January 2003
I know this forum is generally Anti-F1 but its just possible that this years championship could bring some good racing and controversy.
Autosport have reported that the following will happen this year:
Placing cars in parc ferme between final qualifying and the race (teams will be unable to work on them, except under strict supervision)
Elimination of traction control, launch control and fully automatic gearboxes (possible derogation for all or part of 2003, to be followed by absolute enforcement in 2004, if necessary by standard ECUs)
Elimination of pit to car and car to pit telemetry
Elimination of all radio comminucation between car and driver
Allowing only two cars per team (ie: no spare cars)
Some REAL changes which should close up the grid.
Finally the controversy.....
Villeneuve Vs Button
The mental games have started even before a wheel is turned.
Jaques has called Button 'Boy Band member' of F1 who needs to earn his respect.He thinks Jenson is just marketing tool not a real hard racer like him. He has apparently given Jenson the cold shoulder since he signed for BAR.(Its all a kind of backhanded complement in my view).
I hope Jenson can put a good consistent season together because at the moment he is the only real chance we have of a future British F1 World champion.
Yes, i know Ferrari will win loads but its 3rd to 10th place which should provide some close racing this year (fingers crossed).
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Hi again
What do you reckon is the best way to sell a car? I know that sounds stange, but I personally would be wary of paying over £5000 for a car advertised privately...I mean, do you pop over to see the car and part with a cheque (or whatever) for that kinda dosh? I have only ever gone via garages with a trade in deal...but they should wear masks (highway robbers!!)
And, another thing..how accurate do you think the Parkers estimates are?
Cheers
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Last time I sold a car though AutoTrader (3 yrs ago), I had more calls from canvassers trying to get me to advertise with them than people who were interested in buying the car. Does anyone know if this still happens?
From HJ's piece, 'Trading in Older Cars Likely to End' (more EU rules) he concludes that "Basically, the value of any car more than 7 years old will be virtually nothing."
For people like me who regard a 7-year old motor as just run in, I can't decide whether this is a good thing or not. Presumably, private sales will still hold prices up a bit, but it will be interesting to see that happens.
Any thoughts, anyone? Read more
"so many punters will still pay £500 / £600 for J/K plate Escorts.."
On the grounds that they are 'easy to fix', which is just as well, really! There is also the 'it can't be any good for £50' problem, which applies to all sorts of things. E.g. I use Open Office in preference to Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc.) as it just as capable and should, by rights, take over the planet. Unfortunately, it is free and therefore viewed with deep suspicion by commercial consumers who feel 'safer' paying £400 a pop to MS. Funny old world...
Recently my employer gave 'defensive driving' training to company car drivers - subtle issues like recognising potential hazards, anticipating the unexpected, keeping your distance, positioning for better view of the road on bends, etc. etc. The trainer was an ex police driver instructor.
One issue where I disagreed occurred in a suburban environment where I reached a T-junction, signalling my intention to turn right, knowing full well there was no car following. The conversation went:
"Who were you signalling to? There's no-one behind you."
"Agreed, but there might have been a car in my blind spot, therefore better to signal."
I think we agreed to disagree. What's the current thinking?
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Is there any point in signalling when you are in a lane with a dirty great arrow saying which way you must go? Whatever the books say, what is the point of signalling a RIGHT TURN when joining a motorway when you are merging straight on and there is no other possible thing you can do. You can however use your signal to join a motorway to indicate you are barging in regardless of other traffic. Also, why confuse people by signalling 3 side turnings before the one you are going to use as many drivers do due to poor observation?
The point is really as said many times in this thread, only signal if it makes your intentions clear, and there is someone to see the signal.
can anyone tell me if a g reg 2.0lt ghia sierra sapphire is rwd? or are they front wheel drive, i need to know so i can get itand use it in my locost kitcar
thanx lee Read more
Don't know about the Locost (but Richard Hall probably does!), but the Robin Hood 2B, all the injection gubbins from the 2.0i won't fit unde the bonnet. You might be better finding a carb one.
Dear All,
A very quick query regarding the Yaris:
Does it have a timing belt or a timing chain?
Many thanks
Regards,
Rob E
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Hi, I recently received some excellent advice about an abs problem I had, I'm hoping for the same result here.
The windows on the drivers side, front and back, have started to beep when opening or closing. They still work and it doesn't happen on the passenger side.
Does anyone know what this means?
Thanks, John Read more
yes please v8man - you'll find my email in my profile.
As the Nexia is heavily based on the mid-nineties Astra, can I use Astra exhaust parts on the '96 1.5 Nexia I have recently inherited?
