Travelogue #35 – Final Prep

“You all set?”
“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. What about you?”
“Let’s go.”

Meuspath
Rhineland-Palatinate
Germany
Thursday 08 May 2014

With our excursion to Adenauer Forst completed, Jake and I crossed another item off the bucket list and began the lengthy trip back to the school car park where we had left the Mustang several hours before. We retraced our steps until we reached the chicane, whereupon we deviated from our previous route and chose to follow the gravel path instead. It looked far more promising than the fields, and so it was; it took us downhill and onto a tarmac coated access road, devoid of cars but far easier going than the uneven soil and grass of our outbound journey.

Travelogue #34 – The Secrets of the Nurburgring Nordschleife

“Where did all of these bottles come from?”
“I guess from people with the same idea as us.”
“Incredible.” 

Adenauer Forst
Nurburgring Nordschleife
Rhineland-Palatinate
Germany
Thursday 08 May 2014

Shortly after taking up our positions behind the chain link fence, we heard the high pitched scream of high performance engines approaching Adenauer Forst at high speed. Before the cars came into view they geared down, reducing the noise to little more than a rumble as the drivers negotiated the blind chicane with understandable caution.

Travelogue #24 – Torrential Rain on the Autobahn

“This weather is atrocious.”
“Tell me about it – how nerve-wracking is it, being sat over there in that passenger seat?”
“Not half as nerve-wracking as it must be for you.”
“BMW coming up on the left hand side.”
“A wagon, no less.”
“He’s not hanging about is he? Passed us like we were standing still.”
“How fast are we going?”
“On this stretch? Just a shade under a hundred.”
“Jesus Christ.”

The Autobahn
Somewhere between Düsseldorf and Cologne
North Rhine-Westphalia
Germany
Wednesday 07 May 2014

The journey out of Rotterdam was quiet. Within minutes we had left the huge concrete and glass structures of the city behind in favour of the wider, faster highways. We had loved every moment of our time in Holland, but on that Wednesday our sights were set firmly on reaching Germany’s overnight stop at the Nurburgring.

Deconstruction of a Chase Flick Part 3: ‘The Italian Job’

The cars. The quotes. The ending. This would not be much of a list if it did not include the original ‘Italian Job’, so here it is.

Image Credit: http://www.aronline.co.uk

Once again the remake is not a patch on the original, as Michael Caine and co spend the latter part of the film negotiating tunnels and monuments in their bid to secure bars of gold, all while drunken footie fans abroad chant incessantly in the background. It’s the quintessential chase movie and compulsive viewing regardless of whether you like chase movies or not.

Deconstruction of a Chase Flick Part 2: ‘The Driver’

Walter Hill’s classic begins with silence. It’s one of the most striking elements, amongst several nuances, of the entire first scene.

Image Credit: http://www.veryaware.com

A smartly dressed, baby – faced man in an open collared shirt and a navy two piece suit ascends through the floors of a multi-storey parking garage, walking over to an unassuming Ford LTD.

Review of the 2005 Ford Mustang GT Premium

Those of you who read my blog often will know that I am a huge fan of the Ford Mustang. It’s a car which has held my fascination ever since I first witnessed Steve McQueen pilot his Highland Green ’68 through the twisting streets of San Francisco, my twelve year old eyes wide with awe and glued to the action projected into my friend’s living room from his old VCR (thanks Dan!)

After years of waiting, I finally reached my goal of ownership when I picked up the keys to a Redfire Metallic 2005 GT at the beginning of this year. They say that you should never meet your heroes, just in case you are disappointed. Without wanting to jump to the conclusion of this review too early meeting mine has been… interesting, to say the least.

If you want to know what owning a Mustang is really like, away from the promises of the advertising material, read on…