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mypassionfortrash · 4 years

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KICKS (part one)

Roger visits the seediest shop in London in search of a kinky Valentine’s day gift for his girlfriend. He thinks he’s a great lay and he thinks he’s seen it all. He’s also dating one of the sexiest women in the country. It should be a recipe for sexual heaven for Roger, but he soon realises he has a lot to learn, and he keeps coming back to Kicks for more than just the odd ball gag or leather collar!

Warnings: Strong D/s themes later on. STRICTLY 18+. Notes: I said I’d post this in one go, but I lied. I’m gonna post it in parts because I love it. As always, feedback is much appreciated. If you like this, then please, for the love of all that is holy, reblog it (I am begging)! And if you’d like to be tagged, please just send me a message. Thanks for reading!

Tag list: @jennyggggrrr @sarahgurl09 @scorpiogemini @johnricharddeacy @brianssixpence @hellohellothere12

Valentine’s day was always hectic at Kicks, despite the locals being loathed to admit that they satisfied their fiendish fancies there – even for a few days of the year.

And for you, it meant working overtime to guarantee that the merchandise looked as tantalising as ever. It gave you the chance to let your creativity run wild, but you couldn’t go overboard with latex-clad, strap-on wearing mannequins in the front window. After all, the locals were still prudes.

While you were busy in the stockroom, filling a box of dildos for distribution, the bell above the front door chimed. It was a Wednesday evening. Things were winding down for the day. And you had assumed you’d be undisturbed until closing time.

Evidently not.

Your eyes rolled. “I’ll be through in a minute!”

“No need, take your time!”

When the cardboard box at your feet was brimming with rubber dongs and silicone schlongs, you hauled it up into your arms. But, you instantly bemoaned the decision to pile it so high that your arms buckled and you could barely peer over the top of your haul as you made your way back on to the shop floor. All you could see was a tuft of blonde hair lingering around the section of the store that housed every restraint under the sun.

“Are you alright?” the customer asked, scurrying into view.

You dumped the box on the cash desk and huffed, planting your hands on your hips. “Yep, yep, just fine. Just overextended myself.”

You turned to the customer to see a childish smirk peeking from the corners of his mouth. He was dying to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. After all, he had partied with strippers, witnessed wild drug-fuelled orgies and all kinds of debauchery. But here he was, like a naughty teenager in a sweetshop. Roger had never, ever, been in one of these kinds of shops before.

“Can I help you, handsome?” you pressed.

Roger snapped back to reality with a look of faux seriousness. His hand crept beneath the collar of his half-buttoned shirt to press against the curve between his neck and his shoulder. “Oh, yes. Yes. I’m… I’m looking for something to maybe tie my girlfriend up or something. For Valentine’s day, you know? Show her a good time.”

You found his meek facade quite endearing. Most customers had that look about them, but somehow, you expected more from the gregarious drummer of a rock and roll band. “Well,” you began, flinging out your arms. “You’ve come to the right place.”

Roger responded by diverting his gaze to his feet with an eye-crinkling smile.

You emerged from behind the cash desk and gave Roger’s arm a light slap. “Come on over and I’ll show you some of my wares.”

He trailed behind you like a shy little puppy, fumbling his hands in front of his body. “We haven’t really tried this before so I don’t know…”

“That’s ok,” you said, eyeing the wall of restraints for something to show him. You knew full well that Betsy Bright, darling of the Pirelli Calendar, coupled with Queen’s most desirable member, were destined for dirty escapades in the bedroom – even if they hadn’t got around to it yet. And they had to start somewhere.

“W-what about these? These look nice,” Roger mumbled. He held up a set of heavy-duty leather ankle and wrist cuffs for you to inspect.

“How does your girlfriend feel about all of this?” you asked.

“I don’t really know. Honestly, this was just a whim. I’ve already got her some nice knickers. Fred’s been in a couple of times. Joked that I might find something in here.”

That was a typical man response that you’d probably hear a thousand times throughout the Valentine’s frenzy and the annoyance you felt was palpable. Roger edged the cuffs back on to the display.

“Yeah, those might freak her out,” you remarked. “That’s like gifting a virgin a 14-inch dildo and no lube, and telling them to take it in ten minutes.”

“Noted.”

“Why don’t you start…” you said, trailing your hand over the display until you found what you were looking for. “With these?” You held up a set of satin straps for Roger to gaze at. “Much less intimidating. Really versatile. And they come in all kinds of colours.”

Roger took them and allowed the material to fall through his fingertips. “These are nice,” he said, dipping into the bag of department store goodies that hung from his wrist. When he lifted his hand, a whisper-thin, bottle green g-string dangled from his index finger. “Got any to match this?”

“Betsy Bright’s gonna look fantastic in those,” you said, handing him another set of straps.

He couldn’t meet your gaze and the flush of pink that spread from his chest to his jaw gave away even more of his embarrassment. “I hope so,” he said quietly.

“I can throw in a blindfold and a nice little scarf gag for an extra tenner if you want?”

Roger’s eyes were elsewhere; they darted around his surroundings with a coy curiosity. “That sounds great.”

“Do you want me to ring these up for you?”

“Yeah,” he sighed, trailing behind you.

You could feel Roger’s eyes on you as you rang his kinky starter pack through the till and bagged them up for him. Every time you moved, his eyes moved with you. But when you looked up, he quickly looked away, towards the box of dildos beside you. “That’s twenty quid please,” you said, handing him his bag.

He gave you the money from his shaking hand and returned his eyes to the box. Intrigue got the better of him and made him pick up the biggest toy in there. He marvelled at it, turning it in his hand.

“Think you could manage it?” you smirked.

His face reddened again. “Oh, I’m… I’m just… could anyone?”

You nodded slowly with your eyes bulging from your head and a scowl on your lips.

“I’d hate to be the poor woman whose undercarriage gets wrecked by that,” he mused. “How could anyone… Look! I can’t even get my hand around it.”

“Patience and a lot of lube.”

Roger’s mouth hung open as he looked at you again. “Have you? How did you… what?”

You giggled. “No! God no. But it’s possible. I think you’re curious, now though, aren’t you? I reckon you could take that if you really stretched yourself.”

The dildo was dumped back in the box in protest. “No,” he whispered, furiously shaking his head.

“I think you’re more interested than you’re letting on, but that’s alright. I won’t tell.”

“I’ll stick to sticking my dick in things. Rather than having things stuck in me. If that’s alright.”

You threw your hands in the air. “Whatever tickles your pickle!”

“I’m a great lay by the way. I’m just throwing that out there.”

A sarcastic chuckle escaped your lips. “Bet you’ve never found the g-spot.”

Roger leaned on the cash desk, screwing up his beautiful features, eager for you to impart your wisdom. “Sorry, what?”

One week later…

Rounding the corner, the morning sun sparked a blazing path before you. Beautiful, boring shopfronts blurred past you as your speedometer approached 60. Double the speed limit, but opening time was drawing closer by the second.

Never in your time at Kicks had you been late. And you weren’t going to let that happen today.

Turning the throttle, the needle spiked at 70, and then steadily eased as the shop came into view.

When your bike came to a stop opposite the shop, you hesitated for a moment, thanking your lucky stars you decided to don a visor that day. A customer paced back and forth, but you couldn’t see their face from that far away. It was rare to find customers pounding the pavement, waiting for the doors to open. Rarer still when that customer turned out to be Roger Taylor – again.

Whipping off your helmet and crossing the street, you caught Roger’s eye. Stopped in his tracks, he struggled to fight back a broad grin. And the way his eyes strayed.

You didn’t look at him when you slipped your key into the lock. “Well, if it isn’t my favourite customer! How’d Miss Pirelli get on? She like getting tied up?” You pushed the door open and switched on the lights. Roger followed.

“I’m not sure,” he said, scratching at the undersides of his arms as he wandered into the middle of the shop – and tried not to touch anything.

Weaving in and out of the group of catsuit-clad mannequins in the front window, you stopped and narrowed your eyes at Roger. “What do you mean: you’re not sure?” you asked, pulling up the blinds. “Don’t you talk?”

“Sure, as soon as I’ve spaffed my load down her tits and we’re lying there all sweaty and exhausted, I just... just turn to her and ask,” he paused, lowering his voice and pressing his hand to the side of his mouth, “darling did you like those silk ties and how was the little feather duster I tickled your fanny with? Sure!”

You shook your head and wandered over to Roger. “So you don’t do a thorough post-match analysis? How on earth do you communicate? Jesus Christ, Roger!”

“I think she liked it! Ok?”

“So you’re back for that monster cock you saw last week?” you asked with fake glee.

Roger crossed his arms and jutted out his hip. “No, actually.” As quickly as his face clouded over with indignation, it dropped even more into a serious gaze. “I was hoping you could give me some advice.”

You seemed to understand that this was unusual for Roger and that he wasn’t exactly used to opening up like this. “Coffee?”

He perked up ever so slightly, his arms dropping down by his sides. “Coffee.”

Roger followed you on your way into the back room, but he lingered just at the door and watched you make the coffee.

“I’ve got some chocolate digestives if you want some. You know, in case you need to eat your feelings,” you joked.

“Wouldn’t say no,” he laughed. “I don’t think I’m quite at that point just yet.”

“Right,” you began, thrusting Roger’s coffee into his hand on your road back to the shop floor. “Tell me all of your woes, drummer boy.”

You and Roger hauled yourselves on to stools on opposite sides of the cash desk. He looked down, staring into the cup in his hands. And then he looked up. “Actually I think I will have a biccy, please.”

Without a word, you plucked a single chocolate digestive from the packet and slid it towards him like a seedy bartender. But you kept your finger on it when he tried to take it.

He shot you a frustrated glare.

“A moment on the lips and all that,” you quipped, “I’ll give you this if you tell me what’s bugging you.”

Roger puffed out his cheeks and maintained eye contact with you – he looked like he was begging, but you wouldn’t budge even with his fingers planted on the outer edges of the now melting chocolate biscuit.

“Come on. That layer of chocolate’ll be long gone before you’ve ‘fessed up!”

“This is weird, talking to someone I don’t even know about it.”

You shrugged. “I sell naughty tapes to sweaty old men and rubber dolls to greaseballs with bad breath – and I have to smile about it. Trust me, this isn’t the weirdest thing that’s going to happen to me today. Spill the beans.”

Roger tilted his head to the side with a coy smile. He wasn’t sure where to begin or how to verbalise his feelings on the matter. “Ok. So last week went well. I think she liked it. And I think she wants more of that but…” Roger trailed off. His eyes darted in the air as if he was reading from a script he had tried to commit to memory. But he was lost.

“Right, eat that,” you instructed, letting go of the biscuit.

Roger took it, dunked it in his coffee and took a bite. “It’s just,” he began through his mouthful, “it didn’t feel right for me.”

Even if you hadn’t the foggiest idea what Roger meant by that, you still made a good show of pretending that you did, nodding and dishing out an understanding, “Ah, I get you. Takes a bit of getting used to.”

Roger was dunking the other half of his biscuit when he continued. “I just didn’t feel comfortable with it, you know? I like sex. Love sex. But I felt like I’d rather have all of that done to me. And it just gets really tiring when she expects me to… perform... all the time. She wants me to pull her hair and put my hands around her neck… spank her. And I don’t know how to feel about that.” Roger finished pouring his heart out by lifting his biscuit out of his mug. It was sodden and fell apart upon removal, much to Roger’s disdain. “Well, that’s my coffee ruined.” He looked back up at you. “So yeah.”

“Have you tried – I don’t know – telling her this?”

“I did, but she was kind of dismissive about it. She told me it’s no big deal. But I’m intrigued. I want that… but for me.”

“Well, you need to figure out if it’s a crucial part of your relationship. Are you serious with Betsy?”

Roger shrugged. “She’s fun to look at, and she’s always, you know, up for it. But it’d be nice to let go for a bit. I’m not even sure how I’d feel about doling out any of the rougher stuff that she wants to try. Plus she’s a bit of a bimbo, you know?” he added, cupping his hands around a pair of imaginary breasts on his chest. “Not much going on in the brain.”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that last bit and just tell you how it is,” you stated. “So. The way I see it is you’ve got two – maybe three – problems here,” you announced, sitting up straight. “Number one: the Venn diagram between your kinks and your girlfriend’s kinks don’t really align. She expects you to be just as savvy and into it as she is, and I’m gonna hazard a guess here, you haven’t been as adventurous as she has. Sound right?”

“Right,” Roger nodded enthusiastically.

“Number two: you’re apprehensive because you’re not as savvy as you thought you were. You’re not comfortable diving into all the debauchery she wants, because you’ve still got much to learn.”

“Yep.”

“And third: I think you’d rather be submissive in bed.”

Roger thought about that final point for a moment. His brow furrowed as he took a sip of his coffee.

“I think I’ve nailed it,” you said.

“I think you have. Maybe.”

“So what are you going to do about it?”

Roger’s eyes lightened. “I’m going to need to have a long, hard think about that one, aren’t I?”

“You’re damn right you do.”

NEXT PART >>

#roger taylor #roger taylor x reader #queen #queen imagine #roger taylor imagine #roger taylor fic #roger taylor x you #queen x you #roger taylor fanfic #please validate me

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softluci · 4 years

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omg, hey, how r u, hi, so nice to see u; welcome to my 3AM (now 6AM bc miss hellsite deleted everything) ramblings (which i will try to make as close to the original as possible); this one’s gonna be a Doozy

now that ap testing is over and i have more time to care about literally everything else, i realize that i . i am So Bad at taking care of myself. like, so bad. and i actually realized this months ago but i didn't have this account months ago and i didn't think of this months ago so—

((i was debating whether or not to limit this to gen z but i know it isn't just us who do this; or maybe that’s wishful thinking and it Is just us, but idk, man,, i feel like millennials be doing this too))

sometimes, a lot of the time i just . don't eat . and i don't have a bad or difficult relationship to food or an eating disorder or anything like that, i just Don't Do It because i either legitimately forgot or i didn't feel hungry even if i hadn't eaten for a significant period of time (6-18hrs, we'll say, because i do lose track). like,, when quarantine started, i was in my room, door Locked, for 15 to 19 hours a day + i wouldn't leave unless i had to use the bathroom or shower. i only started eating and leaving my room more because my mom had to ask me to. oh, and this should be obvious, but i don't sit and eat dinner with my family either.

additionally, and this is Much More Frequent, i don't sleep. i know i don't sleep because i slept for nine hours today and woke up dazed and confused. when we had school, i would either sleep for 1-6 hours or just not at all. and then i'd go to school and not pack anything to eat :p. i actually think the longest i've gone without sleep is a full day. and i don’t have insomnia or anything like that, i just be Staying Up

so, with those things in mind, i've been wondering, like,, like how the boys would react to an m/c like that, you know?

like, okay, first of all,, there's No Way mammon is gonna let mc sit alone in their room all day. his emotional support human?? alone without him??? unacceptable. it just isn't happening. he would Literally break mc's door down if they tried to keep him out, unless they, for some reason, really, really, really needed to be alone, and even then it is a Tossup. and then not sleeping or eating? hello, what do you think this is? he would accommodate them for a little while by bringing them food and making sure they slept but after a while he would literally drag them out of their room because there is no way. there is No Way he’s letting them turn into levi. not on his watch

an mc like this would give luci an ulcer. a literal ulcer. why are you a human and playing with the limits of your body?? who are you, do you think you’re made of metal? do you realize you have classes to attend and that you’re surrounded by demons literally All The Time? you cannot be caught lacking (i.e. feeling faint or fatigued because you haven’t eaten in seventeen hours or slept in a day). he would bring food to your room so he could make sure you ate, but when it came to sleeping? get ready to literally be dragged/carried out of your room and into his because he has work to do and he needs to keep an eye on you because Clearly you cannot be trusted to take care of yourself. he would probably go as far as to stop doing work and go to bed so you have nothing to hold against him. can’t sleep at a regular time because of your nonexistent sleep schedule? that’s okay because, beloved, He Is Putting You To Sleep. how he does so is up to you; and if you try to play like you’re Fine??

“mc, it’s seven pm, when was the last time you ate?” “five.” “am or pm?” “...” “well, when was the last time you slept?” “i haven’t.” “MC.”

you haven’t slept in just over a day? baby, levi’s record is three. he would be absolutely terrible for an m/c like this; he would enable them So Hard. maybe he would bring them food (and that’s Snacks, not actual food), and Maybe he would tell them to go to sleep once or twice, but Other Than That? he can’t take care of himself for Shit either, sorry you had to hear it from me, leviastans <3

asmo,, you are worrying this man Sick. you haven’t eaten in fifteen hours? are you on a diet? no? you Forgot To Eat? how many hours of sleep have you gotten? one? you Think? oh, Maybe it was two? ah, yes, mc, because that is So Much Better. seriously, though, if you won’t eat, fine, but if there’s one thing you’re doing, it’s sleeping. you can’t sleep at a decent time because you have no concept of a sleeping schedule? sweetie. beloved. he is putting you to sleep, be it through relaxing self care or something else, darling, you are knocking out. and when you wake up, he’ll have a full course meal ready and he will literally feed it to you himself.

what’s that? you haven’t eaten since Yesterday and it’s three in the afternoon? oh,, you sweet summer child, beel is heartbroken. keep insisting that you aren’t hungry while you can barely stand and his eyes will fill with tears. you don’t wanna leave your room? fine, but that is the only thing keeping him from throwing you over his shoulder and going to the kitchen. he would literally bring you as much food as he could carry and only eat a little bit on the way back to your room. can’t sleep? not a problem, wait there while he gets belphie to charm your pillow. do Not worry, teddy bear beel always has your back MUAH

speaking of belphie,, tell that man you haven’t slept in a day and he’s stopping what he’s doing, dragging you to the nearest cushioned surface, and laying down with you; you’ll be out in No Time. and once you’re up?? he’s dragging you to the kitchen and you’re eating any and everything he puts in front of you, and he’s not leaving you alone until you’re functioning like a human and not a gremlin, or so help him, you’ll die a second time.

you’re like, op,, y did u put satan last?? i couldn’t think of anything for him until now, i Swear i love him, okay, Anyway, you haven’t eaten in almost a day? do all humans do that? no?? why can you Barely Stand??? do you need to be carried to the kitchen? he is so confused as to why you just Haven’t Eaten when that is a basic function that humans need to complete or else they literally die; now wait in your room while he brings you something to eat. you can’t sleep?? do Not worry, that man will curl up with you and read to you until you’re Knocked Out, which won’t take long because he has a calming presence and a soothing voice, sweetheart, u r in good hands

ok it’s 7AM and i’m contemplating doing the undateables,, should i do the undateables? i’m gonna do the undateables.

oh my god,, if luke finds out that you haven’t eaten in, eighteen hours and you haven’t slept in like twenty,, the way you’re gonna have to put in Work to convince him that you did those things of your own volition and the demons you live with aren’t starving or overworking you and No they aren’t forcing you to lie about anything. after you’ve done that, he is seeing to it that you eat something right away; it does not matter where you are, you are a human and you’re feeling Faint around literal demons, are you Dumb? are you Dumb of Ass?? come with him immediately before you hurt yourself or get hurt, he is feeding you and then you’re sleeping in his room and he’s Not taking no for an answer; don’t even think about telling him no, he’ll cry at you.

you cannot tell me simeon is not the doting/fussing type, okay, and he is appalled. Appalled. what did you just say. the reason why you don’t look so good is because you’ve been up since Yesterday and you haven’t eaten since then either? why? what do you mean you forgot to eat; what kind of human Forgets To Eat? oh, you didn’t forget? you just didn’t feel like getting up? you’re gonna give him an ulcer. if he doesn’t do anything else, he is getting you something to eat, you literally just activated every older sibling/parental instinct he has from luke being an angel. he will literally take you to the closest place with food, sit you down, and buy you whatever you want, and if you say you don’t want anything, he’ll buy you one of everything and give the leftovers to beel, do Not test him. and when you’re done eating, you’re taking a nap. where? anywhere. no one will disturb you so long as he’s there, you’ll sleep perfectly fine <33

dia is half horrified and half intrigued. you haven’t slept in how long? are humans supposed to do that?? NO??? like,, part of him wants to see how long you can last without sleep or food just to see the limits of the average human and part of him wants to feed you and make sure you sleep immediately. he would have to fight every urge to do the former, but once he did, you are eating everything he finds and you are sleeping for however long his Humans 101 manual says you should sleep for.

i am so thoroughly convinced that solomon literally would not care at all you have No Idea-

like,,, i just feel like he’d ask you if you were alright because you looked a little off and you’d tell him you hadn’t slept or eaten in a while and he’d first look at you like you were literally out of your mind and then depending on where you were, Maybe keep you company (read: make sure nothing happens to you) while you take a nap, or Maybe buy you food, or take you to the house or purgatory hall (whichever’s closer) because he wouldn’t leave you alone,, surrounded by demons, ever; let alone in your current state. ok wow maybe he does care what a sweetie

barbatos would literally. he would keep his ^_^ cool facade, but on the inside he would be Screaming. full throttle internal screaming that has been going on for centuries just got several notches louder because you can’t take care of yourself, i hope ure happy. you haven’t slept since yesterday? one notch. you didn’t eat breakfast or lunch? another notch. you feel faint? oH WOW REALLY??? I FUCKING WONDER WHY another notch. come with him. please come with him before he blows a fuse for the first time in 400 years because you think you’re an exception to the rules of being a human. he’s feeding you and putting you to sleep whether you think you’re fine or not; don’t argue with him, he already takes care of his immortal boss who is the equivalent of an excited child on most days or a troublesome teenager on others and he Does Not Lose Arguments.

ok it’s almost 11am goodnight now <3

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lastsonlost · 5 years

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Oh gasps, I'm shocked.

