The Lotus Elise is a small, very light sports car that is really fun to drive. It's known for being quick and nimble, making it popular among car enthusiasts who love speed and handling.
Car
MG ZS180
The MG ZS180 is a sportier version of the MG ZS, which is a small SUV. It has a more powerful engine and is designed for better performance, making it more exciting to drive.
The BMW 3 Series is a small luxury car made by BMW that is known for being fun to drive and having a nice interior. It's a popular choice for people who want a sporty yet comfortable car.
Car
Leyland Princess
The Leyland Princess is a British car that was made in the 1970s and 1980s. It had a unique look but didn't do very well in sales.
Car
Austin 1300
The Austin 1300 is similar to the Austin 1100 but has a bigger engine, making it a bit more powerful. It was also a popular car in the UK.
Car
Austin 1100
The Austin 1100 is a small car that was made in the UK a long time ago. It was popular for being practical and affordable for families.
Car
Austin 1300 GT
The Austin 1300 GT is a small car that was popular in Britain. It was known for being stylish and fun to drive, especially during the 1960s and 1970s.
Faulty Towers is a funny British TV show from the 1970s about a hotel and its quirky owner. Cars are sometimes part of the funny situations in the show.
The DeLorean is a unique car known for its shiny metal body and doors that open upwards. It's famous because it was featured in a popular movie about time travel.
The Volkswagen Beetle is a small, round car that became very popular and is known for its unique shape. It's one of the most recognizable cars in history.
The Silver Shadow is a very luxurious car made by Rolls-Royce, known for being super comfortable and stylish. It's often talked about because it's a classic car that many people dream of owning due to its elegance and high price.
The Range Rover is a fancy SUV that can handle tough terrains but also feels very comfortable inside. People talk about it because it's seen as a luxury vehicle that can go anywhere, making it popular among those who want both style and adventure.
The Range Rover is a fancy SUV that can drive off-road and is known for being very comfortable and luxurious. It's popular among people who want a stylish vehicle that can handle rough terrain.
Land Rover is a brand that makes tough vehicles designed to drive off-road. The first Land Rover was made a long time ago and is known for being very durable.
The Discovery is a roomy SUV that can carry a lot of people and gear while also being able to drive off-road. It's talked about because it's great for families who enjoy outdoor activities and need a reliable vehicle.
The Ford Escort Cosworth is a special version of the Ford Escort car that was built for racing. It has a powerful engine and is famous for its speed and unique look.
The Lotus Carlton is a fast car made by Lotus, based on a regular car called the Vauxhall Carlton. It has special features that make it much quicker and more fun to drive.
MOT is a yearly check in the UK to make sure cars are safe to drive and not polluting too much. If a car fails, it can't be driven legally until it's fixed.
The Lexus LS is a large luxury car that offers a smooth ride and many high-end features. It's known for being comfortable and reliable, making it a popular choice among luxury car buyers.
The BMW X5 is a big, fancy car that can carry a lot of people and stuff. The first version came out in 1999 and was known for being both powerful and practical.
The Jaguar X-Type is a car made by Jaguar that was produced in the early 2000s. It's known for being based on a Ford model, which some people think makes it less of a true Jaguar.
The Ford Pinto was a small, cheap car from the 1970s that people often bought for its good gas mileage. It's remembered for some safety problems that made it controversial, which is why it sometimes comes up in discussions about car safety.
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Hey, this is Elise Hu from TED Talks Daily, and I'd love to tell you about Whole Foods Market.
You know what I love about January? It's that fresh start energy we all feel,
and this year I'm actually going to try and keep my goals realistic,
which means I need places that make healthy choices easy and affordable.
That's why I've been spending more time at my local Whole Foods Market.
The thing is, Whole Foods Market makes it possible to stick with those New Year
intentions without meal prepping for hours or breaking the bank.
Shop all things wellness at Whole Foods Market.
I'm Richard Porter. I'm Johnny Smith.
And this is On the Other Side of Things, the Smith & Sniff spin-off in which we answer your questions.
Well, here we are again with some questions to be answered. If you don't mind,
I'm going to kick off with this from Kev Davis, who is in Hampshire.
