Yeti

[knockmacool]

Apart from Clarkson comments, anyone have any views on this? Test drove the 1.6TDi Grrenline, thinking of it as next family car (2adults, 10yr old, 2 dogs and a kayak)
Sips fuel. 4.6 l/100k. The only thing I didn't like was 16" alloys- on these roads 17 is more appropriate.

[knockmacool]

Pulled the trigger on this and just did 2500 km West Cork/North Cornwall/London return. Mainly high speed miles or Fulham crawl, we averaged 50mpg. Mod cons (dual air con, bluetooth, "reversometer" especially) make for marital harmony. Downsides are huge A pillar limits visibility in town, noisy in a chunky way,  and that ocassional diesel feeling. She loves it!

[mdsalemi]

Can anyone translate these posts into English?  Yeti is the "abominable snowman".  Fulham crawl?  Mod cons?  Chunky noise? Clarkson comments?

Sounds like something interesting here if only I spoke the same language...

[Garry]

Come on Michael, you must be getting old even I know them.

Yeti is right, Fullam Crawl. or any inner London for that matter is probably equivalent to the Chicago peak hour crawl but goes 24 hours a day, Mod cons, are modern conveniences eg, air, gps MP3, ABS, GRP, RTS, Cruise and any other thing that is  on a modern car eg. all the mod cons, Chunky noise, diesel feel, all diesel speak for knocky and blocky like just about all oil burners! and Clarkson, is Top Gear lead presenter.

[JamesL]

Michael

It's a Czech VW and judging by their webby, is pug ugly side on!

http://www.skoda.co.uk/gbr/newcars/yeti/gallery/gallery-images/Pages/default.aspx

[mdsalemi]

Thanks, Tosh and Garry.

We do not have Czech vehicles in this country, other than, perhaps, the rare decades old Skoda or Tatra in a museum.  So Yeti isn't on any radar screen here.

Don't get Top Gear here in my home, so not familiar with it or its hosts.  Never had cable or satellite TV until recently, and BBC America is two tiers up from where I am on the cable offerings, so I still don't have it.  Looks like you need to sign up for one of the two most expensive packages...who needs 400 channels?

Never heard of rush hour here being called "the crawl".  Rush hour, heavy traffic, etc.  Still have no idea what Fulham his, but sounds like a place to avoid.  Rush hour here, for what its worth, is when traffic slows to about 60 MPH...and you'd be lucky to do that in LA or Chicago most of the day.  I would suspect that "the crawl" might be British slang, and it is far more likely to be immediately understood in Australia than here.

We don't own too many diesels here, and I never had one so am not familar with the lingo.  I did rent a Peugeot 205 in Munich in March; only when I went to fill the tank just prior to return, did I discover it was a diesel...about as smooth as can be.  That lingo wouldn't apply.  Note: diesel is near $4 per gallon today, gasoline, er "petrol" is about $3.60...just one reason why diesel has never taken off here.

We are indeed "separated by a common language". http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SeparatedByACommonLanguage

Now that I know Yeti is a Czech SUV, went and found some photos.  Looks like the love-child of a Ford Escape and Honda CRV.  Not really bad looking at all, but we'll never see one here for sure.  I don't know if the Ford Escape is sold overseas, and the Honda might have a different name outside the USA as well.

[jacovdw]

Michael,

If there is an absence of Top Gear on your current bouquet of cable channels, you can always look for a few clips on YouTube.
Very entertaining indeed...

Honda CRV = Honda CRV even here in South Africa. It is only the Honda sedans that had a different model naming structure when compared to the rest of the world.

No Skodas here in the southern tip of Africa though, so I must confess that Drew had me stumped with a Yeti as well. That is until I looked at the link James posted.

[JamesL]

CRV - Credibility Replacement Vehicle?

HRV - Hormone.....

[Benz Dr.]

Don't worry lads, Mike really doesn't understand Canadian either. It's forgivable though....

 After all, America is the only country in the world that speaks American - in 3,000 different dialects even they can't understand.  

[mdsalemi]

Don't worry lads, Mike really doesn't understand Canadian either. It's forgivable though....

 After all, America is the only country in the world that speaks American - in 3,000 different dialects even they can't understand.  

I know enough Canadian to call you a hoser though...and know what I'm talking aboot.  I can cross the bridge and spend my dawlers--even those stinking loonies that show up in change--in Windsor like the best of them.   How far do YOU have to go for a Timmies?  I've got several to choose from, probably closer than your back 40!

Yeah for some reason they all still want to come here, hence the 3,000 dialects...  I would dare any of you to try and pronounce the names of half the kids in my daughter's school classes, as more than 20 languages are spoken in this town.

[Benz Dr.]

Yeah, but your dawler isn't worth anything here or anywhere else, unless it's a third world country. And that's '' Mr. Hoser ''  BTW.

I don't go to Timmy's because I no longer drink coffee. It tasted kind of like diesel fuel anyway.  There's two of them in Wallaceburg ( pop. 11,500 ) we like our coffee and doughnuts here, so I'm told.

