A drive in restaurant for dogs in Oakland, California, USA, is so popular, four more are to open. The Pooch Inn offers nearly 70 canine feasts.
Goodyear has apologised for running a TV commercial which compared a black man's lips to a pair of inflated tyres in Peru. The firm pulled the ad after five days, but it has been asked to make an official apology by a civil rights organisation.
Policemen who direct traffic on Moscow streets have been issued with new orders as the city endures a record breaking cold snap. The "Gaishnik" officers may now pull cars over and ask to sit inside for a few minutes to warm up!
A bridge collapsed in Oklahoma, USA, after truck driver Barry Chalton ignored warnings of a five ton weight limit. He was carrying more than 43 tons of gravel.
Moet et Chandon will no longer provide the bubbly for post race Formula One celebrations, as it is now deemed bad for the firm's image.
A mother whose seven year old son was killed as he crossed a main road is to become a lollipop lady at the spot where he died. Elaine Jaundrill's son Ben was hit by a car while playing near their home in Neston, Cheshire.
A scheme asking motorists to "shop" trucks producing black exhaust smoke and make ownders face fines of up to £5,000 has been attacked by lorry operators. The RAC is urging Britain's drivers to report polluting vehicles by giving registrations and company names to the Vehicle Inspectorate. But former Transport Minister Steven Norris, now Director General of the Road Haulage Association blasted: "It's amazing to see such a selective policy from the RAC.".
In Kitzingen, Germany, Peter Hanser came out of a divorce court and smashed the headlamps and windows of what he thought was his ex-wife's BMW. The car belonged to a complete stranger.
A trucker dumped a ton of quick setting concrete along 150 yards of a busy road in Nice, France. He told police: "Sorry, I pressed the wrong lever.".
Daewoo and the maker of a 'Tracker' style anti theft device are sponsoring a TV show where contestants must "steal" a car and evade capture by Moscow police for 35 minutes to win a Daewoo.
Doncaster businessman Robin Goforth got a shock when he found mice nibbling their way through his gleaming red Ferrari. The tiny terrors caused damage worth £3,000.
The murky world of car repairs is to be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading, following a steep rise in the number of complaints it receives every year. Most of the 26,000 grievances are about sub standard work.
A hard core of drivers are still risking other road users' lives, festive drink drive figures revealed. Now police cheifs, backed by the AA and RAC, are urging the Government to rethink future campaigns. The breath test failure rate in England and Wales was nine per cent - far higher than the five per cent reported last year. But there was welcome relief in Scotland, where failures fell from 0.8 per cent to 0.5 per cent.
Fast food loving motorists are causing traffic chaos on the Isle of Man. McDonald's opened its first drive in restaurant there recently, and police are now warning drivers to expect hour long queues as half mile jams build up in the main town of Douglas.
A pensioner terrified drivers on the M25 by doing 20 mph in the fast lane - in the WRONG direction! Motorists swerved to miss the 84 year old, who thought he was in the slow lane on the other side.
Unlucky pilot Otto Breckmann had to make an emergency landing on a busy highway near Dusseldorf, Germany, and was immediately fined £65 for illegal parking by a patrolling traffic cop.
In Italy, Carlos Netze was sued for divorce by his brunette wife after a radar trap snapped him speeding in his car - with a blonde passenger.
Barry Prior, a 3ft 1in taxi driver, has been banned from driving after 23 accidents in Florida, USA, because he needs cushions to see over the dash.
A law allowing Washington DC police to confiscate kerb crawlers cars proved so successful that it was expanded to include suspected drug dealers. But both schemes have been suspended, as the city car pounds are now full.
And finally, I had to include this letter that I read in the March issue of Max Power, which has to be the funniest car magazine this side of a Skoda Quality Control Report! This magazine represents the best £2.95 that you could spend each month, and goes from strength to strength, even though there is not as much "totty" as there used to be, probably due to the female editor (Sorry, Emma!). Well, anyway, here goes:
Crazy Horses
I don't really know what the term "Brake Horsepower" stands for. What does it mean? Meanwhile, can I take this opportunity to congratulate you on your excellent vid. Watching it gave me great pleasure (Wa##er! - RS). S Williams, W Yorkshire.
The reply:
Right, sit down and pay attention. The term "Brake Horsepower", more commonly known as BHP comes from the highly technical performance testing the manufacturers carry out. Once the car's been built, a skilled test driver takes the vehicle to a top secret proving ground where a horse is tied to the back of the car. The back of the horse is then tied to a solid object - normally a lamp post. The driver then selects forst gear and dials in about 4000 rpm before side stepping the clutch and letting rip, so "braking" the horse in two in the process. The test is repeated, increasing the number of horses each time. When the number of horses becomes too much for the car to "brake" then you have reached your "brake horsepower" figure. For example an Aston Martin Vantage can "brake" 550 horses at one time. Hope this has cleared things up for you and glad you enjoyed the vid - SG.
By the way, SG is not me, but is either Stupid Gallagher or Sir Gavin, two of the staff writers on the mag.
Stephen Graham