Cars And The Media – Interest In Cars Gets Into Top Gear
By Andrew Regan
Whether it is Clarkson, James May, Richard Hammond, Vicki Butler-Henderson, or any other media car reviewer or online amateur, it seems as though everyone has an opinion on what the best cars to be driving (or seen to be driving) are.
Looking back, it seems as though just a couple of decades ago, there were only a few real mainstream magazines on the shelves, most notably Motor magazine which merged with AutoCar, and Performance Car which then became Car magazine; now it is difficult to escape the mass of car magazines which fill the shelves of the nation’s newsagents.
The current best selling car magazine, Top Gear was first published in 1993 as a spin off to the Top Gear TV series, which first came into being in 1977 as a 30 minute BBC Midlands TV programme, which reviewed new car models and covered other car-related issues such as road safety, classic cars and motorsport. Since this time, the two biggest mainstream UK Car programmes, Top Gear and Fifth Gear, have become important parts of media car culture in Britain.
Over recent years there has been a change in the way that cars have been dealt with by journalists in the media. As time has gone on, and following a major revamp in 2002, Top Gear has moved away from a standard journalistic show and focused on a more light hearted and quirky based entertainment style of programming. The actual motoring information provided on the show has been decreasing, as global ratings have been increasing.
It still remains one of the most entertaining shows on TV and provides essential viewing to both petrolheads and millions of non car enthusiasts alike. However, with the inclusion of celebrity challenges, outrageous stunts and challenges, and the regular destruction of caravans, the focus these days is very much on entertainment and personalities rather than cars.
Fifth Gear was originally intended as a replacement for Top Gear, which went into a period of lull around the start of the century following Clarkson’s departure before being cancelled. But the new programme on Five was launched just as the BBC announced they would bring back a new modified 60 minute version of Top Gear. Although achieving nowhere near the viewing figures that the Clarkson lead show has managed, Fifth Gear is generally less outrageous and more of a straightforward informative motoring show.
The No Hassle Guide to Buying Budget Used Cars
By Stuart Brown
So, you are looking to buy a budget used car? The first step to consider, is whether or not you have a car to trade in the first place, as there are a number of different approaches that you can pursue to get the best deal. If you already have a car, then you can seek out dealers who may possibly give you a good trade-in value for your existing car and offset the cost of buying a new one. In practice, this doesn’t tend to happen very often. Dealers will want to give you the lowest price possible for your existing car, and sell you a new one at the highest price possible! Not a good twosome if you are looking to get the best deal. So in practice, if you are looking to buy budget used cars then you are better off looking at the private market.
A good place to start with this, is to determine the book value of the car which you wish to buy. It’s impossible to know whether or not you are getting a good deal, unless you know what the cost of the car should be. A good way to gauge this is to go online and take a look at something called the Kelly Blue Book. This is an off-line publication, but has now become available online, and gives you a good market indication of how much your budget used car is worth. Where this comes in, if you are looking to buy a car, is that essentially, it tells you what is a good price to pay for it!
Okay. So you have had a look on line at the Kelly blue book, and have got a price in mind. The next step is to go to your local magazine seller, and get copies of all the different car selling magazines. Good ones of these include magazines such as Auto Trader, Exchange and Mart etc but these may vary depending on your location. Either way, you get my point. Grab a handful of car magazines that actually sell cars! Then go to the section in the magazine that deals with the car you are looking for. Then, before you do anything else, take a look at the prices, conditions, and locations of all the different cars that fit your requirements. In this way, it acts as a double check on the Kelly Blue Book price, and tells you what people are actually asking for their cars in the real world.
Only now are you ready to look for budget used cars! You know the type of car that you are looking for, you know the condition that you will accept, and you have a good idea about what price you should be paying. Now it’s time to actually find some of the ads, and take a look at some cars. At this stage, if you are not technically minded, it can be a good idea to get a mechanically minded friend to come along with you. Because a bargain car, is only a bargain, if nothing goes wrong with it! This would be the ideal scenario.
RC Cars History
By Keith Londrie
The dawn of RC car racing began in the 1960′s when the first radio control system was available. The difference between a normal vehicle as we know it and a model RC vehicle is its size. These small “road runners” can be very fast and very precise. The innovations in the radio control system and in the model’s architecture, made them stronger, faster and easier to control.
Small nitro methane engines were available from the 40′s. In the mid ’66 El-Gi, (Elettronica Giocattoli) from Italy, released the first fully RC model. The car was available in shops in UK by December, the same year.
By the beginning of the 70′s a British company, called Mardave, began manufacturing RC models. They sold commercial models all over the UK. In the early 70′s several US companies began producing models. Their products were at first 1/8 nitro powered kits. Their body was made of polycarbonate
The most popular model engine of those times was the K&B Veco McCoy. With the passage of time, producers took time to experiment with different types of heat sinks, engines, suspension types and larger fuel tanks. US company Jerobee created in ’74 the 1/12 nitro Cox engine car. Several other companies created parts for it. Afterwards, Jerobee became Jomac and started manufacturing electric models.
1976 is a great year for the RC models’ history. Tamiya, a renowned company from Japan, entered the world of radio-controlled cars. Until ’76, Tamiya was notorious for their highly detailed miniature car models. Although they entered the market with very high prices, their kits were sold in no time. In ’79, the same company released their first real off-road buggies, the Sand Scorcher and Rough Rider. This was the beginning of a great company. Their early models are today collector’s items, reaching the value of $3000.
Because of this popularity, Tamiya re-released some of the early models in 2005. As expected, the products sold fast.