Why Is It So?
Submitted: Friday, Dec 30, 2005 at 17:04
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ev700
Ran out of reading matter so I flipped through the Road Ahead Dec 05- Jan 06 issue produced by the RACQ.
There is a long article listing 'Australia's Best Cars', which was produced by other motoring writers:
http://www.australiasbestcars.com.au/about.htm
To be eligible, the cars had to be on sale by the cut-off date of 14 October 2005. It was said that full details of
Separately on page 69 the usual article on Queensland's Chart Toppers, which lists the best sellers by class in 2005.
What is interestiong is that there is very little commonality between the vehicles listed by motoring writers as 'best cars' and those judged by the community as 'best cars' (and therefore reflected in purchasing desisions).
Unfortunately there is no listing of the vehicles purchased by the motoring writers to see if they put their money into their own recommendations.
I'm sure there consumers would be as confused as I am by the discrepancy between the preferences of 'experts' and everyone else.
It would be good if the RACQ could look into it and offer some explanation. But in the interim it poses the question, 'Why is it so?'
And don't say the answer is P76!
Reply By: Willem - Friday, Dec 30, 2005 at 17:13
Friday, Dec 30, 2005 at 17:13
The answer is 42......................hahahahahaha!
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Follow Up By: ev700 - Friday, Dec 30, 2005 at 17:18
Friday, Dec 30, 2005 at 17:18
;-)
P38 sounds closer to the mark.
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Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Friday, Dec 30, 2005 at 22:17
Friday, Dec 30, 2005 at 22:17
Yes ...but what IS the question?
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Follow Up By: Member - Royce- Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 00:40
Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 00:40
The question was 7 X 9.... so why was the answer 42?
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Follow Up By: Willem - Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 08:24
Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 08:24
I'll spoil the party and give you the question which comes before the answer
Question What is the meaning of life? Or, If there is a God, what would he think of the question?
(This question was put by all and sundry of the universe. The mice commissioned the building of the mega computer which was to give the answer. It took 10 million years or thereabouts to complete the project. In the end the computer came up with the answer of 42)
Bonz might correct me on the facts if he wishes but that is my interpretation...lol
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Follow Up By: Rojac - Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 08:43
Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 08:43
Going Hitchhiking??
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Follow Up By: Willem - Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 08:59
Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 08:59
Rojac
I'd give my eye teeth to go hitch-hiking around the galaxy.
Better still, convert the GQ into a Supersonic Warp-drive shuttle.
Come to think of it, I don't have any eye teeth left.........sigh
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Follow Up By: Rojac - Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 09:07
Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 09:07
Even better than that, travel backwards and forwards through time, all thats needed is a Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space machine.
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Follow Up By: Willem - Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 09:32
Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 09:32
If we could just borrow the one from the BBC for 5 minutes....LOL
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Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 09:44
Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 09:44
Actually Royce the question that the final mega computer (called Earth) came up with was.......... What is six times seven? Arthur Dent pulled the letters randomly from a bag in the early pre-cambrian period.
The mega computer was destroyed by the Vogons during construction of a space mega highway, and the program was never completed.
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Follow Up By: Willem - Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 09:49
Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 09:49
Bonz
HNY
Wasn't there another computer before Earth was built? I am confused...lol
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Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 09:56
Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 09:56
Yes Willem I too have my towel ready and would give your eye teeth to travel the universe, only in a Patrol tho with the Hyperdrive that the Heart of Gold had.
The mice commissioned the computer, Deep Thought, to answer the Question of Life, the Universe and Everything, to which mystics and soothsayers most objected to. They selected BrunFondel and Majikthise to represent them to the Mice and the computer and were present for its Answer. Which of course was 42. They then had to find out the Question. For that reason a greater and more powerful computer was built for which Deep Thought was not worthy to calculate its most minor equations, this was the Earth (Slartibartfast designed the Fjords in Norway - He got an award for it) and the Magratheans were commissioned to build it.
Sadly it was destroyed by the Vogons before it had completed its work and the Magratheans were brough out of hibernation and commissioned to build another earth to answer the Question. This rebuilt Earth was the one that Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect wandered over (found Slartibartfasts initials on a Fjord) and finally found the Answer.
The movie is on Austar Box Office this month I might just take a look.