Since you haven't been to my place in 5 years I'm surprised you know so much about what's going on around here.

We speak four offical languages in Canada ( actually it's two, but who's counting )
English - not bastardised American but the Queen's very own.
French - useful if you're a civil servant, you live in Quebec, or you're a politican looking for votes.
Newfie - feared by none and understood by few
Native Canadian - meaning Indians. Several diffrent dialects that they use cheifly ( ignore the pun ) amoungst themselves, otherwise they speak English or French.

You have to go to Toronto to see every culture in the world actually manage tolerate each other. You Amer'cans could learn alot from us......

 

[mdsalemi]

We speak four offical languages in Canada ( actually it's two, but who's counting )
English - not bastardised American but the Queen's very own.
French - useful if you're a civil servant, you live in Quebec, or you're a politican looking for votes.
Newfie - feared by none and understood by few
Native Canadian - meaning Indians. Several diffrent dialects that they use cheifly ( ignore the pun ) amoungst themselves, otherwise they speak English or French.

Points taken and understood, Mr. Hoser... with one big exception.  French?  Get real.  It's Québécois, not French, as any true-speaking French person will tell you.  Learn alot?  We do all the time.

Once I brought a "French speaking" Belgian to La Tuque (look that up!) to the paper mill I worked at, to give instruction on the equipment I was working on to the workers, none of whom spoke English (of any kind...).  After the lecture, my Belgian friend said, "I think the training went well, but they don't speak French".  The plant manager, conversant in many languages, asked the workers what they thought of the training.  "Good, but the instructor does not speak French..."

[Benz Dr.]

Well, as anyone will tell you, the French ( in France ) have a diffrent way of doing things. I wouldn't go so far as to them arrogant but they do have a way of looking down their noses at just about everybody. So, your story is of no real consequence.

  Learn a lot? Hummm......

 You do seem to know a little bit about a great many subjects. As you grow, you can actually learn less and less about more and more, until you now know nothing about everything.

[glenn]

(I) believe Persiflage is French........sort of......

[Benz Dr.]

(I) believe Persiflage is French........sort of......

I believe you would be correct. It has its origins from the French language.

  As a note: Quebecois is not a language but a political party. People in Quebec speak French, or something like it. Not much different than some of the English spoken by generations of long time Americans in the deep south or maybe the north east.

You speak English with an American accent; not that I mind accents - I find them rather interesting.

[waqas]

Michael,

You might enjoy Jeremy Clarkson's take on our Pagoda: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTE1MDYxMDAw.html

I particularly enjoy his description of the kick-down switch.

-waqas

[Peter van Es]

Then you might also like Top Gear's (Clarksons) Skoda Yeti review

[knockmacool]

The Tattoo reminds me of a certain procedure performed in the back of a moving Ford (?) by two rabbis. Trouble is, can't remember whether it was an actual ad or a SNL clip. Anyone?

[mdsalemi]

Michael,

You might enjoy Jeremy Clarkson's take on our Pagoda: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTE1MDYxMDAw.html

I particularly enjoy his description of the kick-down switch.

-waqas

I've seen that video a while ago, (and don't agree with the kick-down switch; he hasn't driven mine.)  I'm just not that familiar with him because I have seen perhaps two episodes a long time ago, and his name didn't stick with me.  But it is amusing.

[mdsalemi]

Quebecois is not a language but a political party.
You speak English with an American accent; not that I mind accents - I find them rather interesting.

Québécois has, to my knowledge (that ever receding part vanishing to nothing as you point out) several definitions:  The political party (or parties, if you want to get technical: Bloc Québécois and Partii Québécois); the people of Quebec; and the language they speak there...maybe even a few more definitions.

American accent?  No such thing.  Well, there are places in the USA where there is "accentless" English spoken and that is probably what you might call an American accent.  Some say Chicago is accentless, but some natives have a distinct midwestern "twang" in their voice.  My guess is Seattle is pretty accentless.  But we have many places here, to name just a few:

Pittsburgh--Yuns get that, right?
New Yawk (New York)
Nawlins (New Orleans) and Weeziana (Louisiana)
The South, y'all
New England/Boston, near Haavaad Yaaad.
Rhode Island, a wicked good dialect of Boston/New England

...which have their own distinct accent.  In the deep part of Lousiana, its hard to understand a Cajun.  The rest we kind of laugh at not to make fun of, but because the accent and dialect are so much fun to hear...as they say in Brooklyn--you got a problem with that?

[Benz Dr.]

Québécois has, to my knowledge (that ever receding part vanishing to nothing as you point out) several definitions:  The political party (or parties, if you want to get technical: Bloc Québécois and Partii Québécois); the people of Quebec; and the language they speak there...maybe even a few more definitions.

No sorry, that's not right. They speach Fench. They don't speak Quebecois any more that you speak American - you speak English. You're bring rather pedant aboot this Mike........