The grumpy thread

[Albert Ross]

Sure, but the British company I work for can't pay me enough to afford a British computer, seeing as I am a middle class white male with no disabilities. Therefore I don't get benefits like the dole-scrounging mouth-breathing scum that seems to be able to "afford" all the Japanese plasma TVs from Bright House etc. I'm a beggar. This laptop has been thrown down the stairs twice that I know of, and run over by one of the Grandkids on a bicycle when my Daughter left it on the lawn. So it still works. It's about fucked, but I'm online. Just. Let's find a British product good enough for the job. I even have an Indian phone............. (It does have a Land Rover badge on it though)

[MrDuke]

Look at the British motorcycle industry for example. Where did it go? Swamped by the Japanese starting in the 1960s really. 20 years later it was gone.

Correct me if I'm miles out here (I frequently am) but I always thought the Japanese invasion of the bike market resulted from the British manufacturers being too blinkered to give the customers what they wanted? I remember fatha_Duke telling me he remembered kids in the 70s switching their allegiance from BSA to Honda simply because they came with nicer dials and indicators. And engines that didn't piss oil.

The reason most British industry foundered after that (not just automotive either) was militant unions scrapping with teh evil guvverment. I never bothered finding out enough about it to decide who was right/wrong, I think both sides could've seen where it would end up if they'd thought about it. By then, asian companies were already proving that they could compete with western designers and manufacturers but I suspect there was again too much imperial bloody-mindedness to notice?

[Milford Cubicle]

Isn't everything electrical made in China now? I think the last thing I owned with 'MADE IN JAPAN' on it was my unbreakable Fuji S5500 camera in 2004.

[Lukas]

That´s not my favorite kind of music, really not, but the lyrics fit 100% exactly on my ex-girlfriend:

 

 

I can see youre falling for her

Friend, you know she once was mine

So I guess I oughta warn you

Cause youre showing all the signs

 

Shes a devil

Shes an angel

Shes a woman

Shes a child

Shes a heartache when she leaves you

But shell leave you with a smile

 

When she held me it was heaven

It was worth the losing pain

And when shes gone shell leave you wishing

Shed just roll your way again

 

Shes a devil

Shes an angel

Shes a woman

Shes a child

Shes a heartache when she leaves you

But shell leave you with a smile

 

Yeah, shes a devil

Shes an angel

Shes a woman

Shes a child

Shes a heartache when she leaves you

But shell leave you with a smile

I wish her husband (yes, she still had one ) told me that before I started to love her and now that I know how she really is I wish I could tell this to the next stupid man who´ll think that she is the One! Because it was fu**ing easy to believe that!

[Rusty Pelican]

My pooters made by AMD whoever they are , bought over from the states and converted to run on 240v

Talking of buying british try finding a pair of UK made trainers or shoes for that matter , bloody impossible

[Cavcraft]

Sure, but the British company I work for can't pay me enough to afford a British computer, seeing as I am a middle class white male with no disabilities. Therefore I don't get benefits like the dole-scrounging mouth-breathing scum that seems to be able to "afford" all the Japanese plasma TVs from Bright House etc. I'm a beggar. This laptop has been thrown down the stairs twice that I know of, and run over by one of the Grandkids on a bicycle when my Daughter left it on the lawn. So it still works. It's about fucked, but I'm online. Just. Let's find a British product good enough for the job. I even have an Indian phone............. (It does have a Land Rover badge on it though)

True.

Another (motoring related) issue that bus me is cheap tyres. We all like them (well, most of us) but they're not very 'green' as when they're worn out they are no use for remoulding as they prefer premium brands.

Remoulding is another thing too: due to cheap tyres being available hardly anyone wants remoulds so another very 'green' industry is dying out.

 

Duke: right about the bike industry mate. The British couldn't compete (or couldn't be arsed) and died a death. Happily though Triumph are still going and personally speaking the new Bonnys etc are lovely machines.

[gearoil]

True.

Another (motoring related) issue that bus me is cheap tyres. We all like them (well, most of us) but they're not very 'green' as when they're worn out they are no use for remoulding as they prefer premium brands.

Remoulding is another thing too: due to cheap tyres being available hardly anyone wants remoulds so another very 'green' industry is dying out.

 

 

This bugs me too.

 

What happened to Colway..?

 

The Uniroyal plant near Edinburgh got pulled down a couple of months back, and I believe things aren't rosy at Michelin in Dundee, yet you can go to any tyre place and choose from a good half dozen far eastern brands you've never heard of, the amusingly named Linglong springs to mind...

