Dear North America

[notallthere]

I prefer to drive smaller fuel efficient cars for my daily driver because it does not make sense for me to spend $40.00 per week just to get to work when I spend $10.00 and it does the same thing.  The problem is all of the 4 cylinder cars in North America are about as interesting as talking to a Millennial about the importance of spelling and grammar. 

After being in England for the past 6 days all I can say is damn.  Vauxhall has some of the most interesting small cars that GM has ever made.  The nice thing is these things actually move.  Probably also helps that the lowest Octane fuel you can get here is 95.  I am driving a Seat Leon with a  6 Speed manual and it will haul it out.  I just did the calculations with my last tank of fuel and I got nearly 43 mpg of mixed driving.

I have seen plenty of interesting 3 door cars that would make me jump from a GM car to something that would say VW, Honda, or even Ford.

 

Okay so on to the cool side of things.  We were driving through Wales and there was a car club out for a cruise.  I probably had seen 200 cars mixed with MGs Jaguars, Aston Martins, Healeys  and my personal favourite Morgans.  There were two that stood out were a Shelby GT and a Charger Hellcat.  The Shelby I could see but how the heck to you get that bloated beast Charger through those roads.

[Ringo64]

Agreed. Love Vauxhaul for their look and ability. Have driven a few in Forza (I know not in real life ) and just love them. Loved seeing them while I was over there too!

Problem is we have some sissy emissions and other restrictive laws compared to Europe or at least England that kill our MPG and fun.

[Professur]

I've been screaming for the last decade ... why does the market leader hybrid car today get worse mileage than a 1980 Civic?  My '81 V8 Olds wagon got better mileage new than a 2008 Caravan .. and seats more people doing it. We're getting screwed.

[notallthere]

Why has no one told me about clotted cream, scones and damson jam?  Pretty sure I am addicted to tea as well.

[Ringo64]

23 minutes ago, notallthere said:

Why has no one told me about clotted cream, scones and damson jam?  Pretty sure I am addicted to tea as well.

Uh, oh! We lost him to the red coats!

[Professur]

Get further north.

[Frosty]

Did you get around to trying hagus and spotted dick?

Tell me you didn't go all the way to Great Britain and you didn't stop at least once at a chippy?

[Ringo64]

6 hours ago, Frosty said:

Did you get around to trying hagus...

Never again...

[notallthere]

I have haggis at home in the fridge.  Yes I have tried it and I like it.  Spotted Dick has not been on any of the menus here thus far but when I do find it I will think of you.  Nothing says Frosty like dick.

I walked into the Devil's Arse today and it was fantastic.

[Professur]

Ask a local. It might not be on a menu, but it's there.

 

Haggis is fantastic. If you don't like haggis, either you got a crappy one (american made is seldom good .. but you can't get a decent pizza or hamburger over there) or you 'heard' too much about it and went in with preconceptions. I find the best way to introduce someone new to haggis is to just serve them it and call it sausage. Tell them afterwards. After all ... damn few people know just how bad sausage is.  Never mind about the black pud.

[Frosty]

So what about the chippy?

I enjoy hagus thank you very much. It helps that your auntie owns a pub and restaurant in Scotland.