Sunday 12 April 2020

Almost Real: Honda City Turbo 2 and Motocompo bike

Having looked at the Honda Ballade CRX previously, it felt wrong to not look at its squarer and rather more insane contemporary, the Honda City Turbo II. 

Almost Real: Honda Ballade CRX


There will be words here at some point. Keep checking back to see if that ever happens. Honda Ballade CRX. 

Sunday 5 April 2020

Old Jim Sleep and his incredible Land Rover. Episode One




An illuminated low-fuel warning light in an old Series Land Rover is an oddly reassuring sight, for two reasons. Firstly, in a car whose build quality very much depended on the prevailing mood at Solihull the day it made its way down the production line, it hints towards the likelihood that the next breakdown would be due to a simple matter of fuel shortage. The second pleasing thing about seeing that lamp glowing away is that it confirms that the thing actually works.

At the time of noticing it, I couldn't be sure just how long it had been casting its eerie amber light over the crackle-black edifice that is Bertha's dashboard, but it had been aware of the way it highlighted the crags and furrows of Old Jim's wizened face. This was a visage that even the kindest would say was notably improved in darkness, and to see only its most pronounced topography highlighted in pale orange was actually quite a privilege.

Monday 23 January 2017

8,000 drivers caught on phone to be given help with simple concepts


I found this article in the Daily Mirage. Interesting reading:

"Following  a crackdown by UK Police on people using mobile phones while driving, almost 8,000 drivers have been revealed as being utterly, utterly stupid.

The drivers, a large proportion of which had gormless expressions and looked like the kind of people you wouldn't want to talk to anyway, persisted in using their phones while driving, oblivious to the fact that other people, like the police, for example, could totally, like, see them doing it. 


Thursday 15 December 2016

Lamborghini-badged iXOOST speaker system achieves new levels of crassness.

You can now buy something that looks like Johnny Five got crazy one night and procreated in union with a '90s Panasonic boom-box. The iXOOST ESAVOX sound system is the overwhelmingly vulgar creation of Matteo Panini's company, which apparently took two years to get the design to this unfathomably garish production state.

Fortunately, those of limited means will be spared the temptation to befoul their homes with an ESAVOX of their own, because it costs twenty thousand Euros. 

Still tempted? You really should have a word with yourself. Still, there's more info after the Jump just for larks.

MCW Metroliner. A coach-ride into history.

Here's another example of a brochure that has outlived 99% of the vehicles it set out to promote. 

Once upon a time,  when Britain was an industrial nation,  it had TWO manufacturers of double-deck luxury coaches. There was Plaxton's of Scarborough,  and MCW of Birmingham. The latter built the Metroliner range of single and double-decker coaches.

Never seen one? Nah, chances are that you won't. Those that weren't converted into open-top sightseeing buses in London will have long dissolved by now. 

Drop me a line if you've got one parked outside right now.

Tuesday 29 November 2016

Honda's striking Accord again.

I was idly ploughing through the thick soup of SLR drainings that I call my 'dump' file when I chanced upon this rather handsome Honda - which I tragically took too few shots of to make into a proper feature. But isn't it lovely?

It then occurred to me - I'm pretty sure there's never been an unattractive Honda Accord; not in the UK, anyway. The three-door first generation car shown above has a rakish coupe attitude;  having miraculously escaped looking like the over-inflated Civic that it really is. The next generation was basically Cortina-shaped, but had a certain razor-edged charm that made it look technical and interesting. Then came the wedge shaped late eighties version; all low bonnet line and swept-back headlights.

Though I'm jealous that we didn't get it with pop-up headlights.