Unabashed Gearhead Gnarlyness

Why it's quiet over here at UGG...

... I'm on vacation, which means plenty of time to finally get up to speed on Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, but also conscious decision to do a little less blogging while I'm out on R&R.

I'm totally blown away by the fidelity of the GT 5 driving experience.  I just spent a challenging evening getting to grips with the twitchy rear end of the Corvette Z06, and to good effect: there are a bunch of virtual Ford GT and Dodge Viper drivers wondering just who that guy was who blew their doors off... man does that V8 sound good!

I salute the dedication and high standards of Kazunori Yamauchi.  The games he and his teams create embody everything we at metacool hold sacred: that quality is the basis of all remarkable experiences, that the best marketing is built off that base of extreme quality, and that quality is best achieved by organizations led by people who know whereof they speak.  Because of all of this, Gran Turismo is as incredible a total experience as the iPhone, the Nissan GT-R, or a dinner at Frasca.  All of those are created by teams of quality fanatics.  There is no substitute for doing really good work.

Okay, only $301,849 more of virtual GT 5 money and I'll have me a Ferrari F40 (I already bought a virtual GT-R, natch).

Bye.

Gnarly Manifesto: to the powers that be, please bring back the rear-drive rally car!

While I can't think of a better use of television pixels than footage from a good rally, I must say that I'd much rather have rally racers do it with torque out of the rear.  Four wheel drive is a marvelous thing for civilians like me who can't pedal a rear-drive car worth a damn in slick conditions, but for gifted pilots they dampen the art and the flair.  Would we tell Picasso he could only paint using a powerful computer capable of perfection?  Of course not -- the pleasure of the process lies in the mastery of the tools, both as witnesses and protagonists.  Four wheel drive is more efficient and capable, and is faster, but...

Sit back and watch this masterful exhibition of slithering braking, drifts caught in the air, and a bunch of plain old hanging the tail out, and tell me you wouldn't want to see today's crop of rally aces doing the same.

Torque out the rear!   Torque out the rear!

(also: not to diminish the talent exhibited in this footage, but does this video feel just a smidge sped up to anyone else?  Or is he really just that good?)