Love that you guys are back! Anyways here is a 2 CAR GARAGE for you guys! You and your wife have been planning to upgrade your two cars, especially since you just received a significant bonus at work. With a budget of £150,000, you've been given full control over what to buy-mainly because you're "always talking about cars anyway." However, you've recently discovered that your wife is planning to leave you for a younger model. She's already lined up a good divorce lawyer and will almost certainly take what she perceives as the "better" car when the split happens. Now, you’re tasked with buying two cars: one that brings you immense joy, and another that offers a miserable ownership experience. The second car needs to look appealing enough to non-car enthusiasts so that she'll choose it, leaving you with the one you truly want. Choose wisely, or you might end up stuck with the lemon.
I wonder if it may be his internet connection. Chris has spoken of Apple products in the past, so I assume he has a MacBook of some variety. They usually have decent enough cameras in my opinion.
I was about to say the same. I had to look up the car model - it was owned by Storm Thorgesen who ran the seminal album art firm Hipgnosis. I don't know how cool the car is but the photo with the water drops is gorgeous.
Maneshs dog story reminded me of a Kings Road PR agency I worked at 30 years ago. The owner had three labradors (golden, chocolate and black) that had the run of the office. Unfortunately the chocolate one had a stomach issue which meant it regularly threw up in the office. It was an unwritten rule that the nearest deb would get a mop and bucket and clean it up. The 90s, I miss them. #goodolddays
This nonsense about how hard it is being a racing driver these days because you will find out you have lost your drive from someone outside the team, happened all the time in the 80's and 90's, Mansell, Hill to name but 2, and by the way, Look at how hard Frank Williams was, famously said, "Drivers are like lightbulbs, when one goes dim, you just plug another one in" F1 has gone soft. Ricciardo outstayed his welcome in F1 for years, only continued to get a drive because of his popularity with fans.
There are always two sides to these stories as well. There was a great interview with Patrick Head years ago who said Mansell and Hill surrounded themselves with bad managers which didn't help. In the case of Hill, apparently he refused to negotiate his own contract in person so sent his manager. This manager supposedly said Damon had multiple offers for 97 and won't settle for anything less than X amount. Frank later said that it was a great shame Damon never came to see him in person.
I once made 5 minutes on a colleague traveling the same way through a generic peak hour rush on the highway. I was in the van, he was in the Golf. One of the best days of my professional career. He was on a call and didn't care, and in the pre-SUV era the Transit van was amazing in traffic. You would see traffic moving and anticipate. Just glorious.
Week 4 and I just updated the "The Car Podcast with Chris Harris and Friends- MUSIC" I made on the famous music streaming site beginning with a S. I will continue to update this each week with the awesome song choices for the soundtrack of our drives.
Here in the US, politicians did decide to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs. Its already made for plenty of strange implications, not least of which being the new Lotus Eletre doubling in price from $100,000 to $200,000. Basically killing any slim market it may have had.
Manish is high Priest of the order of the Tommyknockers…. He’s attempting to revive the dark lord from his slumber! Check out the ritual altar and offerings!! 😂 Love you guys, really do!! My weekly highlight is sitting in with you chewing the automotive fat. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Love that you are back, Chris Harris. And I welcome your friends! The show is great. Here is one for you: What would each of you drive if you could have only ONE car you could drive for the rest of your lives. Could be a new purchase, an older car or one that you already own. BUT you have to do everything with it. And you could never drive any other car yourself. What would you pick? Cheers!
Yes Neil!! with the Carpenters album! that record was part of my dad's collection, along with John Denver.... I was 1 when it was released, but by the time I had the power of memory I looked at it all the time... and by the time cars were under my skin... "I knew"..... to grow up in the 70's, start buying car magazines through the 80's and then to buy cars through the 90's (AX GT!)...and to finally make a dream purchase that includes all the greats through those decades up to - but not beyond - 2020....what a time to be alive
I have an alternative approach for the 2CG that might be a little more relatable for some the younger listeners, with skme situation context. (see: those of us with not as much capital). You and your young wife (both mid 20s) are currently sharing your company car while trying to save up for the deposit on a house. It's an economical PHEV for the tax benefit. As an enthusiast who loves manuals and light weight sports cars this hurts you. Your wife finds new work that is no longer walking distance from home and requires a second car for you to share, she doesn't mind sporty cars. You see this as an opportunity to get a car that's going to be light weight, manual and fun to drive on the weekends that also does the short commute for your missus. Suggest a fun car that will not break the bank with maintenance or insurance (mid 20s and company car means no NC bonus!). Budget £12k sterling. Hard mode: No MX5
2-Car Garage: Hello lads! Welcome back and it's me John from the Philippines. This one will not be an original idea as Chris Harris and Friends have decided to go on with the road trip, however we will be altering the conditions. To make this one be a bit more understandable (I do apologize for the confusion on the other podcast), All four of you will have separate vehicles for this road trip. No more budget as the two cars will be chosen from each of your car collections. One car will be driven by you, and the other car will be driven by another friend (someone who has appeared on the former podcast, like Mr. Newey, Mr. Montezemolo, or someone who will appear on this podcast in the future). Chris Harris will choose from Manish Pandey's Car Collection Manish Pandey will choose from Chris Cooper's Car Collection Chris Cooper will choose from Neil Clifford's Car Collection Neil Clifford will choose from Chris Harris's Car Collection Great to have you back guys! Enjoy!
Talk about about feeling a tit - anyone every owned a Saab 900 Sensonic (no clutch pedal), sat at a busy set of traffic lights, the lights go green, you engage 1st gear (or any gear) and the thing won't pull away, you either get pushed out of the way or people jump in because they don't believe you or think you can't drive properly. Had it transferred to manual clutch in the end.
