Drift King Bear – by John Kimball
Artist, racing driver, martial arts pal of Starting Grid, John Kimball has made another cool piece of automotive art. He created this picture for his nephew’s birthday. It’s the Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya, in teddy bear form, drifting a Miata.
We’ve featured John’s work before: His GT40 and 767B were cool, but not quite as awesome as Drift King Bear.
Who else wants this as a T-shirt?
For more of John’s art, visit his Tumblr page.
Now I know this doesn’t have much to do about cars, but this is so awesome, you need to know about this. The project has been called “Red Bull Stratos”, and it is insane!
Felix Baumgartner is attempting to break the speed of sound in freefall by jumping from a space capsule, at a altitude three times higher than what commercial jets fly at. The air is so thin at that altitude, 40 seconds into the jump he should hit 690 miles an hour.
Things should get started in around 40 minutes or so. Check out the live stream as he progresses. Wishing you massive luck, Felix.
Check out more about Red Bull Stratos here.
Update: 10:30pm- The countdown is underway!
Update: 10:43pm- Mission aborted due to gusty winds. 
We’ll try and cover more when it happens…
10/10/2012- Update: Meteorologist Don Day has confirmed that a Thursday launch will not be possible. The next weather window opens on Sunday October 14th at 6:30 AM MDT.
Update: 10/14/2012- 10:48: Launch going well. OMG, he’s about to leave the capsule!
My girlfriend and I rarely have the same weekends off, because of our jobs, but this weekend it worked out. So this afternoon Lisa and I went to the LeMay museum in Tacoma. We’d never been there before, but had heard a lot about it. It was exciting to see what cars were being shown!
Below is a quick slideshow of some of our favorites, both inside and parked in the car park. (Again, sorry for the crappy resolution.)
My top two were the Jaguar XJ220 and the A1GP Formula car that was mounted on the wall. We would have taken more photos, but something in the museum was interfering with our cameras and messing with the resolution. I missed taking a picture of a Lotus 35, and a few other classic Indy race cars because of that…Grr.
Fun fact- We also learned that many of the cars are swapped out every three months, so we’ll be going back soon.
John has been sending us an amazing flood of pictures and videos from last week’s JAE meet on our Facebook page. I keep saying that John’s footage has helped us feel like we were at the meet too.
However, this footage from Broken Media has really put the icing on the cake. John’s Starlet is featured here too!
Thanks again, John! Totally ace.
We got these photos from John Pattison, one of our ‘resident Starlet owners’ on our Facebook page of his trip to the JAE (Japanese Auto Extravaganza) over in the United Kingdom. We love attending organized meets like these, especially when the weather is super-nice, so thanks for John for sharing and making us feel like we were there!
From what we hear about the typically gloomy UK weather, it sounds like the JAE guys lucked out with the sunshine.
“The show is a 3 day even allowing like minded people to get together and camp have a beer and catch up. There are attendees from Europe as well as the UK.” – John P. It’s always interesting to see how different people take to modifying their cars, and having three days to check it all out gives you plenty of time to sample all of the styles available.
These are just a sample from John, and I’m hoping this post will guilt him into letting us share more. 
With all the modifications you can do to your automobile, it is very hard to stand out in this day and age.
What hasn’t been done? What has been done too many times? What makes your ride unique?
Bright green wheels are nothing new but this one really stood out to me and he has a fish as a hood prop.
In case some of you did not know, August 8th was “International AE86″ day. There were meet and greets taking place all over the world. This is one of the things that brings all of us car people together. You can do a search and you will find coverage of this international event from all parts of the world.
This is Northern California’s coverage presented by Slide Your Ride and Performance Options. The location was at Toyota of Oakland.
Two links to blogs that covered the event
Most of you will probably be thinking right now… “Oh great. He’s changed the site again.” But actually it was worse than that.
We got hacked. That’s what happened. Properly. They went in, and wrecked the backend code that made the site load properly. Once I figured it out, I was like this for a few minutes…
Oh, I was super-heated…
Rather than trying to reconstruct the mess, I decided to put the site on ‘light mode.’
