March 2003
After looking at a fiat stilo jtd multiwagon yesterday and thinking what a brilliant car but for one thing: the interior trim quality was hateful I wondered whether others had found that cars were 99% right but one thing made them impossible to consider as an actual purchase?
My Dad is looking for a diesel which has more boot space than his Xantia, but isn't any wider, has half decent ground clearance and has the air intake fairly high up ( no sales man had a clue when asked such a question!) The stilo was perfect in every respect but the cloth seat coverings were awful, very rough and shiny looking. If they came with similar interior to his xantia ie fuzzy dralon type stuff then I think fiat would have got a sale. Stupid thing is that the ulysses has the fuzzy interior that would have been perfect but in a vehicle which is too big.
Best price for the jtd active aircon (UK sourced) I've found so far was £10,865. If the price gets under 10k then he might consider having the seats reupholstered!
teabelly Read more
Today I decided that as I wanted to use my small trailer i ought to get a number plate for it as I have had a change of car since I last used it. Anyway armed with my V5 ( smug know it all!) down to my local national parts/accessory and leisure products dealer.
\"Could I have a rear number plate with this reg no please\" and hands over the V5 ( still looking smug!)
\"Have you any ID with a photograph and address on it like a driving licence?\"
\"Er no, but the cars outside\" (smug smile now gone!)
\"The laws changed and we need to see some ID as well as the V5\"
\"Thinks \" I know the law\'s changed thats why I\'ve brought my V5!\"
\"Well we will need to see something, here have a leaflet it explains everything on it\"
Walks out of shop goes home and gets the requisit bits of paper and returns. ( severe sulk on!)
\"Ah got all your bits now , the laws recently changed you know.\"
Anyway they then proceeded to enter my details on a computer. \"Do you know the approx mileage sir?\" \"Whats your telephone number?\"
\"How are you paying we need to enter your card details?\"
So all this information is being stored on a computer, printer is spewing out loads of paper and I\'m signing for the plate ( this isn\'t to pay for it I might add, we have to go through that bit at the till!)
Plate made up and off I go. Well what a carry on! I know the reasoning behind it but how can the information be used? The computer is not linked to a natinal database. The plate does have the name of the supplier on it with a code number which I presume is the branch so I suppose I could be tracked. Are all dealers as thorough? Have I in a round about way become an indirect victim of crime??????? Would have been a sight easier to use a piece of card and a marker pen! Rant over.
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Thats going to be tricky. Unless your towing and pushing a trailer.
Spotted one of these on the A12 today. Left hand drive in white with trade plates.
Looked very nice but are they available yet ? Read more
Not for sale yet, but they will have the next generation of Ford-PSA diesel engines. No dates have been mentioned yet of when we will see the new diesel engines in Pugs or Citroens.
Ben
Have recently purchased a cluch kit on an Ebay auction. Unit recieved is brand new as stated and I have no problem with it.
However, the box and the greaseproof paper inside, are marked Valeo but the kit itself is LUK. I appreciate that LUK make parts for many manufacturers but is this right, or is it an LUK kit put into a Valeo box to improve its saleability?
Thanks petel@clara.co.uk Read more
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Picked up this news item this week, thought you might be interested:
Seatbelts remain top safety enhancement in cars,
among many effective improvements since 1950s
Automakers have made great strides in enhancing the safety of vehicles since the 1950s. In that era, a person’s chances of dying in an automobile accident were four times higher than they are today.
Since that time, the industry has outfitted vehicles with dual braking systems (1968); disc brakes (1960s); antilock brakes (1980s); radial-ply tires (1970s); shatter-proof safety glass (1968); collapsible steering wheels (1960s); lap-and-shoulder seat belts (1969); less-intrusive metal (1966); and airbag systems (1970s/1980s).
In the near future, vehicles are likely to become even safer, with the emergence of “smart” airbag systems, which can control airbag deployments in concert with an occupant’s seat-belt status, seating position, and size and weight.
Of all the safety technologies, seat belts remain the most important in saving lives, according to industry experts. Officials at the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration say that an additional 9,000 road deaths could be averted annually if everyone riding in vehicles buckled-up. (Consumer Reports)
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Aha...that explains it. A Federal Government agency will be patting the car industry backs a lot these days . With Ford in such financial difficulties criticism of the industry would be suicidal for the government. A chapter 11 for Ford would involve a great loss of face for the government and economic problems (all those workers, dare we say pensions). Look at how the NHTSA failed to order a recall by Ford over those Firestone tyres for so long- you can betcha that if it was BM or Merc would have ordered them in quicker.
Thanks for the website address, try as I might I couldn't find the list of top people working there. What's the bets it car industry types who worked for GM moved to NHTSA then back to GM etc...
