Taxis From Around the World (Part 13)

Almost done. After this, I will need to find the taxis of Comoros, Marshall Islands, and Nauru.

185. Palau (Nissan)

186. Micronesia (Nissan)

187. Kiribati (Toyota)

188. Congo (Toyota)

189. Central African Republic (Nissan)

190. Cape Verde (Toyota)

191. Brunei (Nissan)

192. Antigua and Barbuda (Toyota)

193. Andorra (Ford)

Tally:
Buick: 1
Chevy: 3
BYD: 1
Dacia: 1
Daewoo: 1
Fiat: 4
Ford: 3
Hindustan: 1
Honda: 4
Hyundai: 4
Isuzu: 1
IZH: 2
Lada: 6
London cab: 2
Mazda: 1
Mercedes: 34
Mitsubishi: 1
Nissan: 12
Opel: 2
Paykan: 1
Peugeot: 15
Proton: 1
Renault: 6
Seat: 1
Skoda: 2
Subaru: 1
Suzuki: 2
Toyota: 59
Volga: 7
VW: 11
Volvo: 2
ZAZ: 1

Truth In 24 Free Download On iTunes (Audi R10 TDI at Lemans)

This is the most beautifully shot racing documentary (and 90 minute ad for Audi) I've ever seen. And it's free. Great for that long bus/plane/train trip.

2008 Mercedes Benz CLK63 Black Series For Sale

I stopped by Specialty Sales to check out their inventory again. The Bentley I wrote about in May is still there. Two cars caught my eye this time.

First is a pristine 1981 Porsche 928 with barely 20,000 miles. It was in almost perfect condition. Even the slightly dull paint gave it charm. It was listed at $18,990, which I think is a fair price if it has thorough documentation. Unfortunately, it had a SOLD sign on the windshield.

What really stood out about it was its 85 mph speedometer. Were carmakers required to have such ludicrous speedos during the malaise era?

The other car that screamed out at me was a black 2008 CLK63 AMG Black Series. These are essentially street-legal F1 safety cars. This one had F1 livery, which does not look quite right on a black car without a roof-mounted light bar. The other thing I noticed was its selling price of $90,000. It sold brand new last year for $135,000. That's a huge hit on the wallet.

Singapore Crash Piquet Briatore Alonso Video

Piquet crash telemetry data

I am still in disbelief over the implied admission of guilt. Now that I look at this video compilation, everything makes more sense.

Lamborghini Panorama

Every Lamborghini model was on display in Toronto a while back. Photo courtesy Nelson Wu.

There's a Countach, another Countach, an LM002, a Miura, a whole bunch of anonymous Lambos, and a 350GT.

Great Formula One Winners Do Not Crash More Often

Over the weekend, I posited that Nick Heidfeld has not won a race yet because he wasn't aggressive enough in his driving. I was going to prove this by showing that winners have high crash rates. In short: The more aggressive you are, the more likely you are to win (and to crash).

I used data from the last couple of seasons and the results were inconclusive. Reader F1 Outsider astutely suggested that my theory may be correct; I just needed to increase my sample size.

So this is what I've done. Heidfeld began racing in 2000. I looked at every driver who has won a race since then. I then extrapolated their crash rates and their win rates (from 2000 to the present). I compared them to Heidfeld's rates. And this is what I got.*

Click on the chart for an expanded view.

As you can see, my theory is wrong and baseless. There is no correlation between a higher win rate and a higher crash rate. In fact, when you look at the really great drivers-- Alonso, Mika, Hamilton, and Schumacher-- they actually have lower crash rates than the other winners profiled.

*I apologize for the Mickey Mouse chart. I have not made a chart on a computer since 8th grade on my Tandy.

Narita Airport Limousine Bus Lady

Every time I take the limousine bus from Narita to YCAT (Yokohama), I am greeted by a recording of a lady welcoming me to the "limousine buusssss". Whenever I hear it, I know that I am officially in Japan.

Limousine bus lady audio clip.

Thanks to rchen for digging this gem up.

Patrick Swayze SNL Video

This video featuring Hans and Franz runs a close second to the all-time funniest Patrick Swayze SNL video with Chris Farley at Chippendales. RIP to them both.

Nurburgring Ring Taxi Quest, Day 131

I've been on the waiting list for 131 days now and I still have not heard from BMW.

99 Ranch Market to Open In Concord On Tuesday September 15

Monumentally poor parking jobs will immediately follow the opening of the 99 Ranch Market.

Asian food lovers rejoice. 99 Ranch Market (the WalMart of Asian supermarkets) is opening its Concord store on Tuesday, September 15. It will be at 1795 Willow Pass Road, where Office Max used to be. I predict that Country Square Market in Pleasant Hill, a medium-sized Asian market, will be forced to close within a year. It just doesn't have the variety or atmosphere of a 99 Ranch. The smaller mom-and-pop ethnic markets (Japanese, Filipino, Korean) will struggle and a few may survive.

I'm looking forward to new and authentic Chinese restaurants opening next to the 99 Ranch anchor.

View Larger Map

Concord 99 Ranch location