I’m still trying to fix a few things, but I made sure that all of the posts work, and all of the links are still active, That’s all I’m going to do for a little bit.
New posts are still coming. They’re just going to look a bit different for a bit.
Punks.
We’ve all seen ‘Wagon Attack’. A video about a guy who buys a Honda Civic wagon for $1000, and has a blast blazing through the dunes of Michigan. Besides just being awesome , the ‘lesson’ behind the movie was how older cars can have a much higher fun value/dollar ratio than the modern equivalent.
As car people, the film raises a point worth considering. We all know that there are cars for sale that are ’diamonds in the rough’. On the other hand, we’ve all been guilty of looking at the new Scion FRS, and wondering what that would be like to own. (Tell me you haven’t done that at least one time!)
Especially when approaching a new project, the question should be asked; “Is purchasing an older car actually worth it?” Here are just some points to consider.
Now of course there are some downsides, but it’s just something to think about…
I’m loving this Mercedes AMG F1 jacket. It’s pretty slick, and the neutral colors mean that you could wear it with alot of different types of gear.
Not good news! Jeremy Clarkson, during a South African radio interview, mentioned that there will be no new Top Gear episodes until 2013. Presumably this is because everyone in the UK will be busy with the Summer Olympics. I am highly disappointed by this. Until the summer olympics (purposely not capitalized to show disdain) includes driving events and curling, they may as well be just another track and field competition. When was the last time a track and field competition forced the cancellation of something as important as watching three middle aged men cock about with cars?
Courtesy of TopGear.wikia.com
Wait a tic. What if the Top Gear guys are not making any new episodes because they are doing the opening ceremonies? Surely this is what is happening, it’s the only thing that makes sense. There will be an elaborate display of synchronized Reliant Robin tumbling and camping trailer destruction amid a backdrop of a symphony of internal combustion orchestrated by Maestro Stig.
Whew, I feel better now.
via Final Gear
Photo credit: Edmunds Inside Line
Fiat popularity is experiencing a groundswell in North America with sales growing each month. The diminutive scamp 500 is the only model currently on sale here in North America and is available in an array of flavors, from econo grade Pop to chic Lounge and jaw droppingly fun Abarth. In the next year or so, Fiat will be adding this car, the Panda-esque 500L, to its North American line up. I predict the 500L will sell well as Fiat does a really good job building four door hatch/wagon things. The thing that mystifies me is why is this car disguised?
It has already been revealed in all its Panda-like glory to the public at the Geneva Motor Show. Could they be trying to hide the differences that the North American version will have? Perhaps, but this car appears to be a Euro-spec 500L due to the lack of amber and red side reflectors. To add fuel to the mystery, this car was parked in the garage of the building that houses Edmunds Inside Line‘s offices in Detroit. What’s going on here? Is Fiat just teasing us while they prepare a special edition Abarth 500 convertible for me to buy?
More pictures after the jump. Caution: awesome Italian interior styling ahead.
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Feature post written by Joey Sim
Just a little slide...
For those of you that haven’t had a chance to come out to an autocross event, you probably don’t know what you’re missing out on. There are many things that make it a great experience: the competition, the intensity level for the entire time that you spend on track and, most importantly, the camaraderie of your fellow autocrossers. The people who I’ve met out on the track have, persistently, turned out to be some of the nicest, friendliest, and helpful people that I’ve ever met.
The friendships that I’ve developed over my eight years of autocrossing have left a lasting, positive impression on my life. It might sound a little melodramatic but these people have become a family to me over the years. We all share the same addiction. More than any one individual, the community has been there for me whenever I’ve been in need. If I had personal drama that I needed to talk out, these people were there for me. They’ve offered an ear, or a hug or a guiding hand (sometimes even with a beer in it!). Through these friendships, I got what has to be a rare opportunity for a poor twenty-something college student; I got the chance to drive Godzilla!
