The Five Macans

In November 2013 I created a post called "The Fifth McGann".

It commemorated a new car in a gap that I thought didn't exist - the Porsche Macan.

Although, given the number of similar cars selling in large numbers from just about every manufacturer - none of which I would touch - the gap must have existed after all.

Porsche have now painted five of these in famous past Porsche racing liveries and launched them to the world in Singapore.  A marketing event that seems to have worked.  Car+Driver have it, Autoguide have it and I have it.  (No link to me having it, you're already here)

It irks me a bit because, at the end of the day, while Porsches have always appeared on race tracks - Macans don't.

Here are the cars:

I'd never heard of the red Salzburg car.  If I had to pick a favourite, it would be the Rothmans one: 

Not that they would be able to acknowledge a cigarette company nowadays.  Obviously, the Orange and blue Gulf livery is by far and away the most iconic.

 

But if you want a really iconic livery, painted on a car you could race, you have to look somewhere other than Porsche:

The Woman

I've just watched the second episode of the second series of The Grand Tour.

And, just like the second series of the post-Jeremy Top Gear, it's taken on board the criticisms of series one and improved.

Actually, series two of GT has evolved into what looks like the later-Jeremy-era TG.

The dead-celebrity running-joke has gone and been replaced with something that looks a lot like Star-in-a-Reasonably-Priced-Car.  But so far, without the annoying plugging.

And "The American" has been replaced by this lady:

Although you only got to see the bit of her face that isn't hidden by her helmet.

Her name is Abbie Eaton.

Obviously she is a race driver.  But she also appeared in the ITV show Drive mentoring Professor Green - who isn't a real professor.  But, then again, she was mentoring him in race driving.

So does this mean a more female bias to the show?

Well Jeremy did reveal that he has James listed on his phone as "Vagina."

Would You Use Bitcoin to Buy a Car?

This car in fact...

According to Autoguide - story here, this McLaren 720S is up for sale for 25 Bitcoins.

 

So, Would I use Bitcoin to buy a Car?

 

No.

 

It's going to crash.

Mr./Mrs./Miss/Ms./Other

This lady is called Caron Garrod.

 

I don't know if she is married or not.

The BBC don't give us any clues in this article in which they refer to her as "Ms. Garrod."  They do point out that she suffers from multiple sclerosis - a condition which can affect the brain and/or spinal cord, causing a wide range of potential symptoms, including problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation or balance. (I got that from the NHS site on the subject)

I'm not sure if "Ms" actually stands for anything - it's just a compromise between Miss and Mrs. - usually.

But, as some twerp at the DVLA has accidentally (and yes I do think it was an accident) found out, it also stands for "Multiple Sclerosis":

That is a letter sent by them to "Multiple Sclerosis Garrod."

 

Oh dear.  It would be quite funny if it wasn't so offensive.

 

Don't think I'll be phoning to tell them about a recent dose of venereal disease.

Wrestlemania

I'd never heard of John Cena.

He's a professional wrestler - a term that disturbs me.  I know there is a genuine sport of wrestling.

But professional wrestlers seem to be the ones made famous for playacting and overacting whether it be in the WWE in America or back in Wallasey Town Hall on ITV on a Saturday afternoon in the 1970s - I'm thinking Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks.

Anyway, I digress somewhat.

John Cena is also a car nut with an extensive collection. Here he is with his 2006 Ford GT...

...and here he is talking about it... 

I think he makes a very good motoring presenter - I was quite impressed.

However, towards the end of that video, he hints that he will also be the owner of a 2017 Ford GT.

And that is why I have now heard of him.

The thing is, anyone purchasing a 2017 Ford GT must sign a contract saying the buyer won’t resell the car for at least 24 months.

roadandtrack.com are reporting this.  "This" being that he HAS allegedly resold his car and Ford are now taking him to Court.

According to the lawsuit, “Mr. Cena has unfairly made a large profit from the unauthorized resale flip of the vehicle, and Ford has suffered additional damages and losses, including, but not limited to, loss of brand value, ambassador activity, and customer goodwill due to the improper sale,”

It is claimed that Ford reached out to Cena and confirmed that he had sold the car to liquidate cash to pay for other expenses.

If that is true then maybe he has some debt issues - in which case he should have maybe looked at offloading some other vehicles from his extensive collection, or tried to sell the car back to Ford who would have had no problems selling it again.

If that is not true, then he is very greedy.

In either case, the only flips he should be involved in are those inside the wrestling ring.