I had to virtually pull over and come comment when I got to part three. Hilarious. I'm re-wiring my sim setup after work tonight. Now I've got a goal once everything is plugged in and software sorted.
Maybe Automobilista2 is much faster than in real life at the Glen. Race conditions vs an identical field, all-season tires, VW Polo hatch with 148hp and I was 2:31 easily. The 1979 brazilian stock car was right there too. Anything remotely fast was so far ahead of Jonny it's not worth mentioning. Might try the Brazilian Copa semi truck tonight.
Recently I was surprised to hear Farrah admit on his TST podcast that there are a number of journalists in general, and one in particular, whose paychecks depend on pushing EVs as hard as they can. I know this and you know this but I was shocked to hear someone in the mainstream automotive press (assuming that’s what TST is, and I think it is) say this out loud. I forget exactly how they specified Lieberman, but they made it clear they were talking about him.
I mean do you blame him? Like what else has he got to offer? He’s not a journalist, not really. He’s more of a freelance marketeer who specializes in human-controlled, 4 wheeled conveyances.
MotorTrend is pushing hard to be the only car rag to survive the Glorious EV Transition. It makes sense because electric vehicles are really the only cars driven by motors to begin with.
Seems like something an urban dweller who takes public transportation would write. If they’re so inevitable, a superior product, then why do they depend heavily on subsidies and rebates? Remember the subsidies and rebates for smartphones? Yeah, neither do I.
If you look up master car flipper Mike Brewer's (of Wheeler Dealers fame) dealership in the middle of the UK, where you get incentives to buy an EV and to put up solar panels - out of the 126 listed cars, he has 2 EVs, and one of them has been on the lot since 3 months (you can see the date on the central display when they photographed the car). If nothing else, he knows his customers. I believe this ratio to be correct in the grand sense as well, eg. out of 100ish people, 2 can make use of an EV.
The article lost me when 0: Quoted is Matt Yglesias and 1: writes "Tesla whose CEO is deeply embedded in the global autocratic axis".
I also have to ask, what are they going to win? When are they winning it?In 100 years are there chargers on every corner and and cars can be charged in 5 minutes? Sure. Are most cars THEN going to be electric? Possibly.
In the context of automobiles, motors and engines are synonymous. To my knowledge, when these companies were being created and named, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Bayerische Motoren Werke were not in the EV business. Honda used to run ads showing their diverse product lineup, stressing that they were the Honda *Motor* Co.
My curiosity piqued, I turned to etymology. It looks like motor is the earlier term (by about a century, 17th vs 18th), than engine, for a device used to provide mechanical power. I also checked with ChatGPT and its AI seems to insist that motors are powered by electricity and engines are powered by chemistry and while that may be the standard today, it's clear to me there was little distinction between the two terms in the early automotive era.
In the early days, a lot of car companies didn't make their own engines, the most prominent was probably Continental Motor Company, another supplier was Hercules Engines. In small engines it's Kohler Engines, and Wisconsin Motors (Briggs & Stratton has always been just Briggs & Stratton).
Perhaps "motorist" and "motorsports" prevailed because there was already a term "engineer" that meant either a professional engineer or a guy who was at the controls of a train. Interestingly, in the UK they called the guys operating trains "engine drivers", not engineers, or at least according to The Who they did https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAEoVvswOcI).
"engine (n.)
c. 1300, "mechanical device," especially one used in war; "manner of construction," also "skill, craft, innate ability; deceitfulness, trickery," from Old French engin "skill, wit, cleverness," also "trick, deceit, stratagem; war machine" (12c.), from Latin ingenium "innate qualities, ability; inborn character," in Late Latin "a war engine, battering ram" (Tertullian, Isidore of Seville). This is etymologically "that which is inborn," from in- "in" (from PIE root *en "in") + gignere "to beget, produce" (from PIE root *gene- "give birth, beget").
The sense of "device that converts energy to mechanical power" emerged in 18c. In 19c. the word was used especially of steam engines. Middle English also had ingeny (n.) "gadget, apparatus, device," directly from Latin ingenium."
"motor (n.)
"one who or that which imparts motion," mid-15c., "controller, prime mover (in reference to God);" from Late Latin motor, literally "mover," agent noun from past-participle stem of Latin movere "to move" (from PIE root *meue- "to push away"). Sense of "agent or force that produces mechanical motion" is first recorded 1660s; that of "machine that supplies motive power" is from 1856. Motor-home is by 1966. Motor-scooter is from 1919. First record of slang motor-mouth "fast-talking person" is from 1970.
motor (v.)
travel or drive in a motor vehicle," "1896, from motor (n.). Related: Motored; motoring.
motor-
element used extensively in 20c. word formation to indicate motorcar.
motorize (v.)
"to furnish with a motor or motors," 1913, from motor (n.) + -ize. Related: Motorized; motorizing; motorization.
motor-bike (n.)
also motorbike, "motorcycle," 1903, from motor (n.) + bike (n.).
motor-boat (n.)
also motorboat, "motor-driven boat," 1875, from motor (n.) + boat (n.).
motorist (n.)
"motor-car driver," 1896, from motor- + -ist. Earlier as a name for electric railway drivers (1889). Other early alternatives included motorneer.
"Motorer" we have given our reasons for rejecting, and there only remains "motorist" or a compound like "motor-man" or "motor-driver." Mr. C.P.G. Scott, the etymologist of the Century Dictionary, strongly favors "motor-man" or "motor-driver," though he would not object to "motorist" and prefers it above any other single word.
He should, but he doesn't, because he's not an unpleasant or confrontational person. He wants to be liked, which is not a goal that ever crossed my mind.
I have a friend. Much more sociable and friendly than me. Lots of friends and makes more all the time. He keeps a journal of all the admirable qualities he finds in all of his friend, which is why he makes more friends every day and i do not, and his admirable quality for me was “doesnt give a shit what other people think” and i was baffled about why anyone else would.
No idea, sorry. I have a long commute and a dog I walk frequently so I listen to all of them amongst other things. Sometime in the last 6-8 weeks, but I don’t remember. And it was in passing, not the point of the discussion.
Not sure where you got that idea from. He doesn't personally own any EV, and him and Johnny Boy had quite an argument last year on the podcast about battery materials and how harmful it is to mine them. Matt was on they "its actually pretty bad" side and Johnny was on the "NOT ITS ACTUALLY FINE AND DOES NO DAMAGE WHATSOEVER AND ITS A MILLION TIMES CLEANER THAN BETTER THAN OIL JUST TRUST ME BRO" side.
He wants the cost of maintenance and running the Bently for a year to break even with the total cost of his old Mach E lease payments for a year. I think it'll be close, and either number isn't wildly out of the realm of affordability for most regular people. Granted, current Mach E leases are much cheaper, and Matt does recognize that too; it's part of the reason he's considering canceling the Macan and getting another Ford.
I drove one a few hundred miles at my old job for running around to suppliers or jobbers. Mixed use of highways and 2 lane roads between Pontiac and Novi and Brighton, multiple times. I've written about it in comments here before, but I thought it was a lovely car for regular car things. Pretty damn efficient, fast enough for normal driving, and it has surprisingly decent dynamics along with decent ride quality. The hatch is generous, the stereo is decent, and the seats are comfortable. I really do like those cars!
I only test drove one for an hour, but agree with @WyattLCB, the Gen2 Volt was a great car, and excellent for what it was. I am not 100% sure if it was the battery level of the one I was driving which was low, but mine would not "run out to X speed on battery alone." I do see that as a drawback. But the idea of a performant Prius with a great stereo and solid handling was and remains a great idea. If I could stand certain aspects of it I would have bought, but to go PHEV I want a "25 miles of electric only range at full acceleration to speeds of 70 mph" level of electric-only performance.
I'd forgotten he also had one of those. He gave it to his sister. I don't get why Wyatt thinks Farah is not super EV positive when the guy has owned stuff like this.
I didn't say he hated EV's either. He likes EV's a lot, that's obvious, but he isn't a full on shill for them like Johnny, Ed Loh, or many other "journalists" are now. Matt likes EVs more than I do, but he will admit they aren't the world saving answer golden bullet they're market as by the gov, OEMs, and most media outlets.
I generally think EVs are a scam, but if I had Matt's resources I would own one just for the amusement of having a tool that is optimized for specific tasks.