Seattle’s Book-it Repertory Theatre has adapted for the stage Garth Stein’s book “The Art of Racing in the Rain”. This book is close to the hearts of racers and dog lovers for its truthful description of what the life of the average racing driver is like narrated eloquently and knowledgeably by a dog named Enzo. This production has successfully captured the intensity and emotion of the book and added a colorful and humorous personification of Enzo in the form of David S. Hogan. Mr. Hogan is a man who is clearly part dog for his ability to capture the movement, attitude and elegance of a dog with touching eloquence and humor.
One would normally think staging a play with a canine narrator would prove problematic. This has proven to not be the case, as this adaptation by Myra Platt has split narration duties among the members of the cast. Enzo the dog remains the primary storyteller describing the tale of his human, Denny Swift’s journey through marriage and fatherhood and the heartbreaking crises of life amid a backdrop of the ups and downs of a racing career. This play had the audience laughing, crying and cheering for Enzo and Denny. A great book has been made into a great play.
The Art of Racing in the Rain runs through May 13 at Book-It Repertory Theatre located at Seattle Center. For more information and to purchase tickets visit the Book-It website.
This Thursday, I’ll be in Las Vegas driving the 500 Abarth flat out to win you a chance to win a your own 500 Abarth track experience.
Go to Fiat USA’s Facebook “Drive For The Fans” page and pick my team: Bad Boys. I will drive flat out to win you a chance at 500 Abarth hoonage, because flat out is how I drive.
Be sure to pick team Bad Boys by Wednesday April 25, the other teams won’t drive flat out like we will.
I spent this weekend at the track with some friends. While the weekend did not result how I intended, I do have a post getting prepared for you guys later. Stay tuned…
…actually a few days ago, but I just got ahold of it today.
Drift Union is one of the only ‘local’ drift teams that my buddies keep tabs on. Not only do they know how to have a complete blast as a team, but the way their cars have evolved over the last few years has been pretty sweet.
They’ve adopted the nickname ‘Team Purple’ among some of my friends, just because of the unique color combo on the three car group. Go team, go. Also, it’s sweet to see some shots of my local karting track, PGP Motorsports park in this video.
Check out Drift Union on their blog here.
Photo credit: Gary Schneider - mygenerallee.com
The Masters golf tournament was just won by a cool guy named Bubba Watson. Bubba is a professional golfer who did one of the smartest things I’ve ever heard of a golfer doing. Bubba recently started winning golf tournaments and rather than buy some gaudy Escalade or Bentley, he bought a General Lee. Awesome. Bubba’s car is “Lee #1″ and is seen jumping in the credits to the “Dukes of Hazzard”.
Way to go Bubba, I would so love to see the General Lee doing a celebratory smoking burnout in a golf course parking lot.
I’m getting more used to getting behind the camera, and taking shots myself. I was just happy that none of these pictures turned out to be blurry!
Plus I happened to be in the area when this exotic car meet and greet was going on, and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take some pictures of some neat pieces kit. I loved the brown Diablo, and the twin Atoms.
So Kyoko has Cantrell Motorsports plastered all over her. I figured that it was about time to find the place and take a look inside. The shop is based in Kirkland, surprisingly on my normal commute to work. I didn’t want to be ‘that guy’ running around with his jaw dropped at some of the cool cars I saw, but I couldn’t help myself. I am ‘that guy’.
I was impressed with what I saw being worked on inside, like an E30 had been stripped down to the frame, and a Lotus Espirt. However, my personal-favorite was a silver E36 four-door with a cage inside. *heart-skip beat*
The designer of the Porsche 911 has passed away. FA “Butzi” Porsche was the grandson of the founder of the Porsche company and led the Porsche design studio in the early 1960s. His iconic 911 will celebrate its 50th year on sale in 2013. FA Porsche also designed the 904 GTS racing car and countless non-automotive products as an industrial designer.
