#240874 - 10/11/2004 10:25
I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
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old hand
Registered: 14/08/2001
Posts: 886
Loc: London, UK
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Mk2a RioCar 120Gb - now sold to the owner of my old car
Rio Karma - now on ebay...
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#240875 - 10/11/2004 11:07
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: furtive]
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old hand
Registered: 17/01/2003
Posts: 998
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I like mine just fine thank you. We do all each have one over here, don’t you know.
I am strong enough to shift it, good enough to drive it fast and do not rag on other countries by making fun of their cars. I can see raging on a car because it’s bad (like the 911 – just a squished VW beetle) but that segment was really directed at the US not the Corvette. With a biased attitude like that the car could have been perfect and they would have found fault. Maybe because the wheels are round. Round wheels have been around since the stone-age you know. You never see that kind of country bigotry on Road and Track.
I’m glad Corvette has “Plastic” so the price can be in reach for most people. It is no leather warped $300K car, it’s a car you can afford and drive. However it does compare in performance to a $300k car and with a sports car that’s what counts.
Thanks for posting it though, this off-topic section really helps me to get a view of how other countries feel about the US.
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#240876 - 10/11/2004 11:17
Re: I'm glad not all Americans are Corvette owners
[Re: furtive]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/06/1999
Posts: 2993
Loc: Wareham, Dorset, UK
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Phew. Some thoroughly illuminating, informed discussion going on there. I'm impressed at the very highbrow tone adopted by some of the respondents. Perhaps I should buy a Corvette and vote for Dubya as well.
_________________________
One of the few remaining Mk1 owners...  #00015
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#240877 - 10/11/2004 11:23
Re: I'm glad not all Americans are Corvette owners
[Re: schofiel]
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old hand
Registered: 17/01/2003
Posts: 998
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Quote:
Phew. Some thoroughly illuminating, informed discussion going on there. I'm impressed at the very highbrow tone adopted by some of the respondents. Perhaps I should buy a Corvette and vote for Dubya as well.
And you added what?
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#240878 - 10/11/2004 12:01
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: Redrum]
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old hand
Registered: 14/08/2001
Posts: 886
Loc: London, UK
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You missed the point nicely there RedRum.
Thank you for enforcing the already perceived stereotype.
_________________________
Mk2a RioCar 120Gb - now sold to the owner of my old car
Rio Karma - now on ebay...
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#240879 - 10/11/2004 12:25
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: furtive]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 09/08/2000
Posts: 2091
Loc: Edinburgh, Scotland
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That is hilarious - what is funniest is the high number of comments from folks who haven't driven TVR's or NSX (which they appear to think of as a European car) but still have a loud opinion. I mean I haven't driven a Corvette - I would love to, but until I do, I'm pretty much going to pay attention to programmes like Top Gear as they get to drive everything, so have a reasonable way to compare. There were a few sensible posts there, but they were way overshadowed by the loud stereotype calling for war on England. Of course that too is vaguely amusing (I'm Scottish  )
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Rory
MkIIa, blue lit buttons, memory upgrade, 1Tb in Subaru Forester STi
MkII, 240Gb in Mark Lord dock
MkII, 80Gb SSD in dock
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#240880 - 10/11/2004 12:56
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: furtive]
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old hand
Registered: 17/01/2003
Posts: 998
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Quote:
Thank you for enforcing the already perceived stereotype.
Yes, posting that link, you did as well. A real car review shows no bigotry toward the country in which the car was made. Hell, they couldn’t even acknowledge we’re a country “The Colonies.” Just another US bash that is getting old. If you want to bash lets get it on and not beat around the Bush. Stereotype's are usually based in truth. I'll take mine over yours any day.
Now pardon me while I go beat my wife, shoot my gun, drink my cold beer, gloat in the fact Bush will rule the word for another 4 years and drive my gas guzzling fast plastic car.
I will leave you to your snobbery, tea, strange sense of humor and boy friend.
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#240881 - 10/11/2004 13:06
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: Redrum]
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old hand
Registered: 14/08/2001
Posts: 886
Loc: London, UK
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Again, you are missing the point. I didn't post the link to "bash America". Why would I? I like it there. I lived in Manhattan for 2 years, and have just yesterday returned from there for a friends wedding.
_________________________
Mk2a RioCar 120Gb - now sold to the owner of my old car
Rio Karma - now on ebay...
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#240882 - 10/11/2004 13:17
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: furtive]
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old hand
Registered: 14/04/2002
Posts: 1172
Loc: Hants, UK
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Ha, read this yesterday - somebody posted the link on Pistonheads. I don't think they got the humour of the Top Gear team - they knock nearly everything in some way, but they tend to start every review of an American car intending to dislike it.