It's been a long time since I watched TST, but I remember Matt driving a Jaguar SUV EV and being quite vocal about how difficult it would be to live with. I put him in the "they have their uses, but aren't for everyone" camp.
He has done at least two shows with his father, Roger.
I have a friend - for those keeping up with the Sherman McCoy cinematic universe, it’s the fellow with the 60” (plus) waist - whose father moves in the same circles as Roger Farah in South Carolina: High end private hunting plantations, Orvis (Roger is on the board; Perkins family lives next door to my buddy’s parents), etc. My sense is that Roger is very smart, reasonably humble / self-effacing, and not too bothered about the lackluster achievements of his child(ren). My buddy’s dad is … exactly the same.
I didn’t interpret Roger’s advice as Dave Ramsey-esque, at all. Dave Ramsey’s business is brusquely dispensing one size fits all advice to people who have lived above their means who are unwilling or unable to enhance their revenue, so they have to cut expenses. That’s it. He debases his “guests” just like Jerry Springer, et alia.
It's my fault for not being more specific. Mr. Farah wasn’t demanding that people work 18 hour days while living on rice and beans but he did recommend rather than trying to chase the market competing with people that will always know more than you to regularly contribute to a good mutual fund and let it grow. I agree that he sounded like a very successful yet modest gentleman.
It was much more enjoyable to listen to than the more standard episodes featuring the drunken belligerent blog writer guests ;-) .
In fact, it’s what I follow; I receive the “market” (S&P 500) return less very, very modest fees in exchange for … doing no work at all. In fact, I have never sold a share of stock. I just dollar cost average the broad market and let it ride.
Might be good business from the perspective of the rental operation. If certainly makes their product look easy, and you can rest assured you won't be their slowest customer.
The OEMs want views and attention on their vehicles, which explains why instagrammers no one that I know has ever heard of get press junkets, and why they still hookup Lieberman with goodies. If MotorTrend were to die, or scrap Lieberman, I wonder if he could make it on his own (would he have a following to go with him to YouTube or something else)? Ok, just kidding, I don’t wonder if that could happen.
As Jean Lindamood could tell you, people who made their bones being loyal to PR and magazine bosses gets you about zero audience when the carousel stops.
You might as well ask "Could Arthur St. Antoine have made it on his own?"
I was thinking something a little more elaborate and costly. You put up the money to train the driver and run the car for the weekend against EcoJon. Would be good fun but costly so a few thousand more subscribers would allow you the time and means to make us here laugh.
That's a great idea. For context, my stepdaughter learned how to drive a stick shift in May, started driving on track in June, and is now about 1.5 seconds off perfect pace in her Spec Racer Ford. I can get those results from most people if they're serious.
So she's following her mother's trajectory? I seem to recall Danger Girl couldn't drive a stick but once she decided to race she very quickly proved her mettle...
If I lived anywhere near there I feel like the (almost two) tons of fun ecoboost Mustang convertible would be a good candidate. Despite being a bit of a jackass I follow directions pretty well.
Yes, but it would be especially funny to take a down on power, confused transmission, heat soaked, underbraked open touring car and walk his time at Watkins. Based on how far back in time and down on power you had to go to match it I think it might be possible sans instruction.
Would my 1983 Pontiac Parisienne work as a stand in? The prior owner had a racer's heart when she had the whitewalls mounted facing in on the Goodyear Viva Walmart special tires.
I was thinking it would be really funny to take worse and worse driver and car combos to see who could still beat his time. Sixteen year old girl with a learner's permit? Unlicensed grandpa from the Lower East Side? First Gen Prius? Yugo?!?
There's no such thing as "automotive journalism". The entire industry is a bunch of lifestyle bloggers with unwarranted self-importance and insulin resistance or video-based chucklefucks dreaming of becoming a politically-correct Jeremy Clarkson.
I gag each time any of them uses the word "journalist". What journalism did you do exactly? Develop insider sources at the C suite level? Go undercover in a factory to find environmental abuses?
"I traveled 36 hours to Gran Canaria to see if the refreshed GTS 4.000 E-Hybrid Heritage Dakar Bongo Bongo will make my wife's boyfriend 3 percent more jealous!"
If it isn't a reporter standing in front of a fire, it isn't "news". It's likely already gone through some PD's public affairs department or a company's PR reps and is something akin to a rewritten press release.
I am a completely novice driver with zero racing or track experience of any kind.
Assuming a large budget, a roughly equivalent car, and a positive attitude, how long would it take you as someone who has done a fair amount of coaching to get me lapping faster than that?
I’m just here to shill for the track day club again. Do it. If you’re really worried about shitcanning your car just buy track insurance, but if you’re a novice like me you’ll be in limited passing sessions with everyone’s singular goal being getting good and not fucking their car up. There’s a lot of power in humility here.
I will second this. about a dozen years ago when I'd only recently bought a 993, I drove it cross country to Ohio, had a local race shop prep it for a track day, and had Jack take me around Nelson Ledges for an afternoon. It was my first time ever on a track, so we kept it in third the entire time and let the torque of the engine do the work. I was _very_ timid for the first few laps, but by the end of the day I had a surprising amount of confidence.
My times almost certainly sucked, but my point is Jack is a very patient and very skilled coach, and even if you lack the humility SBO referred to, Jack will not allow you to get in over your head.
(Jack may have an entirely different recollection of my day on the track...)
Man I'd love an opportunity to go up against some of these industry writers in a battle of lap times. I may just be a lowley drifter, but that does translate into knowing what cars do when you move the weight around. That's really all driving and car control is, just managing the weight and moving it where it's needed via the steering wheel and pedals.
Maybe I'm overconfident, but I think beating Johnny is too low of a bar. Go for Sam Smith, he's actually pretty good (in my perception).
Oh, and last I checked trackday level is $100 more than standard but I could be wrong.
I appreciate the confirmation! Although, I have to admit I was slower around waterford in my e36 than MDG in the rented Spec Miata. Alex definitely matched or bettered SM pace with my big ass in the passenger seat. My excuses are:
0. I had to drive the car home which leads to;
1. Self preservation instincts kicked in earlier than necessary.
2. It was a very chill track day with nothing to prove.
I hope I'd have stronger nerves in a car I needn't worry about breaking in a more competitive environment.
Next season lets get you to come to the PCA spring Waterford Hills day and get you some more track time. My group is super relaxed and we have a novice day with tons of instructors. If you don't feel like you're a novice, and don't terrify anyone, they'll pass you up to solo in a session or two.
I've been driving to and from the track for a lot of years, totally get what you're saying.
Never been to Watkins Glen track, but tell me, I can regularly run 1:21 at Waterford Hills and low 1:30s at Grattan in my stock Cayman, how would that compare with JL?
A long long time ago I read “don’t take a car to the track that you can’t afford to ball up and walk away from” and I’ve taken that to heart. I could theoretically walk away from the S2000, but I don’t want to, and I’m not in the position to splash out the cash (and then store and support) something else that I could walk away from.
I spent 4 hours at the range today and spent maybe $125 on shells. 5k on the guns i used combined. Maybe $50-60 on the clay. Id love to learn to race but i cant imagine id have much more fun than i did today
In 15 years of doing street car tracking I've seen exactly one car balled up, on my first day ever! The trick is to get your feet wet with groups that have an interest in safe track days. Our host has nothing good to say about the PCA, but I do, they run a structured and safe track day program. I've run with some sketchy groups and in private track rentals and there, yes, bad stuff does happen, but usually even the bad stuff is some bent metal and busted axles. An old S2000 is such a great car to take to a track.
you honor i would like the jury to know i like this comment because i found it funny and not because i agree with the content and i do not condone these actions
I wish I knew. He's a very clumsy and inept man, I think he's nearly blind, and he's unwilling to learn anything. The rumor is that he's totaled a half dozen press cars.
Maybe if he put as much effort into racing as he does with his caveman pick up awkward sandbags with horrible form workouts, he would improve approximately 1 second per stint.
I had to unfollow him because getting annoyed at some no talent ass clown who has no idea who I am (and I promise you, I’m somebody alright!) was not worth the gray hair. My kids have that covered for me and I actually like them.
In the autowriting business, "the classics" would be Tom Wolfe (for tone and perception), Gordon Baxter (for reader rapport, feel free to substitute Egan) and Don Sherman.
