Automotive Blogs (377)

The other morning, on the way to work, I tried to get through an intersection but it appeared there was an accident under the light and at least 10 cars couldn't get through. To avoid it, I made a right turn into the parking of a drug store that went out of business nearly 3 years ago.
There was usually trash and overgrowth of shrubs in this place and more often than not, some homeless people had taken residence in the store front covering. I noticed there were 2 police cars side-by-side and they were talking. Having seen this hundreds of times, I didn't pay any attention to them.
Before I could exit the parking lot, I heard a siren an saw red and blue lights flashing in my rear mirror. I stopped. Rolling down my window a cop came up to my car asking if I knew why I was pulled over. My response was "I have no idea." He explained I was cutting through a parking lot but my reply explained about the blocked intersection and... the drug store was not in business anymore.
While he was checking my identification, the 2nd police car pulled alongside me and a woman officer got out. She mentioned it was 'private property' and I was trespassing. I said, there were no signs stating this and she pointed to a (really small) sign pasted on the side of the building column that read: Private Property - Keep Out.
I chuckled and said maybe they should have chained the entrance with the sign or posted it in a place where the warning was visible from the street and not AFTER someone enters the property. She nodded and somewhat agreed but said they were only giving me a warning and I shouldn't cut through the lot anymore.
The other officer came back with my ID and repeated it was only a warning. They had trouble with homeless people camping out in the lot leaving garbage and the landlord called on the help of the police to get them out.

I was meant to write this last week, on Friday, but life got in the way.

Now I have the time to write down what I think of the episode!

This time on The Grand Tour - it's challenge time! Jeremy, Richard and James are testing three pick up trucks, a Mercedes-Benz X-Class, a Volkswagen Amarok and a Ford DangerRanger. Jeremy is driving the Amarok, James is driving the Mercedes-Benz, and Richard is - predictably, perhaps - driving the Ford.

During their test, the guys are doing their best to prove, that the car they each are driving, is the best one in a developed country. That include tests such as tearing down statues, providing vital help to a village, and delivering fuel to a helicopter.

Back in England, Jeremy is testing the new Jaguar XE SV Project 8, which is a 5 door sedan, with 600 angry, snorting horses available. The test only shows me, that I want one of those cars! It's magnificent!


This is the Jaguar Project 8

As with the other episodes, there are some gags and fun stuff, and you can just tell they enjoyed making this season.

All in all, this episode will land on a solid 8/10.

There is a small tuner company in Sealy, Texas. They are making high performance monsters. What is that company? It is Hennessey Performance.

They take somewhat ordinary cars, and make them into souped up monsters, Some of the highlights include the 650R, Venom GT, VelociRaptor and the Exorcist.

The latest creation is the Goliath, which is based on a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss Z71. They have made it into a 6X6, and stuffed a 705 horsepower animal into the front.

The engine starts out as the factory 6.2L V8 engine, and it is then upgraded with the Hennessey’s HPE700 Supercharged engine upgrade which includes a 2.9L supercharger system producing 7 psi of boost along with a stainless steel exhaust upgrade producing 705 bhp @ 6,200 rpm and 675 lb-ft torque @ 4,200 rpm. 0-60 mph times are expected to be in the mid 4 second range even with the additional weight of the 6X6 conversion. Additional GOLIATH 6X6 upgrades include:

6X6 Conversion with additional axle, wheels, tires and brakes
All new rear suspension system
Eight-inch lift kit
Custom 6X6 truck bed
Hennessey 20-inch wheels
BFG 37-inch off-road tires
GOLIATH 6X6 & HENNESSEY graphics
Rollbar upgrade
LED lights
Hennessey front and rear bumpers
3 year / 36,000 mile warranty

And the price for all this madness? $375.000. They will only make 24 of them, though.

I think that Texans are the most insane people in the world.

It's Saturday, so it is time for part 2 of The Grand Tour's Colombia special.

When we left the action, the guys had just finished taking photographs of a jaguar, and they are now facing the task, of photographing a bear, a condor and a hippopotamus.

So far, the trio of cars have been performing well, not suffering any major breakdowns at all. But the terrain gets even more brutal, and the altitudes are getting higher.

As per usual, there are many gags and laugh out loud moments. One of them comes 8 minutes into the episode, where James and Richard poke fun of Jeremy. Good stuff!

It is easy to see the chemistry between the three guys, and I really enjoy their witty banter back and forth. I also have a small correction: Hammond was driving a Chevrolet C/K Silverado, which was shipped from the US to Columbia at night.

But anyway, my honest opinion about this Colombia special, is that it sits up there with the best of the specials.

This episode, for me, gets an 8 out of 10!

The Missing Head

My manager's cat pen lost its head. It happened somewhere between the back office and the front desk. My ears pricked up and I immediately volunteered to head the search party. We passed through the warehouse and I glassed the concrete floor for a tiny, white, kitty head. My heart raced when I sighted what most definitely was, indeed, the missing head! No! Heads! Hundreds of them! Upon closer inspection, they were pieces of styrofoam...

We continued examining every inch of commercial grade carpet, adorned with the vast variety of area rugs. I bent down and scanned the surface beneath sofa's, tables and beds. Nothing!

