The new news 24 thread

[wesacosa]

41 minutes ago, ruffgeezer said:

@wesacosa what sort of thing are you looking for?

well I am not really sure, which probably doesn't help!

Main things are ULEZ compliant, sub 1k but would go higher if something really interesting came up. ideally and something I can shift on reasonably easily without losing hundreds.  I have too many projects and only outdoor work space so needs to be something that doesn't need work, and pretty much all my driving is on m25, choked London road and Thames crossings so cambelt roulette wouldn't sit well with my nerves.  But I am still a car person and being forced out of using my lovely XM as a daily so still cant quite bring myself to just get a "car" , would rather have something a bit interesting. I quite fancy a Mk1 Focus, and having seen @inconsistants A2 for sale recently but not been in a position to buy they have piqued my interest.  Although the longer it goes on I might have to widen my scope

Id really like a Mk1 Octavia vRS but they are all now barried or fucked

I love V70s but petrol/manual ones hard to come by and I'd feel a bit cheated not being able to have the classic shape one

 

 

[SiC]

On 03/11/2023 at 10:26, Rust Collector said:

I don't know if I should be ashamed or proud - I have absolutely no idea what that is!

 

On 03/11/2023 at 15:26, wuvvum said:

Porsche 918 Spyder I believe.  Hybrid innit.

Horriblemercedes is correct:

On 03/11/2023 at 15:50, horriblemercedes said:

Tell me if I'm stupid, but isn't that a Carrera GT? So it's a manual gearbox and V10. Epic cars

 

Basically with the success of the Boxster and Cayenne reviving Porsche fortunes after being in the doldrums from their flagging air cool era, they had a whole load of cash/profit to blow on a crazy project. That being the Carrera GT. 

Back when they came out in 2005 odd, I saw a lot around where I worked in Theale as Porsche UK HQ is there. Nearly rear ended one as the one following slammed on the brakes, stopping dead and my 2003 Clio II didn't quite have the same stopping power. Thankfully I could swerve around into the next lane and avoid it. 

[GrumpiusMaximus]

So a couple of weeks ago I recanted the story of my partner's Dad who has been rewarded for being a stubborn git and not listening to anybody that made very reasonable suggestions about buying a car.  Much to my annoyance he ended up with a '56 Plate Alfa 147, with 67K miles, full service history, long MOT, uncrashed, etc. for 1700 Sterling of the realm which was found by a mate in Forest Row.

Saw it today.  Yeah.  It's just as annoying as I thought it would be.  2.0 Twin Spark in 'Lusso' trim with full alcantara, etc.  Cosmetically excellent with only a tiny scrape on the wing mirror and a small paint chip on the rear wheel arch.

Jammy sod.  The only downside is that it's a 5-speed, not a 6-speed.  Doesn't make up for it...

[Jazoli]

35 minutes ago, GrumpiusMaximus said:

So a couple of weeks ago I recanted the story of my partner's Dad who has been rewarded for being a stubborn git and not listening to anybody that made very reasonable suggestions about buying a car.  Much to my annoyance he ended up with a '56 Plate Alfa 147, with 67K miles, full service history, long MOT, uncrashed, etc. for 1700 Sterling of the realm which was found by a mate in Forest Row.

Saw it today.  Yeah.  It's just as annoying as I thought it would be.  2.0 Twin Spark in 'Lusso' trim with full alcantara, etc.  Cosmetically excellent with only a tiny scrape on the wing mirror and a small paint chip on the rear wheel arch.

Jammy sod.  The only downside is that it's a 5-speed, not a 6-speed.  Doesn't make up for it...

Looks like it's pretty steamed up so the a/c isn't working or the old duffer has it set to recirc constantly.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

3 minutes ago, Jazoli said:

Looks like it's pretty steamed up so the a/c isn't working or the old duffer has it set to recirc constantly.

Nah.  He'd been sat in it for a while in a storm waiting for me to give him a hand with his shopping at Morrisons for at least 20 minutes and then we'd both been sat in it for about 10 minutes so I could have a better look.