The 911 is his legacy. Its shape is instantly recognizable by most everyone with even a slight familiarity of Western culture. Thank you Mr. Porsche for your contributions to automotive culture. A few pictures of my favorite 911 variants follow.
Photo Credit: Vienna Institute of Technology
This tiny little F1 car is .285mm long. A team of smarty pantses at the Vienna Institute of Technology used a technique called “Two Photon Lithography” to quickly 3d print this car as a demonstration of their ability to rapidly build teensy little biomechanical parts. This will be helpful in medicine as doctors use this technology to build frameworks for a patient’s body to generate bone around.
I think this is very cool technology and think it’s neat that they made a race car to demonstrate their abilities.
via Boing Boing
Photo credit: Fiat USA
Fiat is holding a contest to select the first group of people to attend the premier Fiat 500 Abarth Driving Experience. If you are selected, you’ll get an all expenses paid trip to Las Vegas where you’ll be taught how to hoon the Fiat 500 Abarth in autocross and open track environments. There is also a lapping competition involved, in which I suspect readers of StartingGrid are likely to perform well. Sounds like a blast to me, where is my Elvis cape?
The universally praised book “The Art of Racing in the Rain” by Garth Stein has been developed for the stage. We racing folk will be able to see our favorite novel as a play opening on April 20 at Book-It Repertory Theatre in Seattle. I can’t wait to see Denny and Enzo in the flesh. Where are they going to find a talking dog?
The cast of the play recently visited the ProFormance Racing School to get a feel for driving on a track. Don Kitch, the head of ProFormance, is a minor character in the novel. I wonder what he thought of his stage counterpart?
Click this link for information on seeing this play.
Photo credit: ProFormance Racing School
I’ve been absent from the Blog for quite a while. This silly thing called a “day job” keeps getting in the way. While I haven’t had time to blog, I have had the time to keep my sanity. You see, just down the street from my second office is an old warehouse. About a decade ago, it was converted to an indoor kart track. It is dark and cold (it was about 40 degrees in there last night), but it allows me to forget about daily grind for a bit.
You see, once the helmet goes on… it is a different world.
This weekend, a buddy of mine was able to provide a quick pickup on some Miata brake calipers while we were working on the car this weekend. (Turns out that I’m now running Kasumi’s old brake calipers on my Kyoko now. Small world.)
I nicknamed his car ‘Panda’, because of the black and white color combo that he’s running on his NA. He’s also running ‘Kasumi’s’ old rear wing.
About 20 years ago, when Sega came out with ‘Pole Position’, video-games weren’t much help for the up- and- coming racing driver. However, now with the advances in modern video game technology, I feel that racing games have become a useful driver development tool.
For drivers like myself, who don’t have access or budget to spend all day at the track or in a state-of-the-art racing simulator, using a video game is useful aid for when I am able to set a wheel on the track. Of course, you don’t get the same kinesthetic information as you would in a real car. I don’t think that racing games should be used to simulate real-world physical driving. However, I think a good video game is useful to develop stronger mental programming within the driver.
As part of my own training regime, I’ll play a racing game after my workout in order to help me improve my mental environment. In my mind’s eye, I visualize having strong race starts, keeping consistent lap times, how to overtake difficult opponents, etc. I’ll take the time to analyze my own ‘self-talk’ while I’m racing, to see where I can help myself improve my focus over an extended period of time.
From the conversations in the garage before I “get into the car”, to the post-race debrief where I’m analyzing my recent performance, I try to visualize the ‘full experience.’ In short, I do my best to provide my brain with strong mental imagery to grow from.
Of course this is all to a point. Mental development is all about training the subconscious mind. As I’ve written in articles before, the brain doesn’t understand the word ‘no’, so if a driver approaches a video game with the same mental focus and attention as he would his real car/kart, it helps to bridge the gap in his/her subconscious mind for the next time that he’s on track.
When developing good mental habits, I believe that you have to provide the brain with a scenario that it will believe in order for the training to be the most effective. Otherwise, the training doesn’t work. For example, rather than trying to focus on winning every race, which is improbable, it can be of more benefit to train the mind on how to learn how to make the best of a challenging situation. (For example, starting a race in 13th place or in a slower car.)
