Getting inside the Top Gear production process
The best way to get an idea of just how big of a task each episode of Top Gear was is to read this story by Sniff Petrol and TG script editor Richard Porter. It essentially breaks down how ideas were formulated for each new segment, and then explains how they were built. The almost day-by-day breakdown reveals a number of fascinating things about the show.
The most obvious tidbit gleaned is the reinforcement of the idea that Jeremy Clarkson is a passionate, meticulous workaholic, a trait that only recently bubbled up following the host's firing. In his writing about the TG process, Porter calls Clarkson the "chief scrutineer," who after a day of brainstorming and script writing would often show up to work the next day with "a dozen new script tweaks, suggestions and jokes" after having "lain awake all night worrying over tiny details and agonizing over the smallest point until he'd got it right."
(AutoBlog.com)
Friday, June 26, 2015
Good Idea, But I Think The Target Market Is Incorrect
It's time for Corvette to attack Porsche
For most of its existence, Porsche was a smug little sports car company with a fairly limited lineup and small but steady sales. Any time the company strayed from its air-cooled, rear engine formula, the purists would turn their noses. The 944? The 948? "Not a proper Porsche," they'd sniff. And then came the greatest sin of them all: the Cayenne. To the purists, this was treason. Porsche making an SUV? Horrors!
Of course, you all know how it turned out. Porsche grew to be a profit-generating juggernaut within the Volkswagen Group. And since one SUV wasn't enough they added another, the Macan. By the end of the decade Porsche will have quadrupled its global sales. You have to wonder what else it has up its sleeve.
Couldn't this be a lesson for General Motors? It has a terrific sports car brand in Corvette. In fact, it's arguably the most iconic brand within GM's full-line portfolio. But for its entire existence that brand has been locked up within Chevrolet.
Maybe it's time for GM to unlock that brand and treat Corvette as a stand-alone company. A Corvette SUV could be a killer first step. Since Porsche only makes two SUVs, maybe Corvette could make three. Small, medium, and large. And just as Porsche has the Panamera, an executive sedan from team Corvette could become an instant "gotta-have" for the yacht-buying jet set.
(AutoBlog.com)
For most of its existence, Porsche was a smug little sports car company with a fairly limited lineup and small but steady sales. Any time the company strayed from its air-cooled, rear engine formula, the purists would turn their noses. The 944? The 948? "Not a proper Porsche," they'd sniff. And then came the greatest sin of them all: the Cayenne. To the purists, this was treason. Porsche making an SUV? Horrors!
Of course, you all know how it turned out. Porsche grew to be a profit-generating juggernaut within the Volkswagen Group. And since one SUV wasn't enough they added another, the Macan. By the end of the decade Porsche will have quadrupled its global sales. You have to wonder what else it has up its sleeve.
Couldn't this be a lesson for General Motors? It has a terrific sports car brand in Corvette. In fact, it's arguably the most iconic brand within GM's full-line portfolio. But for its entire existence that brand has been locked up within Chevrolet.
Maybe it's time for GM to unlock that brand and treat Corvette as a stand-alone company. A Corvette SUV could be a killer first step. Since Porsche only makes two SUVs, maybe Corvette could make three. Small, medium, and large. And just as Porsche has the Panamera, an executive sedan from team Corvette could become an instant "gotta-have" for the yacht-buying jet set.
(AutoBlog.com)
Thursday, June 25, 2015
2015 - 2016 Ducks, Kings & Sharks Schedules
Anaheim Ducks
- Season opener Oct. 10 in San Jose
- Home Opener Oct. 12 vs. Vancouver
- Complete 2015 - 2016 schedule (Ducks.NHL.com)
- Season & Home opener Oct. 7 vs. San Jose
- Complete 2015 - 2016 schedule (Kings.NHL.com)
- Season opener Oct 7 in Los Angeles
- Home opener Oct 10 vs. Anaheim
- Complete 2015 - 2016 schedule (Sharks.NHL.com)
The Finnish Flash Goes Airborne
Teemu Selanne is enjoying retirement by jumping cars near fireballs
Teemu Selanne is not taking it easy now that he has retired from hockey. In fact, he is doing things even more dangerous than getting out on the ice at the age of 44.
Selanne recently posted photos from a stunt he filmed with Finnish stunt show The Dudesons in which he and one of the cast members appear to jump a rally car through a ball of fire.
The longtime Ducks star posted before, during and after photos from his stunt, commenting on the final picture that his neck was a little sore, adding that he may need a massage.
(SI.com)
Teemu Selanne is not taking it easy now that he has retired from hockey. In fact, he is doing things even more dangerous than getting out on the ice at the age of 44.
Selanne recently posted photos from a stunt he filmed with Finnish stunt show The Dudesons in which he and one of the cast members appear to jump a rally car through a ball of fire.
The longtime Ducks star posted before, during and after photos from his stunt, commenting on the final picture that his neck was a little sore, adding that he may need a massage.
(SI.com)
This Is Something I'm Going To Keep An Eye On
France family poised to take over Laguna Seca operations
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca could be in for a big change. The Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula, a non-profit that's managed the iconic race track since it was built back in 1957, may be out, as officials from Monterey County, CA announced they're in negotiations with International Speedway Corporation, the company owned by NASCAR's France family.
The county "has been exploring options for the management of the raceway to ensure its long-term success," Asphalt and Rubber reports. According to the website, the track has struggled with attendance at big-name events, and lost its MotoGP race after the 2013 season. Selling Laguna Seca is not as simple as keys and cash changing hands, though.
The track currently sits in a public park that's owned by the county, and any sale would be subject to an open session where the general public could weigh in, and that's not exactly a good thing, A/R reports. According to the website, despite the car-crazy atmosphere that the city of Monterey plays host to during its eponymous Car Week, many citizens of the seaside town aren't too fond of the track.
(AutoBlog.com)
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca could be in for a big change. The Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula, a non-profit that's managed the iconic race track since it was built back in 1957, may be out, as officials from Monterey County, CA announced they're in negotiations with International Speedway Corporation, the company owned by NASCAR's France family.
The county "has been exploring options for the management of the raceway to ensure its long-term success," Asphalt and Rubber reports. According to the website, the track has struggled with attendance at big-name events, and lost its MotoGP race after the 2013 season. Selling Laguna Seca is not as simple as keys and cash changing hands, though.
The track currently sits in a public park that's owned by the county, and any sale would be subject to an open session where the general public could weigh in, and that's not exactly a good thing, A/R reports. According to the website, despite the car-crazy atmosphere that the city of Monterey plays host to during its eponymous Car Week, many citizens of the seaside town aren't too fond of the track.
(AutoBlog.com)
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