Oh yes, they base prices on official imports which are significantly more than independent importers. Eg. the "Dodge SRT-10" will be £80k from a Chrysler dealer but an import will probably be £20k less and branded as a Viper (trademark issues).
Gareth
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#240883 - 10/11/2004 13:33
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: furtive]
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addict
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 510
Loc: NY
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Again, you are missing the point. I didn't post the link to "bash America". Why would I? I like it there. I lived in Manhattan for 2 years, and have just yesterday returned from there for a friends wedding.
Um, that's not america, that's New York City. The US is that bible thumping [censored] full of ignoramuses and the occasional poor decent person the other side of the hudson where they seem to think they have a right to dictate how other people live their lives and enforce their half assed "family values" on EVERYONE. Unlike most of america , we have culture beyond the local wal-mart and 4H fair.
</end nasty condescending bitch>
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Heather
"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." -Susan B Anthony
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#240884 - 10/11/2004 14:00
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: Heather]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3584
Loc: Columbus, OH
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Gee, thanks Heather 
(edit: not really offended...I know you're just venting)
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~ John
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#240885 - 10/11/2004 14:21
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: Heather]
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addict
Registered: 24/07/2003
Posts: 500
Loc: Colorado, N.A.
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Love it when you get nasty. /end innuendo-loving schoolboy mode Actually, I very much like what I see and read about the C6, but would never get one because of the preponderance of people like the posters among its owners. It's not worth the hassle of having everybody assume I'm an insanely jingoistic, red-state dwelling, Camaro-trading, 2%-beer-chugging, anti-intellectual, bottom feeder. I'd be such a wildly radical exception, it would prove the rule. Note that this is not intended to bait Redrum in any way.....
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-- DLF
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#240886 - 10/11/2004 14:35
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: DLF]
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addict
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 510
Loc: NY
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Note that this is not intended to bait Redrum in any way.....
Eh. Around here, all the vette owners are mostly snotty rich uppity assholes anyway (myself included). You try paying the insurance on one of 'em around here without a lot of disposable income.
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Heather
"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." -Susan B Anthony
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#240887 - 10/11/2004 14:48
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: DLF]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
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Quote:
Actually, I very much like what I see and read about the C6
The last 'Vette that really got my blood pumping was a brand-new, metallic-blue '65 Stingray driven by George Maharis. George was in the Marines in Korea with a town cop who lived a few doors away and George came to visit one summer during the peak of his television fame. We would all casually sidle down the street to touch the Stingray...and, under close supervision, sit in it.
Ah, George, hunky Buzz Murdock of Route 66. Of course, what is the plot? Two lean, attractive guys driving around the country together in a small car and, who, somehow seem to have trouble forming long-term attachments with women. Now *there* is a subtext that has dogged male Corvette owners ever since.
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Jim
'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.
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#240888 - 10/11/2004 15:00
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: jimhogan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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If you'll look, you'll find people who insist that that Corvette was red. (And they had three different ones, too, IIRC. One for each season of the show.)
Of course, didn't Mr. Maharis's career go down the tubes due to some sexual impropriety?
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Bitt Faulk
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#240889 - 10/11/2004 15:19
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: Redrum]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 21/05/1999
Posts: 5335
Loc: Cambridge UK
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Quote:
Yes, posting that link, you did as well. A real car review shows no bigotry toward the country in which the car was made. Hell, they couldn’t even acknowledge we’re a country “The Colonies.” Just another US bash that is getting old.
If you're going to get offended by shows created for a British audience, maybe it would be a good idea to first spend a few years in the UK so you actually understand what they're about. Top Gear is a tongue in cheek "lads" show in which Jeremy Clarkson plays his arrogant and opinionated role for which he is (in)famous. It isn't supposed to be taken seriously. My experience is that about 50% of motorheads in the UK can't stand him, and about 50% think he's pretty funny (and occassionally on the ball).
Of course this is a wider cultural issue than Top Gear. Time and again Americans pick up on some piece in the British media, totally fail to understand it, and respond with a distinct lack of humour. Maybe it would help if each time you perceived something to be anti-American you took a deep breath, stepped back, and spent some time considering whether the content might in fact be an example of a strange foreign humour that, while not targeted for your particular sense of humour, is not a serious vitriolic attack on your country or principles. Of course I'm sure the "nuke England" comments were no more serious than Top Gear's piece, and are an example of American humour that doesn't work very well in the UK.
