Australia
The Greatest Video Game Ever
Well at least now I have got your attention.
Video games are in a constant state of development, with better game play, graphics and fun with every new release. However, in much the same way as many oxygen breathing humans get with areas such as fashion, music and of course cars, the value of ‘vintage’ is most definitely on the up. I have played a host of games in the past on various platforms and consoles, everything from strategy, fantasy, war and, shock horror, racing games.
We are living in a world dominated by Forza, Gran Turismo and by extension, the driving options available in games such as Grand Theft Auto. The graphics may be unbelievably clear and the driving physics as close to realistic as is possible in a virtual reality, but none of these would win the prize as my all time favourite racing game. I realise that the title I gave this post was a little on the eccentric over-reaction side of life, but in my humble opinion this game will always be my number one in virtual motor sport.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to TOCA 2 Touring Cars.
The British Touring Car Championship was at its best during the 90s, and one of the greatest of these legendary years was 1998. Some of the highlights include a down to the wire championship battle, the introduction of mandatory pit stops, and Nigel Mansell. But why type a selection of words and phrases into my laptop to describe an amazing year, when I could just muster the power of video to explain my point… would you ever believe me if I said there was a BTCC race where Nigel Mansell (in a guest drive) started last and nearly ended up winning? No?
WELL then, watch this…
One of the greatest races ever, 1998 BTCC Donington Feature ft. Nigel Mansell
As John Watson so pointed out, “The British Touring Cars have totally eclipsed anything we have ever seen”.
TOCA 2 Touring Cars was released on the original PlayStation (the PS1 if you will), and was based on the 1998 BTCC season. Players had the chance to participate in the championship in one of three difficulty modes, which decided how many races the season would consist of. In addition, there are your usual time trial based modes. However, the game also gave players the chance to participate in the support car championships that were in effect in 1998. The game truly offers a full and comprehensive mode of play that truly reflects the giant of motor sport history that was the British Touring Car Championship of 1998.
TOCA 2 Touring Cars in all its glory
Based on the picture you can now see with your eyeballs, you are probably making some comment on the poor quality of the graphics but what do you expect from a PlayStation One? And this game is in no way devoid of other issues. I will be the first person to admit that this game is dripping with issues. For example, the driving physics, as amazing as they are most of the time, have a habit of being massively unpredictable. When it comes to racing games, I am something of a perfectionist. And when a car has a habit of spinning wildly out of control for no reason although you have taken the corner no different to normal, it does vex me greatly. And I do not often use the word vex.
And I am not done either.
When it comes to competitive racing, it would appear that the AI cars seem to be possessed by some form of demonic spirit. When it comes to the first corner of any track on the calendar, I can promise you that the competition will find a way to take the corner at 5 times the speed that you have, whether through the gravel or on the tarmac, which usually means that you end up facing the wrong way in last place. Not only that, but it would seem that this satanic influence gives your opponents the ability to crash you off the road with a single touch, yet remain immovable when you try and return the favour.
All in all, the combination of these problems does definitely create rage filled controller flinging experiences. I can do nothing but apologise to my parents for the screaming, the shouting and definitely the damage as a result of my playing this game in my younger years.
Brutality is definitely the name of the game
And yet…
When everything comes together, the pure magic of the game becomes apparent. I mean yes there are faults left right and centre with the game quality, but what do you expect? And then again, in many ways it adds to the fun you can have with it. There is a level of madness and unpredictability that will wave goodbye to many hours of your life. And will you regret it at the end? No way.
What if I also told you that some aspects of the game were so forward thinking, that it took until the PS3 generation for other games to catch up. For example, usually in multiplayer modes, the number of opposition reduces to only 6 cars. However, in the co-op championship mode, you are still given a full grid of other cars. The problem I have with modern games is that they seem to assume that none of us have physical friends any more. New generation games seem to only offer multiplayer modes online, as if two friends would never DARE want to play a game together in the same place at the same time.
“Hey man, do you want to play some F1?”
