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I suppose that I have to give grudging congratulations to Volkswagen's MK VI Golf as it was voted World Car of the Year during a ceremony at this year's New York Auto Show, cruelly robbing the fantastic Ford Fiesta of what is probably the most prestigious award in the world as, unlike other 'Car of the Year' awards (which are usually nation or continent specific, or at least affiliated to some sort of automotive media) the World Car of the Year award is entirely independent and voted for by a jury of 59 automotive journalists from 22 different ...

On the heels of the Shanghai Formula One grand prix, in what is already shaping up to be one of the most exciting F1 competitions in recent years, I thought I would vent my feelings on the more American version of motor sport, NASCAR.

To be fair, a simple comparison of the innovative technologies either invented or perfected by F1 versus NASCAR is instructional:

Some of the innovations F1 is responsible for:

•    Traction control
•    Active suspension
•    Carbon fiber bodies
•    Carbon-ceramic brakes
•    Active aerodynamics
•    Sequential transmission

Some of the innovations NASCAR is responsible for:

•    Multiple cup holders
•    62oz drinks cups
•    ‘Wifebeater ...

Following up on rightpedal’s visit to the press preview days at the 2009 New York Auto Show, I was shocked to read the article in The New York Times about visitors heckling the poor product presenters at the show.

Take it from me, it’s very hard to come across as more than a polished floozy talking about cars when you are forced to wear four-inch stilettos and ‘executress’ style business suits. I can’t even remember the name of the beautiful lady at the Cadillac stand was wearing a black leather trousers-and-top combo while talking me through all ...

In spite of its muscular image, Hummer is on life support. General Motors has stopped all marketing of Hummers and production of the H2 model has stopped, with no sign of restarting.

However, I will not give up hope, oh no! So please join me in offering a prayer for Hummer:

“Oh God, please don’t let Hummer die. Please find a decent buyer for Hummer. Please allow GM the strength and wisdom to divest of this asset sensibly. And to the buyer, please give great sales....and smite the likes of Porsche, Land Rover or Jaguar, who Hummer already ...

Okay, I know that many of you loyal readers are busy keeping your heads down, trying to stave off the personal impact of the ensuing worldwide recession while at the same time, watching the US and global auto industry implode with more than a sense of morbid disbelief, but I’m hoping you can spare just a moment for one of my rants.

Usually I’m a big supporter of Fashion Week (quadrupling the population of models in a localized area close by to where I live can never be a bad thing), but right now, I am tempted to ...

Recently, I was taken for a spin in the new Jaguar XF 2.7TD and boy was I impressed. The car was so good that it made me proud to be British. There was the drama of the starter button that glows red, pulsing like a heartbeat and, and when you start the engine, the gear lever rising from the centre console while the air vent swivels open, making you feel like a jet fighter pilot!

And don’t get me started on the oodles of wood and the leather, sumptuous to touch, and the beautiful plump carpets, coupled with ...

So, the hate mail and spam has been flowing from all the Italian auto ‘enthusiasts’ after my comments about Fiat, and this morning I woke up to the head of decapitated teddy bear on my pillow (apparently a horse’s head in my bed would have been too expensive in today’s constricted fiscal environment). So now is about the time for me to apologize for the injustice and upset I have caused and make amends to the nation that I so cruelly insulted by insinuating that they enjoy driving bowls of cat sick that are named after excrement.

Quite ...

In the last few weeks I, like Hootan, have been poring over the photos and press releases emanating from the latest motor shows dotted around the world and I too am disappointed by many of the things I have seen, but probably for different reasons.

It’s not really a surprise that the mood at the shows has been ‘downbeat’ (at best) when the prospects for the global car market look as high as the likelihood that investment bankers’ salaries and bonuses will not be a major topic of derision for many months to come (i.e. as high as ...

Bonjour from Geneva!

Right now, the US auto industry needs change, change we can believe in. Enter Ford’s ‘Iosis Max’ concept car that they are currently showing around.

There are no major technical innovations or gizmos (though I think it looks beautiful) and the car is pretty close to the new global Focus that Ford will unleash next year (let’s hope production versions aren’t toned down by the grey suits in accounting).

So why is this important? Well, for the first time in ten years, the US will get largely the same Focus that Europe gets. This ...

Okay okay okay! After receiving practically thousands of email messages with alternative suggestions on my top five test drives (I didn’t realize how many people read the blog!), I am forced to post some of the best suggestions from those of you with too much time on their hands.

