Meet Sluggy Patterson...

Super Bowl Sunday is almost upon us, which means that every manufacturer worth its salt is putting the final touches to a TV advert designed to have the maximum impact on Americans during one of the games interminable commercial breaks.

One already lined up for Sunday is Volkwagen's interview with the supposed inventor of 'Punch Buggy', the car-based game where someone gets punched every time a VW rolls past.

The advert claims the game is played worldwide, but the Autoblog UK office was only aware of the game through American acquaintances and The Simpsons. Nevertheless, the rules are hardly difficult to understand, and Sluggy Patterson makes a conspicuously good character to spend 80 seconds with.

It's also particularly comforting that after a decade of depressing, happy-slapping headlines, Volkswagen has found the time to put some old-fashioned fun back into punching people.

Enjoy...