Hi, Kev Davis.
And is a substantially welded MG ZS180 owner.
Okay.
I guess he means the car. He's not substantially welded.
For a second, I thought it's an interesting way to introduce yourself.
But no, I like the fact that Kev's put some fairly comprehensive bits of information.
We know where he's from and what he drives, and that he may have had some welding work.
Anyway, Kev has, I think, a really good question, which is,
he says, it's getting on for 30 years since Quentin Wilson brought us The Car's the Star.
I asked him several years ago why he hasn't made a new series, and he said it was simply because
the BBC didn't want to make it. Otherwise, he would love to do it again.
If you had to make a new series, which cars from the last 30 years would you feature?
And would there be any cars you think that Quentin missed from his series?
They don't all have to have been good, just interesting.
I would suggest, off the top of my head, the Bugatti Veyron, Ford Focus, Rover 75 and MG Z cars,
BNW3 series, Escort cars with Loser's Carlton, Renovale Satis and many, many more.
Well, that's a good sweet there of cars, absolutely.
Isn't it? Yeah.
Kev concludes by saying Quentin didn't bother with the tale of the Leyland Princess,
which has all the ingredients for a typical BL story of failure snatched from the jaws
of what should have been victory. Kind regards, Kev.
Well, I probably said this when Dear Quentin passed away and we had a chat about it on the
main podcast. That's when I first met Quentin, I was talking to him for a long time about the
Cars of Star. And then when I met him subsequently, we always got round to it.
And I always said to him, look, I didn't go, look guys, listen, I said I would love to be part of
a reborn Cars of Star. Whether it was just helping with
putting, piecing it together and helping to source cars or something like that.
And he was like, well, he said, Johnny, if you can make it happen, let's do it.
Let's make it happen. And I think he was all for it. It was just, he was understandably exhausted,
which is what I've got when you think you've got some worthy ideas for television. And
there's a finite amount of time that you can pitch these things to deaf ears
when you've just got to get on and earn a living elsewhere. You know what it's like. You work in
the industry. And the success rate is very low of getting things over the line, isn't it?
Yeah, I think, and also it seems to me like TV commissioners have, if anything, got even more
cautious. But what I think is interesting about the Cars of Star is that they work perfectly at
20 minutes long. Yeah, they do. And less would be a bit rushed, but they don't outstay their welcome.
You know, it's a, they were having worked on, on that show back in the day. It was really
interesting exercise in condensing all the good bits down to 20 minutes. And they just worked
that length really nicely. But they were also a quirk of the head of BBC Two at the time they
were first commissioned, who had this policy of not just dealing, you know, most sort of TV is
certainly, you know, old fashioned and linear TV on the BBC works in half hour blocks. And so
everything is really half an hour or an hour generally. And they had this idea that actually,
no, you could, you could split a trad half hour block into 20 minutes and 10 minutes. And so
they commissioned some 20 minute shows and some 10 minute shows and Cars of Star benefited from
that and worked so beautifully at that length. And that then sort of fell out of favour. And I
think that's probably one of the things that the meant that the Cars of Star wasn't recommissioned
after, I mean, God, they did make quite a few of them. Anyway, to answer Kev's question, which I
think is a really interesting one, I do think his list is great. His list is fantastic. The Tesla
would have to be in there, I think. Well, yes, I think you could make a good argument for sticking,
you know, perhaps the Roadster in there. I was also, I was going to say, there is a lost Cars of
Star from the original run. When I was working on the show, I wrote a whole script for an episode
about the Austin 1100 and 1300 because it seemed like there was enough to say kind of an interesting
car. But what really propelled it was that Quentin wants to do it because he had a story about,
as a kid, seeing a bright orange 1300 GT in the window of the local showroom and pressing his
nose up against it. And we were going to start the whole show with a sort of recreation of that.
And then it made it quite a personal story that Quentin's always had a soft spot for these cars.