Hunter S. Thompson should be read by anyone who wants to write, but then just as quickly forgotten until you're got a firm grasp of your craft. Thompson is an example of having to know all the rules before you can break them.
Something that I'm not sure people appreciate about Thompson is just how solid his reporting skills were. Most people are familiar with his more freewheeling, experiential later work and may not understand the depth of his reporting. Hells Angels is a deeply, immersively reported work of narrative nonfiction.
Fair. I had for years heard raves about By Brooks Too Broad For Leaping and _finally_ tracked down a copy. I saw flashes of brilliance in it and I was impressed by the themes she explored (so much sudden loss and death), but was a bit ... let down? Maybe it was a case of having built the book up so much in my mind before reading it.
My personal "big 3" are Egan, Sam Smith, and obviously (because I pay him to be here) Jack. Egan for story craft, Smith for creativity and entertainment, and Jack for keepin' it real.
On the other hand, he'll go on and on about watches (so he's got that going for him in your book) on "Spike's Car Radio" , where he's a regular. Both Spike and Farrah are watch guys too (like the Baruth bros, hmmmm......)
No shame. Farah’s take on mechanical watches is similar to mine- I love having this machine that tells quite good time and can survive 3900m under water (unlike me).
Having been to Bark's little rural enclave many times, I don't like the chances faced by any would-be burglar or robber. Even if you could dig through his famously messy and absurdly large home to find the watches, the neighbors would start off by shooting to wound, just for their own amusement.
It sucks to want to be good at something, to believe you have some spark of talent or ability that just needs to be fanned to flame, only to find out you are not good and probably never will be.
I’m terrified that this will be the case when I FINALLY start doing OTDs at Waterford next year. I think I’ll be pretty good based on my rental karting experience (please feel free to lol) and my very limited track driving experience working for an OEM. But if it IS the case I don’t plan to pretend I’m good…
I have run into this many times, with Army officers I worked for, as well as (the son of) small business owners I worked for. Extreme self confidence in the face of zero evidence of competency is an amazing feat.
Waterford Hills is awesome! You'll have an instructor for at least your first session. Listen and follow their directions carefully, the line isn't what you may think it should be. From there just work up pace as your confidence and brakes allow. OTDs aren't for measuring how good you are anyway.
Swear to God, I was not intent on achieving a triple entendre. Especially when it comes to defending the sort of participation trophy auto journalist here under discussion!
One of the most interesting characters in Maugham's The Moon and Sixpence was the painter who had a deep appreciation of great art but could only paint cliches. Spoiler: kept trying, did not end well.
I just ran an enduro at Ridge Motorsports Park... team of four drivers in a Ford Focus race car. We also used Race Hero to track lap times... best lap times: first guy (experienced SCCA racer) 1:59.85, me (NASA sprint racer): 1:59.78, third guy (no comp license) 1:59.9... last guy (team owner and experienced enduro racer) could have put down a faster lap, but we were leading P2 in our class by 2 laps, so last guy saved the car running 2:00's, and brought home the win... I believe if a driver was more than 5 seconds off the average team pace, they would probably not be asked back...
Yeah. There's like a 3-second buffer you can throw at it to preserve tires, save a bit of fuel, maybe keep heat out of the engine... beyond that you need to have a real plan if you're going to cut additional pace out of the stint.
This is going to sound shitty but it's not really meant to be... the team uses a photographer at the track, and the owner lets her drive during practice, or if we're not competitive, in exchange for her (excellent) photography work. She's significantly off the team pace, but she's just doing it for fun. But when I say "significantly" I mean like 10 secs or so... your man in a high-power race car being 10+ sec off the team pace is pretty pathetic. Even if he couldn't carry speed through WG's corners, the horsepower should at least eat the straights the same...
I mean, I'm genuinely curious if they detuned the car during his stint? For his safety?
I'll never not be fat again. The last time I was unfat I was 32 years old, running 4 miles every morning and having very little lunch. That allowed me to hover at 195 pounds.
If current trends continue i should be 226-228 pounds by Christmas, but i doubt I'll stay there very long. It sucks to work long hours and eat one meal a day.
The biggest thing for me is spending 4-5 hours on the phone on a typical day lately (since the first bank deal(s) for OF, etc. started); I have a tendency to get up and walk or pace around while doing so. It’s fairly easy for me to lose weight if I walk ~10 miles every day.
I was 215 at 30. Youve met me. Im a tall broad shouldered guy who looks good at 225. I hit 235 earlier this year and then ate a mcnugget. Weighed 430 after
I have one Zegna hanging in my closet, where it will stay, ignored. It nominally fits, but the armholes (I have no idea what tailors call that part, but I mean the shoulder end of the arm) are cut so close that they do not allow any airflow to the armpits. Hideously uncomfortable for any extended period of time. Nice material, though, I'll give it that.
I’m currently a 50IT at the preferred RTW clothier of Alejandro Mayorkas and every less than moderately fat financier in Atlanta and other Sun Belt cities, Sid Mashburn. With a 7” drop, I don’t even need my alligator strap with the (pre-Roger Farah, pre-LVMH) Tiffany engine turned buckle bearing my initials.
My generously proportioned friend who now lives in Charleston wears a tagged 60” waist in DXL type clothing - he would be absolutely undefeated in a hula hoop contest.
I have a friend who I could only describe as comically obese if it weren't for the fact that it's killing him.
Anyways, we went to Indy some years back so I could pick up a helmet. He tagged along to get measured for a new race suit. This guy had a 38" THIGH. That's my pant size.
Italian sizing is substantially different than ours. Some of the heavy equipment I buy from an Italian company and a factory rep offered to give me some swag. I am an American XL, the jacket and sweatshirt he gave me are both marked XXXL and fit perfect.
My wife bought me an XL wool shirt for my birthday, a really nice one. Trying it on was shockingly dispiriting for the one minute until I realized it had come from Italy.
i figured italians in italy were the type to have a cigarette and an espresso for breakfast whereas the italian americans looked more like tony soprano
I wonder if there's an equivalent to _Albion's Seed_ but for Italians? I sense that the US got a particular subset of Italians, probably heavily Sicilian and virtually not at all Tyrolean.
I was at COTA for the US Grand Prix back in 2015. It was pouring buckets, and behind its pit garage Ferrari had erected an appropriately elaborate (and, being F1, probably expensive) awning over what was essentially, a bar just tall enough for the mechanics to lean against and just wide enough for each of them to position an espresso cup and an ashtray.
it was one of my favorite things I saw that weekend - a line of F1 mechanics sipping espresso and smoking under an awning specifically designed for exactly, and only, for that purpose.
My favorite F1 driver was Alessandro Nannini. He would drink espresso and smoke cigarettes before qualifying and the GP. Pity he had the helicopter accident just as his career was taking off.
I'm not famous but I too get scared over 100 MPH, when the governor on my old Mercedes Coupe was broken I had it up to 135 and all I could think about was how fast things would go wrong if anything untoward happened .
He really seems to have gotten under your skin Jack .
I bear him no personal ill will, although he and his pals have tried to take a meal out of my kid's hands about a half-dozen different ways. I just want the business to be better, which means having better people in it.
Maybe i am just cynical but at any point in the last 17 years, which is my best guess at when i started reading you, has any of this gotten better? Youre a smart guy, almost certainly smarter than me. Lets say the inflection point was optimistic 2007. We are at a 27 year down turn if our sin wave starts going the other way tomorrow. Neither of us will ever see the bright side of this imdustry again. Our kids have to do it by planting trees in soil. Im talking about grand kids. Guess mine are the soil
I went 125 mph in a kia with my family sleeping and didnt think twice about it. 155mph? Now that is fast. Coincidentallybthe top soeed on a red 2007 mazda soeed three. They werent lying about that top. On a bike i get worried cause getting to 150 from 80 takes a few seconds but a tire pop and youre dead. Dont speed as much as i used to. Keep your eyes open and on the road. Dont be a moron whom does it in traffic
I've had a strict rule that I wouldn't drive like a lunatic with someone in the passenger seat. There are maybe 2-3 people who I know are comfortable being along for the ride. They are the same people who I'm comfortable being in the right seat with.
The 155mph was with my best friend. That was DANGEROUS. Really dangerous. Not nearly open enough to have been an even reasonable idea. We both had done stupid stuff with eachother before. Like the oxy he ended up overdosing on twenty years later. I dont even think twice about 120 in a properly maintained modern car on a well maintained highway. Not gonna cruise for hours through traffic at that pace but if it’s wide open at 2am on a long straight highway, im gonna punch it.
