sneaking up on mother f***ers’, it’s no surprise, here’s part two of the same set of ads. Then there’s another ad, called simply Prius fighting the war on terror. And while we’re on the subject of Toyota adverts here’s one from the archives.

Friday, 5 February 2010

Are modern cars too high-tech?/Disappearing car doors/Green Ferrari


It’s been a bad week for Honda, Toyota, Citroen and Peugeot who’ve all announced major recalls. This prompted a debate on CNBC asking ‘are modern cars are too high tech?’ Do you ever get sick of motorists parking so close to your car that you can’t get in and out comfortably? Well this is one novel solution, how about a car door that simply disappears? We love this idea...Also, here’s one for speed junkies, a hypercar doing 714mph. If you don’t fancy your Italian supercar in traditional Ferrari Red, then how about green? Yes, we’ve tracked down some footage of a one- off Scud in green, with a green interior in a San Diego dealership... Isn’t green supposed to be unlucky? And finally, yesterday we brought you footage of an impressive car collection, well in true ‘my garage is bigger than yours’ fashion, how about this dream garage?

Thursday, 4 February 2010

Artistic Alfa/Random twin-test/Nice collection/Be a star


Alfa’s no stranger to making good-looking cars, and if Autocar’s artist’s impression of the new Spider is anything to go by, then it’s going to be something special. Speaking of Autocar, talk about random twin-tests, how about an Audi R8 V10 against a Skoda Octavia 1.4 , I know where my money would go... Onto other news and...Ouch, here’s a video slideshow of a what was left of a tango’d Gemballa Carrera GT, owned by Prinz Marcus von Anhalt who got it slightly wrong at a race track. Elsewhere, how’s this for an impressive car collection? Lamborghini’s, Ferrari’s, Aston Martin’s and a lovely Rolls Royce, not too sure about the Hill Street Blues music though - And finally if you’re sat there wishing you could be starring in a video rather than just watching them, then Honda might be able to give you your big break. In conjunction with the launch of the CR-Z hybrid coupe in the summer, the Japanese company is making a film of real people’s journeys. More information is available at www.liveeverylitre.com

Renault Wind/Nissan GTR Spec-V - 02/02/2010


No fart jokes please. Renault has blown the roadster/coupe market wide open by unveiling its new 'Wind' ahead of the Geneva Motor Show in March. More details on prices and performance will be announced then. If it looks as impressive in the flesh as it does on its pictures, it's sure to be one of the stars of the show. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiCc-_WG1mE] The Nissan GT-R is one of the most impressive performance cars of recent times, but there's an even more powerful version called the GT-R Spec V, and we've tracked down some footage of it blasting around a track. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xJfILZa-Tc], we want one... simples!!! Finally, the next-generation Ford Focus was unveiled at Detroit recently and will undoubtedly be one of the stars of Geneva, but if you want to see what it might look like 'on the move' then how about this CGi video we found. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnc7nE-VvP4]

New Sportage/599X on video/stunning Lamborghini - 03/02/2010


More pre-Geneva Motor Show news, this time from Kia who's taken the wraps off its new urban off-roader the Sportage. More details on the baby-SUV will be announced at the show which takes place at the beginning of March. We'll be there, reporting back with videos of all the stars from the show. But if you need to satisfy your petrolhead fix before that, how does this grab you? A hardcore Ferrari 599. We found this footage, released today, of the track-ready 599XX which made its debut on the Spanish Ricardo Tormo circuit. Behind the wheel, Ferrari Formula one driver Felipe Massa who gives his verdict on his day at the track, needless to say, he liked it. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMOnGGRw8as&feature=channel] Sticking with supercars, fancy a Lamborghini with a difference, we found this stunning matt black Murcielago LP640-4 roadster [http://blogs.internetautoguide.com/6635964/aftermarket/2010-lamborghini-murcielago-lp650-4-roadster-modified-by-al-eds-autosound/index.htm] modified by Al and Ed's Autosound, yours for between $354,000 - $450,000.