GOBBI

Success! BBC America: Top Gear UK on Cablevision – request granted. Thanks Cablevision for finally providing the BBC America channel to your cable consumers here in New York State, the media capital of the world, supposedly. For years we were denied the BBC America channel, which features the best show on television, the original Top Gear UK and the newly added James Mays Drinks to Great Brittan. Before I had to go out-of-state just to catch up on old episodes on Comcast – On Demand. I since have requested multiple channels, such as Outdoor Life Network (OLN) now know as Verses, so us cycling enthusiasts could watch the amazing live daily Tour De France coverage from the live global feed and the Dakar Rally, and HD Theater to get the Isle of Man TT yearly Motorcycle Race. Other channels I requested were the Green Channel, Style Channel, Science Channel, and the History International Channel, Rai Italian Channel which eventually Cablevision delivered on. This all took a long while to make these programming channel requests and to finally get them in the channel line-up. Cablevision as a company and cable provider is extremely slow to act when it comes to providing their loyal subscribers with new and up-and-coming Channels.

But if you want to create change and awareness for your community, so that it leads to action and a better quality of life and in this case quality programming, you need to take action and be persistent and go through the right official channels in order to get your concerns and requests voiced. After making multiple phone calls, I decided recently to write a blog about it here on the GOBBI Blog regarding the channel request and bam! What do you know, it worked! Instant results.

The best show on television by far is the original Top Gear UK. Unfortunately, here on Long Island NY, Cablevison our local cable provider does not carry the BBC America in their channel line-up. So to get my Top Gear fix, I have to travel to New Jersey and Pennsylvania to view it on Comcast cable.

I’ve been making requests to Cablevision for years now to carry the BBC America channel, for their great programming and fantastic television shows.

Top Gear has been on the air for years now, and is the premier show for car enthusiasts and speed junkies. They showcase pretty much every car and transportation vehicle on the planet and it’s incredibly entertaining. The rapport between the hosts, Jeremy Clarkson, James May (AKA: Captain Slow) and Richard Hammond is authentic and hilariously funny.

I know there is now an American version of Top Gear airing on the History Channel, but it doesn’t quite stack up the United Kingdom version and seems more like a cheap knock-off. Despite slight improvement with the second season, I still would rather watch the original genuine UK version.

So Cablevision, this is a programming request, please bring the BBC America to your channel line-up, ASAP!

Unfortunately OXO Good Grips has pretty much discontinued their amazing, best on the market Automotive line of products. Their Auto brushes are so user friendly well made and designed and they last for years, and way better then any natural wool mitt on the market, they do not leave any micro contaminants as wool mitts do so you don’t scratch you expensive paint finish. If you are an auto and motor sport enthusiast or just a clean freak, I suggest emailing or even better calling OXO’s customer service at 1(800) 545-4411 and their OXO’s corporate New York design studio at (212) 242-3333 and requesting the full comeback of all the original Automotive product line of brushes, your car will thank you.

Last fall in October on a Sunday afternoon, I was cordially invited to test-drive a 2011 BMW M at a BMW M Power Tour event held at the Vanderbilt Museum located on Long Island’s scenic North Shore. Among the cars, I had the options of choosing the 2011 M3 Coupe, M3 Coupe Competition Package, M3 Convertible, M3 Sedan, X5M or the X6M to test drive.

As I approached the line up of cars, there she sat sparkling in the afternoon sunlight … a brand spanking new 2011 Space Gray Metallic M3 Coupe with Competition Package. With her engine warmed up and ready to go, I opened the driver side door and slid into the comfortable Fox Red Novillo Leather body hugging M sport seats and once situated, closed the hefty door with that typical BMW thump. After making some minor electronic seat adjustments and minor tweaks to the side and rearview mirrors, I was ready to go. [Compared to the E90 3 Series w/Sport Package, if you like a full range of seat adjustments, I recommend going with the manual control option, however with the E92 M3’s you have perfect full electronic seat adjustability.]

