Jeremy Clarkson is no stranger to driving fast cars and he’s certainly not one to sugarcoat his opinions, especially when he’s got some pretty sharp criticism of the vehicle he’s driving.

Recently, the outspoken and often times hilarious host of Top Gear got a chance to drive the Ferrari 458 Italia, a car that everyone seems to be in love with. For his part, Clarkson took a few shots at a disturbing – as far as he’s concerned – part of the new Ferrari supercar: the steering wheel.

According to Clarkson, Ferrari’s decision to put a boatload of controls on the 458, including the turn lights, the wipers, the traction control, and the headlights, makes it a little more difficult to use when the car is in motion because, well, the wheel moves a lot.

But despite that little bone, Clarkson had no problem going gaga over what he claims to be the “prettiest Ferrari” to come along since the iconic 1975 Ferrari 308. And much to his delight, the 458 Italia is far from being just a pretty Ferrari.

Using James May’s very own Ferrari 430, Clarkson took the wheel of the 458 Italia and raced it with the 430 that was piloted by no less than resident driver The Stig. No sooner than the start of the race did the 458 Italia immediately display its mind-blowing power over the ‘outdated’ 430, humiliating the latter in spectacular fashion and proving without a tinge of doubt that the 458 Italia, despite the complicated wheel, is a Ferrari super car for all ages.

Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson gets his hands on a Ferrari 458 Italia originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 4 August 2010 22:00 EST.

read more

Thanks to original article poster

At first look, you’d think that this car chase scene came straight out of an action-packed Hollywood blockbuster, but if you must believe, it’s actually produced entirely in computer-generated imagery (CGI). Yeah, you read that. That Audi R8 and Range Rover Sport you see spectacularly trying to escape the clutches of the police aren’t real. But they sure look like it, right?

Sometimes we tend to forget the beauty that is CGI; it seems that just about every movie that’s produced these days has a tinge of CGI-ness to them. But watching something like this makes us all remember just how unbelievably real CGI can be, especially when you take into account that the video even has closer-ups of the driver deftly manoeuvring the R8 while being chased by a horde of angry coppers.

Video: Audi R8 and Range Rover Sport being chased by the police originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 18 February 2010 11:00 EST.

read more

Thanks to original article poster

By now, you’ve probably heard of Chevrolet’s new marketing campaign for the Chevy Volt, including the eyebrow-raising, yet LSS-inducing ‘Chevy Volt Song’.

It turns out that the Chevy Volt Song has an equally dumb-founding cousin: the Chevy Volt Dance.

Don’t get us wrong: we appreciate the arts of singing and dancing just like everyone else, but we do have to question the rationale of PR and marketing heads of Chevrolet for their decision to market the Volt like some sort of variety show.

While the Chevy Volt Song does have a tinge of catchiness into it, the Chevy Volt Dance is straight out of a choreographed noon-time variety show, complete with the backflips, gyrating, and break-dancing. The Volt, we surmise, will be better off without ‘the Dance’ and we just hope that Chevrolet does something about it like say, burn any and all tapes and remove all evidence that such a dance ever existed.

Video: The Chevy Volt Dance originally appeared on topspeed.com on Sunday, 20 December 2009 17:00 EST.

read more

Thanks to original article poster

Among all of the states in the US, California holds the distinction of having the most exotics and supercars roaming around the streets. After all, the glitz and glamour that comes with being in California affords most people the moolah to get their hands on one.

So it comes with a tinge of irony that three of the biggest exotic makers – Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Bentley – have all decided to skip the LA Auto Show

The news that three of the most prestigious manufacturers have decided to pass on LA when a spokesperson for the event told the Detroit Bureau that the decisions by Bentley, Ferrari and Lamborghini to skip LA hinged on the fact that they’ve decided to ‘put their resources to better use’.
Translation: “We don’t want to incur any unnecessary expenditures, like showing up for an event like the LA Auto Show.

Continued after the jump.

Ferrari, Bentley and Lamborghini to skip the LA Auto Show originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 23 November 2009 14:13 EST.

read more

Thanks to original article poster