Comedy tonight!

I alluded to watching a Netflix series in a previous comment. It is true -- I watched Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. I like cars, I like comedy, have only had maybe two cups of coffee in my life, so that part didn't matter much to me, although the riffing about civet cat coffee was mildly amusing.

The show was put together by Jerry Seinfeld, who, although he is a leftist near-billionaire, doesn't really touch on politics that often. And since there are a ton of epis and they are very short you can skip any particular one that features an out-and-out anti-American comic, and if you see who his guests are you can figure out who I mean by that.

The cars are interesting, with too many German cars, and that strikes me as peculiar, but what are you going to do, eh? Jerry (can I call him Jerry?) is well known for his love of Porsches and how many of them he owns. The local fine art museum had a show that featured Porsches and several of them were from his collection, so I have seen them in person. And now I have seen them on television and that makes them more real, right? Ha!

Jerry drove a rusty VW dual cab pickup to meet Michael Richards, AKA Kramer. Michael was contrite, knew he screwed up royally, and they discussed it. Mr. Richards put it in terms of being selfish rather than selfless when he used a racial epithet toward a heckler. Some words can only be used by a minority of our population. He says now that the heckler was correct, his, Mr. Richards, material really did suck, and if he could have a redo he would have admitted that and walked off stage rather than attack the heckler and, in effect, kill his career in less than a minute. And kill it he did -- it is irretrievably deceased. That epithet was, as the locals mispronounce it, truly an epitaph.

Jerry was conciliatory and he said an interesting thing -- he wishes that Mr. Richards could use his "instrument" again, and by that he means his unbelievably excellent physical humor. He had a gift, that was always evident, but his ego ended any possibility that we will see him work ever again. So it goes.

You can't un-see it

"...I should say that I have talked about this before with the P1, and fake widows apparently fill me with a deep, soul-filling rage.

The weird thing is that the fake window looks like it's supposed to differentiate the 2015 car from its previous generation, but that car was hardly changed since its previous generation. And that car was hardly changed since its previous generation And that car was hardly changed since its previous generation. Line up a Gen 5, 6, and 7 Camry (as Curbside Classic did) and you'll see how similar these cars are, right down to the platform. The roofline (along with all the other body lines and interior layouts) is the same as it's been since 2006, and that model was barely any different since the debut of the 2002 model."

https://jalopnik.com/the-one-detail-that-cheapens-the-2015-toyota-camry-1563760482

Selected comments:

-"I'm more disgusted by the fake grille made of plastic on the front of this car.

Big grilles are a thing, I get that. Hell, I even like it on many cars. But here it feels forced, like they just decided to make most of the front end look like a poorly shaped plastic "grille"."

-"Absolutely. And it's sickening to know that Toyota can make a car dull and ugly, but as long as it's reliable, people will continue to buy it solely on that reputation."

-"makes C pillar look smaller.. i like the attempt at clever styling. Obviously it can't be glass because under that plastic's a chunk of iron keeping the roof from caving when you flip it. Safety sells midsize sedans afterall."

Basic bitch at 8:50

Winter tires more important than AWD

"As winter sets in, I think this is an excellent time to discuss it. Usually motorists with AWD or 4WD become overconfident in limited traction conditions leading to a visit to the ditch or the rear bumper of another vehicle. Each winter there is a disproportionate number of AWD vehicles sitting in snowy ditches."

"AWD is superior to FWD or RWD cars equipped with ABS, traction, and stability control. Of course the AWD car has ABS, traction, and stability control too.

IF, you live on a mountain and encounter lots of difficult snow conditions then get AWD. If you live in the other 95% of snow country you will do fine with FWD if you put good winter tires on all 4 wheels."

"What determines the amount of grip is the rubber compound of the tread and how well it reacts to cold temperatures, the construction and age of the tire, the depth of the tread, air pressure and the size and shape of the actual contact patch."

"I would rather drive a FWD car with winter tires than an AWD with the all season tires that come on the car. To me the tires are more critical than AWD or FWD. If I lived in an area where I needed AWD I would also put winter tires on the AWD car. If you have AWD and winter tires you can deal with just about anything as long as you can see where you are going."

"The main reason NOT to get AWD is the whole drive train is much more complex and will require more repairs and maintenance; as in more expensive to own. In fact, AWD can be much more expensive. If you have one tire go flat that can't be patched you have to buy 4 new tires. Mismatch tires will kill an AWD system and cost thousands of dollars to repair. So, even though AWD is better don't get it unless you really - REALLY need it. Most of the time it will just cost you about 2 mpg less fuel economy [due to the added weight of the system], increase your repair and maintenance costs [as it needs its own maintenance re lubricant changes], and add $2,000 or so to the price of the car." (my bolding)

"If you drive a vehicle with AWD or 4WD drive keep these rules in mind.

1. You may be able to get going much better than 2WD vehicles but you cannot stop or steer better. AWD only helps acceleration.

2. If you drive a vehicle with AWD or 4WD you should have winter tires on all four wheels. It?s the stopping and steering that will save your life and AWD does not enhance these aspects of active safety.

3. Slow down as there may be less grip than you are experiencing while accelerating." 

https://community.cartalk.com/t/traction-and-stability-control-vs-awd/55737/4

http://www.wheels.ca/news/does-all-wheel-drive-actually-help-in-winter-driving/

"The car century was a mistake. It’s time to move on"

Washington Post: We must first remember that all cities were car-free little more than a century ago. Not all cities responded to the advent of automobiles with the same enthusiasm as the cities of the United States. In fact, some cities never did adopt the car. Venice was unwilling to destroy itself in order to build streets wide enough for cars, and therefore has never had them except in a sliver near the mainland....

