Recent Comments:
Tension off-camera? Top Gear pay dustup rumored {Autoblog}
Jul 7th 2008 4:26PM "I've watched every episode started with season one. They were all there from the beginning and getting rid of any of them would tear the show apart. It just wouldn't be the same."
Then you haven't watched every episode starting with season one. May didn't join until the second season (of the current format) when he replaced some chubby fellow who had a weekly talk about how to find a good deal on a particular car in any given week. Can't remember his name.
"Though May does attract the non-gearhead crowd, he's uninteresting as a personality. His departure will be no loss to the show."
I disagree, May is a great addition and offsets the personalities of Clarkson and Hammond perfectly IMO. He has a very sly and dry wit.
Photo of the Day: Chinese anti-terror Segway commandos {Autoblog}
Jul 4th 2008 12:21PM Quite a few years ago CTV news (in Canada) ran a news clip of North Korean soldiers going down a hill on roller skates firing off their submachine guns. I've never been able to track that clip down on the internet but I can still envision it today. Bizarre and surreal are the only words that come to mind (it was N. Korea after all).
In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Mazda MX-5 Miata Retractable Hard Top {Autoblog}
Jun 30th 2008 7:40AM "Is the hard top worth $2K more than the flexible version?"
One advantage - I saw an MX-5 with hard top shortly after its introduction. It was sitting in a shopping centre parking lot - top up and a shiny new iPod sitting in it's cradle on the dash.
Too bad they begin at over $28,000 in Canada.
VIDEO: First episode of Top Gear Season 11 is out! {Autoblog}
Jun 24th 2008 11:30AM Isuru:
"We have to pay a licensing fee each year that pays for the BBC, how is it fair on us that you can just watch it for free online?
Don't misread my tone, I just want to hear your thoughts."
Many people (including me) would pay a reasonable fee to download a high quality copy of Top Gear. As far as I know, the BBC doesn't make this available. I can't say for certain if it's available on BBC Canada but even if it is, I would have to subscribe to a range of digital cable TV channels (not just BBC Canada) plus have to pay for a digital "box" from my cable provider. Ain't gonna happen for just one television program.
A human powered one-wheeled Segway? {Autoblog Green}
Jun 24th 2008 11:19AM "There is certainly something to be said for an urban runabout which allows you to arrive at your intended destination without being drenched in sweat. Still, it's that electric powertrain which makes the Segway and its ilk so expensive,"
Then why not an electrically assisted bicycle? I've tried it, it works and at much less cost than a Segway. Remove the battery and you've got a regular bicycle.
http://www.bionx.ca/
Forget MPG - let's move to GPM {Autoblog Green}
Jun 22nd 2008 5:00PM "Liters per 100km has to be one of the most useless metrics ever invented, and where it fails is that neither of the units involved is ever "1.0", except perhaps by freak coincidence when evaluating motorbikes or SmartCars."
Get over it. Divide "litres (or liters) per 100 km" into 282 to get the equivalent MPG imperial.
Divide into 235 to get the equivalent in U.S. gallons. It's not rocket science and can be done on any pocket calculator (or cell phone).
High speed trains are killing airplanes {Autoblog Green}
Jun 18th 2008 12:07PM Jared wrote:
"The only way to get truly high speed rail from DC to Boston would be to acquire dedicated, straight right of way. That would require taking a huge amount of properties by eminent domain, which would require billions of dollars,"
Quite correct. A similar system has been proposed between Ontario and Quebec linking Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. The projected cost circa 1998 was $18 billion and a more recent updated cost was around $23 billion (assuming such a project is on budget - a big if). This includes a new right-of-way, no level crossing , etc. In my opinion, that amount of money would be better spent on local/regional, commuter rail transportation.
As for air travel, I would really like to see some hard numbers concerning fuel consumption for short/medium range turbo props like the Bombardier Q-400 series that Porter Airlines flies out of Toronto Island airport.
http://www.q400.com/q400/en/home.jsp
The secret life of the Chevy Volt {Autoblog}
Jun 16th 2008 8:14PM "If I've learned anything over the past three or four years, it's that a lot of this business is sticking with it and persistence."
You mean the CEO of one of the world's largest corporations only figured this out four years ago? That in itself says a lot about GM and the N. American auto industry.
Whoa, says Toyota. Plug-ins won't be that good {Autoblog}
Jun 12th 2008 11:24AM "And even that is highly inefficient because it has to be sent over miles of high-tension wires. You almost have to produce a kilowatt twice just to get it to your home."
Not quite:
"Transmission and distribution losses in the USA were estimated at 7.2% in 1995 [2], and in the UK at 7.4% in 1998. [3]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_power_transmission#Losses
"This document provides a high level overview of Transmission Losses which is the term applied to lost power during the
transmission of electricity through the Transmission System in Great Britain (GB). Further information is available from
Section T of the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC)."
"During the process of transferring power across the Transmission System, some of the power is ‘lost’. This lost power is
known as Transmission Losses and currently accounts for about 1.5 percent of the electricity transmitted"
http://www.elexon.co.uk/Documents/Publications/Publications_-_Information_Sheets/Transmission_Losses.pdf
NASCAR sued for being racist, sexist of all things {Autoblog}
Jun 11th 2008 6:25PM $250 million lawsuit - that says a lot. Shakedown anyone?
