"Amazing Race" 3/28 Fran & Barry are nasty (Spoiler)

Who knew they would become such villains.

BreadWithSpam...

For not helping Lake and his whipping girl?

Guardsman...

k> You say "villains"; I say "practical racers".

Not telling Lake about the earlier flight was perfectly
fine (although Fran could have been a lot smoother), but it was
unnecessarily hostile not to give even vague directions to the
Roadblock when they were just a few feet from finishing the leg.

badwilson...

They are still carrying a grudge that Lake didn't tell Fran how to put
together the motorcycle in Brazil ;-)

Nancy1...

Well, when one remembers that teams head out 12 hours after they land
on the mat, it's understandable, and I might not have told them
directions, either ... after all, if the ones behind you are w-a-y
behind you, you have a better chance of not coming in last.

Brent McKee...

Given Lake's behaviour in this episode, and probably in other segments
that we haven't seen, I have a suspicion that he's not particularly well
liked. This may explain why Fran & Barry were rather brusque with them
when it came to giving directions to the ancient theatre. I also think
they were hoping that if Lake & Michelle continued to have trouble
finding the theatre the other teams would be able to beat Lake &
Michelle who, even given this week's performance, are still a pretty
strong if not terribly bright team.

Karen E....

You say "villains"; I say "practical racers".

obveeus...

Agreed. If you can cause someone to land a half hour behind you simply
by avoiding having them hear/copy your reservation, it is the smart
race thing to do.

Looks like Lori's not as smart as she thinks she is.

pepsi...

I thought Lori showed exactly how smart she was. She was the only one
that really tried to get the statue together using all the pieces. If
anything, her intelligence was her downfall, as she was almost
unwilling to do it any other way.

Curt...

Why is it smart to look at the statue, think it's complete, then second
guess yourself. How long does it take to call the judge over for a
ruling?

I'm not saying she's not smart, but she was obviously fatigued and made
the wrong decision. Don't try to say because she took the statue apart
three times that she's smarter then everyone else.

pepsi...

Barbara Sherrill...

Only pitfall Lori had last night, was the fact she was over thinking it and
was not able to see out side of the box. Lori and Dave were at each others
throats, which also didn't help the situation.

Barbara Bailey...

We don't know whether there was some sort of penalty attached to
asking the archaeologist for a ruling if it turned out that the statue
was wrong. There didn't *appear* to be, (Danielle appeared to go
right back to work after hers was not accepted because the pieces
weren't lined up correctly) but the editors can be tricky like that.

I think that Lori was just to tired to think "Hey, these extra pieces
may be a trick," like Tyler, Lake and Ray did. Most puzzles *don't*
come with unnecessary pieces.

I don't believe I said that.

UCLAN...

Curt seems to have an ongoing reading comprehension problem.

Curt...

It's not reading comprehension. Did you read my response? pepsi claimed
her intelligence was her downfall. Logically, that means that the ones
who finished the puzzle without problems were not as intelligent.
Otherwise their intelligence would have caused them to take the puzzle
apart three times.

Maybe you and your friend just can't write coherently.

Curt...

Oh come on - first you wrote - "I thought Lori showed exactly how smart
she was" then you wrote that she was the only one who tried to fit in
the extra two pieces. You were implying that she was smarter then
everyone who didn't do this. Then you stated that her intelligence was
her downfall, which could reasonably mean that the other racers lack of
intelligence allowed them to ignore the two pieces.

Karen E....

Or, much more likely, her brain works differently from yours. Different
people approach problems differently. I'm not at all surprised that a
self-avowed nerd would expect to use all the puzzle pieces provided if
they weren't told otherwise. That's the mindset I expect many would have.

obveeus...

The problem with her mindset wasn't in 'thinking she had to use all the
pieces', but in 'not seeing visually that the puzzle was complete'.
She didn't trust her own eyes. I think the reason she didn't trust her
own eyes is that she didn't have the puzzle put together correctly
(hear her say something about that being the same way she had it last
time?). The DDs had the same problem...not lining up /placing
correctly all the pieces that were part of the puzzle.

