Big Little Car

Another video from one of the YouTube Channels I subscribe to...

This is a review by the petite Imogen Bhopal of the Hyundai Ioniq 3 on Robert Llewelyn's Everything Electric CARS channel.

I say "petite"...

...she looks quite large here:

 

Or is it just a small car?

 

Then again? 

   

Is it a small woman and a big car?

 

At the start of the review, she states that they only had 30-ish minutes with the car.

 

And the more I watched it, the more it looked like she and the car were nowhere near each other.

 

She and the car appear to be digitally combined. 

 

Like Marc Almond & Gene Pitney in the video to the brilliant "Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart."

 

Then, all of a sudden, just before 6 minutes into the review, she opens the boot!

 

She also climbs in to it:

 

This really excites the commenters.

But I suppose the biggest takeaway is that you can stash the body of a petite person under the boot floor of a Hyundai Ioniq 3.

Which I suspect isn't what they were really going for.

Thinking About Plato

Here's Plato, in a candid shot, posing in front of a column with a statue on it.

Plato said, "One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."

This is what America is suffering from right now.

And the rest of the World.

He also allegedly said, "Tyranny naturally arises out of democracy."

Yep.

And then there was, "They certainly give very strange names to diseases."

OK, might have gone off at a tangent there.

"My right arm is generally quite strong."

That last one is actually Jason Plato - ex-racing driver and ex-TV presenter.

And current racing team boss.

He has started up Team Plato in less than 12 months and intends to start winning races in the BTCC straight away.

Very impressive.  His former Fifth Gear colleague Jonny Smith spends an hour of his YouTube Late Brake Show discussing it with him here: 

There's no sign of Jason's flat cap but he does appear to be sucking on a mint through the video which is a bit off-putting.

But, mint aside, it is fascinating stuff - for example, the Mercedes cars they are using were all originally water damaged write-offs.  And they've sourced spare bonnets from scrapyards.

Which makes it sound like they are working on a shoestring.

But they aren't.

He's got a crack team of engineers, a state-of-the-art driving simulator and some bloody expensive components.

I always look forward to the BTCC Season.  This year it kicks off tomorrow at Donington Park.  I normally support the BMWs and West Surrey Racing. Have done from before and after owning a BMW myself but, this year, the livery is a bit bland - I wonder of they are no longer a manufacturer team? And I was hoping that Colin Turkington, my favourite driver, might be rejoining their line-up but it looks like they have other plans for him.

So I think I'll be cheering on the Mercs.

"And guess what? I've never run a team before."

Chery on Top

Last time I mentioned Chery it was 2013.

Now, one of their brands, Jaecoo, has just topped the UK March car sales figures with its 7.

Not to be confused wth the Lotus 7.

Although it's more likely to be confused with a Range Rover.

It has beaten the Puma into second place.

The Qashqai is third and the Sportage is fourth.  Autocar report the story here.

Stupid SUVs.

They also report a sudden increase of interest in EVs due to a certain orange toddler-pillock stuffing up the World's oil supplies.

I've just asked the Internet how you pronounce Jaecoo.

Apparently it's "Jake who?"

So then I asked it for famous Jakes.  It listed about 30.

But the only one I'd heard of was Jake Gyllenhaal.

Perhaps it was an American site because it didn't come up with Jake Bugg.

Who at least has a car-related name.

I appear to have digressed slightly. 

400 Not out.

He's like the people who let fireworks off in October.

Who and what am I talking about?

This. 

It really was an April Fool Joke.

 Sorry Monty!

400 and Out.

Is it really over?

Dennis Collins' Coffee Walk has been something I've loved for years.

A new episode has come out on YouTube every Friday for presumably 400 weeks.

Now he has stated it is over.  He did use the word "Break" - does that mean it may be back?  Or he's just having a holiday?

One commenter was hoping that it was just an April Fool's Prank - I suspect that commenter is not very good at using calendars.  Let's hope Dennis isn't either.

Does this mean that Zach Oncamera will be getting his P45?  His real surname may be Gorgas - I'm not 100% sure.

The final episode involved the purchase of a "Holy Grail" 1965 Ford Mustang "K" Car - which is the one with the biggest engine that Shelby used as a base for his ones.  I've learnt that plus a fair bit about Jeeps and VIN tags by watching Coffee Walk over the years.

He bought it from a Trump fan who had kept it in very good condition - I wonder if he thinks the show is called Covfefe Walk? 

Coffee Walk has always been my signal that the working week is over - it means I can relax and I usually enjoy it with a can of lager or two.  I guess I'll be going back to Gardener's World now - I'll be learning about Hydrangeas and the like.  Wonder how Monty Don and the Cockney bloke who is a good gardener but shouldn't be because he is a Cockney bloke have been getting on?

Oh well, if it really is over, then thank you Dennis and gang for entertaining me.  I'll miss you all.

Catch the 400th (final?) episode here.