And then, you know, expand on that and go, they became this sort of fabric of
Britain that we sort of almost, they ceased to be noticeable, but perhaps we should have paid
more attention because they were, in fact, brilliant bit design, big brother to the mini,
but in many ways, more advanced and more intelligently designed. And they had a
starring role, of course, in Faulty Towers, the infamous whipping the car with the branch.
Yeah.
And then we realized that there was one, I don't know if it was an Austin or a Morris,
in the film Clockwise.
Hang on, that's also with Cleese?
Yes. Well, that's the thing. And I think it was Quentin pointed this out and he said,
Cleese, there must be, this isn't an accident, surely. Cleese must have some connection to that
car. So I remember contacting his agent and asking if he would be interested in taking
part. And I think we got a sorry but no back. And it was one of the reasons why it was decided that
actually we wouldn't do the 1100, 1300.
Really?
There were sort of more because we only had what probably six shows to make. So it was like
we had more than that. And because I think this is how you used to do it. Sometimes you'd have
more than you needed. Do a bit of research. The 1100, 1300 was sort of felt like it had a head
start because Quentin really wanted to do it. But we had to acknowledge that without like an
amazing talking head in John Cleese, there were probably some generally sexier stories to tell
about some of the cars. Well, listen, hey, look, listen, Rich, guys, why don't we do that?
Why don't we finish what was started? We could finish that episode and put it out on the late
break show. I mean, look, Cleese is still alive and Cleese, you know, he's had a few divorces and he
could do with some cash here and there. I should think I'm sure he's fine, but maybe he's
he's ready to talk, are still 1100s now.
Yeah, that's annoying. Because with that script, I guess just stayed on my old computer at BBC
Pebble Mill and there's long gone. I don't have a copy of it. It'd be perfect if I did.
But that was the last, I think that was the last series of the cast star that I was going to go
in and we did. I think we did the DeLorean instead. That series of the DeLorean had the
beetle in it. Yes, I remember that one. The Silver Shadow. So another one, which I don't think was
ever done, getting back to Kev's question, was the Range Rover. What, it was never done? I don't
remember. They did the Land Rover, the original Land Rover, but I don't think the Range Rover was
ever done because there's a good story to tell there. To be more specific, I think the discovery
would be a really good, the cars, the star, because that's now got a rich legacy and it's
probably more memorable for people because of it being a family car and a bit more of a car
anywhere. Do you know what I mean? And it has changed quite a lot the Disco. It's being more
of the worker car. It's a bit more of a sheepdog compared to the Range Rover, isn't it? Another
one that springs to mind is the original Fiat Panda. Oh, the Fiat Panda would be really good.
There are some good stories around that car. There's a few of them. I stuck into my boring
trivia books. One of them is that the interior, standard in car design, they make an interior
bug. So it shows management what the interior will look like. They made one for the Panda
to the design that they all wanted, the Zyra Proposier, which was so incredibly minimalist
that when some senior Fiat boss turned up to have a look at it, he assumed it wasn't finished.
And they had to go, no, that's it. And he took some persuading this was all right because it was,
it was so completely bare. But it's a really clever car. The other good story about that is that
the Zyra went, I'll give it all flat glass. There'll be no curvature to the glass. Give it
flat glass because it'll be cheaper to make. And they went, that's a great idea. Yeah, perfect.
But when Fiat went to their usual glass people, they went, yeah, flat glass. We can't make flat
glass anymore. We chucked all the machines out. We only do curved glass now. You want flat glass,
we're going to have to buy new machines. It's going to cost you more. And it did. No,
really? Yeah. Yeah, it's got an interesting genesis to that car. And but of course, the other
thing is, and I think this is, you know, where the cars are always worked is when you can then
sort of relate it to social history. And the original Panda is a true people's car because it
kept Italy moving. It stepped into the, you know, the role of the original 500. 500, yeah.
But more useful, I suppose. Well, yeah, exactly. And the four by four.
This has turned into an ideas meeting. You're writing this, don't you?