I once hit 150 (indicated) on a sixth-generation VFR on Highway 299 way far north in Northern California. I chose that location, on a bit of a whim, because it was a long straight with no cross traffic a slight decline, and essentially unlimited visibility. I let the needle kiss 150, stay there long enough for me to reasonably claim I'd seen 150, then backed off because things happen _very_ quickly when you're covering 220 feet per second.
Basically what i have done every time i have done stupid speed except the one mentioned above. Hit 150 in the r1 1/4 -1/2 mile before and exit. Hit it, slowed down. The 155 in the mazda was a long 155. The 145 in a c5 corvette was relatively short
Near where I used to live there was an abandoned rural airport. The road alongside the airport was 2 miles long with zero intersections and fresh asphalt.
I was taking pictured there one afternoon and decided to make a go of the drive back. My experience was the same as yours. I couldn't even tell you my exact speed as I was too afraid to even focus on the HUD. Even driving 100+ on my daily home, doing 150+ is a whole different ballgame. That was a one and done, I don't feel compelled to do it again.
The fastest I've ever gone is on the track, about 135 on the one lon straight at one of my regular tracks. You hit that lap after lap and realize, it doesn't feel much faster than 100, and is certainly less dramatic than braking to 60 or 45 or whatever you need and taking the next turn. To me doing over 100 on a public road makes no sense, why get a reckless or manslaughter charge if some idiot crawls out and in your way?
With the amount of alleged instruction and seat time he's had he must be actively avoiding improving. One would expect accidental improvement by this point otherwise.
That said I'm off to TT Nats tomorrow and expect to be thoroughly walked by the class winner, so maybe I shouldn't throw too much shade.
If you get walked IN THE SAME CAR, then yeah, leave your shade in the trunk. If you're a stock NC going up against an optimized GT86... you're still not gonna be 14 seconds back.
I had to virtually pull over and come comment when I got to part three. Hilarious. I'm re-wiring my sim setup after work tonight. Now I've got a goal once everything is plugged in and software sorted.
Off to finish! Again, hilarious.
Maybe Automobilista2 is much faster than in real life at the Glen. Race conditions vs an identical field, all-season tires, VW Polo hatch with 148hp and I was 2:31 easily. The 1979 brazilian stock car was right there too. Anything remotely fast was so far ahead of Jonny it's not worth mentioning. Might try the Brazilian Copa semi truck tonight.
I should try this on Assetto with a stock e36 drift car
Recently I was surprised to hear Farrah admit on his TST podcast that there are a number of journalists in general, and one in particular, whose paychecks depend on pushing EVs as hard as they can. I know this and you know this but I was shocked to hear someone in the mainstream automotive press (assuming that’s what TST is, and I think it is) say this out loud. I forget exactly how they specified Lieberman, but they made it clear they were talking about him.
Lieberman will shill for anything. He's the most bought man in the industry.
I mean do you blame him? Like what else has he got to offer? He’s not a journalist, not really. He’s more of a freelance marketeer who specializes in human-controlled, 4 wheeled conveyances.
MotorTrend is pushing hard to be the only car rag to survive the Glorious EV Transition. It makes sense because electric vehicles are really the only cars driven by motors to begin with.
The inEVitable podcast!
which is a pretty damn optimistic name considering evs are looking more evitable each passing year
https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/evs-are-just-going-to-win
"evs are just going to win"
deeply compelling noah thank you
i think some of the points he raises are legitimate but by and large i dont particularly buy it
Seems like something an urban dweller who takes public transportation would write. If they’re so inevitable, a superior product, then why do they depend heavily on subsidies and rebates? Remember the subsidies and rebates for smartphones? Yeah, neither do I.
I can’t figure out how you can shill that hard and live with your conscience.
"my beliefs are more important than your facts"
If you look up master car flipper Mike Brewer's (of Wheeler Dealers fame) dealership in the middle of the UK, where you get incentives to buy an EV and to put up solar panels - out of the 126 listed cars, he has 2 EVs, and one of them has been on the lot since 3 months (you can see the date on the central display when they photographed the car). If nothing else, he knows his customers. I believe this ratio to be correct in the grand sense as well, eg. out of 100ish people, 2 can make use of an EV.
lol, is the Noah guy serious? every single argument has long been shot down. EVs are maxing out at 15 per cent, if not less.
Right now market studies peg acceptance at around 25%. That doesn't mean all those intenders can afford to buy them, so you could be right.
The article lost me when 0: Quoted is Matt Yglesias and 1: writes "Tesla whose CEO is deeply embedded in the global autocratic axis".
I also have to ask, what are they going to win? When are they winning it?In 100 years are there chargers on every corner and and cars can be charged in 5 minutes? Sure. Are most cars THEN going to be electric? Possibly.
0-Matt Yglesias is fine; I read him. You try writing something provocative and compelling nearly every day!
1-The statement is true. Elon Musk IS deeply embedded in the global autocratic axis!
_evitons les étrons!_
(evitons: "let's avoid"
étrons: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%C3%A9tron but also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_e-tron)
Ignoring the ongoing EV implosion will be harder than pretending you are fast at the Glen methinks.
If he’s spinning EVs now when all their faults are known by the general public, he will continue to spin during the implosion.
Would you say they're betting on the end of the Engine Fad?
GOD BLESS YOU
In the context of automobiles, motors and engines are synonymous. To my knowledge, when these companies were being created and named, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Bayerische Motoren Werke were not in the EV business. Honda used to run ads showing their diverse product lineup, stressing that they were the Honda *Motor* Co.
What, also, of motorcar and motorsports?
i thought it was shorthand for motorized automobile or something
I can't believe Boom hasn't showed up to say that "motor" was always wrong and/or colloquial. These are engines.
My curiosity piqued, I turned to etymology. It looks like motor is the earlier term (by about a century, 17th vs 18th), than engine, for a device used to provide mechanical power. I also checked with ChatGPT and its AI seems to insist that motors are powered by electricity and engines are powered by chemistry and while that may be the standard today, it's clear to me there was little distinction between the two terms in the early automotive era.
In the early days, a lot of car companies didn't make their own engines, the most prominent was probably Continental Motor Company, another supplier was Hercules Engines. In small engines it's Kohler Engines, and Wisconsin Motors (Briggs & Stratton has always been just Briggs & Stratton).
Perhaps "motorist" and "motorsports" prevailed because there was already a term "engineer" that meant either a professional engineer or a guy who was at the controls of a train. Interestingly, in the UK they called the guys operating trains "engine drivers", not engineers, or at least according to The Who they did https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAEoVvswOcI).
"engine (n.)
c. 1300, "mechanical device," especially one used in war; "manner of construction," also "skill, craft, innate ability; deceitfulness, trickery," from Old French engin "skill, wit, cleverness," also "trick, deceit, stratagem; war machine" (12c.), from Latin ingenium "innate qualities, ability; inborn character," in Late Latin "a war engine, battering ram" (Tertullian, Isidore of Seville). This is etymologically "that which is inborn," from in- "in" (from PIE root *en "in") + gignere "to beget, produce" (from PIE root *gene- "give birth, beget").
The sense of "device that converts energy to mechanical power" emerged in 18c. In 19c. the word was used especially of steam engines. Middle English also had ingeny (n.) "gadget, apparatus, device," directly from Latin ingenium."
"motor (n.)
"one who or that which imparts motion," mid-15c., "controller, prime mover (in reference to God);" from Late Latin motor, literally "mover," agent noun from past-participle stem of Latin movere "to move" (from PIE root *meue- "to push away"). Sense of "agent or force that produces mechanical motion" is first recorded 1660s; that of "machine that supplies motive power" is from 1856. Motor-home is by 1966. Motor-scooter is from 1919. First record of slang motor-mouth "fast-talking person" is from 1970.
motor (v.)
travel or drive in a motor vehicle," "1896, from motor (n.). Related: Motored; motoring.
motor-
element used extensively in 20c. word formation to indicate motorcar.
motorize (v.)
"to furnish with a motor or motors," 1913, from motor (n.) + -ize. Related: Motorized; motorizing; motorization.
motor-bike (n.)
also motorbike, "motorcycle," 1903, from motor (n.) + bike (n.).
motor-boat (n.)
also motorboat, "motor-driven boat," 1875, from motor (n.) + boat (n.).
motorist (n.)