[stuboy]

BiL need new screen for the milk float powered maestro, should he be worried that its rusting already...

[stuboy]

Only day yesterday to attempt get on with the *u*king moped, realised would start as I'd mixed up the vacum pipe and fuel line from the fuel tap, realised when rigged up temp fuel supply, swapped pipes over and .... still won't start... sod it... those with arthritis will understand when I say I ran out of stand,  start, check and repeat 50 times... then pain said walk away before I drag it out into the communal car park and torch it..

[richardmorris]

2 hours ago, GrumpiusMaximus said:

So a couple of weeks ago I recanted the story of my partner's Dad who has been rewarded for being a stubborn git and not listening to anybody that made very reasonable suggestions about buying a car.  Much to my annoyance he ended up with a '56 Plate Alfa 147, with 67K miles, full service history, long MOT, uncrashed, etc. for 1700 Sterling of the realm which was found by a mate in Forest Row.

Saw it today.  Yeah.  It's just as annoying as I thought it would be.  2.0 Twin Spark in 'Lusso' trim with full alcantara, etc.  Cosmetically excellent with only a tiny scrape on the wing mirror and a small paint chip on the rear wheel arch.

Jammy sod.  The only downside is that it's a 5-speed, not a 6-speed.  Doesn't make up for it...

Looks like it leaks though, very very damp inside.

[groovylee]

New car day today. Not particularly exciting, but I do like it 👍

[loserone]

Needs F4R conversion 

[brownnova]

Volvo out doing Volvo things in the rain. 

Collecting parcels and a roll of vinyl flooring.

The main problem with owning something as utterly competent as the XC90 is that the other cars tend to get overlooked in favour of the ease of the 90. But every time I opt for the 940 I remember what a great car it is!

I now just need to find out why the heating doesn’t work so that I can use it more in the Winter!

[lesapandre]

Long article today in the Observer newspaper on 'SUV's'. Very muddled rehashing mostly clichés.

Letting down tyres is very dangerous - surprised to see that in a national newspaper.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/nov/05/monsters-of-the-road-what-should-the-uk-do-about-suvs

[cort1977]

Yeah, that's pretty bad. As someone who regularly drives a vw transporter round London I can confirm that it's not hard, how does he think the buses manage?

If you live in London and really care about the environment it's easy to do without a car at all. Getting holier than thou because you drive a fiesta instead of a volvo is hardly the moral high ground.

Twat.

 

[crad]

think the article is spot on tbh. the crux is that cars are far too big, and SUV's are the biggest offenders. nobody needs one. if you need space, buy an estate. if you need it for offroading, get a jimny. if you need it because you need to keep up with the jones', you need some sense knocked into you.

[crad]

also speaking of the grauniad, good news for us shitists

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/16/suvs-emit-more-climate-damaging-gas-than-older-cars-do-study-finds

[SiC]

I agree. Like that kid was killed by the runaway Defender. Why does anyone need a several tonne off roader with an instant 400bhp around a city packed like London?

I strongly feel that cars should be acceleration limited in highly populated areas. The cars know where they are from GPS and it's easy enough to ring fence major cities of the world (drone software does it with airports). Would reduce the potential damage in an accident and reduce the emissions from braking/tyre pollution. There is zero need for someone need to be able to get to 60mph in sub 5 seconds and to 30mph in sub 3 seconds in anywhere there is residential houses. That's so fast that an accidental slip of the foot means that at 20mph you're soon 40+ mph in a literal second. 

Of course it won't happen as car companies sell cars on gadgets and performance. So they'll fight nail and tooth over any such restrictions. 

[chodweaver]

I agree. Like that kid was killed by the runaway Defender. Why does anyone need a several tonne off roader with an instant 400bhp around a city packed like London?
I strongly feel that cars should be acceleration limited in highly populated areas. The cars know where they are from GPS and it's easy enough to ring fence major cities of the world (drone software does it with airports). Would reduce the potential damage in an accident and reduce the emissions from braking/tyre pollution. There is zero need for someone need to be able to get to 60mph in sub 5 seconds and to 30mph in sub 3 seconds in anywhere there is residential houses. That's so fast that an accidental slip of the foot means that at 20mph you're soon 40+ mph in a literal second. 
Of course it won't happen as car companies sell cars on gadgets and performance. So they'll fight nail and tooth over any such restrictions. 