“Yeah that would be awesome, i’ll see you in a bit yeah?”
“Wait, where you going?”
“Well you know, I have got to go home, log on and grab my head set”
“Oh yeah true that, see you in a bit!”
You know, some people seem to think that video games are making us less sociable. I wonder where that comes from.
In many ways, the game was as exciting as the real deal…
As I have said, the combination of all these different elements, both good and bad, make this game a titan of video gaming. The competitive nature of the game make it more special and more exciting than anything you can get from a modern game. The driving physics are real yet ridiculous; you actually get different levels of handling from the different cars in the game. Trying to wrestle a Peugeot around a track often ends as badly as it did for Harvey and Radisich in ’98.
The original TOCA game never really did have the same spark, it lacked the same competition. And afterwards with the rise of TOCA Race Driver and beyond, the game began to look better and better, but somehow it just did not seem as fun. The level of co-op ability decreased, and in the case of TOCA Race Driver they tried to add the single most ridiculous over-Americanised story line known to the mind of mankind. Something about getting revenge for the death of your dad by becoming the greatest race driver ever…or something. I don’t know.
Recently, I managed something I was never able to do as a child. I completed what I would like to call the standard grand slam. 18 rounds. 18 wins. Only one thing remains. The expert mode takes racing games to a whole new level. I feel like I need some form of a professional workout regime to be able to psyche myself up for such a challenge.
And so, TOCA 2 Touring Cars may not be perfect, but it is the flaws that make it special. It reflects the no holds barred thrill that was the 1998 BTCC season. For anyone that has not played it, I really do hope that you will give it a go. There is after all a reason I came back to it 10 years after my first time.
No one is ever too old for video games. Good video games will never be too old.
TOCA 2 Touring Cars: a timeless classic
Keep Driving People!
Follow me on Twitter: @lewisglynn69 (I talk about this video game quite a lot)
Peace and Love!
A Very Merry (Stormy) British Christmas
Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the land
Not a road remained drive-able
Not even for a van
I am indeed writing this on Christmas Eve in the United Kingdom. As a child I of course found myself dreaming of a White Christmas, before coming to the abrupt realisation that I lived in a land of dull dreary drizzle filled misery. The chance of me waking up to a snow filled Christmas is about as likely as me getting a date with the Australian beauty that is Rose Byrne. I am perfectly aware however that as my brain cells translate the chemical thought patterns into physical movement that causes written words that the Australian Christmas is a highly different affair to that of which I am used to. As the great man Tim Minchin doth speak, you Australians will be…
“…Drinking White Wine In The Sun”
And as such I thought it necessary to set forth unto the world a story of a very British Christmas 2013. I am not sure if the British weather is worthy of Australian news, but if this is not the case, let me fill you in. For the last few months, the usual miserable British weather has let loose a storm of rage unto our nation. Usually it is the case that the weather is wet and overcast, but just enough for the old biddies of the UK to moan and groan at their daily bus stop meet ups. However this year this mild moist-ness has turned into storms of epic proportions. Well, when I say epic, I am not comparing these to the real storms that occur across the rest of the world. But for Britain, pounding rain and howling wind is enough to bring the country to a grinding halt.
Not just your normal amount of rain…
We find ourselves on the eve of Christmas eve and the whole country has been warned of imminent stormy conditions. As the night arrives my attempt at sleeping is ruined by the battering of the rain upon my window and the power of the wind smashing the glass from nearby garden houses.
Christmas Eve arrived, and my eyes were opened to the horror that lay before me. Chances are you have been wondering how I was going to bring this very British rant into a car based discussion. Well, let me put it this way, my Christmas Eve driving experience was so much more complex and terrifying than ever before. It is not often that you find yourself driving along, singing along to another Christmas classic, you take the corner…
“When the snowman brings th- FALLEN TREE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD!”
