Friday, June 26, 2015

They See Me Rollin' - Toyota Edition


(SpeedHunters.com)

This Is A Damn Good Read

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)

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)

Thursday, June 25, 2015

2015 - 2016 Ducks, Kings & Sharks Schedules

Anaheim Ducks
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks

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)

So That's Why The Top Flap Was Flexable

Meanwhile, inside your VCR . . . . .






(Bits&Pieces.us)

I Want One!

Lego's Gorgeous New Ferrari F40 Even Has a Removable V8 Engine




(Gizmodo.com)