Before I started her up, I had to sign my life away and listen to a brief rundown of the controls from the M tour guide. However the sound of his voice quickly faded away as thoughts of sheer bliss entered my mind at the thought of driving this well-engineered machine. As soon as the tour guide ended his spiel, I pressed the start button to hear her come alive with an unfamiliar slight growl. I then took a glance down to familiarize myself with the new M DCT – 7 S-speed M Double Clutch Transmission shift lever. I tapped the lever over to the left into reverse, then tapped it over to the right for automatic mode and then got on my way.

As I rolled out of the parking lot, I came to a complete stop, looked both ways, and it was as if the seas had parted right in front of me, kind of like the feeling you get after buying a new sports car and driving it off the lot for the first time, but without the guilt. I slowly pressed the accelerator and off she went. Taking it easy at first on the residential roads, I soon came to a main intersection only to see flashing lights where another participant in a Melbourne Red Metallic X6M was pulled over. I slightly laughed knowing they were getting a speeding ticket and soon passed them hoping I would not encounter the same fate.

As I continued on to a main road riddled with Sunday drivers, I began to familiarize myself with the new iDrive system and sat nav, only to find how incredibly easy they were to operate. Even though I feel the screen is adequate in size, I would still like to see it slightly bigger in future models. With a simple twist and a gentle tap, all the controls and viewing options were at my fingertips. Typical with BMW’s cockpit and dashboard designs there is absolutely no distractions, pure simplicity, no BS – the way it should be. As I began searching for some good tunes on the crystal clear HD Radio, a familiar guitar riff; than-na-na-a’, then base than-na-na-a’, along with Robert Plants voice came out of the speakers – “You need coolin’, baby, I’m not foolin’, I’m gonna send ya back to schoolin’, Way down inside, a-honey, you need it. I’m gonna give you my love. I’m gonna give you my love, oh!!! Wanna whole lotta love, Wanna whole lotta love…” and with that, the car took control of me and the traffic around me suddenly dispersed and I found myself accelerating quickly accompanied by the roaring sound of the V8 engine. Right then and there I was in love, head over heals in love! With the wind in my hair, I was in a state of pure Zen and lost myself in the thrill of the ride. The ergonomics were perfect… the M sports seats wrapped around me like a glove and the beefy yet supple leather wrapped M steering wheel felt just right in my hands. All the while, without missing a beat, the Enhanced Premium Sound audio system vehicle-speed-sensitive equalization raised the volume of the music ever so slightly compensating for the sound of the V8, keeping the music totally crisp and kick ass.

I was on the clock and was running late getting back to the Vanderbilt Mansion, so I hit a nice long open stretch of road with an gradual incline and accelerated only to find myself flying past other cars. At one point, a motorcyclist was hitting the throttle hard as well, and I made sure to pass him cleanly only to notice he did a double take as I did so. The acceleration was nothing but clean and smooth. I quickly reached the top of the incline and was pleasantly surprised at how quick she was once on an open road. Now I get the Dr. Jekyll meets Mr. Hyde aspect of this Bavarian engineered muscle car. The E92 M3 is unassuming, even quiet as she passes you by at a crawl ever so stealthily, but beware what lies underneath, she definitely has a case of go-juice in her and is ok for the girlfriend or wife to make the trip to the grocery store, but expect her to have some fun on the way their.

It was time to back track. With John Bonham’s thumping 26″ base drum beat pumping out of the speakers “My, my, my, my/Ahh. Oh, shake for me, girl. I wanna be your backdoor man-a. Hey, oh, hey, oh/Ahh. Hey, oh, oooh. Oh, oh, oh, oh…” I began the decent after reaching the top of the incline, I stepped on it and down she flew, just like a rollercoaster ride. With very precise handling and acceleration, this baby was quick. After a couple of big swooping turns, I soon found myself back in stop-and-go traffic and put her into automatic mode to see how she performed only to find she passed with flying colors. The automatic mode will certainly come in handy for those who are manual-clutch challenged. I was a bit leery of the new M DCT – 7 S-speed M Double Clutch Transmission and having never driven the previous SMG, I had nothing really to compare it to. Unfortunately with M cars, you can’t usually test-drive them at a dealership, because typically they are unavailable to test drive, so you can’t compare transmissions. After driving manuals for most of my life and also experiencing BMW’s amazingly smooth Steptronic automatic transmission, I always wished there was something in-between, but now I can tell you this M3 has it! The M DCT is intuitive, the “flappy-paddle gearbox” is a piece-of-cake to use, yet easy to drive especially in traffic and will only get better as technology advances. The best of both worlds, I’m now a convert.

