How do british women make such a simple two letter word, into a two syllable word something? Please, someone who lives in the UK enlighten me.
Simple - you invent a language, then proceed to eat it. The English have been doing it for years....
Gave it a 9, probably worthy of a 10 given the final segment - awesome stuff. Would have to be the most consistently excellent series of TG since, well, series 7. Bravo.
Lambo - Perfectly good segment, certainly a pretty amazing vehicle. Hammond's hyperbole aside, it is pretty easy to understand his and Jezza's point though. I know it sounds insane that making a sane car is an insane thing to do, but essentially Audi have replaced Italian soul with German reliability and functionality. Makes perfect sense in a day-to-day car, but who on earth uses their Lambo as a shopping cart? That and I have to say the Aventador's looks don't really do it for me. If I had the money (unlikely but one can dream) I'd want the new car's drivetrain and suspension in the body of a Countach, with a switch that turns it from AWD to RWD, for when I want to scare myself
News - Rather devoid of actual news - Merc have a new Black that's red? - but hilarious nonetheless.
Electric cars - Jezza and James are a good combo and did actually do a pretty much top job at reviewing the Leaf and whatever the other one was called. Of course they still came to the same conclusion that has been done a billion times already - that the moment you want to go more than 100 miles or so, you're screwed - without appreciating that most people who'd buy such a thing would be wanting a short trip city roundabout/eco-friendly showoff wank.
It is worth noting that current lithium battery technology is more than capable of delivering petrol-style fuel ranges (300+ miles), it's just the batteries themselves are bloody expensive at this early stage of production and consumer demand. Which is why the Tesla Roadster costs 100 grand (amongst other things) and the Leaf costs much less. According to Wiki, the Tesla's battery actually costs more than the Leaf itself.
I know Jezza and Co. champion hydrogen as the future but it is still very much in the future that it will become a viable option for everyday motorists - if it ever does. I'm convinced the solution NOW is a combination of plugin battery electrics - for short range, city based stop-start work - and biofuels for longer ranges. The plugin, biofuel'd hybrid is - in my mind - is the 'best of both worlds' solution and certainly most realistic option using today's technology. Saab actually had a biofuel compatible plugin hybrid prototype a few years back, but of course they've been too busy trying to simply stay alive.
For the remaining millions of cars already driving about, biofuel means they can continue to be useful in an environmentally sustainable way until they fall apart. Virtually all cars can be converted for a very reasonable amount of money (less than an LPG conversion). This way everyone - and not just those with tens of thousands of dollars to blow on new cars - can shift away from petroleum fuels. Anyway....
SIRPC - Never heard of the dude but he was fairly funny, certainly less of a cock than Simon Cowell. Plus he was trying to give away Botox vouchers. That's never happened on TV before, to my knowledge....
Soldier Rally - Fanfuckingtastic. No hyperbole, no false suspense, just simple and elegant and what a great bunch on guys. I really do hope they make it to the Dakar.
Cheers, Ben.