Who would have thunk it?

The story:

Updated with Sunday figures: In the wake of Terminator: Dark Fate’s failure at the B.O., and Paramount’s recent decision to make Beverly Cops 4 for Netflix, we have the further breakdown of cinema IP in Sony’s Charlie’s Angels reboot, which is tanking with a God-awful $8.6M domestic opening, $27.9M worldwide (from 26 markets), 3 Stars on Screen Engine-Comscore’s PostTrak, and a B+ Cinemascore.

The Elizabeth Banks-directed-written and produced pic is also opening in 27 offshore markets,

China being one where it’s also bombing,

with a $7.8M 3-day take in third place behind No. 1 local title Somewhere Winter ($13.1M).

All of this is primed to further spur a WTF reaction and anxiety among film development executives in town in regards to what the hell exactly works in this have-and-have-not era of the theatrical marketplace. Many will make the hasty generalization that old, dusty IP doesn’t work, or is now deemed too risky when it’s not a superhero project. However, moviemaking is an art, not a science, and annoying as it might sound, good movies float to the top, and this Charlie’s Angels reboot didn’t have the goods going back to its script.

<Maybe somebody should have been working on a good story instead of pushing an agenda.

We’re going to break down for you what went wrong in another graph, but we don’t want to bury the success of Disney’s release of Fox’s James Mangold-directed Ford v Ferrari, which looks to be coming in at $31.5M, well ahead of the $20M+ many were seeing, with an awesome A+ CinemaScore and 4 1/2 stars and a 68% definite recommend on Screen Engine/Comscore’s PostTrak. After a franchise-laden summer which buried originals, now an original pic is sticking it to the IP.

When it comes to the bombing of Charlie’s Angels, the takeaway is this is what happens when you have IP, but there’s no reason for telling the story.

In the walk-up to developing Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and in the wake of its near $1 billion success, a fever broke out at the Culver City lot in the post-Amy Pascal era to reboot former Sony franchises or extend them, i.e. Zombieland: Double Tap (well over $103M at the global B.O. now), the upcoming Bad Boys 3, and, of course, Spider-Man, the latter electrified by Disney’s Marvel. Development studio executives define their being by getting films greenlit, and whenever that happens, it’s 90% of the job.

And the pressure is on to fill a 10-12 picture annual slate in a world where Disney vacuums up all the best IP. A third Charlie’s Angels with McG directing and Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu starring, wasn’t made immediately after the second chapter, 2003’s Full Throttle, as the sequel turned out to be 29% more expensive than the 2000 original at $120M, and also made less worldwide, $259.1M to $264.1M. With Elizabeth Banks coming off her hot feature directorial debut with Universal’s Pitch Perfect 2 (which over-indexed in its stateside opening at the B.O., going from $50M projections to $69.2M, and finaled global at $287.1M); after she expressed interest in September 2015 in taking on a Charlie’s Angels reboot with a modern feminist spin, there was no question in Sony’s mind that the project should move forward.

<Yeah Sony, how's that working out for you? You think they would have learned their lesson...

Guess not.

Back to the story.....

However, there were script problems, I hear, that could never be resolved. A few months after Banks boarded, Evan Spiliotopoulos came on to write. By the time cast was assembled in July 2018, Banks had penned the latest draft off a script by Jay Basu (The Girl in the Spider’s Web), and earlier drafts by Craig Mazin and Semi Chellas. Andrea Giannetti oversaw the project on the lot. However, I hear that the script for Charlie’s Angels didn’t really attract top talent, i.e. Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone and Margot Robbie (a trio that would have potentially jazzed up business). Hence, why the production opted to go with largely a fresh face cast outside of Kristen Stewart. While we overwrite that stars mean nothing at the box office, they do, sometimes, when it comes to propping IP, and unfortunately and arguably, no one in Middle America knows who British actress Ella Balinska is, and they’ve only became recently acquainted with Naomi Scott from Disney’s Aladdin and Lionsgate’s Power Rangers. Stewart, who is hysterical in the movie and even needed more funny bits, is in a different place in her career professionally, publicly, and privately. It’s unfair to think that she could delver her Twilight fans now.

Had she done Charlie’s Angels promptly in the swell of the Twilight whirlwind (like Snow White and the Huntsmen) then maybe it would have popped.

But she has largely been dormant from popcorn wide releases for the last seven years since 2012’s Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, busy excelling and wowing in specialty awards season and festival fare like Clouds of Sils Maria, Still Alice, and this year’s Seberg, to name a few. Stewart needed to be paired with equal or bigger-name actresses.

was a one quadrant movie, eyed at women 13-39, especially given its lack of action scenes, and wisely limited their exposure to what I hear is 50%, with co-finance partners 2.0 Entertainment and Perfect World. Sony claims the budget is $48M net; we’ve heard in the mid $50Ms. Tax incentives were taken in the pic’s Berlin and Hamburg shoots. Perhaps Sony should have spent more, because Charlie’s Angels biggest problem is that it has very low-octane, we’ve-seen-it-all-before action scenes. Heck, there’s more action in a 1980s Chuck Norris movie. After watching Charlie’s Angels earlier this week, I put the first two McG movies on Netflix, and it was like watching Star Wars in comparison to this reboot, with his sharp production design, camera movements, unique action, and comedy set pieces, and, of course, the first movie blasted Sam Rockwell out of a cannon. Understand that the first two movies in the series were able to compete and hold their own in an action space where, yes, Mission: Impossible and Fast & Furious (the first two films came out in 2001 and 2003) also thrived. Mission and Fast sequels distinguish themselves on multiple 10-minute action sequences that we’ve never seen before on screen; it doesn’t matter who the villain is. This Charlie’s Angels doesn’t have that. And not even a super-duper hit song “Don’t Call Me Angel” for the movie from Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, and Lana Del Ray can trigger lines at the multiplex; the music video clocking over 116M views on YouTube, per entertainment social media monitor RelishMix.

Some will claim that Banks’ version was never intended to emulate the meat and potatoes version of McG’s films; that this version was expected to be more comedic, and more feminist. Unfortunately, after McG set the table here with the franchise as an action film, you can’t reverse it. You can only outdo him. And with a franchise movie like Charlie’s Angels, you can’t make it for a one quadrant audience.

The film arrived on tracking with a $12M-$13M start, and really never budged, but sank. That means marketing didn’t work. I heard that a $100M global P&A was first planned on Charlie’s Angels, with the studio now reducing that overall cost greatly to around $50M and pulling back on expensive ads. Another hurdle in activating the young girl demo is that much of the pic’s cast isn’t on social media. RelishMix says that Banks is the social media star with over 6.6M followers across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, with Scott counting 3.4M.

Sony kept pushing Charlie’s Angels, which in hindsight means there were development issues. In May 2017, a release date was announced for June 7, 2019. When the cast was locked down in July 2018, Charlie’s got moved to Sept. 27, 2019. In October 2018 when Warners pushed Wonder Woman 1984 from the first weekend in November to summer, Charlie‘s took over the autumn spot, which was the same exact place the original 2000 opened. However, when Terminator: Dark Fate moved onto the same first weekend in November, Charlie‘s relocated to this weekend as they vied for a China release which they ultimately got.

Charlie’s Angels drew a 66% female crowd, split between 36% over 25 and 30% under 25. But both demos respectively graded it low at 68% and 79%, with men at 35% giving it a 68% grade on PostTrak. Diversity breakdown was 52% Caucasian, 21% Hispanic, 14% Asian/Other, & 13% African American. Charlie’s Angels best markets were on the coasts and big cities. But again, nothing to brag about in Friday’s $3.2M gross, which includes $900K from Thursday and Wednesday previews.

Says RelishMix, which also foresaw this disaster approaching on social media chatter, “Angels is the latest example in a ‘woke’ effort to reboot a franchise that many were not all that interested in to start with. In fact, many references to the 2000 version get a call-out as a reason this one doesn’t seem to compare – whether it’s the cast or the action teased from the film.

And, as observed with other recent films, some action/adventure, unfortunately fans say they’re steering clear of this one because of its ‘girl power’ messaging.”

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peterporkerpeter · 6 years

Text

Code Red — Part Three [Peter Parker x Avenger!Reader]

MASTERLIST//CR MASTERLIST

WC: 2.900

Y/N shuffled into the black car, Tony sitting in the front with his hand steadily curled around the steering wheel. Clint happened to be conveniently placed beside him, his eyes continuously darting towards the rear view mirror to glance back at the two teens.

The car ride was absolutely silent—at least for the first half of the ride. Y/N was too anxious to make any half-assed quick-witted remarks, and Peter was too concerned with consoling her. His hand gently rest upon hers, the warmth of his fingertips radiating onto hers. A part of her was put to ease by the simple gesture, but that certainly didn't distract from the waves of anxiety crippling her every limb.

On top of that, she was hoping Clint would keep his big fat mouth shut, but that was unlikely. The archer always seemed to enjoy being a chaotic human being, so he was entirely unpredictable. Y/N despised that about him. She hoped that maybe he did know how to shut up, otherwise she was in for long ride and an earful from Tony.

"Why is no one talking?" Tony cut the silence with a knife. He spared at glimpse at the Clint then flickered his eyes up towards the mirror where he made eye contact with Y/N.

"Because I'm trying not to hurl," Y/N groaned, slouching back.

She blinked away fearful tears, not wanting to appear weak. She kept forgetting she was still a child, but Natasha's words kept ringing through her head. Now was not the time to act like a kid. It was important to remain structured and intact for the mission, as much as it pained her to do so. Y/N didn't realize how hard that was. Natasha seemed to do it so fluently like undercover work was merely instinct. Then again, she was a trained assassin.

"I think we should call this off," Clint added, pondering on his little conversation with Y/N earlier. He couldn't stop thinking about the miscellaneous Prom question. Why would she ask that?

"No!" Y/N shouted, sounding a lot harsher than she intended. Everyone shot her concerned glances before she relaxed, calmly shaking her head and adjusting her tone. "No, Clint. It's fine. I can do this. We've gone too far to give up now."

Time to grow up.

"Y/N, I'm sorry, this is going to bother me the whole night. Tony, I walked in on—"

"No!" Peter cried.

"Clint, I swear to God, you say one more fucking word I will throttle you! I. Will. Kill. You."

"Language!" Tony hissed. He looked skeptically between his three team mates, a muddled look in his whiskey brown eyes. "What the hell is going on?"

Clint was squirming in his seat like a five year old just desperate to tattle on Y/N and Peter. He kept fidgeting with his hands, making silent conversation with Y/N through mouthed words and violent hand gestures.

"I will kill you. Hold off for now. Do it later."

"Do what later?" Tony was starting to get antsy. "Someone tell me what the hell is going on."

"Nothing!" The three chanted in sync.

Tony pursed his lips, rolling his eyes before settling back into his seat. "Whatever. You guys are children. Ridiculous children. I'm gonna' bitch about this moment to you later during the drive home, FYI."

"You did not just say 'FYI' like that," Y/N winced. "You sound like a total dad when you do that. Soon enough, you're going to start saying 'LOL' out loud to fit in with the cool kids."

"You're very snappy tonight, little miss. You're lucky I don't hate you, otherwise I'd be yapping your ear off like a Chihuahua about how much your getting on my last nerve."

"I'm getting on your last nerve? Are you joking? Tony, I've pretty much had it up to here with you," she used her hand to show how fed up she was with him by furiously shoving it high into the air, "and the night has barely begun! You're practically throwing me into a fucking war zone to die! Give me a break!"

"Y/N, it was a joke! Jesus, kiddo!" Tony argued. "Remind me to never get on your bad side."

Y/N thought she could hear her own heart loudly thumping against her chest. She could certainly feel it too. There was a giant lump in her throat, limiting the accuracy of her breathing, trembling, shallow breathes puffing past her lips. She slumped against the corner of the car, her arms wrapped around her body as if to protect herself from the cruel world. Slowly, she sank into a silent panic attack, shutting her eyes to hide herself from the people in the car.

"Y/N?" she noticed Tony's voice, but this time isn't wasn't dripping with sarcasm or aflame with a fiery remark. It was soft and soothing, full of uncommon sincerity. "You've gotta' stop thinking so much. All you're doing is freaking yourself out. You have five of us in there with you. Five. They'll have eyes on you the whole time, they're going to keep you safe. Nothing bad is going to happen."

Y/N used the pad of her thumb to blot away a tear that managed to appear on her waterline. She didn't want to ruin her makeup—another reason why she hated wearing it so much. Tears were bound to happen eventually, and she did not want to be walking around with mascara tracks stained onto her cheeks. She drew out a shaky breath, then swallowed her fear.

"Yeah," she replied. "That's what they all say right before something bad happens. I don't want to talk about this anymore. Let's just get it done."

"Sounds good, Hermione," Clint sighed.

Y/N grinned.

Eventually, the car pulled up to the front of the location. The gala was located at an art museum in the center of the city, which Y/N found to be quite the glamorous place for such a luxurious party. She noticed all the women entering through the entrance wearing long, elegant gowns with their handsome dates locked like a chain around their arm. The jewelry was flashy and the cameras were clicking. She could hear conversation carrying fluently across the sea of expensive color rolling in through the grand front doors.

"Good luck, Y/N. You got this kid. And you look like a million bucks," Tony turned around in his seat to face her. "Also, no making out with Parker. At least, not during the mission. I don't care what you do afterwards. Make sure your comms are on."

"Love you," she said quickly, not even thinking before the words came flying out of her mouth. Subconsciously, she supposed it was a good time to say it, seeing as there were a million different ways—good or bad—that this thing could go. She didn't want to take any chances.

Her hand found Peter's as he escorted her from the car, and immediately the folding red hot waves of anxiety succumbed to the tenderness of his touch. Y/N let out a long breath, collecting herself before forcing the fakest smile onto her painted features. She wanted to apologize to Peter for how clammy her hands were, but he didn't seem to care in the slightest. With ease, he extended his elbow towards her, and she took it graciously.

"You okay?" Peter asked. Y/N hadn't even realized they were already up the whole flight of steps.

"Yeah, just flustered. I can do this, right?" Y/N whispered, breathing in how attractive he looked in his suit. She wondered if they looked good together from afar.

Peter smiled daintily, brushing a messy strand of hair from her eyes. "Definitely."

She flashed her friend a dimpled grin before lacing her fingers with his. They poured into the museum, the hum of classical music instantly filling her ears, drowning out the harsh clamor of perturbation. She heard the steady taps of high heels rapping against the sleek marble tiles, men's shoes clicking aimlessly as they trailed behind their dates or danced with them enthusiastically. Chatter hovered at an even pace throughout the tall halls, wine glasses clinking together in an epiphany of joy and gathering.

Y/N glanced up towards the massive crystal chandelier dangling from the sky like a star. A large mural painted the ceiling with reds, blue, beiges and greens. The colors seemed infinite. Art littered the walls, surrounded by engraved golden frames. The place was absolutely stunning—it reminded Y/N somewhat of a building she'd see in France or Greece. God, how she wished she could see those wondrous places.

"Wow!" she gasped, absorbing the view for all its worth.

Peter shared a similar awestrucken expression as his date. "I see Natasha and Clint. Wanda and Steve should show up by the bar any second now."

Y/N nodded, ignoring the brisk stares from adults silently commending her dress. She made the smile on her face relaxed, trying to keep her appearance more inviting by standing up straight and keeping her brows subtly lifted.

"Testing, testing. Ground control to Major Tom. This is Tony Stark—AKA Iron Bitch. Do you copy?"

"Oh, my God. Stark. Shut the fuck up," Clint groaned.

"Affirmative."

Y/N giggled, Tony's ridiculous commentary settling her nerves and making the situation appear less frightening than it initially seemed.

After everyone checked to make sure their comms were working, the plan was in motion.

Peter stuck out his hand, blinking nervously. "Uh, wanna' dance? I-I mean, we kind of have to, but . . ."

"Spider-ling shoots his shot aaaaannndd . . . he fails. Quite dramatically. Better luck next time, pal."

Y/N bit down on her lip, repressing a cheeky smile. She graciously accepted his hand, entwining their fingers together. A gleeful chuckle flew from her lips and Peter felt relaxed by here sincere reaction, escorting her to the dance floor.

"Fair warning, I-I don't really know how," Y/N warned.

"It's okay. Me neither. We can just follow what everyone else is doing and hope they don't judge us."

She extended her arms, trying to follow what the other adults in the room were doing. She clasped her hand onto his shoulder then threaded her other soft, manicured hand with his, moving their arms outwards away from their bodies. His available hand looped around the girl's waist, lying firmly against her back. He pulled her closer, their bodies pressed together. Y/N could feel his breath on her lips, her heels providing enough height for her to be eye-to-eye level with him.

"I kind of want to kiss you right now, but Tony's in my ear and that just makes me feel dirty," Y/N said, staring at his lips, annoyed that she couldn't close the agonizing gap between their faces.

"I don't know whether to feel relieved or uncomfortable."

"Wait, are they kissing? Should they be doing that?" Definitely Steve.

"Ha! I walked in on them kissing in Peter's room." Clint. The rat.

"Way to keep a secret, Clint. I'm never telling you anything anymore!" Y/N hissed under her breath.

"Sorry, Mr. Stark!"

"I'm sorry, they what in Peter's what? I'm offended I didn't know that. Is that the secret you three gremlins were fighting about in the car? It definitely was. I don't care. I want the details. How was it?"

"Y/N made a vow to not fall in love with Peter, and she broke it barely thirty minutes in."

"You made a vow to not fall in love with me?"

