www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1339909/British-Airways-gives-snow-500-000-Christmas-holidays-wrecked.html
It is one driving experience Jeremy Clarkson might not choose to share with his Top Gear fans.
The TV presenter was forced to abandon his £25,000 Subaru sports car as snow deluged commuters driving out of Oxford.
Mr Clarkson was going home to Chipping Norton, in the Cotswolds, but was forced to give up on the
18-mile journey and accept a lift with two ‘very kind’ men in a 4x4 when traffic hit a standstill.
He said: ‘It was very bad out there. I thought, “I’m not going to get home tonight and it’s going to get dark.” ’
Last night, Mr Clarkson was reluctant to accept that his 155mph Subaru Impreza WRX, which he has called ‘one of the most important cars ever’, might not have been ideal for the conditions.
‘I would have been fine,’ he insisted. ‘But everyone around me had got stuck so it was impossible to get round them.’
PS: Looks like during edit mode I can't change typo in thread title.
Last edited by: movilogo on Sun 19 Dec 10 at 12:33
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>> ‘I would have been fine,’ he insisted. ‘But everyone around me had got stuck so
>> it was impossible to get round them.’
>>
>
Yeh, right! Except the 4x4 who picked him up... Yet another who can't just admit that the reason he was stuck was HIS fault for trying to drive an unsuitable car for those conditions...
When are people going to start taking responsibility for their own actions? I see that labour are getting in on the blame culture this morning as well... even though they were the ones in charge up until recently... pot and kettle methinks!
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The Impreza WRX is all wheel drive and JC can drive, I hear so - story is probably legit.
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Ah Clarkson! Some say it might have been better if the car had been rescued and he had been left in the snow!
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If the wev gets any worse Perky, we'll be seeing Penguins in Oxford me thinks!
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If it isn't penguins it will be brass monkeys with high pitched voices methinks! >:)~
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With all the hot air JC spouts its a wonder he couldn't clear a path ahead of him....
dvd
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...and JC can drive...
He might be able to show off around a test track in ideal conditions, one car, nothing coming the other way.
But can he drive in snow?
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>>But can he drive in snow?<<
Didnt you see him driving to the pole half cut?
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>>But can he drive in snow?<<
Probably no worse than thee or me, Iffy.
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>> ...and JC can drive...
>> But can he drive in snow?
>>
Obvously not.
I have been out in my Cee'd this morning in four inches of fresh snow on ice. The electronic anti skid thingy flashed its light a couple of times as a reminder to take it easy, but nothing dramatic.
It is still snowing heavily in the Edinburgh area.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 19 Dec 10 at 14:13
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>> The electronic anti skid thingy flashed
Give yourself a stern talking to ON, that constitutes reckless hooning around in the OAP book ;-)
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>> I have been out in my Cee'd this morning in four inches of fresh snow
>> on ice. The electronic anti skid thingy flashed its light a couple of times as
>> a reminder to take it easy, but nothing dramatic.
Pah - real drivers don't need electronic aids.
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You and Old Navy really must meet up sometime. Perhaps in a Big Brother house. Now that would be good entertainment, you will probably come out of it being best friends :).
Not driven the Panda yet but going to have to tomorrow and it is mostly minor roads. It is not far away but hope I will be ok. My dads Fiesta has been been sliding all over the place on minor roads.
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>> Pah - real drivers don't need electronic aids.
>>
>>
It curbs my geriatric hooliganism.
A decent diesel engine is a bit torquey for fresh snow, I was getting wheelspin at tickover in second gear, the electrickery sorted it though.
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>> The Impreza WRX is all wheel drive and JC can drive, I hear so -
>> story is probably legit.
Indeed, but.
The road going ones have track rubber, and low set suspension, completely unlike the rally spec ones.
Makes them, and the Lancer evo utterly useless in snow.
When the snow was falling on the same day on the M25, even my car was ploughing up the snow in the centre of the only tracks that could be followed, over the bonnet at times. You cant do to much of that.
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Winter tyres are only useful when the front apron isn't ploughing snow.
That's what a Welsh hill farmer told me.
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>> Winter tyres are only useful when the front apron isn't ploughing snow.
>>
>> That's what a Welsh hill farmer told me.
>>
True, thats what kept us snowed in until a JCB cleared the road. Two feet of snow and eight inches ground clearance don't work.
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>> Winter tyres are only useful when the front apron isn't ploughing snow.
>>
Yeah it washes up over the bonnet and it's got nowhere to go but the windscreen then off the side. The stuff that doesn't make it to the windscreen just stacks up on the bonnet.
Visibility is non existant!
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I've actually been turning the Golf's traction control / ESP off in this recent snowy weather. I find it's clunky, heavy handed operation quite irritating. Using good old fashioned throttle control to temper wheelspin, and it's actually more dignified.
