Douglas Adams Continuum (DAC)

The questions are in bold, and you can't skip them unless it doesn't apply, and if you drive a motorbike it doesn't count as you are not a true Motoringist as you don't have enough wheels! On with the questions, folks, i'll start!

Did you pass your test first time?
Uh, second actually, 2 counts of speeding as i made the mistake of thinking the actual limit was (obviously!) higher than the speed of the car. BUT James May did say "All the best people pass the second time."

What car did you learn to drive in?
Ford Focus. Absolutely a pleasure to drive and a rock solid driving experience.

What was the first car you bought?
Mini Cooper 02 with Salt Pack. Immaculate condition, slightly high milage on the clock, but was told by a Mini engineer that at 2K paid peanuts for it.

What was the first car you ever bought?
Can i say 'Almost'? A Kia Picanto with 50K on the clock and controls as slack as heck. No thank you.

What's your dream car?
Bugatti Veyron L'or Blanc, it's trimmed in porcelain, for frag's sake!

What caused your first crash?
Safe and sound so far, folks, no crashes, bumps or scrapes of any kind.

What is the worst thing a passenger can say to you?
Go faster, you're driving too slow!

Are you a good driver?
Friends and family opinion states Yes. Proud of it.

How clean is your licence?
Spotless. Nil Pwon! Zero points!

What is the fastest you have ever driven?
Just the UK national speed limits, folks.

What is your favourite place to drive?
Recently i drove a Jeep Cherokee in The Faroe Islands. A stunning place.

Ever had an 'awkward' conversation with the traffic police?
No.

_________________
"If you are disappointed in any way with our service, then please. Don't hesitate. FEEL disappointed." Fentible.

Nice one. And a perfect way to avoid the revision I should be doing.

Did you pass your test first time?
Yes.
I think by definition that makes me better ;)

What car did you learn to drive in?
Austin Metro 1.0

What was the first car you bought?
Talbot Avenger Estate. Quite the ug-monster, delightfully underpowered, with designer papier-mache rust-fills and plenty of load capacity. Having said this, the latter was somewhat irrelevant since, unless it consisted entirely of helium-filled balloons, a full load of anything heavier than air would render the vehicle completely immobile.

What was the second car you bought? /[i]amended as it seems to repeat previous question[i]
Ford Escort XR3i, with obligatory go-faster stripe and stiffened suspension. Delightfully overpowered, incapable of pulling away without leaving 20 yards of rubber on the road. Most fun car I've owned, even better than the TVR.

What's your dream car?
AC Cobra 427. Never been any other for me.

What caused your first crash?
The idiot behind me wasn't looking.

What is the worst thing a passenger can say to you?
"I'd rather crash into a wall than a tree". Actual quote, some people are SOO nervous.

Are you a good driver?
I'm considerate and attentive to all road users, and I have good lane discipline.

How clean is your licence?
Similarly zero, clean since 1996.

What is the fastest you have ever driven?
Haha. 122mph (195kmh) in the XR3i (got away with that). Probably faster on my Formula Jaguar track day.

What is your favourite place to drive?
The driving seat?
Anywhere. Some bits of the A303, A31 and A25 bring a smile to my face. Even London (on a good day).

Ever had an 'awkward' conversation with the traffic police?
Not for over 20 yrs.


Next

_________________
The drug purportedly affected an area of the brain called "Shatner's Bassoon"

I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my body. Then I realized who was telling me this.
http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii297/h2g230/

Did you pass your test first time?
Yep, although I ran over a red light! There was a strange single red light hanging in the air on the road, shortly after a regular crossing. I was following a stream of other cars which ignored or didn't see that light as well. Apparently it was to enhance the traffic flow but nobody paid attention to this light ever, which was lucky for me ;-)

What car did you learn to drive in?
VW Golf. Perfect for learning.

What was the first car you bought?
Citroen 2 CV. Loved it. Made love in it. Nice open car in the summer, great driving in the winter with those tiny wheels. Heating? Not so much! Anyway, wonderful character of a car. Still miss it...

What was the second car you bought?
Honda CRX. Nice little sports car, great to drive. Half-drowned the poor thing in a Dutch ditch after skidding off the highway thanks to aquaplaning (yeah, I was running a wee bit fast...)! Had it pulled out, air dried, and then it ran for another two years. After that came a Rover 200 and my current Chrysler PT Cruiser.

What's your dream car?
Ferrari F12berlinetta. Need to win (and play) the lottery first.

What caused your first crash?
Stupid driver ahead of me, of course. Not you, Tony! Was driving behind another car on an acceleration lane to get onto a larger road, looked behind me to see that no other car was approaching on that road, started accelerating, only to find out that the car in front of me had almost stopped despite that there was no car coming to wait for. Hit the car from behind, but nothing serious. Except that I was driving my mum's car...

