Top Gear Top Test

Well, that explains everything. My Chevette never could manage beach assaults.

@nojo: Call me a fool, but I miss my ’97 Taurus SHO – 80k and no problems. In fairness, I had a Civic CRX Si that had no problems, but I only put 10k on it running back and forth to the U MD. Ford can make a good car.

Aha – a little research reveals that the Fiesta will be sold here starting next year. Make mine ASBO orange.

I heart Top Gear. Did you ever see the slalom test with a Prius?

TJ/ Reading Halbestram’s The Coldest Winter which is about US America policy during the Korean War that lead to the debacle of the Winter of 1950, the worst US America blunder up to Iraq.

Plus ca change, plus ca meme chose.

The GOP hasn’t really changed, but it’s added the Southern racist component.

@Dodgerblue: Never saw that, but this moment of early Clarkson remains my favorite.

@ManchuCandidate: I read that. I don’t mean this as a joke — the book was chilling. It took Truman a long time to grow a pair.

Fords suck bat shit off of cave walls. Bought a used 1981 Fairmont station wagon in 1992 and stuff I’d never heard of going wrong in a car broke. Thing barely had 100,000 miles on it. Everyone I know who bought a Civic new gave it away to family with incredible miles on it – still purring – including one with just under 300,000 miles on it. That’s a car. The owner after 11 years driving it just got bored with it. I tried another swing at a US model, picking up a 79 Cadillac. The fuel injection they tossed on a perfectly serviceable 350 blew up the head. I washed my hands of Ford and US cars after that. Not going back until I hear stories of US cars regularly turning over 300,000 miles without costly repairs like the Civic.

@blogenfreude: Link no work.

@FlyingChainSaw: I had a 1995 Ford Explorer, complete with the Tires of Death (never a problem for me) that ran reasonably well until the electrical system went south. Hauled a lot of kids, dogs and sports equipment around. The last time I got towed to a garage, the towtruck guy told me that he hauled more Fords with electrical problems than any other make. Then, proving beyond doubt that I can easily be seduced by a pretty car, I bought a Ford-manufactured Volvo S80 T6. Oy gevalt.

@FlyingChainSaw: I’m pretty sure the SHO would have gone to the moon (240k) … I think you could buy a Fiesta with confidence.

@Dodgerblue: Fixed – try it now.

Funny thing – Jaguars became reliable when Ford bought the company and began installing Ford wiring harnesses. So what if your Jag had the same turn signal lever as a Probe – it wouldn’t catch on fire!

@blogenfreude: Not giving the rat bags another chance until I hear stories of reliability and endurance about them to match those of Civic and Subaru.

@FlyingChainSaw: My 2005 Civic just crossed 16,000 miles. Match that, suckers!

@nojo: I have probably pushed my cars further than that. Meaning pushed b/c they would not move by themselves. Especially the MG.

Conan O’Brien also owns an SHO.

That Euro Fiesta is sweet. I just hope they don’t call it a “Fiesta” when they sell it here, the 1980s Fiesta didn’t leave much of a legacy.

@Serolf Divad: My SHO had the better engine – V8 w/ Yamaha heads. Sadly, it was autotrans only.

That’s the best thing I’ve ever seen.

RomeGirl: That’s nothing. The sheer lunacy of this program cannot be limited to just this.

I will post something tonight in regard to Top Gear Challenges. It’s a lot of Big Boys w/ Toys, obviously, but it’s great stuff.

(Hint for the initiated — James: “Is it bad?” Jeremy (without missing a beat, matter-of-factly): “Yes.”)

@chicago bureau: Oh, that one.

@chicago bureau: I kinds want to watch it now. Even though I don’t know how to drive and when one of my friends asked me what kind of car my mother recently bought, I replied, ‘Red.’