"motor-car driver," 1896, from motor- + -ist. Earlier as a name for electric railway drivers (1889). Other early alternatives included motorneer.
"Motorer" we have given our reasons for rejecting, and there only remains "motorist" or a compound like "motor-man" or "motor-driver." Mr. C.P.G. Scott, the etymologist of the Century Dictionary, strongly favors "motor-man" or "motor-driver," though he would not object to "motorist" and prefers it above any other single word.
["Electric Power," October 1889]""
Nice history lesson!
Thank you.
Do you recall which episode? Think I missed that discussion.
I suspect that Farah, having other sources of income besides automotive journalism, feels able to speak more freely than others.
He should, but he doesn't, because he's not an unpleasant or confrontational person. He wants to be liked, which is not a goal that ever crossed my mind.
I have a friend. Much more sociable and friendly than me. Lots of friends and makes more all the time. He keeps a journal of all the admirable qualities he finds in all of his friend, which is why he makes more friends every day and i do not, and his admirable quality for me was “doesnt give a shit what other people think” and i was baffled about why anyone else would.
Keep on keepin’ on, brother.
It’s not 100% true but probably 80-90. It also has its downsides
No idea, sorry. I have a long commute and a dog I walk frequently so I listen to all of them amongst other things. Sometime in the last 6-8 weeks, but I don’t remember. And it was in passing, not the point of the discussion.
I thought Farah was all in on everything electric, did his wife leave him? Next he'll be door knocking for Trump wearing a SpaceX t-shirt.
Not sure where you got that idea from. He doesn't personally own any EV, and him and Johnny Boy had quite an argument last year on the podcast about battery materials and how harmful it is to mine them. Matt was on they "its actually pretty bad" side and Johnny was on the "NOT ITS ACTUALLY FINE AND DOES NO DAMAGE WHATSOEVER AND ITS A MILLION TIMES CLEANER THAN BETTER THAN OIL JUST TRUST ME BRO" side.
Granted I haven’t listened for a few years.
Not surprised.
"He doesn't personally own any EV"
He just returned a Mach E lease and has had a Macan EV on order.
Indeed! He's on the fence about canceling the Macan, though, and it's a lease anyway. It goes away after 2 or 3 years.
I'm looking forward to the final analysis of his Bently experiment vs the cost of a Mach E lease
Only because he's not stupid and can see how the values crater.
I expect it to be something like, "You gotta be rich to own a cheap car" but scaled to 7 figure homeowner in LA LA land level.
He wants the cost of maintenance and running the Bently for a year to break even with the total cost of his old Mach E lease payments for a year. I think it'll be close, and either number isn't wildly out of the realm of affordability for most regular people. Granted, current Mach E leases are much cheaper, and Matt does recognize that too; it's part of the reason he's considering canceling the Macan and getting another Ford.
He also had a second-generation Chevrolet Volt that I recall him raving about.
Of course, an EV is an excellent choice for commuting in Los Angeles.
On paper, a second gen volt sounds like an awesome commuter tool. I only say "on paper" because I've never driven one.
I drove one a few hundred miles at my old job for running around to suppliers or jobbers. Mixed use of highways and 2 lane roads between Pontiac and Novi and Brighton, multiple times. I've written about it in comments here before, but I thought it was a lovely car for regular car things. Pretty damn efficient, fast enough for normal driving, and it has surprisingly decent dynamics along with decent ride quality. The hatch is generous, the stereo is decent, and the seats are comfortable. I really do like those cars!
I only test drove one for an hour, but agree with @WyattLCB, the Gen2 Volt was a great car, and excellent for what it was. I am not 100% sure if it was the battery level of the one I was driving which was low, but mine would not "run out to X speed on battery alone." I do see that as a drawback. But the idea of a performant Prius with a great stereo and solid handling was and remains a great idea. If I could stand certain aspects of it I would have bought, but to go PHEV I want a "25 miles of electric only range at full acceleration to speeds of 70 mph" level of electric-only performance.
I'd forgotten he also had one of those. He gave it to his sister. I don't get why Wyatt thinks Farah is not super EV positive when the guy has owned stuff like this.
I didn't say he hated EV's either. He likes EV's a lot, that's obvious, but he isn't a full on shill for them like Johnny, Ed Loh, or many other "journalists" are now. Matt likes EVs more than I do, but he will admit they aren't the world saving answer golden bullet they're market as by the gov, OEMs, and most media outlets.
I generally think EVs are a scam, but if I had Matt's resources I would own one just for the amusement of having a tool that is optimized for specific tasks.
It's been a long time since I watched TST, but I remember Matt driving a Jaguar SUV EV and being quite vocal about how difficult it would be to live with. I put him in the "they have their uses, but aren't for everyone" camp.
Ahh that argument where I got to teach Johnny how to do math on Instagram, he took it shockingly well IIRC.
I unfollowed Johnny on IG long before that, sorry I missed this!
If that wasn't the end for me it was shortly thereafter.
His sidekick Klapman just got married to a woman who used to work for SpaceX!
Has Zack ever had an original thought?
Orange man bad! Oh, you wrote original.
Lately he's been voicing some questions I also have when Matt says something out of pocket. So, yes.
When I last was paying any attention to them Matt was fairly consistently bitching about Trump and Drax.
I did listen to him interview his Dad who I thought was great, especially when his investment advice channeled Dave Ramsey.
He has done at least two shows with his father, Roger.
I have a friend - for those keeping up with the Sherman McCoy cinematic universe, it’s the fellow with the 60” (plus) waist - whose father moves in the same circles as Roger Farah in South Carolina: High end private hunting plantations, Orvis (Roger is on the board; Perkins family lives next door to my buddy’s parents), etc. My sense is that Roger is very smart, reasonably humble / self-effacing, and not too bothered about the lackluster achievements of his child(ren). My buddy’s dad is … exactly the same.
I didn’t interpret Roger’s advice as Dave Ramsey-esque, at all. Dave Ramsey’s business is brusquely dispensing one size fits all advice to people who have lived above their means who are unwilling or unable to enhance their revenue, so they have to cut expenses. That’s it. He debases his “guests” just like Jerry Springer, et alia.
It's my fault for not being more specific. Mr. Farah wasn’t demanding that people work 18 hour days while living on rice and beans but he did recommend rather than trying to chase the market competing with people that will always know more than you to regularly contribute to a good mutual fund and let it grow. I agree that he sounded like a very successful yet modest gentleman.
It was much more enjoyable to listen to than the more standard episodes featuring the drunken belligerent blog writer guests ;-) .
That is pretty orthodox advice!
In fact, it’s what I follow; I receive the “market” (S&P 500) return less very, very modest fees in exchange for … doing no work at all. In fact, I have never sold a share of stock. I just dollar cost average the broad market and let it ride.
new sherman lore drop
OOOHH, GOT HIM!
We all drove Black Betty faster than that BEFORE THE RESURFACE.
I'd forgotten about that!
Shevel drove Big Red -- for those of you who don't know, that's an E34 525i -- around in 2:16 before the resurface, too!
Those times are abysmal - even for HPDE larping sessions - let alone a race car with real competitors
Cui bono?
Does it sell magazines? Probably not. Ads? Doubtful. Cars? No way. Maybe he has pictures from a Diddy gathering.
Might be good business from the perspective of the rental operation. If certainly makes their product look easy, and you can rest assured you won't be their slowest customer.
The OEMs want views and attention on their vehicles, which explains why instagrammers no one that I know has ever heard of get press junkets, and why they still hookup Lieberman with goodies. If MotorTrend were to die, or scrap Lieberman, I wonder if he could make it on his own (would he have a following to go with him to YouTube or something else)? Ok, just kidding, I don’t wonder if that could happen.
As Jean Lindamood could tell you, people who made their bones being loyal to PR and magazine bosses gets you about zero audience when the carousel stops.
You might as well ask "Could Arthur St. Antoine have made it on his own?"
So Lindamood has finally gotten the audience she deserves?
Jack we need to get you a few thousand more subscribers then you can train a novice to go faster in a lesser car. It would be hilarious.
I'm already doing it, ten times a year! :)
I was thinking something a little more elaborate and costly. You put up the money to train the driver and run the car for the weekend against EcoJon. Would be good fun but costly so a few thousand more subscribers would allow you the time and means to make us here laugh.
