Top Gear MPH Car Show 2008 - NEC Birmingham

[User211]

Back to modern day... Audi A8 - or is that Saudi A8? Apparently, this is the colour they all love out there. Personally, I like it in black.

I know Tom likes this one. So lots of pics, in case he sess it

Y HATE indeed...

 

[twich54]

Here's a joint US/UK effort, though it's ours really Have always loved these....

me Too !! I don't get the "ours" thing, that car achieved cult status because of.......Carol Shelby, no ifs ands or butts about it !!

 

[Pcar928fan]

R8 = UGLY! I might get to drive one this weekend...from what I have read, they drive better than they look, to me that would just mean it would have to start and move under its own power. Maybe they look better live than in pics too... I'll find out Saturday!

 

[User211]

On the road, in black, they look great. In white, they look pretty vile - you can drop the "Y", in that instance. I don't like the Xmas tree headlights, much, though.

Be interesting to know what you think after a test drive.

 

[User211]

me Too !! I don't get the "ours" thing, that car achieved cult status because of.......Carol Shelby, no ifs ands or butts about it !!

Very true. Paste from Wiki:

"AC Cobras had an extensive racing career. Shelby wanted it to be a "Corvette-Beater" and at nearly 500 lb (227 kg) less than the Chevrolet Corvette, the lightweight car did just that. The Cobra was perhaps too successful as a performance car and reputedly contributed to the implementation of national speed limits in the United Kingdom. An AC Cobra Coupe was calculated to have done 185 mph (298 km/h) on the M1 motorway in 1964, driven by Jack Sears and Peter Bolton during shakedown tests prior to that year's Le Mans 24h race.[2] However, government officials have cited the increasing accident death rate in the early 1960s as the principal motivation, the exploits of the AC Cars team just highlighting the potential risk."

Blinking speed limits!

Anyway, for Pcar928fan - the rear view. And there's nothing wrong with a good rear view. When I first saw a 928 on the road, it looked incredibly futuristic, It doesn't now, but at the time, it really did.

 

[User211]

Vive La France! Citroen A5 - nothing special. But nice leather work...

Anyway, what's going on with the US car industry? It's in a terrible state. We keep hearing it's on the verge of disaster over here.

 

[twich54]

what's going on with the US car industry? It's in a terrible state. We keep hearing it's on the verge of disaster over here.

Verge hell, it's already a disaster !

To prove a point about the lack of 'common sense' with respect to 'supposedly very bright people', all three CEO's of the "Big Three" flew to DC aboard private jets (cost, 20k per hour), if they wanted to show Congress they were serious they could have each booked a first class ticket on a commercial airline.....IMO.

If it wasn't for the fact that for every auto worker there are 6-10 'other' jobs to be lost it would be easy to say let it go the way of the wild goose, perhaps chapter 11 is best so as to realign employee exspense, etc.

 

[User211]

I often wonder about human nature. We, at least I believe, tend to want to think that some people are much better than ourselves. Like some super beings exist who are capable of handling it all. At the end of the day, in many cases, they are just reasonably bright people who happen to be confident.

Look at Ronnie Reagan and the current but expiring Bush. They don't even manage the "reasonably bright" classification. Nor does Arnie, bless his terminating soul.

The three "flyers" you just talked about probably realise it's coming to an end and are just "milking it", as you say. As you, and indeed I, have just implied, they aren't serious at all.

But I reckon Obama is bright. And I think he has incredibly good intentions at heart. I wish him well. I just don't envy him the mess the has inherited.

 

[amey01]

Vive La France!

That's still a bit nicer than my Citroën!

 

[User211]

Hm - the "what's gone wrong with the US car industry" seems to have become a thread!

Anyway, here's the rather unreliable Ford GT40 I just talked about in it.

 

[kach22i]

Thanks for the eye full of cars, I wouldn't kick any of them out of bed for dripping oil.

 

[Pcar928fan]

211,

Thanks for the GTS pic! FINALLY got to it! Looks GREAT! Looks just like my Euro '92 GTS actually! I tool LOVE the S4 and in particular the GTS's from the back view! I agree with you when they were new they were VERY futuristic, now they look pretty current! Back in '98 I had my track number (99) on my '88 S4 and someone asked if it was a new Porsche! LOL! That is how far ahead of their time the 928's really were.

As I noted on my WCD thread, the GTS still feels REALLY competitive with the current crop of super cars out there in all respects except power and transmission gears. It really needs another 100 HP and a GOOD 6spd SMG box. Had Porsche kept building the car that is exactly what we would have. Of course it would cost about $160k! YEOW!

Loved all the pics of the cars from the show!

Did drive the R8 btw and it was a VERY COMFORTABLE CAR! Really easy to drive and live with, but still for me hard to look at from the outside!

 

[User211]

928 - thanks. And for the thanks, one you'll like very much indeed Grey or black - which do you prefer?

 

[Pcar928fan]

I like it in black with bright red interior! I also like the burgundy color! SA-WEET! What a beautiful ride that is! Thanks for the pic!

 

[User211]

Actually, I saw a recent TV program where two fat biker chefs got to test drive 5 fast cars (Ferraris, Lambos etc), and they chose the Maserati Grand Turisimo too.

Here's an older, wiser, Maserati Mistral.

 

[Pcar928fan]

You can see where the Granturismo evolved from with that pic! Clearly they too have VERY good taste!

It really is an awesome car. If you have not had the opportunity to drive one you really should make an effort to do so! I was most impressed.

 

[User211]

To be honest, I'd like to try the Ariel Atom, the 500 BHP version. There's no question that would blow anyone's mind. As an everyday car, though, it'd suck badly.

Anyway, nice new 4.2 Litre, V8 XK60 coupe...

 

[Pcar928fan]

Rather have an Aston than a Jag, but they are pretty close to one another and the Jag is about half the price I guess...

We only get the Atom's over here as track cars, I don't think anyone has EPA/DOTed one anyway, but I could be wrong about that. I would NEVER be able to get in to one of them from the wheelchair and if I got in I certainly would never be able to get out! They are a cool idea though and w/ 500HP that would be an INSANE ride!

 

[Bernard]

I like Jags. I think that they are the best blend between sports and luxury cars. They used to be bad for reliability, though. I wonder how they are now.

 

[User211]

I think they are OK. I had an S-Type for a few weeks and loved it - very comfortable, if too big a car. This was just before the XF came out.