You’ve probably already read a bit about our foreign versions of Top Gear. Yes, the colonies strike back, with America and Australia both prepping their own TGs.
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Just read an interesting piece by James May (yes, he of Top Gear fame). He’s got a column in the Daily Torygraph - at least I hope he’s writing it and it’s not cranked out by some well briefed ghost writer. That’s no slight on you James - I’m sure you do write your own stuff. And let me be clear before someone jumps to wrong conclusions - that’s also no slight on anyone else at Top Gear either - I still love Clarkson in The Sunday Times, both columns are superb and I am sure he’s writing the stuff. Hammond also. Take a bow guys. Clever spin-off stuff going on, too (Brainiac rocks!).Â
IÂ just wonder sometimes with some of the things I see in newspapers - not with these blokes though.
Anyway, back to the point - James has an interesting viewpoint on the computer driven machine. Personally, I enjoy driving and it’s an utter pleasure, however woefully crappy the car may be. It’s you + hardware. Simple. Effectively, you’re the software and why would you want to take that out of the equation?
What’s left? Read the newspaper, browse t’Internet? Noooo!
There is pleasure in actually driving and I think that is a pleasure like walking - there can be a joy to be had in walking across Everest or Africa, but a five minute stroll to the shops for a can of beans and a newspaper first thing can also be strangely rewarding.
But is there some drudgery that can be taken out of the equation…? See Mr Voelcker’s below comment. ‘Just find a parking space and I’ll be back later - don’t wait up.’
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Via
Forbes.com
Commentary
The True Cost Of March Madness
By Chris Schonberger
In 2006, one critic took on a report by Challenger, Gray &Christmas–a report claiming that March Madness costs employers $3.8 billion or more in lost productivity from workers.
The critic, Slate’s Jack Schafer, wrote that Challenger–a consulting company headquartered in Chicago–reached this catastrophic figure “based on an average wage of $18 an hour and 58 million college basketball fans spending 13.5 minutes online each of the 16 business days” between the start of the tournament and the championship game.
Schafer poked a few obvious holes in the assumptions behind this calculation–most notably that the base of rabid college basketball fans is probably not that large and that there are a lot of other ways employees procrastinate during a normal workday (such as online shopping and congregating by the proverbial water cooler).
Indeed, an AOL and Salary.com survey from 2005 revealed that the average American worker wastes 2.09 hours per eight-hour workday, mostly by hanging 10 on the Net. By 2007, that number was down to 1.7 hours, so maybe Challenger needs to crunch some numbers on the waning loyalties of NHL fans.
As a writer, I am inherently unproductive. But these calculations–and Schafer’s misgivings–spurred me to ponder the true nature of workplace efficiency. For one thing, are those 13.5 minutes of college hoops really in addition to the preexisting 2.09 hours of inefficiency? Even if they are, it’s clear that obsessive bracketology is just one prevalent example of a wider phenomenon.
So why did college basketball bear the brunt of this exposĂ©? Perhaps the college basketball lobby isn’t strong enough. What about the presidential race? A year of obsessive clicking on URLs containing polls and punditry must take a heavy toll on the nation’s productivity, no?
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Today there’s a twin-pack, the first-ever Car Lust and Car Disgust for what is fundamentally the same car. Obviously this betrays some conflicted feelings on my part, but more than that, it shows how small changes can ruin the basic essence and appeal of a very compelling car.
Back in the dark ages of this blog, I raved about the Lamborghini Miura–one of the earliest of the true exotics, and still one of the most compelling supercars ever made. Its Marcello Gandini-penned organic lines had “a fierce beauty that broadcast [the Miura’s] status as a feral predator of the road.”
From the Miura’s animal-like ferocity, Gandini and Lamborghini moved on to pure, malevolent, evil. The Lamborghini Countach first debuted in 1971 as a show car, leaving stunned reaction in its wake, and then went into production essentially unchanged in 1974, with a 4-liter V-12 armed with no fewer than six Weber carbs.
The Countach is most famous in its later, tarted-up form (more on that later), but it isn’t as dramatic to me as the original 1974 Countach LP400. The name Countach means, in the rural dialect of the region, “Holy smokes!” Or, you know, something somewhat stronger than that. The name is apt.