If Khan has the autonomy/audacity to expand the ULEZ the way he has, I'd like to think the same could be done to curb the cruising culture's excesses

[richardmorris]

Went for a short walk this morning as its a beautiful morning. I can recommend runnymede as the new writ in water memorial is stunning. Great views from the raf war memorial too.

[horriblemercedes]

3 hours ago, lesapandre said:

Long article today in the Observer newspaper on 'SUV's'. Very muddled rehashing mostly clichés.

Letting down tyres is very dangerous - surprised to see that in a national newspaper.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/nov/05/monsters-of-the-road-what-should-the-uk-do-about-suvs

I read the article. It reads like the protagonist just isn't very clever but believes in what he is doing and is capable of following a process by rote 

[Eyersey1234]

Just seen this chodtastic Land Rover being towed on the M1

[goosey]

2 hours ago, crad said:

think the article is spot on tbh. the crux is that cars are far too big, and SUV's are the biggest offenders. nobody needs one. if you need space, buy an estate. if you need it for offroading, get a jimny. if you need it because you need to keep up with the jones', you need some sense knocked into you.

What about if you need space and go off-road but don’t want 2 cars ? 

[SiC]

4 minutes ago, goosey said:

What about if you need space and go off-road but don’t want 2 cars ? 

I'm sure there certainly is cases of this. But we all know the vast majority of SUVs around London are purely shiny city transport status symbols - aka Chelsea Tractors. 

[Metal Guru]

12 minutes ago, SiC said:

I'm sure there certainly is cases of this. But we all know the vast majority of SUVs around London are purely shiny city transport status symbols - aka Chelsea Tractors. 

Yes the Range Rovers and Bentgaycars etc are purely status symbols and unnecessary. It doesn’t help their cause that they are usually driven by twats who got their licence out of a Christmas cracker (or more likely obtained in somewhere where the driving test involves little more than handing over the required “fee”).But so then are the Lambos and Ferraris seen by the dozen “up west”, but no one seems to target those and they’re probably even worse emission wise and take up almost as much road space ( they’re just a wide if a bit shorter). 

No they bracket all SUVs  together. My son has a Kia Sportage. Roughly the same size as a Ford Focus just a bit higher ( don’t think we’re short for space in that direction), same engine size , (1.6) slightly higher emissions maybe but not silly figures. Almost every manufacture makes a smallish SUV (crossover?) and that has the green in a rage. Possibly because they hate cars so much , they have little real knowledge ( certainly nothing technically), abd no wish to learn.

[SiC]

40 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

My son has a Kia Sportage. Roughly the same size as a Ford Focus just a bit higher ( don’t think we’re short for space in that direction), same engine size , (1.6) slightly higher emissions maybe but not silly figures.

They're not similar. They are bigger in virtually every way. 

https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/kia-sportage-2021-suv-vs-ford-focus-2022-5-door-hatchback/front/

 

Nearly 200kg more weight in a Sportage. Or 8 bags of cement being driven around in the car all the time. 

40 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

slightly higher emissions maybe

Add that against everyone having them as people do now then on a whole it's a huge amount more. Negating savings in engine technology improvements on reducing emissions. 

40 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

Almost every manufacture makes a smallish SUV (crossover?)

They're still the same case above where the equivalent hatch is lighter, smaller and more efficient than the equivalent SUV. 

40 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

just a bit higher ( don’t think we’re short for space in that direction)

That is the crux of the safety issue with cars getting taller. Fine for the occupants but any pedestrians they hit are far more likely to be hitting the grille/going under rather than going over. Thus the impact point and highest area of energy transfer is more likely on the torso or head rather than the legs - areas where much more damage sensitive parts of the body are. 

The easiest way to show this is in the frontal view. Think about where a 0.8 metre to 1.5 metre (e.g. 8-12yr old child running out) would be hitting these two. Maybe easier to crouch to the rough height of such an individual in front of an SUV and equivalent shorter, traditional hatch to get a real world idea.

