I'm writing this on the day that the world lost both Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett (Majors) and I can't really find a connection to link either of them to cars. I suppose the blonde bombshell who played Jill Munroe, one of the original Charlie's Angels, used to regularly have shots taken of her long legs as she got gracefully out of some 70s gas guzzler, but apart from that – I'm stumped!

I did find this rather grainy video of 'Jacko' dancing along in the back of a car to R Kelly's Ignition which was filmed as part of a TV documentary, and I also read about the time he danced on top of a car moments before his appearance in a Santa Barbara court which was deemed by the article's author as "one of the most bizarre moments of my journalism career.", but then that was perhaps part of Jacko's appeal - he wasn't known for his sensible nature, was he?

So, as the world remembers two icons, both who got their big breaks in the 70s, the Hoot team says, "Farewell and thank you."

# posted by Fuse @ 6:39 AM  0 Comments

We've heard a strange story recently about a man who was so worried that thieves could steal his precious 1963 surf blue Mini Morris that he put double doors onto his front room and parked it next to his three piece.

Of course his car insurance provider thought it was a great idea, but we're not sure how many of us would get away with it. Mums and partners tend not to want to share their front room with anything oily or rusty. And no, you probably shouldn't describe your dad as either of those things.

We've also heard (for many, many years) that Minis are a great buy for a young driver. Now, we're not talking about the brand new, souped up, fat bottomed Minis that are about as mini as a Mondeo, but we're talking about the old ones. The ones that rattle your bones and - if you ever manage to squeeze onto the back seat – feel like you're sitting on the road with nothing between you and the tarmac except 2cms of air and a piece of cardboard.

Yes, old ones are the best – and they can be picked up pretty cheaply too. OK, you'll have to know your way around the engine bay and probably be best friends with a welder. And you'll need to drive pretty safely, because airbags and anti-lock brakes were the stuff of the future when these little beauties rolled off the assembly line, but if you can deal with all these things you might get your motor on the road and get a year's car insurance all for under £1500 – it is doable, you know and oh so cool.

Image ©tonylanciabeta via flickr, under Creative Commons licence

# posted by Fuse @ 6:28 AM  0 Comments

Wacky racers will be hitting the circuit of Goodwood again for this year's Festival of Speed over the first weekend of July. The specially made cars are a brilliant addition to the new and old motor cars on display at the festival. All eleven cars will be up and running including Dastardly and Muttley, Penelope Pitstop, Peter Perfect and The Ant Hill Mob. The young drivers dress up in character and can even be heard hurling abuse at each other as they line up for the start.

As well as the Wacky racers, Lewis Hamilton will be on hand to entertain the crowds and to mark the Mini's 50th birthday; Lord March will be seeing how many girls in minis he can fit into a Mini. This of course is on top of the festival's usual array of vintage and more current F1 and racing cars all trying to make it up the famous hill climb.

Watch out for the ant hill mob though, last year they were rather lascivious!

Image © Damo1977 via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence

# posted by Fuse @ 7:02 AM  0 Comments