This car takes my breath away, like a punch right to the solar plexus. Its visual threat triggers my fight-or-flight instinct; but I can’t take my eyes off it. Everything about the car is glittering, malicious cruelty, menace expressed in purposeful, viciously wedgy aggression. The Countach is the coolly vicious Cleopatra, the overly vengeful warlord reigning over the other wedgy sports cars of the 1970s.
Okay, maybe I’m going too far. But there’s something chillingly beautiful about the original Countach, an expression of barely veiled cruelty atop the obvious supple muscle. I’d compare its combination of elegance and menace to Ian Fleming’s James Bond–that Bond had a thin veneer of culture and style that concealed the carefully controlled violence beneath. That’s the Countach LP400 to me.
It’s hard for me to imagine the reaction to this car back in 1974–a time when most cars on the road looked like this. But in the extravagantly over-the-top 1980s, of course, the Countach really came into its own as an adolescent boy’s dream.
By the 1980s, the Countach had evolved into the 5000 Quattrovalve, with wider tires, ground effects, and a big honking rear wing. Much of the LP400’s baleful purposefulness had been diluted by the 5000 Quattrovalve’s me-too visual gimcrackery, but the fundamental appeal was still there, backed by a 5.2-liter, 48-valve version of the V-12. The Countach was still fast, it was still hot, cramped, and basically useless for anything but full-throttle running, and it was still single-minded in its desire for mayhem.
Like its Ferrari counterpart, the Ferrari Testarossa, the Countach was immediately adopted as a mainstream automotive superhero; teenagers put Countach posters up on their wall right next to Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and Joe Montana. The Countach was the dictionary definition of Car Lust for an entire generation.
The Countach’s all-pervasive popularity in the 1980s is perhaps best summed-up by its central role in the game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, that pitch-perfect satire of 1980s culture and trends. Most of the great cars of the 1980s–the Corvette, the Trans-Am, the Testarossa, and the Porsche 911–are represented in the game under fairly obvious aliases. But the Countach gets pride of place; the Countach’s doppelganger, the Infernus, is the fastest street car in the game, and the player receives his own white Countach roughly halfway through the game. Cruising through a fake Miami in a Countach Infernus, wearing a bright blue suit and listening to Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean … well, for me it’s a little bit of dream fulfillment.
I don’t actually want to like this car. It’s too easy, too obvious, too popular. People who don’t like cars like the Countach. But, especially with the LP400, I don’t have any choice in the matter; I’m drawn to it despite my will. The Countach is so visceral that it speaks directly to my id.
Well, mostly. The next post will outline the exception.
The top picture came from JustinsSite.com, the second from Lamborghini Blog, the third from Balti-Classic Cars, and the fourth from Flickr user Djivy.
–Chris H.
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Why choose a Specialist over a Generalist? Independent over Dealer?
As a specialist we know your car better, especially when it comes to the right way to make economical repairs that a general repair shop wouldn’t know about or a Subaru dealer would never consider. Sometimes a vehicle will develop a pattern failure and a real solution needs to be found or a more economical repair procedure can be had.
Through the years we have found solutions to replacing expensive parts by making repairs to existing components rather than just blindly install new ones. We have been able to become very good at repairs and service work by specializing in Subaru and we try to share this experience with our customer with lower labor prices.
We know what parts we can use on your Subaru without sacrificing longevity. Most automakers have become pure design and assemble companies leaving the parts manufacture to other companies. These auto parts companies are free to sell the same parts in aftermarket channels with out the Subaru logo. While in some cases in only makes sense to stick with Subaru parts especially when it comes to slower moving items that may have not been introduced in the aftermarket by the companies that originally made the parts for Subaru. There is also a good chance that the exact replacement part can be found at a 20% savings if you know how to look (we do).
From top to bottom we really know your Subaru well and want to help you get as many trouble free miles out of it as possible. We have seen these cars go well over 300k and I am the owner of a 1992 Legacy with 292k and counting. We take pride in servicing cars with higher miles and often have suggestions to help keep them going. Even though your Subaru may be getting up there in miles don’t discount just how long they will run.
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CLEARWATER, Florida — Nick Hogan, scion of the reality-TV Hogan family, is suing the Pinellas County sheriff for releasing recordings of telephone calls between him and his parents. In a separate action, a judge on Tuesday denied the 17-year-old’s request to be removed from solitary confinement on the grounds it is causing him “unbearable anxiety,” according to the Associated Press.
