: Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:46 pm  

Dave Heron's Moustache wrote:

Having said that, he did T@ Piers Morgan.

Didn't know that. He's gone up in my estimation.

I've never gotten into the top gear thing. I'll decide for myself what car is or isn't "cool" and I certainly won't take advice upon what's "cool" from someone called Jeremy.

: Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:47 pm  

Trimalchio wrote:

Unfortunately few people can choose where to live on the grounds of climate alone. My wife (Australian) and I (Bradfordian) would definitely prefer to live in Australia if it were possible for us to find work there. My wife moved here for her PhD because there were better job prospects than in Australia - not because she liked the weather! The quality of life in Australia is far superior though - better & healthier food, less spoiled environment, less social inequality and yes, better weather!

But more massive spiders!!

: Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:49 pm  

Having driven a BMW 3 Series for the last 9 years I'm apparantly a T0$$er anyway (which may or may not be true depending on who you ask - my wife right now would probably say true - hopefully she'll be in a better mood when she gets back from the cinema with the kids, but I suspect not).

: Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:50 pm  

El Diablo wrote:

Re: "Better and healthier food! I cook 95% of what I eat myself at home, as I would if I lived somewhere else. Not only do I therefore control its quality, but it is as healthy or not as I choose foer it to be.

Anyway, the point is that just becasue some people would prefer conditions in Australia it isn't reasonable to assume that everyone would. It is possible to enjoy living in this country.

Fair enough - I'm no sun worshipper by any means and I probably would miss the changeability of the British weather. Living in Melbourne would be my ideal scenario as conditions are more variable there. Still, there's a lot of air conditioning in Australia these days which makes their summers a lot more pleasant than ours.

On the food front I also cook 90% of my food but the raw ingredients are on the whole better in Australia - especially fish and fresh fruit. And then there's the locally produced wine... Wins out easily for me. Each to their own though

: Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:52 pm  

G1 wrote:

Didn't know that. He's gone up in my estimation.

I've never gotten into the top gear thing. I'll decide for myself what car is or isn't "cool" and I certainly won't take advice upon what's "cool" from someone called Jeremy.

I struggle to see any car as "cool." They don't really go much beyond "functional" and "comfortable" for me. A higher top speed is no use to me either, since I've never reached anything like the top speed on the car I've got. I did hit 100 late one night on the M1 once, shortly before realising what a d1ck that made me and slowing down again. I have since grown up a bit (not a lot mind you, just a bit). I also prefer driving smaller cars as it provides more leeway for my abysmal parking skills.

Me and our Jeremy are probably never going to get on.

[Wheels]

: Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:05 pm  

Dave Heron's Moustache wrote:

Having driven a BMW 3 Series for the last 9 years I'm apparantly a T0$$er anyway (which may or may not be true depending on who you ask - my wife right now would probably say true - hopefully she'll be in a better mood when she gets back from the cinema with the kids, but I suspect not).

She hasn't gone to Cardigan Fields has she?

: Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:06 pm  

I don't see Top Gear as a car programme. It's 3 mates, having a mid life crisis, messing about on TV each week. Sure there's cars involved, but they're almost an irrelevant part of the show these days. If you want opinions and advise on regular cars then 5th Gear is much more the show for you.

As for Clarkson, I prefer it when he's not talking about cars. His rants at politicians usually come from the motoring angle as well, so I take them with a pinch of salt. He's much better when he's making serious documentaries. The one for Greatest Living Britain on Brunel was a fine example, as was the show about his father-in-law, who won the VC. The only time he's come remotely close to this on Top Gear was at the end of their American special, when he layed into Bush and his administration about what they found in New Orleans.

: Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:07 pm  

I've got a car some might class as a penis extension I suppose.

Its' lower end luxury but top of its' range.

I got it not because I considered it "cool". I decided against a BMW 3 series as they're driven by tossers.

I do however like the really unimportant but gadgety gadgets that its' got. Rear parking camera means I now never have to look behind me when reversing, which creates problems when I drive my wifes gadget free car, Automatic lights and wind-screen wipers mean I never have to exert myself to turn them on.

Wing mirrors that tuck in when I switch off the engine (and come out when I switch it on) and a steering wheel that moves out to meet me when I do it makes me feel like james Bond.

These are the things that are important to me.

Is this thread drift?

[Wheels]

: Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:07 pm  

El Diablo wrote:

I struggle to see any car as "cool." They don't really go much beyond "functional" and "comfortable" for me. A higher top speed is no use to me either, since I've never reached anything like the top speed on the car I've got. I did hit 100 late one night on the M1 once, shortly before realising what a d1ck that made me and slowing down again. I have since grown up a bit (not a lot mind you, just a bit). I also prefer driving smaller cars as it provides more leeway for my abysmal parking skills.

Me and our Jeremy are probably never going to get on.

On the basis of that, if you ever met me or my family, I doubt we would either.

: Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:13 pm  

Trimalchio wrote:

Fair enough - I'm no sun worshipper by any means and I probably would miss the changeability of the British weather. Living in Melbourne would be my ideal scenario as conditions are more variable there. Still, there's a lot of air conditioning in Australia these days which makes their summers a lot more pleasant than ours.

On the food front I also cook 90% of my food but the raw ingredients are on the whole better in Australia - especially fish and fresh fruit. And then there's the locally produced wine... Wins out easily for me. Each to their own though

Ah, you see, I'm more a fan of beer and cider than wine. Australian beer (on the whole, there are exceptions) = EPIC FAIL. I've never had Aussie cider, but I'd be surprised if it compares favouarably with what's on offer a short(ish) distance to my south and west.

I will freely concede that they're very good at wine down there. Some of my favourites are Australian in fact.

A special drawback of living in the Midlands is that decent fresh fish is not that easy to come by. I'm not knocking Australia by any means, I just like it here, on the whole.