What is the worst thing a passenger can say to you?
Go slower, you're driving too fast ;-)

Are you a good driver?
Brilliant. It's always the other guy's fault. The other guy might disagree 'though.

How clean is your licence?
Clean as it gets!

What is the fastest you have ever driven?
210 km/h. Not easy, you have to anticipate how the slower cars in front of you are behaving.

What is your favourite place to drive?
Empty highway with no speed limit. Or the lovely coastal roads on San Juan Island, very relaxed driving there.

Ever had an 'awkward' conversation with the traffic police?
Nope!

_________________
Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
(Douglas Adams, "Last Chance to See")

Did you pass your test first time?
Yes, after ten lessons. It helped to have a girlfriend with a car at the time. She let me drive it.

What car did you learn to drive in?
An Austin 1100 and a mini. My girlfriend's car was also a mini.

What was the first car you bought?
A Ford Anglia estate. I had it for three weeks before things started falling off it. It went to the great scrapyard in the Sky.

What was the second car you bought?
A 1966 Volkswagen Variant S estate. Built like a brick out house. Still the best car I ever owned.

What's your dream car?
Ferrari F40

What caused your first crash?
A long country road that came to an abrupt end without warning me! I hit a stone wall sideways on. Luckily it was in the Variant so the car, me and my four freinds escaped with only minor damage.

What is the worst thing a passenger can say to you?
Wake up!

Are you a good driver?
Of course I am! What are you suggesting???

How clean is your licence?
Three points at the moment. It hasn't been clean for years. All speeding offences.

What is the fastest you have ever driven?
128mph. On the autobahn in Germany.

What is your favourite place to drive?
Highway 1 from San Fransisco to L.A.

Ever had an 'awkward' conversation with the traffic police?
Yep, shot a red light with a police car right behind me. He let me off.

_________________
Her mouth opened, her eyes patients, the variety of age and constitution as a pullets egg, with some gobbits of fat, and the heavy sand.

(... don't piss us off)

Did you pass your test first time?
Bike, yes; Car, No (second time)

What car did you learn to drive in?
A Mini belonging to a friend (one of the very early ones with a long, spindly gearstick), a driving school Escort and my mum's HB Viva

What was the first car you bought?
A 1962 Left Hand drive 2CV. Only car I'v ever made money on (bought for £45, sold for £65 after 8 months)

What was the second car you bought?
Second car (and third) I had I didn't actually buy - they were my mum's cast offs. The first, a Hillman Imp, I drove into a drystone wall at 60mph and was lucky to live. The second, a Vauxhall Magnum, was overcome by tinworm. The next car I bought new (cash after long trip offshore!) was a Fiesta XR2 which I thought was the bees knees for about a week but was actually the most uncomfortable, unreliable POS I've owned. Never bought another Ford.

What's your dream car?
Bugatti Type Type 57SC Atlantic. (been in love with Bugattis since I was taken to watch my godfather hillclimb his Type35 when I was about 6)

What caused your first crash?
First (and only) real crash was the Imp above. Driving too fast, hit a stone in the road, lost the front, crunch. Luckily (a) there was a slight rise to hit the wall so it went up a bit otherwise the petrol tank would probably have split (b) I was wearing a seatbelt

What is the worst thing a passenger can say to you?
Don't you think you should go that way/slower/faster/etc

Are you a good driver?
Of course I am!

How clean is your licence?
Clean as a whistle now. At one point I had nine points (3 speed cameras). I tend to be very cautious now.

What is the fastest you have ever driven?
About 125 on the M6 in my dad's boss's BMW 525. Before the days of speed cameras. I have driven on an Autobahn in Germany but it was in a VW Polo that could only do 90 flat out!

What is your favourite place to drive?
Ditto to Scratch's Highway 1 from San Fransisco to L.A. If only it hadn't been in a Toyota Prius! I have never driven a car with so much understeer.
Also a lot of the roads around Inverness, Aviemore and Speyside. Thinking about renting one of these sometime

Ever had an 'awkward' conversation with the traffic police?
Oh, yes.
1. Took a right turn thru a red light on a borrowed motorbike. Nearly ran down an old lady. Police car saw me. Done for driving without due care and attention. 3 month ban. They missed the fact that I wasn't insured
2. Spectacularly blew away a prat in an Astra GTE while driving a friend's Caterham 7. Spotted by the police who pulled me over. Got away with a "next time you want to drive like that, do it on a race track." The guy in the Astra didn't stop and I believe he was traced at home from his number and was prosecuted.

_________________
D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
--------------------------------------

Re the Caterham, DO IT!

You wouldn't want to own one, but driving one is real motoring. Just be careful with the loud pedal; hit it too hard, and it hits back.

