The new news 24 thread

[Wilko220]

Flappy paddle? There look to be some kind of levers behind the steering wheel, other than the usual stalks.

[Angrydicky]

Don't want to seem like a dick but is the little Fiat bader boxed?

I can't see a likely lever.

No clutch and a huge brake pedal would suggest it is. I think it's got those awful flappy paddle things behind the steering wheel to shift gear manually. My old boss had a very similar setup in his Citroen C2.

[trigger]

Yeah I think it's a has a Ferrari type paddle gearbox, to be fair I bet bit's a right hoot to drive, the fella who's bought it is 77, I can't see him benefiting from his investment in his lifetime.

[cort16]

These investments seem to hardly ever work unless it's a premium marque even you're probably looking at 40+ years before anyone's interested. He must have shit loads of cash and is just dabbling bits of it here and there. I wonder if he'd like to buy any of my magic beans?

 

My mate's got a pretty fancy car on a lease of 6000 miles a year. He did 20,000 in the first year. In the old days he'd just take it to a mileage correction centre but now apparantly the mileage is linked to other stuff in the ecu so if you wind it back it'll know things aren't quite right. Him being a dedicated ropey bastard found someone who basically takes a snap shot of the ecu at 6k then when he wants to set it back he takes it in and they re-load it so the car (the thicko) thinks it's only done 6k. This was the plan anyway I've yet to find out if it worked out or the guy was just shitting him to try to extort some cash out of him.

[trigger]

Just spoke to my sister, apparently it was delivered to the customer this afternoon and he's not registering it, Also it has got the standard Abarth paddle shift gearbox which according her is rubbish as the paddles turn with the steering wheel so when the wheels upside down your + and - are facing the wrong way.

[cort16]

The ones with the the paddles staying in the same place are equally annoying as you can't change gear if you're going around a corner. HOW DO I DRIFT M8?

 

Speaking of needless things I was reading about this new Infiniti that uses adaptive cruise control and lane departure system to steer itself on the motorway. I'm not sure I fancy that at all.

 

 

the magic really begins when you let go of the wheel and trust the computers. Straight line driving works well enough, with the system’s slow, deliberate wheel corrections enforcing lane discipline. Gentle turns are also managed with ease, thanks to a windshield-mounted camera and processing module that tracks lane position and directs the steering system. But when the road bends with more variability, the turning becomes lazy and hesitant, invariably prompting a quick grab of the wheel before things get messy.

 

http://www.wired.com/reviews/2013/10/rise-of-the-machines/

[Angrydicky]

Got my new garage! I'm really pleased with it, it's a decent size, has a brand new door and the whole block has recently been re-roofed as well. I went down there this morning and it was bone dry in there, even after the rain last night. Unsurprisingly, it swallows my baby Austin easily.

 

 

Also, I have booked a self-drive car transporter for an epic* tat collection mission to the South Coast next week!

[skattrd]

The boring now has single mass flywheel and new clutch ... G60 flywheel and VR6 replaced the std DMF crap.

I'm still not 100% happy with the gear shift though so I'll be on the lookout for a new shifter mechanism.

[Richard]

Lidl's is still a bit "GL" Kwik Save was the real Popular Plus supermarket.

 

One of the more distressing effects of the recession is that Tesco morons are starting to shop in Lidl. I go to Lidl to avoid being near these people.

[DVee8]

Well i have popped my electric cherry

I had to do a hospital run at work last night,radioed security that i needed a car,We walked over security handed me a set of keys for a Peugeot iON electric car

 

Now this is now 01.30am i asked security how does this work?No idea came the reply.

So doors open fumble for the ignition keys in and turn on nothing happens then a big green light on the dash lights READY

Auto box R,N,D. now for a very small car there is lots of glass area,seat awful hard,narrow high back.

Out on the road initial acceleration is good then tails off,but accelerator pedal acts as a on,off switch,press and go lift off and stop. But and a big but the car feels very top heavy around bends and roundabouts.

 

The battery life by the meter is 5 bars.The hospital is around a 10 mile round trip,heading back i am down to 2 bars and the charge light is on.

On the way back there is a mile+ long stretch so open it up i do 81mph is all i can get flat out.

 

At 4am security radio me can i go and collect from hospital,walk over handed a set of keys for a Nissan Leaf.It has been on charge all afternoon he says.

Now much better light,bright and airy.

Push the start button nowt happens push the brake pedal try again.

Every thing lights up

Auto leaver is a little stubby thing move right and back for reverse the camera display lights up.Move in to drive and acceleration is very brisk.Around 1/2 mile from work the dash lights up and the voice synthesizer LOW CHARGE ONLY 4 MILES left OH FUCK.