Astra 1.4 R reg. Book in glove box for rad/cass says unit should be Phillips C200/201. Unit in car is Grundig CAR200. Instructions for resetting code appear to work with the Grundig unit but it will not accept, comes back as "Safe" every time.
Little red card says C200/201.
Has anyone seen this before please?
Thanks Pete. Read more
My thanks to you all for your kind assistance. I will let you know when I get the matter sorted.
Rgds, Pete.
Two rants tonight I'm afraid, the first one being signs.
Why are councils in this country so useless at putting signs in useful places? Twice in recent days I've missed turnings because the signs didn't give enough warning. First time was in Swindon were you got about 20 yards notice before a roundabout that you needed to be in the right hand lane - and of course by that time the right lane was full of people who knew the area and also weren't prepared to let anyone in. Second was tonight, trying to find Walmart from a different direction to normal. No idea where to go, other than to aim for the the cycling track. The 'long distance' sign was a decent distance before the junction, the 'area' sign was close to the junction, the actual 'landmark' sign was on the junction, by which time it was too late to get across to the right hand lane. I find this stupid as many people who are unfamiliar with an area will go for landmarks first rather than necessarily knowing which area to aim for... Read more
Been there, done that.
Got lost in Ypres, Mons, then Lille on the way back to where I was staying. Toutes directions except the one I was looking for!
Has anyone come across this? My 1997 Xantia 1.9TD started locking (then deadlocking!) me in the car whilst I was driving along. It happened sporadically and if I am stationary and I open a door the locks bounce up and down a number of times before remaining unlocked for a brief respite, then lock me in again. It is as if something somewhere is sending a signal to lock/deadlock through the wiring/electronics. Citroens said there was nothing wrong with the central locking control box or the alarm control box (they are linked) but that the fault must be somewhere in the wiring loom and said it could take days to trace, and so cost a lot. I had a look at it myself and found water under the carpet in the passenger footwell where some of the wiring passes, so I sealed the source and dried it all out but to no avail. It still misbehaved unpredictably.
In the end I had to disable the locking system (and by consequence the alarm and interior lights) by removing the front multipin plug from the side of the c/l control unit under the central console (Citroen told me how to do this). I've about got used to manual locking again (very frustrating since the door lock pullers were never designed for manual use) and the key holes are wearing out because they were never designed for frequent use either. If I re-enable (with battery disconnected)it to see if anything I do has had any effect, the locking then only operates on a "one button straight to deadlock and alarm set", whereas before I had one button on the key to lock and the second button to deadlock and set the alarm.
Oh the joys of French electrics! Can anyone give me any clue as to where the source of this false signal might be?
Regards
Phil W
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Not a faulty plip by any chance? These Xantia fobs tend to disintegrate internally and need re-soldering.
Just a thought....
Graeme
Was following a Freelander Td4 through a quiet country village this morning at the posted limit - 30. At the end of the village and the restriction, the road opens up straight - so decided to go for the overtake. The guy in the FL had obviously anticipated the move, and used the torque of the diesel to accelerate and prevent the overtake. Now this is obviously a clever game for this guy and created a dangerous situation with the next corner coming up fast.
Was therefore forced to follow behind him for the next five miles, at the national limit on the straights, but slowing down dramatically for the corners as it obviously couldn't at any speed.
Do I remember correctly that it is illegal (!) to prevent an overtake in this way, creating a dangerous situation ?
Letting the overtake happen at the start would have let us each go on our respective ways at minimal inconvenience to each other.
Steve Read more
This is the sort of thing I'm talking about - people making it harder. I tend to take the view that if I can't get past then I'd rather hang back so other, more confident drivers have a safety net if they need it. The only trouble there is that you tend to get swamped from behind when you do get a good chance to pass.
can anybody tell me what the difference with the 2 types of towbar available. witter part No is g62 or g74. both of them fit either the mk1 (g62) or mk2 (g74) vectra. the reason i ask is i already been offered a g74 cheap but i have a mk1 vectra.
will it fit?
cheers Read more
It might be worth a call to a supplier of towbars, some companies can be very helpful if you apporach them with the correct attitude, all you wish to knowis , are the mounting points and the box sections the same on both cars, in fact try the service dept of a Vauxhall dealer, they may even be able to help, I find the parts guy is usually the most helpful, and if he doesn't know they can usually find out very quickly.
Make sure you let us know how you get on
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Has anyone out there been able to compare the 2 different types of suspension as mention by HJ above regarding the Honda Jazz, I agree that the ride is very much on the firm side but this has not put me off buying one. If I put it off for a month or so I will have the new suspension but I would tohear of any views on wh t they are like first ???