Chris I agree with the AX GT, adored mine. I did drop the gearbox linkage once with a spirited 4th to 3rd shift😬 That rev counter was a clock in all the other AX models. Brought back great memories that.
often if you view straight after upload then the quality is reduced a bit while youtube processes the video. watch it in an hour or so and it will be fine
Question and 2 car garage idea: I remember when Monkey said that he liked to setup a car on cold tires so when new tyres go on, you have a eureka moment out of the pitlane. -- Question For developing driving skill; be it safety on the road, enjoying B-roads and possibly taking to the track. Does it make sense for first car for a 17yo to be a terrible 'drivers' car. Something small, boxy, underpowered etc. I.e. Does a 17yo learn more about driving (holding speed through corners, understanding momentum, skillfully changing gear) in a 60hp 1Litre 3 cylinder box with narrow tyres. Than they might do in a much more stable car such as a Golf or 1-series. Many 1st cars for this generation of 17yo's will have cars which are much more power, wider tyres, much much safer. Does that security and stability make them better or worse at driving? -- 2 Car garage idea: You are a motoring journalist and broadcaster. You've been zig-zagging from television work and internet work for around 15 years. One of your off-springs has turned 17 and is learning to drive in the instructor's Ford Focus 71 plate. Being the car connoisseur you are, you notice the instructor's car has Pilot Sport 5's and has close to 180hp. This enrages you. "Lucky bast*rd!" you cry while you reminisce about wondering if your mini would start on a cold November morning. The plan is set motion. You have a budget of £20,000 to spend on two cars. One for eldest son to teach him a lesson about being humble and to learn driving craft and maintenance, and one other car for yourself to remind this him that you're still the alpha. The Mrs has vetoed any car more than 15 years old, and you can't spend less than £6000 as she'll smell a rat if you do. Can you find a slow, unreliable, shit-box post 2009 for minimum £6000, (the shitter the better), whilst leaving hopefully £14,000 to buy an interesting car for yourself that you know your 17yo secretly wanted. Enjoy Gents
Part one of that is a definitely WORSE. The damage to all of the alloys of the 18yo's Golfs and 1series' abandoned diagonally in bays at my local David Lloyd (shh) is testament enough to that. Shocking. And none of them want to reverse park. Anywhere. Ever.
Thank you gentlemen for your advice on my 2 car garage! It’s an absolute honour to get your feedback, especially as it was all bollocks. An impossible to find Panamera? A plastic Lotus? An auto Quattroporte? I know my name is common but no, I’m not the polygamous mate of Mr Cooper’s. Love the podcast and again, thank you for responding to my stupid challenge. Keep going, please!
Will Buxton puts Danny in a list of some of the greats to never win a championship, and I tend to agree with him. He wasn't just a guy with amazing charisma, he could really drive.
From 2014-2020, Ricciardo was an excellent driver. It's a shame that he was given a car that didn't suit his style at all, and Red Bull made a huge mistake keeping Perez in the RBR seat, while firing Ricciardo who would be at a similar pace to Max. Red Bull will lose this year's WCC because they don't understand Ricciardo's strengths, and refuse to accept that Perez is not a top tier driver.
Why should any taxpayer subsidise manufacturers who have proven to cheat emissions, knowingly sell overpriced faulty products and allow their dealer networks to contest warranty claims? Good riddance, let market forces decide....
What's hilarious is that I don't know if you're talking about the European or Chinese manufacturers lmao. . Because China is definitely subsidizing the living shit out of their car manufacturers. Oh and warranties? From a country that doesn't respect IP law or personal rights? Good luck. BTW they also don't allow foreigners to sell their products there, unless they are manufactured there by a partially State and Chinese citizen owned arm of your company... because a foreigner can't open a business there. So (to sell your product there) you end up with an ownership and managerial board filled with Chinese people... And you can't have a business in China that doesn't include a member of the Chinese government on its board... Hence all of your IP is given away (well stolen, but you have zero recourse because they don't give af). . But then you have VW, who clearly pulled diesel gate, and a lot of other shady shit, and then were saved by the government. . Bottom line, I feel like saving a company from ruin (because not doing so will massively hurt your country) is better than subsidizing up front (to give you an unfair market advantage) is better
Motorway jostling: yesterday I drove along the M25 for the first time in maybe 15 years. I jostled a bit, right up to the point of watching a red Royal Mail pantechnicon firmly in the inside line move ahead by half a mile. But then, 10 miles further on and traffic had eased, we passed the Royal Mail lorry. Lesson learned. Gearshifts: there's so much to be said for the 2CV box with reverse and first in the same plane: makes such practical sense.
@@giantpurplebrain Check out their collecting addicts playlist. Both CH and NC have added hip-hop songs on there. Chris has also mentioned being a hip hop fan and I remember a video of him and Neil Carey enjoying some very early music by Busta Rhymes.
Hi Manish, Thank you for your wonderful contributions. If it’s not too much of an intrusion I would love to see a video on the 456, and the process of getting it to your perfect spec? The more detail the better! Thanks!
I’m surprised no one mentioned Chris Rea and Auberge Album with his Bugatti blue hand painted 1700 Caterham 7 Super-sprint on the cover… (another great episode gents) 👍🏻
Chris, stop please. That 2x you have raised AX gt. I loved mine, used to commute Reading to Brackley via Nettlebed. Such a fast agile car, hitting every apex.
Another great episode and thanks for discussing my 2CG a couple weeks ago. Great choices all around. Chris you're in luck with Clapton having a cool car on one of his albums. Although not on the cover, 1977s Slowhand LP has a picture of his crashed 365 GT4 BB along with an F1 Connaught inside the gate-fold. Cheers
My first car was an AX-GT in that exact color. Didn’t want a Nova or Fiesta as they were common as muck. Chris describes it perfectly, absolute rocket ship and put a smile on my face as much as any other Lambo, McLaren, Ferrari that I have driven.