"I thought she broke that vow like a month ago!" Steve felt confused. "Or was that a different one?"

"That was the one where she vowed off chocolate milk."

"Ohhh," he understood. "I remember that."

"Yeah, you're an old man so you wouldn't remember those kinds of things, Steven."

"What?! Everyone shut up! Focus on the mission, stop talking! You're stressing me out!" Y/N muttered, her tone thick with irritation.

"Yikes, I feel like I'm listening to a soap opera."

The conversation finally died down, and Y/N just wanted to curl up beside Peter and take a long nap. Her exhaustion was nearly enough for her to ask to call of the mission, but she decided that was rather a ridiculous reason.

Y/N slid her arm around Peter's neck, resting her chin on his shoulder. His arm tightened around her waist, large palms resting flat against her bare back. Her skin was cold against the pads of his fingers. He felt electrified by her. The scent of vanilla soon wafted towards his nose, and he closed his eyes, their hands still absentmindedly entwined, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

For a moment it felt like they weren't on mission. It was just Y/N and Peter, swaying away in the middle of a ball room, bodies pressed together, undoubtedly young and in love, unbeknownst to it. It felt like they were normal—like Y/N didn't have powers and Peter wasn't enhanced. They weren't Avengers or superheroes. They weren't challenged by the everyday horrors of the real world. They were just stupid teenagers with a lot on their plate and diverging paths, with broken vows and shimmering promises.

Reluctantly, Y/N opened her eyes, settling back into reality, removing her hand from Peter's and placing it smoothly onto his shoulder. He snaked his hand down towards her waist until his arms locked around her. Peter started to scope out the area out behind her, attempting to identify Axel Klein in the crowd. Y/N's eyes skimmed past anonymous faces until finally they did a complete rotation around the entirety of the room, her eyes recognizing the blonde haired boy meandering through the hefty crowd with a glass of champagne.

"I've got eyes on the subject," she mumbled, taking one last moment to press her mouth against Peter's shoulder. She inhaled the scent of his cologne, closing her eyes to bask in it.

"Go for it, Y/N. Your time to shine."

Y/N felt the anxiety slowly creep back, but she couldn't turn back now. She was brave. She could do this.

"I loved dancing with you, Peter Parker," Y/N always loved to say his full name. It rolled so pleasingly off the tongue, by now it was a habit. "Please tell me I'm not going to fuck this up."

Peter half-smiled at the girl, rubbing her shoulder gently. "You're not going to fuck this up. And I liked dancing with you, too."

"Ugh, cringe . . . Sorry, did I say that out loud? I would say just kiss already, but that would blow the whole operation. So Parker, kindly stop staring at Y/N's lips, please and thank you. Good luck, kiddo."

Y/N started to walk, but she couldn't leave yet. She didn't want to leave Peter. She already felt alone without his hands caressing her back like she was the most important thing in the world to him. She turned around to face her friend, eyes practically pleading with him not to let her go.

Peter himself had no clue how he felt. His heart was racing, his palms were sweaty. He felt like he would pass out at any given moment. All he wanted to do was protect Y/N, but he knew deep down that she needed to do this. Something inside of him stirred at the horrific thought of this being their final interaction together. He wanted to be with her forever. He would love to be with her forever.

"I-is Axel looking?" she asked, pressing her lips into a thin line.

"W-what? No? He's uh, he's turned around talking to some man."

"Good," Y/N breathed, lurching forward to grab his face. She pressed a quick kiss against his lips, basking in the moment as short lived as it was. Her thumbs laid gently on his cheekbones, as if Peter himself was the most delicate, precious thing in the world to him. She wanted just one more memory of Peter Parker, just one last part of him to hold onto. She just wanted to taste him one last time.

"Oh! Shit! She shoots! She scores!"

Muted colors rained down upon them from the mural painting the sky, violins humming softly in the distance, the deep groan of a cello bouncing like an echo off the walls. The kiss was short but more passionate than the first. It said everything that needed to be said without the interruption of unnecessary words threaded together into unnecessary sentences. It was everything all wrapped up into one pretty, defective bow.

"Thanks for the dance," she whispered, turning around quickly, not taking the chance to see the look on his face. She was afraid if she did she would never leave him.

"Woah. That was . . . pretty intense." Clint took a long sip of his drink.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Hormones."

"Is it just me or am I feeling way too many emotions? I'm literally drowning in teen angst. This is horrible, I feel like I'm in high school all over again," Tony added, sinking back into the seat of his car, the laptop balanced on his lap.

Y/N casually walked through the crowd, fixated on getting Axel's attention. An idea burned bright in her mind, a smirk growing confidently onto her red lips.

She strutted over in his direction, keeping her shoulders back and chin high. Just out of the corner of her eye she could see Steve and Wanda watching intensely.

Once when you're in the car. Twice in the house. Three times in case of an emergency. Three times in case of a code red. Once. Twice. Thrice.

TAG LIST: @reallyconfusednowpt2 @-thatgirloverthere- @mca-attack21 @high-functioning-fangirl02 @yourwonderbelle @printedpeterparker

#peter parker #peter parker x reader #peter parker x fem!reader #peter parker series #peter parker imagine #peter parker one shot #peter parker blurb #peter parker x avenger!reader #avengers #tom holland #tom holland x reader #spider man: homecoming #spiderman x reader #spiderman #peter parker angst #peter parker fluff #avengers x reader

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dipulb3 · 3 years

Text

The 2021 BMW M4 is always down to clown

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/the-2021-bmw-m4-is-always-down-to-clown/

The 2021 BMW M4 is always down to clown

First impressions matter, so, let’s look at the nose a little later.

Andrew Krok/Roadshow

Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Yes, the 2021 BMW M4 carries some unique styling notes that generate buzz on both sides of the aisle. But by laser-focusing on something so trivial, you might gloss over an important point: The M4 is really, really, really good. Better than BMW‘s bread-and-butter sports coupe has been in years, in fact, no matter what they call it.

Punchy inline-6 power

Brilliant handling

Excellent manual transmission

Don’t Like

Tire noise

Weird optional bucket seats

Acquired-taste styling

Driving is the point

The 2021 BMW M4 is an absolute hoot to drive, full stop. It’s an aperitif that washes away the mediocre taste left in my mouth by its predecessor, which featured a frustrating ride quality and an engine note that wouldn’t have cleared the first round of American Idol. That’s all been ironed over and replaced with a car that only ever left me wanting to drive it more.

Under the hood, the base M4’s 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-6 delivers 473 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque, routed to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. While there’s a little bit of acoustic electro-trickery piped through the speakers, the straight-six sounds great, especially at higher revs. And there’ll be plenty of opportunity to take in that noise, because with peak torque arriving (and staying put) between 2,650 and 6,130 rpm, it’s easy to become addicted to plunging my right foot into the firewall. The M4 just goes and goes and goes, and it’ll keep going well beyond the upper bounds of the speed limit, signs passing by in a blur. Need to stop? Drop $8,150 on BMW’s carbon ceramic brakes and you’ll get predictable, strong stops on the regular.

BMW has one of, if not the best manual transmission on the market inside the M4. This slick six-speed evokes the feelings of the Bimmer manuals of yore, its slightly rubbery movement between well-placed gates feeling not much different than it did way back when in the E46 M3. The clutch has a well-defined pickup point, making footwork a breeze, and its standard rev-matching system generates pitch-perfect downshifts if you’re not the king of heel-toe.

Like other modern BMWs, the 2021 M4 has a litany of vehicle settings that can be adjusted individually or bundled together by way of the two bright red M buttons atop the steering wheel. Hit the Setup button on the center console and the screen fills with customizable options, letting me tailor the throttle, steering, suspension and braking. The standard mode for each is still plenty engaging, but if you’re a sucker for tight throttle or brake response, the options are available. Throwing everything into Sport eliminates whatever smidge of body roll ever existed in the first place, although I’d recommend leaving Sport Plus for the track or only the most perfect pieces of asphalt. Drop $900 on the M Drive Professional upgrade, and you are given multiple traction control modes that can let you get a little drifty before reining things in.

For as sharp as the M4 is when the going gets twisty, it’s impressively compliant in daily use. Southeast Michigan’s roads are… not ideal for sports cars, let’s say, yet the M4 is never shaken out of sorts. Bumps are dispatched with just a bit of jostling to the cabin, and even the harsher divots never result in a suspension thunk. With the M4 in its softest settings, it’s a perfectly adequate vehicle for commuting, errands and all the little daily-life stuff in-between — so long as you don’t mind the noise from its wide Michelin Pilot 4S summer tires.

Is it efficient? Not really. The EPA slaps the 2021 M4 with a rating of 16 mpg city and 23 mpg highway. In my experience, city mileage is about there, but staying out of the boost and keeping the overall speed appropriate (since there’s only six forward gears) can push the highway economy closer to 25 or 26, if not a smidge above that.

BMW’s interior design language isn’t my favorite at the moment, but everything is sufficiently sensibly laid out, and build quality is top-notch.

Andrew Krok/Roadshow

Shut up about the sun! Shut up about the sun!

Most conversations about the latest iteration of M4 will always go back to one thing: That cursed nose. Frankly, I don’t mind it all that much. Maybe that has to do with how it looks on my Portimao Blue tester, the dark grille devoid of chrome feeling way less flashy than on other 4 Series variants. Maybe it’s because, once you see the bumper bar crossing the divide, your eyes can visually separate the grilles into upper and lower components. Maybe I just don’t care that much. Is it my preferred design? Goodness, no. But is it some affront before man and God? Hardly.

The rest of the M4, inside and out, looks pretty solid. Its long, low silhouette is basically a miniaturized 8 Series at this point, with most of the aggressive bits reserved for the front and rear bumpers. The tailpipes may look proportional to the rest of the body in pictures, but in real life, I can assure you that they look like cannons hanging out of a galleon.

Yep.

Andrew Krok/Roadshow

Inside, the general layout is pretty much bone standard 4 Series, with an inoffensive dashboard layout that, in M4 guise, is wrapped in some seriously smooth leather. For $950, you can shellack about half the surfaces with carbon fiber, but I feel like that trend is pretty played out already. What isn’t overdone, though, is the absolutely batshit blue-and-yellow color combination playing out across the seats and door panels. While it wouldn’t be my first choice, I appreciate the ability to rock some expressive colors that aren’t derivatives of the usual blacks, whites and tans.

And then there’s the seats themselves. These $3,800 M carbon bucket seats are immensely supportive, with high bolstering for torsos and thighs. That said, they’ll be a tough sell for folks who aren’t skinny minis, since they are tight. There’s also the manner of the large protrusion toward the front of the seat cushion; I’m sure there’s some reason for that in motorsport, but in daily use, it feels unnatural and largely just annoying.

These optional bucket seats are supportive as heck, but that little bump on the bottom gets weird after a while.

Andrew Krok/Roadshow

iDrive still good, maybe not great

BMW’s iDrive hasn’t undergone any major revisions recently, so what’s here in the 2021 M4 is the same ol’ bit of telematics that we Roadshow editors have been using for the last couple years. I wouldn’t take it over Mercedes’ MBUX, but in a vacuum it’s more than sufficient, with plenty of responsiveness and a home screen that does a great job of delivering all the right info with minimal distraction. Don’t want to use the touchscreen? No worries, friend, because there’s a dial on the center console. USB charging comes by way of a USB-A port by the cup holders and a USB-C port under the armrest. Wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and embedded navigation are all standard. The M4 also has a digital gauge display that is basically the same one you get on nearly every other BMW these days, and it’s fine.

Unlike many other dedicated performance cars, BMW still equips the M4 with plenty of active and passive standard safety features. No matter the spec, your M4 will roll off the factory line with parking sensors, forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning and automatic high beams. None of the systems are very intrusive, and the settings menu lets me dial them back a little further if needed, so most of the time I can’t even tell they’re there. Best of all, you don’t need to shell out additional simoleons for any of it; it’s all standard from the get-go.

iDrive is fine, so long as you never bother to fiddle with gesture control.

Andrew Krok/Roadshow

Down to brass tacks

It should come as no surprise that the 2021 BMW M4 is expensive, but man, this expensive? The starting price of $72,795 (including $995 for destination) is innocuous enough, but my tester gloms on the options. The paint is $550, the wild interior is another $2,550, the wheels are $1,300 and the bucket seats ask for another $3,800. The upgraded brakes yeet another $8,150 out of your wallet, and if you’re feeling particularly spendy, you can drop $2,500 on the M Driver’s Package that does nothing but bump the speed limiter and offer a one-day class at a local BMW Performance Center. In case your eyes have glossed over at the sight of all these addons, I’ll do the final math for you: This BMW costs $93,795. Lord have mercy. And this isn’t even the freaking Competition variant!

Yet, at the same time, the BMW M4 possesses so much character for a performance coupe that it’s hard to even look at anything else. Competitors like the Mercedes-AMG C63 and Audi RS5 are a little long in the tooth and due for replacements, while the Alfa Romeo Giulia QV is only available as a sedan, and it’s a little harsh for daily use. That puts the M4 in quite the sweet spot, offering incredible performance without forgetting that day-to-day life shouldn’t be a punishment. You’ll get used to the front end, I promise.

Climb in the driver’s seat for the latest car news and reviews, delivered to your inbox twice weekly.

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texanredrose · 6 years

Note

Elderburn rivals to lovers racing please?

God, I kinda wanna do a Fast & the Furious AU now where Winter’s an undercover cop trying to track down Yang’s gang but then Winter catches the feels and there’s a high stakes, high speed chase through a winding canyon in Colorado. However, lacking some key ingredients for that, so instead, here, with a sprinkling of real world reference *ding* Order up.

Yang ran a cloth over her helmet’s visor, having polished the damn thing almost twenty times but needing something to keep her hands busy. Three years into her career and she was minutes away from starting the biggest race of her life. She should feel nervous, the sort of anxiety that comes with moving in excess of a hundred miles an hour, where one bad twitch could spell her end, but she thrived on the adrenaline, on the rush that came with crossing the finish line. Racing motorcycles professionally- it was like the sport was made with her in mind, the twist and turns calling to a need that ran through her blood, with every beat of her heart. She loved it.

But this race… if she won, it would be smooth sailing. The best of the best, veterans who’d been racing since before she could even shift gears without grinding the clutch- even as little more than a rookie, she had a spot of her own beside them. Two years on the lesser circuits and just this one to race alongside some of them; racers didn’t get breaks like that, not in this line of work. Not when everyone constantly tuned and tweaked and refined, but she had something of a hot streak going, and it didn’t look like anyone could put it out… except one woman.

The Ice Queen, the best racer in the world, the top dog for five years running- Winter Schnee. A born and bred speed demon and the very definition of stiff competition. The only person to ever leave Yang in the dust.

The odds were stacked against her. Winter had never lost the Isle of Man race, not in five years, and Yang had never so much as visited the course before the past week. Inexperience had cost other racers their lives and she couldn’t manage to beat Winter on a regular race.

If she lost, it wouldn’t be too big a surprise, then… but if she won… it would be everything she’d ever dreamed of, and Ruby could finally open the shop like she’d always talked about; the prize winnings and all sorts of deals she’d get in the process would more than take care of any expenses. That was why she’d really gotten into the sport at all, despite the perfect fit; it wasn’t about the glory for her, unless it could benefit her sister.

She just had to win this race.

… but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to anymore.

“Wipe it any more and you’re liable to scratch it.” Yang looked up, watching the woman approach her. “Wouldn’t want your visibility compromised, now would we?”

“Schnee,” she said, standing up and squaring off against the five time champ. She had her hair up in her usual, severe bun, those blue eyes sharper than any blade looking as cold as ice, and the pure white of her racing suit made her look… almost like an angel. “Come to wish me good luck.”

“Of course. I wish all my competitors the best of luck.” For a moment, something slipped, her mask falling just enough for her brows to pinch together. “But I also wanted to assure you that, if you opted to pull out of the race, you have plenty of opportunities ahead of you. This isn’t a make-or-break point in your career.”

“I didn’t take you for the type to intimidate your opponents.” Yang watched the woman move around the little tent, tucked away in the back of the staging area. Most of the racers were out in the lot, getting their bikes warmed up, doing checks. That’s where Ruby was, giving Bumblebee a final once over. “You haven’t tried that with me before, at least.”

Ever since Yang’s first race, she’d crossed paths with Winter at almost every turn. When they weren’t racing, she was there, watching, and Yang had even caught a red eye flight or two to watch the woman in turn. Learning, because they had the potential to be the biggest rivalry in the sport. Even with all the perks that came from being a pedigreed racer, Winter always raced with such a… mechanical style, like watching a video game. Yang had a knack for it, a feeling, and she trusted her gut more than anything.

“I’m not trying to intimidate you.” Those blue eyes fell on her and the mask slipped a little more. “This is the most dangerous race in Remnant. Every year, we lose at least one racer, and sometimes officials and spectators, too. It’s not something you should be entering lightly.”

“This whole sport is dangerous.” She shifted her weight, the leather in her suit creaking. It was stifling, given the warm Mistrali air, but it could save her life if she took a spill.

Could.

“Yang.” At first, she thought the use of her given name was a slight, a way to get under her skin. Never uttered in front of the press or where others could hear, but on the times when they’d been alone… she never called her ‘Xiao Long’. Always ‘Yang’. She read it as disrespect until she heard the way the woman talked around her sister, perhaps the only member of her family she actually cared about. Names had a different meaning for the whole damn family, it seemed; always polite and proper where others could see. Where they couldn’t? Either disdain or fondness- there was no in between. And there’d never been any disdain in the woman’s tone. “I’m serious. You don’t have to do this.”

“Why do you do it?” She tilted her head, watching the way Winter began running her hands over the tools left out by some technician or another. “Why do you race?”

“You’ve been asking me that for a year,” she replied, glancing at the blonde. “Are you expecting my answer to change?”

“I’m hoping for the truth.” Blue eyes held hers. “Just once.”

They watched each other for a moment.

“Because it’s no risk.” Finally, a different answer than ‘because it’s what I’m meant to do’, though she didn’t like the way the woman’s lips curled into a wry grin. “If I race and win, I get to enjoy a few more weeks as my father’s perfect prodigy. If I lose, then I get to skip that phase and move right to being the disappointment, or the sounding board for whatever Weiss has gotten herself into. And if I crash… then I’ll be free of this nightmare.”

“Winter-”

“I have no intentions of being careless.” She waved a hand dismissively. “I’m not suicidal; I’ve simply accepted my reality. The only way out for me is injury.” Winter glanced towards the tent flap. “Any sane person wouldn’t risk a fifth time on this hellish course. Most win once or twice and retire, but I don’t have that option.”

“So, what? I should quit before I’ve even started?” She raised an arm, gesturing with her helmet towards the lot. “Just pack it in and go home?”

“Run the race if you must. But be careful.” A frown touched her lips. “You do this for the right reasons, Yang. You have what it takes to make it big in this sport. Don’t throw it away chasing a victory you don’t need.”

“If I win this race, I can call it quits.” She turned her helmet around, held it in both hands so she could admire the decal on the back- a yellow dragon wrapped around a long stemmed red rose. “Ruby and I, we’re in this together. I get the winnings and one licensing deal, and I’m done. I’m one of those who only wants to win once.” She looked up at Winter. “I can’t stop now.”

For a moment, the woman looked furious, but then her expression smoothed out. “You realize I can’t throw the race, correct? You’ll have to beat me and set a world record to do it. On the most dangerous course in Remnant.”

“I didn’t say it would be easy.” She shook her head. “But I have to do this. Just like you have to. We don’t race for the same reasons, but we both know we can’t just quit. Even when we want to.”

Winter blinked. “Do you want to?”