 

[Minimad5]

I HATE being ignored - A simple reply would have been nice

[retrogeezer]

simple reply...

[Rocket88]

Everyone blames;

a] The Government

b] Strike happy workers

For the demise of British manufacturing. While partially true, most of the blame lays with lazy, arrogant, and short sighted management, who kept signing off products that were either

a] Too expensive to buy

b] Not fit for purpose or

c] Not costed properly.

Cases in point

a] The Mini; Never made a profit during most of it's production run, because the cost of making it was never [apart from Ford] accurately calculated.

b] The Marina and the Allegro. Cars that were worse than the cars they were supposed to replace [Morris Minor and Austin / Morris 100 / 1300]

c] The short sighted and jingoistic belief that "johnny foreigener" couldn't build cars that the British motoring public would want to buy.

[whitevanman]

Look at the British motorcycle industry for example. Where did it go? Swamped by the Japanese starting in the 1960s really. 20 years later it was gone.

Correct me if I'm miles out here (I frequently am) but I always thought the Japanese invasion of the bike market resulted from the British manufacturers being too blinkered to give the customers what they wanted? I remember fatha_Duke telling me he remembered kids in the 70s switching their allegiance from BSA to Honda simply because they came with nicer dials and indicators. And engines that didn't piss oil.

The reason most British industry foundered after that (not just automotive either) was militant unions scrapping with teh evil guvverment. I never bothered finding out enough about it to decide who was right/wrong, I think both sides could've seen where it would end up if they'd thought about it. By then, asian companies were already proving that they could compete with western designers and manufacturers but I suspect there was again too much imperial bloody-mindedness to notice?

Your entirely correct there in your assesment....shame more people don't remember it the way it actually happend....and actually took the blame for the demise of British manufacturing.........

[Cavcraft]

The unions in the seventies were fucking mad but it's certainly not correct or fair to blame them for everything or most of it.

Lack of investment, stale ideas and no forward thinking seemed to be the biggest killer of the British motoring industry to me, though fighting 'twixt unions/governments didn't exactly help the situation of course.

[Rusty Pelican]

a] The Mini; Never made a profit during most of it's production run, because the cost of making it was never [apart from Ford] accurately calculated.

b] The Marina and the Allegro. Cars that were worse than the cars they were supposed to replace [Morris Minor and Austin / Morris 100 / 1300]

c] The short sighted and jingoistic belief that "johnny foreigener" couldn't build cars that the British motoring public would want to buy.

Oh how true , Point C is tragically spot on

Grump for today , Just spent a small fortune decorating the spare room , weve never done since weve been here and never slept in it , just used for tat , looks stunning , moved in last night for the first time only to get no sleep coz we can hear next door snoring , this through a 14 inch thick concrete wall and there fitted wardrobes on the other side , Mrs RP moved back into the back bedroom its so loud , I stuck it out and am subsiquenly knackered . FFS SHUT UP

[Albert Ross]

But that's the principle. I put a lot of pride into the work I do. I hate doing a half-arsed job. Too many workers are just not bothered enough about the product or service they are paid for to do it properly, which is why quality drops and eventually kills the product.

 

Look at the Hillman Super Minx. It was so well built, that it was rare for a customer to go back and buy another one a few years later. What did Rootes do? Brought out the rust prone "Arrow" range. Great choice there people. Where did you go? Bought out by the French. Well done. Thanks.

 

Land Rover seem to have lost the plot also. They made their reputation supplying decently made agricultural/industrial vehicles for working. Now? They are "building" primped up pussy-mobiles. Where's the vinyl seats? Keep fit windows? Hose-out interiors? It's all gone a bit Pete Tong there I think. It was nice knowing you. Remember you were great once, building basic heavy duty vehicles. The rot crept in with the Range Rover. You sealed your fate when you built the first Freelander. Bye.

[myglaren]

Nearly all computers are Chinese now - most consumer electronics in fact.

 

 

My problem today is that #1 son arrived on Saturday wanting a few jobs done on his Golf. Replace busted mirror, do the oil/filter change that we were going to do last August but rain stopped play then and on each subsequent visit.

 

He went to his mother's first, a couple of miles from here. On leaving there, the nearside front suspension spring snapped .

I don't have the equipment to deal with that so dragged a third party out to deal with that. He couldn't get a replacement 'til today - scrapyard closed yesterday, he's coming with a new one on the rebuilt strut in an hour or so.

 

In the interim I changed the oil/filter. Sump plug very hard to remove

Replaced plug, still hard to screw in.

Filled it with 10w40 semi-synth as advised on the www.