Cars were never necessary in cities, and in many respects they worked against the fundamental purpose of cities: to bring many people together in a space where social, cultural and economic synergies could develop. Because cars require so much space for movement and parking, they work against this objective — they cause cities to expand in order to provide the land cars need. Removing cars from cities would help to improve the quality of urban life.

Streets are also our most important public social spaces. Most cities in Europe now acknowledge the terrible damage cars have done to this use, which is why cities all across Europe are discouraging automobile use in favor of walking, cycling and public transport. This is most clearly illustrated in Oslo, the first European capital to announce that its downtown core will soon be made car-free in order to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality, as well as to improve conditions for pedestrians and cyclists...

Removing vehicles from our streets would make urban life cheaper, safer, quieter and more pleasant. Repurposed parking spaces and, in some cases, travel lanes would provide ample land for walking and cycling, plus any essential street-running public services, such as light rail, trash collection and emergency services. The surplus land can be devoted to public purposes — imagine Manhattan with sidewalks 15 feet wider and room for sidewalk cafes.

"‘Car Talk’ co-host Tom Magliozzi dies at 77"

"Popular public radio personality Tom Magliozzi died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease, NPR announced on Monday. He was 77."

Boston’s NPR news station, WBUR, posted a statement from “Car Talk” executive producer Doug Berman:

“Tom’s been such a dominant, positive personality amongst us for so long that all of us in the public radio family — and I include our millions of listeners — will find this news very difficult to receive,” Berman wrote in part.

5 Hilarious Audio Clips From 'Car Talk's' Tom...

Zero Hedge: The Worlds Unsold Car Stockpile (updated*)

"Houston...We have a problem!... Nobody is buying brand new cars anymore!  Well they are, but not on the scale they once were.  Millions of brand new unsold cars are just sitting redundant on runways and car parks around the world.  There, they stay, slowly deteriorating without being maintained."

"The car industry would never sell these cars at massive reductions in their prices to get rid of them, no they still want every buck.  If they were to price these cars for a couple of thousand they would sell them.  However, nobody would then buy any expensive cars and then they  would end up being unsold."

(The images on this webpage showing all of these unsold cars are just a very small portion of those around the world.  There are literally thousands of these "car parks" rammed full of unsold cars in practically every country on the planet.)

*Update : That Zero Hedge Article On Unsold Cars Is Bullshit

"Fiat 500L: The Rich Inner Life of a Gutless Clown Car"

"The "North American Fiat 500L delivers excellent performance and great driving pleasure," this person perjured blandly. "These enviable characteristics are made even more interesting by typical European handling and precise, responsive steering."

Hmm, not so much. Actually, the 500L (front-drive, five-door liftback) corners like the world's smallest '65 Pontiac Bonneville. At engine speeds below 2,250 rpm, there is no one home torque-wise. You hit the gas and time stands still, a la "The Matrix." And the six-speed manual gearbox is the vaguest, wobbliest such mechanism I've encountered since I was winning dance contests in my three-piece suit. This thing isn't a transmission. It is an intermission... read more

Fiat 500L

She's not much to drive—mille scusi, anonymous press official—but she's awfully easy to live with. Mom always said, that's what counts.

(via WSJ)

Did Hitler steal plans for the VW Beetle?

"Adolf Hitler stole the idea for the iconic Volkswagen Beetle from a Jewish engineer and had him written out of history, a historian has sensationally claimed.

The Nazi leader has always been given credit for sketching out the early concept for the car in a meeting with car designer Ferdinand Porsche in 1935.

His idea for the Volkswagen - or 'people's car' - is seen by many as one of the only worthwhile achievements of the genocidal dictator.

But Paul Schilperoord's book, The Extraordinary Life of Josef Ganz - the Jewish engineer behind Hitler's Volkswagen, may change that forever."

MailOnline

Great pictures at the link.

635 Lbs-Ft of Torque, 625 Hp

There is no reason to have this.  There is no reason why I wouldn't immediately buy one if I had a winning lottery ticket.  None

2015 Corvette Z06

It's a street car.  Holy moley.

Car Songs

It's Saturday, the day set aside to work on cars.  Or at least it used to be, back in the pre electronic-everything era when you could still lift the hood and work on the engine.

Get it tuned just right. Adjust the valves, set the points and well, gap the plugs, re-jet the carbs, set the timing.  Fill the tank with hi-test gasoline.  Wash and dry, then wax it with Blue Coral.

If you were a bit mechanically inclined, the mufflers were changed out with glass packs.  And maybe the stock camshaft was replaced with a hotter cam that you ordered from Iskenderian, and a new intake manifold with a bigger Holley carb sitting high atop it.

The old radio in the garage was tuned to the AM station that played your favorites, an most of them were car songs.  Songs about driving, dragging, hanging out, even about specific cars.  Rocket 88 or 409, or  T-Bird or Deuce Coupe.  Great music in the pre-British Invasion era of pop music.

It's Saturday.  Here's a compilation of great car songs.  Add your favorite in the comments section.  For full effect, you should be wearing shoes with pointy toes and Cuban heels, have a duck's ass haircut, and a pack of Lucky Strike rolled up in the sleeve of your tee shirt.   Or a poodle skirt, loafers and frilly blouse, depending.

Rocket 88.  Ike Turner singing the first recorded car song.

nostalgic photographs of American cars

Or are they?  Fstoppers