So here goes, an alternative list of American vehicles that I must test drive during my stint as a rightpedal staff writer:

Abrams M1A2 Tank

Yes, the Humvee is cool, but according to the readership of rightpedal, if total urban jungle domination is my aim, then I should take the ...

Another short tale from the land of the dentally deformed...

You may or may not have heard, but London got six inches of snow a few weeks ago. You would have thought that the bloody world was ending: airports were closed, trains ran late, buses were confined to their depots, and eight million people didn’t go in to work!

Anyway, I’m from the North of England, which means I’m tough and strong - army strong, just like the ads on TV - so my friends and I spent the day driving around the two-foot snow drifts in the countryside ...

I must admit, I feel slightly bad reading the news today that Saab, GM’s loss-making Swedish marque, has put itself into administration after the Swedish government refused to bail it out. I think it was my tongue lashing last week of Saabs (while railing against Cadillac’s stupid plans for European domination) that pushed them over the edge.

I’m not totally heartless: if creditors refuse to restructure their loans or the court-appointed administrator decides the company has no future, Saab will have to go into liquidation, with grave repercussions in Sweden: Saab employs some 4,100 people in ...

Now, I have to admit I have a soft spot for Toyotas after 145,000 very happy, trouble free miles in my treasured IS300 and know there is a very good reason why Toyota trucks are the transportation of choice for any self-respecting mob of gun-toting freedom fighters in arse-end, war-torn countries (they are almost literally bullet proof and will go on forever, no matter how badly you treat them). But if this is the future of driving, please kill me now!

This is just wrong, so wrong, so very very wrong….get a bloody grip Toyota! If I wanted ...

A quick post from the land of the dentally challenged...

Last spring, your friend and mine, Mayor Bloomberg, proposed an ill-fated ‘congestion charge’ for New York, similar to the one currently operating in London.
Now let me make a few things clear Mickey boy:

• It’s a tax, so call it what it is: "I-hate-motorists-so-I-am-going-to-tax-them-back-to-the-stone-age tax” might be a better name for your wheeze to raise some cash to line the pockets of the tree-hugging environmental weasels who would like us to believe that ethanol-powered buses and electric taxis are better for the planet
• It hasn’t exactly worked in ...

There are only two rules that I try to live my life by and they are:

(1) Never start a land war in South East Asia
(2) Don’t mess around with a married woman

Now, I am afraid that I am going to have to add a third rule to the list:

(3) Never trust car salesmen or smart people

On a trip back to my beloved homeland, I decided that purely in the interest of you, our beloved readers, I would test drive a few of my favorite cars for your blogging pleasure. This led me to revisiting ...

I know I like to rail against the profound stupidity and self-inflicted wounds of the big three Detroit auto titans, but I just can’t help it and after hearing Cadillac’s ‘big plans in Europe’ for the CTS, I have a story that really takes the biscuit.

Cadillac, wanting to capitalize on the goodwill created by the new resident in Pennsylvania Avenue and him being driven in their ‘Beast’ to his inauguration, are pushing the CTS as a taste of US presidential auto prestige perfect for the European market.

Here’s how the conversation must have gone in the ...

Okay okay, calling last week ‘bad’ for the auto industry is the understatement of the century - it has been turds upon turds in terms of bad news followed by even worse news followed by even worse worse news, with the knock on effect of the Wall Street financial apocalypse (and a lemming-like jump off a cliff of any remaining consumer confidence) spreading through the streets of Detroit (as well as Nagoya) as fast as a new Paris Hilton sex tape being released on the interweb.

But, despite people accusing me of trying to find a cloud in every silver lining ...

There is a reason I am in witness protection: last time I wrote for a blog, I inadvertently seriously upset an Italian. Despite what I thought was a very innocuous comment (don’t worry, it wasn’t about his mother, lovely woman, great pair of car horns), he took great offense, which put me off writing for a while…..

Anyway, after hearing about the ‘great’ Chrysler give-away (they jumped into bed with Fiat, clothes off and gave away the sugar within 30 seconds), I feel compelled to break my silence and am going to risk renewed abuse from all Italians ...

rightpedal introduces its newest Blogger, the mercurial ‘Uncle Mark’, an undercover British motoring journalist currently under witness protection somewhere on the East coast of the USA …

My all time top 5 test drive wish list

The boss man at rightpedal, Hootan, was insistent that my first assignment as a new staff writer was to come up with a list of American cars that I would like to test drive. He didn’t specify that these would have to be the usual boring but practical test drives that he likes, so I came up with my all time top 5 test ...