It'll be far more likely the legs and lower body hitting the top of the Focus grille line than the Sportage. Hit the legs and you're going over the top on the Focus. Hit the mid torso on the Kia grille line... doesn't bear thinking about what will happen.

 

This is why in an impact with a pedestrian, SUVs end up far more likely killing that individual. The flat high fronted nature makes them pushing far more energy into that ped than a lower height equivalent vehicle. 

[artdjones]

3 hours ago, SiC said:

There is zero need for someone need to be able to get to 60mph in sub 5 seconds and to 30mph in sub 3 seconds in anywhere there is residential houses. That's so fast that an accidental slip of the foot means that at 20mph you're soon 40+ mph in a literal second. 

I totally agree with this. Total non car enthusiasts are buying cars that accelerate faster than a Ferrari Daytona or a Countach. And way faster than the hot hatches that there was a moral panic about back in the 90s. And these cars weigh over 2 tons, not 900kg. One day there's going to be a bus queue of primary school children mown down by a yummy mummy who presses the loud pedal too hard then panics. Then it will be all long faces and handwringing.

[loserone]

I seem to recall that a 1.3 maestro did 0-60 in the same time as a BMW 520i and faster than a Ferrari Mondial 

[Metal Guru]

1 hour ago, SiC said:

They're not similar. They are bigger in virtually every way. 

https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/kia-sportage-2021-suv-vs-ford-focus-2022-5-door-hatchback/front/

 

Nearly 200kg more weight in a Sportage. Or 8 bags of cement being driven around in the car all the time. 

Add that against everyone having them as people do now then on a whole it's a huge amount more. Negating savings in engine technology improvements on reducing emissions. 

They're still the same case above where the equivalent hatch is lighter, smaller and more efficient than the equivalent SUV. 

That is the crux of the safety issue with cars getting taller. Fine for the occupants but any pedestrians they hit are far more likely to be hitting the grille/going under rather than going over. Thus the impact point and highest area of energy transfer is more likely on the torso or head rather than the legs - areas where much more damage sensitive parts of the body are. 

The easiest way to show this is in the frontal view. Think about where a 0.8 metre to 1.5 metre (e.g. 8-12yr old child running out) would be hitting these two. Maybe easier to crouch to the rough height of such an individual in front of an SUV and equivalent shorter, traditional hatch to get a real world idea.

It'll be far more likely the legs and lower body hitting the top of the Focus grille line than the Sportage. Hit the legs and you're going over the top on the Focus. Hit the mid torso on the Kia grille line... doesn't bear thinking about what will happen.

 

This is why in an impact with a pedestrian, SUVs end up far more likely killing that individual. The flat high fronted nature makes them pushing far more energy into that ped than a lower height equivalent vehicle. 

It’s an older Sportage, the new one is bigger probably to accommodate batteries but I get your point on height.

[Metal Guru]

57 minutes ago, loserone said:

I seem to recall that a 1.3 maestro did 0-60 in the same time as a BMW 520i and faster than a Ferrari Mondial 

Not really. 12.5 secs v  10.4. v 7.6 sec. 
(sorry to sound like wee wee).

[stuboy]

I had an idea... I'll maf cleaner spray the sensor... let it dry then go to tesco... would go over 22mph .... it was a long 2 mile drive there then back... replaced it with 30quid ebay one and vroom off it went... I. Have asked about bosch complete unit for sale on ebay.

 

So have an idea.. think it through.... look a dickhead... ha ha ha

[Yoss]

ULEZ PEZ station shot of the day.

It's the first time I've had to pay my £12.50 to nice Mr Khan and had to top up before I hit the motorway. Then this hero pulls up in this. I wanted to go and shake his hand but I controlled my urges and just went over and said how impressed I was that he was still using such a fine machine in London. He said unfortunately he is now restricted to just using it at weekends and he'd thought about selling it but its value had plummeted so he may as well keep it. I've been having a good day anyway but this was the cherry on top.