The rear box has just gone and Kwik-Fit wanted over £100 to fit!!
Ringing round reduced this to £68 at best.
Daewoo want £45+VAT to supply only.
Also, is it usual for this car to rev so highly when cold? The engine immediately jumps to 1500-2000 when idling and takes ages to calm down. Even when fully warmed-up it stays around 800 and the slightest blip on the pedal causes the revs to go into orbit.
The idle adjustment screw is on minimum. It has only done 16k and has full Daewoo service history.
Most grateful for any advice.
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New tax code for 2003/4 has landed on the doormat. Although I chose my BMW (company car) with the new tax rules in mind, I hadn't noticed the fuel rules were changing too and the numbers are all a bit scary now.
The car is a BMW 318i Touring Auto with a few extras (leather seats, integral child seats, CD x 6, extra air bags) the CO2 figure is 195. It's a Y reg and has done 18000 miles.
I do like the car, it's comfortable, reliable, we've needed the space from time to time and I admit that I like the badge. It's mainly used for the school/work run and the occasional trip to the Cotswolds. It's been to the south of France once.
But - at the end of the day I am a girl after all and maybe I should just think of it as a means of getting from A to B and 'downgrade' to a different car to save on the tax bill (40%)
So any thoughts about what I might replace it with? Safety and reliability are top of the list of priorities.
Oh and a nice colour of course. Read more
OK, spoke to the tax office and a tax accountant friend this morning.
I run my own car but have a work fuel card for all petrol. Both sources tell me that ALL fuel card spend goes onto the Income side of my tax form, but I then claim an allowance (.40p per mile for 1st x000 miles, adjusted to take account of any contribution to business mileage by my employer - none in my case). Which is largely unchanged from how I should have been doing it previously.
The lady at the tax office went into a lot of detail, saying although my employer didn't pay me an explicit mileage rate, by paying for all fuel they were paying SOMETHING towards my mileage. Which I suppose is fair.
Anyway, bottom line is that the fuel card scale charges ONLY apply if it a company vehicle.
However, thanks for alerting me to the possibility
As is commom knowledge, my Mrs. and I have a diesel Yaris (as our 'main' car) and additionally I have an old but very clean and reliable Maestro......Can you use the words reliable and Maestro in the same sentence?). It's for running about and going to the tip etc and has paid for itself a million times over. The previous Maestro and the Maxi before that all gave years of cheap motoring and cost just pence to maintain.
I've just bought a 1989 1.6 Mayfair model Maestro with a genuine 14,000 miles - sold to me by it's original owner for reasons of his age. I admit to being a bit chuffed to have picked up, what I consider to be a bit of a peach......it's astoundingly clean, having been cossetted, garaged, serviced every year, and has :-
Central Locking, Electric windows, Power steering, Sunroof and runs as sweetly as you can expect it to run. It's had a recent battery, stainless exhaust and (premature?) clutch. Admittedly the radio's on the blink and the air conditioning........OK, so it hasn't got air conditioning.
I know I'll be told that low annual mileage is bad for a car but it starts, runs and cruises at 70 without a problem and is rust free. It's got an auto. choke - which is a shame and being a 1600cc, the tax rate is higher, but you can't have it all.
You may not call me a style guru and may not be reading this post with increasing desire to become a Maestro owner yourself but motoring doesn't get much cheaper than this.
I paid £450 for it and expect at least a couple of years service without huge bills and whilst it's not the last word in refinement and performance, I'm happy to take a chance with it.
It's pre-unleaded so I'll either use an inline catalyst( as has been used in previous Maestro's for years), or use the bottled additive, or may just put LRP in it. Someone may wish to comment on this point.
Off now to buy a new cloth cap and some new rubber feet for the zimmer frame.
KB. Read more
Quick search on Google showed just Fords, Jaguars and L/Rovers with heated front screens, as suggested earlier.
Mazda's site is useless - pretentious twaddle.
How odd, all those cars, and only a handful have heated screens. I rate that really odd. At least I know now - thank you all.
KB.
Browse
Hmmm... nothing to do with two teams going bust recently (Prost and Arrows)?
I think the FIA realise that if changes are not made quickly there will only be half a dozen teams who could afford to compete in future. IMO Formula 1 has been irrepairably damaged, a lot of support died the day Barrichello moved over for the "Boss".
ITV must be kicking themselves for snapping up the coverage rights just as it became unwatchable.
As for Jenson Button, fair enough he has potential but for me the only thing he has proved so far is that he has the silliest name in F1 (By a long, long way!)
Im a loser baby....so why don't you kill me?!