Woofcast #208

Posted bydb 16 Comments on Woofcast #208

lecar.jpgWe start off tonight hating the internet. For reals. Then, some MINI2 news before moving into talking about people that are leaving the MINI brand for whatever reason.

Of course, we also cover news of the week from Motoringfile.

Great shows this week! I think you’ll approve. We have also decided that we are going to do 1 show next week and we are going to do it live! Next Thursday, 7PM PST. Keep an eye on the sites for details Wednesday.

Woofcast 208:

Download | 15.2MB | 33:05 | No Zip yet. Soon | WRR @ iTunes

16 replies on “Woofcast #208”

  1. Still looking for John Baker’s Le Car. Could it have been sitting in a warehouse for 20 years & recycled onto My Name is Earl? Or maybe Todd’s thinking of the one Jim Rockford pushed off of a cliff on The Rockford Files.

    Wait, I’ve got it, Todd’s got John Baker in CHiPs confused with Jason Statham in The Transporter. Yep, that’s it. Todd’s trapped in an alternate universe where crappy French cars are regularly featured on cheesy cop shows. We’ll all join him there some day, and be doomed to relive Dude, Where’s My Car for all eternity.

    Gotta love the internet.

    http://www.answers.com/topic/renault-5

  4. Sorry Todd, gotta side with Jim on this one.

    From the CHiPs wiki

    >He used to drive an Austin Mini but got his blue truck for the second season. (Although several blue trucks were used in the series, the most common was a 1978 GMC Sierra Grande with the license plate 1E49964.)

    See? I knew he didn’t drive a Le Car

  8. >I wonder how many many MINI owners will be changing to 500?

    After watching last weeks Top Gear with Capt. Slow behind the wheel of a 500d, probably not many. He had less than high praise for the diesel engine. I believe he actually called it rubbish.

  9. Yeah I saw that, He was driving the 1.3 derv with 75bhp. The pick of the bunch will be 1.4 turbo with 150bhp! Still I won’t be changing Cooper for a 500. The Fiat network is rubbish here in the UK….and the car will prob fall apart 6 months into ownership!
    😉

  10. MINI2 gets 20 to 30 posts a day? Maybe their RSS doesn’t work (I don’t use RSS). When I log in, it typically shows 100 to 200 threads updated in the past day, and each of those may have received multiple posts during that time.

  13. I used to own a couple of Renaults back in the day…. A 4TL and a 18 GTL sedan. Very sturdy cars for South American driving conditions, but fairly crude by today’s standards.

    Renaults are generally good cars elsewhere but Northamerica. However, the current crop of Nissans and Infinitis have heavy Renault influence.

  14. Nissan & Renault, from wiki

    Alliance with Renault
    In the late 20th century, with Nissan facing severe financial difficulties, Nissan entered an alliance with Renault S.A. of France.[10]

    Signed on March 27, 1999, the Renault-Nissan Alliance is the first of its kind involving a Japanese and a French company, each with its own distinct corporate culture and brand identity. The same year, Renault appointed its own Chief Operating Officer, the Brazilian-born Carlos Ghosn (of Lebanese descent), as Chief Operating Officer of Nissan and took a 22.5% stake in Nissan Diesel. Later that year, Nissan fired its top Japanese executives.

    The Renault-Nissan Alliance is a unique group of two global companies linked by cross-shareholding, with Renault holding 44.3% of Nissan shares, while Nissan holds 15% of Renault shares.

    Under president Ghosn’s “Nissan Revival Plan” (NRP), the company has rebounded in what many leading economists consider to be one of the most spectacular corporate turnarounds in history, catapulting Nissan to record profits and a dramatic revitalization of both its Nissan and Infiniti model line-ups. Despite the turnaround, Infiniti sales have been a disappointment. In 2001, the company initiated Nissan 180, capitalizing on the success of the NRP. The targets set with 180 were an additional sale of 1 million cars, achieving operating margins of 8%, and to have zero automotive debts. Ghosn has been recognized in Japan for the company’s turnaround in the midst of an ailing Japanese economy. Ghosn and the Nissan turnaround were featured in Japanese manga and popular culture. His achievements in revitalizing Nissan were noted by Emperor Akihito, who awarded him the Japan Medal with Blue Ribbon in 2004.

  15. The portion of this show about db’s pronunciation of CitroĂ«n and Todd’s living in the UK got me thinking about which pronunciations to use


    Citroën

    UK=”SIT-Ren”
    US=”Sit-RONE” or otherwise unknown…

    Bugatti

    UK=”Boo-GAA-Tea”
    US=”Boo-GAUGH-Tee”

    Nissan

    UK=”NISS-An”
    US=”NEE-Sawn”

    Renault

    UK=”REH-No”
    US=”Reh-NOH” or “Reh-NOLT”

    Peugeot

    UK=”PO-Zhoe”
    US=”Pooh-JOE”

    Fiat

    UK=”FEE-At”
    US=”Fee-OUGHT”

    Being an American, but living in London, which ones should I go with? Hmmm


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