May 2003
Just stumbled over the Smart City-Coupé Brabus on the web, with a way OTT list price knocking on £12,500 for some wide wheels and another 13 ponies (74 v 61) from it's 698cc turbo motor.
Although I detest these hideous devices (the looks, not the concept of a city car), it set me thinking.
You'd have thought they'd have done the job properly and made a real performance car by fitting a bike derived engine if it's going to carry the Brabus badge. Even my utterly-reliable-never-misses-a-beat Honda Hornet 600 pokes out nearly 100 BHP, and a rev hungy nature would suit the car a treat. Some other bike engines, without even going anywhere near a litre in capacity, would make the Smart performance silly, and consequently much more in keeping with what a Brabus badge should mean.
Yes, I know there are boring things like brand names, warranties, how to make a dog box reliable when abused round town, and the like, but if only... Read more
I've got a 1.4 1996 (N) VW Polo. I noticed a small pool of liquid under the car on Monday, after some pretty heavy mileage down to Cornwall for the Bank Holiday. I checked engine oil, brake fluid and coolant which were all OK, so I assumed it must be the gearbox oil (though there was no obvious problem with the gearbox). It has been dripping all week and I took it into a local garage who tell me it was leaking at the gasket and seals and has to go off to be re-sealed (£320). The car has done 52k miles - is this a common problem on the Polo?
Cheers
Rob Read more
I agree with Peter D. It\'s usually a drive shaft oil seal and for some odd reason it\'s often the nearside one. Gearbox oil usually has a very odd smell (cat urine!)and it will be quite clean. If you can get the front of the car on a set of ramps you should be able to find the leak although you may have to remove the plastic undertray first.
Just heard that this years London Motor Show has been cancelled but AutoExpress are organising what seems to be a quite novel alternative. Apparently, the show will be held between 24-26th May and visitors will be able to view and test drive cars on show on private roads away from Gatso\'s etc. IIRC IIRC tickets cost £37 for an am or pm session but include free parking, programme and test drive vouchers etc. There will be 19 manufacturers and some new cars \'not seen before\'. Apparently, some special deals will also be available for prospective purchasers.
The website is www. motordrivelive.com or telephone 0870 4294488 mentioning ref: MDL104 for a special discount on ticket prices.
Anyone heard about this and got any more info ?
Mark/Dynamic - hope it\'s ok to mention this - I have no connection with the event but thought it might be of interest.
No probs. After all, it is motor related. DD. Read more
Can anyone give an account (good/bad) of dealings with the Availablecar.com car supermarket near Castle Donnington?
Thanks. Read more
They're not alone in doing this, but I hate the way they show saving against new.
It's completely irrelevant on a used car, and it actually makes some the newer cars they list look quite expensive as they're not that much cheaper than new list.
I have a 95 Renault Laguna 2.2 diesel (140k miles) and a 99 A6 1.9 TDI (100k miles). What is the best oil to use for these?
cheers,
The Fying Dutchman. Read more
I have a 95 Renault Laguna 2.2 diesel (140k miles) and
a 99 A6 1.9 TDI (100k miles). What is the best
oil to use for these?
Millers XFE Semi synthetic or Millers XFD Fully Synthetic.
25 litrs of XFE for about £80 and £100 for the XFD. Can be bought in conventional containers.
Evo, if you have to quote the original message, can you do so first, then add your reply underneath please? (Just like I\'ve edited your post above) It makes things a whole lot easier to read and it is the prefered way of doing things here. DD.
This was posted on a local site:
A friend of mine had a warrant of arrest issued for not paying a [speeding] fine. They also contacted XXXXX (his employer) to inform them that a warrant of arrest has been issued.
[In this country, fines do not carry associated points.]
While we have differing legal systems, this seems a bit heavy-handed, if you ask me ...
And remember, our new post-1994 constitution is VERY hot on Human Rights.
I would welcome some UK comment - thanks.
Read more
Always difficult Ian when dealing with the laws of another country but as an ex member of the Empire
South Africa\'s laws will presumably be modelled on its old mother Country. - UK but my two penneth:
As stated above it appears your Courts can invoke an Attachment of Earnings Order whereby the employer removes wages to pay off a fine.
www.tinyurl.com/bdgp
page down to FINE.
If no such Order has been made then could it be that your Police have made enquiries at his place of work to establish whereabouts in order to execute the Warrant and as a result employer aware he is wanted?
In letting it be known a warrant outstanding are you arguing, if this is the case, then Human Rights have been violated?
I am no expert on HR legislation but a cursory look at Right to Liberty (Art 5) - No as warrant is due process of a Court. Right to privacy and family life (Art 8). Doubtful as due process of Law and the apprehension is in the interest of the State.
DVD
Special colour supplement with tomorrows FT.
" Great European Drives "
Read more
Thanks for the tip-off - something to read whilst driving to Manchester tomorrow morning! Sorry, I mean letting the wife drive!!
My son recently bought a 306XSi which is in excellent nick. The only problem is that a previous owner fitted a "boy racer" stainless steel exhaust with a large diameter tailpipe. The thing is that it produces an annoying drone at normal cruising speeds. I'm sure that if he went on a trackday, the car wouldn't pass the noise tests.The exhaust is in good condition so he doesn't want to spend money to replace it.
Has anybody got any ideas how the noise can be reduced? Read more
If the add-on is in good (shiny) condition it probably has a secondhand value, which might help balance the equation a bit...
Idly chatting in the pub last night, somebody mentioned the Renault Spider, the one with no windscreen. Nobody could remember the last time they'd seen one or a mention of them in the usual car magazines. I checked on Autotrader this morning and there are a total of 6 for sale nationwide, one of them only 8 miles from here.
They range in price from £16k to £20k except for one for £5k in Tyneside.
Anybody seen one? I seem to recall they got good write-ups, especially as a trackday car. Read more
A friend that worked in the docks at Southampton told me how they used to race these around the compounds when they were unloading them from the ships,only damaged a couple.
Having read tremendous amount of articles complementing the Osram Silverstar series H1 bulb, has anyone actually tried fitting them and is the luminance improvement really improved by up to 50% with its standard voltage of 55 watts. Knowing that the extra lights actually comes from the xenon gas in the tubes.
Will I get a whiter beam as well??? Need your comments. Thanks. Read more
Fitted Osram Silverstart H4 bulbs to the Octavia, 2001MY with clear lenses, and the difference is quite noticeable. The beam pattern seems much sharper, the light output is much whiter and things like catseyes and white lines at the far end of the beam pattern are much more clearly visible. On main beam the pattern was always good, but now I have the strength of beam to illuminate the road clearly a lot further ahead than previously.
As far as bulb life goes, I drive at least 80 hours per week, with dip beams on for approx 60% of that time, either due to poor weather or night driving, and I'm still on the pair of bulbs I fitted last November. To contrast with this, my old Mondeo fitted with normal halogen H1 bulbs used to blow dip beam bulbs alternately every week.
However...
We fitted the same type of Osram bulbs to the Peugeot 405, and noticed no real improvement at all, maybe a barely perceptibly whiter light but none of the other improvements found on the Skoda.
And the lights on the T-reg Mondeo are already as bright as the uprated ones in the Skoda, so we don't really feel the need to change them! Especially not when it would need a pair of H1s for the dips, another pair for the mains and another pair for the fogs.
'In car terms.'
The Caterham R400 (is that whats its called?) weighs less surely. If not 400 KG then surely something close. The Smart may be very small but its still a 'proper car' in the sense its built for everyday use not performance.
I hate to think of how well a high performance Smart would handle. Itll roll, surely?
They are cute though.