If you’re into racing, do you do this sort of mental programming too? Think about it next time you pop in a copy of Gran Turismo. You may have just found another use for your Playstation…
When I was two or three, my parents had a Saab 900 Turbo Aero S. We used to go for rides in it all the time. I thought it was pretty quick, but I didn’t really get what kind of car it was until I was older. That was the one I wish they had kept for when I got my driver’s license.
I’ve always had a longing eye for the Saab Turbo, and a soft spot for the Saab marque. When we learned the Swedish company was being axed, I found myself thinking about that old car.
I wonder if I’ll ever get one of my own… Maybe one day.
Note: I’d advise watching the video in full screen.
Years ago, Nakai-san and the Raul-Welt brand made a quiet, but impactful presence on the automotive scene. Creating small shockwaves for those in the ‘know’ in the corners of the internet, Nakai-san’s cars sat in a comfortably ‘hip’ niche in tuning world brandishing a uniquely rough fusion of German performance and Japanese styling.
Recently, RWB fever has exploded through the tuning world. On the one hand, that’s great! I would never blame Nakai-san for wanting his business to reach as many people as possible. It’s clear that he really wants owners of Raul-Welt cars to enjoy his work and share his passion for driving.
However on the other hand, the question gains to be raised: “Does RWB become any less unique, the more people that know about it? Is RWB starting to become too mainstream? Can Nakai-san’s creations become ‘played out’, if people start to attempt to copy the style?
Does any of that even matter?
Quick snap of me at Sykart, keeping the skills sharp. Thanks Erico for grabbing the snaps.
Buses are crap.
I’m sorry, but they just are. You never know when they are going to turn up, and when they do, three of them come at once – and all of them are late.
I would almost never want to feature a car that was sitting on *gasp* Craiglist *gasp*, especially with the horror that Kasumi caused me.
However this car made such an impression on me after being brought to my attention, I couldn’t help myself! This car is sitting pretty local to me at 425 Motorsports. Maybe we should go down and check it out ourselves! They aren’t that far away from where I’m sitting right now.
Kyoko: Winter Mode complete.
I never thought of the winter season, as an ‘off-season’. Rather, it was just a season where everything was just really cold. Although the summer racing season is over, it doesn’t mean that you can’t still be a car guy during the winter.
Here are just a few ideas, I came up with on the fly:
Over a thousand pounds to prepare hundreds of hours in designing and fabricating the chassis, running gear, engine position, steering and sub-frames. Using an air-cooled four stroke Honda engine, running on split rim alloys, LED lighting and a Saxo VTS seat.
All sounds very exciting until you tell people it’s a lawnmower!
“Yes a lawnmower, no all cutting gear is removed, it’ll do over 40mph off road.” That was the phrase that I spoke every time someone asked me what I was doing every night in the run up to the BLMRA 12hr Lawnmower race in September.
For four weeks this took over my life, for four weeks I was Eddie Jordan, I even started wearing crap shirts!
In my last post, we saw how trains we’re poking ahead slightly in this battle, partly down to cost. One of the ways we could all save a few pennies, especially in this climate where companies seek to get every last penny they can from us, is to get our hands dirty and get under the bonnets or our cars.
Most things on cars, all though seem incredibly complicated and difficult, are relatively simple; older cars especially, which is handy as they are more likely to break down. For example, the ABS system on the old Calibra is a simple cog on the driveshaft and a small magnetic sensor.
As the teeth of the gear pass the sensor, the magnet will pick up strong or weak pulses, feeding back to the cars computer, letting it know that that wheel is spinning, therefore not locked up and skidding. It’s a beautifully simple solution.
I’ve been watching AE86 videos for the last few days, just thinking about whether I want to build one as a racer. While I was surfing the web, I found this hilarious video. It just reminds me of when I was a kid, and couldn’t reach the pedals…
Now I’m just a bigger kid, and can reach the pedals.