Pressing her lips into a thin line, she nodded. “You can’t throw the race. I can’t hold back. We always push each other, to the limits of what our bikes can do. On a straight track or a loop, that’s fine, but here?” Her shoulders fell. “Winter, I’m scared to death that only one of us is walking away from this race.”

“Me too.” Stepping closer, the woman stopped in front of her, raising a hand to lay it light on her cheek, cupping her jaw. Tenderly- in a way most wouldn’t think possible for a white knuckle adrenaline junkie with the temperament of a storm at sea. “But if it comes to that, I’m praying to a God I don’t even believe in that it’s you.” She leaned forward, gently pressing their lips together. A kiss, but hardly that, because neither of them could be sure of anything at this point. But when Winter drew back, she could see something in those blue eyes “Be careful, Yang.”

“You too,” she replied, quietly but with all the strength her voice could muster.

And then a horn sounded, the third signal. Fifteen minutes until the start of the race.

Winter stepped back, then turned, heading out towards the lot. They would need to get lined up and wait.

Yang watched her go and bit down on the words in her heart, looking down at her helmet.

One more race.

The scenery blurred past her as she laid on the throttle even heavier, trying to not lose momentum on the uphill battle. The last leg of the race and everyone was well behind her, to the point that on the sharper curves, she didn’t even see their headlights coming around the last bend.

Everyone, except for Winter.

A white bike with blue accents, a blur just ahead of her, but she was gaining. This? Winding canyons, up and down hill, this was where she thrived, where she discovered her thirst for faster and faster; it was the arena where she held the advantage. And everyone, Winter included, knew it.

The woman crested the hill and Yang was hardly two seconds behind her, gaining now that she had her weight to speed her along. Four more turns along a cliffside view that would look absolutely gorgeous at sunset, she’d be willing to bet on that, and then the finish line just beyond. Almost there.

The first turn, she took the inside, and they were almost neck-and-neck, with only a guard rail separating her from the towering rocks to her right. The next, Winter had the inside and gained some of her lead back, with only a guardrail between her and a sharp drop into the ocean below. The third turn, and Yang had a chance. If she didn’t lose too much on the next one, she could gun it for the finish line. It would be a dead sprint with only their nerves holding them back, and she could swear she heard the crowd beginning to shout then.

As they went into the last turn, Winter started to pull ahead of her.

And that’s when she saw it- a flash of metal, a spark. A mechanical failure just before the bracket on the back tire slipped.

That was bad news going fifty, but they were pushing a hundred.

Winter lost control.

She tried to force the bike onto its right side- trying to angel it between her and the guard rail- but it went left and she started to roll, letting go of the handlebars. It happened so fast.

Terror gripped her heart at the thought of Winter going over the cliff side; it was at least an eighty foot drop.

She slammed on the brakes but knew she wouldn’t be able to stop quick enough, so she angled her bike towards the side of the road and laid it down, pushing off even as she smacked against the black top. She rolled, each jarring impact feeling like it might’ve broken a bone, but when she came to a rest with the sound of her own bike shredding into pieces ringing in her ears, her gaze focused on the bent guard rail.

“Winter!” She ripped off her helmet, the cracked visor of no use as she tried to run- limped, more like, but faster than shuffling- and called out again. “Winter!”

“Yang!” Stumbling to the bent guard rail, she looked over the side, where the twisted metal jutted out over the jagged rocks below. Somehow, Winter had grabbed hold of the end of the thing with her right hand, but she was left handed by nature and the awkward jut of her arm and collar- both bones were broken, at the very least. Her helmet was scored all to hell, the visor broken and wide blue eyes looking at her through red trickling along her skin. “I can’t- I can’t pull myself up!”

“Just hang on!” She heaved a breath, looking around, but this curve left no room for spectators or medical teams to stand by. “Don’t let go- just don’t let go!”

She could hear a chopper- the airborne sort- nearby, but she didn’t know if they’d come in time, if they even had a rope long enough or if Winter could hold on through the turbulence.

Her eyes fell on the guard rail.

Grabbing the metal with both hands, she began to pull with all her might, ignoring how her muscles screamed. Battered and bruised she may be, and maybe she’d broken a rib herself, but she’d be damned if she’d stand by, helpless, and do nothing.

Winter cried out and she looked, saw she’d moved the guard rail closer to the cliffside but not close enough, and the pain in the woman’s expression.

“Hold on, just hold on!” She gave another heave, and another, shouting with effort.

“Yang!” Winter’s grip was slipping, but she was pouring everything into holding on, everything she had.

But she’d gotten it close enough, and the blonde hurried to lay down, reaching out for Winter and grabbing hold, cursing the sleek design of their suits and how even grabbing the woman brought a pained cry from her lips. A matching one left her own mouth, now certain she’d broken at least a rib, the agony distracting for only a moment.

“Can you- can you move your legs?” She was heavier, which helped, but she couldn’t be sure shuffling back would be enough, not if she had to go slow; she could already feel her grip beginning to slip, the muscles of her arms burning.

“Only one- Yang, Yang you have to let me go.” Winter looked at her then, tears in her eyes. “You’ll only get yourself killed at this rate.”

“Not if we work together.” Gritting her teeth, she shifted her weight to her knees. “Find a good foothold and push on three. You ready?”

“Yang-”

“I’m not letting go!” She shouted, looking into the woman’s eyes. “It’s all or nothing. I’m not- I’m not giving up. We don’t do that, Winter. We don’t. Now, are you ready?”

Pushing through the pain, those blue eyes flashed with determination. “Yes.”

“Okay. One. Two. Three!” Yang threw herself up and back, pulling with all her might, until she landed looking up at a helicopter hovering overhead with a bright spotlight shining in her eyes… and a weight on her chest. “Winter?”

“I’m here.” She groaned, rolling onto her back and gasping at a sharp crack that accompanied it. “Fuck!”

The adrenaline. The stuff that they fed off of, that drove them, it had protected them from the worst of their injuries, but now without the roar of their bikes, it faded quickly.

Yang reached out, blindly, until she found something. A hand, an arm, she honestly couldn’t be sure what, but it was Winter, and she held tight.

And she said the things she wished she’d said before.

“You wanna get dinner some time?”

A broken laugh burst from the woman’s lips. “Yang Xiao Long…” She turned her head, unable to see the woman’s full face but able to see her eyes, unfocused but wide open. “Someone… needs to give you a… crash course on proper time and place… to ask a woman out… on a date.” She raised a single brow as Winter smirked. “What? Too soon?”

She couldn’t help but laugh. Laugh because this ridiculous woman was just as hard headed, just as stubborn, just as dedicated as her, and she absolutely loved it. “We both have broken ribs; why you gotta make me laugh?”

“Because you look beautiful when you laugh.” Her eyes began to flutter closed. “And I’m a selfish bitch… I want that… to be the last thing I see… you… looking at me… like that…”

“Winter?” She groaned, rolling onto her side, but the woman’s eyes had slid shut. “Winter!”

She could hear the sirens and the roar of bikes. Emergency crews and the other racers- everyone, coming to them.

But the fear didn’t leave.

Recently discharged from the hospital, Yang sat in front of the cameras and the flashing lights, trying hard not to scowl as reporters shot her question after question. She never liked this part and would be all too glad when it was over.

“My sister is still recovering and she needs her rest,” Ruby said, putting a hand on the blonde’s shoulder to try and keep her calm. “One more question.”

Half the hands went up while the rest were busy taking notes, and the man she nodded at stood up with a slick grin that made her stomach churn.

“Miss Xiao Long, do you regret not finishing the race?” She blinked. “Investigators confirmed yesterday that your bike didn’t appear to suffer a mechanical failure like Miss Schnee’s. It’s safe to say that, had she not crashed, then neither would you. Is there any bitterness lingering at the back of your mind?”

The camera angles were shit. For the whole time she’d been in the hospital, no one really knew what had caused the two racers in the lead to crash on the last turn. They just knew that Yang had helped pull Winter from the guard rail after the fact.

And no one had the balls to straight up ask her, but apparently no issue trying to play up this rivalry between them.

A lot of things came to her mind but she wouldn’t speak them. She wouldn’t tell anyone that Winter had asked her not to race, that she’d known beforehand that this was a possibility. That they’d both agreed they pushed each other too much for this race to be safe for either of them. Vultures like these, they’d twist those words all manner of ways, and she wouldn’t stand for it.

So instead, she leaned forward and looked him in the eye.

“Have a little fuckin’ humanity, you piss poor chucklefuck,” she said, flipping him the bird for good measure. “No race is worth someone’s life. Only thing I regret is not being able to punch that smile off your face.” She pushed herself up, accepting the crutch her sister handed her and doing her best not to wince. “A good woman is laying up in the hospital, just barely surviving a terrible crash. I’m just bitter that her pain is your entertainment.”

Reporters called after her, more cameras flashed, and she’d probably just shot any chance of her getting back on the circuit in the foot.

She didn’t care. She’d find some other way to get the money and Ruby had made it clear that it was sincerely the last thing on her mind. They’d pick up the pieces later.

Right now? Well, there was somewhere she had to be.

“Rubes-”

“I’m taking you back to the hospital,” her sister said, grinning. “I think you should be the one to tell her that you called that dude a ‘piss poor chucklefuck’, just so when they censor it later, she knows what you really thought.”

A smile curled her lips. “Can we stop by somewhere on the way? I… kinda promised her dinner.”

“The staff probably won’t let you bring it in.”

“I’ll fight ‘em.”

“I’m sure you will.”

Note: The Isle of Man Tourist Trophy is the most deadly race in the world. While I took some liberties with the geography and time of the race (usually ran during the day time, pretty sure), it is a very dangerous competition, with over 240 people dead, including racers, officials, and spectators since it started in the early 1900′s (1904, I think?).

Y’all be safe out there.

#TRR writes #Elderburn

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privateplates4u · 4 years

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Porsche 911 Turbo S: 3rd Place – 2017 Motor Trend Best Driver’s Car

Long the performance flagship of the Porsche 911 line, the Turbo S adds a healthy dose of crazy. Rather than mess with success, this 991.2 iteration tackles the only criticism of the previous Turbo S: It wasn’t wild enough. Some will feel even this version is too sterile; they’re nuts. Porsche fitted two new variable-geometry turbos to the 3.8-liter flat-six engine, which now conjures 580 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque—or 553 lb-ft in temporary overboost. An anti-lag system keeps the throttle open but cuts the fuel during shifts to keep air flowing. Porsche’s PDK dual-clutch automatic transaxle remains, as do the all-wheel-drive system, electronically adjustable shock absorbers, carbon-ceramic brakes, front splitter, and rear wing. A new Sport Response button gives you 20 seconds of on-demand sharper throttle response, and a new rear-wheel steering system sharpens the handling. It’s Best Driver’s Car week! Don’t miss the incredible story of how we chose the 2017 Best Driver’s Car right here, and stay tuned for the World’s Greatest Drag Race, coming soon. The result is the hardest-launching car we’ve ever tested, at 1.26 g of horizontal force. Tesla? Nope. Demon? Nuh-uh. From a stop, this 911 will dust a Bugatti Veyron to 60 mph—just 2.5 seconds. The quarter mile flashes past in a stunning 10.6 seconds, at which point you’ll be traveling at 129.6 mph and pulling hard. It pulls hard in corners, too, registering 1.05 average g on the skidpad and 0.95 average g during a brief 22.9-second figure-eight lap. Stopping the 3,557-pound missile from 60 mph takes only 92 feet. We Say “My litmus test for whether a car has a shot at taking the BDC crown is what I’m doing with my head and shoulders when driving. If I’m cocking my head and leaning into the turns along with the vehicle, I am in sync with my steed. We are one; the man-machine interface is engaged, the singularity has occurred. It happened with the winning McLaren 570S last year. “I’m doing that head tilting, lean in thing whilst carving the canyons in the Turbo S. It is nearly the complete package. So fast and completely unflappable. It’s really hard to find a flaw here. Just so fast. Smooth. Lovely to hear the wastegates dump as you lift throttle and the beats of silence between gearshifts. But yes, a more thrilling sound from the back would be appreciated. Unbelievably fast. It is really a focused tool intended for one purpose: going very fast.” – Ed Loh Read about other 2017 Best Driver’s Car contenders: Ferrari 488 GTB Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE Porsche 718 Cayman S Lexus LC 500 Mercedes-AMG GT R Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Aston Martin DB11 Nissan GT-R NISMO Mazda MX-5 Miata RF McLaren 570GT “Goose bumps—it’s so easy to handle. Steering is stiff, but it gives you exactly the kind of feedback that you want to feel on a road like this. The sound coming from the engine is superb. Suspension is rigid but comfortable. I felt the confidence to go faster on the corners and push for more. The 911 stands out not only for its handsome looks, but also for that great feeling of confidence that it delivers when you drive on windy roads.” – Miguel Cortina “So, so, so capable on 198. But the trade-off of having such a highly capable car is that it’s quite a bore to drive in normal situations, which is likely how the 911 Turbo will be driven 91.1 percent of the time. It’s really boring on the road. But again, great car to drive hard.” – Erick Ayapana “To me, this is the perfect driver’s car, in that you can do it all: drive for hours and hours on an interstate, then suddenly twist a dial to sport plus, put the hammer down, and the 911 leaps to life, assured, forceful, and pragmatically intense. It is so composed, so nailed down, so very fast, and so full of grip. There is never a hint that something might go awry. It squirts out of the apex and fills you with so much confidence. If you carry too much speed into a corner, lay into the brakes through that entry portion of the curve, and the 911 just tucks in and says, ‘Yeah sure, we got this.’” – Mark Rechtin “My god it’s so capable and so easy. The engine almost feels lazy while piling on the speed. It’s really deceptive how powerful it truly is even at low rpm. It’s amazing how much confidence this car gives a driver. Not just the brakes, but the steering and the stability. The car shrinks around you and becomes an extension of you. I’m looking for a complaint, and I can’t find one.” – Chris Walton “There’s a reason this car is at the top of the rankings in any competition. The 911 Turbo S is so amazingly competent on every level—without having any visible compromises—that it’s easy to forget how high its limits are. Right out of the box, the 911 Turbo S lets you drive as fast as you dare, brake as hard as you can, and turn as much as you wish. It doesn’t just inspire confidence … it inspires a relationship with the driver.” – Derek Powell Randy Says “Yeah, the 911 Turbo S was super great, but it almost seemed a little bit unsatisfying. Somehow? This 991.2 has so much more torque than the last GT3s, any GT3 I ever drove. And it’s just so satisfying to drive. The balance under power is amazing to me. Knowing how little weight is on those tires especially when you’re under about 0.9 g acceleration in second gear, and it doesn’t push under power. This car seems more rewarding to drive to me, and it really … it blows away some great cars. I guess ‘cause it’s easy? But it’s rewardingly easy. It’s not boring; it’s satisfying. It just makes me feel like I could drive better than I really can. I literally said that to myself, driving off of turn 11. “In the slower corners, when the revs are down, there’s no sense of lag whatsoever. I love the way it’ll dig off the corner without understeer. I could go to the power really early, and I’d just know that a lot of cars would want to understeer under this condition. And it doesn’t, it just comes on. Just fascinatingly, thrillingly good. “You have to be just a wee bit careful about entry oversteer. Don’t leave that weight on the nose for too long on a high speed corner. It takes a real specific combination of great on-the-nose, aggressive turn-in, and off throttle to bring the tail out. A couple of times when it came out it still was not scary. It was a pleasant experience. Back to the power, and there you go. I’m just really, really impressed. “With PDKs you’re just wasting your time shifting manually. It might be fun just to do it for the fun of it, but it’s completely unnecessary to shift yourself. The brakes held up completely; even the tires held up. I mean, the loads, what they’re going through is mind-bending. The amount of speed, the amount of braking, and how hard those tires are worked—they still hold up. The car retains its balance. I just seem to be able to repeat my braking performance. I was in so deep a couple times halfway through the brakes I thought maybe I wouldn’t make this. But then it would slow down enough and ride into the apex, and away we’d go. It’s a nice, firm pedal, and that means the braking performance is repeatable. It also made me push it harder. “I don’t feel the rear-steer except that, maybe, it’s my guess that it’s one of the ways they keep the front traction in the middle of the corner when it really shouldn’t have any, but the car responds to the steering wheel in the middle of the corner. Low-speed, high-speed, anything you want. I think I set my speed record over the corkscrew. “It’s a real testament to what’s possible with modern technology when you are creating a sports car and you know what you’re doing. It’s an amazing piece of machinery. A living testament to how good a car can be with the stability control off.” 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo S POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT Rear-engine, AWD ENGINE TYPE Twin-turbo flat-6, alum block/heads VALVETRAIN DOHC, 4 valves/cyl DISPLACEMENT 231.9 cu in/3,800 cc COMPRESSION RATIO 9.8:1 POWER (SAE NET) 580 hp @ 6,750 rpm TORQUE (SAE NET) 516 lb-ft @ 2,100 rpm* REDLINE 7,200 rpm WEIGHT TO POWER 6.1 lb/hp TRANSMISSION 7-speed twin-clutch auto. AXLE/FINAL-DRIVE RATIO 3.44:1(f) 3.33:1(r)/2.06:1 SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR Struts, coil springs, adj shocks, anti-roll bar; multilink, coil springs, adj shocks, anti-roll bar STEERING RATIO 12.5-15.0:1 TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK 2.5 BRAKES, F; R 16.1-in vented, drilled, carbon-ceramic disc; 15.4-in vented, drilled, carbon-ceramic disc, ABS WHEELS 9.0 x 20-in; 11.5 x 20-in forged aluminum TIRES 245/35ZR20 91Y; 305/30ZR20 103Y Pirelli P Zero Corsa N0 DIMENSIONS WHEELBASE 96.5 in TRACK, F/R 60.7/62.6 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 177.4 x 74.0 x 51.0 in TURNING CIRCLE 60.7/62.6 in CURB WEIGHT 3,557 lb WEIGHT DIST, F/R 39/61% SEATING CAPACITY 2+2 HEADROOM, F/R 37.7/32.2 in LEGROOM, F/R 42.2/27.1 in SHOULDER ROOM, F/R 51.3/47.9 in CARGO VOLUME 4.1 cu ft (+9.2 cu ft beh fr seats) TEST DATA ACCELERATION TO MPH 0-30 0.9 sec 0-40 1.4 0-50 1.9 0-60 2.5 0-70 3.3 0-80 4.1 0-90 5.1 0-100 6.2 0-100-0 9.7 PASSING, 45-65 MPH 1.3 QUARTER MILE 10.6 sec @ 129.6 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 92 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 1.05 g (avg) MT FIGURE EIGHT 22.9 sec @ 0.95 g (avg) 2.2-MI ROAD COURSE LAP 1:33.21 sec TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH 1,500 rpm CONSUMER INFO BASE PRICE $189,150 PRICE AS TESTED $196,360 STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL Yes/Yes AIRBAGS 8: Dual front, fr side, fr curtain, fr knee BASIC WARRANTY 4 yrs/50,000 miles POWERTRAIN WARRANTY 4 yrs/50,000 miles ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE 4 yrs/50,000 miles FUEL CAPACITY 17.9 gal EPA CITY/HWY/COMB ECON 19/24/21 mpg ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY 177/140 kW-hrs/100 miles CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 0.93 lb/mile RECOMMENDED FUEL Unleaded premium The post Porsche 911 Turbo S: 3rd Place – 2017 Motor Trend Best Driver’s Car appeared first on Motor Trend.

http://www.motortrend.com/news/porsche-911-turbo-s-3rd-place-2017-best-drivers-car/

#Best Driver's Car #Car Performance

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kunalkarankapoor · 5 years

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The character study of Mohan Bhatnagar.