That's a great idea. For context, my stepdaughter learned how to drive a stick shift in May, started driving on track in June, and is now about 1.5 seconds off perfect pace in her Spec Racer Ford. I can get those results from most people if they're serious.
Jack, I know. That is why I thought it is great idea.
So she's following her mother's trajectory? I seem to recall Danger Girl couldn't drive a stick but once she decided to race she very quickly proved her mettle...
And 22…
very encouraging to hear
wagmi
If I lived anywhere near there I feel like the (almost two) tons of fun ecoboost Mustang convertible would be a good candidate. Despite being a bit of a jackass I follow directions pretty well.
Well, I *do* visit readers at their local track, so jump if you're froggy!
Yes, but it would be especially funny to take a down on power, confused transmission, heat soaked, underbraked open touring car and walk his time at Watkins. Based on how far back in time and down on power you had to go to match it I think it might be possible sans instruction.
Would my 1983 Pontiac Parisienne work as a stand in? The prior owner had a racer's heart when she had the whitewalls mounted facing in on the Goodyear Viva Walmart special tires.
I was thinking it would be really funny to take worse and worse driver and car combos to see who could still beat his time. Sixteen year old girl with a learner's permit? Unlicensed grandpa from the Lower East Side? First Gen Prius? Yugo?!?
Elderly Asian woman from Orange County in a 1961 Ford Falcon. That's my vote that would actually make for a competitive race
Years of content for the Substack.
If you never read it... as is usual, the names have been changed and very little else:
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/12/sunday-stories-a-free-man-in-parisienne-by-jack-baruth/
God I miss those Sunday stories but I think this one was written before I discovered you. Classic!
There's no such thing as "automotive journalism". The entire industry is a bunch of lifestyle bloggers with unwarranted self-importance and insulin resistance or video-based chucklefucks dreaming of becoming a politically-correct Jeremy Clarkson.
I gag each time any of them uses the word "journalist". What journalism did you do exactly? Develop insider sources at the C suite level? Go undercover in a factory to find environmental abuses?
"I traveled 36 hours to Gran Canaria to see if the refreshed GTS 4.000 E-Hybrid Heritage Dakar Bongo Bongo will make my wife's boyfriend 3 percent more jealous!"
We used to have journalists, now I'm not sure.
Even what little local news I see seems to be PR for the state/local governments no matter how illegal or unpopular their actions.
There are reasons why I call myself a writer and not a journalist.
A journalist is someone who writes in their journal. Is it any surprise that most of those who call themselves journalists act like 13 year old girls?
A reporter is someone completely different as is a writer.
nypost might be the closest thing to journalism these days.
It's an open secret that most local news stations are owned by a couple groups of companies that then feed them their to be discussed stories.
If it isn't a reporter standing in front of a fire, it isn't "news". It's likely already gone through some PD's public affairs department or a company's PR reps and is something akin to a rewritten press release.
Well said!
Here’s a hypothetical:
I am a completely novice driver with zero racing or track experience of any kind.
Assuming a large budget, a roughly equivalent car, and a positive attitude, how long would it take you as someone who has done a fair amount of coaching to get me lapping faster than that?
An eight-session weekend should do it. Either of the Trackday Clubbers I coached at MidO in September would have done better.
And for the kind folks at the back (me) how much is that Trackday Club subscription running these days?
Same as always: a POSITIVE BARGAIN at $299 a year. You get merch, too!
Looks like I’m gonna put that on the ol’ Christmas list!
I’m just here to shill for the track day club again. Do it. If you’re really worried about shitcanning your car just buy track insurance, but if you’re a novice like me you’ll be in limited passing sessions with everyone’s singular goal being getting good and not fucking their car up. There’s a lot of power in humility here.
COMMENT OF THE YEAR
I will second this. about a dozen years ago when I'd only recently bought a 993, I drove it cross country to Ohio, had a local race shop prep it for a track day, and had Jack take me around Nelson Ledges for an afternoon. It was my first time ever on a track, so we kept it in third the entire time and let the torque of the engine do the work. I was _very_ timid for the first few laps, but by the end of the day I had a surprising amount of confidence.
My times almost certainly sucked, but my point is Jack is a very patient and very skilled coach, and even if you lack the humility SBO referred to, Jack will not allow you to get in over your head.
(Jack may have an entirely different recollection of my day on the track...)
YOU WERE DRUNK AND YOU SCRATCHED A WHEEL
Man I'd love an opportunity to go up against some of these industry writers in a battle of lap times. I may just be a lowley drifter, but that does translate into knowing what cars do when you move the weight around. That's really all driving and car control is, just managing the weight and moving it where it's needed via the steering wheel and pedals.
Maybe I'm overconfident, but I think beating Johnny is too low of a bar. Go for Sam Smith, he's actually pretty good (in my perception).
Oh, and last I checked trackday level is $100 more than standard but I could be wrong.
Oh you'd be way, WAY ahead of Jonny. Not even fair. Not close.
I appreciate the confirmation! Although, I have to admit I was slower around waterford in my e36 than MDG in the rented Spec Miata. Alex definitely matched or bettered SM pace with my big ass in the passenger seat. My excuses are:
0. I had to drive the car home which leads to;
1. Self preservation instincts kicked in earlier than necessary.
2. It was a very chill track day with nothing to prove.
I hope I'd have stronger nerves in a car I needn't worry about breaking in a more competitive environment.
Next season lets get you to come to the PCA spring Waterford Hills day and get you some more track time. My group is super relaxed and we have a novice day with tons of instructors. If you don't feel like you're a novice, and don't terrify anyone, they'll pass you up to solo in a session or two.
I've been driving to and from the track for a lot of years, totally get what you're saying.
I love this post.
Never been to Watkins Glen track, but tell me, I can regularly run 1:21 at Waterford Hills and low 1:30s at Grattan in my stock Cayman, how would that compare with JL?
Yeah, you'll be in a different league from Jonny. 1:21 at Waterford in a street car is not to be sneezed at.
Also, my old E92 M3 had a DCT, that's how you get paddle shifters in the race car I suppose.
I came here to say this...and is likely the only reason Jonny didn't stall out...or God forbid, money-shift the poor car.
Aha! That solves it! I suppose they don't phrase it like that because they want clients to envision a proper Quaife dogbox, SRO GT style.
I should take Jack up on this if only because of my proximity to Mid-O.
I’d just be in deep trouble if I accidentally wadded-up my ride in the process!
I have not really ever seriously thought of going racing before because of costs and that very same fear of my only becoming broken.
A long long time ago I read “don’t take a car to the track that you can’t afford to ball up and walk away from” and I’ve taken that to heart. I could theoretically walk away from the S2000, but I don’t want to, and I’m not in the position to splash out the cash (and then store and support) something else that I could walk away from.
I spent 4 hours at the range today and spent maybe $125 on shells. 5k on the guns i used combined. Maybe $50-60 on the clay. Id love to learn to race but i cant imagine id have much more fun than i did today
In 15 years of doing street car tracking I've seen exactly one car balled up, on my first day ever! The trick is to get your feet wet with groups that have an interest in safe track days. Our host has nothing good to say about the PCA, but I do, they run a structured and safe track day program. I've run with some sketchy groups and in private track rentals and there, yes, bad stuff does happen, but usually even the bad stuff is some bent metal and busted axles. An old S2000 is such a great car to take to a track.
That's why you rent a car, check all the insurance boxes, and claim ignorance after the fact.
“Did you like this comment on avoidable contact forever?”
you honor i would like the jury to know i like this comment because i found it funny and not because i agree with the content and i do not condone these actions
I love that you once did exactly that in a ... Volvo.
Oh boy. You mean the one that I got stopped three feet from the tire wall, with one S. SMITH in the passenger seat?
You’re gonna be real impressed then when I roll out to mid-Ohio in a stunningly gray Kia Forte LXS!
I will be!
“Sir, this Kia Forte you rented from us: there are..what are those..BELTS showing on the tires! And the brakes seem to be..WAVY in spots!
Sir, the vehicle had 100 miles on it when you left our facility! Can you explain this?!”
Me: “Uhhh..I thought you had given me a Nissan!”
you're not gonna wad up your ride in a novice run group with a skilled instructor in the right seat. or jack. whoever you choose to pay for.
hey-oh!
So is he just lazy or is he genuinely lacking any kind of talent or aptitude behind the wheel? Or is it a lack of cojones?
