Category: Drive Time

Canceled Entertainment

Drive Time, Sports

Great moments in bad timing, #435:

Formula 1 is going to have to cancel the two Grand Prix races in April, because the venues (Bahrain and Saudi Arabia) have become an unwitting victim of Operation Kick Shi’a Iranian Ass.

This sucks big time….

…although strictly speaking it serves F1 right because they should never have given the Arabs so many Grands Prix in the first place.

The races can’t be rescheduled because the calendar is full and there’s no room at the inn.

But in the grand scheme of things, it’s irrelevant because the new “formula” in Formula 1 has turned the races into even more boring spectacles than they were before, which is saying something.

I have a simple fix for their “boring” problem, by the way (although they won’t want to hear it):

Ditch those pathetic half-Duracell / half-tiny-turbo engines (1500cc?  WTF?) and replace them with gasoline-powered 2.5-litre V16s, screaming their lungs out and deafening spectators at 18,000rpm.  And let the drivers drive, instead of forcing them to be battery-power managers.

And then I’ll show you all around my unicorn garden.

RFI: Sport Fury

Drive Time

Okay, I need some Murkin aficionado to ‘splain this one to me.  It’s a 1963 Plymouth Sport Fury:

The engine is 512 c.i., and creates 656 hp with 662 ft-lbs of torque, while the rev counter goes up to 9,500rpm, all of which seems stratospheric for a car of this vintage.

The questions flow thick and fast, e.g. why did this beast not take over the world, did it ever race and win everything it raced in, etc.

All educated comments welcome.

Expensive Toy #2,350 – Auto Division

Drive Time

Reader Mike S. sends me something about a car which lists the pros and cons of ownership thus:

Well, with all those, can the name “Morgan” be far behind?

So far, all good.  But wait!  What is this foul wart on a pretty girl’s face?

According to the article though, they will be available with a stick shift, as the Lord intended.

And yes:  $100,000 is a lot of moolah for something that’s at best a once-a-month drive (weather permitting).  But then again, I know men for whom marriage is similar (costly, with only an occasional ride), and we don’t look down on them now, do we?

The big question is:  is this new Morgan a lottery car, or could one get a better toy for a hundred grand?  Thoughts in Comments, with the usual caveats (i.e. I don’t want to hear from the Toyota HiLux Brigade;  we’re talking playthings).

Well There Ya Go (Part 2)

Business, Drive Time, Management

All-electric, huh?  Wasn’t that the call not even a year ago?  Looks like somebody may be having a change of heart:

Jaguar is reportedly considering performing a dramatic U-turn on its plans to become an exclusively electric car maker, according to reports.

Sources close to the project told the Sunday Times that bosses have instructed engineers in the UK to develop a new petrol-electric hybrid engine it can offer as an alternative option to customers in what would be a significant one eighty on its all-electric rebrand.

The ‘secret initiative’ is part of efforts to ‘soothe drivers’ concerns’ about range anxiety amid a slowdown in EV demand across several major markets, which has already triggered a number of manufacturers to delay their own plans to go all in on battery-powered cars.

And you can all stop that derisive laughter now, okay?