The new news 24 thread

[SiC]

When overtaking the other week in it, I went to slam down the clutch to bang it into the next gear. Except it wasn't the clutch. Luckily my foot slid off pretty quickly. It does stop very sharpish though!

 

Left foot firmly to the left for me on autos. However I may give this a go sometime.

[Video]https://youtu.be/8ERTquctt6c

 

But maybe in a years time. If I've got a years use out of it, I'll be less annoyed if I blow up the box!

 

To be honest I think most of these robotic manuals have moments that they're not smooth. Quite often at that too as they age.

[egg]

My grandad has just called me. At 94 years old he has decided to give up driving. He wanted to know if I wanted his car. Unfortunately I'm full for shonky old cars right now.

 

How many years had he been driving Si? And what was his first car?!

[stuboy]

Got a package today that had my name all over it.

 

 

What's in it, you may ask.

 

 

Not the best brand, might be shite, but it wasn't expensive and I thought it'd be worth a try.

were from?

[SiC]

How many years had he been driving Si? And what was his first car?!

That's a very good question! I don't know the answer to either.

 

I suspect it was in the early 40s and no idea on his first car. He never bought German cars though. He use to own and run a scrap metal yard in Northampton (I believe the only yard there for a long time too) and he liked to run a very straight ship. Those scrap metal merchants who drove Mercedes were the bent and dodgy ones apparently!

[Slartibartfast]

were from?

It was an eBay special deal thingy, but I gather it's not far off RRP so I guess choose your merchant of choice

[SiC]

Ford to stop selling every car in North America but the Mustang and Focus Active

 

Wow.

[SiC]

 

Surely the F150 was THE most profitable thing they had in the US ? I recall Clarkson banging on about how they sold dozens per minute or somesuch.

What that article title isn't completely clear on is that it's cars, not trucks/SUVs/etc. So the F150/et al are continuing production. Basically Ford saying the traditional "car" as a concept is dead in NA.

 

However I do wonder how well such big vehicles will transition to electric. Possibly quite well as plenty of room to fit batteries.

 

Haven't we been this through before? I.e. yank tanks of the 50s/60s/etc and then the fuel crisis & crash.

[chatsharris]

In addition to that - a few bulbs out and insecure battery: fixed. The nearside headlight is flapping about a bit due to a broken clip. When a deer damaged a P10 Primera I had I was able to secure the headlight with cable ties, but not with this post-2000 shit, there's no way to secure it with cable ties.

MrsHarris's Fabia has both headlight clip things broken. No idea how they stay in and aligned but it's passed the last three MOT's like it, so I've stopped worrying about it.

[egg]

Someone has analysed the howmanyleft Mondeo MK1 figures, and with all the usual caveats, approximately 29% were lost in 2017 as a comparison with the previous year. Now 1872 down from 2631, number of SORNd up by just 68.

[dave21478]

 

My only complaint now driving is that the tracking is now out and the steering is very floaty and light at speed. Probably realignment will help and also decent front tyres. Currently has some mud+snow ditch finders on the front.

 

It'll do for now, especially for running around town. Longer journeys can still be taken up by the A4.

 

If I had spent seven hundred quid at a garage for them doing front suspension work, i would be exceedingly disappointed that they didnt think to set the alignment when they were finished.

[5speedracer]

Opened Aotocar in Tesco last night for a nosey. Near the front a full page MG ad featuring the 3 and the crossover thing.

The MG3 can be had on 5yrs 0% with no deposit and a 5 yr warranty

Say £9k new so that's £150 pm. Fair enough it'll be worth about 18p after 5yrs but for someone who just needs cheap wheels and no PCP faff it'll seem attractive.

Target customer born pre '60 I'd guess.

 

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[tooSavvy]

"..The MG3 can be had on 5yrs 0% with no deposit and a 5 yr warranty

Say £9k new so that's £150 pm. Fair enough it'll be worth about 18p after 5yrs but for someone who just needs cheap wheels and no PCP faff it'll seem attractive.."

 

I paid £7k cash for my Savvy. Ragged it like I stole it for 9 years - it never broke/FTP.

Serviced it myself (fell out with dealer over my hot-mods) and got 'non dealer' parts to fit [saved £££]

 

Cashed it in, to a guy for £250 with 12m MOT = bought ToMM© for £350 the next day...

 

About £65/month

 

 

I'm happy, all round

[Kiltox]

Opened Aotocar in Tesco last night for a nosey. Near the front a full page MG ad featuring the 3 and the crossover thing.

The MG3 can be had on 5yrs 0% with no deposit and a 5 yr warranty

Say £9k new so that's £150 pm. Fair enough it'll be worth about 18p after 5yrs but for someone who just needs cheap wheels and no PCP faff it'll seem attractive.

Target customer born pre '60 I'd guess.

 

Sent from my Redmi 4 using Tapatalk

A warranty is useless if you need to use it often

 

The dealers are awful

 

Apart from that, cheap.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Opened Aotocar in Tesco last night for a nosey. Near the front a full page MG ad featuring the 3 and the crossover thing.

The MG3 can be had on 5yrs 0% with no deposit and a 5 yr warranty

Say £9k new so that's £150 pm. Fair enough it'll be worth about 18p after 5yrs but for someone who just needs cheap wheels and no PCP faff it'll seem attractive.

Target customer born pre '60 I'd guess.

 

Sent from my Redmi 4 using Tapatalk

 

It's fair enough and I understand why that's tempting.