I wish I knew. He's a very clumsy and inept man, I think he's nearly blind, and he's unwilling to learn anything. The rumor is that he's totaled a half dozen press cars.
Wait... he's actually suspected of _totaling_ press cars?
you're right - those flaks are humiliating him.
Yes!
Maybe if he put as much effort into racing as he does with his caveman pick up awkward sandbags with horrible form workouts, he would improve approximately 1 second per stint.
I had to unfollow him because getting annoyed at some no talent ass clown who has no idea who I am (and I promise you, I’m somebody alright!) was not worth the gray hair. My kids have that covered for me and I actually like them.
Other than racing advice, I would say that workout advice would be his most incompetent work product. He should spend that time reading the classics.
i am curious to know what the classics are because id like to be a better writer
or at least a better person in general
In the autowriting business, "the classics" would be Tom Wolfe (for tone and perception), Gordon Baxter (for reader rapport, feel free to substitute Egan) and Don Sherman.
noted
thank you
Spare a little time for John Phillips, if only to compare with Hunter S. Thompson. "Naming the leeches" and whatnot.
Well, uh, do not look at my YouTube after giving that advice.
Hunter S. Thompson should be read by anyone who wants to write, but then just as quickly forgotten until you're got a firm grasp of your craft. Thompson is an example of having to know all the rules before you can break them.
Something that I'm not sure people appreciate about Thompson is just how solid his reporting skills were. Most people are familiar with his more freewheeling, experiential later work and may not understand the depth of his reporting. Hells Angels is a deeply, immersively reported work of narrative nonfiction.
LJK Setright for thoroughness and turn of phrase
Andrew Frankel (see The Intercooler - yes, you have to pay) is a brilliant, thoughtful writer
Denise McCluggage?
Great driver, hugely admirable person... not a brilliant writer. You can't have it all, and God knows she had everything else.
Fair. I had for years heard raves about By Brooks Too Broad For Leaping and _finally_ tracked down a copy. I saw flashes of brilliance in it and I was impressed by the themes she explored (so much sudden loss and death), but was a bit ... let down? Maybe it was a case of having built the book up so much in my mind before reading it.
A great broad!
Where would you put Setright?
My personal "big 3" are Egan, Sam Smith, and obviously (because I pay him to be here) Jack. Egan for story craft, Smith for creativity and entertainment, and Jack for keepin' it real.
three of my favourites as well
This is why I’m a subscriber!
Oh! burn!!
On the other hand, he'll go on and on about watches (so he's got that going for him in your book) on "Spike's Car Radio" , where he's a regular. Both Spike and Farrah are watch guys too (like the Baruth bros, hmmmm......)
Thats my brother's fault, he explained watches to at least one of those people.
Guilty
No shame. Farah’s take on mechanical watches is similar to mine- I love having this machine that tells quite good time and can survive 3900m under water (unlike me).
What you have to do is buy as many Of them as you can so you can and brag about their equity on your brothers substack.
Situational awareness as a man who travels 40 weeks a year with public property tax records in a fairly rural state? Not an issue
Apologize for my saltiness. Kids have been doing a number this week
Having been to Bark's little rural enclave many times, I don't like the chances faced by any would-be burglar or robber. Even if you could dig through his famously messy and absurdly large home to find the watches, the neighbors would start off by shooting to wound, just for their own amusement.
Good neighbors are hard to come by!
Yes, but Mark actually purchases them, rather than renting them...
renting watches is still unbearably cringe
The first time Jack mentioned it, I thought he was kidding.
It's like renting a lobster dinner to look "fahn-see," but you can't eat it...
Reminds me of how it was popular in the 17th century to rent a pineapple for a party to make it look like you could afford expensive imported foods
True, but not as bad as the women who buy dresses to wear to an event and then return them.
Celebrities "rent" dresses all the time. B and C listers "rent" jewelry all the time.
I no longer own a suit. I have zero need to own one. I'd as soon rent one. Rent a watch while I'm at it? I never would, but why not?
wait... that's a thing you can do? I had no idea.
Oh the hor..ology! 😂😂
*golf clap*
Wow.
It sucks to want to be good at something, to believe you have some spark of talent or ability that just needs to be fanned to flame, only to find out you are not good and probably never will be.
I’m terrified that this will be the case when I FINALLY start doing OTDs at Waterford next year. I think I’ll be pretty good based on my rental karting experience (please feel free to lol) and my very limited track driving experience working for an OEM. But if it IS the case I don’t plan to pretend I’m good…
I wonder what else Jonny is delusional about.
I have run into this many times, with Army officers I worked for, as well as (the son of) small business owners I worked for. Extreme self confidence in the face of zero evidence of competency is an amazing feat.
Waterford Hills is awesome! You'll have an instructor for at least your first session. Listen and follow their directions carefully, the line isn't what you may think it should be. From there just work up pace as your confidence and brakes allow. OTDs aren't for measuring how good you are anyway.
I wonder if someone has ever posed that question to his wife.
🙋
Being willing to suck is the first step of so many valuable journeys.
so true, but there is a key difference in being willing to suck and thinking you don't suck.
Swear to God, I was not intent on achieving a triple entendre. Especially when it comes to defending the sort of participation trophy auto journalist here under discussion!
might even lead to the presidency
Double entendre achieved. I need to think more carefully before I re-write Adventure Time quotes!
One of the most interesting characters in Maugham's The Moon and Sixpence was the painter who had a deep appreciation of great art but could only paint cliches. Spoiler: kept trying, did not end well.
For a bit of context:
I just ran an enduro at Ridge Motorsports Park... team of four drivers in a Ford Focus race car. We also used Race Hero to track lap times... best lap times: first guy (experienced SCCA racer) 1:59.85, me (NASA sprint racer): 1:59.78, third guy (no comp license) 1:59.9... last guy (team owner and experienced enduro racer) could have put down a faster lap, but we were leading P2 in our class by 2 laps, so last guy saved the car running 2:00's, and brought home the win... I believe if a driver was more than 5 seconds off the average team pace, they would probably not be asked back...
Yeah. There's like a 3-second buffer you can throw at it to preserve tires, save a bit of fuel, maybe keep heat out of the engine... beyond that you need to have a real plan if you're going to cut additional pace out of the stint.
This is going to sound shitty but it's not really meant to be... the team uses a photographer at the track, and the owner lets her drive during practice, or if we're not competitive, in exchange for her (excellent) photography work. She's significantly off the team pace, but she's just doing it for fun. But when I say "significantly" I mean like 10 secs or so... your man in a high-power race car being 10+ sec off the team pace is pretty pathetic. Even if he couldn't carry speed through WG's corners, the horsepower should at least eat the straights the same...
I mean, I'm genuinely curious if they detuned the car during his stint? For his safety?
detuning his car for safety would entail pulling 7 plug wires
Wow! 😂😂
"I mean, I'm genuinely curious if they detuned the car during his stint? For his safety?"
My opinion is that EVERY power to weight class in American motorsport is a cheaters paradise so I can absolutely see them having several maps.
Same in combat sports
i still wish the weigh in came after the match
its insane the amount of mass these guys will shred to meet weight
Do it right and you come in at the end of the match. Cant sleep. Be here all night
"those bastards like it tight"
no you obese retard youre just incomprehensibly fat to italians
"$6500 or more per weekend"
this sounds almost affordable if all you need to do is show up and race
"He could decide to show me"
he wont lets be real here
“Incomprehensibly fat to Italians”.
I bought a Beretta shooting jacket once. Didn’t try it on first, thinking an XXL should be enough. I was wrong.
I'm a 60L in Brioni and Zegna off-the-rack.
SIXTY!
And remember, Brioni was John Wayne's tailor in his later years! They should know about men of, ahem, size!
How would you feel if you were not fat?
But i did eat breakfast this morning
I am fat too
I'll never not be fat again. The last time I was unfat I was 32 years old, running 4 miles every morning and having very little lunch. That allowed me to hover at 195 pounds.
If current trends continue i should be 226-228 pounds by Christmas, but i doubt I'll stay there very long. It sucks to work long hours and eat one meal a day.
If I can do it, you can certainly do it.
The biggest thing for me is spending 4-5 hours on the phone on a typical day lately (since the first bank deal(s) for OF, etc. started); I have a tendency to get up and walk or pace around while doing so. It’s fairly easy for me to lose weight if I walk ~10 miles every day.