A few weeks back, I shared a story with you about how Birmingham New Street was the seventh circle of hell; turns out cars can be just as bad…
Disclaimer: Rant Ahead. You’ve been warned.
What is the basis for the American driver’s fascination with the left lane?
I would guess that more than half of the vehicle miles travelled on multi-lane highways in America are in the left lane. And of those miles, nearly all of those are driven with another car pressing close on the back bumper. And far too many of them are driven with the right lane unoccupied.
I know I’ll stir up some feedback with this. My position is likely to be controversial.
ChumpCar racing is a bunch of drivers that don’t belong on the track driving cars that don’t belong on the track.
Sure, that’s a gross generalization and not all drivers fall into the stereotype. But it comes from an informed position. I’m a driver. I’m even comfortable saying I’m a good driver. Not great, but good. I prepare my own car and I’m comfortable saying I’m good at that, too. Again… not great, but good.
What I saw during my 1 hour stint in our 1981 RX-7 on Saturday afternoon convinced me that one needs to do a driver’s school before going wheel to wheel racing. Not a classroom session, but an honest on track class with several hours of instruction about how to drive a car. Similarly, the class needs to include the basics of how to prepare and maintain a race vehicle (on and off the track) – even if it is a $500 crap can.
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Trains are cheap – immensely cheap.
This is the one major benefit of public transport, there is no initial outlay. You don’t have to spend thousands of pounds initially, and thousands of pounds again on insurance, and then hundreds on tax. You also needn’t worry about fuelling it, or the repair bills you are inevitably going to incur. No, instead you simply buy a ticket, jump aboard, sit and enjoy the ride. Wonderful.
Public transport, be it bus, train or plane, also gives you time and space (sometimes) to think. And I mean properly think. Those lovely ‘Quiet Zones’ are the perfect place to get a bit of studying in, to get absorbed in a good book, or to just wonder through the mind. I’m startled by the memories, thoughts and, worryingly for some, ideas I come up with in these places. It was in one of those very zones that the idea for this series of posts came into my head. In fact, it’s on many a train that the scribblings for these posts are made.
Happy Friday!
With all of the solemn discussions going around the blog lately, I wanted to start Friday off with something more light-hearted.
Here is an animated music video from M.O.V.E, called ‘Out of Kontrol’. I spent yesterday afternoon watching some anime, so you get to enjoy some videos.
Personally, I’m looking forward to this weekend, because I’ll have a chance to do some recovery work on the Miata. I’ve been piling together some parts that needed replacing, and if the weather holds out, I’ll be able to work on the car! (I really need to get a garage though, because it sucks if it starts to rain.)
What are your guys plans for the weekend?
-Davin S.
Is like herding cats. What worked yesterday is worthless today.
My daughter is six. Being a racing enthusiast since about that age and having parents that wouldn’t (maybe couldn’t is a better word) buy me a go-kart, I want to make sure that my little girl has the opportunity to try out this racing gig early. She sees racing all the time, spending quite a bit of time at the track when I’m in the Formula Ford, and she was interested in giving it a go herself.
In our area, kids as young as five can race karts. They are called Kid Karts in our local club. 50 cubic centimeters of two-stroke fury and a carburetor with an intake opening smaller than a dime. The karts weigh 150 pounds with driver (and the kids weigh nearly 100 pounds by themselves once they’ve got all the required safety gear on) and everyone uses the same specified sprocket ratio.
These things scream to speeds of up to 30 miles per hour. You get the idea. But when you are six, this beast is cool.
This post is far more descriptive than previous posts, as there is a lack of photos… it’s about trains, which are rather busy in the mornings and don’t give you much time/space to take a photo or video.
I like trains. No, honestly, I do. I respect the engineering in them and marvel at the fact they we’re invented over a hundred years ago. What I dislike, however, are the people who run them, run for them and work for them.