Big lump of pig iron PD over the front wheels which will move the car off from rest at idle without the revs even dropping, and fairly skinny high profile tyres (195/65) make this a decent car in this weather. Coped superbly during January's deluge as well.
Good handbrake too! :-)
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>>The road going ones have track rubber, and low set suspension, completely unlike the rally spec ones. Makes them, and the Lancer evo utterly useless in snow.<<
You'd think ole Clarky would have had an M-Class, shod with the right rubber, sitting in a heated garage just waiting for conditions like these - he can't be short of a few Shekels, after all.
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>> You'd think ole Clarky would have had an M-Class, shod with the right rubber, sitting
>> in a heated garage just waiting for conditions like these
>> What happened to the Landcruiser. it looks like he may still have it
>>
>> - he can't be short of a few Shekels, after all.
>>
Some figures & his stable.
www.thisismoney.co.uk/celebrity/article.html?in_article_id=515646&in_page_id=181
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Here in Southport we had 11 to 12ins of snow in about eight hours Friday night/Saturday morning.
As we normally only get an inch or so, if any, and other areas not so far away many times more than that, must be hell elsewhere......
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>>Some figures & his stable.<<
Cheers henry - I would say he's worth every £million, compared to excreta like R. Brand & J' Ross.
Good luck to him, and his rough ole Subaru :)
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>> The Impreza WRX is all wheel drive and JC can drive
All wheel drive is no good if you have no grip! Winter tyres are needed. The passing 4x4 will have been a proper 4x4 with appropriate tyres it seems (bet it was a Land Rover or similar). A Range Rover Sport would have been crap too.
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What is the difference then, between AWD & 4X4? I thought they were one and the same.
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>> What is the difference then, between AWD & 4X4? I thought they were one and
>> the same.
>>
Just a terminology thing, I would think. AWD = car, 4X4 = jeep / SUV / pickup.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 19 Dec 10 at 22:24
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As someone pointed out last week I think, 4 wheel drive is helpful for traction but makes no difference at all to grip. If you have no grip at any of the wheels, then 4 x 0 = still 0.
An off-roader with grippy tyres will perform better than a road car with road tyres in the snow; similarly a 2WD car on snow tyres will perform better than (say) a Range Rover Sport on road tyres.
Last edited by: Dave_TD {P} on Sun 19 Dec 10 at 22:26
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I reckon the Subaru Justy 4WD would have been ideal in this weather, but they ceased production 10 years ago,
and oldies rust, with a capital R.
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>> What is the difference then, between AWD & 4X4? I thought they were one and
>> the same.
I think all the terms have been used and abused so there's no proper definitions but i think this is roughly right --
awd = 4 wheels permanently driven without any mechanical lockup devices
4x4 = 4 wheels permanently driven, selectable diff lock(s)
4wd = 2wd with option to choose 4wd, no centre diff so 4wd only for use on loose surfaces
Subaru's normally massively out perform land rovers and the like for traction (yeah really :-) ), i doubt a subaru would get stuck due to lack of traction, it'll be depth of snow, tyre choice or something like that would stop it going.
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Thanks Skoda, I'm orf to the land of nod,
Nite, nite :)
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I'm much more interested in the lift he got - in that situation, when you discover you're giving a lift to Jeremy Clarkson - what do you talk about? Nothing? The weather? Pretend you don't know who he is? Dive in and bug him about Top Gear?
And did he invite them in for coffee afterwards?
I know from my brief brush with a celebrity so important I daren't reveal his name that I was utterly tongue tied, but that's probably just me.
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"I know from my brief brush with a celebrity so important I daren't reveal his name that I was utterly tongue tied"
Gareth Gates?
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I'd do the "pretend not to recognise him thing" nothing stings a self-important type more, Did this to a local (very well known) MP once. Mind you I wouldn't recognise most of these personalities if I found them buried in the snow outside.
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I used to frequent London Weekend Television for many years tuning cars in their underground car park and i'd meet so-called celebs in their 911's and Alfa Spyders.
Some serious drinking went on in the bar upstairs, but the *real* drinking went on in Studio 5 which actually a pub across the road ... when someone asked where's Jeremy (Beadle) or some such, they'd say - oh, he's in Studio 5 :)
I always found em down-to-earth types though, although a few of the Convent Ed girlies could be a bit up themselves sometimes ... one byrd came up to me once, with a fag in her mouth and said "Can you light my fire, Dorrrling" :-D
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That Roxy Music fella who goes unnamed is so full of his own self-importance, you just wanna punch him. Jodie Kidd on the otherhand is a delight.
So in fairness, being a celeb doesnt mean much, some people are just irritating.
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I'd be happy to "recognise" James May or Joanna Lumley though....I really couldn't be doing with JC in my car - I'd tip the **** out into the snow, unbearable drone he's become.
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...I really couldn't be doing with JC in my car...
I wouldn't relish the prospect.