Why do they always have to have manual cars?

Major ChrisB...

coz we Europeans/non-americans will generally drive manual cars. Here in
the UK there are very few automatics and most of our cars are european made
where very few cars are automatics.

Here in the UK you have to learn how to drive in a manual you have to get
your licence driving a manual transmision car. If you learn to drive in an
automatic is says "AUTOMATIC ONLY" in big red letters on your licence and
you legally cannot drive a manual car....

I loved driving an automatic in the US but thats coz I'm lazy....but they're
harder to find and more expensive to buy and cost more to maintain....and
cars in the Uk are expensive enough...

BreadWithSpam...

Why is that a problem?

Karen E....

So viewers can laugh at people who go on the race without having
adequately practiced driving a stick shift. It's not as though they have

Obveeus...

Or just 'borrow' a postal truck. ;-)
Seriously, even if you can't get time in a vehicle with the steerng wheel on
the 'wrong' side, at least learn to drive a stick. That skill can be easily
mastered in a day...a far cry from expecting people to learn 6 languages or
every tourist attraction around the world. There resally is no excuse for
not knowing how to drive a stick on TAR.

badwilson...

It's just ridiculous that someone who knows that they will be on The Amazing
Race wouldn't learn how to drive a stick shift before the show starts. That
just boggles the mind.

obveeus...

In the USA, most people drive automatics. In Europe...most people
drive stick shifts, don't they? Is it that surprising if rental car
places in some countries only have stick shifts...or only have stick
shifts available at a low/reasonable price?

DD...

True - it can be hard to find an automatic in some european countries. When
ever you rent, the default is a stick-shift. Given the narrow roads and
steep hills, the stick-shift is actually a lot better than the automatic
anyway.

And it is funny watching people who can't drive stick shifts.

Jimmy...

Unless these people lived in a cave they should have known that driving POS
vehicles is a TAR tradition and practiced driving stick.

Brent McKee...

I'm not sure how you make the jump from stick shift to "POS vehicles" if
POS means what I think it means. I'm pretty sure those were new Fiats
they were driving which are definitely not POS cars (like Trabants or
Yugos).

Jimmy...

What do you call a Brazilian VW Beetle?

Have you rented many economy cars? My brother had the front end collapse on a
new rental in Canada. It had 5000 kilometers on it. These cars get the bag beat
off them by renters.
It was one of those Japanese cars where all the gauges were in a big 'eyeball'
in the center of the dash. Toyota maybe.

Brent McKee...

A Brazilian VW is probably a POS car, but those Fiats they were driving
out of Palermo were brand new Fiat Pandas, probably no more than a
year on them if that. And the Panda is not a bad car.

Major ChrisB...

up until about 5 years ago all british police cars were pandas, I think
France and Italy also used the panda as their police car. I we have Peugot
or Renault in the UK now....not sure

badwilson...

Really??? Wow, I didn't know that. Most people? Really? I totally had no
idea. Haven't been in the US for years but I really honestly didn't know
that.

Obveeus...

Yep. In the USA, most cars are automatics. There are some people that want
the 'sportscar' stickshifts or the offroading stick shifts, but beyond that
the vehicles sold as stickshifts are usually the cheapest, bottom of the
line cars sold...you know, the ones that look like they are powered by a
half dozen mice. ;-).

Karen E....

Really? We bought our manual transmission Honda Civic because we'd get

Obveeus...

Isn't the Civic the cheapest Honda sold?

Karen E....

It certainly doesn't look like it's "powered by a half dozen mice", nor
does it drive that way. Plus we purchased a higher-end Civic. Try again.

Obveeus...

Naw...a higher-end Civic would have had an automatic transmission.

UCLAN...

Yes, but powered by 8 BIG rats on steroids, not a half dozen little
girly-mice.

Obveeus...

I stand corrected.

Jimmy...