We lounged in one of the reclining sectionals and shook our heads. Then, the other manager noticed we were missing. This manager rallied a second search party to search for us. Not long after, I felt a nudge on my shoulder, startling me awake. Dazed, I reported back to the customer service desk.

On my way back, I felt a twinge in my stomach. My inner core twisted to the right and my feet followed. Like a water witch, I raised my arms out and moved in a most direct, direction. Then my arms began to twitch and my eyes lowered to a spot next to the foot of a very attractive accent chair. It was there! I had found the missing head!

I crouched down and gently picked up the tiny, white, kitty head. Cupping it in my palm, I presented it to my other, distraught manager. With glee, she reattached the tiny, white kitty head to the pen. The pen that used the cat's tail as a clicker. This manager had several kitty pens, in all colors, so I suggested she pull all the heads off and mix and match.

It is Friday, which means it's time for my favourite car show - The Grand Tour! This time it's a special in two parts!

The trio is in Columbia, on a mission from Amazon: They have to take pictures of wildlife for an Amazon screensaver. Among the animals is a hippopotamus, a jaguar and a bear. No car show is complete without cars, so what did they pick for the journey?

Clarkson went with a Jeep Wrangler, May went with a tiny little Fiat Panda 4X4, and Hammond went for a 7.2 liter Chevrolet Silverado 2500 monster truck!

On the way there, they naturally had some problems and breakdowns along the way, but also some hairy stuff. What that is, I will not spoil here.

Being a two-parter, the conclusion comes tomorrow, but I cannot wait to see how this episode pans out. Hopefully they will get some spectacular stuff!

This episode gets a 8/10 from me. It doesn't really crack the 10 mark, since it lacked something. Something I cannot put my finger on.

The Grand Tour Season 3 is streaming now on Amazon Prime!

Something new for this blog: A review of a 13 episode series! This time, I am reviewing The Grand Tour Season 3.

The first two seasons were full of fun, amazing and sometimes cringy stuff, but the opening scene in season one still remains the best things I have ever seen!

So what does season 3 have in store for us? A bit of violence, a bit of speed and a LOT of momentum! Episode 1 opens up with the trio entering the tent, and Jeremy Clarkson presents a montage of what to expect over the next 13 weeks.

After that, it's time for the best thing ever: Three violent, screaming muscle cars: The Dodge Demon, the Ford Mustang RTR and the insane Hennessey Exorcist, which is a Chevrolet Camaro boosted to 1000 horsepower. The trio aims to find out which of the cars is the best one, and to some extend, which one is worth it the most at its given pricepoint. To figure that out, they take the cars to Motor City - Detroit!

After a series of tests, it's back to the tent, and on to conversation street. It's then time for a test drive of the McLaren Senna, which is such an amazing piece. That car is mad! It's then back to the test in Detroit, and the Demon has some surprisingly annoying features to it. What those features are, I will not spoil here, in case you want to see the episode for yourself

I really enjoyed the episode, and I really look forward to the next one in a weeks time!

The Grand Tour Season 3 is available now on Amazon Prime!

I am a huge, huge, HUGE car nut, so I devour any sort of car related videos and tv shows. The biggest one was Top Gear, when Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May were the hosts. I loved watching the stupid challenges, the car reviews and the epic journeys. I was super bummed out, when Top Gear ended in 2015.

When it was revealed that they went to Amazon to make a new car show, I immediately subscribed to Amazon Prime, in order to be able to see it.

The first season was amazing! Full of fun shenanigans, cringey bits and amazing cars. The opening scene was the best thing ever! I loved every episode, and I was hoping they would release a season 2, which they did.

That was even better, and it was clear that the show would only be bigger.

Now we are six days away from season 3. It premiers on the 18th of January, and I am so going to see every episode!

I hope they will include some truly spectacular cars!

Husband: how was your drive back home? Wife: it was fine, I missed the main exit but I managed to do it.

I was on the highway at 9 this morning headed to a meeting with a real estate agent. They forgot to alert me today was the contest to see who could out maneuver who. I wanted no part of it, especially knowing this road is notorious for unmarked Highway Patrol cars... including the 'wanna race?' setups.

Oh, you didn't know about them?? A friend of mine decided to be part of a race already in session and when they came over the ridge, several police (with radar guns) were waiting to 'see your drivers license, registration and proof of insurance.'

Back to the drive... Sunday morning is great if you want to see people with vintage vehicles out for a Sunday drive. Today I got to see a nice roadster. I'm guessing a 1930's Ford. It had lots of high performance modifications like wide tires, big carburetors and short header exhaust. The car had a blue license plate signifying 'antique' so it was the real deal and not a 'put together' roadster.

Years ago, a client of mine had a 1957 Bel Air convertible with a Corvette engine in perfect condition. He 'ball parked' the value over $200,000 to the right buyer. He would take it to classic car shows and on rare occasion drive down 'the strip' on a Saturday night.

The coolest (in my opinion) antique car I've seen on the road happened to be early one Sunday morning, I pulled alongside a Ford roadster that must have been late 1920's to early 1930's. It was immaculate, you would think it came here via a time machine. The light turned green and some guy in an SUV behind the old car starts blowing the horn!

Obviously, he didn't appreciate Sunday drivers...