It almost has, isn't it? I mean, this is the thing, but you could, I'd say of Kev's list,
Veyron definitely yes. Loads to say about that. Yeah. Focus. Yeah, I think you could tell that
story because it was so radical. It's easy to forget how, how radical it was at the time and
how it really sort of changed how Ford was perceived. And also, we could use some great
top gear archive with Quentinen and all the others because I remember how they marveled at it. It
was such a fanfare when that car came out. Yeah. Rover 75, yeah. Again, it's a good story to tell
and a sort of slightly tragic story. And the three series, it's like, well, yeah, the three,
because if you do the whole of the three series family, them and big family now that, yeah,
but the sort of particularly the 80s story is, it's quite significant, isn't it? Sort of defined
a segment of car. And it's again, something that makes the cars of style really work is good archive
of recognizable and, and very sort of standout moments in history. So the 80s,
yuppies, all that stuff. And the rude boys thing as well.
Yeah, well, that's it, isn't it? It's got a sort of parallel thing. So it's got lots to
stay about it. Escort Cosworth, probably, yeah, Lotus Carlton, definitely. Yes, definitely.
The Renavel Sartes is the one that I'm not sure about just because it was just a sort of,
you know, zany styling exercise, not actually a very good car. Didn't really,
I would sooner do the Matra Rancho. Yes. Just because, just because I'm biased. That's all.
If you're going to pick a Renault, what's the Renault that you would do of recent times though?
Because that's, that's a sort of harder one to, well, the Renault, I mean, the five, obviously,
because of its reborness. The four has got a good story around it.
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance, fiscally responsible, financial
geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car
insurance to Progressive and save hundreds because Progressive offers discounts for paying in full,
owning a home and more. Plus, you can count on their great customer service to help you when
you need it. So your dollar goes a long way. Visit Progressive.com to see if you could save on car
insurance. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Potential savings will vary,
not available in all states or situations. Hey, this is Elise Hu from Ted Talks Daily,
and I'd love to tell you about Whole Foods Market. You know what I love about January?
It's that fresh start energy we all feel. And this year, I'm actually going to try and keep my goals
realistic, which means I need places that make healthy choices easy and affordable. That's why
I've been spending more time at my local Whole Foods Market. The thing is, Whole Foods Market
makes it possible to stick with those New Year intentions without meal prepping for hours or
breaking the bank. Shop all things wellness at Whole Foods Market.
That's right, but I'm going to move on to a letter from, scrolls down, John. And John's put,
Hi, you pair of double skinned crimped box section ends. Long story long, I owned a 2003 Clio in
around 2018. I got it for free from a 92 at the time year old man who was giving up driving for
the second time. This Clio was a dark blue 1.2. He doesn't elaborate on the giving up for the
second time. No, this Clio was a dark blue 1.2. And the only functional thing in it was the engine.
Every electrical item worked, but in a way that was vastly different from its original spec.
For example, if I indicated right, the rear fog lights would permanently illuminate until I
stopped signaling. If I indicated left, the bright lights would come on. Whenever I break,
the interior lights would come on briefly. And then on one occasion, I did turn the stereo on
and the rear wiper decided to go bonkers. And the stereo never ever worked again. So I removed it
for a Bluetooth speaker. I did on one occasion attempt to look at the wiring the previous owner
did. But after witnessing the 21 Scotch locks and household wiring terminals behind the stereo,
I quickly decided to give up. I hated this car with a passion and I treated it as such.
I hoped it would break down whenever I drove it so I could just walk instead. I could change gears
without the clutch, thanks to the gearbox being knackered. I would frequently just crash it into
things instead of braking. In a way, I do actually miss owning a car that I don't care about. There
is a joy to that. I even took it to the West Midlands Safari Park and decided to take the off-road
routes through the park to try and kill the car. But again, no luck. Anyway, without getting any
more partridge, when it came to selling the car in 2019, I put it on Facebook Marketplace
for £150 with the following description. Selling 2002 Clio five door full car available. I don't
know why you'd put that. But anyway, I'm selling my Clio as I'll be scrapping it when the MOT
runs out in September. I've bought another car. Looks better in the pictures than it really is.
Four new tyres, full history. Driver's window doesn't work. Exhaust smells like it's leaking.
It also rattles more than your Nan's false teeth. Clutch bites very high. Service light
is on due to one of the airbags not working. Received new rear brake cylinders earlier in the
year. Comes with free Haynes manual so that you can fix all the problems with it.
