Perspective

So everyday while walking back you see a black Punto and a black Swift parked opposite each other on a side street.

The scene always reminds you why, regardless of her quirks and foibles, and the obvious superiority of the other, you always fall for the pretty girl..

Hope Fiat doesn't lose it this time.

F1 these days ...

The line it is drawn
The KERS it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

~ Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-changin'

Uncanny!

Full Circle

So, Giancarlo Fisichella takes pole for Force India and Luca Badoer sits last. In a Ferrari.
We have come full circle.

Maybe its because Badoer has been driving in the protected environs of the test track and suddenly being thrown into the big bad world must be traumatic. But when you have been depositing a Scuderia Ferrari paycheck at the end of the month for 9 years, you don't come in last.

This is how it should be:
Luca di Montezemolo summons Badoer to the conference room. He takes a seat. Montezemolo reaches into a drawer and pulls out a .38. He places it on the table and looks at Badoer. There is sadness in those intense eyes. Imperceptible at first, but its there. With a slight shake of the head, he leaves the room.

As he nears the end of the corridor, a gunshot echoes down the silent space. He pauses, lost in thought, shakes his head and keeps walking.

EOS

13x07.
The end of the season.
And probably, the end of an era.

So it could well be the last unabashedly politically incorrect German related World War joke on TV for quite some time.

R.I.P.?

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
BiG Mess
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Economic Crisis

Can I haz Home Delivery?

Recession? What Recession? Our Mobile Phone Salesmen travel in garishly painted Rollers.

The color palette might be distasteful, but Branson's choice of motor is spot on!

I guess all the money he saved on picking up F1's leading team for cheap has to go somewhere ... but dude .. keep it BLACK! It won't be much of a Phantom in two tone red and white, will it?

12x07

Just why is TG so awesome.

Reflections...

People who know me, might also know that I view Top Gear as the best thing since sliced bread, perhaps even better since all it takes to slice bread is a decently sharp knife, but drifting a truck is something only rig-stig can do. So even though I posted a line about the last episode, I wasn't really watching and I missed this

One moment Clarkson is standing in front of perfectly still water, talking about the 4 doors on the new M3 and then a ripple moves across the water - but its on the top half of the screen. Very subtle. Reminded me of the Corvette / F575 reflection switch from season 8.

Another hit and miss moment of brilliant photography.

A point I emphasize over and over again to non-believers. Its not just a car show. Its top notch entertainment. With a kick ass soundtrack.

12x05

Clarkson declares the V70 to be sub-zero, perhaps even worthy of the frigid enclosure that is the DB7 fridge and on the same day, Ford puts Volvo up for sale. Talk about irony.

12x04

An episode of surprises.

Captain Slow loses his track test virginity on a Zonda-F Roadster!
The Veyron shows once again what is speed and what is speed... but only in a straight line.
A race with a difference and yet again the Jag Diesel (yay India!) shines. Why does one need a Prius with an EPA est. 48mpg when there is a twin turbo V6 giving 44(53UK) mpg or a Bluemotion with 66(80UK) mpg.

But there was something that showed me the hosts of a show with an estimated 385 million viewers have their feet firmly on the ground. James May with the same shirt he wore on the convertible people carrier episode, two and half years ago. (I only noticed it because it was pink and purple!)

The other V8 drink

Why didn't anyone think of this earlier?

Paradigm Shift

Top Gear Season 12 episode 2 has Jeremy Clarkson saying this:

"We came wondering if America had finally made a car that might actually work in the civilized world. The answer is no, they haven't. As you can see from our smiles, they've made three."

The civilized world can now get ready to welcome the '09 Corvette ZR1, '08 Dodge Challenger SRT8 and the '09 Cadillac CTS-V into its midst. Provided of course that their parent companies manage to make it to the middle of next year.

But more importantly, Top Gear liking not one but three American cars! At the same time! Change has truly come to America.

Three? Already?

Just read this. "Hamilton targets title hat-trick" reads the headline.

Woah!

Dude, you won it this time by 1 point - on the last corner of the last lap of the last race. That is the smallest margin in the history of ever.

Yes, you are just 23 and the youngest ever. But you also rear ended two guys waiting at the traffic lights.

I know its exciting and all, but if that head gets too big, you'll exceed the weight restrictions next year.

Piece of advice, my friend: Chaddi mein rehneka.

Smarts

If it weren't for high oil prices (which have fallen through the floor now) I would not have witnessed two Smart ForTwos in the space of five minutes while waiting for a bus. One of them furiously accelerating out of a bend to tackle a slight slope.

And Clarkson was right! The pause while it swapped 2nd for 3rd would have made A.B. Vajpayee proud.

PS: Another ForTwo I saw sometime back had a 'IT SHRANK' plate which brought a few chuckles to our group.

PS2: Just heard this ad on the radio. Apparently the friendly neighborhood Ford Dealer is now offering 100 Ford shares in addition to the $7500 cashback. So if you are all out of toilet paper today - and have a sudden craving for the 2008 Explorer - its the right time to buy Ford.