David Houston, one of the young Hogan’s attorneys, accused the media of “vilifying” Nick Hogan in an appearance Tuesday with Headline News‘ Nancy Grace. Houston said Nick Hogan, whose real name is Nicholas Bollea, has raised about $60,000 to contribute to the care of John Graziano, his friend who was injured in the August 2007 crash that led to Hogan’s imprisonment. However, Houston said he did not know the name of the foundation that Hogan had set up for Graziano before he was sentenced and admitted that funds have not yet been disbursed to the Graziano family, after being pressed on the matter by Grace.
Houston said that Nick Hogan has seen the prison chaplain but has not been allowed to use the facility’s library because that would expose him to the general prison population. Officials say he is segregated from other prisoners in the Clearwater county jail because he is a minor. Hogan, however, was convicted in adult court.
Houston insisted that a controversial jailhouse conversation between Hulk Hogan and Nick Hogan, in which they discussed a potential new reality series, was simply an attempt by a father to reassure his son and to give him hope for the future while he is behind bars. Media observers have howled that such discussions show insensitivity and lack of respect for Graziano, who is said to be in a semi-conscious state due to a severe head injury.
Nick Hogan’s lawsuit says the jailers improperly released the telephone calls to the media. It also allowed a news crew to film the family in the jail.
What this means to you: The latest goings-on in the soap opera that Hulk and Nick Hogan’s lives have become. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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The new Citroen supermini-MPV is unveiled! (Look at the previous spy shots.) The Citroen C3 MPV is a vital part of the company’s plans because as well as the Note, it will aim to steal sales from the Honda Jazz and Renault Modus, plus the next-generation Opel Meriva.
The C3 MPV is targeting customers who want space and flexibility in a compact, eco-friendly package, but designers will also tempt them with style.
At the front, the bold nose gets intricate headlamps, neat lower spotlights, large air intakes and a big grille, on which the famous double-chevron badge is mounted. Moving back, the curvy A-pillars are similar to those on the C4 Picasso, but are thinner and have more glass for better side vision.
A production-ready version of the C3 MPV will debut at the Paris Motor Show in October, with sales starting in early 2009. The range is set to be priced from around $20,000.
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Sometimes it takes a tragedy to highlight important safety concerns. Courtney Messanbaugh points to the story of singer Steven Curtis Chapman, whose daughter was killed in a backover accident. Chapman and his family talked about their loss with People magazine in an effort to prevent future tragedies like this whenever possible.
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It’s official: the gas guzzler is dead.
In the past 24 hours, both Ford and General Motors have conceded that the current shift to smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles is permanent.
The big two, who for decades have based their businesses on building thirsty pick-ups and large cars, are now convinced that consumer preferences have changed for good.
And confirmation of that cultural shift in the US came with the release of the latest monthly sales figures.
For the first time in 17 years, Ford’s iconic F-Series truck has been knocked off its perch – by not just one, but four four-cylinder cars.
The F-Series came fifth behind the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.
Meanwhile, General Motors will close four North American truck and off-roader plants and ramp up production of more fuel-efficient vehicles. It is even considering offloading its Hummer brand.
At the same time, it has approved funding for the Chevrolet Volt plug-in electric vehicle, which it plans to release by the end of 2010, and is launching a new global compact car and adding extra shifts at plants producing smaller cars.
GM chairman and chief executive Rick Wagoner says the changes in buying patterns are “more structural than cyclical”.
“We at GM don’t think this is a spike or temporary shift; we believe that it is, by and large, permanent,” he told a press conference.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally agrees.
“I think we’re seeing a structural shift where, with the prices being high in the United States, we’re seeing exactly what happened in Europe a number of years ago, where the customers are going to make economic decisions, and they’re going to move toward smaller and medium-sized vehicles,” he said.
Spare a thought for Ford Australia, which has just released its all new FG Falcon and Holden, which recently started shipping Pontiacs to the US.
Our local Ford and Holden businesses seem to have their future pinned to large vehicles and four-wheel-drives, largely at the direction of their global masters.
But it looks as though they are finally getting the message as well. Holden is talking about possible four-cylinder and hybrid Commodores, while Ford will begin building the Focus small car in 2011.
Within five years, the face of Australian manufacturing will have changed for good. Holden’s Elizabeth plant could be building four-cylinder Commodores, Toyota could be making hybrid Camrys and Ford’s Broadmeadows plant could be building more Focuses and diesel Territories than Falcons.
What do you think? Is the large car dead or are Ford and GM over-reacting?
Richard Blackburn
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