Autoblog

In a column for Scotland's The Herald newspaper, James Porteous throws down from the first two paragraphs: "There is a sport more dangerous than any other, that kills far more people than boxing and yet there are no calls for it to be banned. Not rugby. Not equestrianism. Not even Ultimate Fighting. No, it's time to ban motorsport: not to save the drivers, who are probably at less risk of injury than footballers, but the rest of us."

In what some will see as a call-to-arms and others as a hateful screed by someone who apparently doesn't dig the sight of fast cars going fast, Porteous calls auto racing "the most wasteful, harmful, pointless leisure pursuit on the planet." The article is full of end-of-the-world hooks: "a couple of degrees more global warming will trigger a catastrophe," "we need to cut carbon emissions by 90% in the next 20 years," "biodiesel creates more problems than it solves," and so on. It is, though, light on the scientifics -- not that he doesn't have facts to back up his claims, but he should tell everyone where he got them. F1 takes the brunt of punishment because there is more data available on F1, supposedly. Ironic that Porteous' column comes just as F1 announces a hybrid transmission for the monococques. But that's "general waffle" according to Porteous, and anyone who doesn't agree with the assessment is either "George Bush or another Halliburton henchman." Mental note: don't discuss auto racing in Scotland.

In the fourth paragraph, however, Porteous writes "Cars that do 3.5 miles to the gallon are not unacceptable." Apparently, speaking on a soap box and typing at the same time leads to typos.

[Source: The Herald via Daily F1]

The hatred which speed cameras in Europe have engendered in the drivers they're watching has bubbled up and over to the point where vandalism is a common occurrence. In Scotland, for example, there have been seven camera attacks in three years. The attacks range from cameras simply being damaged so they're inoperable to setting the devices on fire. The same local governments who were smart enough to begin using speed cameras in the first place have a solution: more cameras! The Scottish authorities are considering installing closed-circuit TV cameras to watch certain speed cameras in locations that have attracted attacks in the past. Thus, you would have cameras watching cameras... brilliant! (That should read as being laced with sarcasm.)

If I'm in such a state of mind that taking a bat (cricket bat?) to a speed camera seems like a good idea, I'm probably just as likely to welcome the idea of taking out a CCTV camera, as well. Sure, it's a little more risky since the CCTV cameras are constantly recording and being monitored, but their field of view can't be more than 180 degrees, probably less. And if spy movies have taught us anything, it's that CCTVs are the easiest cameras to trick with a well placed picture or hacked video feed.

[Source: BBB.uk via Engadget]

In today's afternoon dose of moving pictures, we peek in on police from Britain at the Volvo Academy for special training on a frozen lake. These kinds of shenanigans are the same sorts of things we do in parking lots come the first snowfall. It's especially important for public safety officials to know the limits of their vehicles and how the safety systems act, however, and that's what the Volvo Academy aims to send them off with. To us, it looks like a fun way to learn how to drive in low traction conditions. We'll be out there doing our own version of this as soon as we can!

Check out the video after the jump.

[Source: TheAutoChannel.com]

Bentley has long been known for its highly fashionable posing. The Scots? Well... not so much.

Which is likely why authorities at the first-ever Scottish Fashion Awards sought out the high-end automaker-- credibility. Yes, the notion of haute couture in aland best known for its shortbread and bagpipes may strike as a bit erm... off-kilter, but it's hard to argue with the visual appeal of an assemblage of Continental Arnages, Continental GTs and Flying Spurs parked outside a castle, no? To that end, the Bentley Boys have signed on as the event's official automotive sponsor.

The Awards will be held at Stirling Castle on May 7.

[Sources: Easier UK; Undiscovered Scotland; Opentopia]