Haha. Car runs perfectly fine. It won't pull the skin off a rice pudding, however. If you decide
to buy the car, please note you're doing so on the condition I have stated. I cannot guarantee it
will pass another MOT. After getting chatting to one prospective buyer, he was in two minds due
to the short MOT. But after I've made him aware that the car would come with a free ticket to
the West Midlands Safari Park, he was chomping at the bit. The man travelled 40 miles to come
and view the car, drive it up and down the road, and repeatedly inquired about the Safari Park
tickets. I showed him where they were in the glovebox. Haha. So random. This is so, so random.
I showed him where they were in the glovebox and he happily accepted the offer. Oh sorry,
directions to the Safari Park. One month later. No. This is amazing. This is amazing. One
month later when the MOT ran out, the car was definitely scrapped. My question to you is this,
what's the most ridiculous thing you've had to give away in a car in order to sell it? Also,
why would a man pay £140 for Safari Park tickets when he could have paid £40 and got a second entry
for free? CMTMP John. John, this is one of my favourite letters I've ever read out.
It's so weird. It's so weird. I just love the idea of John's going. Now, there is a little bit of
service history. No, no, don't care about that. So have they got those monkeys that have got the
really bright coloured bums? Yeah, probably. So here's the last MOT. No, elephants. Are there
no elephants? I'm flabbergasted, aren't you? Sorry, there was a question there,
wasn't there, which is what have you ever given away? What's the most ridiculous thing?
What's the sweetest thing? Yeah, you've given away with a car in order to sell it. I mean,
we certainly can't compete with yours, John. Goodness me. No, I'm trying to. I had that Lexus LS
that I got for free because it was a leftover prop from one of Clarkson's videos. I wish you
had. Well, I mean, anyway, but it had, I did then sell it, but for a very small amount of money
to a chap called Phil who was doing one of those banger rallies that had a maximum value you could
spend on the car. So I told it to him for whatever that was, which was like a couple hundred quid
or something and gave him a receipt to prove it because sure enough, he turned up on the banger
rally and everyone went, burger off. You didn't pay 200 quid for that. And he went,
ah, yes, I did. Is it MOT? Yeah, yeah. Well, it was, but then because it was MOT'd just
before I went to collect it. It only turned out a bit later because I think I sold it to Phil.
It had like a week of MOT left on it. So we only had that car for a year, but I think because I
got something else, but that when Phil went to have MOT, it turned out the MOT possibly had
to been done rather hastily the last time. Possibly. But what definitely sweetened the deal,
although it didn't need sweetening because it was already getting a really nice car for not much
money, was that it had new lower wishbones in the boot that I'd never got round to having fitted.
They were probably worth as much as the car you were selling.
I know. Yeah. No, Phil got a good deal. But then he made good use of that car because I think he
did quite a few of those banger rallies in it in the end. He painted it orange like the General Lee.
Oh, I remember seeing that. I thought, I thought, I'm sure that he sold it to someone else who kept
it going. So that car may still exist. Who knows? But I've never done, I mean, I've, the converse is
I have definitely bought cars and in the days when I worked on Top Gear, used tickets to the
Top Gear audience as a little sweetener to get some money off because they were quite valuable
currency back when there was a sort of multi-year waiting list against the studio audience. I'd
sort of, if I could size up that somebody was a fan of the show. It's not quite the same, but the
closest memory I've got to something along these lines was a good friend of ours bought a holiday
home in Spain. And as they were doing the viewing, they got to the end, near the end of the viewing
and the person said, they said, oh, can we have a look in the garage? Yeah, yeah. He opened the
garage and there was a very good condition BMW X5 in there, a British right and drive car.
