Sunday at Laguna Seca

On 2010-08-23 13:48:06 -0700, "Frank ess" said:



Savageduck wrote:
On 2010-08-23 11:36:49 -0700, "Frank ess" said:


and for some reason the Mini looks to me like an
Austin-Healey 3000 when first spotted head-on at a distance.

You mix up a Mini and an A-H 3000 head-on?


Ayuh.

http://www.fototime.com/6C52FB892D1072C/orig.gif

Oh! You mean one of those fake BMW mini's?

There are just some classic shapes which are unmistakable, and all
Austin-Healey's fall in that category.
http://homepage.mac.com/lco/filechute/_DNC3909w.jpg

--
Regards,

Savageduck

Savageduck wrote:
On 2010-08-23 13:48:06 -0700, "Frank ess" said:



Savageduck wrote:
On 2010-08-23 11:36:49 -0700, "Frank ess"
said:

and for some reason the Mini looks to me like an
Austin-Healey 3000 when first spotted head-on at a distance.

You mix up a Mini and an A-H 3000 head-on?


Ayuh.

http://www.fototime.com/6C52FB892D1072C/orig.gif

Oh! You mean one of those fake BMW mini's?


Ayuh. If I'd meant Austin or Morris Mini, I'd have said so.

There are just some classic shapes which are unmistakable, and all
Austin-Healey's fall in that category.
http://homepage.mac.com/lco/filechute/_DNC3909w.jpg

It's a beauty, a 100S. One of my first sporty-car loves. I eventually
had a 100 BN1 that I made go fast, then a 3000 "4-seat" Standard for a
family car, and a bit later, a '59 Sprite. All delightful cars in
their different ways, and as you say, maybe the best-suited shape for
its purpose, ever. The only other I've owned that was shaped
lovely-ish and functional was the '66 Lotus Elan. I guess Mazda
agreed, as they pretty much copied it for the MX-5, and look how long
that has been the object of automotive affections.

--
Frank ess

"Alan Browne" wrote in message
...
On 10-08-19 9:18 , Peter wrote:
"Alan Browne" wrote in message
...

The only rental co. I really avoid if I can is Alamo. They usually
have their lots way, way, way off the large airports.


On one rental occasion I had to return three different cans, because of
mechanical defects. the third was because the brakes failed.
IMHO all rental companies suck in that they have no realistic provision
for roadside assistance. We were on a vacation and the rented Prius
wouldn't lock. It took 45 minutes of listening to how important I was to
them, before they told me to bring it to their nearest location, about
an hour away. I simply told them: the location of the car for the night;
it was their car' and I would not be responsible if it got stolen.

Given the hundreds of cars I've rented over the years I cannot at all
fault Hertz or Budget in any instance. The few times there has been
something wrong (including me locking keys in the car in LA) I have had on
site help within an hour. Once I dropped a car at a different location
because of a bad vibration and I had a second car and out the lot within 5
minutes of pulling in.



Returning a car for exchange has never been an issue. You have been lucky
with on site help.
On the lighter side: Several years ago, pre 9/11, I returned a rental to an
off site location in Puerto Rico. I did not want to unload a car full of
luggage and people and put all on a bus. I was also very close on the
flight. They very graciously allowed me to return the car to the airport and
had someone follow me to drive the rental back. Only problem, they sent one
guy in one car. When I last looked this guy was scratching his head in
bewilderment, trying to figure out how he was going to drive two cars back.

--
Peter

"Paul Furman" wrote in message
...
Charles E Hardwidge wrote:
"Bill Graham" wrote in message
...

I remember how I loved the "E" type Jag back in the 50's I couldn't wait
until I started working and had some cash to buy one....By the time I
did,
Jaguar had stopped making them....did they stop making the huge upside
down bathtubs that the American manufacturers were making? Hell no they
didn't!! They dropped the only beautiful thing they had left.....The
XKE!
Whatever disease that all the American car manufacturers had caught had
traveled across the Atlantic and infected the British car makers......

There was a burst of management types trying to emulate modern America
around that time and it percolated into city planning as well. The
problem
is it wasn't thought through or followed through properly. Big fail all
round. My guess is cars got snarled up in that wave as well.

Not sure what era you are talking about exactly but the recent decade's
Jaguars look incredibly astoundingly bland! Ditto for most Mercedes.

Yeah.....I think Ford bought out Jaguar, so what can one expect? But all
cars look alike to me....At least all the ones that sell for under $30K. And
there really isn't any excuse for it except poor taste of the public. It
would be very easy to put one of those wonderful bodies from the twenties or
thirties on a modern "safe" chassis.

"Frank ess" wrote in message
...


Paul Furman wrote:
Charles E Hardwidge wrote:
"Bill Graham" wrote in message
...