Suspension fixing guy was dubious about it and dragged out a manual that recommended 5w30 fully synth and is bringing some with him. Says that the turbos are very picky about the oil grade and I don't doubt it.

Drained the 10w40 out and poured it back into original container.

Replaced plug - won't bite now .

See much swarf in the bottom of the bowl used to drain the oil into - threads from the sump of course (alloy sump, steel plug).

 

About to go and by some blue Hylomar to seal it in before replacing the oil but is there a better alternative? They have to go home today (300 miles) should have gone yesterday but broken spring vetoed that.

 

Any suggestions gratefully received

[Negative Creep]

Feeling really shit all day. Couldn't be bothered to get out of bed and put in the bare minimum at work. Plus I have a headache that 4 paracetamol have failed to shift

[boobydoo]

The unions in the seventies were fucking mad but it's certainly not correct or fair to blame them for everything or most of it.

Lack of investment, stale ideas and no forward thinking seemed to be the biggest killer of the British motoring industry to me, though fighting 'twixt unions/governments didn't exactly help the situation of course.

 

Would recommend this as quite a good read.

 

Traces the British car industry from Post War to the closure of MG Rover in 2005. It has a strong BMC/BL/Austin Rover bias ( the Chrysler UK 'meltdown' in 1975 gets only one paragraph) and I dont think all of the facts may necessarily be correct, but it is an amusing account from an individuals point of view reflected in the cars his family bought.

 

It comes up with the same reasons for failure:

 

Poor Management (Michael Edwards excluded)

Ridiculous Union power

Unreliable Motors.

Crap Dealer Network with a "who gives a "f**k attitude"

Lack of Government insight into the industry to keep it afloat.

 

[Quintus]

Saw the worst driving I'd seen in a long time on Saturday night.

 

Driving along at 30 in a 30 zone with one car behind when a Mk1 Vectra estate overtakes both of us at warp speed, and passes me a little too close for comfort. This was slightly disconcerting, and I'm thinking Vectra driver is a bit of a twat, but he then decides to overtake the Renault Megane further up the road on the outside of a left hand bend

 

If there had been a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction the consequences could well have been fatal. Makes me wonder what the fuck he was on.

[Cavcraft]

Illiterate time wasting fucking mongs.

 

'Er, it has a dent in the bonnet so I don't want it'.

 

Oh right, don't suppose it's the same dent I told you about and sent three seperate pictures to you at your request then?

 

Why can't these kind of people just fuck off and die or go to CarCrap, pull their pants down and spend the next seventeen years paying £300 a month for an 'R' reg Clio?

[FredTransit]

I think my computer has Altzhiemers. No history, and I have been logged out of everything when I logged off the internet. I would shoot it, but can't face changing it.....

[garethj]

Everyone blames;

a] The Government

b] Strike happy workers

For the demise of British manufacturing. While partially true, most of the blame lays with lazy, arrogant, and short sighted management, who kept signing off products that were either

a] Too expensive to buy

b] Not fit for purpose or

c] Not costed properly.

Cases in point

a] The Mini; Never made a profit during most of it's production run, because the cost of making it was never [apart from Ford] accurately calculated.

b] The Marina and the Allegro. Cars that were worse than the cars they were supposed to replace [Morris Minor and Austin / Morris 100 / 1300]

c] The short sighted and jingoistic belief that "johnny foreigener" couldn't build cars that the British motoring public would want to buy.

All very true, and sadly it's still happening. You wouldn't believe the number of products that go past my Engineering department with a flimsy business case. Do some proper market research, do something inventive, do something that people want to buy FFS

 

I know we can't exist on a dollar a day like countries in the far east, but how do other "high cost" economies like Germany manage? Why can't we do the same?

[Tayne]

.

[Albert Ross]

Tayne, I've been buying and selling Land Rovers since before the coil sprung variants were introduced, I know what they make, it's just not offered as a standard product. You have to specially order a downgraded unit to start with, just to get less for your money and wait longer for it.

 

Manufacturing industry has been tumbling over itself to offer more and more toys on it's products. For instance. 9 years ago I bought a 1991 MB 126 for me to use and enjoy. It was really well specced up, and to me. was a luxury car. Fast forward to today. My humble Focus is better specced. I mean, that's an average family car, it's predecessor in the range was the Escort. I now have a 14 year old Scorpio Ultima to smoke about in aswell. 25 years ago, the though of electric windows on a family hatchback was a dream. Yes, they were available, but mostly as an option on the topmost model in the range. Now EVERYTHING has them. Aircon for instance. What is made today that DOESN'T have it? We, as motorists, don't NEED these things, but we are forced to have them.