 

Round the next roundabout and back to work.

Whats the matter asks security,its fucking flat say i.Give me something with a proper engine.

Keys handed over to a 62plate Nissan Cashcow sorry Qashqai my bad

[cort16]

still wrong it's qashqai. No U's  It's got to be the most most mis-spelt car name ever. No wonder they called it the Rogue in the US.

[vulgalour]

I bet in the US it got named incorrectly by many as the rouge.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Hey this wedge looks like as good a reason as any to go to the NEC show this year.

 

http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/events/2013-nec-classic-motor-show/pre-production-princess-to-star-at-nec-classic-motor-show/

 

 

Anyone going? I think i'm going to have a look along. I got a letter about it with a discount code 'LEADM' in it, dont know if its an actual measureable discount like.

[Lord Sterling]

Stuff about electrical iCars

Mark, what kind of work is you do, sounds fairly interesting if you get to drive all sorts of oddities.

[DVee8]

Mark, what kind of work is you do, sounds fairly interesting if you get to drive all sorts of oddities.

I work for a company that supplies pressed steel panels,components to Nissan,Honda and Toyota.

Nissan is the main customer.

There is a large selection of pool cars mainly Nissan Qashqai,Juke,NV200 and kubistar vans.The Leaf and Peugeot iON electric cars

All the managers drive Leaf company cars.

[dollywobbler]

The Peugeot iON seems to be a Mitsubishi. The electric woes are interesting, but in a way, my 2CV can be similar. It has a range of 200-250 miles and given how many small petrol stations keep closing, it can get a bit bum-clenching at times!

 

Anyway. I have someone coming to view the Golf on Saturday, which is nice. It has over half a tank of fuel in it. This is less nice but at least it gives me an anti-haggle point!

[wuvvum]

The Peugeot iON seems to be a Mitsubishi. The electric woes are interesting, but in a way, my 2CV can be similar. It has a range of 200-250 miles and given how many small petrol stations keep closing, it can get a bit bum-clenching at times!

You might get a bit more range from the 2CV if you didn't cane the living shit out of it everywhere you go.

 

I noticed that Wopplod use a lot of the Citroën version of the Ion (whatever it's called) for traffic duties.

[dollywobbler]

I wasn't aware that there was any other way of driving a 2CV... (I did once get 54mpg out of it, I've no idea how that happened - 42-45mpg is the average, 25-litre tank).

[Lord Sterling]

I work for a company that supplies pressed steel panels,components to Nissan,Honda and Toyota.

Nissan is the main customer.

There is a large selection of pool cars mainly Nissan Qashqai,Juke,NV200 and kubistar vans.The Leaf and Peugeot iON electric cars

All the managers drive Leaf company cars.

Haha! I work for a company that supplies pressed steel sheeting to Jaguar Land-Rover and other automotive suppliers. Our carpark has choc-full of Jaguar XKs and Land/Range Rover Evoques and Freelanders. There was even a chauffer-driven Jaguar XJL in the carpark this afternoon.

[DVee8]

Haha! I work for a company that supplies pressed steel sheeting to Jaguar Land-Rover and other automotive suppliers. Our carpark has choc-full of Jaguar XKs and Land/Range Rover Evoques and Freelanders. There was even a chauffer-driven Jaguar XJL in the carpark this afternoon.

Snap haha

been there long? what do you do?

[barrett]

I might have just accidentally bought most of a Bond Equipe GT4S* :/

 

Please, somebody get me the professional help I so badly need (A professional welder, and a professional electrician, and a professional sprayer etc)

 

 

*Which from this point forwards shall be referred to as Eric the Half a Bond (courtesy of garycox)

[Sigmund Fraud]

I might have just accidentally bought most of a Bond Equipe GT4S* :/

 

Please, somebody get me the professional help I so badly need (A professional welder, and a professional electrician, and a professional sprayer etc)

 

 

*Which from this point forwards shall be referred to as Eric the Half a Bond (courtesy of garycox)

 

Half a Bond, philosophically

Must, ipso facto, half not be

 

etc, etc.

 

Sounds like yet another excellent* project, sir ! Looking forward to pics of crazed fibreglass and... erm... absent metal.

[barrett]

It's just a spares car, honest guv! And all the fibreglass is in much better nick than mine. I'm hatching a cunning plan.. It's still in original paint which looked pretty good, hopefully this will give the project a quick kick up the arse. Should also hopefully provide some clutch bits for the moody Herald which I haven't driven since 13th August! Must get round to sorting that soon...

[Lord Sterling]

Snap haha

been there long? what do you do?