Yeah. And they went, oh, okay, is that that sure? They went, yeah, yeah, we drove it out here and
it lives here. It stays here. I just keep it in here. And a couple of weeks later, when they
started to make an offer for the house, it got down to, I don't know, when you're trying to broker
a hard deal, the X5 was categorically the selling point. He said, I will not buy this house unless
you also throw in the X5. Wow. And it wasn't X5. Yeah, it was the first generation car. So at the
time, it wasn't a very valuable car, but it was just very useful that it just kind of came. It was
like the tender to the boat, you know. So that's what happened. They did a deal on the house and
they shook on the proviso that the X5 stayed with the house and they just didn't move it. They just
left it in the garage. So that was that, which I thought was quite fun. I know small fry financially
when you're buying a blooming house, but hey, it's quite a nice sort of bonus, I suppose. Yeah.
I don't know what I want to next five free car. It's not free, is it? It's sort of not free,
but it also is pick the bones out of that one. Yeah, I don't know. I haven't I can't think of any
other times that I've sweetened a deal in that way. I think it's back in the back in the dive,
mate, when you had a head unit, a removable head unit. Yes. I think that was quite a currency
for sweetening the deal. I'll have the car if you keep the head unit in it. I was
rising cars the other day as I do, as we all do. And I saw something that caught my eye and it had
a private plate on it. It was one of these ones that's attempting to sort of represent the model
name, which I always hate. And the ad said, private plate will be included for full price.
And I just thought that's that's not having the desired effect on me, my friend, because that is
encouraging me to aggressively haggle on this car to make sure you don't include the fucking plate.
Definitely. So that's sort of the opposite of a deal, sweetener. That's a kind of like, yes,
I'm going to make you carve £2,000 off the price of this car, because I don't want that,
because I think it's fatty. Anyway, should we move on to another question from a listener called Rob?
Yeah, let's do it. It says, I have a question that's formed due to the reemergence of the song
Buck Rogers by Welsh rock legends, feeder. He's put rock in inverted commas. I don't
say feeder with rock band. I mean, I don't know. Anyway, it mentions a brand new car,
circa 2001, that looks like a Jaguar. It has leather seats and a CD player, player, player,
player, player. Oh, yeah, that's all over social media again, isn't it? Yeah. Is it? Is that why?
Yeah, I think it's a song that might have been regurgitated on TikTok or something like that.
Oh, that's what happens now, isn't it? The TikTok effect just propels old songs back into
consciousness. Rob continues by saying he doesn't want to talk about it anymore,
but he thinks he's going to make it. So what is the aforementioned car? And as a side question,
what would be your top three Welsh musical artists? I've given this quite a lot of thought in the
past because I think there is a really simple answer to the feeder question. Yeah. Looks like a
Jaguar has leather seats and a CD player, player, player, player, player. And it's 2001. I think
this just about makes it. It's a Mazda ZDoS 6. Oh, that car comes up in a lot of my conversations
during the course of every year, and I don't know why. What? It's because it's got a tiny V6,
isn't it? And I just... Yeah, not the tiniest. No. I always thought it was an incredibly good looking
car for its time. Yeah. They're really elegant, and it did look a bit like a Jag. The only problem is
that 2001, they were technically not on sale anymore in the UK, but I don't think they ever
sold very well. So what I'm going to say is that there were some Mazda dealers who had a few kicking
around, and you could still register one in 2001. And that's what it is. Because it looks like a
Jaguar. They were very well equipped. They definitely had leather seats and a CD player, player,
player. So it's a Mazda ZDoS 6. To me, that's a no brainer. The touring car legend Matt Neal,
a raced one, you might remember, before his career got to... Oh, yes. And he ended up having an
almighty crash in it. So I think he went down the start finish straight on his roof because he got
squished by a couple of other racers in a fracker. It'd be a fracker. You could say it's an on track
fracker. The other obvious one is that the Jag X-Type came out around then. But I don't think
it looks like a Jaguar. I mean, is he sort of... What's his name? Is it Grant, the lead singer of
Fida? Is he sneering at the X-Type? Because, oh, it looks like a Jaguar, but it's just a Mondeo
underneath. That was exactly what I was thinking. That it is a natural Jaguar, but it's just a
rebadged other car. And I think it would be... Maybe when he says it looks like a Jaguar,
maybe it was an estate version, which he wasn't familiar with because Jags didn't do estates.
