CarMadMike

:hiya: According to the cycle of the Chinese Zodiac, 2016 was the year of the Monkey, but I feel 2016 will most likely be remembered and studied in the future as the year of the.... wait, wtf? did that seriously happen? #MAGA The wtf-ery also reared its head in the car universe, with TopGear making a reappearance sans Clarkson May and Hammond, Toyota deciding this was the right direction go with with the Prius, Nico Rosberg somehow winning the F1 championship and then seemingly deciding it wasn't the right career choice for him and also Ford deciding to sell their soul to shmee social media with the new Ford GT selection process. But let's take a break from drinking ourselves into oblivion to forget the hilarity that was 2016 and try and focus on the good things that happened. What was your favourite car of 2016? To be eligible for this thread, it needs to be a new model (not just a facelift) that went on sale and was delivered to customers in 2016 (I think this rules out the new Ford GT? I'm unsure). Here is a reminder of some contributions made by British marques this year to get the ball rolling: - Jaguar F-Pace - Range Rover Evoque Convertible :huh: - McLaren 570S - Aston Martin DB11 - Bentley Bentayga - Rolls Royce Dawn I'm interested to see what people come up with, try and debate with each other but remember no one's opinion is wrong unless your username is Calster and you're nominating some paperweight produced by MG :D

I'll leave that up to the three amigos then, if they'd rather we do it like that then that's fine :p If not, an open week will do :)

Congrats to Ozzmcom for winning TBC #81, your shot of the 918 was stunning and showcased quite a rare colour for the Porsche and although it was a fairly tight contest this week it definitely grabbed everyone's attention, you're on a roll! :) In typical fashion, the first week I get involved in helping out with TBC, the guy who won last week's contest wins again, and the second place is split 3 ways between Mau, Robillard and Andreas, so congrats to you all :) I think due to the three-way tie, it's probably best to make next week's theme an open theme? :) I'll start the thread soon if this is agreed as the best course of action :huh:

Those people would usually get the C Coupe then? Or an A5. :shrug: I wonder if Vauxhall is bringing any new engine tech with the new Insignia? The current diesels sound like old huge taxis and they will really detract from the stylish sleek modern design of that Insignia.

Nice A3s guys! I agree about tinting the windows Ry, that'd probably be my first change too. How expensive is the stage 1 tune? It's definitely tempting. Have you discovered any options that you wish had been ticked or ones that were ticked that you couldn't live without?

I'm not sure how big a demand there is for an Insignia Coupé? The type of people who desire a coupé would usually want something with a more desirable badge.

This thread is about the Community Pack, can we try and keep it on topic please?

That thing looks like SO much fun to drive, I want one.

Never liked the profile/rear of the 2 door tbh, the read is just a bit too Chris Bangle.

I'd take the B6 too.

It would look rather stunning in Mazda's Soul Red paint too, absolutely love that colour.

The new Opel/Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer: images from Jalopnik - Drive Free or Die I've always liked the Insignia, this is a rather impressive direction they're taking it in at a first glance. Looking forward to seeing them on the road.

Ford run the risk of doing a 2016 Acura NSX type release here. I'm almost bored of the car before deliveries have actually begun? The same happened with the NSX. Obviously if I had ordered one it wouldn't be the same, but as a not so affluent car fan I can't help but feel they've prolonged the process, perhaps not in actual length of time but more with the amount of access car journalists and therefore us through that proxy have been given during this time. We have: - read all about the car when it was first unveiled - read all about how people get on the order list - read all about how people haven't gotten on that list - read all about journalists who have access to prototypes - read all about the GT's race version's performance at Le Mans and the World Endurance Championships - read all about journalists who now seem to have access to production versions? :yawn: It's all a bit tedious now. I look forward to seeing people drive and review it without the Ferrari-esque watchful and controlling gaze (Ford trying to be Ferrari and coming up with a car called the GT, who could have thought of such a crazy idea?!

I was also thinking about Wehrlein, having a very obvious junior driver in the team might feed Hamilton's ego and make him happier, and it might provide some exciting races in that he might actually be better than Ham or be slow and give other teams a chance (if 2017 goes like the previous few seasons, though all indications so far are that it won't). I wonder if Rosberg's resignation will stop people criticising Hamilton for his celebrity/A-list lifestyle? F1 was too much for Rosberg on top of his family life, Lewis seems to have found something that works for him :shrug:

This is really rather bizarre :shrug: Can't say I feel happy or sad about it, just a bit surprised it has happened. He's always been very family oriented on social media so I guess fair play to him for choosing that life. How long have Mercedes known this? When did Hamilton find out? Do we genuinely think this had no say in Merc favouring Rosberg towards the end of this season? (the team orders in the last race in particular). What next for Mercedes? Who will replace him? :hmmm: Bottas? People have suggested Alonso but I'm not sure Mercedes will rush to give the seat to someone we know Hamilton doesn't get along with, especially after the stress over Ham/Ros. What next for Rosberg? :hmmm: Pundit? TV personality? Disappearance slowly into the abyss?