Trust me, it will be at number one next Christmas. I am just beyond glad that the brakes on my car have been kept in good condition that stopping was not an issue. While I am on that point, it is always a help to know the best way to deal with emergency stops in soaking conditions. When learning to drive, we are often tested on our emergency stops by slamming our feet on the brake. Have any of you ever tried doing that on a soaking road? Well here is a little lesson in friction; you do that and you will find yourself sliding at basically the same speed you had been going at originally. Oh, and you probably will have no control of the direction your car takes either.
Those winds were a lot stronger than people thought…
What is the trick you ask? Well, remain calm and do not panic. You do not want to lock the brakes and start a slide. What you do want to do is slowly but firmly apply the brake. Not everyone would do the same thing, but my advice would be to repeat the previous step numerous times. In my previous experience it reduces the probability of sliding and it will bring you to a stop in a smooth and uneventful manner.
Speaking of rain covered sadness, the amount of rain that had fallen on my fair land had resulted in my drive being blocked by a flooded road. The funny thing is, the reason my local town had flooded is because the local council had decided to use the floodplain of the river to build new houses on. And yet after doing that seemed so shocked when excess water had NO WHERE TO GO APART FROM FLOOD THEIR TOWN. Dearie me, the genius of some people…
I must say though high speed (ish) driving through large puddles is so much fun. If you find yourself on an empty bit of road faced with a large body of water blocking your path, you know what to do. Trust me, you will not regret it!
It just remains for me to say, that I hope you have a Happy Christmas and it brings you all the happiness that you all deserve.
Let us raise a glass to another year of fantastic motoring! And thank you so much for this opportunity to be part of the Private Fleet family!
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Keep Driving!
Follow me on Twitter @lewisglynn69
Peace and Love!
Holden to leave Australia in 2017
Tis the season to be jolly, tra la la la la, la la la… Wait a second.
Christmas is just around the corner, and yet the news I bring you is neither festive nor jolly. It has been announced that General Motors is to stop the production of motor cars in Australia as of 2017. Holden has been an established brand in Australia for the last 65 years. Where the manufacturing may be shipping out to other lands, GM have said that they will retain a sales and parts distribution division in the country.
The Holden Pontiac GTO
So what are the reasons behind this announcement? But more importantly, what are the consequences?
Let’s begin with the explanation…
In a statement provided by General Motors, they said, “The decision to end manufacturing in Australia reflects the perfect storm of negative influences the automotive industry faces in the country”. Australia is facing an exponentially growing crisis in the motoring sector. For some time, car makers have been struggling despite subsidies given to the industry by the government. The help may have been flooding in from the government, but despite all of this the drought continues. As a result, serious talks are taking place as to whether the government should abandon the car industry altogether.
But wait, why is the car industry struggling?
In many ways, it is through the strength of the Australian economy that the car manufacturers are deciding to leave. For example, the Australian dollar has raised 30% against the US Dollar in the last few years. Following this, the domestic market in Australia is small which means that companies are left competing for what is after all a very small share. I am no expert on economics or marketing, but with a small domestic market, it can only mean small growth. Not only this, with the small market, one of the only ways to make any form of end money is to demand high manufacturing costs. Hardly very attractive for big business really now is it?
As a result, over the last 30 years, the number of cars produced in Australia has more than halved.
What does this all mean for the future of the car industry in Australia?
Thats right… That is Mount Doom for the Australian car industry
In short, it casts a catastrophic spell of destruction.
This whole debacle could indeed be the trigger that releases a deadly chain reaction of events that could bring about a sticky end to the Australian motoring industry. As it is, most of the cars sold in Australia are imported from across the world. This announcement from GM follows that made by Ford in May which stated that it would cease production in 2016. With Ford and Holden all but disappearing into the sands of time, this leaves Toyota as the sole manufacturer in Australia.
But come on on now, considering all this economic malarkey and the end of GM and Ford, it can only be a matter of time before Toyota follow a similar path. If the worst does indeed happen, with the suffering of the motoring industry comes the suffering of those who are involved with it. It has been estimated that over 50,000 jobs could be lost. That is never a number to be ignored.