So he was kind of a little bit foxed initially. The estate didn't come along till like sort of like
four or five years later, did it? It was quite a delay. So Grant Lass Fida had some sort of
ability to see into the future, which I know what it was. It'd be an X-Type that someone has put lots
of satanic paraphernalia on. So you can't really tell that it was ever a Jaguar. But he could tell
it had leather seats and obviously a CD player and all the other important points. But the growler
was not there because it had been replaced by, I don't know, a goat skull that's been known
for years. Since Rob asks, top three Welsh musical artists, that's a tricky one.
Top three Welsh, God, there's loads. I mean,
I'm going to start the ball rolling with Catatonia back in the day.
Well, Stereophonics, I have to put my Stereophonics card down. I've always
liked the Stereophonics. I think the music, it kind of, it gets me in the fields, as the
children would say. Yes, it does. Local boy in the photograph gets me in the fields and I don't
like any of the Stereophonic songs. Don't you? I mean, they're handbags and glad rags. No,
the original version. No, we don't need. We've already got, I honestly, come on, just I'm not
buying. I'm just looking great song. No, no, it just doesn't know. I think it's, Kelly Jones'
voice, he's got like a Ford Pinto engine voice. He just gets too rough at the top end. I don't
enjoy it. Gosh, it's funny, isn't it? So, okay, what about, I mean, we could say Tom Jones because
he's got to be in there if there was ever a top three or five. Yeah, well, also, I mean, Shirley
Bassey. Bassey's an absolute VTech of a woman. Oh, well, I think she's got a, she's a bit more
bodied to her than to the VTech. Oh, is she classic motor by a megaphone exhaust? Maybe.
I don't know what she is because she's sort of rich and smooth. She's, she's almost like a B&W
straight six of a singer. Oh, yes. So classy and balanced, but with a good, good range sort of
warble on the, on the red line. Yeah, but I don't actually listen to Shirley Bassey very much. I'd
probably listen to Bonnie Tyler more than Shirley Bassey, albeit only about two tracks. But obviously,
the Manics would be my other one. I was about to say, if you tolerate this, your children will be next.
Oh, for some reason, I think of that song quite a lot. So do I. Why do I do that?
Here they are. I don't know. I mean, like Super Fury Animals has done some good stuff, but I don't,
and that, that first Gruff Rees out of Super Fury Animals did that Neon Neon project with,
what's he called? Boombip was the other guy. And that first album of theirs, which is about DeLorean,
Stainless Style, is a cracking album. I do actually genuinely still listen to that.
I don't, I've never heard that. Stainless Style wasn't great.
Stainless Style. And it's all, every track is about John DeLorean, but it's not sort of on the nose.
It's, it works. It's really good. Really good. There's many other good Welsh bands we know.
Yeah, that's the thing. I feel like I'm missing something obvious, but yeah. Okay. So, what was
your actual question? Well, it was about Feder and then it was about Welsh bands. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
With that, we have reached the end of the show, but it feels like we haven't answered enough.
Anyway, we'll do it all again next time. So that's fine. If you've got a question for us,
it's hello at smithandsniff.com. Put off the subject line. If it's a question, if you just
want to shout at us because we forgot to mention Gorky's Psychotic Minky or something like that,
then just, just put something else. Goldy looking chain. Oh, shit. Yes.
Who are absolutely Welsh, South Wales. Yes. Very, very much Welsh. All right. Well,
that's enough of all this, but thank you for listening. Goodbye. Bye, guys.
Bye.
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About this episode
A lively discussion unfolds as Richard Porter and Johnny Smith tackle listener questions, focusing on the legacy of Quentin Wilson's 'Cars the Star.' They explore which cars from the past 30 years deserve a spot in a potential revival, debating iconic models like the Bugatti Veyron and Tesla Roadster. The duo also shares humorous anecdotes about their own car experiences, including bizarre sales tactics and memorable vehicles. With a blend of nostalgia and automotive insight, this episode is packed with engaging stories and thoughtful reflections on car culture.
Jonny and Richard answer listeners’ questions about bringing back The Car’s The Star, things used to sweeten a car deal, and what are Feeder talking about in that song of theirs?