_________________
The drug purportedly affected an area of the brain called "Shatner's Bassoon"

I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my body. Then I realized who was telling me this.
http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii297/h2g230/

Oh, I know. As mentioned in the bit about cops, I have driven one belonging to a friend. It "only" has a 1600cc Ford Kent engine but was still pretty quick. He later put a Mazda RX7 turbo rotary engine in and it became a monster (although I never drove it in that form). The ones they build now with getting on for 300bhp must be incredible.

And you'd love the Highway One route Scratch and I mentioned, Tony. It's like the Amalfi coast with wider roads and no crazy Italian drivers

_________________
D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
--------------------------------------

Did you pass your test first time?
I did.

What car did you learn to drive in?
My two oldest sisters' station wagons - Oldsmobile and Pontiac, I think. Dad wasn't big on letting us drive his car until he realized we could take Mom (who's never had a drivers' license) to church and the grocery store, allowing him to sleep in for a change ...

What was the first car you bought?
A two year old citron green '74 MG Midget. I had to learn to drive a stick because I'd already bought one. Loved that car. Made love on that car (it was too small to do it in it). Ended up selling it for way under value after some neighborhood punks flipped it over in my front yard. *sigh*

What was the second car you bought?
A 1968 red Renault R10 - much more roomy than the MG.

What's your dream car?
I have better things to dream of than cars.

What caused your first crash?
Fender benders aside, the only real crash I've been in was caused by a teenager who deemed it unnecessary to slow down for the 90 degree bend in the road and instead crossed the center line at roughly 45mpg, driving his mommy's uninsured Ford Explorer directly into my driver's side door - confirming that my side air bags were pink and that the automatic roll bars do indeed deploy if they might be needed. Totaled my little yellow Beetle convertible and changed my answer to 'yes' when asked 'have you ever been transported by ambulance?'.

What is the worst thing a passenger can say to you?
I'm not particularly fond of being told when to change lanes or which route to take by someone who realizes I know how to get there.

Are you a good driver?
I think so!

How clean is your licence?
I was unjustly sited for failure to come to a complete stop before turning right on red in the late 70's and had maybe 3 speeding tickets (all justified) all told, but nothing for at least 20 years.

What is the fastest you have ever driven?
I'm fairly certain I broke 100 trying to keep up with Gonz to get Ken Socrates to the airport in time a few years back. His flight ended up being canceled, allowing us time to have dinner and for Joe to get lucky with the waitress.

What is your favourite place to drive?
Another vote for the Pacific Coast Highway. I found the road to Hana and the drive along Maui's north shore to be more scenic (plus, they sell the world's best banana bread along the way!), but I doubt my nerves will ever allow me to brave the sheer drops again. Driving along the Florida Keys is also quite nice, although I'd have to say that my absolute favorite place to drive is into my daughter's driveway.

Ever had an 'awkward' conversation with the traffic police?
Not really awkward, but I once got out of a speeding ticket when I explained to the officer that the reason I was speeding was because I was running late in getting my daughter to her father's wedding.

_________________
(... don't piss us off)

There was and ad campaign whose tag line was "You can do it in an MG"



Gez, you should have tried being a passenger in Gonz's car on that trip:)

_________________
D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
--------------------------------------

I was priviliged to get to drive the Caterham Seven Superlight here:

http://www.palmersport.com/caterham7superlight.aspx

_________________
The drug purportedly affected an area of the brain called "Shatner's Bassoon"

I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my body. Then I realized who was telling me this.
http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii297/h2g230/

Did you pass your test first time?
Yep.

What car did you learn to drive in?
Ford Thunderbird.

What was the first car you bought?
Ford Thunderbird - same as above

What was the second car you bought?
Y'know, I'm so not a car person, I don't even remember. It's name was Pokey, and I bought it with the money I made after my T-Bird was totalled. I think it was an Escort.

What's your dream car?
One that never requires maintenance of any kind. Or the working Delorean from Back To The Future that will transport me in time.

What caused your first crash?
It was rush hour, and an idiot changed lanes into me.
The second was a drunk driver who hit me head on and totalled the car.

What is the worst thing a passenger can say to you?
Is that a cliff?

Are you a good driver?
I honestly used to be. I'm an excellent defensive driver, but I can be pretty aggressive.

How clean is your licence?
It is clean now. Back when I drove responsibly and almost never sped, I got speeding tickets frequently, which I swear were the only times I sped back then. Friends I drove around were always confused about how I'd get so many speeding tickets, and imagined a Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde thing from when I drove them and when I drove myself. Now that I speed nearly everywhere I go, I never get a ticket (I've probably jinxed it now).

What is the fastest you have ever driven?
Probably in the 90's. I might have cracked 100 just to see if I could at some point in the past.

What is your favourite place to drive?
I don't have a favorite place, per se, but whenever I'm alone and moved by song with the windows down feeling the breeze is one of my favorite things. Usually happens on road trips to nearly anywhere, but particularly happens when I drive back to my hometown which is 8 hours away from where I live.