There are many downfalls to trains in the modern convenience age. We’re used to being able to access everything instantly; facebooking on the train, twittering on the toilet, ebaying in the shops trying to find whatever you’re looking for that little bit cheaper. Trains fit into this lifestyle like a square peg in a round hole.
Here’s another benefit to the car – you can sleep in it. I know it sounds stupid and a quality you’re going to use rarely, but retiring to the rear bench of VX02 last night was a rather pleasant experience. Everything I needed was in that car; pillows, sleeping bag, food, music, somewhere to sleep, warmth, everything.
Although, it was technically useless at being a car at that point, as it wouldn’t start (still), it did make for a rather cosy place to sleep.
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What a fabulous invention the car is: I was lucky enough to get tickets to the Britcar this weekend and jumping in VX02 on the scorching hot day Saturday turned out to be, it wasn’t more than two or three minutes before the air con had me cooled down, music set just so and on our way.
Coming out of BRMB’s car park, I was immediately confronted by Birmingham’s finest drunks. Why is it that a splash of hot weather in the UK immediately means shorts, BBQs and drunkenness? I’m not complaining, I’m all for a bit of sun, but when a mentalist runs in front of your car wearing a multi-coloured wig, chanting all sorts of profanities, I cannot stress how comforting the clunk, hearing your car doors lock is.
Had I been walking down the road, I don’t think I’d have made it home without getting my head kicked in.
The news has been breathlessly reporting on big legal cases lately. Today, Amanda Knox was released from jail in Perugia, Italy. Word is that she drove to Rome, to catch a flight back to Seattle. If you had been locked in the slammer, what would you want for your first drive?
Would you thunder off on a matte black Harley?
A classic MG?
If it were me, I’d leave in my Miata. The departure punctuated by a long smokey burnout. How about you?
Any of you who have read my other blog, twitter and Project365 (well worth a look, trust me!) will know that I spend a lot of time with the better half. We’ve both started our master’s degrees recently, which meant moving back to the parent’s residences in High Wycombe and Wolverhampton.
This year is going to involve travelling for both of us, a lot for me anyway as I’ll be doing a 35 mile commute each way, everyday. It all starts today (03/October/11), and I thought this would be the ideal time to settle an argument once and for all: Trains or cars; which is best?
And I promise studying Automotive Journalism will not affect the results… at all… in any way… Honest!
Combine the commute with lengthy journeys between the Midlands and the South, and I’m in the prime position to answer this question. It should throw up a multitude of different pros and cons (and hopefully the odd interesting story too) of the different modes of transport; car, train, walking (not the whole way mind!) and maybe even cycling.
Starting now, I’ll be blogging about these modes of transport (and twittering too!!). I will say this though; I had to commute last monday, and opted for the train. I encountered 2 cancellations and 3 delays, making a 45 minute journey across the Midlands into and 2 hour endurance of patience. Trains are not looking hopeful…
Asking if a classic car is a viable first car is much the same as asking someone if they like the colour blue; some will, and some won’t. It’s not so much whether a classic car is suitable for a new driver, more so if the person driving it is right for the vehicle.
Going through the pros and cons of classic vehicle ownership, you see an entirely different battle take place inside of someone from that of buying a normal, modern car. A modern car, especially in these delicate eco-focused, economy driven times, is weighted up and decided very much by our heads.
Are we going to be able to afford to run it? How much will it depreciate? How much fuel is going to guzzle? And how much damage is it going to do to the environment? Questions that have been around for years, but only within the past 5 have we really taken them to a conscious level when buying a car.
Assisi 500 piazza parked
A bunch of motorsport friends and I have lately been discussing the new Fiat 500. Among my wife’s and my plans for the weekend is to go test drive a brand new Fiat 500. We have our eyes on a little commuter car and a Fiat 500 Abarth just might fit the bill. Fiat 500s are ubiquitous in Italy, where they are called “Cinquecento”. Make the jump to see a few Cinquecentos (say “Chin-kwah-chen-toe”) from a recent trip to Italy.