I can't say anything too inflamatory since I'm in the US right now, and thanks to the welcoming new USVisit scheme, the FBI have my fingerprints and mug shot 
Rob
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#240890 - 10/11/2004 15:37
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: rob]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 15/08/2000
Posts: 4859
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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...totally fail to understand it, and respond with a distinct lack of humour... and ...spent some time considering whether the content might in fact be an example of a strange foreign humour...
Well, the UK (and the rest of the world) does the same with our choice of president...
(Before anyone comments - it was a joke! We have enough bashing threads at the moment. I do not want to start another. Thanks.)
Edited by pgrzelak (10/11/2004 15:40)
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Paul Grzelak
200GB with 48MB RAM, Illuminated Buttons and Digital Outputs
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#240891 - 10/11/2004 15:42
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: rob]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 16/04/2002
Posts: 2011
Loc: Yorkshire UK
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If we wish to laugh at our own in the UK, "crap cars", the companion volume to last year's "crap towns"( A volume which never leaves my coffee table), has recently been published. I imagine that the '70's is the golden era, with British Leyland, Talbot and Vauxhall near to the fore - but I won't know until I pull the stocking off the end of the bed, Dec 25!
Personally, I applaud any manufacturer, large or small, who has the courage to make a car that stands out from the crowd, and the fact of whether the end result can be described as crap, or not, might well be ignored in this age of overwhelming globalisation and standardisation.
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Politics and Ideology: Not my bag
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#240892 - 10/11/2004 16:44
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
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Quote:
If you'll look, you'll find people who insist that that Corvette was red. (And they had three different ones, too, IIRC. One for each season of the show.)
Forgive us, I think my household only had a black-and-white TV until 1968-1969 (and, looking back, all episodes of Route 66 were B&W). Now I wouldn't insist it was a red 'vette, but I did have that impression, maybe because my cousin's hubbie had a white-on-red '63 (just like Buzz and Todd!) that he kept until just a few years ago. Looks like at least some of the show cars were blue, and, yes, a new one every season, IIRC. Great advertising.
Quote:
Of course, didn't Mr. Maharis's career go down the tubes due to some sexual impropriety?
Don't know. Some web pages say he left R66 due to "hepatitis". I didn't actively follow his career after about, oh, 1964!
_________________________
Jim
'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.
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#240893 - 10/11/2004 16:56
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: jimhogan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Oh, don't get me wrong. It was blue. (Apparently the cinematographer thought it shot better on B&W film in blue than in red.)
I just think that it's funny how people remember things. Including injecting colors into a show that was broadcast solely in black and white.
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Bitt Faulk
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#240894 - 10/11/2004 17:19
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
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Quote:
I just think that it's funny how people remember things. Including injecting colors into a show that was broadcast solely in black and white.
I hope I didn't imply hurt feelings. It *is* interesting. If you had asked me "guess the color and win 10 bucks (without resort to Google)" i would have guessed red, even though I was pretty sure the show was B&W.
I have a hard time now remembering some of those shows on the color/B&W time boundary. My Dad had a heart attack in '66 and we would camp out on Sunday eves for Ed Sullivan et al in the rents' bedroom as he convalesced. Were most shows then still B&W or is my memory of that dictated by the fact that they had a little B&W set up there?
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Jim
'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.
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#240895 - 10/11/2004 17:26
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: jimhogan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/06/1999
Posts: 2993
Loc: Wareham, Dorset, UK
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It's curious you should think this - I also have impressions of B/W children's programs in the early 60's where I was certain that things had certain colours. Only recently have I come to realise that Fireball XL5 and Supercar were definitely B/W. The odd thing is, I see colour stills of these programs, and the colours I see match my impressions of the colours I thought I saw on the screen. Eh?
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One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015
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#240896 - 10/11/2004 17:30
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: rob]
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veteran
Registered: 21/01/2002
Posts: 1380
Loc: Erie, CO
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Quote:
Of course this is a wider cultural issue than Top Gear. Time and again Americans pick up on some piece in the British media, totally fail to understand it, and respond with a distinct lack of humour.
See, there is the problem right there. Your humour is incompatible with humor! No wonder we are having such a hard time understanding what you mean! So everyone else in the world, just convert your humour to humor, and we'll all be happy. While you're at it, convert anything in metric measurements to imperial measurements. And speak (little-e) english. Oh, and it's SOCCER.
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#240897 - 10/11/2004 17:46
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: rob]
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old hand
Registered: 17/01/2003
Posts: 998
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Quote:
Quote:
Yes, posting that link, you did as well. A real car review shows no bigotry toward the country in which the car was made. Hell, they couldn’t even acknowledge we’re a country “The Colonies.” Just another US bash that is getting old.
