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Smith and Sniff
Smith and Sniff

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Show notes 121

Hello you. It's us again. In pictures this week we start with the Mazda with the seriously knackered A-pillar. Jonny’s memory was playing tricks on him; it’s a Mazda6 not a 3. Then we have Pitbull looking like an estate agent, as usual, a current-shape Audi A7 looking quite sinister in all-black, and, since we briefly mention Tiff Needell, an excuse to roll out a photo of him in his legendary sun-damaged emergency Skoda rally jacket. As for links, we have…

The Those Damn Crows track that made Richard drive like a bell - https://youtu.be/gB1sSgbx2Aw

David Baddiel on crashing while waving - https://youtu.be/kst6neCTmqc?t=47

Finally, don’t forget about the very first Smith and Sniff live recording next month - https://www.patreon.com/posts/smith-and-sniff-70333633

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Comments

The RAF's VC10s had rear facing seats for safety reasons, which I'm sure is the aircraft you're thinking of. But that's the only aircraft I've ever been on that has them. All the other military transports are forward- or sideways-facing.

Simon O

Aww poor Mazda. The last really fun to drive 6!

Roger Skagerström

You're right about it being safer to have a rear facing seat if a frontal impact because, as you noted, removes whiplash potential etc. although if someone rear ends you I’m not sure it’ll be any better. I think at one point there was thought of having rear facing seats in commercial aircraft (as planes don't tend to reverse into mountains etc). I think the commercial aircraft idea was actually tried, but passengers didn’t enjoy facing the ‘wrong’ way, particularly during take-off and landing –probably feels like being on a rear travelling rollercoaster, especially on landing! The same is true of travelling on trains, especially given there aren’t any seat belts. Law of averages you’re best to sit with your back in the direction of travel.

Anthony Saunter

Also, two songs that always bring on the bell driver are the thematically similar She Sells Sanctuary by the Cult (the RS6 opener to Layer Cake, one of the best openers ever) and Open Fire by The Darkness. The latter definitely has an accident-potential air guitar solo bit.

Brendan McAleer

Did anyone else watch the Mary Whitehouse experience till the end? Milky milky

Adam

BA used to (or may still have) rear facing seats. Can’t really comment on it as I managed to get catastrophically drunk at breakfast on cheap champagne, fell asleep as soon as I sat down and woke up about 2 hrs later having slept though takeoff!

Dom

The quite brilliant Mazda Business concept puts me in mind of a very odd car I sometimes see locally. It's an Esso 67-X, one of a handful of customized Toronados built by George Barris for the 1967 world's fair. They were commissioned by Esso and given away to customers who collected stamps and mailed them in, something like that. The owner of this one lends it to the museum (we also have John Lennon's Rolls-Royce) but he also just drives it around from time to time. It's INSANE looking, nearly twenty-feet long and bright orange. The salient point is that the passenger seat is intended to swivel around while driving, and it has little airplane-style tables, just as Jonny suggested. How does this conform to safety standards? Answer: it was the 1960s. Below, a link showing what this setup looks like. Very Executive Office. https://imgur.com/lcmZzmA

Brendan McAleer

He did yeah, Craig Charles off of out of Red Dwarf and Robot Wars. I won't mention that he's more recently been on Coronation Street and The Gadget Show. Oh.

Matt Tester

Did Richard say Craig Charles has a radio show? Lister out of Red Dwarf? Also that A pillar gash Mazda number plate ends in DNF (Did not finish)!

Kevin Perham

Carden is near Chester

Simon Whittaker

Amazingly, Pitbull owns half of the most successful new NASCAR team..... and Kimi is driving for them this weekend at Watkins Glen.

david marden

Boring sleeping bag bags fact - they're called stuff-sacks for a reason, the official method is just ram it back in and keep shoving until it's all in. It's not only the quickest way but also stops the fibres getting knackered, which happens if you roll it up the same way every time. Or at least that's what my scout leader told me after I'd spent half a day trying to bag a rolled up sleeping bag at my first camp - my mother wasn't happy with this rather untidy solution and it took years to convince her I wasn't just being lazy

Duncan Dyer

The band that always flicked my instant hooligan switch behind the wheel was the Test Icicles. Some years back I absent-midledly popped it on as I left the circuit at the LeMans 24hr. Within 800yds of leaving the Hotel Arbor car park, I was charged €95 for an Excellent Overtaking certificate by a Gendarme. It has pride of place to this day.

Dark Newt

Those Damn Crows - I was sure you'd remembered the name wrong, so I was coming here to feel really clever and tell you that you must have mis-remembered the 2009 supergroup, Them Crooked Vultures - Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin and Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters

Richard Major

I’ve flown in rear facing seats in an RAF VC10. Yes, they were proven to be safer but the general public wouldn’t accept it across all airlines. Weird experience when taking off and you hang forwards on the lap belt. Rest of the RAF transport fleet are conventional seating as they came from civil airliners. Tristar and now Airbus Voyagers.

Jamie Miller

Speaking of Tiff Nedell and racing while being in the rhythm section of his own journalistic throttle band (John Peel anyone?): He could also be Timothy B. Smith or Don Henley from The Eagles. Or Micky Dolenz from The Monkees. Or when speaking of Metal: Lemmy. He could however also be a woman.. Yes, Karen Carpenter springs to mind as a brilliant singer and drummer, but it’s not where I am going. In a Top Gear episode where the Stig is still growing/missing/photocopying his helmet (take your pick… of the helmets), they had to get Tiff in to train the celeb in the reasonably priced car. The person, who did the Danish subtitles clearly didn’t know racing, cars, or Tiff, promptly upon Clarkson mentioning Tiff Nedell wrote the subtitles as TG having to get help from some Tiffany Dell. I’m sad to say that I was a teenager knew about Tiff, but it actually took me several months before I figured out who they actually meant. #FilateSheikhShow

Victor Uldbaek

It's local to me as it's a DE plate which is Deeside NW. I've had 2 DE, 1 DG & one DC one was a Mazda 6 Diesel estate DE56 RKZ Not on the road since 2018 IIRC

Nigel Hancock

The DNF plate on that Mazda….. it was basically doomed from the start

Sergey Baskakov

Chaps I can’t believe neither of you watch Harry's Farm, considering you sort of gave the spark to it ;) This weeks episode Harry’s son just averted a fire on his combine!

Nigel Hancock

I find most punk music deffo makes me drive like a complete Ely Cathedral Organ never mind a flute...I'm sure if you explain to the officer arresting you what you were listening to, either; they'll let you off with a stiff warning or a reduced offence of "driving with little taste", #OTSOTSHITDRIVINGDEFENCES

Paul Fargher

Mazda 3 - Gash-spec business transport seems like a great idea unless the driver is a sideways sneezer.

Tom Lanigan

I still ferry around, in the boot, a A3 size folder of cds that I don't listen to!

Remoc

Hah! I wondered if that Newman/Baddiel skit would come up :D

Martin Gutkowski

Armando looks more like car salesman at an Accura dealership in So Florida of course

Bill


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