Human-Generated Automotive Gibberish
Less is more, unless we’re talking about revs.
Perhaps this conflict comes from spending a lifetime lusting after modified cars, but it can feel difficult to name a vehicle that combines all my favorite details. One car may have the chassis I want, but another the powertrain, and another yet the styling. If you have talent, time, money or, quite unlikely, all three, you can create the car of your dreams.
I rely on background noise when I’m working. Sometimes it’s music, mainly Jazz as there’s lots of energy but no words to distract me. If I’m working outside the office, I’ll go to a coffee shop just to have the bustle around me, without actually paying attention to it. Often though, I’ll just use car videos.
On today’s episode of LOUD NOISES.
On my YouTube account I have a playlist titled “Noise”. There are so many facets to cars, but one of the most important ones is the noise they make. Like the voice of your favorite singer, it’s all good and well to know the lyrics of a song, but the way that one note gets under your skin is the reason no cover will ever come close.
It’s been fifteen years since the debut of The Hire, a series of short films featuring BMW’s product line. On the surface it’s a group of shorts centered around a wheelman (played by Clive Owen) who happens to favor Bavarian sports-cars. But a closer look reveals twisting plots, well choreographed stunts, and production value not seen in many feature length films.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzUFCQ-P1Zg&w=560&h=315]
BMW’s product has changed quite a bit since 2001, but that doesn’t ruin this video’s focus on it. I didn’t quite have my license when the original series was released, but it certainly brought the brand to the front of my mind. And while I haven’t been taken with what’s on dealer lots lately, maybe BMW Films can rekindle that interest with this new set coming out. Be sure to set aside a good ten minutes for The Escape, and use fullscreen!
Say Van to someone in the U.S. and most folks would picture Stanley Steemer commercials, Chris Farley, or awkward church retreats. And while I love the idea of large vehicles being thrashed for fun, my imagination usually stops at big sedans.
As shared by NoriYaro, the Japanese have no such lack of imagination.
Tow rigs for track toys aren’t rare in the U.S., but it isn’t often you see them joining the grid for hot laps. Some of these Dodge vans (Dajiban to the locals) actually look pretty sweet with their slightly lowered stance, blacked out hoods, and oddly appropriate looking Watanabe wheels.
I doubt we’d be allowed to enjoy something like that on our tracks, but it sure does look fun!
An oldie, but an absolute goody.
What I enjoy most from an engine is the last couple-thousand RPMs in its rev range, and the immediate application of the throttle after an upshift. Often I’ll find myself downshifting in traffic, or holding onto a gear a little longer just to experience it. It’s the induction noise that gets me, and there’s a lot of it here.
Growing up I never had brand allegiances. My taste in cars changed with the season, and without any justification beyond the automotive ADD that follows my ownership habits to this day.
If you’re reading this blog at all, you’re probably into cars. Which means you’ll likely have played and remember racing games like Need For Speed: Underground or the early renditions of the Burnout series.
Enough Suspension of Disbelief allowed you to enjoy the ridiculousness of blur motion graphics, and the seeming ease of holding a triple-digit-speed drift through a city block. For some though, such fantasy isn’t necessary.
Continue reading “A View to a Car – Mark Higgins @ 2016 Isle of Man TT”