EDIT: I added a section on Mohan’s relationship to the Vyas clan at the bottom of the post. I realise that some of you are more eager to read the study on Mohan in relation to Nanhi, Megha, etc. They will come.

In addition to that, I added a video link for the relationship study of Mohan/Riddhima.

This is part three of the character study of Mohan Bhatnagar. I decided on posting the third part before the weekend and the fourth part sometime over the weekend.

8) Mohan and Guru

I am a massive fan of Mohan/Guru. No, seriously; a massive fan. I absolutely adored the chemistry between Kunal and Dushyant who portrayed the character of Guru – (an awkward and nervous young man with no purpose in his life other than caring for Mohan). They flirted like a pair of newly weds and bickered like an old couple. If Guru had been a woman, he probably would have been Mohan’s soul-mate. No one loved or cared for Mohan the way that Guru did – unconditionally. No matter how many mistakes Mohan made (e.g. kicking him out of the house to which Guru’s response was returning the following morning). Guru probably knew Mohan better than Mohan knew himself.

Mohan dropped most of his defences around Guru. He would be rude, angry, vulnerable, and happy. He would yell at Guru, shove him, hug him, listen to him — and love him like a brother. I was relieved that Mohan had Guru in his life, because Guru was always there to pick him up whenever he crashed (e.g. in the wake of Addu’s disappearance, there was a scene where a drunken Mohan was passed out in an alley, and it was Guru who found him and took him home). Their relationship was beyond beautiful. If it had not been for Kunal and Dushyant, then that beauty would not have shone through, because they had limited screen-space together. It was their performances that revealed the layers of their bond; it was their chemistry that revealed the history of companionship between them.

Watching Mohan in season one, it became painfully obvious that he would always sacrifice everything for the people he loved. His concern and empathy toward others dominated his heart and his mind. He would give; he would give without a thought, without expectations, without a price tag, and people would always end up misunderstanding him, distrusting his intentions, and — at times — not even acknowledging him. Yet he would continue to give. Through it all, Guru was the one person who never took anything from Mohan. He was the one person that Mohan never had to give anything in order to keep him around.

Mohan’s attachment to and dependence on Guru touched my heart. There was a scene in season two where Mohan had been drinking again and Guru threatened to leave. Mohan stumbled after him, trying to stop him, because the fear of losing him magnified in his chest. He needed Guru. Perhaps at times he took him for granted, because Guru was always there. He never abandoned Mohan. If he had, it would have been another rejection in Mohan’s eyes – perhaps even a confirmation of how he was not worth loving. However, I doubt that Guru could have lived with himself if he had ever deserted Mohan. Not because of the guilt, but because of concern and love. He needed to take care of Mohan because no one else did – including Mohan himself.

I do wish that their relationship had changed in season one (after Mohan kicked him out and he returned). That was an important development between the two of them. It was as if Guru’s loyalty to Mohan and Mohan’s trust in Guru had been cemented. It added another layer, a depth, to their bond. Thus in the wake of that moment, it would have been nice to see some of Mohan’s roughness smooth out and instead transform their relationship into a much more matured and equal bond. The fact that Guru came back despite his behaviour had shamed Mohan and given him a deeper respect for Guru. Even though it was not implemented script-wise, Kunal showed it with his eyes; there was a quiet respect and gratitude in the way that Mohan regarded Guru when he handed him the tea.

In season two, their relationship had grown into a much stronger, much more equal bond. For one thing, Guru confronted Mohan with an ultimatum (even if it did not hold true); if he drank again, Guru would leave him for good. Kunal’s performance of Mohan’s desperate reaction (i.e. how he stumbled after Guru, grabbed hold of his arm, promised and pleaded) made my heart clench in my chest. It was painful to watch. The sorrow in his eyes, the grief in his voice, the exhaustion in his features. There were several moments like these on the show when Kunal expressed so much raw emotion in his eyes, through his breathing, it was hauntingly beautiful. The amount of control that Kunal possesses in relation to his expressions is quite awe-inspiring and so is his body language (which is never out of touch with his characters).

Returning to Guru, I found Mohan’s expressive appreciation for him very refreshing. It showed how their relationship had developed over the course of those 12 years, even as we had nothing but the actors’ performances to found our understanding on. But the calm with which their conversations took place was a contrast to their early years together. I think that perhaps Guru bringing Rimjhim to Mohan changed everything between them. Without Guru, Mohan might have been lost. Though it was wrong of Guru to lie to Megha about Rimjhim being Mohan’s biological daughter, I could understand his reasoning behind it. He had seen what losing Megha, Nanhi, and Addu had done to Mohan, how he had self-destructed, and how hard it had been to pull him out of the abyss, give him something to live for. To Guru, it was always about protecting Mohan. Thus he did what he found necessary in order to keep Mohan from falling into the same darkness as before.

I find it almost ironic how Mohan’s mother and Guru were right. His unconditional love for Megha and her family was what nearly destroyed him. His mother had predicted it. Guru constantly reminded Mohan that they never valued him; that they never looked for him in the 12 years that passed (even though they had his account number and could have found him). Guru tried to make him see, but Mohan refused to let his words sink in. He refused to admit the truth to himself. Partly because he could not leave Megha and Nanhi behind until he had returned Addu to them (the guilt), and partly because he would not leave them behind. It was a choice. Furthermore, Mohan believed that everything would fall into place at the right time. When Rashmi abandoned him, he spent the next 6 years hating her, but keeping her picture, as if one day she might return to him. And when Megha turned her back on him, he spent the next 12 years missing her, hoping that one day he might be able to return to her.

Deep down, Mohan knew the truth. But a huge part of him was obsessed with proving not only his love to Megha and Nanhi, but that he was not wrong; that he was not as bad as everyone believed him to be. There was one specific scene that depicted Mohan’s obsession perfectly; the scene in which Guru cut out an article from Mohan’s newspaper on an Indore kidnapping. Mohan dug through the garbage to find it. Honestly, it was unbearable to watch Mohan going all but insane in the search for it. Guru finally handed it over. That was the excuse Mohan needed to return to the people who had accused him of being an abusive parent.

9) Mohan and his first wife

vimeo

Video: Mohan/Riddhima Relationship Study

Kunal had incredible chemistry with everyone and everything. Be it Rinku or a piece of paper (i.e. the letter Mohan wrote to Megha and which he looked at in a way that convinced me he was flirting with it). When Riddhima was introduced (the second time), I saw possibilities between her and Mohan; perhaps not in a romantic way (necessarily), but their interaction held potential. Until they turned her into a basket case.

Mohan was at ease around her from the start – enough to tell her about his fears in relation to Megha. There was some kind of understanding between the two of them, a friendly chemistry that could have been more under other circumstances. Mohan’s comfort level with Riddhima was interesting. And Riddhima never measured Mohan, never judged him. She simply accepted him without a complaint, supporting him, putting his wants before her own (up until they changed her character).

I actually enjoyed the tug-of-war between Mohan and Riddhima. When Riddhima forcefully moved into his apartment and Mohan tried to kick her out, I found the whole situation amusing. There was this “oh my God, is she serious?” and “I want to throttle you” look on Mohan’s face all the time. Riddhima? She pranced around as if she owned the place. There was a scene between them in the court house which I loved because of Kunal’s performance (and Mohan’s interaction with his pill-addict wife). Mohan was completely in character in that scene. His cockiness had returned as well as his confidence, sarcasm, and fearlessness. In addition to that, Riddhima’s reaction to his attitude was entertaining. She continuously grimaced in response to his sarcastic remarks.

Backtracking to Riddhima’s original characterisation, I would have preferred it if she had not turned into a “villain”. It would have been interesting to see Mohan living with Riddhima and the complications of respecting/caring for someone deeply, but being in love with someone else. It could have led to Mohan and Megha having an emotional affair. Perhaps the question of “where is the line?”. How do you define it? And once you have, how do you deal with it? This is only an example of where they could have taken the story line. My point is merely that Riddhima did not have to turn negative. Her character held a lot of potential in relation to Mohan.

During this particular track, I often found Mohan out-of-character (i.e. not Kunal’s portrayal of him, but rather the scripted situations/dialogues). Mohan would never have abandoned his responsibilities toward Riddhima, regardless of what escape route she offered him in the wake of their marriage. He was never a selfish character, nor ignorant of other people’s circumstances – especially when their paths crossed his. He would have felt responsible for Riddhima’s future and done everything in his power to make things work with her rather than drop it all in regret, allowing her to file for divorce. Mohan would have understood how a divorce would ruin her life (looking at the kind of conservative society they lived in). And even so, he would have found a way to stand by her side whenever she confronted her father about her situation. He would not have let her stand alone. Not even if she had insisted on it.

Furthermore, marriage was a huge deal to Mohan. It was a commitment and, in my opinion, he would have regarded divorce as a failure. I would have been more able to understand it if he had been drunk as hell when he married Riddhima. But he was sober. Perhaps a dying man emotionally blackmailed him, but no one held a gun to his head when he made his decision. Mohan would have taken full responsibility for whatever choices that he made and he would have dealt with the consequences accordingly. He would not have let Riddhima divorce him, knowing what it would mean for her – not even for Megha – because if there was anything that Mohan valued above his love, it was commitment; it was his promises.

The emotional journey of his dilemma was never executed. That really irked me. Something else that really bothered me was how the character of Riddhima was treated. She was suddenly turned negative to the extreme. Perhaps because no one was able to accept her as a friend to Mohan, or a potential love interest. Or perhaps they needed a villain to create suspense. Riddhima was one woman who would sacrifice anything for Mohan and his happiness with the same sincerity that Mohan would sacrifice anything for Megha. Unfortunately, she became a crack job.

There was one sequence during the Riddhima track that truly pissed me off beyond measure. It was when the truth about Mohan’s first marriage came out and Papaji slapped him – twice. I always felt that the writers tended to put Mohan in horrendous situations where he was publicly humiliated or prosecuted without a chance to present his case, or without being understood by anyone. The scene in which Papaji slapped him was one such situation. I found it out of character for Papaji because he usually wanted the story from the horse’s mouth before he reacted.

His blind faith in Mohan had cemented over time and he would not have distrusted him so easily. In just a moment, he brushed aside everything Mohan had done for him and his family because of onemistake (a mistake that he knew about from the most untrustworthy source on God’s green earth: Renu Vyas). What was even more upsetting was how Megha did nothing. I was a lot prouder of Riddhima who, in spite of her manipulative intentions, stepped between Mohan and Papaji in order to defend him.

However, Megha was present from the moment Papaji came in and slapped Mohan the first time. What did she do as Papaji and Renu prosecuted Mohan? Perhaps if she had said something sooner, Papaji might have listened to her. She could have supported Mohan, knowing the truth – but she was silent, watching him struggle on his own until she suddenly decided (toward the end of the whole episode and out of jealousy) that now she would step in and play the hero. (The entire following sequence in which she stalked to Mohan’s apartment and locked the door seemed ridiculous to me, because only a moment earlier Mohan had come to her for help and she had refused.)

The whole time, I wanted Mohan to stop trying. To simply stop trying to make people understand, because they would never understand him, or even listen to him. I wanted him to leave. If they wanted him, if they valued him at all, they could come to him. Why did he always have to be the one to chase them in order to be accepted and loved and valued and understood? They owned/disowned him in split-seconds, depending on his mistakes rather than his intentions, or his remorse. He would never become a part of the Vyas family. They would never fully accept him as a son. In a scene during this track, Megha told him “my children” (to which Mohan corrected her with “our children”) – the choice of her words wounded Mohan. Megha knew it and she still said it. It was a low blow. In the end, she decided when he was worthy of being the father of her children and when he was not.

10) Mohan and the Vyas clan

With his initiation into the Vyas clan, Mohan seemed to feel the pressure increase. He wanted to be perfect for Megha and Nanhi before, but now there were other eyes on him and he struggled not to make mistakes – not to do anything that might have them all think that they had been wrong to choose him.

Even though Renu would most often verbally bruise him, I found Mohan and her odd relationship quite entertaining. I believe that it had everything to do with the chemistry between Kunal and Rinku. Their scenes were few, but I looked forward to them. Mohan was not fond of her (and the feeling was mutual), yet that was part of the charm of their interaction. They would snap at each other. They would insult each other. Renu especially enjoyed belittling Mohan in every thinkable way. Meanwhile Mohan did nothing to win her over. In fact, he messed with her from the moment that they met (i.e. when Mohan acts as if he plans on seducing Renu and scares the living daylights out of her — one of my absolute favourite moments with Mohan). He really seemed to enjoy provoking her, getting a rise out of her, and Renu took the bait every time.

The hilarious part was that 1) Renu was actually scared of him (e.g. every time that Mohan walked past her, playfully raising his arm, and she jumped; plus the time that he backed her up against his car) and 2) in the end, Renu did not hate him. She disliked him, but she was fond of disliking him. Their connection was a peculiar one. I never could understand it, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Often it seemed as if Renu’s issues were essentially with Megha, not with him. It would have been nice to see more of their interaction, though. The kind of chemistry that they shared was unique, in a way. The channel/writers often tended to overdo the humour with Renu, verging on slap-stick, which really was not needed as Rinku was perfectly capable of entertaining without it. There should have been more moments between her and Mohan, developing their relationship and exploring their chemistry.

Furthermore, the relationship between Mohan and Jijibua was also interesting – even though it was not explored, either. There was an understanding between them, a mutual trust. Jijibua did not reject Mohan. She never really distrusted him (except for the time when Mohan married Riddhima; however, I found her out of character when she refused to listen to his side of the story and when she distrusted his intentions). Jijibua was a passive character, frustratingly so, but even in her passiveness she trusted that Mohan’s intentions were pure. Thus it made no sense that she distrusted him when the truth about his marriage to Riddhima came out. Yes, it was a dire situation and Mohan did not appear a saint when Renu pointed to him (and when Riddhima entered). Yet it would have developed the bond between Mohan and Jijibua if she had, in fact, shown a glimpse of understanding at his explanation and not rejected him like everyone else. She had had seen Mohan’s love for Megha long before Megha or Mohan himself saw and understood it.

Thus I viewed her as a wise woman (e.g. the kind in fairy tales who guides the prince and princess without being physically active). I understood her loyalty toward Megha. They were both widows. Jijibua saw herself mirrored in Megha and she wanted a better life for Megha than the one she lived. But the loyalty she felt often prevented her from openly supporting Mohan, even when she knew that he was right, or when she secretly believed that he deserved better treatment. I still remember the Riddhima revelation scene at the Vyas clan’s home when Mohan took Jijibua’s hand, trusting that she of all people would give him a chance, and how she pulled away from him. It contrasted strongly with the scene in the second season when Mohan returned during the Holi episode, and Jijibua saw him for the first time in 12 years. The genuine joy on her face and the gentle way that Mohan reached for her showed the kind of bond that I had sensed between them in the first season, but which had never been explored beyond the exterior, because the focus remained elsewhere. Mohan’s relationship to the Vyas clan was not developed beyond their limited interaction. But they made an impression because of the chemistry between the actors. And most certainly because of the amount of genuine emotion that Kunal put into Mohan.

Another relationship that I wanted to see more of was Mohan’s connection with Papaji. There was one specific scene that I really enjoyed, as heart-wrenching as it was, and that was when a drunken Mohan showed up the Vyas house and dropped to his knees at Papaji’s feet. Papaji was in shock over Mohan’s pain and the honesty with which he expressed his emotions. How could a man become so broken over a woman? How could he want her so much that he self-destructed without her? If I had been Papaji, seeing Mohan in such a condition would have disturbed me, deeply. No man should love a woman so much that he destroys himself if he cannot have her, in my opinion.

Seeing Mohan stumble around, trip over himself, break down in front of people who did not value him or understand his pain – it was horrible. None of them stepped forward to support him. Not even Nanhi. She was a child, yes. But she was also his Chawanni and I waited for her to – at least – attempt to reach him, and then be held back, or sent to her room. It seemed wrong that she attempted nothing at all. Furthermore, if the writers had paid more attention to the relationship between Mohan and Papaji and perhaps developed it a bit more, penning a connection between them that meant Papaji saw Mohan as his own son, a replacement for Amar, then Mohan’s “betrayal” and Papaji’s reaction would have made complete sense — the slapping, the disowning, the disappointment, the anger, the hurt. He would have slapped because he had come to care for Mohan as if he was his own blood, not just a family friend. And most importantly, he would have been disappointed because Mohan did not trust him enough to tell him about Riddhima before, so that he could have helped him solve the issue altogether and then handed Megha over to him. I.e. his focus would not have been Megha’s misfortune alone, but the fact that Mohan did not trust him and that he betrayed Papaji’s trust. I think that this would have added the extra layers to their relationship and given it more depth, more purpose.

Because Kunal in his scenes with Papaji expressed an emotional attachment, it appeared that Mohan saw Papaji as a father figure. That he sought his recognition/accept and love. That he tried hard to live up to the image of Amar Vyas, regardless of how impossible it was to live up to the memory of a dead man.

In general, Mohan’s relationship to the Vyas clan held a lot more potential and only some of it was tapped into. Not to mention how over half of it was the result of Kunal’s chemistry with his co-actors and his mere performances that often held more soul than the dialogues. Even Mohan’s brief connection with Sanjay (at the hospital) was intriguing. It was a short sequence and the dialogues alone made it seem as if it was only about the money that Sanjay wanted to give to Mohan. Thankfully, Kunal dug into the scene and layered it by sharing a silent look with Sachin, and placing a hand on his shoulder in a way that expressed how Mohan and Sanjay connected through a mutual understanding of being outcasts in the family, of never being given the place that they had earned, or the place that they deserved.

#kunal karan kapoor #actor #artist #ana

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3onthetreecarreviews · 4 years

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If I said I wasn’t excited about this review you would firstly say you’re lying, then you would say you’re still lying and you would right how could I not be when I’ve been given the keys to a 250kW sports car for the week. It’s so secret either that a few years ago BMW needed a new Z4 convertible and Toyota it was time to bring back a car that over the years has developed a bit of a cult following the Supra. But in saying that while that are made on the same platform the only that is similar is the turbo 6 cyl engine, the interior and the 8 speed ZF auto. Toyota has developed its own suspension, engine and steering tunes to distinguish it further from the Z4. The reintroduction of the Supra has created a lot of excitement so much so the only way to get your hands on one was through a unique online lottery. While the Supra can be had with a turbo 4 overseas, in Australia it’s only available with the Turbo 6 pack and comes in two flavours GT which I am testing and the GTS. The GT starts off at just under $85,000 and I thought was pretty well specced with paddle shifting for manual gear control. smart entry with keyless ignition, a carbon-look interior ornamentation, clearance sonar, adaptive LED headlights, heated and folding mirrors, automatic wipers, leather seats with eight-way power adjustment, an 8.8-inch infotainment system with smartphone mirroring, adaptive cruise control, dual-zone climate control, wireless phone charging,18-inch alloy wheels, 10-speaker stereo with DAB+ digital radio, and satellite navigation. Stepping up to the GTS will cost you an extra $10,000 but that also gets you more toys as well including a 12-speaker JBL stereo, a head-up display, bigger 19-inch forged alloy wheels, and red brake calipers with larger brakes at the rear axle.

