The new news 24 thread

[Snake Charmer]

Your car has no Mot, you book an appointment for 08:00. You also book a full service wanting to collect at 17:30. You turn up just before 09:00 and park in the way then walk off.

Are you.....

In charge.

A good customer

An entitled cunt

Just a cunt.

 

Please discuss.

[EyesWeldedShut]

1 hour ago, Hawkeyethenoo said:

Could be worse. 

A chance to finish what we started in 1974?
Get Billy Bremner in for a few tips

Nah - Archie Gemmill - was in Holland a few years back and they are still celebrating him - maybe a better bet than Bremner given he;s no longer available.....

[MAF260]

1 hour ago, SiC said:

At least they tamed down the kidney grilles on the M2 to something less garish/more sensible.

Absolute weapon of a car. If anything like my neighbours tuned 2015 M4, it's more than what you ever could use for the road.

It is indeed an absolute weapon. Not had much chance to use it in anger yet, but the potential is quite astonishing. If I get bored after the warranty period expires Litchfield can map it to 670bhp for not very much money! So far I’m absolutely delighted with it.

[richardmorris]

1 hour ago, Snake Charmer said:

Your car has no Mot, you book an appointment for 08:00. You also book a full service wanting to collect at 17:30. You turn up just before 09:00 and park in the way then walk off.

Are you.....

In charge.

A good customer

An entitled cunt

Just a cunt.

 

Please discuss.

I’ll go for d Bob.

[grogee]

On 02/12/2025 at 14:42, Sunny Jim said:

For those of you who knew him but don't follow the Dog thread in the open section; Prif the Travelling Whippet my collection caper companion made his final journey today.  Thanks for all the treats and strokes and fuss he's had from you lot over the years. 


Rest easy, soft lad. I'll try and remember what you taught me: always check the kitchen windows of life because somebody might just throw a sausage out of one.

Sorry for your loss Jim. I'm not a dog person (cats FTW) but I met Prif at SF24 and really liked him. And I know he went everywhere with you. 

[grogee]

10 hours ago, Snake Charmer said:

Your car has no Mot, you book an appointment for 08:00. You also book a full service wanting to collect at 17:30. You turn up just before 09:00 and park in the way then walk off.

Are you.....

In charge.

A good customer

An entitled cunt

Just a cunt.

 

Please discuss.

Power move. One of life's winners, a powerfully built company director. 

[artdjones]

1 hour ago, grogee said:

Power move. One of life's winners, a powerfully built company director. 

Except the car is probably a Jazz.

[paulplom]

17 hours ago, Hawkeyethenoo said:

Could be worse. 

What a coincidence! That's the exact same positions table at the end of the group stage. I'm going to put a bet on.

[Metal Guru]

17 minutes ago, paulplom said:

What a coincidence! That's the exact same positions table at the end of the group stage. I'm going to put a bet on.

Do you think you'll be able to bet on the number of times your hear a commentator say “disaster for Scotland “, and will that number be bigger or smaller than the number of times 1966 is mentioned?

 

[Snake Charmer]

7 hours ago, artdjones said:

Except the car is probably a Jazz.

Focus. I also saw the filthy meagre sump contents whilst the service was being carried out. 

[artdjones]

3 hours ago, Snake Charmer said:

Focus. I also saw the filthy meagre sump contents whilst the service was being carried out. 

Last time I serviced a Focus 1.6 petrol (actually a Mazda 3, but mechanically identical) so little oil got sucked out that I stuck a long wire down the dipstick tube to make sure that my pump's tube hadn't got bent. Less than 1.5 litres.

[junkyarddog]

26 minutes ago, artdjones said:

Last time I serviced a Focus 1.6 petrol (actually a Mazda 3, but mechanically identical) so little oil got sucked out that I stuck a long wire down the dipstick tube to make sure that my pump's tube hadn't got bent. Less than 1.5 litres.

I once got little over 1/2 a litre out of a Micra,should have had 3.5 in it!🙄

[JMotor]

Sad to hear of your loss @Sunny Jim.

Prif was such a chilled out dog but a character too. 

[stuboy]

Car meet, washed out but thought id pop along to show willingly..

[Morris 63]

Fitted the new NSF hub and upper and lower balljoints to the Shonky Shogun of shame, turned her on to do a test drive and massive squeal from the alternator belts. Knew there was a job I'd been putting off, the new Gates belts have been in the rear cubby for months.
Guess I got my money's worth out of the old ones! 🤣

[Ghosty]

The photographer Martin Parr has died. 

Many here may (not) know him as the photographer behind A to B: Tales of Modern Motoring. 

Oh, and John Shuttleworth's It's Nice Up North. 

[SiC]

Went out to Rumwell farm shop near Wellington with Mrs SiC to buy some gluten-free mince pies - which they didn't have.

So we came back with a new car...

Octavia VRS 2.0t petrol estate, 1 owner with just under 80k on the clock for £10.8k I just couldn't pass up on it. Same age+mileage are going for £12k to £15k on autotrader.

I really didn't intend to buy a new car but a mate was selling this as he bought his wife a new M135i. He really looks after his cars (plus dailies a Lotus Evora and has a Ferrari 458 for his fun car!) and his wife just fancied something new. I basically paid a Motorway dealer price (who probably would have knocked it down in person) so trade value essentially.

It'll replace Mrs SiC 2015 Civic Estate. While no intention of changing it and it's a very good car still, she's had that 4yrs and probably fancy a change next year. Given how often I change my cars, only fair that she does occasionally too. 😂 Plus I tend not to drive her car - it's not bad performance but having a Z4 and 330i, I'm a bit spoilt from having something with a decent amount of poke.