2 car garage, with a twist. You attend a 30-year school reunion and catch up with your old school pal's that you've not seen since you were 16. Some have gotten fat, most the blokes are balding, and your childhood sweetheart informs you about her 6 kids and handsome firefighter husband. And then, there he is, the school bully. You spent many a lunch brake with your head being forced down the bog, dead arms, and shaved eyebrows and your shiny stickers being pinched, all at the hands of this man-child that stands before you. To your dismay, it turns out he's grown up. He's friendly, chatty, and kind and offers to buy "the lads" a pint. How nice of him. However, you just can't shift that feeling you have, knowing deep down he's an A whole and made your life hell. You've made it in life and are the proprietor of a successful car dealership, new and old. And then it happens, your chance for comeback and retribution. He asks for your advice on the purchase of 2 new cars. Given your deep, deep loathing for him, you see your chance to advise him poorly. What will his new cars be? Used, 60k budget for both, wouldn't want to be seen dead in them, let alone own them. Kalmar.
If Lando narrowly wins it, would he be the worst title winner ever? Worse than Roberg The First? The McLaren so dominant for already a majority of the season, and during that time Lando has gained zero points on Max. It's wild. Didn't Irvine do better at Ferrari? McLaren pitwall have been idiots and Piasti being great SOMETIMES doesn't help their plight much. But to win it after all that would be a disgrace.
A question for the podcast perhaps… What is your collective noun for several similar vehicles in a row on the road? My own was on a journey from the South of England to North West Scotland 30 odd years ago. On the M6 the car in which my friend and I were travelling was in such a threesome and I will come back to this one. However, on the A9 in the highlands of Scotland we were so incensed with the caravans being towed in groups that we deemed the collective noun for several caravans together should be ‘A SUBURB OF CARAVANS’ The group of cars on the M6 were Vauxhall Cavaliers and the most appropriate collective noun we thought for that was ‘A CRAP OF CAVALIERS’ What are your collective nouns? 😊
Dear old men, I’m a 25 year old Canadian who’s done alright and currently own a 2015 Mk7 GTI (DSG) and a 2015 2.7 Cayman (manual). I’ve stumbled into having 60,000 Canadian loonies or 35,000 British pounds and have no interest in being smart and saving my money for the future. Instead, I’d like to buy 2 more cars that would add different flavours to my weekend drives and my day to day commute. One needs to be an auto for my day to day and the other a manual for pure engagement on the weekend. What two cars should I buy?
With Lewis's long term deep friendship with P Diddy, I'm not so sure that it would have been BIRDS on a yacht he'd be promising Timo Glock... The latter might not be impressed either way, an F1 driver in his own right doesn't tend to get lonely.
4:52 firstly, circuit of the America’s ball cap! Well done. I’ve driven that, and I read it as one of my most favorite tracks around the world that I’ve driven. Secondly, i’ve owned plenty of Chrysler products and some of them have been trouble free and others have been very average. For comparison sake, I currently own two Toyotas out of probably 10 or 12 my son‘s a Toyota engineer, I’ve owned many other makes over the years. Chrysler have been really good value overtime and I’ve really not ever been let down compared to the Fords that I’ve owned. As a point of interest, I graduated from Walter P Chrysler high school. Most of my family were employed at Chrysler as well. As well as my engineer Son before he went to Toyota. Fords and Nissans have been the worst experience for me. Although my recent Nissan frontier 2023 was really good. And bang for the Buck my new Corvette C8 is just a dream to drive. And I’ve driven lots of things Lamborghinis, Ferrari‘s Porsche‘s. I’m a member of Goodwood. I also a motorcyclist.
Excellent show appreciated as always, gents! I could comment on many things you covered but the highlight was Chris romanticising about the Citroen AX GT... Which was my first car back in '97. I couldn't afford (or insure) a Peugeot 205 GTI, so I bought a bit of a rough 1992 H-reg AX GT in red and did it up a bit with my dad (which in itself is a right of passage). It's built like an egg box and you can dent the panels by breathing on it, but such a fantastic little car. Third gear was sensational getting up in the revs and seemed to outrun almost anything! The car never felt safe at any kind of real speed and most things went wrong but it was such a special little car, to me anyway! If I saw one today I'd get more excited than any hyper car, and I'd love to pick one up but the prices for a nice one are a bit silly (as with all 80's/90's enthusiast cars). I haven't thought about that car for years, so thanks for a trip down memory lane! Good times...
Question - With RedBull’s ethos of ditching those that don’t perform to expectations… should Horner be on the chopping block? His leadership and power struggle of the last year has resulted in an awful lot of bad PR, the continued exiting of key employees, car performance that has fallen significantly behind their competitors, and an underlying threat of losing Max to another team or retirement. Two car garage question - You’ve recently been hired as the new team principle for a once dominant F1 team that needs to be rebuilt on and off the track. Your partnership with Ford for your new powertrain comes with the perk of filling two spots in your garage with company cars. One classic/historic/motorsports vehicle that references their heritage, and another from the modern era. (minimum euro 4 emissions) The combo of cars aside from representing the brand partnership must also generally meet all use cases for a car in your respective lives.
Here is a question for the pod. Which piece of road based courtesy, that doesn’t currently exist, should. For example. I’m approaching a car that wants to turn across my lane of traffic. It’s only 1 lane each way and there is a small queue developing behind them because they can’t get past. I let the car cross my lane (to their driveway perhaps). Now that driver should (and usually does) thank me. But I think the first 1 or 2 drivers that were stuck behind them before my generosity should also give me a raised finger/hand in acknowledgment of letting them get on with their journey.
