And seeing as it’s the first Monday after our high holy day (National Ammo Day), let’s alleviate the Monday Blues with the following:
…which will henceforth be the logo of our Righteous Shootings posts.
And lastly, in the spirit of the above:
Now go and cook your breakfast meal.
In yesterday’s post (), I said that I disagreed with Frank Stephenson’s Top 3 choices of outstanding Jaguar design (and if you haven’t read it yet, you should because otherwise a lot of which follows may not be understood).
“O Kim,” I hear you saying, “who are you to argue with the design choices of an actual car designer, you ignoramus?”
As with all things, it comes down to categorization. So let’s look at Stephenson’s Top 3 Jaguar designs:
1) 1954 Jag D-type:
Is it jaw-droppingly gorgeous? Hell, yes, and sexy withal. But the problem was that it was designed as a race car — a track car, and therefore made in tiny quantities (which is reflected in the prices asked for each of the two dozen or so still known to exist). But I think the D-type is more important for what it did to Jag’s production sports car line which followed, and you all know where this is leading:
And as much as I like swoopy curves, I think the E-type is the design which not only set Jag apart, but caused others to try to copy its appeal in their cars, and failed.
To be fair, Stephenson does think that the E-type is the greatest car design ever, and I’m not sure that too many will disagree with him. But I think he did it a disservice by excluding it from his Top3 Jag designs, putting in instead the earlier D-type racer. Now did the D influence the E? Undoubtedly; but the E-type is still the superior design. His next choice, though, cannot be questioned:
2) 1950 Jaguar XK 120 OTS
If you were to rebuild an exact replica of this car, modernizing only the electro-mechanical shortfalls of that vintage, there is not a man (nor maybe woman) alive who would turn it down if parked in his driveway as a gift. It is unmistakably a Jaguar, undoubtedly a classic, and irrefutably the supercar of its time. Its design would set the standard for Jaguar for a decade or more.
Finally, we come to Stephenson’s last choice:
3) 1955 Jaguar Mk 2
I’m not going to argue with this choice too much, because it was a good design — for Jaguar. Unfortunately, there were also more than a few cars around at the time which looked quite like it, e.g. the Lancia Aurelia:
Honestly, if we’re going to look at an excellent Jaguar design perhaps worthy of a Top 3 position, we need to consider this one:
1969 Jaguar XJ6
Over the next four decades, every single new XJ passenger car model flowed from this design, and like all the classic Jaguar designs, it was all about what Jaguar represented: understated, classy, yet with a hint of snarling power waiting to be unleashed.
So there you have my choices: the E-type, the XK 120 and the XJ6.
Feel free to discuss in Comments, as always.
Not mine, this time, but those of a guy named Frank Stephenson who, it must be said, is a bona fide car designer and not just some guy on the Internet with an opinion — that would be me, among so many others.
Like me, though, Stephenson seems to favor cars designed in the pre-wind tunnel era — and certainly his design of, for example, the Ferrari 430 bears that out, even though he never actually admits it as such.
Anyway, our Frank opines on several brands’ designs — designs which he feel are statement cars and ones which either set, or reshaped the manufacturers’ designs for years to come.
Amazingly, though, I am in agreement with a lot of his selections despite my being a total amateur in this field. His take on BMW’s three best designs are spot on, for example — the M1, 507 (which are my top pair, as you may recall) and the E9 / 3.0l CSi (which would be my number 3 choice, by the way).
I don’t agree with all his Ferrari choices, though. Of course I agree with his selection of the Dino 246 GT and the 1960s-era 250 GT Lusso, but not so much with the 1970s 365 GT BB (which was really just a knock-off of the Lambo Miura P400 — as Stephenson himself acknowledges). From a pure design standard, I would have picked one of the Scuderia’s other offerings, although which one I’m not quite sure.
Anyway, here are the episodes I think are interesting:
So kiss your Saturday goodbye, and if yer Missus yells at you, blame me. I’ll be talking more about this topic tomorrow.
Because of all this woke bullshit, we are no longer allowed to use the word “Mozambique” for our favorite shooting drill (two shots in center-mass, one in the head) because raayyycisss.
As always, the solution can be found in the Old Country. At the suggestion of Mr. Free Market, allow me to present the new drill, the Rittenhouse:
Two in the skateboard, one in the elbow.
Of course, the silhouette is white on a night-black background so we don’t get accused of Black genocide or some such, and most of the Pantifa Skateboard Set are White anyway.
Apologies for the poor artwork, but I only had a couple minutes to do it in MS Paint.
From John Nolte, following the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse on all counts:
“So now the question is, as it always is when Democrats don’t get what they want, how many Democrat-run cities will burn tonight at the hands of Democrats?”
From Kim du Toit, in response:
“All of them, I hope.”
You pick which one you think deserves the appellation more.
I know, I know… to my Loyal readers. every day is Ammo Day, but do your bit regardless.
100 rounds of centerfire or 500 rounds of rimfire — if you can find / afford them.
I made my purchase shortly after midnight this morning.