Sniff Petrol

Last updated

Sniff Petrol
Founder and OwnerRichard Porter
CategoriesMotoring satire, Motorsport
FrequencyInactive
PublisherOnline
First issueAugust 2001
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Website www.sniffpetrol.com

Sniff Petrol is an inactive online motoring satire magazine, [1] first published in 2001. [2] Sniff Petrol was originally published weekly; [3] due to other commitments of the writers, this schedule was reduced, [4] first to a monthly schedule, and since then to a blog format, formerly updated on a regular basis. It receives over ten thousand hits a day. [5]

Contents

Sniff Petrol articles comment on motoring and motorsport (especially Formula One) events, both real and fictional, by parodying the styles of presentation and language used in various motoring fields. Most notably, this includes motor manufacturer press releases but also extends to motoring magazine reviews and the like. The website ceased activity in 2022, but is still online. TopGear now does a satire section on its website.

Regular features

Alongside satire directed at motoring and motorsport-related news, as well as auto shows and spiders, Sniff Petrol has several long-running regular features, most notably including:

Crazy Dave writes about Formula 1 using a fake urban slang, possibly in an attempt to be relevant to the Red Bull target market, before switching to conventional English for the closing remark which is used to unashamedly promote a product or television programme with which the real life Coulthard is associated.

Campaigning

Sniff Petrol has run several satirical campaigns since its inception. These have included

Sniff Petrol has also produced a number of books, like Crap Cars (2005).

Twitter

Sniff Petrol started a Twitter feed in April 2009. [20] In October 2014, it had over 57,000 followers. [21] The Sniff Petrol Twitter account is used chiefly to give real-time commentary on Formula 1 races and brief comment on motoring news as well as reports of mini-cab journeys undertaken by the author. The Sniff Petrol Twitter feed came 17th in the Humor category at the 2010 Shorty Awards. [22]

Media coverage

Sniff Petrol content has been reproduced on many other websites including US car blog Jalopnik [23] and in other media, including the BBC TV series Top Gear. [24] [25] Porter credits the site (and Jeremy Clarkson's enjoyment of it) as being instrumental in his getting the job of script editor on Top Gear and later The Grand Tour. [26]

Sniff Petrol has been mentioned in national newspapers including The Times , [27] the Daily Telegraph [28] and in the Irish Times . [29]

In 2006, a series of Sniff Petrol spoof MG Rover advertisements were turned into a charity calendar. [30]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ InterconnectIT (2009) Sniff Petrol Case Study
  2. ↑ "Sniff Petrol Issue 1". www.sniffpetrol.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2002.
  3. ↑ InterconnectIT (2009) Sniff Petrol Case Stud
  4. ↑ "Alexa (2010) Site Info, sniffpetrol.com". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  5. ↑ Site Analytics (2010) Site Profile for sniffpetrol.com
  6. ↑ "Sniff Petrol issue 62". www.sniffpetrol.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2005.
  7. ↑ "A week with a Vauxhall Corsa". 27 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "A week with a Vauxhall Corsa". 27 February 2015.
  9. ↑ "A couple of hours with a Jaguar XE". 23 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "Sniff Petrol issue 53". www.sniffpetrol.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2004.
  11. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ↑ "A-rumble with palpable potency". 21 December 2009.
  13. ↑ "2015 Abu Dhabi GP preview". Sniff Petrol. Sniff Petrol. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  14. ↑ "2015 Belgian GP preview". Sniff Petrol. Sniff Petrol. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  15. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. ↑ "Twit Petrol". 14 April 2009.
  21. ↑ Twitter (2013) Sniffpetrol
  22. ↑ "Best Humor on Twitter - the Shorty Awards". Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  23. ↑ "Jalopnik".
  24. ↑ "Depressed Hamilton Stops for Petrol on Way Home". 8 October 2007.
  25. ↑ Top Gear (2007) BBC, Series 10, Episode 2, News segment, 18m 47s
  26. ↑ https://sniffpetrol.com/2022/04/29/who-writes-wrote-this-rubbish/
  27. ↑ The Sunday Times, 18 February 2007, 'Mini Cooper S'
  28. ↑ "The 20 most useful car websites". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 6 April 2023.
  29. ↑ The Irish Times, Wednesday, 20 October 2004, Motors, 'From Beetle to Roller - an eccentric survey of crap cars'
  30. ↑ "MG Rover Enthusiasts 'Sniff Petrol' for Charity". Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
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