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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Saturday 16 december 2017
3 car gurus from ‘The Grand

Tour’ ponder the car’s future

By MARK KENNEDY beyond simply being a ma- of motoring. It’s going to
AP Entertainment Writer chine.” — Hammond ruin everything!’ The car al-
NEW YORK (AP) — When it WHAT DO CARS TELL US ways improved because a
comes to cars, three names ABOUT US? challenge was laid before
instantly come to mind. No, “You can make social it and it had to be over-
not Ford, Chevy and Hon- commentary on the world come. And the cars got
da. We’re talking Jeremy by the cars that people better.” — May
Co-hosts Jeremy Clarkson, from left, Richard Hammond and Clarkson, Richard Ham- drive. You show me some- ARE WE FACING THE END OF
James May attend Amazon Studio’s “The Grand Tour” season mond and James May, the one in Prius, I’ll tell you quite THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION
two premiere screening and party at Duggal Greenhouse on former “Top Gear” hosts a lot about them. Show me ENGINE?
Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, in New York. who have just launched someone in Texas in a pick- “The future is not the end of
Associated Press season two of their new au- up truck with a gun rack, internal combustion, just as
tomotive show, “The Grand I can tell you quite a lot we still have steam locomo-
Tour,” on Amazon Prime. about them. I’ve never met tives for enthusiasts and sail-
They stopped by to dis- them. I don’t know them. ing boats and people ride
cuss the importance of the I know these days that’s horses. Cars, as we know
car and why gas engines called being judgmental. them now, will be freed
aren’t going away. But it’s true, you can.” — up for people who genu-
JUST HOW IMPORTANT ARE Clarkson inely love them to drive in
CARS TO THE SHOW? ARE DRIVERLESS CARS certain places — not ev-
“It is just three middle-aged AROUND THE CORNER? erywhere because that
men with poor teeth, bad “I don’t see those happen- won’t be allowed — but
physics and creaking joints, ing in my lifetime, probably nice places, special roads,
who go around the world not even in the lifetime of circuits, maybe. We won’t
getting into scrapes. That’s my children. For 40 years have been wasting all that
really what it’s about. we’ve been promised ro- oil on driving people to
We’re in cars while that bots. Nobody has built a work because they’re go-
happens, but then people robot than can make a ing around in their electric
are in cars when they go to sandwich or boil an egg or pods so it won’t seem so
the store or when they go even climb a flight of stairs bad burning it for purposes
out at night. The cars are or open a door. And yet of pleasure. The future is full
coincidental.” — Clarkson somehow we’re expected of Ferraris.” — May
WHY DO WE LOVE OUR to believe we’re on the IF CARS GO AWAY, ARE
CARS SO MUCH THAT WE cusp of a car that can ne- YOU WORRIED ABOUT YOUR
NAME THEM? gotiate Manhattan or drive JOB?
“In a relatively short span around a U.K. ring road or “There’s never been a bet-
— 130 years — it’s defined handle Rome.” — Clarkson ter time to be a commen-
and shaped our world in BUT CHANGE IS COMING, tator on cars. The indus-
every way, from important NO COMPLAINING AL- try itself has never gone
military action to merchant LOWED through more change.
activity to love, sex and “Historically, when you look When it first started the car
rock ‘n’ roll. Think of the at the attitude of hard-core was a novelty... And yet 100
songs that were written car enthusiasts to changes or 130 years later, here it is,
about cars. They’re so inter- in the car, you will discover this globally important influ-
twined with our lives, they that all the things that we ence is being reinvented
scratch such a fundamen- objected to — unleaded by people who know how
tal itch within us as human fuel, catalytic converter, significant, how important,
beings that they’re bound side-impact protection, it is to us. So what an excit-
to be imbued with quali- blah, blah — everyone al- ing time to be dealing with
ties and characteristics far ways said, ‘Oh, it’s the end it.” — Hammond.q
2017 Breakthrough: ‘Wonder

Woman’ director Patty Jenkins

Associated Press worldwide. Pulling in $816
NEW YORK (AP) — Some million worldwide last sum-
people have breakout mer, it was the most suc-
years. Director Patty Jen- cessful live-action film ever
kins had one with “Mon- directed by a woman.
ster” in 2003, a movie that And it was clearly a break-
earned Charlize Theron through in what was oth-
a best actress Academy erwise a less-than-spec-
Award. tacular summer at the box
And then there are break- office. “I think we tried very
THROUGH years. hard to stay true to the spir- In this Nov. 13, 2017 photo,
This year, Jenkins’ “Won- it of the Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins poses
der Woman,” starring Gal that I love and grew up lov- for a portrait in New York.
Gadot, was a mega-hit ing,” Jenkins said. q Associated Press