Civic is in for it's MOT week after next and then up for sale after. Makes no sense changing or selling it but the dent in my savings needs a bit of a healing!

I have to say that a 7yr old Octavia VRS isn't usually my thing. But imo VAG vehicles tend to be very female friendly and Mrs SiC likes it. That all which matters really for this car.

Also as my mate is into cars, he didn't spec it with useless annoying tech. Only "driver assist" feature is lane departure as that came standard and couldn't have it removed. But one button turns that off and tbh I think I probably can code it out permanently off with my laptop. So no binging and bonging like most moderns telling you off because you look tired or driving enthusiastically.

Even if it's now tops the most expensive car I've ever bought just after the Civic.

Good job it's payday in a few days!

[SiC]

https://toyotagazooracing.com/gr/grgt/wp/

Oh my!

I'm glad there are still some car companies run by nutters rather than just accountants

[Lord Sterling]

XJ is in for a second-opinion MoT and then repairs if required. But the MoT ramp is stuck. Looks like I'll be going home on the train 🙄

[lesapandre]

Car cloning/theft news story:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyvee57xz5o

[reb]

Remember to feed your tame video editor their natural wild diet

[alcyonecorporation]

On 05/12/2025 at 20:38, Snake Charmer said:

Your car has no Mot, you book an appointment for 08:00. You also book a full service wanting to collect at 17:30. You turn up just before 09:00 and park in the way then walk off.

Are you.....

In charge.

A good customer

An entitled cunt

Just a cunt.

 

Please discuss.

this person conflates MoTs with services 

[Ghosty]

2 hours ago, SiC said:

https://toyotagazooracing.com/gr/grgt/wp/

Oh my!

I'm glad there are still some car companies run by nutters rather than just accountants

This was a lovely surprise - I was expecting it to be a new GR86 they announced (a new one is in development based on a stretched MX5 chassis, and will be hybrid). 
Couldn’t care less about the electric LFA though. 

[alcyonecorporation]

Don't think the styling is at all coherant. 

It's massive, and the Americans are wetting themselves because it looks like a Hellcat from the front. 
GR had a rich heritage to draw upon, and ignored it. 

I'm sure it'll be an excellent car, and it may well get better looking in different colours but it looks to me like a generic mid-tier car from Burnout. 

[IronStar]

On 04/12/2025 at 00:03, IronStar said:

1756 VK converted to vacuum, with exhaust manifold for 1.9 JTD 8v. Plug and play for my 156.
Eibach Pro Kit to replace 400k km old springs. I’ll get some decent shocks to go with this as well. 

Would gentleman like fries with that? 😄

In for a penny, in for a pound 🤦‍♂️😄

Ordered. They are a Serbian company, and I'm a returning customer, so I got a bit of a neighbourly discount as well. 

[Snake Charmer]

3 hours ago, alcyonecorporation said:

this person conflates MoTs with services 

They suffered financial deflation upon collection. 

[SiC]

2 hours ago, alcyonecorporation said:

Don't think the styling is at all coherant. 

It's massive, and the Americans are wetting themselves because it looks like a Hellcat from the front. 
GR had a rich heritage to draw upon, and ignored it. 

I'm sure it'll be an excellent car, and it may well get better looking in different colours but it looks to me like a generic mid-tier car from Burnout. 

I don't care about what it looks like. Let's face it, Toyota often have a rather distinct taste and garish styling.

It's the bonkers engineering on making something absolutely as fast as possible that is still road legal is all I care about. We often get ridiculous or absolutely bland styling from too many manufacturers now with no driving/performance substance to back them up. 

[alcyonecorporation]

30 minutes ago, SiC said:

I don't care about what it looks like. Let's face it, Toyota often have a rather distinct taste and garish styling.

It's the bonkers engineering on making something absolutely as fast as possible that is still road legal is all I care about. We often get ridiculous or absolutely bland styling from too many manufacturers now with no driving/performance substance to back them up. 

Sorry, but it's going to be £100k+.

The styling doesn't work, and it absolutely has to for that sort of money. You're right in that GR doesn't care for how many it sells, and wanted to concentrate on the engineering, a bit like Bristol, but a couple of notches removed. 

Its looks are to appease the Americans, because every new performance car they buy has to have that angry, generic Hellcat face and tail. 

I get*why* they styled it like that: you have to appeal to the tastes of your biggest market, even if they are belming idiots. 
I also stated that, to drive, it will probably be as far from shit as you can get. 

Maybe the styling will grow on me. But there will be people in that market who will definitely care about its appearance. 

The styling of the LFA doesn't work, either. I'd still have one. 

Everyone pissed and moaned and screamed about the GR Supra; I'd still have one.

Remember, kids: the Germans can platform share and be praised to the sky for it, but if anyone tries, well...how fucking dare they. 
(TBH, I'd have called this new GR GT the Supra, and the current GR Supra the GR Celica Supra, to offset its heritage).

[loserone]

26 minutes ago, alcyonecorporation said:

The styling doesn't work, and it absolutely has to for that sort of money

I know that is an insane amount of money - 150% of my first house 12 years ago - but for a new car it's not actually that much.  Lots of modern BMWs are that sort of money.  An Alpine A110 wasn't far off.  A range rover is about the same.  

 

I'm not about to buy one, obviously.   

 

[SiC]

31 minutes ago, alcyonecorporation said:

Maybe the styling will grow on me.

I'm holding judgement till I've seen one person. Maybe one of those cars that looks very different when up close to it.

31 minutes ago, alcyonecorporation said:

Sorry, but it's going to be £100k+.

Hot 911 money but supercar performance. What the Japanese do best! 

Even a bloody boring M3 competition is like 90k+ list now once you have a few options on it.