A little bedtime reading swiped without conscience from pistonheads:

Ian Eveleigh ponders on why motorists are letting themselves be demonised

Cue a montage of overlapping news sound-bites: "...nearby residents presented a petition of over 500 signatures demanding traffic calming measures...", "...demonstrators blocked the road for a total of eight hours...", "...since its installation last year the camera has caught 40,000 speeding motorists...".

Where did it all go wrong? There was a time ? not that long ago, even ? when motoring in the UK was not just a means of getting from A to B, but was also something to be enjoyed; something we were allowed to enjoy. Great stretches of road were built for our convenience and pleasure; our mobility was positively encouraged. But somewhere we took a wrong turn and lost our way.

Evil!

Instead of being applauded as a means to visit and explore, the car has become derided as a destroyer of communities. Instead of being seen as a wondrous tool for efficient door-to-door transportation, it has become an artery clogger that we should abandon because it is too slow, yet simultaneously a ruthless ground-coverer that should be reined in because it is too fast.

We are waist-deep in an anti-car age and struggling to find a branch to haul ourselves out by. But how did we get here? How is it that a nation so clearly in love with its cars ? almost regardless of cost ? can also hate them so much? 85 per cent of eligible males and 60 per cent of eligible females hold licences, and teenagers are still tripping over themselves to get mobile by motor at the earliest possible opportunity, so who exactly are we fighting? What is this massive force that makes us feel such guilt for daring to enjoy our cars, that makes us almost ashamed to declare a passion for them in polite company?

Utopia

Sure, there's a handful of small, extremist groups, occupying their time dreaming of a car-free utopia where children can play in the high street and where you can leave your front door unlocked at night. They inflict their vision upon the rest of us a couple of times a year by blocking a main thoroughfare or two (always when the weather is nice, you will note), but they are a minority, nothing to worry about, a small fraction of the population who never got the chance to learn to drive, or whose circumstances mean that they can't afford the unfortunately high cost of car ownership. Their numbers will never stretch beyond that. After all, have you ever heard of anyone who's had a taste of motoring turning their back on it?

Then we've got a government that chooses to lash out at the car. Not through any conviction that it is doing The Right Thing, but because it knows that it can exploit our weakness if it can make us feel bad about our habit. Motorists contribute £42 billion to the economy each year, but in return only £9 billion is spent on transport. Yet guilt buys our silence and our acceptance, and disproportionate reporting that favours sensationalism over education keeps the fear topped up.

Apathy

But the real threat to our motoring pleasure starts much closer to home.

Unlike those small but passionate anti-car groups, ignorance and laziness mean that when we are under attack, we motorists fail to organise ourselves and fight back to redress the balance.

And why is it that councils think we want lower limits, more cameras, restricted access, speed humps and "home zones"? It's because we're asking for them! Sure, we want freedom and rapid progress on our journeys, but in our own street we want everyone to slow down. Well, everyone else , that is, as humorously situated speed traps in response to residents' complaints often prove.

Small Minded?

OK, so you and I, motoring enthusiasts, probably aren't that small-minded, but Mr and Mrs Ordinary Average Car User are. Unthinking drivers taking their mobility for granted. And despite never giving a second thought to improving their own driving skills and behaviour, they know for certain that every other driver out there is under-skilled, inattentive and dangerous, and they want protecting from those reckless individuals passing their doorstep. Trouble is, everywhere is someone's doorstep. So the petitions start, the street furniture moves in, and we all have to tackle the obstacle course. And once one neighbourhood gets it, the next neighbourhood wants it: they need protecting too.

It's this frightening lack of thought from so many, mixed with superb propaganda from relatively few, that has led us to this position where cars are perceived as the root of much evil, and to invest more than is strictly necessary for basic five-seats-and-reasonable-economy transportation makes you best mates with Lucifer himself.

It's a sad state of affairs, but what's even sadder is that a large proportion of the blame lies at our own feet. It seems that when it comes to motoring, we're our own worst enemy.

Discuss!


teabelly Read more

I had a Pug 306 which leaked rain water and would have soggy carpets front and rear off side (occasionally dripping through the interior light fitting!.

Having read numerous forums about this issue being a seal round the windscreen, ariel hole or blocked gutter under the bonnet I decided to investigate. It was none of the above.

The problem was caused by the drain pipe from the rear offside whihc runs down the rear quarter panel in to the wheel arch - thisis fine on the near side but on the offside there is the fuel filler etc. This means the inside of the rear arch has a lining - as the pipe poked through the inside arch it bent back on its-self against this lining causing a blockage (nice factory fitted sunroof!). So having straightened this out it was OK.

The easy test for this is to wind the sunroof back and block the front drain holes with tissue (test they aren't blocked!), fill the sunroof surround with water and ensuring the car is slightly up-hill so the water has to use the rear drains - you should see the water disapear from both sides (appearing under the car infront of the rear wheels).

I also found that there are plastic plugs at the end of the sunroof surround\gutter where the rear drains are attached - mine weren't the best fit, 1 blob of bathroom silicone later they were!

This was a 3 door, but I'm sure the rest are the same - a friend had the problme on a saloon 306.

Hope this helps. Read more

I understand that torque is measuring the ability to turn or twist something about an axis (ie. the driveshaft of a car), but how does that relate in the real world to car engines, in comparison to the brake horse power of an engine?

Basically, what's the difference, in layman's terms? For example, why do diesel engines generally have higher torques, than their equivalent bhp petrol cousins, and how does this translate in the actual drive from each engine? Read more

I have a 2002, 51 plate 318iSE with 71k on clock. It is a manual with FBMWSH.

It is in immaculate condition inside out.

I have advertised it at £11,490 but there is hardly any interest. Surely I have not overpriced it, or have I?

Thanks in advance

CJ Read more

Hi Folks,
Just booked a Premium group rental car for a couple of weeks touring and was looking for opinions on which would be the most roomy for the 2 adults in the back. This is, of course, assuming I do get a choice when I get there.
Options are BMW 525 TDi, Peugeot 607 2.2TDi or Jag X-type diesel.
Not having driven any of them I think the Peugeot looks bigger but would welcome any comments/recommendations.
Cheers.

Read more