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Follow Up By: Willem - Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 10:42
Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 10:42
Thanks for that insight Bonz,
We do have the New HHGTTG on DVD and I should go and view it again
Cheers
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Follow Up By: GaryInOz (Vic) - Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 17:42
Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 17:42
Royce, it was actually 6 x 9, and it does or at least can equal 42 if you discount our distinctly human point of view. If we were born with thirteen fingers......(work it out)
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Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 17:51
Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 17:51
yes Gary you're right the question was, after Arthur rightly consoled a caveman for being out-evolved by a Golgafrincham Telephone Sanitiser and and spelling library with only one "r" after introducing a random element that can be shaped by Arthurs brainwaves..."What do you get if you multiply six by nine" hmmmm 42 eh
I always thought there was something fundamentally wrong with the Universe
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Reply By: ev700 - Friday, Dec 30, 2005 at 17:17
Friday, Dec 30, 2005 at 17:17
Not wanting a flame war over the winners or losers.
However I am interested in why the difference exists.
I am also intrigued as to why the editor of the Road Ahead didn't pick up and attempt to explain the inconsistency between the motoring writers' recommendations and the buying patterns quoted in the same issue.
It is not as though the difference between buyers and motoring writers is unusual, it seems to be par for the course and it is an issue of credibility.
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Reply By: GaryInOz (Vic) - Friday, Dec 30, 2005 at 19:34
Friday, Dec 30, 2005 at 19:34
You said it yourself, look at the COTY awards from the different mags (4WD included).
P76 (had to say it!!!)
Austin 1800
Holden Camira
Ford Capri (FWD)
They are obsessed with all of the wrong things.
To the magazines if a car cannot go from 1-250 km/h in milliseconds, then it is useless as a family car. (?????)
Go to the newsagent an have a look at "Wheels" and "Motor" this month, case in point....
Boring family car tests DONT sell magazines, they have to appeal to the "aspirational" market by "hammering" and "slamming" exotics that not even the top 5% of ppl can ever afford, against a clock.
Their taget market is the male 18-25 olds.
Would be nice if the magazines were banned from publishing 0-60 and 0-100 km/h times in anything less than 2 second intervals down to < 12 seconds, with that being the lowest allowed to be published. Be a bit like the old stated power output of the Rolls Royce 6.75 V12, "adequate".
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Follow Up By: ev700 - Friday, Dec 30, 2005 at 21:58
Friday, Dec 30, 2005 at 21:58
GaryinOz
I think your reference to the aspirational market and 'hammering' and 'slamming' exotics is spot on. That is a good way of looking at it.
It may never happen but regulators should take yp the idea of de-tuning the reporting of acceleration times - even if
young drivers can still get the info off the web.
I had forgotten the Austin 1800 and the greatest leaker of all the Ford Capri. The Camira was a classic, had a friend with one of those - everything failed at some time or other :-(
EV700
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Follow Up By: Des Lexic - Friday, Dec 30, 2005 at 22:28
Friday, Dec 30, 2005 at 22:28
I thought the Camira was a gem compared to the holden sunbird. Now they had a licence to burn money.Lol
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Follow Up By: gramps - Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 08:35
Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 08:35
If you were a motoring writer which would you prefer to
test drive and write about:
1. The boring humdrum POS that most people put up with as their standard transportation, or
2. The latest, greatest fire breathing whizz bang POS that far less than 1% of the world's
population can afford to own.
Don't need a uni degree to work that one out.
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Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 09:46
Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 09:46
Gramps, even more so, many readers want to read and experience through others eyes what they can never afford themselves
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Follow Up By: gramps - Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 12:01
Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 12:01
True Bonz, very true. Been guilty of exactly that on more than one occasion :)))
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Follow Up By: V8Diesel - Sunday, Jan 01, 2006 at 23:14
Sunday, Jan 01, 2006 at 23:14
Don't forget the Volkswagen Passat. What a P.O.S. that COTY was.
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Reply By: Member - Andy Q (VIC) - Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 00:30
Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 at 00:30
G'day ev700, To be a complete synic but, IMHO, is'nt the discrepancy between the advertisers,the car companies money and how much they are willing to pay the editors, testers and/or magazines.
What is actually written is not necessarily true or false. I stopped buying FWD and car magazine publications in my early 30's( a distant memory).
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Reply By: Footloose - Sunday, Jan 01, 2006 at 18:47
Sunday, Jan 01, 2006 at 18:47
I used to own a P76. If anyone would like to pay me a LOT of money I'd be more than happy to write an article on why it was the best car in the last 50 years :))))))))
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