Busch Tampa plans new coaster, Paul Ruben declares B&M the Mercedez-Benz of the industry

John Peck and matt.: I don't know how much truth there is to the statement about Benz and BMW products being unreliable. My BMW has yet to leave me stranded on the side of the road. Aside from the low-profile tires not leaving much "cushion" between potholes and the rims, I have little to complain about. Money well spent as far as I'm concerned!

*** This post was edited by Rob Ascough 5/5/2004 11:59:37 AM ***

This is great news!. I haven't been to the park in a couple of years but if this dive machine is anything like Oblivion, then it will get me back to the park.

So it may be a one trick pony. As long as it puts a smile on my face, I don't care.

-Sean (who thinks some of the best rides ever created are considered "one trick" by many) F.

Coming from the England, I have ridden Oblivion loads of times and its one of my favourite coasters (yes, I have been to Florida and California). I have yet to find a coaster that will make me feel as nervous as Oblivion and give such a quick rush.

The way I look at it for Alton Towers, they aren't allowed to build about tree height so a drop tower would be pretty rubbish at only 80ft tall. Therefore they got a Dive Machine which is kind of like an extended Drop Tower only loads better and has amazing capacity 1800pph.

To the people knocking the Dive Machine's you shouln't really until you have been on one, they provide a really different sensation and will be a nice contrast to the other two B&M's in the park.

no B&M 4D for Florida - huh.

The first B&M 4D to appear should be called "Loch Ness Monster" - if it ever does.

Good to see some confirmation to this rumor, can't wait till ride it when I go to Disney next!

Sean - I wasn't knocking the ride or the concept and I happen to enjoy a few "OTP" rides myself. I'm merely trying to suggest that people not get their hopes up too high until the stats and layout are announced. I think this is a great addition to the park.

Yes, the editorial on Ruben was me. He's too easy a target.

That said, I can't help but wonder if the author's only source is Ruben, who has been very skilled at attention whoring journalists to get face time. PR departments everywhere tend to think of him as a fraud, so I guess you do what you gotta.

I think I need to hear it from Busch before I consider it "confirmed."

For some old reading on the Car manufacturer = Coaster manufacturer debate.....

http://www.coasterbuzz.com/forum.aspx?mode=thread&TopicID=21287

On vehicle quality..

From the JDPower IQS (Initial Quality Survey - http://www.jdpower.com/cc/auto/index.jsp ) study results just released last week;

Luxury Name-Plates
(scores in problems per hundred vehicles; the lower, the better)

Lexus 87
Cadillac 93
Jaguar 98
Infiniti 104
Mercedes-Benz 106
Audi 109
BMW 109
Acura 117
Lincoln 121
Porsche 159

Looks like the Germans aren't so invincible after all....

Later,
EV

Germans may not build the most reliable cars, but they build some of the best cars. If you want to relate it to coasters, Americans and Japanese build the B&M coasters (good and usually reliable), while the Germans build the Intamin coasters (*really* exciting but not as reliable).

Well, I can't say that I agree that American cars are reliable... I'd rank them below German cars on the reliability list (but above British brands.) I think Bimmers are a lot more reliable than Intamins... my car has yet to experience a month or two of TTD-style downtime!

My favorite part of the article:

"You're weightless the entire time because your body is falling at the exact same speed as the vehicle."

As opposed to all the coasters in which your body falls at a speed independent of the vehicle? I can tolerate someone's ignorance of physical law (not everyone is interested in science), but this is completely illogical. How can..it's not...what the..argh! I give up.

Here is my favorite part of the article

---

The two rows are tiered to give everyone an obstructed view of the rapidly approaching ground.

---

That must have been a quote from Rubin. As for this coaster, I'm glad Busch is getting something new, but as I'm going down there this year, it will be a few more years before I get a chance to ride it.

Our Cadillac Escalade has never had a problem. Our Mercedes ML55 AMG and S600 have had numerous problems. And our Porsche Carrera has had 1 or 2.

This is not CarReliabilityBuzz...

True, true... how to respond to John, then, and make it about coasters?

Hey, John, Echo & The Bunnymen sound much better in my Benz's Bose system than my Toyota's factory one when I'm driving to the amusement park. (We'll see if it lasts 150k, though.)

Anywhoo, wouldn't it seem more logical to compare a B&M "Beemer" with a BMW "Bimmer?"

On that note, I'd add that:

Vekoma = Pontiac. Just as popular as they are unreliable.

Reverchon = Kia. Cheap and hard to tell them apart.

Arrow = Olds. Your dad's coaster. They were okay, but no one buys them anymore.

Schwarzkopf = Benz. Innovative design, German engineering, still fun after all these years.

Giovanola = Alfa Romeo. Nice, but you don't see too many around.

LOL.....ok you can slam Arrow all you want since they are "dead". Hell, DollyWood might as well remove their masterpiece, since it obviously hasn't changed anyone's opinions towards their progress over the years. I guess I might as well jump on the bandwagon and declare B&M as the only one who should be making coasters from here on out, but I can't. Besides, I can't steal my brother's screenname! But they are the king of inverts (and some hypers), not to mention CoasterDynamix (shameless plug) allows everyone to have Montu in their basement!

Now, you will have trouble convincing me to get rid of my '82 Trans Am, who is very sensitive about what others say! Let's see......the "Vekoma Industries Two Thousand"..... I wonder how soon I'll have to replace turbo boost. LOL

I'm glad I'm not going to BGT yet, as I haven't been on any coasters there. This gives me another reason to wait it out another year or so. Hopefully I can get there before Python bites its last victim. :(
*** This post was edited by Arrow Guy 5/5/2004 8:26:26 PM ***

"I guess I might as well jump on the bandwagon and declare B&M as the only one who should be making coasters from here on out..."

TOGO, too!

That makes me hurt just thinking about it.

I just saw a Travel Channel special on the latest and greatest new coaster designs. Alton Towers Oblivion was one of the six that were profiled, and I can't wait for the drop coaster's North American debut. Oblivion was designed to heighten riders anticipation -- the lift hill is a slow chain lift (with lots of loud clank-clank-clanks), and the car travels slowly across the transition track at the top before engaging another chain drive. This second chain drive slows and stops the car, as riders peer into the abyss. After a pause (3 seconds?), the chain releases and riders plumet straight down into a misty tunnel, then the track curves and returns the car to the station.

Personally, I'd like to see more new coasters like this with old-fashioned chain lift hills. Can you imagine a slow clanky ride up a 400-foot lift hill? It would probably scare me more than the horizontal launch of Top Thrill Dragster or Superman: The Escape.

As for the comparison to cars, I guess don't get it. The only similarity between my car and a roller coaster were bugs smashed on the mini-windshield of Magnum XL-200.

"Can you imagine a slow clanky ride up a 400-foot lift hill?"

Do you know how long that would take? Do you know how that would affect the ride's capacity? I doubt you'll ever see that happen [and, IMHO, it would be way too boring as well].