February 2003
Today, on or near M42 (Ashby-de-la-Zouch), a lady driver picked up her mobile to answer an incoming call.
Within a minute or two she was pulled over by a Police patrol car.
She was informed that she would be fined £100 and have three points put on her licence.
She was also told that had she not been steering a straight course, the penalty would have been nine points.
And (I can hardly believe this) apparently they are even clamping down on drivers who appear to be talking on a hands-free phone.
Read more
....and our skilled unsung heroes in the NHS
Pics of the result of a rather nasty accident involving a driver and his steering wheel. The car was ratehr \'flat-nosed\' following this.
Please don\'t view if you are squeamish, afraid of blood or currently eating, OK?
The pics were all submitted by the person pictured, on the table.
forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8965
I\'ll leave this here because I think its important. However, I have changed the link so that it won\'t work automatically, you will have to cut and paste it to your browser and I would emphasise the warning that Dave gave to the squeamish etc. Mark.
MG-Rover Problems? forums.mg-rover.org Read more
Don't worry, Blue. Improved crash protection for the legs is now enshrined in US law and will make it into Euro cars eventually.
I'll admit it looks good and it certainly seems well equipped, but I packed off down to the coast the other day with 6 adults, 1 child, 2 dogs and all the necessary stuff in complete comfort. I even drove across the beach, sank and used the diff lock and low ratio to get out.
So, not quite. Read more
May I offer an Asian viewpoint? Kia are a force to reckon with here. They turn out well put together cars that don't go wrong in adverse conditions, are beginning to look a little less "Korean" and have all the accoutrements. I don't know if the Starex SUV's has reached the UK market yet. Millions of them 'ere. They are a 9 seater, aircon front and rear, DVD TV, leather all the gubbins and they look smart.
Their beat-up Kia Prides have been running arounda staxis with millions of km on their (disconnected) odometers.
If I was in the market for the class mentioned in this post Kia would be high on the list. They have an excellent reputation throughout Asia.
Perhaps in Europe Korean products are sort of where the Japs were late '70's. The will I won't I kind of stage. Sort of the Datsun 120Y era. I would say if you like it and it fits your bill go for it.
PS Don't worry about that guy with the bad hair in PyongYang, Brian. I have it on the QT from Condi if he tries that one on he'll be toast in ten minutes.
I would have no hesitatioon
I know there are a few Mondeo TDCi owners who have contributed to this forum. What are your experiences with engine noise? I have a 10 month old Mondeo TDCi LX with 15,000 miles. The engine runs great, pulls like a train and returns around 50 mpg. My concern is with the engine noise. Mine sounds very noisy with a real harsh diesel "clatter" when pulling hard, is this normal? When ticking over it sounds very "tappety". The noises are the same when the engine is hot or cold. Once the car is cruising at 70 mph there is hardly any noise at all and you can't tell it's a diesel. Are these noises the norm with this type of engine.
Jacko. Read more
Thanks Kurnal,
The car has been in the dealers this week, they have confirmed that the engine is too noisy and the tappet noise is probably a camshaft or hydraulic lifter problem. The car is still uner warranty so it's getting sorted next week. As far as I know the fuel pump is OK.
Jacko.
Well folks, trust those Armani-suited marketeers to keep churning out the paradigm shifts.
Seems "Customer Satisfaction" is no longer a benchmark for measuring performance; now we are supposed to be "Totally Delighted". To this end we now have the Total Delight Index (I thought TDI meant something else).
"But sir, we sorry to hear you are merely very satisfied with your car. Our aim is nothing less than Total Delight. We regret this failure in our service. Thank you for choosing ******, and we are sorry to have disappointed you..."
autos.msn.com/advice/windowshop.aspx?contentid=402...n
Read more
If that's what tickles your fancy, Brian :-)
Cockle
Apart from it being an annoying advert, I would have thought Chitty would be entitled to free road tax as it was bulit and registered before 1973. Hence Chitty doesn't need to be clamped for road tax evasion. Read more
*Puts on anorak* Actually it's got a straight 6 Ford engine with automatic transmission, the car was built by Alan Mann Racing. Special effects designed by John Stears who did most of the Bond films.
:-)
Gareth
Squeal problem!
I’ve just brought 1990 golf and yesterday, something started squealing, and it WILL NOT stop. It happens almost all the time, but predominately in 1,2,3 gears when accelerating, in 4th it seems to stop (4 speed car).
Could you guys help me fix this? Its a very loud squeal too, a friend said it could be a bearing in the water pump, I have no idea.
Any help/ideas very much appreciated
-tom
ps the squeal sounds like dry metal or a rubber belt rubbing.
Read more
STOP DRIVING IT!!! Get the timing belt tensioner checked also check water pump and alternator for a siezed bearing. It may be just a slack beltbut if the cambelt tensioner is siezed the belt has moments to live before it overheats and breaks.
Andrew
Happiness is a T70 at full chat!
I would like to buy a used Rascal type van. There are a number of different ones - daihatsu, toyota, suzuki, mitsubishi. Can anyone recommend one ? Which is best ?
Read more
I did a lot of miles in a Bedford Rascal (basic 4-speed model) and found it strangely enjoyable. It had a rev-happy little alloy engine which reminded me of Hillman Imps, and such a low ratio back axle that up to 40 mph it felt like it could out-accelerate anything. It tended to run out of breath at around 55 though. I once used it to fetch a 3.3 litre Perkins diesel from Macclesfield across to Lincolnshire and it coped beautifully with the hills en route. Lots of space for the overall length thanks to that weird cab-forward design, where you sit on top of the engine. However, I wouldn't have fancied having an accident in one.
Richard Hall
bangernomics.tripod.com
I have a 2 year old Fiesta Finesse with 19000 on the clock and just had its second service. It has had a tinny rattle that appears to be coming from behind the glove box, for about a month. It only occurs when there are not enough revs in 1st, 2nd and sometimes 3rd. It doesn't happen everyday. I've read the other posts about a drivers side rattle, but this isn't. Any ideas? Read more
Basically - Where is it?
I have located several jumbo fuses under the bonnet, but can't find any inside the cabin at all...
Read more
On the latest models, it is just below and to the right of the steering wheel. Turn the catch 90 degrees and the lid drops down.
Browse
Thanks, Smokie. Have been there and all is now as clear as mud. However the jist seems to be that it's going to be an expensive exercise to instal the necessary kit so I guess I'll just have to rely on Voice Mail and regular stops to pick up messages and touch base, with engine switched off naturally, as I gather it's going to be an offence to even talk on a mobile when the car is pulled over if the engine is still running!