Inside the Supra is a nice place to be the 3 spoke sports steering wheel is comfortable to hold and the perfect thickness for me it has for audio, phone and cruise control and paddle shifters for the automatic transmission meaning you hardly ever have to take your hands off the wheels. The body hugging heated leather sports seats are extremely comfortable and have 8 way power adjustment for back and side bolsters making it extremely easy to find the perfect driving position. The dash is well set out and easy to read in any light with a trip computer information, a tachometer and sat nav info. The Centre stack features an 8.8 inch touch screen which worked pretty well and was fairly easy to use to display a myriad of information including multimedia details. The centre console is wide offers handy access to the transmission shift lever, switch gear and cup holders and features a large integrated knee pad on the driver’s side to offer additional support. It also contains usb connections plus a very handy wireless charging tray for your. There is a large circular controller that be used to control the multimedia system which can be daunting to use at first become easier as I worked it out. The multimedia system with voice activation offers full Bluetooth®2 connectivity, AM/FM/DAB+3 radio and satellite navigation, I found the sound was great thanks to the 205w 10 speaker HiFi sound system with a 7-channel amplifier Being a 2 seat sports car you know boot space is not going to massive but still at 250L it’s respectable.

Under the bonnet is a where the magic happens the Supra is powered by a BMW developed twin turbo 3L 6 cylinder backed by an 8 speed ZF auto gearbox. With 250kW of power & 500Nm of torque on tap you know it’s going to be quick using the launch control will see the ton come up in just 4.3 seconds, not that I had the chance to really try that out on public roads to really test the Supra to it’s fullest would require a race track something this little blog just cant afford to hire. While I didn’t get to test it to it’s full potential I did however get to drive it around for a week and got an exceptionally good feel for it and found that despite having a lot of go it’s very tractable and easy to drive around town even in bumper to bumper traffic. Fuel economy wise I found it to be rather good averaging in the low 10’s and will run on minimum 91RON fuel requirement. Like other cars on the market you get some engine noise plumbed into the cabin but it just adds to the outright experience of driving the Supra. Click it into sports mode and start to enjoy the gears via the paddle shifters will invoke turbo bark and crackle noise that really is off your face enjoyable and made want to find more twisty just so I could change up and down the gears. Throttle response I found was very good and the 8 speed auto is so matched to the engine that is seemed to be always in the right gear. On the road I thought the Supra rides pretty damn good for a sports the adaptive suspension is god send and means that during the week you can drive it around in normal mode where it easily soaks up the bumps and imperfections that are typical on Sydney roads. Change it to sports mode once you get to the track or to your favourite piece of road and it transforms the Supra into a weapon. I found the steering impressive and not to heavy and very direct giving you the confidence that you know the Supra is going to go where you point it, this is helped by the sticky 18inch Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyre that measure 255mm at the front and 275mm at the rear. While the steering offers great feel while your having fun it’s actually light enough to make it easy to park. I found the brakes were great, with 348mm four piston calipers up front and 330mm single piston ones on the rear I found the Supra stopped really well. I spent a few hours on the weekend throwing it at corners and finding every little twisty bit of road I could find and found the worked well with no noticeable fade. They are however a little squeaky when you first get going but that soon goes away a few presses of the pedal and the pads warm up.

Safety wise the Supra is fitted with a full safety suite including Front collision warning (AEB) with daytime pedestrian and cyclist detection, All-speed active cruise control, Lane departure alert with steering assist, ABS with brake assist, vehicle stability control, traction control, active cornering assist and brake standby, fade and drying functions, Blind spot monitor, Rear cross-traffic alert, Hill-start assist, Tyre pressure monitor, Seven airbags (driver and passenger front, front side, side curtain, driver knee) and Pop-up bonnet system. The Supra receives full point from me for having Front and rear parking and clearance sonars with rear-end collision warning Speed limiter and Reversing camera.

After a week with the Supra I came away very impressed and indeed part of me really didn’t want to give it back. However while I was very impressed by how well it rode, handled, drove, the standard fitted equipment levels and by the fit finish and interior material quality. The other older part of me with bad knees and ankles was happy to give it back as being a low slung sports car it made for some very unorthodox exit techniques which were probably quite amusing to other people. But really if I had the money to afford to keep one in the garage for track days and weekends I would put up with those exits just because I know much fun I could have driving it. The Supra is covered by Toyota’s 5 year warranty which covers non-competitive track driving and the service costs for the first 5 years are capped at $380 per service and come every 12 months. For more info on the Supra or the rest of Toyotas range of vehicles surf on over to their website www.toyota.com.au

2020 Toyota Supra GR GT Review If I said I wasn’t excited about this review you would firstly say you’re lying, then you would say you’re still lying and you would right how could I not be when I’ve been given the keys to a 250kW sports car for the week.

#2 seater #coupe #gazoo racing #gr #gr supra #GT #sports car #supra #supra gt #toyota #Toyota GAZOO Racing #toyota supra #toyota supra gr #twin turbo #V6 twin turbo V6

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smoothshift · 5 years

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Drove 2 new Mercedes on road and track yesterday - Impressions not good! via /r/cars

Drove 2 new Mercedes on road and track yesterday - Impressions not good!

TLDR - New Mercs have no feel, and 664 lb/ft just makes you feel car sick.

Yesterday I had a very interesting day, I was lucky enough to be able to drive to and from a track in Surrey, UK in a brand new Mercedes GLE-Class 350d 4MATIC. And then on track I drove an SL63-AMG. I hated both cars with a passion. For reference my 2 daily drivers are a 2004 Jag XK8 coupe and a BMW e46 330ci.

First of all the GLE on the drive to and from the track:

- Getting in the car is like getting into a sort of futuristic tank. It feels massive. I instantly understood why many people who drive these cars are all over the middle of the road. It was surprisingly easy to place thanks to the high driving position, but the sheer size was eye opener.

- The dash was one of those full width double screen jobs, and it was horrible. It's obviously extremely impressive, and manages to have no glare, and it's even quite clear to make out a lot of things. But it's all touch screen, not even a button to turn on/off the radio. As a result it's so incredibly distracting that to even do the simplest task you have to take your eyes off the road and your hand off the wheel for far too long. There were some steering wheel buttons and voice controls so you could probably learn your way around that to alleviate some of those concerns.

The other problem with the dash was that it felt so misshapen and badly proportioned, and that added to the sense of it being a futuristic tank. There were none of the reference points that you would expect in the car to allow you to align yourself, like there was no separation at all between the drivers area and the center of the car. It was all one full width screen, and it wasn't pleasant.

Underneath that there were some gimmicky RGB mood lighting strips, and generally the whole thing felt very cold and soulless. It also felt like too much of a 'world car', like it was trying too hard to be impressive to Europeans, Americans, and the Chinese all at the same time, so it didn't really have an honest feeling identity.

- The engine, a 3 litre straight 6 diesel with around 300hp and 450lb/ft of torque was so bland. It made an indiscriminate hum which sucked any possible character out of the car. If it had made no noise that would be something, it it would have sounded like a clattery tractor that would be something, or even like a vacuum cleaner. But no, just a strange mixture of non-noises that you can't put your finger on. It pulled in a similarly bland and uninspired way. The car simply moved, and that was it.

- The steering was completely lifeless (what do you expect) and yet the wheel was an incredibly thick and chunky, squared off at the bottom and very small diameter sports steering wheel. This is a very odd combination in such a massive car. The steering was also very artificial feeling, like fancy computers were constantly trying to interfere with your steering angle. It was always adding more or less resistance to say 'no you're not steering perfectly where I want to go so I'm just going to get heavy for a second to slow down your input'.

- The suspension was very unpredictable. Sometimes it was incredibly absorptive, other times it would suddenly be stiffer. It was simultaneously soft, jiggly, springy, bouncy, crashy, incredibly smooth, zero body roll, and like sitting on a pogo stick all at the same time. I can not explain it, you'll have to drive one for yourself, the sensation is totally unreal. It's like it's not actually suspension but something else entirely, and whatever it is, it's not meant to make the car enjoyable to drive.

Anyway, now for the SL63 AMG on track. I did quite a few laps, a drag strip to emergency brake run a few times, and a skid pad. All great fun of course so I'm very glad for the experience. But the car:

- First of all, the interior felt so dated (it was a 2019 model). The steering wheel was the exact same as in the GLE, but a lot of other bits were literally straight out of the early 2000's. And it was that horrible era of Mercedes interiors where it was a like a taxi crossed with the world's most boring business person who likes fake carbon fibre trim. Also the seat was not even making any attempt to be in line with the steering wheel. You get used to that real quick on the move, but still ridiculous.

- The engine, my god, that is by far the fastest car I have ever driven. From a standing start you get some wheel spin, and then it literally pins you into your seat. It's 577hp and 664 lb/ft of torque. Let those numbers sink in for a moment. I do consider myself a proper petrolhead, I always have been. But I'm not joking, I felt physically sick after a few full throttle starts, and that's with me driving! The adrenaline was unreal.

- The gearbox is also amazing, instant shifts, does what you want it to do. From here though it goes downhill.

- The steering again is completely dead and lifeless, and it's far too light. Bearing in mind it's a heavy car, so having light steering means you really have no idea what the tyres are doing at all. Also that small thick wheel was very unwieldy.

- The suspension corners flat and level, but combined with the steering it just creates the most boring sensation you can imagine. After half a lap I was incredibly bored and incredibly dissatisfied. I could just tell straight away that I wasn't going to be able to extract any feeling whatsoever from the. Going faster just makes you go faster. There is nothing to be felt. No rotation (the tyres are massive), no feeling of getting to the limit (again see massive tyres), no sensation of weight transfer. Just a soulless right where it felt like the car was driving me. It was honestly a chore almost immediately.

- The brakes were horribly lacking in feel again. They were extremely capable and could stop the car from over 100mph with face-through-windscreen capabilities, but there was no modulation available at all. They were so over assisted that you were either braking, or you weren't. It's to the extent that when you try to come off the brakes, it almost feels like they don't want to release properly. I assure you they were functioning perfectly, it's just the pedal doesn't travel enough and there is no feel through the pedal.

- Then on the to skid pad, and what a let down. Now bearing in mind I really went for it. And the problem is not that it won't drift. On that special surface the problem is the opposite. With the traction off, even the tiniest of tiny blips will send the car into an instant 360, and having completely dead steering means not only can you not feel if you're catching the slide or not, even when you do catch it, it's completely and utterly boring. How ridiculous is that, I'm power sliding a car with that much power and torque and just instantly feeling bored and quite car sick.

- The only positive thing I can say about Mercedes. As I did a particularly violent spin right off the skid pad and onto grippy tarmac where I thought the car might roll (!), not only did the seat belt tensioners fire very rapidly, but a weird hissing sound emanated from somewhere for the duration. I was informed afterwards that this is a special frequency meant to prime your ear drums so that if the airbags go off, they won't damage your ear drums. That is some attention to detail right there.

- But actually a weird negative to mirror that positive, I didn't like that in both the GLE and the SL, when you first turn on the ignition the seat belts tighten to strangle you for a second to judge your size. That's quite a claustrophobic feeling.

So in conclusion, I can have more fun in my e46 and my XK8 within 20 feet on any journey than you can have in either a brand new luxury GLE or a bloody SL63 AMG going flat out and doing power slides.

I'm not joking, after getting into my Jag afterwards I was instantly like 'wow, this is what steering feel is. Feel the weight, feel the road texture. Throw it in to some corners, feel the back rotating. Listen to that glorious engine. And wow what do you know, 300hp and 300lb/ft is exactly the right amount of power to actually be able to enjoy the engine and rev it out, still feel like you're getting pinned in the seat a bit, still get into serious trouble, but not actually make yourself physically sick and crash instantly. And the engine sounds so sweet and beautiful, not just vulgar. And the suspension just makes either of those Mercs look like a joke. It's obviously the Jags ace card, and it's stiff when you think it will be stiff, and yet the faster and harder you drive the better it absorbs bumps. It gives real confidence and so much communication whilst feeling stable and confidence inspiring. It's only at low speeds where the Mercs absorb bumps better, but only because they turn into pogo sticks. At any speed though it's no contest.

And then, what's this, an e46 BMW. Listen to the glorious straight 6, almost as good as the sound in the Jag but in a completely different way. Feel the steering which is heavy at low speed and then starts to lighten as you go faster or lose grip, so that you feel telepathically linked with the front wheels. Feel the rotation as you throw it in to corners. And what's that, actual low speed ride comfort whilst not being bouncy? Unbelievable!

And the interiors of both of my cars put both of those Mercs to shame too. Anyway I could go on, but suffice it to say that between the horrible interiors, bland or over the top engines, lifeless steering and horridly sterile and uncommunicative chassis, I certainly didn't enjoy my time with either of those Mercs. I'm not sure whether they're gone backwards as a brand or whether it's the whole industry. But I suspect that Mercedes is probably the biggest offender out of any manufacturer right now for the problems I listed above.

Also I learned that I just don't want a car with that much power and torque. I know people might think I'm just trying to justify the relatively low power output of my cars to make myself feel better, but honestly, I'm not. I really didn't enjoy it at all, and I love driving. But in those cars, I just wasn't enjoying driving, not even for 1 second. It's literally enough to make me want to buy an MX-5 or an Elise as a sort of rehabilitation.

#reddit #autonews #auto #cars

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ashafriesen · 6 years

Text

I Would Have Passed the KiKi Challenge But….

Few days back I got to know about the ‘Kiki Challenge’ on social media.

Initially I ignored it, misreading it as ‘Kinky challenge’ and my Alok Nath-type sansakari upbringing forbidden me to look into it any further.

But soon social media updates and some faltu news channels started giving it unsolicited importance/screen time and with repeated hammering I realised the error in my understanding that this is ‘KiKi challenge’, and not any obscene ‘Kinky challenge’.

As soon the morality was offloaded, I became interested in this new rage and decided to try it out ASAP. In the past, I had already missed out on the ‘ice bucket challenge’ and so this time, I did not want to become the repeat offender of social media by not taking this one up.

For everyone who is still living in oblivion and do not know what KiKi challenge is – it is yet another mindless time-pass in which people step out of their cars, and dance to the tunes of singer Drake’s track ‘In My Feelings’.

But this challenge was full of additional challenges apart from performing the main challenge of getting down from a moving car and dance along with.

I needed somebody to drive the car while I performed my stunt.

I ticked off my options.

BFF 1 – Can’t drive.

BFF 2 – Said No.

Husband – NO way!

Friendly neighbours – Started acting nonfriendly hearing the task.

My options were thinning but desperation, swelled like pride (pun, pun, pun).

I have already practiced my moves, downloaded Drake’s song and was humming “KiKi, do you love me?” on repeat.

Still the principal issue of somebody driving the vehicle was no where in resolution. And then it stuck me.

I Googled for rent-a-driver service in my city. (Yes, just like hiring cabs, you can hire drivers who would charge to drive YOUR car on hourly basis.)

So, I booked one such driver and scheduled his visit for the next day.

Excited and looking forward to perform the KiKi challenge and later flaunt it on my social media, I felt ‘oh-so-cool’!

Next morning, when my husband went to office and daughter to her school, I started off with my rented driver. I asked him to take me to the highway outside the city. I did not want to perform this act in the middle of the town amidst full-on traffic for obvious reasons. I mean, yes of course, I know it is dangerous to do so!

Once we reached the highway and found a spot where vehicles were zooming past full throttle and hardly any humans were seen walking on their two feet, I told him the plan.

In the first go he did not understand whatever I said. Poor guy! Of’course, he did not know anybody beyond Michael Jackson as an ‘English’ singer. The guy told me he is an ardent fan of Arijeet Singh and even showed me a handful of CDs of Top Bollywood Hits by Arijeet Singh.

Okay. I did not give up. I showed him couple of videos where people were taking the KiKi challenge and explained to him how I will put the song on, get down the car, do the steps and hop in back. And while I do all this, he is supposed to drive slowly and shoot a video of me from inside the car. I made it very clear to him (like crystal clear, in all CAPS) that he MUST NOT go beyond the speed limit of 10-15 kmph.

After few more efforts of explaining, he sounded convinced and ready to go for it.

Now me being a sucker for perfection, asked for few quick practice sessions and after couple of retakes, we were finally ready to give it a final shot.

I showed him how to adjust focus while shooting in my iPhone X so that there is no blurring or shaking of the video.

All set, we started with the final act.

With video recording on, music in sync, I got down of the car while he drove at a snail’s speed along with me.

I was giving my best performance, recreating the same steps I learnt to go along with the lyrics.

Just when I was about to come to the last part of it, I heard a loud screech of tyres and with a blink of the eye, my car which was crawling sluggishly alongside so far, sped away and vanished from my eyeline within seconds.

Boom.

What was that? This wasn’t the part of my plan. I was supposed to get back on the car. Check out how the video has come out and post it instantly on my SM platforms.

Maybe he pressed on the accelerator by mistake and sped away.

Maybe he thought it is over and has gone ahead to take a U turn to come back.

Or maybe…….

Maybe he has gone away with my car and my iPhone X for good.

Holy cow!

This can not be happening. This cannot be happening.

I felt dizzy. Hallucinations of my hubby screaming at me and my friends laughing at my foolish deed overwhelmed me.

What have I done? How could I be so stupid to give away my car and phone to a stranger and put my safety at stake. All this just to garner a bunch of meaningless ‘likes’ and comments on social media.

Tears started to roll down my cheeks. With no connectivity, human or technology, I never felt so helpless in my life.

And then, from the farthest end of the road I saw a car coming. I gathered myself up and started to wave desperately to make it stop.

Within few seconds as it approached further, I realised it’s my car. My very own car with the very same driver.

Oh-My-God!

I opened the door and climbed in.

The driver noticed my bloodshot eyes and horror-stricken face. No one said anything for couple of minutes.

After riding for some time in heavy silence, he said, “madam, aesa kisi ko bhi gaadi nahi dene ka. Aese kese trust kar sakte ho aap kisi pe. Aap toh padhe likhe lagte ho. Maine is liye gadi thoda agae leke gaya taki aapko sabak mile. I am sorry, haan.”

I could not mutter even a word in response.

Education does not always bring sensibility.

Yes, I am educated and so are others around me who are risking their lives by performing this senseless, mindless and meaningless challenge in pretext of coolness and be a part of virtual world of social media.

Being social is good but being a social media slave is not!

Do not blindly follow the craze.

It’s great to take challenges in life. But life is too precious for challenges not worth taking.

Disclaimer – The story above is fictitious (do not judge ‘me’ for being so dumb!). It is written to elicit responsibility and sensibility in people who take social media too seriously, fall pray to such outrageously stupid challenges and risk their lives.

#kikichallenge #donotperformkikichallenge #kiki #inmyfeelingschallenge #kikidoyouloveme #drake #inmyfeelings

I Would Have Passed the KiKi Challenge But…. published first on https://parentcenternetwork.tumblr.com/

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droneseco · 6 years

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Oculus Go: Is This The Best Mobile VR Yet? (Review and Giveaway)

Our verdict of the Oculus Go: Experienced VR gamers will be disappointed by the software selection and lack of positional tracking, but for watching videos the Oculus Go is astounding. With a higher resolution than PC VR headsets, and sheer convenience of being able to wear the device anywhere, we're very close to calling this a must-buy. 1010

The Oculus Go is a standalone VR headset with better optics than it’s PC VR brethren. Lacking positional tracking and with only a single basic controller, it’s certainly not perfect. But it does have one astounding feature: the price. At just $200 for the 32GB model, is this the first “mobile” class VR headset actually worth buying? Read on to find out, and to celebrate the launch, we’re giving one away at the end of this review!