I'd be tempted to offer him a lift on the basis he didn't speak, but that would make me as arrogant and ignorant as him.
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If I had JC in my car I would treat him with the same respect and politeness that I would give to any fat loud mouthed self important oik.
Last edited by: madf on Mon 20 Dec 10 at 11:10
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He wouldn't be in my car, I would be waving to him and laughing as I drove past.
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I would ask Clarkson who Hammond's hairdresser is and then make a point of avoiding him/her.
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Not only JC, but his two sidekicks as well, have slightly tiresome public personas. But the private persona is another matter. You have to know people to have some idea of that.
I don't know any of them myself, but why shouldn't they be OK or better in private? They are all doing well out of jobs that most of us would quite enjoy. Recipe for that elusive (some would say non-existent) thing, 'happiness', surely?
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I would have thought that JC (who has shown his truer more acceptable face on TV as well) would have been overflowing with thanks and happy to talk sensibly with his rescuers. I remember his programme about his father-in-law (the VC winner) and it was incredibly sensitive.
TG and its magazine are entertainment. JC has become an entertainer rather than a journalist. That's OK. Even his slightly more risque public comments find favour with 90% of the population. Did he really get to where he is by being horrible to people? Only Robert Maxwell did that and look where he ended up.
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>> Only Robert Maxwell did that and look where he ended up.
Heh heh... ghastly old Cap'n Bob... Any theories as to who pushed him in Espada?
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Surely in view of his fate don't you mean Captain Bob Bob Bob Bob..........
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>> Captain Bob Bob Bob Bob..........
Tee hee helico...
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Its tempting to say Mossad, but given he was buried on the Mount of Olives with (embarrassingly) full honours accorded by the Israeli Government I suspect he really did simply kick the bucket. After all he was massively overweight and prone to excess.
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When he's not doing his motoring clown act, and is more discursive, he seems a good, original presenter. As he earns for more than I ever will (or need) he must have something other than looks.
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Clarkson wrote a piece in the Times about three or four years ago about his experiences touring to promote his new book.
He described the London radio tour circuit as a delight, dropping in on Radio's 1, 2 and 4 then on to Capital and the rest.
The provincial stations were, apparently, a nightmare, with the DJs 'unable to distinguish between the buffoon character of the TV shows and the real person' and expecting him to make prank calls and generally act the prat.
A very well written article (as usual), and he seemed genuinely amazed that fellow media professionals were not able to differentiate between the on-screen persona and the real person. I can't try and find the article as I don't subscribe to the Times.
I only know one person who has met him, a tradesperson who has worked for him a number of times. They speak highly of him, although apparently to call him inept with household electronics is still somewhat generous.
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...They speak highly of him...
Most people seem to think Prince Charles is a jerk - except those who have met him.
We should call it the Charlie factor.
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I was a very big fan of Clarkson when he wrote for Performance Cars, IMHO he's prostituted himself now, little or no respect for him sadly.
Iffy,
Interesting piece by Max Hastings in the Mail..
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...Iffy, Interesting piece by Max Hastings in the Mail...
I see it this way:
Prince Charles would not make a good king and Clarkson is no longer a motoring journalist of any integrity.
But both are decent enough men in other respects, and probably likeable if you ignore the above shortcomings.
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On saturday I was daft enough to drive 4 miles to the local supermarket, down a steepish hill. Cars were getting stuck on the way up. So I took an alternative much longer route home. Numerous times I had to stop because cars in front were stuck. We all helped out, and I carry a spade which was essential. The only time my Ford Ka got stuck was when I had to stop due to others in front, and I lost momentum. But the spade did the trick. The A3 southbound was packed with stationary cars nose to tail forcing me to divert north, then west, then south. The two main problems I saw were rear wheel drive cars, which got stuck, and people without spades. If there is one lesson I have learnt, it is carry a spade, some gloves and a decent LED torch.
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>> The two main problems I saw were rear wheel drive cars, which got stuck, and people without spades. If there is one lesson I have learnt, it is carry a spade, some gloves and a decent LED torch.
I'd love to jump to the defence of RWD but i cant deny that my FWD octy on summer wheels just as wide as my BM is better (not by a lot mind) than the RWD in snow on the wrong tyres.
Main reason being i could turn the wheel left and right to claw up the speed bump in the FWD.
P.s. LED headlamp from tesco for £3.50 with batteries, i've bought a couple of them use them everywhere from working under the car to fiddly soldering. Ace investments! Leaves your hands free and nice & bright.
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...LED headlamp from tesco for £3.50 with batteries...
Damn, I've just been ripped off by ASDA - £3 but no batteries.
Mine does have 12 LEDs.
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I think you'll find he was stuck behind numpty who could not move at all. If it was an Impreza then it's not ideal in deep snow. But having said that I live on top of a hill in Cardiff and never been stuck in my Impreza.
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Clarkson has to abandon his car in snow - hobby