Time is quickly ticking away, I head directly back to be on time, but what is the fun of that? I think it is time for the old school “Super-GOBBI Lap” as I was known for doing back in the day. So I took a peek at the sat nav and took a right turn to head towards the water on a desolate back road. What a perfect back road it was to really put the M3 through its paces before heading back. Two shaded lanes of tarmac with some twists and a nice straight run with some dips. This is where I shut off the radio and lowered the windows more so I can hear the V8 doing its thing. The straightaway came up quick, so I decided to gradually punch it, and man she took off fast and was still climbing as I pressed the accelerator pedal. She never shook or wavered; the 19-inch forged alloy wheels in conjunction with the Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) made for perfect stable thrust forward. Not wanting to take my eyes off the road to glance at the speedometer, she kept climbing with no foreseen plateau, I had to tell my brain to physically take my foot off the accelerator as I dipped down fast approaching an old train bridge. It felt like the car had no limit, I was a little taken aback. Expecting the power to max out a bit, but no-sir-ree-bob she wanted to keep going even if the road didn’t. I eventually hit the beach then turned around for a repeat and I took it a little easier on the return run through the under pass.

Well I made my way back using the on-board navigation, it worked seamlessly I might add. Back to the pothole riddled main roads, and the one thing that totally blew me away was the M3’s handling of the neglected Suffolk County roads. It was due to the amazing Electronic Dampening Control suspension and the 19” wheels that just simply glided over the bumps and potholes. This was the same road I took earlier in the day to get to the M Power Tour event which made my own car shake and rattle, but with the M3 Coupe with Competition Package it made mince meat out of mole hills, it was like you were in an Lux SUV or something, very impressive. Compared to the standard M3 Coupe the Competition Package has enhanced handling and suspension tuning, and offers 1/2-inch wider wheels front and back, totally worth it!

[NOTE: The ride height of the M3 Competition Package was spot-on perfect. It stated in the M3 brochure that the Competition Package has a lower suspension by 10mm (0.39") for enhanced aero-dynamics and in the brochure's photo, it looks pretty low. But after driving her, I did not find this to be the case. The car was very stable at high speeds and also great on bumpy roads and I was confident that I would clear the imperfections in the road with no hesitation. In a side by side visual comparison, the ground clearance appears to be the same or slightly greater unlike the lower measurement stated in the brochure for the Competition Package than in the standard M3. The reason why I believe this is so is because the 19" rims on the Competition Package raises the ride height compared to the 18" rims. Personally, I actually prefer an increased ride height, so there is no hesitation entering and exiting driveways or parking lots that have a bit of a lip or going over bumps and pot holes on the road. The one thing I dislike about the E90 3 Series Sports Package is that only the front suspension is lowered. At 80 mph on nice flat, well maintained roads, the E90 3 Series Sports Package is a dream, however pulling in and out of driveways and going over bumps and other road imperfections causes me to slow down to a crawl or come to a complete stop which leaves me paranoid that I'm going to scratch the front air dam and under carriage. To my delight, this was not the case with the M3 Competition Package. I wish I had a tape measure on hand to confirm if what I saw visually was correct.]

I took it down a notch and made my way back to the Vanderbilt reluctantly, I could have drove her straight to the California coast, all I needed was a bigger water bottle and I would have been all good to go. Pulled into the parking lot and shut her down for a rest. I didn’t want to get out, but I had to turn the key over some time. It was love at first sight for me, and was like a brief passionate love affair, which rarely comes along.

The E90 3 Series with Sports Package is a great reliable car with sporting luxury but not over the top, but the well-balanced and performing Competition Package is how I feel the standard M3 Coupe should come equipped quite honestly. The E92 M3 Coupe is not the most exotic or sexy car on the planet but I feel it is the coolest because it can be your reliable daily driver, and when you feel like turning-and-burning you can. The Enhanced Premium Sound audio system is the best stock stereo I have heard in years and I am meticulous about sound quality being a drummer, so I like it loud at times and with good base, it delivers. However, I would like to see the volume boosted up 10%+ or so, but that’s me.

