Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Some Say He Might Be A Little Shocked: UK man gets $30,000 bill for watching Top Gear]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/03/18/some-say-he-might-be-a-little-shocked-uk-man-gets-30-000-bill/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/03/18/some-say-he-might-be-a-little-shocked-uk-man-gets-30-000-bill/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/03/18/some-say-he-might-be-a-little-shocked-uk-man-gets-30-000-bill/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



Will Pierce has gotten it backwards. The goal is to get paid for watching Top Gear; instead, Pierce earned himself a hefty bill for catching up on the Best. Car. Show. Ever.

Pierce and his son were on a ski trip in France, where there happens to be a paucity of English-language television. To stave off the boredom, out came the laptop and its Vodafone data card. Vacation saved by internet downloads of Clarkson and friends, father and son returned home to a £21,716 ($30,334.40) internet service bill. Needless to say, the humongous charge was something of a surprise. Thankfully, Vodafone kindly waived Pierce's fees with an admonition to check his plan and whether it covers massive data downloads while in other countries. So, the next time you find yourself in foreign lands with time to burn and a hankering for some quality Stigtime, well... consider yourselves warned.

[Source: Newslite]

Some Say He Might Be A Little Shocked: UK man gets $30,000 bill for watching Top Gear originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ISPJeremy ClarksonJeremyClarksonThe StigTheStigtop geartop gear billtop gear vacationtop gear vodaphoneTopGearTopGearBillTopGearVacationTopGearVodaphonevodaphonewireless chargeswireless internetWirelessChargesWirelessInternetWed, 18 Mar 2009 14:26:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1491200/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2009/03/18/some-say-he-might-be-a-little-shocked-uk-man-gets-30-000-bill/1491200/article-detail.xml 1491200 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/03/clarkson_bw_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/03/clarkson_bw.jpg <![CDATA[VIDEO: Lewis Hamilton controls F1 car via Blackberry Storm]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/03/11/video-lewis-hamilton-controls-f1-car-via-blackberry-storm/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/03/11/video-lewis-hamilton-controls-f1-car-via-blackberry-storm/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/03/11/video-lewis-hamilton-controls-f1-car-via-blackberry-storm/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Lewis Hamilton controls F1 car via Blackberry Storm - Click above to watch video

Vodaphone is a huge mobile communications company, and it's also the primary sponsor of the McLaren Mercedes F1 team. The video after the jump shows just what their millions of dollars in sponsorship money can buy: a viral video staring Lewis Hamilton. Vodaphone makes the Blackberry Storm mobile smart phone, and the video kicks off with some office nerds who have hacked the Storm to control an R/C F1 car. They use the phone's built-in accelerometer so that turning the phone like a steering wheel controls the car's direction. The accelerator and the brake, meanwhile, are controlled via buttons on the phone's touch screen.

After publishing a video of their office grand prix on the web, the team of programmers is invited to the garage of McLaren Mercedes where team engineers have adapted the system to control Lewis Hamilton's actual F1 car. Hilarity ensues when Hamilton himself takes the car out on the track, sans driver, and does a lap behind the wheel of the Blackberry Storm. It's an amusing viral video and halfway convincing if we weren't willing to swear on our mothers that McLaren Mercedes would never allow its multi-million dollar F1 car to be controlled via a phone, let alone outfit the car with enough servos to actually perform the functions of steering, braking and changing gears. Follow the jump to watch for yourself. Hat tip to everyone and their mothers.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading VIDEO: Lewis Hamilton controls F1 car via Blackberry Storm

VIDEO: Lewis Hamilton controls F1 car via Blackberry Storm originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blackberry stormBlackberryStormlewis hamiltonLewisHamiltonmclaren mercedesMclarenMercedesvodaphonevodaphone mclaren mercedesVodaphoneMclarenMercedesWed, 11 Mar 2009 14:54:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1484959/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2009/03/11/video-lewis-hamilton-controls-f1-car-via-blackberry-storm/1484959/article-detail.xml 1484959 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/03/hamiltonstorm_opt_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/03/hamiltonstorm_opt.jpg <![CDATA[Prancing Steel Horse: custom Scuderia Ferrari chopper]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/09/prancing-steel-horse-custom-scuderia-ferrari-chopper/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/09/prancing-steel-horse-custom-scuderia-ferrari-chopper/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/09/prancing-steel-horse-custom-scuderia-ferrari-chopper/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

There are a lot of superlatives that could be equally applied to Ferraris and to custom choppers by their respective enthusiasts, and we're not going to try to name them all. But that's probably why there have been so many efforts to blend the two, with varied results.

One builder of custom choppers built a red stallion for Michael Schumacher upon his retirement. Another motorcycle craftsman built two one-off sport-bikes: one powered by a Ferrari V12 and another with a V8 out of a Ferrari 308. Even legendary custom bike designer Arlen Ness styled a chopper after the iconic Testarossa.

The latest crossover between the world of the steel stallion and the prancing horse is this custom chopper, powered by the 140-hp engine from the Triumph 955 Triple. The high-gloss red paintjob even comes complete with race livery, but after watching Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, we're surprised the builder didn't include the team's principle sponsor. The bike was recently up for sale on eBay for about fifteen grand.

Watch the video after the jump.

[Source: Motorpasion]

Continue reading Prancing Steel Horse: custom Scuderia Ferrari chopper

Prancing Steel Horse: custom Scuderia Ferrari chopper originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Feb 2007 17:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>choppercustomferrarimarlboromotorbikemotorcycleschumacherscuderiashellvideovodaphoneFri, 09 Feb 2007 17:03:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/750820/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2007/02/09/prancing-steel-horse-custom-scuderia-ferrari-chopper/750820/article-detail.xml 750820 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/02/ebayf1chopper_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/02/ebayf1chopper.jpg -1 2