Oi Harris leave the poor Trabi alone 😂 it’s probably the shittest car ever built but that gives it a charm all of its own. I’m surprised you hated the gearshift though. Perfecting the right amount of push/pull/twist on the funny little handle, protruding from the steering column, whilst trying not to lose too much speed as the aforementioned LIME bike goes past, is a skill matched only by how long you can hold your breath 😂
Thank you for your selection Chris! If you want want to try out a proper manual V8 Panamera (they made 96 V8s and 40 V6s world wide) I can comfortably say I got the only one with a single mass flywheel and smaller clutch (cut 50% of the weight of flywheel/clutch) with a proper 3 Way suspension on and you are welcome to use it as you please here in Sweden. Honestly Porsche did a quick job on that one to make one drunk journalist in UK happy, but I argue I sorted that out now and it now makes an M5 E39 seem like a very uninteresting choice ……
1 - on the public transport over car, for me it’s about noises… if the car creeks or screeches, drives me insane. 2 - Jostling - what about those drivers who leapfrog traffic lines by taking a flyover straight, and rejoining a couple of hundred yards ahead?? Drives me nuts.
Disagree about manish concerning verstappen yeah hes currently world champion but only through mr horners defiance by lying about the fact he was secretly breaking fia rules and lying to everyone in the F1 team same goes for vettels world titles fourteen years prior
Chris Cooper, this is something I've been preaching about to my wife every time I get in the car and I go through this scenario with her about how the zipper effect works. I am so glad you brought it up. You're the only person I've ever heard mention this other than me to my wife every time there is long lines of traffic on the highway. All gathering in one stupid f*ING Lane!!! Much love from the U. S.
It’s Friday night, the sun is out, Harris and Friends are queued up, the kids are quiet in the back of the car… St Mawes here we come!! Perfect Friday night.
With Manish on the taxi, although I don’t have a dog I just got car sickness and probable whiplash travelling in an electric taxi. Accelerate / brake / repeat.
re the jostle ... i drive a wheelchair accessible cab and having been in the back when the driver is erratic , i know how it feels when driven over expansion strips , any road really bumpier than a newspaper. jostle is not how i drive , i seethe or fume and swear inwardly but i WILL NOT change lanes even when empty to gain 4 metres down the road.
All the pro "zippering" studies claim it's better but only measure in the metric of length of back up, which when divided by the lanes is shorter, yet does in NO WAY let more cars pass threw the narrowed area any faster. If cars are moving threw a 1 lane restriction no matter what the cars do before it, the restriction is the 1 lane and the speed at which you pass it, nothing to do with what the F you do before hand.
I'm with Neil. My first concern is how it looks and we have similar tastes because the pt cruiser is one of the cars I loathed with a vengeance when it came out. I didn't even know a convertible version was built. That is horrendous. I differ on the prowler. I actually like that thing and I found put later they had some go and were quite reliable. I would have a million cars to cross off a wish list before it came up but I do like it.
Why don't we have a periscope camera that comes up during a traffic jam? We can go as high as a lorry, right? We'd see ahead on how the traffic flows. Let's be real, in a jam you're waiting behind others that are clearly in less of a rush than us 😀
Mmmm not sure why buses and trains etc are different in London but you clearly haven't been on public transport with the vile thugs etc on them you'd use any car just to avoid being stabbed etc
Love that you guys are back!
Anyways here is a 2 CAR GARAGE for you guys!
You and your wife have been planning to upgrade your two cars, especially since you just received a significant bonus at work. With a budget of £150,000, you've been given full control over what to buy-mainly because you're "always talking about cars anyway." However, you've recently discovered that your wife is planning to leave you for a younger model.
She's already lined up a good divorce lawyer and will almost certainly take what she perceives as the "better" car when the split happens. Now, you’re tasked with buying two cars: one that brings you immense joy, and another that offers a miserable ownership experience. The second car needs to look appealing enough to non-car enthusiasts so that she'll choose it, leaving you with the one you truly want. Choose wisely, or you might end up stuck with the lemon.
Very good!
Excellent
Bravo
Genius
The answers will be given to the sounds of thunderous applause at the genius of the question. Well played sir, well played.
Is Manish about to ritually summon the Prince of Darkness?
😂😂😂 Fantastic 😂😂😂
👏
Illuminati
lmaoooo
😂
What a Great way to start a Friday,! Thank you
Can we all have a whip-round to buy Chris Harris a new webcam? We're watching 3 HD streams and a guy vlogging from a Nokia 3310. 😅
I wonder if it may be his internet connection. Chris has spoken of Apple products in the past, so I assume he has a MacBook of some variety. They usually have decent enough cameras in my opinion.
Monkey has an 4K setup, it’s his face that appears perpetually in soft focus.
He's blown the budget on the e60 touring, no chance of a new webcam for quite some time!
Danny Ric news on the next episode
100%
Peter Gabriel I is the best album with a car on it, and it helps that he used a Lancia 2000 which was rather good.
I was about to say the same. I had to look up the car model - it was owned by Storm Thorgesen who ran the seminal album art firm Hipgnosis. I don't know how cool the car is but the photo with the water drops is gorgeous.
Maneshs dog story reminded me of a Kings Road PR agency I worked at 30 years ago. The owner had three labradors (golden, chocolate and black) that had the run of the office. Unfortunately the chocolate one had a stomach issue which meant it regularly threw up in the office. It was an unwritten rule that the nearest deb would get a mop and bucket and clean it up. The 90s, I miss them. #goodolddays
😂😂😂😂
Chris Cooper for PM 😉
One of my favourite albums Eric Clapton - Riding with the King
Best car on an album cover .. ELIMINATOR , ZZ TOP .
Chris rea’s album auberge featured a caterham with him driving it on it!
Citroen 2CV gear change 2-3-2 is sublime.
Completely agree.
It’s almost a dogleg 1st, maybe they copied Ferrari
How Verstappen manged press conference was just awesome 😂😂😂😂.
Not his fan but support his way.
Great podcast
Eric Clapton Riding with the king?! It's bleedin obvious if you're going Clapton
Best car cover album - Peter Gabriel 1 - great music and the car belonged to Storm Thorgerson
Alfa Romeo 156GTA great drivers car.