My interpretation is that it's more a Tumblr about cars, or a small corner of Tumblr where people can make their own Tumblr page and see other Tumblr pages on the same theme: CARS. That said, I do think it's a good idea and I hope it works. I follow a lot of these car nuts on Twitter, youtube etc so to have even more widely available might be good. I'm worried those that annoy me (The Shmees of the world) might take centre stage on it but I hope not.

I think the access codes were for people to join before today, it allowed people to be the first to join tribes and post their things etc, as of today no codes are needed :) I like Catchpole, but I don't understand the move from Evo to Drivetribe either :hmmm: They must be pumping a lot of money into it to make it a success.

Anyone else signed up to this? I'm starting to understand what it's all about. Might become something I visit regularly.

Is this genuinely what you want from TGT? I'm not criticising you for it, I'm just wondering. If every episode was 80% based around the country they're in and the local car culture then it wouldn't really leave much time for much else, for example the holy trinity from last week had nothing to do with california yet that episode was 10/10. I thought the episode did a great job of interacting with the locals, JC made political jokes and May went to a local car meet :shrug: Other than 2-3 more mins at that car meet showing May having a go at drifting I don't think I'd want any more 'local' things from TGT, they did enough. As for the Call of Duty segment, yeah, it went on too long and wasn't car show-y at all but unfortunately that seems to be what Clarkson enjoys doing the most, at first I thought they had an idea in mind for the segment and just didn't quite make it into what they wanted it to be, but the more I think about it, the more I think that clip is exactly what they wanted to make for some reason, even though to us it's crap. I guess it's that kind of thing that makes it so universally liked? :shrug: As for brain crash, they only did one celeb and it took like 20 seconds so I didn't mind that being a running joke tbh, if they do 2+ celebs then yeah it's boring and not funny. I'd give the episode 5/10 in comparison to last week's, but 6.5-7/10 when compared to the Evans' era of TG.

It is rare that I really love the aftermarket cars featured on TST One Takes but this one is just amazing. So so so much want. 650hp 1969 Chevy Camaro, yes plz.

:hiya: It's Hassan's Birthday. Happy Birthday Hassan. Hassan was born on this day 21 years ago. :duck: Hassan is an old person :hmmm: Have a great day Hassan!

I liked the intro monologue part where they made a reference to local politics and laughed at it etc, shows why the idea behind a Tour is a good one and they're properly trying to feel at home in every location they go to.. Oooh yay, Aston Martin Vulcan film, I'd have liked to have seen the DB11 but judging from the trailer that will be a part of the series at some time. --- Post Updated --- Really annoyed to see Mike Skinner again, I was hoping he wouldn't be the regular driver but it seems that he is. FFS. They're allowing non-road legal cars to stay on the leaderboard for the ebolaring it seems. That's good :hmmm: The irony of JC telling james to go get a Renault (when it's a Dacia), before mentioning it's a car show. :hmmm: I know they're the same thing but meh. The James May at the Wheelz N Smoke thing was an interesting insight into local car culture, I'd have liked to have seen May have a go at it but I don't think they had the time in this episode. Celebrity Brain crush or whatever it's called, I'm glad they kept it short but I do like Charlize Theron (RIP :( ) The challenge in Jordan was a bit crap really, there was no real challenge to it in that it was 100% scripted with no real challenge, of course TG is always scripted but the best challenges such as those in Bolivia etc, the actual thing they were doing was still quite a feat in itself. It was entertaining, and they did say Tonight's episode would be less of a car show than last week way in advance of it so I guess :shrug: Shouldn't complain too much. Still much better than Chris Evans' TopGear.

Nice, were they all on british plates or just a few? :hmmm: Good shot. I miss living near Monaco :( Oh well, I will again soon.

I managed to stick to the €130k mark also, even though I have some rather pricey options on this thing: Here is an almost identically priced non-s GT: I still think i'd have the 911, but I'd always wonder what life would have been like with the GT :p --- Post Updated --- Scratch that. Just specced up this Targa 4S for the exact same price. A few less options but it's a lot more car for the money so it's a no brainer, I wouldn't regret not choosing the GT in this either: Went for a more flashy interior as the Targa will put it on show a bit more.

And it's going to be a lot less more common on the streets compared to a 911. It's a bit more crazy/masculine looking too. But I'd still have the CS2 :shrug: I guess the issue comes down to how you spec that CS2, you can make the porsche look stunning or quite basic, but it costs you a lot. I'd probably get the CS2 and wait a few months and save up for some more options :hmmm: Mainly aesthetic.