 

All else being equal I'd rather have a Logan MCV (my favourite in the 'cheap car' segment) or a Sandero.  The 'new' MGs just do not sit right with me. The Laureate Logan MCV petrol with extras is just a shade under £11,000 with all the extra space and an established dealer network.  So you get all of the trim options - which are actually pretty decent - for not a lot more.  It'll depreciate like a stone but I know what I'd have.

 

Plus it's mostly warmed-over Renault parts so once the warranty is up, it's really easy to get bits.

[egg]

Someone has analysed the howmanyleft Mondeo MK1 figures, and with all the usual caveats, approximately 29% were lost in 2017 as a comparison with the previous year. Now 1872 down from 2631, number of SORNd up by just 68.

 

As an exciting* coda to this, bASe numbers could be as low as 28 on the road left.

[5speedracer]

Opened Aotocar in Tesco last night for a nosey. Near the front a full page MG ad featuring the 3 and the crossover thing.

The MG3 can be had on 5yrs 0% with no deposit and a 5 yr warranty

Say £9k new so that's £150 pm. Fair enough it'll be worth about 18p after 5yrs but for someone who just needs cheap wheels and no PCP faff it'll seem attractive.

Target customer born pre '60 I'd guess.

 

Sent from my Redmi 4 using Tapatalk

Aarghh!

Stop sounding like I actually think this is a good idea.

I was merely chucking it out there and hypothesising on their possible target market.

 

I was probably more surprised that MG seem to more serious about the UK than has previously been suggested.

 

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[cort1977]

What that article title isn't completely clear on is that it's cars, not trucks/SUVs/etc. So the F150/et al are continuing production. Basically Ford saying the traditional "car" as a concept is dead in NA.

 

Yes, this.  They have an annoying habit of saying 'an SUV' or 'a truck' instead of referring to a car generically.  But they hardly sell any cars any more, especially down here in the redneck belt South the number of Taurus, Fiesta, Focus and Fusions that you see is vanishingly small. 

 

It's not that much of a change really, just shows that despite the desire to build a world car by some companies local politics will create different markets around the world.

[tooSavvy]

^^ is 'rice-burner'* a real Red Neck "git yauww ass offaah mahh pawchh!" sentiment ?

 

*ethnic sensitivity meter calibrated 'low', on this one.... 

[dollywobbler]

Off with her wheels!

 

The paint on them is the wrong colour, and is falling off. Thought I'd better get them sorted before they're ruined. I have loads of rusty 2CV wheels... These have gone to be blasted, zinc primered and powder coated.

 

Transporting them was quite jolly too! Spring is here.

[Lacquer Peel]

A warranty is useless if you need to use it often

 

The dealers are awful

 

Apart from that, cheap.

Are MG dealers bad? They're often sold by small dealerships the type of which are going extinct and being replaced by genuinely awful dealer mega groups. MG UK themselves are awful.

[Squire_Dawson]

Regarding left-foot braking whenever I have tried this (only in manual trans. cars) the brakes always slam on, despite only applying - what seems to be - light foot pressure. Unless it's down to foot co-ordination I don't know.

[Kiltox]

Are MG dealers bad? They're often sold by small dealerships the type of which are going extinct and being replaced by genuinely awful dealer mega groups. MG UK themselves are awful.

The one in Gloucester just changed hands and it’s now run by a dodgy outfit that peddles second hand crap that was too shit to keep a Kia franchise...

 

It was previously Warner’s who mainly peddle PSA tat (and don’t seem too bad, not sure why they bothered with MG for the relatively short time they did)

[cort1977]

Shamelessly pinched of pistoneds but thought this would be of interest on here:

https://www.vansoestklassiekers.nl/collectie/

[clayts450]

And the winner of today's Crappy 1990s Pun on the Back of a Millenial Vehickle Award goes to me:

 

 

Do I win (1) £5 or (2) a visit outside to be be put out of misery and shot. You decide. Call 0800 etc etc etc to vote now

[davehedgehog31]

Not a bad view to eat my bag of chips.

[SiC]

Regarding left-foot braking whenever I have tried this (only in manual trans. cars) the brakes always slam on, despite only applying - what seems to be - light foot pressure. Unless it's down to foot co-ordination I don't know.

My left foot has 3 states. Full down, bite point and full up. If I'm pressing on the brake accidentally with my left foot, my natural instinct in a bad situation is to fully disconnect the engine from the gearbox. So I end up pressing the pedal even harder.

[Kiltox]

My left foot has 3 states. Full down, bite point and full up. If I'm pressing on the brake accidentally with my left foot, my natural instinct in a bad situation is to fully disconnect the engine from the gearbox. So I end up pressing the pedal even harder.

You only do it once though

 

Everyone that has ever driven a manual before must have done that in an auto once

[SiC]

You only do it once though

 

 

You'd think so?! I do it every so often. Never did it in the Laguna but that was very different place to sit than the Civic. Same with the Smart Roadster. However the auto TT feels very like the manual A4. So you can forget at times...

 

My dad did it once when on an American freeway with a car full of his bosses... They weren't best pleased.

[Kiltox]

Ah yeah I suppose your two Audis would be reasonably similar to your subconscious mind - interesting

[GrumpiusMaximus]

There's an H-reg Rover 100 in Thanington (Canterbury) for sale.  Has a mobile number in the window.  If anyone wants some deep cuts of true, unadulterated shite I think it might be a good shout.  On a private drive, in white.  Before you get to the Resource Centre from Chartham direction...

 

I pointed it out to Lady Grumpius as we drove past this evening and she just sighed and gave me a withering look.  I don't think it's in my future, even if it just a warmed-over Metro...