:: GussetBLOG ::

:: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 ::

RIP Pontiac

Pontiac RIP: storied brand falls victim to crisis



I've always loved the black Pontiac Firebird Trans-am used in Smokey and the Bandit. A later 1980s Firebird is better known as Kit from Knightrider. It's truly an iconic car. See it's placement in this (US centric) list of The 50 Most Famous Cars Of All Time. [NB The list is wrong as it places the BMW Mini from the shitty Italian Job remake yet fails to mention the original Italian Job or proper Minis at all.]

Labels: Cars, RIP

:: Dan 29.4.09 [Arc] [0 comments] ::
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Thanks to Dash for drawing my attention to the wonderful sport of Caravandalism. Mrs P and I had a great Bank Holiday Monday down at Mendip Raceway (motto: "Thunder in the Hills!") watching various stock cars bash seven shades of shit out of each other. We'll be doing the same again next year.

Aftermath:


Caravandalism 52
Originally uploaded by gusset.


Caravandalism 55
Originally uploaded by gusset.

For me, the highlight of the day was the Robin Reliant figure of eight race come demolition derby. That race alone was worth the admission price. I can't remember the last time I laughed so much. It's heart stopping and hilarious at the same time. (Although one of the earlier oval Reliant races was stopped for nearly an hour while someone was cut out of a car.) From where I was stood looking down one leg of the Fo8 it was very difficult to judge the speed of the oncoming cars. There was an involuntary yelp every time the cars crossed, followed occasionally, where time permitted, by a mash sigh of relief from the whole crowd. Inevitably there was eventually a head-on collision that sent body panels flying. Cars were rolling all over the place. When stuck against the side walls drivers could simply stick a hand out of the window and right themselves. Other times stewards were running around dodging traffic to set the cars up right and send them off again. Not a job I'd like but I'd really like to have a go driving one!


Caravandalism 33
Originally uploaded by gusset.

All of the shots can be seen in my Flickr "Cars" set. Sorry about the fence in the photos but public safety is obviously a concern. I could feel debit raining down on me during the final race.

Labels: Cars, Flickr

:: Dan 5.9.07 [Arc] [0 comments] ::
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