Oculus Go Specifications

CPU / RAM: Snapdragon 821 + 3 GB RAM

Per-eye resolution: 1280 x 1440 pixels

Optics: custom fresnel lenses

Launch price: $199 for 32GB, $249 for 64GB

Tracking: 3DOF (rotation only, not positional tracking)

Controller: 1 wireless remote, with 3DOF plus accelerometer tracking

Audio: Built-in audio output and 3.5mm stereo jack

Connectivity: Bluetooth / Wi-Fi / micro-USB

Battery Life: 2.5 hours

Weight: 468 grams

No charger included

Oculus Go Standalone Virtual Reality Headset - 32GB Oculus Go Standalone Virtual Reality Headset - 32GB Buy Now At Amazon $199.00

From face-on, you’ll find the audio jack and micro-USB port on the right, with power/standby and volume rocker on the top.

The base model ships with 32GB, which isn’t a huge amount of storage space, but you can manage files easily using the USB connection to a PC, or add additional storage using a micro-USB drive (yes, those are a thing). There is no MicroSD card slot, however. The micro-USB port is also used for charging, though no charger is supplied. I actually commend Oculus for not adding to global e-waste on unnecessary accessories, given the sheer abundance of USB chargers we likely all have.

SanDisk Ultra 32GB Dual Drive m3.0 for Android Devices and Computers (SDDD3-032G-G46) SanDisk Ultra 32GB Dual Drive m3.0 for Android Devices and Computers (SDDD3-032G-G46) Buy Now At Amazon $11.99

The Go features a stretchy fabric strap that can be easily pulled over the back of your head. It’s less effective than the rigid head strap provided on the Rift, but does the job.

For Chinese readers and anyone else wondering why there’s a Xiaomi logo on the side: the Oculus Go is manufactured by Xiaomi, but Xiaomi is also making their own “Mi VR Standalone” branded version of the Oculus Go exclusively for the Chinese market. It’ll support the Oculus SDK for developers to bring over Oculus Store content if they want, but won’t directly feature access to the Oculus Store.

So It’s Basically a GearVR, Minus the Phone?

The problem with standalone mobile VR is that it generally requires a pricey mobile phone to be slotted into an awful plastic case. The result is frustrating at best. The best of the bunch has always been the Oculus / Samsung GearVR, which pairs a nice set of optics with a high resolution mobile device like the Samsung Galaxy series. But that’s $99 for the GearVR case, plus at least $500 for a mobile device to put it.

The Oculus Go is essentially an all-in-one GearVR, then. By building it as a standalone device, Oculus is able to handle heat dissipation more efficiently, which contributes to better performance, longer battery life, and less danger of things exploding on your face.

So why is the Oculus Go so cheap? Perhaps the aim is to lock you into their platform and control the entire ecosystem. That’s always been the Apple way, and now it’s the FacebOculus way. The Oculus Store is not officially open to other headsets, either for desktop or mobile. A third-party hack called ReVive can be used to play Oculus games on the Vive, and there was a time when Oculus went out of their way to break it, before quickly retreating after public condemnation. The mobile store is even more of a walled garden. Only Oculus devices have access to that.

This isn’t necessarily a bad approach: it allows for a high degree of quality control. You only need to look at the vast numbers of shovelware VR apps on the Android store to see what can happen otherwise.

Setup: Requires a Phone?!

In a strange move for a device that features Wi-Fi, you’ll actually need a phone in order to set it up. Since it’s marketed as a standalone, all-in-one headset, this is a little disconcerting, and it’s never entirely explained why this requirement is there.

The Oculus Go connects via Bluetooth to your phone, and appears to be mostly be a storefront, allowing you to purchase games and apps which then automatically download to your device. You can also enable camera roll access to view photos and videos through the Go.

Visual Quality

The optical quality of VR displays is difficult to quantify, so the best I can do is to compare to an Oculus Rift.

Field of view (FOV) feels about the same, but the lenses have been engineered to provide a slightly larger sweet spot. I noticed less “god rays” (blurry white streaks from high contrast content) than the Rift, but they’re still present. To my eyes, there was very little screen door effect, if not none at all.

The precise metrics of the screen and lenses don’t matter though, frankly. Once you’re immersed in content, the minutiae of any optical differences between headsets tend to fade away. The higher resolution is certainly appreciated for movie watching and general clarity, however.

For those who wear glasses, the Oculus Go includes a spacer. Large frames won’t fit at all, similar to the Rift. Smaller frames will fit without the spacer, but you might want to use it anyway so as not to scratch the lenses. Custom lens inserts are also included, allowing you to purchase prescription lenses separately at a later date.

Remember: if you’re long-sighted, you shouldn’t actually need to wear your glasses in VR due to the far focal distance. Only short-sighted folks like myself need to keep those on in VR, at least on the current crop of headsets.

Controller Options

The Oculus Go includes a single basic 3DOF motion controller, featuring a limited array of buttons and a touchpad. It’s nowhere near as ergonomic as the Touch controllers for Rift, and really lacks the ability to represent your hand(s) virtually. It’s functional for navigating menus, though, and to some extent casual gaming. But the lack of accurately represented virtual hands is a tough sell for anyone accustomed to having them.

The position of a pronounced back button just beneath the trackpad was also quite irritating, as I found it was all too easy to accidentally press in games like UltraWings where touching the bottom of the trackpad is need to decrease the throttle.

For a better gaming experience, Microsoft Xbox Controller or the Steel series are also supported, but only newer Bluetooth versions. The Xbox controller supplied in the original (Touch-less) Rift package is not compatible, since it requires an additional dongle for communications.

3DOF Means You Can’t Move Around

I’ve already heard some confusion among fellow writers here, who were under the impression the Oculus Go would let you move around the room, just like you can with the Rift. So it’s likely many of you are thinking that too. Sadly, this isn’t the case. You should remain seated or lying down to use the Oculus Go: there no positional tracking. The headset only knows the rotation of your head. So you can look around, but not lean forward, side-to-side, or duck down.

Higher end PC-based headsets have a number of sensors to track their physical location. HTC Vive has Lighthouses in the corner of the room that scan laser beams, which are then picked up by the headset and controllers. The Oculus Rift uses external cameras to watch the infrared LEDs. PlayStation VR uses a standard webcam to watch some colored LEDs. Windows Mixed Reality headsets have a novel approach with cameras on the front of the headset which observe the surroundings and controller locations. Oculus Go has none of that.

Is this such a terrible thing? Perhaps, if you’ve already experienced the superior PC headsets. But not if you’re new to VR entirely. Let’s not forget that the original Oculus Rift Developer Kit 1 had no positional tracking either. We were still blown away by the experiences we had on that.

There are in fact some mobile untethered headsets that do offer positional tracking, but they’re substandard in many other ways. Ultimately, it’s the entire experience that matters, no one particular aspect of it. As a package, the Oculus Go delivers.

If being able to move around and play room scale experiences on a standalone device is important to you, wait for Santa Cruz sometime next year, and expect a significantly higher price point.

Everyone Can Hear You

The Oculus Go includes built-in audio, but not headphones. Confused? It’s more like a mobile phone with stereo speakers, and a plastic cavity to direct that sound toward your ears. It’s sufficient to sit at home and lie in bed, but you wouldn’t want to turn up the volume too much in public. Everyone around you will hear the audio too.

In terms of audio quality: it’s ok, but obviously lacks bass. It feels like a good compromise between full on headphones and the sort of audio you’d expect from a mobile phone. For general use, it’s fine, but I wouldn’t want to watch a full length movie with these. I’d recommend pairing it with the Flexound HUMU vibrating pillow for the best in-bed movie watching experience.

Of course, you can also pair your own wireless speakers or headphones, or wired through the audio jack.

The Oculus Go Software Library

Unlike the Oculus Rift, which also has access to the vast array of SteamVR games and those on the Oculus Store, the Oculus Go only gets Oculus Store content – and even that’s a different library entirely to that available on desktop.

It’s the same library of content available to the GearVR, and the truth is that most of the gaming apps are a bit… rubbish. Minecraft is the notable GearVR title that’s not compatible with the Oculus Go at launch, though I’d expect this to be updated shortly.

My favourite game so far? Smash Hit ($2.99): a surreal on-rails shooter where you throw balls to smash crystals and glass obstacles. Early levels feel almost meditative, while later stages see the environment fight back.

I also really enjoyed Coaster Combat (Free), another on-rails shooter from Oculus Studios that has you collecting gems as you travel along various roller coasters. The snow level is particularly intense, and roller coasters in general are always a fun VR demo experience. There’s only 5 tracks, but this makes for a great short demo.

For a more complete list of the best Oculus mobile games, check out this r/Oculus wiki page.

Some highlights of non-gaming apps:

AltSpaceVR, a social chat app, though it’s really more than the sum of its parts. The app enables users from around the world to get together, chat, or play games like Cards Against Humanity or Dungeons and Dragons, in a shared space.

BigScreen, a screen sharing social app. While Go users aren’t able to broadcast anything, they are able to join public and private rooms of others broadcasting from desktop version. The main use is to watch movies together, or watch others gaming.

Virtual Desktop is similar, but promises a rather unique feature: the ability to remotely access your PC desktop over the local network or internet.

Virtual Cinemas, and The Killer App: Plex

Video apps are abundant: you’ll find official clients for Netflix and Hulu; Oculus Videos for playing Facebook 360 experiences; Skybox VR for playing back local VR video files that you’ve transferred over USB; Amaze, featuring curated 4K 360 videos; and more.

The one notable exception is YouTube. You can access YouTube through the built-in browser, but it’s sluggish, far from ideal, and you’ll likely just want to avoid it altogether.

Why Buy the Oculus Go?

If you’re thinking the Oculus Go will be the perfect entry point to VR gaming, it’s not. Not even remotely. This is mobile VR first and foremost, and nothing about that is comparable to desktop VR. The Oculus Rift remains the cheapest entry point to “proper” VR gaming, and requires tethering to a reasonably specced PC to get the most out of the experiences on offer.

Given the lack of positional tracking and decent motion controllers, the Oculus Go is really only suited to 360 videos and virtual cinema experiences. Don’t get me wrong though: it’s really rather good at those. In fact, with a resolution that’s higher than PC counterparts and no need to stay tethered, it’s much better for VR movie watching than any other headset at the moment. And it’s only $200.

You can actually have a half-decent gaming experience too if you pair an Xbox controller, but again, it’s an issue of perspective. For those experienced with PC VR gaming, you’ll miss the room scale experience. For those who have never experienced VR before, you’ll be blown away.

Oculus Go Standalone Virtual Reality Headset - 32GB Oculus Go Standalone Virtual Reality Headset - 32GB Buy Now At Amazon $199.00

Did I mention it’s only $200? The Oculus Go is a steal: cheap enough to be an impulse buy. It’s not the best overall VR headset by any means; nor is it supposed to be. It’s not even comparable to a PC gaming setup with the Rift or Vive. But it’s a fantastic entry point that’s going to get semi-decent VR to an awful lot of people. Oculus isn’t trying to innovate hardware with the Go: they’re bringing people into the VR fold. That’s an awesome thing.

Enter the Competition!

Oculus Go Review Oculus Go: Is This The Best Mobile VR Yet? (Review and Giveaway) published first on http://droneseco.tumblr.com/

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mopishblog · 6 years

Text

Oculus Go: Is This The Best Mobile VR Yet? (Review and Giveaway)

Oculus Go Specifications

CPU / RAM: Snapdragon 821 + 3 GB RAM

Per-eye resolution: 1280 x 1440 pixels

Optics: custom fresnel lenses

Launch price: $199 for 32GB, $249 for 64GB

Tracking: 3DOF (rotation only, not positional tracking)

Controller: 1 wireless remote, with 3DOF plus accelerometer tracking

Audio: Built-in audio output and 3.5mm stereo jack

Connectivity: Bluetooth / Wi-Fi / micro-USB

Battery Life: 2.5 hours

Weight: 468 grams

No charger included

Oculus Go Standalone Virtual Reality Headset – 32GB Oculus Go Standalone Virtual Reality Headset – 32GB Buy Now At Amazon $199.00

From face-on, you’ll find the audio jack and micro-USB port on the right, with power/standby and volume rocker on the top.

SanDisk Ultra 32GB Dual Drive m3.0 for Android Devices and Computers (SDDD3-032G-G46) SanDisk Ultra 32GB Dual Drive m3.0 for Android Devices and Computers (SDDD3-032G-G46) Buy Now At Amazon $11.99

The Go features a stretchy fabric strap that can be easily pulled over the back of your head. It’s less effective than the rigid head strap provided on the Rift, but does the job.

So It’s Basically a GearVR, Minus the Phone?

Setup: Requires a Phone?!

Visual Quality

The optical quality of VR displays is difficult to quantify, so the best I can do is to compare to an Oculus Rift.

Controller Options

3DOF Means You Can’t Move Around

If being able to move around and play room scale experiences on a standalone device is important to you, wait for Santa Cruz sometime next year, and expect a significantly higher price point.

Everyone Can Hear You

Of course, you can also pair your own wireless speakers or headphones, or wired through the audio jack.

The Oculus Go Software Library

For a more complete list of the best Oculus mobile games, check out this r/Oculus wiki page.

Some highlights of non-gaming apps:

Virtual Desktop is similar, but promises a rather unique feature: the ability to remotely access your PC desktop over the local network or internet.

Virtual Cinemas, and The Killer App: Plex

The one notable exception is YouTube. You can access YouTube through the built-in browser, but it’s sluggish, far from ideal, and you’ll likely just want to avoid it altogether.

Why Buy the Oculus Go?

Oculus Go Standalone Virtual Reality Headset – 32GB Oculus Go Standalone Virtual Reality Headset – 32GB Buy Now At Amazon $199.00

Enter the Competition!

https://js.gleam.io/e.jsOculus Go Review Oculus Go: Is This The Best Mobile VR Yet? (Review and Giveaway) syndicated from https://mopishblog.wordpress.com/

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robertkstone · 7 years

Text

Porsche 911 Turbo S: 3rd Place – 2017 Motor Trend Best Driver’s Car

Porsche fitted two new variable-geometry turbos to the 3.8-liter flat-six engine, which now conjures 580 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque—or 553 lb-ft in temporary overboost. An anti-lag system keeps the throttle open but cuts the fuel during shifts to keep air flowing. Porsche’s PDK dual-clutch automatic transaxle remains, as do the all-wheel-drive system, electronically adjustable shock absorbers, carbon-ceramic brakes, front splitter, and rear wing. A new Sport Response button gives you 20 seconds of on-demand sharper throttle response, and a new rear-wheel steering system sharpens the handling.

It’s Best Driver’s Car week! Don’t miss the incredible story of how we chose the 2017 Best Driver’s Car right here, and stay tuned for the World’s Greatest Drag Race, coming soon.

The result is the hardest-launching car we’ve ever tested, at 1.26 g of horizontal force. Tesla? Nope. Demon? Nuh-uh. From a stop, this 911 will dust a Bugatti Veyron to 60 mph—just 2.5 seconds. The quarter mile flashes past in a stunning 10.6 seconds, at which point you’ll be traveling at 129.6 mph and pulling hard. It pulls hard in corners, too, registering 1.05 average g on the skidpad and 0.95 average g during a brief 22.9-second figure-eight lap. Stopping the 3,557-pound missile from 60 mph takes only 92 feet.

We Say

“My litmus test for whether a car has a shot at taking the BDC crown is what I’m doing with my head and shoulders when driving. If I’m cocking my head and leaning into the turns along with the vehicle, I am in sync with my steed. We are one; the man-machine interface is engaged, the singularity has occurred. It happened with the winning McLaren 570S last year.

“I’m doing that head tilting, lean in thing whilst carving the canyons in the Turbo S. It is nearly the complete package. So fast and completely unflappable. It’s really hard to find a flaw here. Just so fast. Smooth. Lovely to hear the wastegates dump as you lift throttle and the beats of silence between gearshifts. But yes, a more thrilling sound from the back would be appreciated. Unbelievably fast. It is really a focused tool intended for one purpose: going very fast.” – Ed Loh

Read about other 2017 Best Driver’s Car contenders:

Ferrari 488 GTB

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

Porsche 718 Cayman S

Lexus LC 500

Mercedes-AMG GT R

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio

Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport

Aston Martin DB11

Nissan GT-R NISMO

Mazda MX-5 Miata RF

McLaren 570GT

“Goose bumps—it’s so easy to handle. Steering is stiff, but it gives you exactly the kind of feedback that you want to feel on a road like this. The sound coming from the engine is superb. Suspension is rigid but comfortable. I felt the confidence to go faster on the corners and push for more. The 911 stands out not only for its handsome looks, but also for that great feeling of confidence that it delivers when you drive on windy roads.” – Miguel Cortina

“So, so, so capable on 198. But the trade-off of having such a highly capable car is that it’s quite a bore to drive in normal situations, which is likely how the 911 Turbo will be driven 91.1 percent of the time. It’s really boring on the road. But again, great car to drive hard.” – Erick Ayapana

“To me, this is the perfect driver’s car, in that you can do it all: drive for hours and hours on an interstate, then suddenly twist a dial to sport plus, put the hammer down, and the 911 leaps to life, assured, forceful, and pragmatically intense. It is so composed, so nailed down, so very fast, and so full of grip. There is never a hint that something might go awry. It squirts out of the apex and fills you with so much confidence. If you carry too much speed into a corner, lay into the brakes through that entry portion of the curve, and the 911 just tucks in and says, ‘Yeah sure, we got this.’” – Mark Rechtin

“My god it’s so capable and so easy. The engine almost feels lazy while piling on the speed. It’s really deceptive how powerful it truly is even at low rpm. It’s amazing how much confidence this car gives a driver. Not just the brakes, but the steering and the stability. The car shrinks around you and becomes an extension of you. I’m looking for a complaint, and I can’t find one.” – Chris Walton

“There’s a reason this car is at the top of the rankings in any competition. The 911 Turbo S is so amazingly competent on every level—without having any visible compromises—that it’s easy to forget how high its limits are. Right out of the box, the 911 Turbo S lets you drive as fast as you dare, brake as hard as you can, and turn as much as you wish. It doesn’t just inspire confidence … it inspires a relationship with the driver.” – Derek Powell

Randy Says

“Yeah, the 911 Turbo S was super great, but it almost seemed a little bit unsatisfying. Somehow? This 991.2 has so much more torque than the last GT3s, any GT3 I ever drove. And it’s just so satisfying to drive. The balance under power is amazing to me. Knowing how little weight is on those tires especially when you’re under about 0.9 g acceleration in second gear, and it doesn’t push under power. This car seems more rewarding to drive to me, and it really … it blows away some great cars. I guess ‘cause it’s easy? But it’s rewardingly easy. It’s not boring; it’s satisfying. It just makes me feel like I could drive better than I really can. I literally said that to myself, driving off of turn 11.

“In the slower corners, when the revs are down, there’s no sense of lag whatsoever. I love the way it’ll dig off the corner without understeer. I could go to the power really early, and I’d just know that a lot of cars would want to understeer under this condition. And it doesn’t, it just comes on. Just fascinatingly, thrillingly good.

“You have to be just a wee bit careful about entry oversteer. Don’t leave that weight on the nose for too long on a high speed corner. It takes a real specific combination of great on-the-nose, aggressive turn-in, and off throttle to bring the tail out. A couple of times when it came out it still was not scary. It was a pleasant experience. Back to the power, and there you go. I’m just really, really impressed.

“With PDKs you’re just wasting your time shifting manually. It might be fun just to do it for the fun of it, but it’s completely unnecessary to shift yourself. The brakes held up completely; even the tires held up. I mean, the loads, what they’re going through is mind-bending. The amount of speed, the amount of braking, and how hard those tires are worked—they still hold up. The car retains its balance. I just seem to be able to repeat my braking performance. I was in so deep a couple times halfway through the brakes I thought maybe I wouldn’t make this. But then it would slow down enough and ride into the apex, and away we’d go. It’s a nice, firm pedal, and that means the braking performance is repeatable. It also made me push it harder.