I remember how I loved the "E" type Jag back in the 50's I
couldn't wait until I started working and had some cash to buy
one....By the time I did,
Jaguar had stopped making them....did they stop making the huge
upside down bathtubs that the American manufacturers were making?
Hell no they didn't!! They dropped the only beautiful thing they
had left.....The XKE! Whatever disease that all the American car
manufacturers had caught had traveled across the Atlantic and
infected the British car makers......

There was a burst of management types trying to emulate modern
America around that time and it percolated into city planning as
well. The problem is it wasn't thought through or followed through
properly. Big fail all round. My guess is cars got snarled up in
that wave as well.

Not sure what era you are talking about exactly but the recent
decade's Jaguars look incredibly astoundingly bland! Ditto for most
Mercedes.

Seems to me the E-type was a 1960s car. There were some real bloopers in
the 1950s and 60s, all over the world. Some 1970s and 80s cars were pretty
good. I'm not very excited about many cars since then. Remember when we
were kids and could recognize and call out the make and model of every car
on the road? Design choices having to do with weight, wind resistance, and
fear of making an ugly mistake have resulted in cars that are essentially
indistinguishable, one brand from another. There is enough about the
Forduars to recognize them sometimes, and for some reason the Mini looks
to me like an Austin-Healey 3000 when first spotted head-on at a distance.

Otherwise, plenty of newly introduced cars - last three or four years,
anyway - seem to be designed to appeal to cartoon-watchers. Look at the
high beltlines and pillbox windows on Magnums, Camaros, and Challengers.
Ick.

--
Frank ess
There isn't a modern car on the road that is as pretty as my '59 MG "A". And
it was one of the cheapest cars in its class at the time. Of course, it was
a two seater, which admittedly isn't very practical. but it sure was better
looking than the two seaters Ford has put out during the last ten years.....

"Bill Graham" wrote in message
...

Yeah.....I think Ford bought out Jaguar, so what can one expect? But all
cars look alike to me....At least all the ones that sell for under $30K.
And there really isn't any excuse for it except poor taste of the public.
It would be very easy to put one of those wonderful bodies from the
twenties or thirties on a modern "safe" chassis.

It's just a fact that Hollywoodisation leads to a homogenised paste. Movies?
Industry? Politics? Same deal. That's why Gore Vidal sneeringly dismissed
the "centre" as the "dead centre". This is true but only to a point.

Eastern philosophies including Zen Buddhism suggest that "everything flows
from the centre". When you get the basic idea of form, attitude, and growth
in these terms the "centre" stops being dead and comes alive.

You can test this universal premise by yourself simply by taking a
photograph and reflecting on these three elements. This can require "letting
go" as previous ideas, sentiments, and impatience get in the way.


--
Charles E Hardwidge

"Charles E Hardwidge" wrote in message
...
"Bill Graham" wrote in message
...

Yeah.....I think Ford bought out Jaguar, so what can one expect? But all
cars look alike to me....At least all the ones that sell for under $30K.
And there really isn't any excuse for it except poor taste of the public.
It would be very easy to put one of those wonderful bodies from the
twenties or thirties on a modern "safe" chassis.

It's just a fact that Hollywoodisation leads to a homogenised paste.
Movies?
Industry? Politics? Same deal. That's why Gore Vidal sneeringly dismissed
the "centre" as the "dead centre". This is true but only to a point.

Eastern philosophies including Zen Buddhism suggest that "everything flows
from the centre". When you get the basic idea of form, attitude, and
growth
in these terms the "centre" stops being dead and comes alive.

You can test this universal premise by yourself simply by taking a
photograph and reflecting on these three elements. This can require
"letting
go" as previous ideas, sentiments, and impatience get in the way.

I wonder how the same concept applies to music.....I find the modern popular
music deplorable......No melody.....Just repetitious beat & harmony until it
drives me to distraction....I think we (the whole world) is going through a
period of artistic death......Kind of a "dark ages" where there is no
artistic inspiration or development. I wonder how long we will remain here
before there is a "breakthrough", and an "age of enlightenment"........

On 2010-08-23 17:39:42 -0700, "Bill Graham" said:


"Charles E Hardwidge" wrote in message
...
"Bill Graham" wrote in message
...

Yeah.....I think Ford bought out Jaguar, so what can one expect? But all
cars look alike to me....At least all the ones that sell for under $30K.
And there really isn't any excuse for it except poor taste of the public.
It would be very easy to put one of those wonderful bodies from the
twenties or thirties on a modern "safe" chassis.

It's just a fact that Hollywoodisation leads to a homogenised paste. Movies?
Industry? Politics? Same deal. That's why Gore Vidal sneeringly dismissed
the "centre" as the "dead centre". This is true but only to a point.