This nonsense about how hard it is being a racing driver these days because you will find out you have lost your drive from someone outside the team, happened all the time in the 80's and 90's, Mansell, Hill to name but 2, and by the way, Look at how hard Frank Williams was, famously said, "Drivers are like lightbulbs, when one goes dim, you just plug another one in" F1 has gone soft. Ricciardo outstayed his welcome in F1 for years, only continued to get a drive because of his popularity with fans.
There are always two sides to these stories as well. There was a great interview with Patrick Head years ago who said Mansell and Hill surrounded themselves with bad managers which didn't help. In the case of Hill, apparently he refused to negotiate his own contract in person so sent his manager. This manager supposedly said Damon had multiple offers for 97 and won't settle for anything less than X amount. Frank later said that it was a great shame Damon never came to see him in person.
I once made 5 minutes on a colleague traveling the same way through a generic peak hour rush on the highway. I was in the van, he was in the Golf.
One of the best days of my professional career. He was on a call and didn't care, and in the pre-SUV era the Transit van was amazing in traffic. You would see traffic moving and anticipate. Just glorious.
We have found the jostler!
Week 4 and I just updated the "The Car Podcast with Chris Harris and Friends- MUSIC" I made on the famous music streaming site beginning with a S. I will continue to update this each week with the awesome song choices for the soundtrack of our drives.
Here in the US, politicians did decide to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs. Its already made for plenty of strange implications, not least of which being the new Lotus Eletre doubling in price from $100,000 to $200,000. Basically killing any slim market it may have had.
Manish is high Priest of the order of the Tommyknockers…. He’s attempting to revive the dark lord from his slumber! Check out the ritual altar and offerings!! 😂
Love you guys, really do!! My weekly highlight is sitting in with you chewing the automotive fat. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Love that you are back, Chris Harris. And I welcome your friends! The show is great.
Here is one for you:
What would each of you drive if you could have only ONE car you could drive for the rest of your lives. Could be a new purchase, an older car or one that you already own. BUT you have to do everything with it. And you could never drive any other car yourself. What would you pick? Cheers!
Yes Neil!! with the Carpenters album! that record was part of my dad's collection, along with John Denver.... I was 1 when it was released, but by the time I had the power of memory I looked at it all the time... and by the time cars were under my skin... "I knew"..... to grow up in the 70's, start buying car magazines through the 80's and then to buy cars through the 90's (AX GT!)...and to finally make a dream purchase that includes all the greats through those decades up to - but not beyond - 2020....what a time to be alive
I have an alternative approach for the 2CG that might be a little more relatable for some the younger listeners, with skme situation context. (see: those of us with not as much capital).
You and your young wife (both mid 20s) are currently sharing your company car while trying to save up for the deposit on a house. It's an economical PHEV for the tax benefit. As an enthusiast who loves manuals and light weight sports cars this hurts you.
Your wife finds new work that is no longer walking distance from home and requires a second car for you to share, she doesn't mind sporty cars.
You see this as an opportunity to get a car that's going to be light weight, manual and fun to drive on the weekends that also does the short commute for your missus. Suggest a fun car that will not break the bank with maintenance or insurance (mid 20s and company car means no NC bonus!).
Budget £12k sterling.
Hard mode: No MX5
2-Car Garage:
Hello lads! Welcome back and it's me John from the Philippines.
This one will not be an original idea as Chris Harris and Friends have decided to go on with the road trip, however we will be altering the conditions.
To make this one be a bit more understandable (I do apologize for the confusion on the other podcast), All four of you will have separate vehicles for this road trip.
No more budget as the two cars will be chosen from each of your car collections.
One car will be driven by you, and the other car will be driven by another friend (someone who has appeared on the former podcast, like Mr. Newey, Mr. Montezemolo, or someone who will appear on this podcast in the future).
Chris Harris will choose from Manish Pandey's Car Collection
Manish Pandey will choose from Chris Cooper's Car Collection
Chris Cooper will choose from Neil Clifford's Car Collection
Neil Clifford will choose from Chris Harris's Car Collection
Great to have you back guys! Enjoy!
Talk about about feeling a tit - anyone every owned a Saab 900 Sensonic (no clutch pedal), sat at a busy set of traffic lights, the lights go green, you engage 1st gear (or any gear) and the thing won't pull away, you either get pushed out of the way or people jump in because they don't believe you or think you can't drive properly. Had it transferred to manual clutch in the end.
100% the right balance between nerdy car stuff and a fun to listen to chat - keep up the work guys. Already my new favourite car podcast!
Chris I agree with the AX GT, adored mine.
I did drop the gearbox linkage once with a spirited 4th to 3rd shift😬
That rev counter was a clock in all the other AX models.
Brought back great memories that.
And for weird Californian rock outfit with cars on their album covers: check out Fu Manchu!
Surprised Chris Cooper didn't go for Chris Rea Auberge, being a Se7en enthusiast.
Another long one , love it ! 😊
Have a collection of S-Class in black/black, cheers to the jostlers - tycoons, dictators, heads of state, and celebrities
VW on abbey rd was NOT Johns, it belonged to a resident. John had a convertible.
Best Auto Podcast, except for the music bit.
I swear you guys always manage to chat about F1, a day before any major announcements get released 🤣
Love that your back doing this.. can we get higher quality or at least a higher bitrate 720p? Looks like a video from 25 years ago.
often if you view straight after upload then the quality is reduced a bit while youtube processes the video. watch it in an hour or so and it will be fine
Why does it even matter?... it's not the hub!
Come on Mate, that’s a bit scary!
You could add ANY RACE CAR on the street to the list of things to avoid
Can someone make Neil a "Road Sheriff" hat. Please.