On the outside the M3 Coupe is shrouded in sleek business attire, but all rock star underneath the hood, I only wish she looked a little more aggressive inside and out to match her personality and price tag. A little more in your face M styling, but they are getting there. In my opinion the Competition Package should include the Carbon Front Air Dam and High-tech Carbon Rear Spoiler. M = More but how much more is it worth? The price jumped dramatically from the previous M3 and basically you can get two 3 Series for what they are charging, so I expect to get a little more bang-for-your-buck meaning interior styling. And why not, an undercarriage mounting point for a trailer hitch.

Truly Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde share the same sole in this German engineered rear wheel drive machine. I was told by the heads of BMW M Division, that the M3 is 80% different then the standard 3 Series. So with that said it is an amazing automobile. For me it is the absolute perfect size car… well engineered and built, firm but totally comfortable and certainly a user-friendly badass daily driving vehicle. [Be aware she drinks a lot; so better fuel efficiency would be an improvement. NOTE: I did not have the new Auto Start Stop function on while driving.] *The one change I would make is to replace the summer tires with Ultra High Performance All-Season Tires so you can better handle 4-season driving, especially when it is your only ride. And maybe in the future we will finally see BMW make an all-wheel drive M3 with xDrive, because we need it here in New York with all the unpredictable weather we are now having, sound like a good idea to me.

It is that time of year again for the one thing I really look forward to watching on the boob tube in the New Year, the Dakar Rally (formally known as the Paris-Dakar Rally) which is the world’s most grueling rally. The 2011 Dakar Rally is the 32nd running of the event. It is being held in Argentina and Chile for the third successive time, and runs from 1st to 16th of January 2011. The extreme race pits 600 teams, consisting of both amateurs and professionals, against not only each other but the elements, including those of the Andes Mountains and Atacama Desert. 2011’s Rally will mark only the third time the race will be held in the western hemisphere and without a stage that will not originate in the continent of Africa. Covering nearly 6,000 kilometers.

With that said, I am disappointed of the extremely short half an hour coverage by the Versus network in the past years. I lobbied hard to get the Versus network, channel 408 here on Cablevision in the greater New York area, to finally get to watch the incredible live coverage of Tour De France. I have to say Versus (originally know as O.L.N., Outdoor Life Network) does an amazing job with the overall coverage of the Tour De France and their use of the phenomenally shot international live feed; best sports coverage ever! However, I wish that was the case for the equally cool Dakar Rally, but I can’t.

First off, their is actually a two hour international live feed, but Versus has limited their highlight coverage to a brief half-hour broadcast, which if you edit out all the commercials during the broadcast, it probably only adds up to about 15 minutes of actual recap coverage. Also, Versus seems to only focus on the top five corporate front-runners of the rally. This is an amazing endurance motor sport rally with the blend of man and machine working in unison, and there are privateers that go to extreme lengths just to participate; these stories need to be told. It is compelling to just watch what goes on behind the scenes of the rally and the crazy logistics needed to just keep it up and running. This race to me is not just about winning, but about doing your absolute best while relying on your ride and team of mechanics to keep you going. These participants go all out during this endurance race with lack of sleep, risk of possible injury and not having a proper bath for two weeks. There is a lot of behind the scenes stuff, interesting teams and individuals that are not covered at all, and I find that disappointing. It is a disservice to the participants and down plays the unique hard-core stuff that takes place during the rally.

I am suggesting and requesting a full hour of daily rally coverage by the Versus network here in the States. I and other adventure enthusiasts would like to see more in depth coverage, and not just American football style highlights with play-by-play in studio coverage. But more like a live broadcast with more freestyle coverage with boots on the ground and with more on-board rider/driver perspectives camera shots, so you can feel the grit and the dust of the international rally. If you would like to see the actual live broadcast of the Dakar Rally or at least have it extended to a full hour and to include more in-depth coverage, please feel free to leave viewer feedback and programming suggestions by contacting Versus.

If you want to see what it takes just to get to the Dakar Rally and to actually race in this endurance event via motorbike, check out Charley ‘Bomber’ Boorman’s Race to Dakar in-depth entertaining DVD. I give it, two thumbs up!