But I already hit 430 this year…
NEW FIRST COMMENTS PLEASE
I was 215 at 30. Youve met me. Im a tall broad shouldered guy who looks good at 225. I hit 235 earlier this year and then ate a mcnugget. Weighed 430 after
I stayed around 200 when I was kart racing by eating exactly the same thing every day and spending hours in the gym. Not worth it.
Yeah. When I think of what I'd have to do to be a “heavy” class karter… total misery.
I have one Zegna hanging in my closet, where it will stay, ignored. It nominally fits, but the armholes (I have no idea what tailors call that part, but I mean the shoulder end of the arm) are cut so close that they do not allow any airflow to the armpits. Hideously uncomfortable for any extended period of time. Nice material, though, I'll give it that.
Is that a 60 IT or US?
😉
60 IT, thank God.
I'm a 48 Long in Hickey Freeman and HartMarx.
I’m currently a 50IT at the preferred RTW clothier of Alejandro Mayorkas and every less than moderately fat financier in Atlanta and other Sun Belt cities, Sid Mashburn. With a 7” drop, I don’t even need my alligator strap with the (pre-Roger Farah, pre-LVMH) Tiffany engine turned buckle bearing my initials.
My generously proportioned friend who now lives in Charleston wears a tagged 60” waist in DXL type clothing - he would be absolutely undefeated in a hula hoop contest.
Fortunately i am tall goodlooking and retarded so i have non idea what metres kms or dxis but arennt you 5’4”? Human measurements.
I have a friend who I could only describe as comically obese if it weren't for the fact that it's killing him.
Anyways, we went to Indy some years back so I could pick up a helmet. He tagged along to get measured for a new race suit. This guy had a 38" THIGH. That's my pant size.
Italian sizing is substantially different than ours. Some of the heavy equipment I buy from an Italian company and a factory rep offered to give me some swag. I am an American XL, the jacket and sweatshirt he gave me are both marked XXXL and fit perfect.
Its not that theyre not fat, theyre all just 5’7”
tailor made for me off the rack then
Speed is sherman. Poor canadian version
you forgot less verbose too
Can you expand on that?
same experience with a shirt I once bought. Italians are tiny little men
My wife bought me an XL wool shirt for my birthday, a really nice one. Trying it on was shockingly dispiriting for the one minute until I realized it had come from Italy.
Imagine being incomprehensible fat… to italians. In america, italians are american and eat lots of carbs
i figured italians in italy were the type to have a cigarette and an espresso for breakfast whereas the italian americans looked more like tony soprano
Same here. With a side of pancakes.
I wonder if there's an equivalent to _Albion's Seed_ but for Italians? I sense that the US got a particular subset of Italians, probably heavily Sicilian and virtually not at all Tyrolean.
I was at COTA for the US Grand Prix back in 2015. It was pouring buckets, and behind its pit garage Ferrari had erected an appropriately elaborate (and, being F1, probably expensive) awning over what was essentially, a bar just tall enough for the mechanics to lean against and just wide enough for each of them to position an espresso cup and an ashtray.
it was one of my favorite things I saw that weekend - a line of F1 mechanics sipping espresso and smoking under an awning specifically designed for exactly, and only, for that purpose.
Where did they put their never-ending breadsticks?
Nice!
My favorite F1 driver was Alessandro Nannini. He would drink espresso and smoke cigarettes before qualifying and the GP. Pity he had the helicopter accident just as his career was taking off.
Dunno about breakfast, but certainly after lunch and dinner. Also during morning and afternoon breaks. Turin was really fun…
Thank you, I laughed so hard I shot a cocktail peanut out my tear duct...
I'm not famous but I too get scared over 100 MPH, when the governor on my old Mercedes Coupe was broken I had it up to 135 and all I could think about was how fast things would go wrong if anything untoward happened .
He really seems to have gotten under your skin Jack .
-Nate
I bear him no personal ill will, although he and his pals have tried to take a meal out of my kid's hands about a half-dozen different ways. I just want the business to be better, which means having better people in it.
Maybe i am just cynical but at any point in the last 17 years, which is my best guess at when i started reading you, has any of this gotten better? Youre a smart guy, almost certainly smarter than me. Lets say the inflection point was optimistic 2007. We are at a 27 year down turn if our sin wave starts going the other way tomorrow. Neither of us will ever see the bright side of this imdustry again. Our kids have to do it by planting trees in soil. Im talking about grand kids. Guess mine are the soil
I think this is common because most people never imagine driving 100mph. You get on the autobahn a few times and you get used to it.
I went 125 mph in a kia with my family sleeping and didnt think twice about it. 155mph? Now that is fast. Coincidentallybthe top soeed on a red 2007 mazda soeed three. They werent lying about that top. On a bike i get worried cause getting to 150 from 80 takes a few seconds but a tire pop and youre dead. Dont speed as much as i used to. Keep your eyes open and on the road. Dont be a moron whom does it in traffic
I've had a strict rule that I wouldn't drive like a lunatic with someone in the passenger seat. There are maybe 2-3 people who I know are comfortable being along for the ride. They are the same people who I'm comfortable being in the right seat with.
I guess you could say that we were ride or die.
The 155mph was with my best friend. That was DANGEROUS. Really dangerous. Not nearly open enough to have been an even reasonable idea. We both had done stupid stuff with eachother before. Like the oxy he ended up overdosing on twenty years later. I dont even think twice about 120 in a properly maintained modern car on a well maintained highway. Not gonna cruise for hours through traffic at that pace but if it’s wide open at 2am on a long straight highway, im gonna punch it.
Or if I’m trying to get around the clump of three lanes of traffic doing two under!
It's different with kids, but I'm grateful that my wife had an arduous commute for 3 years.
When we met, her road manners were slow, conservative, apprehensive. I would get motion sickness in the right seat.
After 3 years of brutal commute, she is speedy, judicious, fearless. I could take a snooze in the right seat.
When you work with wrecks you learn quickly how badly things can go in an instant .
I have survived two "fatal" Motocycle wrecks, one was 100% my own fault .
I still like to drive / ride quickly but not when there's much traffic around me .
I'm looking for a link to the Fall TT Ride I just finished, some here may like the vehicles .
-Nate
We still talking about driving? My wife got better too. Ummmmm. Also driving
I once hit 150 (indicated) on a sixth-generation VFR on Highway 299 way far north in Northern California. I chose that location, on a bit of a whim, because it was a long straight with no cross traffic a slight decline, and essentially unlimited visibility. I let the needle kiss 150, stay there long enough for me to reasonably claim I'd seen 150, then backed off because things happen _very_ quickly when you're covering 220 feet per second.
Basically what i have done every time i have done stupid speed except the one mentioned above. Hit 150 in the r1 1/4 -1/2 mile before and exit. Hit it, slowed down. The 155 in the mazda was a long 155. The 145 in a c5 corvette was relatively short
Near where I used to live there was an abandoned rural airport. The road alongside the airport was 2 miles long with zero intersections and fresh asphalt.
I was taking pictured there one afternoon and decided to make a go of the drive back. My experience was the same as yours. I couldn't even tell you my exact speed as I was too afraid to even focus on the HUD. Even driving 100+ on my daily home, doing 150+ is a whole different ballgame. That was a one and done, I don't feel compelled to do it again.
The fastest I've ever gone is on the track, about 135 on the one lon straight at one of my regular tracks. You hit that lap after lap and realize, it doesn't feel much faster than 100, and is certainly less dramatic than braking to 60 or 45 or whatever you need and taking the next turn. To me doing over 100 on a public road makes no sense, why get a reckless or manslaughter charge if some idiot crawls out and in your way?
Because young men are stupid.
With the amount of alleged instruction and seat time he's had he must be actively avoiding improving. One would expect accidental improvement by this point otherwise.
That said I'm off to TT Nats tomorrow and expect to be thoroughly walked by the class winner, so maybe I shouldn't throw too much shade.
If you get walked IN THE SAME CAR, then yeah, leave your shade in the trunk. If you're a stock NC going up against an optimized GT86... you're still not gonna be 14 seconds back.
Yeah realistically I'll be happy if I can go sub 2:10 - current class record is a 2:04 though, so still leaves a lot of room to get crushed.
Sub 2:10 at NCM is boogie-ing for sure.
Some people just always get picked last in life