Question and 2 car garage idea:
I remember when Monkey said that he liked to setup a car on cold tires so when new tyres go on, you have a eureka moment out of the pitlane.
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Question
For developing driving skill; be it safety on the road, enjoying B-roads and possibly taking to the track. Does it make sense for first car for a 17yo to be a terrible 'drivers' car. Something small, boxy, underpowered etc.
I.e. Does a 17yo learn more about driving (holding speed through corners, understanding momentum, skillfully changing gear) in a 60hp 1Litre 3 cylinder box with narrow tyres. Than they might do in a much more stable car such as a Golf or 1-series. Many 1st cars for this generation of 17yo's will have cars which are much more power, wider tyres, much much safer. Does that security and stability make them better or worse at driving?
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2 Car garage idea:
You are a motoring journalist and broadcaster. You've been zig-zagging from television work and internet work for around 15 years. One of your off-springs has turned 17 and is learning to drive in the instructor's Ford Focus 71 plate. Being the car connoisseur you are, you notice the instructor's car has Pilot Sport 5's and has close to 180hp. This enrages you. "Lucky bast*rd!" you cry while you reminisce about wondering if your mini would start on a cold November morning. The plan is set motion. You have a budget of £20,000 to spend on two cars. One for eldest son to teach him a lesson about being humble and to learn driving craft and maintenance, and one other car for yourself to remind this him that you're still the alpha. The Mrs has vetoed any car more than 15 years old, and you can't spend less than £6000 as she'll smell a rat if you do. Can you find a slow, unreliable, shit-box post 2009 for minimum £6000, (the shitter the better), whilst leaving hopefully £14,000 to buy an interesting car for yourself that you know your 17yo secretly wanted.
Enjoy Gents
Part one of that is a definitely WORSE. The damage to all of the alloys of the 18yo's Golfs and 1series' abandoned diagonally in bays at my local David Lloyd (shh) is testament enough to that. Shocking. And none of them want to reverse park. Anywhere. Ever.
Thank you gentlemen for your advice on my 2 car garage! It’s an absolute honour to get your feedback, especially as it was all bollocks. An impossible to find Panamera? A plastic Lotus? An auto Quattroporte? I know my name is common but no, I’m not the polygamous mate of Mr Cooper’s. Love the podcast and again, thank you for responding to my stupid challenge. Keep going, please!
How do I attach a pic of my Mini VP? It really is 1 of 1 in UK 😢
Loved the podcast you did with Joe Rogan! 💪
Manish is correct, there is no car worse than public transportation
There's a ton of country albums with cars on them
Will Buxton puts Danny in a list of some of the greats to never win a championship, and I tend to agree with him. He wasn't just a guy with amazing charisma, he could really drive.
From 2014-2020, Ricciardo was an excellent driver. It's a shame that he was given a car that didn't suit his style at all, and Red Bull made a huge mistake keeping Perez in the RBR seat, while firing Ricciardo who would be at a similar pace to Max. Red Bull will lose this year's WCC because they don't understand Ricciardo's strengths, and refuse to accept that Perez is not a top tier driver.
Released so early this morning!
Word of the day: schadenfreude
Very fond memories of my AX GT.
Why should any taxpayer subsidise manufacturers who have proven to cheat emissions, knowingly sell overpriced faulty products and allow their dealer networks to contest warranty claims? Good riddance, let market forces decide....
What's hilarious is that I don't know if you're talking about the European or Chinese manufacturers lmao.
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Because China is definitely subsidizing the living shit out of their car manufacturers. Oh and warranties? From a country that doesn't respect IP law or personal rights? Good luck. BTW they also don't allow foreigners to sell their products there, unless they are manufactured there by a partially State and Chinese citizen owned arm of your company... because a foreigner can't open a business there. So (to sell your product there) you end up with an ownership and managerial board filled with Chinese people... And you can't have a business in China that doesn't include a member of the Chinese government on its board... Hence all of your IP is given away (well stolen, but you have zero recourse because they don't give af).
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But then you have VW, who clearly pulled diesel gate, and a lot of other shady shit, and then were saved by the government.
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Bottom line, I feel like saving a company from ruin (because not doing so will massively hurt your country) is better than subsidizing up front (to give you an unfair market advantage) is better
Motorway jostling: yesterday I drove along the M25 for the first time in maybe 15 years. I jostled a bit, right up to the point of watching a red Royal Mail pantechnicon firmly in the inside line move ahead by half a mile. But then, 10 miles further on and traffic had eased, we passed the Royal Mail lorry. Lesson learned. Gearshifts: there's so much to be said for the 2CV box with reverse and first in the same plane: makes such practical sense.
I’m disappointed no hip hop album covers were mentioned with a car feature. There are so many good ones
I suspect this bunch of middle aged nerds aren't the biggest hip-hop experts.
@@giantpurplebrain Check out their collecting addicts playlist. Both CH and NC have added hip-hop songs on there.
Chris has also mentioned being a hip hop fan and I remember a video of him and Neil Carey enjoying some very early music by Busta Rhymes.
Hi Manish,
Thank you for your wonderful contributions. If it’s not too much of an intrusion I would love to see a video on the 456, and the process of getting it to your perfect spec? The more detail the better!
Thanks!
I’m surprised no one mentioned Chris Rea and Auberge Album with his Bugatti blue hand painted 1700 Caterham 7 Super-sprint on the cover… (another great episode gents) 👍🏻
Chris, stop please. That 2x you have raised AX gt.
I loved mine, used to commute Reading to Brackley via Nettlebed.
Such a fast agile car, hitting every apex.
Another great episode and thanks for discussing my 2CG a couple weeks ago. Great choices all around.
Chris you're in luck with Clapton having a cool car on one of his albums. Although not on the cover, 1977s Slowhand LP has a picture of his crashed 365 GT4 BB along with an F1 Connaught inside the gate-fold. Cheers
There is, in fact, Mr Harris, an album cover by Eric Clapton with a car: Riding with the King, with B.B. King. It is a 1966 Cadillac DeVille Cabriolet
10cc with the Healey outside through the window?