Ever had an 'awkward' conversation with the traffic police?
Once when renting a car and the officer for some reason just wanted to pick a fight as we explained repeatedly that we didn't actually own the car, had rented it, it had rental plates but unfortunately could not find the rental agreement right away. We eventually found it in the trunk in the suitcase. He was a prick.
Other than that, it has always been pretty straightforward or in one case actually kind of pleasant.

_________________
It's terrible, but I guess songs are just interesting things to do with the air.
-Tom Waits

Did you pass your test first time?
Nope.

What car did you learn to drive in?
Automatic trans: AMC Pacer.
Standard trans: Renault Alliance (sniff... I miss her)

What was the first car you bought?
Honda Accord

What was the second car you ever bought?
Pontiac Vibe

What's your dream car?
1) A TARDIS.
2) Failing that, a heavily modified Ford E-Series van powered by a jet engine with oscillation overthruster.
3) Failing that, a Kia Optima LX with standard trans.

What caused your first crash?
As much as I want to say that it was due to a disruption in the causal nexus leading to a temporary rift in the space/time continuum, it was really inattention.

What is the worst thing a passenger can say to you?
Gusty's already said it.

Are you a good driver?
Definitely a good driver.

How clean is your licence?
After December of this year, spotless.

What is the fastest you have ever driven?
120mph

What is your favourite place to drive?
Scenic highways with lots of hills and curves.

Ever had an 'awkward' conversation with the traffic police?
All of my conversations are awkward.

_________________
This has been another random act of nonsense.

I am so confused. Not only does this thread mess with time (were the posts from 2004? 2007? 2005?

BUT THE INDEX SAYS there were posts in 2012, and I can't find any.

Just had to express my confusion and frustration. It was a fun read, anyway.

Return to your normal lives now.

_________________
I'm just here

You haven't been playing with that time machine again have you?

Who's president right now?

_________________
The drug purportedly affected an area of the brain called "Shatner's Bassoon"

I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my body. Then I realized who was telling me this.
http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii297/h2g230/

_________________
Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
(Douglas Adams, "Last Chance to See")

Did you pass your test first time?
yes. and boy was that a relief. i think failing this would have been worse for me than underperforming at the Abitur.

What car did you learn to drive in?
not a clue what the driving school car was, but my father taught me a little in the rental seat ibiza we had on our lanzarote holiday back then. didn´t help much.

What was the first car you bought?
never had to buy a car yet, i´m always driving hand-me-downs from my family. first my grandfather´s Jetta, then my mother´s Audi A2 (old model with four doors but next to no room in the trunk), now my father´s ex-office car, a Golf V which is hilariously underpowered. well, i say i drive this car now, but actually my brother has it for an extended "i-don´t-actually-need-a-car"-period.

What's your dream car?
i don´t dream of cars, but i wouldn´t mind a Porsche. or a vintage VW Beetle.

What caused your first crash?
no crashes so far, not even a dent. fingers crossed.

What is the worst thing a passenger can say to you?
"Yes, no cars coming from the right side.
Except for thatAARGH!"
... more realistically, anything that hints at i´m not doing a good job.

Are you a good driver?
oh come on, does anyone answer "no" here?
i like to think i´m a good driver. i´m a dynamic driver, i know that, which isn´t everybody´s cup of tea.

How clean is your licence?
spotless now. but i don´t get to drive very often these days. i must have had the odd point in earlier years, for speeding.

What is the fastest you have ever driven?
how fast does a fully-powered Audi A6 go? 230, 250 kmh? then that. once, just to see how fast the thing would go. ROWR! (it was a straight road with no other car in sight, no worries. also, no passenger to scare. i´m considerate like that. )

What is your favourite place to drive?
i want to say highway number 1 in america, but then i remember that you may only trot on U.S. highways. so i´ll say the german A2, the bit between Berlin and Magdeburg, because it´s straight, has no speed limit and is nearly never jammed. if i want a scenic drive, i take the bike.

Ever had an 'awkward' conversation with the traffic police?
eryes.
in denmark.
i was driving us home after a new year´s vacation, cruising at a leisurely 160 kmh (wanna arrive at some point, see), when a danish cop on a motor bike pulled us over and demanded to see my papers. boy, was i sure i was done for.
the he asked me (in german, with that cute danish accent, no less!): "how fast may you drive on a danish highway?"
me (VERY small and apologetic voice): "110 kmh."
he: "thank you!"
handed me back the papers and let me go without even a lecture. i think it was a combination of it just being women and children on board and the fact that i wasn´t trying to bullshit him. whew!

_________________
"The human gene pool needs more lifeguards!
Either that or stronger chlorination...." (Pitbull)