Not long tbh, I'm a temp (as I always have been for the passed 10-odd years) I'm supposed to be 'auditing' but since I arrived 3 weeks ago I've not had that much to do,. There have been days where I can do an hours worth of work and spend the next 7 hours wondering what the hell I'm supposed to do or even find myself stuff to do. Only today have I actually done my proper job of auditing. Mind you, there are worse things you can do to get paid.

 

I like the company I'm at but I'm only here for a couple of months before I'm out of work again I reckon. Whats the betting I actually end up at JLR?

[vulgalour]

Half a Bond, philosophically

Must, ISOPON-O, half not be

 

etc, etc.

 

EFA

[ShiteRider]

I'm trying cut the fleet down to a manageble level.

I've kinda fucked up by buying a cosmos blue cortina off ebay.........It's got a vinyl roof though swings and roundabouts eh? :'(

[dollywobbler]

The Golf may only have a viewing tomorrow rather than a guaranteed sale, but naturally I'm acting like there's already cash in my 'aaaand. I've spent hours this afternoon scouring Ebay. Problem is, I've no idea what I want really. I know I'll have to drive to Sussex at some point over the winter, but I did that journey in the 2CV a couple of years ago, so anything at least as quick should be fine.

 

What worries me is that the last time I was in this situation, I bought the Merc. That won't go down as one of my best decisions - I poured a lot of money into it and it repaid me by being very embarrassing when I sold it on. I also sold it for less than I paid for it. Fail.

 

As usual, I'm torn between  sub-grand 'proper' classics (something pre-1980) and 'I can't believe how much car you get for your money' sub-grand (after 1990) moderns. There seem to be far more contenders in the latter category, which is usually why I end up with prime Autoshite. What I have decided is that whatever it is must be low mileage or (in the case of old classics) not too knackered. That restricts choice somewhat, but there's still enough temptation to cause disturbed sleep patterns. I hate this 'oooh, must get a new car' mania.

 

Of course, I could just go down to two cars and try to save some money, but that seems no fun. 

[Barry Cade]

The Golf may only have a viewing tomorrow rather than a guaranteed sale, but naturally I'm acting like there's already cash in my 'aaaand. I've spent hours this afternoon scouring Ebay. Problem is, I've no idea what I want really. I know I'll have to drive to Sussex at some point over the winter, but I did that journey in the 2CV a couple of years ago, so anything at least as quick should be fine.

 

What worries me is that the last time I was in this situation, I bought the Merc. That won't go down as one of my best decisions - I poured a lot of money into it and it repaid me by being very embarrassing when I sold it on. I also sold it for less than I paid for it. Fail.

 

As usual, I'm torn between  sub-grand 'proper' classics (something pre-1980) and 'I can't believe how much car you get for your money' sub-grand (after 1990) moderns. There seem to be far more contenders in the latter category, which is usually why I end up with prime Autoshite. What I have decided is that whatever it is must be low mileage or (in the case of old classics) not too knackered. That restricts choice somewhat, but there's still enough temptation to cause disturbed sleep patterns. I hate this 'oooh, must get a new car' mania.

 

Of course, I could just go down to two cars and try to save some money, but that seems no fun. 

Yup, It's an illness.. in the same boat just now, although I know my MGF's worth 3p but it's at a standard where I would happily drive it to Moscow tonight. The Starlet continues to do what Toyota's do and just be a car, and even though I never drive it, am never in it and very rarely see it, it's coat is on a shaky nail, mostly due to the other half going on about wanting another Alfa. Stupidest thing is I see my car for maybe 4, sometimes 6 days a month, so costs me a fortune to keep it on the road cost per mile.

 

Right now on my radar are Volvo 850's, V40's Saab 9-5,s and Mitsubishi Pajero SWB V6's. I also have permission to use the kitchen as a garage for a motorbike project, so flipping between 2 and 4 wheel bargains on Ebay.

 

Then I drive the MGF again and love it. Then I remember winter's coming and I could do without fitting a camshaft variator in -10 in the dark, so I get 10 minutes of contentment..then I refresh "newly listed"

 

I wish I was a train spotter sometimes.

[Shep Shepherd]

This evening, I'll be driving The Volvo from Southend to just outside Southampton, which will be the first time I have driven it more than 20 miles in one go since April. What could possibly go wrong?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Just checked out this impressive discount code, get your orders in lads as it entitles you to an unrepeatable 0% discount!!

 

 

 

Hey this wedge looks like as good a reason as any to go to the NEC show this year.

 

http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/events/2013-nec-classic-motor-show/pre-production-princess-to-star-at-nec-classic-motor-show/

 

 

Anyone going? I think i'm going to have a look along. I got a letter about it with a discount code 'LEADM' in it, dont know if its an actual measureable discount like.