Finally, with a current weak Japanese currency which makes exporting cars from Japan a lot cheaper, twinned with the fact that the Australian dollar is so strong could just be the icing on the cake of ultimate death and destruction. Rest in peace? Maybe.
So is there anything that can be done?
The current problem is that as with any economic issue that sweeps over a country, the reply is always to make the government “take steps for the future”. The problem I have with this is that it is more often that not an empty phrase. From my experience when these vacuous phrases begin to be thrown around, the next step is well… nothing. Nothing happens and then the infected area declines into nothingness. The sad fact of the matter is, that steps do need to be made. But the steps themselves need to be made a lot more clear.
If Australia wants to retain a manufacturing centre, then it needs a complete reinvention. The Australian economy needs a new image that will attract new business. I am going to be honest, I do not know enough about this kind of thing to offer a detailed answer. LEt’s be honest, if I could do that, I probably would be in a massively high paying job and be famous as the saviour of Australian motoring. However, I like to think outside the box. And as such I would like to draw your attention to the V8 Supercars.
The V8 Supercars may just be the answer that no one realised
It is one of the worlds top motorsport series, but with a little more pushing and development, I see it indirectly bringing about more business to Australia. I mean, Silverstone is the home of F1 and there are countless teams that base their manufacturing in the UK as a result of this. What the V8s need is a full on world series that brings the influence of the sport to countries across the world, especially all those rich western countries like the UK and the US. Show the majesty of Australia and see the results.
This post may have started negatively, but I do see that there is hope for the Australian car industry, it just may take some time that is all. But as they say, good things come to those who wait.
Keep Driving People!
Follow me on Twitter @lewisglynn69
Peace and Love!
5 Easy Ways to Ensure You Retain Your Certificate of Road Worthiness
There are countless things that can trip us up on the roads. From tax to the increase of fuel prices, it may sometimes feel like you need help to navigate your way through the minefield that is driving regulation. Australia is no different for other developed countries in they way we deal with road safety – and we have some of the best statistics in the world in terms of car safety. If your Certificate of Roadworthiness is due for renewing, here are 5 easy self-checks you can carry out ensure your car stays in perfect condition. But first….
What is the Certificate of Roadworthiness?
The Certificate of Roadworthiness is a check of the vehicle to ensure the major safety related items in the car are up to scratch.
Our page on roadworthiness certificates gives you a clear definition of what needs to be checked and how to go about doing so.
http://www.privatefleet.com.au/glossary/a-roadworthy-certificate/
What Needs to be Monitored?
It must be remembered that the Certificate of Roadworthiness is not a check on the general condition or wear and tear of your vehicle – and often it’s only carried out periodically or when there is a change of ownership. There are some things you can do to make sure your Certificate of Roadworthiness is nothing to worry about…
Check Tires
Tires should be changed based on a visual check, but bear in mind that rubber can perish and you need to monitor your tire usage to ensure you changing them at regular intervals. Be sure also to check the condition of your spare tire.
Check for Corrosion
The structural integrity of your vehicle will be checked during the examination for your Certificate of Roadworthiness. Pay close attention to the underside of your car and the sills, wings and doors…check for any unusual signs of wear and make sure you
Make Sure you Have Screenwash!
Small things such as screenwash and the quality of your wipers will be checked during the test for the certificate of roadworthiness, so make sure they’re up to date. It saves a lot of hassle if you check before and get it topped up with screen wash solution…be sure also to check other small items in the car such as certain fixtures and fittings.
Are All the Bulbs Working?
It seems silly to fail a certificate of roadworthiness test in Australia for the sake of a few dollars to buy a new bulb. Even on modern vehicles bulbs fail regularly, so it goes without saying that you’ll need to keep up to date with all lights both external and internal to make sure your call flies through its certificate check.
Contact Private Fleet today if you would like more information about your Certificate of Roadworthiness or any aspect of car maintenance. Additionally, if you are interested in , we offer a comprehensive solution and a way of working which is guaranteed to get you the best deals around.
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