“I don’t feel the rear-steer except that, maybe, it’s my guess that it’s one of the ways they keep the front traction in the middle of the corner when it really shouldn’t have any, but the car responds to the steering wheel in the middle of the corner. Low-speed, high-speed, anything you want. I think I set my speed record over the corkscrew.

“It’s a real testament to what’s possible with modern technology when you are creating a sports car and you know what you’re doing. It’s an amazing piece of machinery. A living testament to how good a car can be with the stability control off.”

2017 Porsche 911 Turbo S POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT Rear-engine, AWD ENGINE TYPE Twin-turbo flat-6, alum block/heads VALVETRAIN DOHC, 4 valves/cyl DISPLACEMENT 231.9 cu in/3,800 cc COMPRESSION RATIO 9.8:1 POWER (SAE NET) 580 hp @ 6,750 rpm TORQUE (SAE NET) 516 lb-ft @ 2,100 rpm* REDLINE 7,200 rpm WEIGHT TO POWER 6.1 lb/hp TRANSMISSION 7-speed twin-clutch auto. AXLE/FINAL-DRIVE RATIO 3.44:1(f) 3.33:1(r)/2.06:1 SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR Struts, coil springs, adj shocks, anti-roll bar; multilink, coil springs, adj shocks, anti-roll bar STEERING RATIO 12.5-15.0:1 TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK 2.5 BRAKES, F; R 16.1-in vented, drilled, carbon-ceramic disc; 15.4-in vented, drilled, carbon-ceramic disc, ABS WHEELS 9.0 x 20-in; 11.5 x 20-in forged aluminum TIRES 245/35ZR20 91Y; 305/30ZR20 103Y Pirelli P Zero Corsa N0 DIMENSIONS WHEELBASE 96.5 in TRACK, F/R 60.7/62.6 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 177.4 x 74.0 x 51.0 in TURNING CIRCLE 60.7/62.6 in CURB WEIGHT 3,557 lb WEIGHT DIST, F/R 39/61% SEATING CAPACITY 2+2 HEADROOM, F/R 37.7/32.2 in LEGROOM, F/R 42.2/27.1 in SHOULDER ROOM, F/R 51.3/47.9 in CARGO VOLUME 4.1 cu ft (+9.2 cu ft beh fr seats) TEST DATA ACCELERATION TO MPH 0-30 0.9 sec 0-40 1.4 0-50 1.9 0-60 2.5 0-70 3.3 0-80 4.1 0-90 5.1 0-100 6.2 0-100-0 9.7 PASSING, 45-65 MPH 1.3 QUARTER MILE 10.6 sec @ 129.6 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 92 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 1.05 g (avg) MT FIGURE EIGHT 22.9 sec @ 0.95 g (avg) 2.2-MI ROAD COURSE LAP 1:33.21 sec TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH 1,500 rpm CONSUMER INFO BASE PRICE $189,150 PRICE AS TESTED $196,360 STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL Yes/Yes AIRBAGS 8: Dual front, fr side, fr curtain, fr knee BASIC WARRANTY 4 yrs/50,000 miles POWERTRAIN WARRANTY 4 yrs/50,000 miles ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE 4 yrs/50,000 miles FUEL CAPACITY 17.9 gal EPA CITY/HWY/COMB ECON 19/24/21 mpg from PerformanceJunk WP Feed 3 http://ift.tt/2wwa0dz via IFTTT

#IFTTT #PerformanceJunk WP Feed 3

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theghettoracer-blog · 7 years

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Written by Frank M. Lin 3/30/2017 5:41 am @ San Francisco, California – the latest 2018 Honda Civic Type-R was unveiled officially in AutoCon in Southern California recently. I was randomly surfing and came across a collection of rave reviews about the good old DC2 ITR. Check them out.

The wait has been so long that I’m not even excited about the new CTR in USA. I mean it’s like, I’ll believe it when I actually get to drive it. Lol lol. But I tell you guys what I REALLY LIKE the current generation of Civic’s. Be it the sedan, the 5 door fastback or even the coupe. It looks impressive in every way. I’m going to definitely R&D parts for it. They are selling like hot cakes in San Francisco Bay Area. They are EVERYWHERE!! Honda sold something like 36,000 of them in January of 2017 alone. When I stopped by the locale dealer to pick up a brochure for the new Civic they don’t even have any!! They ran out… if that’s not an indication of how popular the car is I don’t know what does.

“Once every generation, one car stands out for using advanced technology to provide a new peak of driving pleasure. Our aim was to make the Integra Type R the outstanding car of our generation.” Hisao Suzuki, President, Honda Research and Development, Europe.

“Some car makers talk about building cars for road and track… but Honda went ahead and did it. It’s laid the sauce on thick, too, so the Type R won’t be to everyone’s taste.” Wheels, March 2001

“The weighting of the steering is glorious, the feel of the wheel rim superb and the chassis absolutely intuitive. It practically implores you to rip in and join the fun, allowing the driver to be an integral part of the experience. It’s simultaneously, a tool and a toy, singing its song for you alone.” MOTOR, January 2001

“Toss the Type R into even the slightest bend and you’ll feel it rotate about its axis like a true racecar. Once out, the tail is easily balanced with the throttle just as the automotive gods always intended. Absolutely awesome.” Josh Jacquot; Sport Compact Car, April 2001

“The Type R is a finely honed tool for driving fast, a car engineered in almost every detail not to coddle or insulate, but to communicate. If driving a Type R doesn’t make the petroleum in your blood boil, you should collect your pushrods and go home.” Dave Coleman; Sport Compact Car, April 2001

“The Acura Integra Type R is designed for autocrossers and road racers who revere performance and handling above all else. This car makes no pretense of being a car for the masses. The Type R was designed by racers for racers… It’s an exclusive cult car.” Grassroots Motorsports, April 2001

“The Honda Integra Type R, though, is no normal front-driver. While the bodyshell is starting to look dated (and outrageous with the Type R’s wing), the interesting stuff is all underneath. It’s virtually a road registerable club racer, with braces inside and underneath the boot, as well as across the engine bay; there’s the rock solid race spec suspension, the gun Recaro seats, the thick leather steering wheel and, the secret weapon, a limited slip differential.” MOTOR, October, 2000

“The Honda is really something to savour on a good bit of road. There’s the sensational engine note, full of menace, purpose and anger, the wonderful shift action and the instant throttle response. It’s easy to drive quickly in any weather and it gets its power to the road amazingly well. It’s a furiously busy weapon built to charge over racetracks and mountain passes time and again… if it’s reputations you want to cut down, get yourself a Type R and go hunting… It’s gallant. It’s fast. And it’s a winner.” MOTOR, October, 2000

“A really awesome car. Plenty of bang for your bucks from behind the wheel. The engine sounds fantastic and revs all the way to 9,000 rpm and the power is still there. The chassis surprised me. For a front driver it’s so user-friendly. It turns in superbly and doesn’t understeer or get tailly. It’s quite neutral. It gets a little bit nervous at the rear in the high speed stuff, but it’s very, very hard to make a mistake and get it to do anything drastic. One of the favorite for sure.” MOTOR, October, 2000

“Raw, uncompromising driver’s car that’s too much for some, but so taut, so well set-up and with such a terrific engine, you’ll be gasping for superlatives.” Wheels, December 2000

“The way the Type R’s shifter is literally perfect in throw and action are unmatched anywhere else. Shifts at redline are rewarded with immediate power delivery in the next gear, steering speed and precision are awesome and seats that actually hold you in place go a long way towards making the Type R a real driver’s car.” Sport Compact Car, November 2000

“The Type R’s chassis and power combination tends to be untouchable when tested under [winding mountain road] conditions, (at least at this price point).” Sport Compact Car, November 2000

“The Integra Type R, however, is a focused, concentrated, near-racecar environment at ten-tenths. It involves the driver more in the business of going fast, supplying keen feedback and amazing control sharpness… We like to think Sport Compact Car readers understand the merits of balance, precision and thorough sorting of a car’s chassis and engine – all of which the Integra Type R exhibits in excess.” Sport Compact Car, November 2000

“The VTEC power delivery is addictive, the chassis is razor sharp, the interior has just the bare essentials, and its one of those cars you need to drive before you die … [the Integra Type R] is one of Japan’s best kept secrets.” EVO Magazine, September 2000

“Bury your preconceptions about front wheel drive and you’ll find Honda’s Integra Type R is one of the world’s ultimate driving machines.” EVO Magazine, August 2000

“The original feisty front-drive coupe, with a jewel-like 1.8 litre VTEC ‘four’ and benchmark handling. The Type R concept at it’s very best. You would never believe a front-drive car could possess as much poise and adjustability as the Integra Type R… Honda must be smiling. It also makes the best noise of any four pot in production.” EVO Magazine, May 2000

“This [car] is the business. This does it all properly. This is a car which someone has taken the time to refine for track work. It does everything terrifically from its direct and exact gearshift to its gear ratios. Honda has done its homework with a sharpened pencil… From the form-fitting winged bucket seats, you’re very much a part of the car. It feels really solid like a real racing car. And it sounds fabulous.” Wheels, February 2000

“The Honda Integra Type R is immensely rewarding, provided you drive it with a purpose. Treated like a daily driver, the bone-jarring ride and booming cabin noise will batter you into submission. But driven hard, as its maker intended, the Type R is the ultimate drug-free high.” Wheels, December 1999

“The Integra Type R is much more than the sum of its parts. Response and reaction to driver input is almost instantaneous, endowing the pedals and steering wheel with a delightful communication. Lightning quick throttle response places a massive strain on the Bridgestone Potenzas as they attempt to disperse the power.” Wheels, December 1999

“The Integra Type R demands attention. Become distracted and you risk losing everything… This is a focused car for serious drivers; posers apply elsewhere… Every little flick of the wheel and stab on the pedal is rewarded with an immediate accurate response.” Wheels, December 1999

“If you want the closest thing to a race car for under [Australian]$30,000 then the Integra Type R is for you.” Wheels, December 1999

“With the race goggles firmly in place, issues like ride quality become almost irrelevant.” Wheels, December 1999

“The Type R surprised us with its aggression on turn-in and with the incredibly tight lines that could be held through the corners.” Wheels, December 1999

“Rewriting the rules of automotive performance, the Type R makes no excuses for its extraneous rear seats, its traditionally suspect drivetrain layout, or its quasi-utilitarian styling. Despite these “handicaps,” the Type R proudly stands out from the crowd as a brutally effective weapon of single-minded purposefulness. The Type R is a giant-killer on the track, taking on cars much more expensive. By all appearances the Type R is untouchable.” Sport Compact Car, April 1999

“Currently the car to have in this sector and a truly spectacular drive. Stripped of all creature comforts, this is a true sports car with a superb, free-revving 187 bhp engine, amazing levels of roadholding and grip with the sharpest steering of any mass-market coupe. Very tough and well-built but lacks any pretense of refinement.” What Car?, August 1999

“… I’d found it was indeed an admirable work of steely Japanese engineering.” CAR, February 1999

“Fundamentally the Integra feels like a simple, rudely mechanical car, but it’s very clever with it. It pares driving down to its raw materials – instant engine response, and a noise to match; fantastic turn-in and feedback (road surface through your seat, grip through the wheel). It takes a few miles to cut through the Integra Type R’s superficial showiness, which is all rawness and racy pretensions, but beneath that, it is an awesome driver’s car. Like the way it drives, its appeal is elemental – that back to basic, deeply psychological pleasure in pointing and squirting in a car, down roads that rip and roar like the winding ribbon of a rollercoaster… This is the pure way.” CAR, February 1999

“The truth is, though, the Integra Type R remains an enigma, titanium gear knob and all.” CAR, February 1999

“… like the off-duty competition car it is, it’s an impossible car to drive absent-mindedly without looking very amateur indeed.” CAR, February 1999

“Limited numbers. Perfectly focused. Marginal business for a major carmaker, true. The kind of product that driving evangelists drool over and marketing saps witter on about as a ‘halo product’ which ‘strengthens the brand proposition.’ ” CAR, October 1998

“… the Integra Type R is pure-bred Japanese – as seductive a reflection of Tokyo’s obsession with the mad, bad and dangerous-to-resist bits of driving as Nissan’s Skyline GT-R.” CAR, October 1998

“There are faster cars than the Integra Type R, sure enough. But few that are as unashamedly emotional in their appeal.” CAR, October 1998

“The Integra Type R encourages you, you sad car purist, to listen for the onset of serious good stuff.” CAR, October 1998

“The Integra Type R feels like it was painstakingly honed as a statement, to reposition Honda as a creator of adrenaline-soused cars.” CAR, May 1998

“The Integra Type R, more than anything else, is defiant narrowcasting. You either get it or you don’t.” CAR, May 1998

“…you feel the Integra Type R; there’s an irrefutable mechanical quality. Plunge hard and late into a corner and this car adjusts through neutral to understeer, poised, sharp, accurate.” CAR, May 1998

“There’s cleverness, too, in the way the Cocker Spaniel-on-sulphate alacrity of the engine ties in with the alertness of the limited slip differential, the fabulously tough brakes with Porsche pedal feel and perfectly weighted steering to allow you, quite simply, to get the jollies, big time.” CAR, May 1998

“…the Integra Type R propounds a strictly emotional appeal. There’s nothing rational about a loud, firmly sprung car that will annoy eight passengers out of ten. The Integra Type R exists at one remove from rational. It’s selfish.” CAR, May 1998

“The Integra Type R propounds a strictly emotional appeal… The Integra Type R is emotional like the Blues is emotional… Should you ponder if the Integra Type R be less demanding, you miss the point.” CAR, May 1998

“The Integra Type R appeals to the racing driver in you, the suppressed sliver in your soul which is obsessed with tricky bits of engineering that the person in the street is genetically resistant to, the chunk of your heart which beats faster when you’re on a satisfying road in a satisfying car, the part of you which says you will never, ever, drive a Vauxhall Vectra by choice.” CAR, May 1998

“No European car, irrespective of price, matches the sheer intensity of the Integra Type R. This car re-defines middle-management performance machinery as a product light on deportment and heavy on thrills. But beware. Integra Type R is, above all, addictive. And definitely raw.” CAR, May 1998

“The Integra Type R is as extreme a car as you can buy, irrespective of price. There are days when you will hate the noise, the rort, the big rear wing masking the rear view, a literally uncomfortable relationship with zitular road surfaces, times when the ownership effort seems too damned wearing. But those moments will be outnumbered tenfold by the sheer bonkers perfection of the thing, the way it delivers pleasure – raw, demanding, self-obsessed, techno, laugh-’til-you-burst delight – at a level other car makers don’t understand.” CAR, May 1998

“Like every great lightweight, Honda’s Integra Type R is a brilliant drive because the engineers dispensed with unnecessary luxury items, concentrating instead on honing the mechanical package to maximize the car’s performance, handling and roadholding.” Performance Car, April 1998

“In short, its one very special motor, turning even the shortest journey into a qualifying lap.” Performance Car, April 1998

“Driven as it’s intended the Integra Type R is a blisteringly quick real-world car.” Performance Car, April 1998

“The chassis is a gem, too, with amazing levels of grip and traction but retaining equally brilliant levels of feedback and throttle adjustability.” Performance Car, April 1998

“Its a magical combination of Peugeot 306 GTI 6 fluidity, Ford Puma feel and [Renault] Clio Williams balance but with an infinitely adaptable cornering attitude, from steady understeer through neutral four wheel drifts to tail-out lift-off oversteer without ever feeling twitchy or unstable. All of which goes to make the Integra Type R the most focused, best handling front wheel drive car we’ve ever driven.” Performance Car, April 1998

“Put simply, the Integra Type R is the most enthralling front drive car we’ve ever had the luck to get our sticky mits on. It’s a race-sharpened road car with a hand finished motor, stiffened body shell and Recaro interior…” CAR Performance Car of the Year, January 1998

“Amazingly, the engine isn’t the highlight of the Type R. The chassis is simply spectacular. Whether you’re on the road or racetrack, you can do almost anything with it. Understeer isn’t on the agenda, even in the wet, and with a little fancy throttle work you can vary the cornering attitude from delicious four wheel drifts to lurid oversteer with a lift of your right foot.” CAR Performance Car of the Year, January 1998

“The wonderful thing about this is the forgiving nature with which it lets go. With a little practice you can drive straight to 100% and then start to play.” CAR Performance Car of the Year, January 1998

“Think of the Integra Type R as a sports coupe and you’ll be sorely disappointed. However, regard it as a front drive Lotus Elise with a roof and you’ll be just about spot-on.” CAR Performance Car of the Year, January 1998

“… there is a deftness and dialogue between the steering wheels and the road that’s almost Lotus Elise in its purity.” CAR, November 1997

“Push your luck and the Integra Type R will let go, but it is so informative that you’re never kept in the dark about what’s coming and you can with fine steering inputs.” CAR, November 1997

“… the Integra Type R is one of those cars that you don’t want to get out of. Even after 200 odd miles, deep into Sunday night, I’m still seeking out empty back roads whacking the lights onto full beam and listening to the sound of roadside stones bouncing off of the sills, doing a Colin McRae, just driving and driving fast. This little Honda with the so-what shape has gate crashed a very select club where the only criteria for membership is unalloyed driving pleasure.” CAR, November 1997

“The Integra Type R disguises its front wheel drive layout with sensational track-bred handling.” CAR, December 1997

“Wrist-flick through the gears and extend that marvelous engine to the sort of revs that sends cranks through the blocks of most rivals and you’ll reach nirvana that you would have thought well beyond a front drive car.” CAR, December 1997

“On a racetrack the Integra Type R is the best handling FWD car any of us can remember. It steers more like a race car than a road car, turning in with a sharpness and élan that bely its streetcar disguise. And once committed through a bend, it hangs on with amazing grace… It doesn’t scrabble and scream and drift and porpoise, like many front drive cars on the edge of their abilities. It just powers around the bend in a nicely controlled drift.” CAR, December 1997

“On the track the Integra Type R kisses goodbye to understeer and marks a new benchmark for front drive precision. If it had a little more life at 7/10ths on the road, we’d be hardly able to contain ourselves.” CAR, December 1997

“If you want to know what real top-end power feels like, the Integra Type R will get you closer to [Team Honda Sport Touring Car race driver, Gabriele] Tarquini’s weekend car than anything this side of a Ferrari F355.” Autocar, August 27, 1997

“The Integra Type R is actually closer in character to a Ferrari F355 than the NSX is. If this doesn’t make it the best car ever to come out of Japan, I’m not sure what does.” Autocar, August 27, 1997

“Brilliant. Absolutely and utterly brilliant. The Integra Type R is a supreme driver’s car at a price that makes sense…” Performance Car, November 1997

“Some cars feel fast. Some cars are fast. Some cars, like the Integra Type R, are both at the same time.” Performance Car, November 1997

“Its extraordinary performance combined with its excellent chassis dynamics give the Type R enough point to point potential to embarrass supercars and makes you question the need to spend more than £20k on a sportscar.” Performance Car, November 1997

“The sensation you have is that of being in a racing car, in terms of reaction speed and aggressive driving position.” Gabriele Tarquini, Team Honda Sport Touring Car race driver.

“Incredible. The best road car engine I’ve ever driven on a race circuit.” James Kay former Touring Car Champion.

New Honda Civic Type-R and the old press quotes about the Honda DC2 Integra Type-R Written by Frank M. Lin 3/30/2017 5:41 am @ San Francisco, California - the latest 2018 Honda Civic Type-R was unveiled officially in AutoCon in Southern California recently.

#civic #ctr #Honda #itr #Type R

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