The mice can be turbo charged.:)

better gas milage, a lower purchase price, and lower repair bills. Our
other car has an automatic transmission. My parents own two vehicles,
one of which (a Ford F150) has manual transmission, and they certainly
do not go off-roading with it.

Obveeus...

'150'...sounds cheaper than the 250 or 350 or...

Karen E....

Now I know you're yanking my chain. The base price on the model my
parents own is over $30,000. In what universe is that a "cheap" vehicle?

Obveeus...

I guess the same universe where someone would willingly pay $30K+ for a low
end Ford pickup.

Default User...

That's the tonnage rating of the truck. The 150 is a 1/2 ton pickup,
250 is a 3/4 ton.

Obveeus...

Is that your way of explaining why the 150 is cheaper or are you trying to
contradict me and claim that the tonnage rating doesn't affect the price?

Default User...

I don't know that they are cheaper or not. The point is, the numbers
don't "sound" cheaper, they reflect something different. I'd guess 150s
would be less expensive, if nothing else because they make a lot more
of them.

Invid Fan...

Just that the higher price has nothing to do with the feature set, just
the size. A 150 with an automatic, power windows, good sound system,
etc will probably cost less then a 250 standard stripped of options.

Obveeus...

Sure...but the 150 is still a cheaper line than the 250...and the original
poster already stated that they got the 150 with a manual transmission...but
she still won't admit to the mice. ;-)

Jimmy...

If things keep going like they are Ford and GM trucks could become collectors
items if both companies go broke and there are smart business types predicting
just that.

Obveeus...

In 'big business', companies that go broke do not go away...they just start
over. GM and Ford will still be around long after they declare bankruptcy.

Jimmy...

I don't think so. The US government would have to bail them out and that is not
going to happen. They simply don't have the money.

Obveeus...

They have the money to bail out all the airlines...and allow them to go back
into business with basically the same failed model that took them to
bankruptcy in the first place. Same goes for the steel industry, IMO.

The US government has plenty of money...what is a hundred billion more or
less? A drop in the bucket...not even enough for another war or two.

GM is almost certainly toast. Ford might have a decade left.

Barbara Bailey...

The MSRP range for an F-150 is from $18,930 to $40,055. The standard
package includes an automatic transmission on virtually all models.

The MSRP range for an F-250 is $22,470 - $37,685. The transmission
is a manual on all models, unless you pay extra for an automatic.

Back to the topic, sort of: What would be really entertaining (I've
mentioned it in the past) would be watching the racers who learned to
drive stick for the race drive in Great Britain. Same pattern on the
stick, but you have to shift with your left hand.

Obveeus...

Naw...really entertaining would be to make them drive motorcycles. ;-)

Karen E....

Perhaps, but that would require contestants to get M licenses.

Obveeus...

Do all countries have a requirement for a separate license for motorcycles?

Karen E.

no reason to expect it.

Great location!

Karen E....

Great task design on the Roadblock, too. The extra pieces were a great

BreadWithSpam...

I thought that one was okay.

BreadWithSpam...

They seem to have cranked up the number of "hunt through a
zillion items looking for something" tasks. The russian dolls,
the gnomes, the laundry, the bottles. It's silly as a
challenge in general. I was surprised at how few took
the bell, which looked relatively easy (at least for
any of the teams with young men).

BreadWithSpam...

The four pounds of meat, and the sly brilliance (evil?) of
Boston Rob, was great fun.

Love the guy or hate the guy, he did add some great character
to the show. All the teams this time are astoundingly bland,
as are so many of the challenges.

complication.

Karen E.

..
Mr. Hole

The favor of your reply is requested.

"You would make a destructive god, Mr. Hole, but as a human, you remain
pathetic and ineffectual." -- Heck

Barbara Sherrill...

I think it goes back to that first detour; where Lake promised Fran and
Berry to help them and then leaves them high and dry!

obveeus...

I agree...to a point. I do think that Fran's attitude towards Lake is
due to the motorcycle building challenge. She is still holding a petty
grudge and acting like a ten year old as a result of a preceived wrong
that didn't actually happen.