 

This is where the whole thing went tits up. The British car industry tried to keep it's products simple and reliable, keeping the ethos of cheap transport for the masses at it's centre. But..... (and it's a big but) The foreign products had lots of toys, whichg seduced buyers who were fed up with poor delivery times, corrosion, reliability issues, ill-fitting trim, even things like drums one side at the front, disc brake at the other on the same car. What about a (legend has it) Ford Escort with 2 doors one side, and 1 the other....... Only spotted at the dealer on the forecourt as it was driven off the truck apparently. But as I say, legend... may be no truth in it, but it's possible I guess.

 

This arrogance is also the blight that is killing the American Auto industry. Poor panel fit, lousy gas mileage, dreadful colour/trim options, poor handling, awful styling, and it's responsible for the social conditions that are rife in the States. Look at the slum areas of Detroit. You wouldn't want to walk the streets in the day, let alone at night.

 

This is all to the deficit of all of us in the World really, we are offered credit we can't afford to buy things we don't need. Do we really need to hock ourselves to survive? I reckon "Back to Basics" for the car manufacturers of this world, concentrating on qualtiy of build, rather than how many fucking gadgets they can cram into a tiny car. They rave on about emissions, but we are forced to carry 300 kilos of extra shit that we don't need.

 

I reckon I need to go live on a small island where there's nobody else........Anthrax anyone??

[RedSparrow]

Yeah I recon a no-frills mega-cheap supermini would be a good idea. The ShittyRover could've been this, but was way too much money as discussed on here before.

[Station]

I'm happier having less than wanting more - I've got to go out and possibly buy a load of stuff for a new house/flat in a couple of weeks, and am I f*ck getting a plasma TV, etc. A mate is giving away a 32" 'CRT', I'd just be a silly prick if I went out and bought one. I never used to be like this, but it must come with age. I don't even watch the telly ffs.

[Polystratus]

I'm with you on the why have gadgets for the sake of it, although I suspect these days we're in the minority.

 

The great British car buying masses love their gadgets, and once they have them, they can't live without them. I once seen a topic on another car forum about climate control/aircon, some of the posters said they could never drive a car without it and saves opening the windows (So they like being sealed in a tin can so to speak). Gadgets and cars - always reminds me of a certain engineering saying that when something is more complex, it appeals more to the user.

 

 

I'm constantly struck by how big small cars are these days, the new Fiesta is about the size of the original Focus and would dwarf a Mk1 Fiesta.

 

Which Magazine had a online article comparing the MK1 Fiesta with the latest version, the Mk1 they used was part of Ford's hertiage collection, and it made the MK1 look like a mini! Thats the trouble with car designs these days, they have to meet all the safety reg's plus get that 5 star NCAP rating. Couple of things I dont like about more recent car designs is how tall they are becoming (again due to safety regulations), plus deep dashboards - I had look at a Punto Grande a few weeks ago - it was (to me) horrible to sit in.

 

 

 

My new Panda is a lot bigger than the original Panda and whilst it is the basic one it still has gadgets and clever bits I can do wthout.

 

Out of all the recent car designs I think the new Panda is one of the better ones - the last basic car I had was one of the first Punto's , no airbag, ABS, power steering, or air con, it did have electric front windows though. The daily use car I have has air con which I hardly use, and electric front windows, the rear ones are manually wind down ones, and according to some folk when you mention it (and it has rear drum brakes) think it's prehistoric.

[Station]

I too hate the current breed of 'tall cars'. They look ridiculous.

Also find it's more hassle to open a window via button than winding it. Why is that?

[pogweasel]

What irks me is that motors are all designed 'around' the aircon, meaning that you can't have windows open at speed as it's like a wind tunnel. Old car weren't like that. Opening quarterlights were the best, a nice breeze coming in, plus you could tip your fag ash without it blowing all over yourself. Because they are tall now a half inch gap round the front of the window equates to about 6 inches down at the top. Bah.

[Guest]

I too hate the current breed of 'tall cars'. They look ridiculous.

Also find it's more hassle to open a window via button than winding it. Why is that?

I imagine because the windows you had to wind were smaller in stature than the electric ones that take an age to drop by motor.

 

I actually like A\C, even though by rights I shouldn't. It knackers your fuel efficiency and adds weight to the car.

 

Quarterlight and arm perching are de rigeur for driving the Amazon in the summer.

[dollywobbler]

Problem is, we're in a tiny minority. Most people want better spec, more gadgets, more safety and to hell with visibility or fuel economy!

 

And why build a new basic car when us, the people who want it, will say 'naah, too expensive' and buy something for £500 on Ebay?