The giveaways haven’t completely stopped, but they don’t make up every third/fourth review anymore. I think they only did two this entire year. And they’ve hardly ever pushed them when they did happen.
But yeah, I didn’t enjoy them either. Could’ve been better executed, at least.
Regular Car Reviews definitely peaked long ago.
They’ve largely stuck to the same formula for the past decade-plus, hiding masters-level literary theory, and copious amounts of toilet humor, under the guise of automotive journalism. And there’s nothing wrong with sticking to the tried-and-true.
I still enjoy their videos, I make sure to watch them every Monday morning like clockwork. But they just don’t hit the same anymore. There’s not much that’s memorable about their commentary these days, unless the vehicle in question is unusual on its own, like the shuttle bus RV conversion they reviewed… four months ago. I had to scroll past a bunch of videos for cars I honestly forgot they’d reviewed, when I checked their channel just now.
I miss the anger. I miss the passion that resulted from it. Brian’s acknowledged this, and he’s mentioned how he’s just generally calmer and happier these days. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I admit to souring a bit to all the giveaway cars he’d review/advertise… especially how you’d enter these giveaways by paying FIFTY dollars, pre-shipping, for a crappy camping mug, with a vaguely car-culture-related picture on it. But not an RCR mug. And I respect him for having (largely) stopped doing those giveaways.
But, like, the last video of RCR’s that has actually stuck in my mind, was when they absolutely ripped into an Oldsmobile Bravada. And that came out nearly 5 years ago.
I will say the second book, The Dark Forest, is much better, but I’d read it several years ago and I haven’t come back to it recently.
Whenever I recommend it to people, I just give them a quick synopsis of the first book and that’s seemed to be sufficient for them.
The book’s first puzzle is solved by Wade playing the arcade game Joust against a bot. Then when he wins, he’s dropped into the movie WarGames, replacing Matthew Broderick’s character, and he has to act out every scene to progress.
Seriously, that’s it.
Usually I go for something the crowd can get into, that I can also use to show off. Usually something by Queen.
My favorite go-to though, that I sing just for me, is One More Minute by Weird Al Yankovic.
Somebody to Love is my Queen go-to.
This sprint could’ve been an email.
Rearview mirrors get removed too. Sometimes, especially on column-shift cars, the transmission is still in park.
It’s a line from the movie Clerks
Better late than never.
Was there ever an investigation for the Tsunoda/Bearman thing?
I drive a truck for work, my company tracks that statistic for me. 7,467 miles in my truck, in the last 30 days. Not as far as I could go, mathematically speaking, and not counting the miles I’ve done in my car or on foot in that time period. Probably rounds up to 8,000 total.
If this was the attack you were referring to, sadly technically it was a local cop that was shot, not an ICE agent. And the cop survived.
I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday. First, I visited my wife’s grave. Then, I joined the army.
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis is the first book I’ve read since Hitchhiker’s Guide that actually made me laugh out loud repeatedly. It’s about a time-travelling historian who takes a vacation to Victorian England, and nearly ends the universe while trying to return a missing cat. The book’s part of a series, but this is definitely the most fun entry.
Man, it’s annoying seeing a headline starting with “Trump, 79” that doesn’t end with “dead”.
That’s what spices and seasonings are meant to alleviate.