Eastern philosophies including Zen Buddhism suggest that "everything flows
from the centre". When you get the basic idea of form, attitude, and growth
in these terms the "centre" stops being dead and comes alive.

You can test this universal premise by yourself simply by taking a
photograph and reflecting on these three elements. This can require "letting
go" as previous ideas, sentiments, and impatience get in the way.

I wonder how the same concept applies to music.....I find the modern
popular music deplorable......No melody.....Just repetitious beat &
harmony until it drives me to distraction....I think we (the whole
world) is going through a period of artistic death......Kind of a "dark
ages" where there is no artistic inspiration or development. I wonder
how long we will remain here before there is a "breakthrough", and an
"age of enlightenment"........

Here you go Bill. This is a young guitarist, Joscho Stephan, who would
put Django Reinhardt to shame.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfj10h87CrY


--
Regards,

Savageduck

"Savageduck" wrote in message
news:2010082317435142612-savageduck1@REMOVESPAMmecom...
On 2010-08-23 17:39:42 -0700, "Bill Graham" said:


"Charles E Hardwidge" wrote in message
...
"Bill Graham" wrote in message
...

Yeah.....I think Ford bought out Jaguar, so what can one expect? But
all
cars look alike to me....At least all the ones that sell for under
$30K.
And there really isn't any excuse for it except poor taste of the
public.
It would be very easy to put one of those wonderful bodies from the
twenties or thirties on a modern "safe" chassis.

It's just a fact that Hollywoodisation leads to a homogenised paste.
Movies?
Industry? Politics? Same deal. That's why Gore Vidal sneeringly
dismissed
the "centre" as the "dead centre". This is true but only to a point.

Eastern philosophies including Zen Buddhism suggest that "everything
flows
from the centre". When you get the basic idea of form, attitude, and
growth
in these terms the "centre" stops being dead and comes alive.

You can test this universal premise by yourself simply by taking a
photograph and reflecting on these three elements. This can require
"letting
go" as previous ideas, sentiments, and impatience get in the way.

I wonder how the same concept applies to music.....I find the modern
popular music deplorable......No melody.....Just repetitious beat &
harmony until it drives me to distraction....I think we (the whole world)
is going through a period of artistic death......Kind of a "dark ages"
where there is no artistic inspiration or development. I wonder how long
we will remain here before there is a "breakthrough", and an "age of
enlightenment"........

Here you go Bill. This is a young guitarist, Joscho Stephan, who would put
Django Reinhardt to shame.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfj10h87CrY


Yeah.....That guy is fabulous....Makes me wish I had stuck with the
guitar.....Trouble is, I would never have gotten that good in a million
years....

Frank ess wrote:


Paul Furman wrote:
Charles E Hardwidge wrote:
"Bill Graham" wrote in message
...

I remember how I loved the "E" type Jag back in the 50's I
couldn't wait until I started working and had some cash to buy
one....By the time I did,
Jaguar had stopped making them....did they stop making the huge
upside down bathtubs that the American manufacturers were making?
Hell no they didn't!! They dropped the only beautiful thing they
had left.....The XKE! Whatever disease that all the American car
manufacturers had caught had traveled across the Atlantic and
infected the British car makers......

There was a burst of management types trying to emulate modern
America around that time and it percolated into city planning as
well. The problem is it wasn't thought through or followed through
properly. Big fail all round. My guess is cars got snarled up in
that wave as well.

Not sure what era you are talking about exactly but the recent
decade's Jaguars look incredibly astoundingly bland! Ditto for most
Mercedes.

Seems to me the E-type was a 1960s car. There were some real bloopers in
the 1950s and 60s, all over the world. Some 1970s and 80s cars were
pretty good. I'm not very excited about many cars since then. Remember
when we were kids and could recognize and call out the make and model of
every car on the road? Design choices having to do with weight, wind
resistance, and fear of making an ugly mistake have resulted in cars
that are essentially indistinguishable, one brand from another. There is
enough about the Forduars to recognize them sometimes, and for some
reason the Mini looks to me like an Austin-Healey 3000 when first
spotted head-on at a distance.

Otherwise, plenty of newly introduced cars - last three or four years,
anyway - seem to be designed to appeal to cartoon-watchers. Look at the
high beltlines and pillbox windows on Magnums, Camaros, and Challengers.
Ick.

As a kid, I drooled for a Mercedes SL roadster:
http://www.netcarshow.com/mercedes-b...llpaper_01.htm
That one was made the year I was born - well maybe I was more into a
WWII Willys Jeep but that Mercedes has always been on my drool list... I
got to ride in the back of a red one like that once when I was little
enough to fit. By the 80's... blech!