If you're going to get offended by shows created for a British audience, maybe it would be a good idea to first spend a few years in the UK so you actually understand what they're about. Top Gear is a tongue in cheek "lads" show in which Jeremy Clarkson plays his arrogant and opinionated role for which he is (in)famous. It isn't supposed to be taken seriously. My experience is that about 50% of motorheads in the UK can't stand him, and about 50% think he's pretty funny (and occassionally on the ball).
Of course this is a wider cultural issue than Top Gear. Time and again Americans pick up on some piece in the British media, totally fail to understand it, and respond with a distinct lack of humour. Maybe it would help if each time you perceived something to be anti-American you took a deep breath, stepped back, and spent some time considering whether the content might in fact be an example of a strange foreign humour that, while not targeted for your particular sense of humour, is not a serious vitriolic attack on your country or principles. Of course I'm sure the "nuke England" comments were no more serious than Top Gear's piece, and are an example of American humour that doesn't work very well in the UK.
I can't say anything too inflamatory since I'm in the US right now, and thanks to the welcoming new USVisit scheme, the FBI have my fingerprints and mug shot
Rob
OK, thanks for painting a picture even my simple brain can grasp -> It was supposed to be funny, OK, got it, I’ll back off. I've been a bit testy lately (stomach flu always puts me in a bad mood) but the Republican bashing, US bashing and stereotype references flying around is getting a little old and putting me in a defensive mood. I definitely know what its like around here to be part of a minority, or at least a silent majority. I do think I am the minority now because I’ve noticed a few “F’you posts I’m out of here” from other US stereotypes who are getting sick of the comments. Probably what many on this board want.
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#240898 - 10/11/2004 17:59
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: Redrum]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 10/06/1999
Posts: 5916
Loc: Wivenhoe, Essex, UK
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Quote:
I do think I am the minority now because I’ve noticed a few “F’you posts I’m out of here” from other US stereotypes who are getting sick of the comments. Probably what many on this board want.
You must be reading a different board than I am. I am constantly amazed at how inclusive and tolerant this place is.
Reading those responses to the Top Gear video further reinforces how much more tolerant of differences this board is to most other virtual communities.
Oh and by the way, as a Top Gear review that was actually fairly positive. On the whole they actually liked the car, if they hadn't they would really have slated it. Unfortunately, taken out of the context of a whole Top Gear season, that review would appear to be very negative to someone not used to their style.
Edited by andy (10/11/2004 18:04)
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#240899 - 10/11/2004 20:04
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: andy]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2858
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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Funny thing is, I thought it was a pretty positive review. I mean he did say it was a fast car, less expensive than comparable cars, and it cornered well. Not to mention it seemed to "rank" pretty high. The fact that he used some hyperbolic language for his negatives doesn't imply to me that he hated the car. But I figured I was just missing all of the negativity everyone else was picking up on.
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-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
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#240900 - 11/11/2004 00:17
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: Redrum]
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member
Registered: 06/04/2000
Posts: 158
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It may help to know that the three presenters drive (as main cars, they have others)
- an AMG SL65 (Clarkson)
- a 930 series 911 (Hammond)
- an old Bentley, a T2 I think, not sure (May)
and they never lose an opportunity to have a go at each other about their choices, and (and this is the key) they ALSO HAVE A GO AT THEMSELVES about their own choices.
Regards
Mark
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#240901 - 11/11/2004 00:37
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: jimhogan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
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Me:
Quote:
If you had asked me "guess the color and win 10 bucks (without resort to Google)" i would have guessed red, even though I was pretty sure the show was B&W.
Ha, I was tricked. In a black-and-white world, turns out there was a Route 66 red Corvette for publicity shots, which could explain a lot.
Interesting to see some of their guest stars -- the likes of Robert Duvall and Jed Bartlett!
_________________________
Jim
'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.
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#240902 - 11/11/2004 01:24
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: furtive]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/12/2000
Posts: 2665
Loc: Manteca, California
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Ha! What a hoot.
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Glenn
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#240903 - 11/11/2004 13:06
Re: I'm glad Americans are not all Corvette owners
[Re: JeffS]
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addict
Registered: 24/07/2003
Posts: 500
Loc: Colorado, N.A.
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Quote:
... in which Jeremy Clarkson plays his arrogant and opinionated role for which he is (in)famous.
Quote:
... he used some hyperbolic language for his negatives....
I love that Jeremy guy's hyperbolic style, even when I disagree 180 degrees with his point. Wonder what that says about me as a U.S. human?
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-- DLF
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