Monday, September 24, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
House walkthrough
I had the condo all nice and clean for a party yesterday and thought it would be a good opportunity to snap some pictures. Click on the link below for a guided tour:
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| 2007_09_15 |
Monday, September 10, 2007
X-Type on the Same list as the '61 Corvair
Time Magazine recently released their list of the 50 Worst Cars of All time.
On that list, at #46, is the Jaguar X-Type. I've read a plethora of unfavorable ratings on the X-Type ever since I first considered purchasing one. This Time Magazine rating is just more of the same nonsensical journalism that most press seem to give to the X-Type.
See their reasoning for putting the X-Type on this list:
"A business case is not the same as wisdom. Certainly, Jaguar needed an entry-luxury model to compete against the BMW 3-series and Mercedes-Benz C-class. Yes, the company, owned by Ford, had access to a very successful world car platform, the Mondeo, which Americans knew as the Ford Contour. There was money to be saved. But in its attempt to turn the front-drive compact car into an "all-wheel drive" sports sedan, Jaguar ran smack into the limits of platform engineering. The result was the English version of the Cadillac Cimarron, a tarted-up insult to a once-proud marque and a financial disaster for the company. It hardly matters that the X-Type was not that bad a car. Young affluent buyers had the feeling they were somehow being grifted. They were."
So the rating actually admits that the X-Type "was not that bad" but is still one of the worst cars of all time? Interesting.
From what I can gather, car magazines (and mainstream magazines, apparently) expected the $30-$40k X-Type to have the exact same quality of material and build as the $60 - $70k XJ.
Beyond that, the press is always hung up on the Mondeo / Contour origins of the car and focus on this as a negative trait. I drove a Contour...it was a very capable small car. And the Mondeo is widely regarded as an excellent car in Europe. So why should a car that shares the Mondeo roots be slammed for simply building on a successful platform?
These types of reviews make me wonder if the author has even ever driven in the cars that they rate. Does the car have some plastic trim reminiscent of a Ford? Sure. Does the car share a platform with the Mondeo/Contour? Sure. But is the car an affordable, comfortable, fun-to-drive entry-level luxury sedan? Absolutely. If only that would count for something in the automotive press.
On that list, at #46, is the Jaguar X-Type. I've read a plethora of unfavorable ratings on the X-Type ever since I first considered purchasing one. This Time Magazine rating is just more of the same nonsensical journalism that most press seem to give to the X-Type.
See their reasoning for putting the X-Type on this list:
"A business case is not the same as wisdom. Certainly, Jaguar needed an entry-luxury model to compete against the BMW 3-series and Mercedes-Benz C-class. Yes, the company, owned by Ford, had access to a very successful world car platform, the Mondeo, which Americans knew as the Ford Contour. There was money to be saved. But in its attempt to turn the front-drive compact car into an "all-wheel drive" sports sedan, Jaguar ran smack into the limits of platform engineering. The result was the English version of the Cadillac Cimarron, a tarted-up insult to a once-proud marque and a financial disaster for the company. It hardly matters that the X-Type was not that bad a car. Young affluent buyers had the feeling they were somehow being grifted. They were."
So the rating actually admits that the X-Type "was not that bad" but is still one of the worst cars of all time? Interesting.
From what I can gather, car magazines (and mainstream magazines, apparently) expected the $30-$40k X-Type to have the exact same quality of material and build as the $60 - $70k XJ.
Beyond that, the press is always hung up on the Mondeo / Contour origins of the car and focus on this as a negative trait. I drove a Contour...it was a very capable small car. And the Mondeo is widely regarded as an excellent car in Europe. So why should a car that shares the Mondeo roots be slammed for simply building on a successful platform?
These types of reviews make me wonder if the author has even ever driven in the cars that they rate. Does the car have some plastic trim reminiscent of a Ford? Sure. Does the car share a platform with the Mondeo/Contour? Sure. But is the car an affordable, comfortable, fun-to-drive entry-level luxury sedan? Absolutely. If only that would count for something in the automotive press.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Amish my a$$
Stephanie and I visited Mary Yoder's Amish Kitchen restaurant in Middlefield, OH this weekend. The food wasn't any better or worse than your standard Bob Evan's fare, however the restaurant got its charm from the Amish ambiance.
Only a handful of the waitresses were wearing traditional Amish attire, the rest looked the part of a typical greasy-spoon waitress anywhere else in OH. I assumed that the waitresses that were actually dressed in Amish clothing were, in fact Amish.
Given this assumption, you can imagine my surprise when I noticed that all of the waitresses, even the Amish wait staff, were entering the food orders into the restaurants computer system!
I guess touch-screen monitors and computerized ordering applications are allowed in the Amish community now.
(I know that the restaurant itself isn't governed by Amish rules (or they wouldn't even have electricity), however the wait staff definitely seemed to be authentic Amish)
Monday, September 03, 2007
Overheard at...
...the fireworks following an orchestra performance at Blossom:
"That would kill Jesus!"
- little girl in reaction to a huge firework blast
I don't really know what it means, but it sure was funny
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