Oasis, With the tribute Rolls in the swimming pool ?
My first car was an AX-GT in that exact color. Didn’t want a Nova or Fiesta as they were common as muck. Chris describes it perfectly, absolute rocket ship and put a smile on my face as much as any other Lambo, McLaren, Ferrari that I have driven.
Surely the album cover with a car is 'Auberge' by Chris Rea ! (The track has to be 'You're not a number' ) 😁 Great Show BTW 👍
2 car garage, with a twist.
You attend a 30-year school reunion and catch up with your old school pal's that you've not seen since you were 16. Some have gotten fat, most the blokes are balding, and your childhood sweetheart informs you about her 6 kids and handsome firefighter husband. And then, there he is, the school bully. You spent many a lunch brake with your head being forced down the bog, dead arms, and shaved eyebrows and your shiny stickers being pinched, all at the hands of this man-child that stands before you. To your dismay, it turns out he's grown up. He's friendly, chatty, and kind and offers to buy "the lads" a pint. How nice of him. However, you just can't shift that feeling you have, knowing deep down he's an A whole and made your life hell. You've made it in life and are the proprietor of a successful car dealership, new and old. And then it happens, your chance for comeback and retribution. He asks for your advice on the purchase of 2 new cars. Given your deep, deep loathing for him, you see your chance to advise him poorly. What will his new cars be? Used, 60k budget for both, wouldn't want to be seen dead in them, let alone own them. Kalmar.
I have a name idea for this podcast! CHAPS aka Chris Harris Automobile Podcast Series
If Lando narrowly wins it, would he be the worst title winner ever? Worse than Roberg The First?
The McLaren so dominant for already a majority of the season, and during that time Lando has gained zero points on Max. It's wild.
Didn't Irvine do better at Ferrari? McLaren pitwall have been idiots and Piasti being great SOMETIMES doesn't help their plight much. But to win it after all that would be a disgrace.
A question for the podcast perhaps…
What is your collective noun for several similar vehicles in a row on the road?
My own was on a journey from the South of England to North West Scotland 30 odd years ago. On the M6 the car in which my friend and I were travelling was in such a threesome and I will come back to this one. However, on the A9 in the highlands of Scotland we were so incensed with the caravans being towed in groups that we deemed the collective noun for several caravans together should be ‘A SUBURB OF CARAVANS’
The group of cars on the M6 were Vauxhall Cavaliers and the most appropriate collective noun we thought for that was ‘A CRAP OF CAVALIERS’
What are your collective nouns? 😊
Dear old men, I’m a 25 year old Canadian who’s done alright and currently own a 2015 Mk7 GTI (DSG) and a 2015 2.7 Cayman (manual). I’ve stumbled into having 60,000 Canadian loonies or 35,000 British pounds and have no interest in being smart and saving my money for the future. Instead, I’d like to buy 2 more cars that would add different flavours to my weekend drives and my day to day commute. One needs to be an auto for my day to day and the other a manual for pure engagement on the weekend. What two cars should I buy?
Yes Manish I have a 2012 quatttroporte as my practical family car!
With Lewis's long term deep friendship with P Diddy, I'm not so sure that it would have been BIRDS on a yacht he'd be promising Timo Glock... The latter might not be impressed either way, an F1 driver in his own right doesn't tend to get lonely.
4:52 firstly, circuit of the America’s ball cap! Well done. I’ve driven that, and I read it as one of my most favorite tracks around the world that I’ve driven.
Secondly, i’ve owned plenty of Chrysler products and some of them have been trouble free and others have been very average. For comparison sake, I currently own two Toyotas out of probably 10 or 12 my son‘s a Toyota engineer, I’ve owned many other makes over the years. Chrysler have been really good value overtime and I’ve really not ever been let down compared to the Fords that I’ve owned.
As a point of interest, I graduated from Walter P Chrysler high school. Most of my family were employed at Chrysler as well. As well as my engineer Son before he went to Toyota.
Fords and Nissans have been the worst experience for me. Although my recent Nissan frontier 2023 was really good.
And bang for the Buck my new Corvette C8 is just a dream to drive. And I’ve driven lots of things Lamborghinis, Ferrari‘s Porsche‘s. I’m a member of Goodwood. I also a motorcyclist.
Excellent show appreciated as always, gents!
I could comment on many things you covered but the highlight was Chris romanticising about the Citroen AX GT... Which was my first car back in '97. I couldn't afford (or insure) a Peugeot 205 GTI, so I bought a bit of a rough 1992 H-reg AX GT in red and did it up a bit with my dad (which in itself is a right of passage). It's built like an egg box and you can dent the panels by breathing on it, but such a fantastic little car. Third gear was sensational getting up in the revs and seemed to outrun almost anything! The car never felt safe at any kind of real speed and most things went wrong but it was such a special little car, to me anyway!
If I saw one today I'd get more excited than any hyper car, and I'd love to pick one up but the prices for a nice one are a bit silly (as with all 80's/90's enthusiast cars).
I haven't thought about that car for years, so thanks for a trip down memory lane! Good times...
Question - With RedBull’s ethos of ditching those that don’t perform to expectations… should Horner be on the chopping block? His leadership and power struggle of the last year has resulted in an awful lot of bad PR, the continued exiting of key employees, car performance that has fallen significantly behind their competitors, and an underlying threat of losing Max to another team or retirement.
Two car garage question - You’ve recently been hired as the new team principle for a once dominant F1 team that needs to be rebuilt on and off the track. Your partnership with Ford for your new powertrain comes with the perk of filling two spots in your garage with company cars. One classic/historic/motorsports vehicle that references their heritage, and another from the modern era. (minimum euro 4 emissions) The combo of cars aside from representing the brand partnership must also generally meet all use cases for a car in your respective lives.
