I have a 1997 vectra & have just changed the battery in the locking remote control & now it does not work, i belive it
now has to be programed up but i have no handbook can someone
look in there book & let ne know. Read more

Why is it that every Smart car is driven by a budding Michael Schumacher with a point to prove?

Every time I see one of these horrid creations, it is being thrashed to within an inch of it's life, such as coming home this evening, with one driving up the middle of a wide A-road, overtaking all the 60MPH traffic, with traffic also coming the other way.

If I was forced to drive one, I would do so as unobtrusively as possible, because the embarrassing looks alone would guarantee too much attention, without poor driving adding to it!

/Steve Read more

I'm looking at buying a Volvo 850 and would like one with a bit poke, so have decided to look at the T-5 and R models.
When looking i found an ad which was selling a T-5R. But the ad also stated that it was not a mere T-5 or R model.

Does this mean there is a 850 T-5, an 850 R and an 850 T-5R???

I thought the 850 R was the badge for the 850 T-5R! Read more

I have recently purchased a 2002 Mercedes A-class automatic. The whole vehicle is turning into a nightmare that I wish I had never clapped eyes on, but I have particular concern about the gearbox.
It is supposed to have a "learning" capability that adapts according to one's driving style. I have found that not only does it sometimes refuse to kick down when there is patently spare capacity in lower gears (eg at 2,000 rpm in 3rd it will not drop to 2nd (sometimes)), but at others it will kick down 2 cogs and belt up to the redline. Then again, if you "confuse" the poor thing by rolling almost to a stop in (say) 4th, it takes a good 2 seconds if you plant your foot on the gas to do anything at all.
Has anyone else had experiences with "clever" automatic gearboxes?
Thanks
Unhappy Eric's son Read more

I'm sorry to raise another example, and I know this topic has been raised before, but this story was run in our local paper (Hull) today....
>An uninsured driver with no licence was fined just £350, despite being in a crash which killed an East Yorkshire paramedic.
And Linda Abey, whose husband Graham died in the smash, has called on the Government to jail motorists who flout the law.
She felt "bitter and angry" after Darren Verrall, 23, was fined at Sleaford Magistrates' Court after he pleaded guilty to careless driving, and driving without insurance or a licence.
He was ordered to pay £175 compensation and £65 court costs.
Mrs Abey accepted the fine was "all he could get" under existing sentencing laws.
But she said: "It is not what we wanted but there's nothing the courts can do until the law is changed.
"There must be a prison sentence."
Mrs Abey and her daughters Laura, 16, and Rebecca, 14, were all seriously injured in the crash on March 1.
The Rover 414 which Verrall had borrowed from his boss careered into them head-on.
In court, prosecutor Karen Walker said debris and skid marks on the A17 near Asgarby, Lincolnshire, indicated Verrall had lost control and veered onto the wrong side of the road.
Mr Abey, 43, who was a paramedic based at Preston Ambulance Station, died at the scene.
Bill Miller, in mitigation, said his client was in a wheelchair for three months after the incident, and had also subsequently taken an overdose.
Mr Miller said: "He will have to face the consequences for the rest of his life.
Mrs Abey said :
"At the moment, the fine is cheaper than insurance or passing a driving test, so people are going to keep on doing it if they don't change the law."<
Read more