Here is a question for the pod. Which piece of road based courtesy, that doesn’t currently exist, should.
For example. I’m approaching a car that wants to turn across my lane of traffic. It’s only 1 lane each way and there is a small queue developing behind them because they can’t get past. I let the car cross my lane (to their driveway perhaps). Now that driver should (and usually does) thank me. But I think the first 1 or 2 drivers that were stuck behind them before my generosity should also give me a raised finger/hand in acknowledgment of letting them get on with their journey.
Oi Harris leave the poor Trabi alone 😂 it’s probably the shittest car ever built but that gives it a charm all of its own. I’m surprised you hated the gearshift though. Perfecting the right amount of push/pull/twist on the funny little handle, protruding from the steering column, whilst trying not to lose too much speed as the aforementioned LIME bike goes past, is a skill matched only by how long you can hold your breath 😂
Thank you for your selection Chris! If you want want to try out a proper manual V8 Panamera (they made 96 V8s and 40 V6s world wide) I can comfortably say I got the only one with a single mass flywheel and smaller clutch (cut 50% of the weight of flywheel/clutch) with a proper 3 Way suspension on and you are welcome to use it as you please here in Sweden. Honestly Porsche did a quick job on that one to make one drunk journalist in UK happy, but I argue I sorted that out now and it now makes an M5 E39 seem like a very uninteresting choice ……
1 - on the public transport over car, for me it’s about noises… if the car creeks or screeches, drives me insane.
2 - Jostling - what about those drivers who leapfrog traffic lines by taking a flyover straight, and rejoining a couple of hundred yards ahead?? Drives me nuts.
The rear cover of Jamiroquai ‘Travelling Without Moving’ 25th Anniversary Vinyl edition ;-)
Disagree about manish concerning verstappen yeah hes currently world champion but only through mr horners defiance by lying about the fact he was secretly breaking fia rules and lying to everyone in the F1 team same goes for vettels world titles fourteen years prior
Neil Clifford: ‘it’s all about image’
Also Neil Clifford: wears endless succession of objectively terrible hats
Chris Cooper, this is something I've been preaching about to my wife every time I get in the car and I go through this scenario with her about how the zipper effect works. I am so glad you brought it up. You're the only person I've ever heard mention this other than me to my wife every time there is long lines of traffic on the highway. All gathering in one stupid f*ING Lane!!! Much love from the U. S.
Remember that F1 is the’Pirahanna Club’ with lots of people smiling in making life difficult for others!
It’s Friday night, the sun is out, Harris and Friends are queued up, the kids are quiet in the back of the car… St Mawes here we come!! Perfect Friday night.
With Manish on the taxi, although I don’t have a dog I just got car sickness and probable whiplash travelling in an electric taxi. Accelerate / brake / repeat.
How about The Beach Boys - Little Deuce Coupe as best car album cover?
The podcast is great as always. Thank you!
re the jostle ... i drive a wheelchair accessible cab and having been in the back when the driver is erratic , i know how it feels when driven over expansion strips , any road really bumpier than a newspaper.
jostle is not how i drive , i seethe or fume and swear inwardly but i WILL NOT change lanes even when empty to gain 4 metres down the road.
Missed the best album covers with a car, Chris Rea, Auberge with the Caterham, maybe also Teenage Fanclub Grand Prix.
Even in the place described by the road signs as THE NORTH, where the public transport is 10 times worse, I’d still take it over a PT Cruiser
All the pro "zippering" studies claim it's better but only measure in the metric of length of back up, which when divided by the lanes is shorter, yet does in NO WAY let more cars pass threw the narrowed area any faster. If cars are moving threw a 1 lane restriction no matter what the cars do before it, the restriction is the 1 lane and the speed at which you pass it, nothing to do with what the F you do before hand.
Beck - Hyperspace..... Great album cover with a car in it..... Helpful that it's a great album as well
Happy Friday. 😊
Chrysler Crossfire is not so bad. Citroen Ami is perfect in town, fit for purpose by definition. LEVC win for Manish.
I'm with Neil. My first concern is how it looks and we have similar tastes because the pt cruiser is one of the cars I loathed with a vengeance when it came out. I didn't even know a convertible version was built. That is horrendous. I differ on the prowler. I actually like that thing and I found put later they had some go and were quite reliable. I would have a million cars to cross off a wish list before it came up but I do like it.
Why don't we have a periscope camera that comes up during a traffic jam? We can go as high as a lorry, right? We'd see ahead on how the traffic flows.
Let's be real, in a jam you're waiting behind others that are clearly in less of a rush than us 😀
A worthy album cover would also be travelling without moving jamiriquri
for cars so bad you'd rather take public transport, may I suggest the sad little shitbox that was the City Rover...
Oasis - Be Here Now Album Cover ?
Expected a mention along with Abbey Road.
ZZ Top's Eliminator, a Ford Pop!!
Wash your mouth out, Mr. Harris!!
Guys.
Please discuss if you haven’t already.
Most iconic car magazine cover shot.
Porsche, BMW, BMW, Porsche... change the record. It's got boring.
Blue Oyster Cult , on your feet or on your knees , awesome album cover , plus you get a double live record of truly fantastic music. 🤟
For the AC/DC answer Chris Cooper gave, he could've easily gone for Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap because at least there's a DS in the background!
When you anticipate others traffic movements, and help them by making room for them to change lane and they don’t thank you….. 😢
Great podcast , would love to hear a discussion on Clarkson, Hammond and May’s recent swansong
Mmmm not sure why buses and trains etc are different in London but you clearly haven't been on public transport with the vile thugs etc on them you'd use any car just to avoid being stabbed etc
Best album cover with a car on it? The orange E30 M3 on "nostalgia, ultra" by Frank ocean.