August 2004
morning all,
As you will be aware we have recently had a "spate" of threads on the "worst - best - ugliest- etc" features of cars, in which loads of various opinions were expressed.
I was thinking,(oo-er!) what would we get if we had two teams actually building the cars, both starting with an identical bare body-shell, one team using nothing but the good ideas and features, and the other team the negative ones. What would we end up with?, my guess is that the "cars" would not be too different!, both tin hulks of absolute rubbish, and maybe totally undriveable.
my belief is that you need a mixture of good and bad in everything, it`s what makes things work, - what do you think?.
billy. Read more
Reading HJ's latest auction report (The day?s best buy was probably the 93k mile 95N Nissan QX 2.0 chain-cam V6 in the photo. No auto, no leather, no air, but a big, solid, ultra-reliable minicab for £650.) made me wonder why this famously reliable car is soooooo unpopular.
A quick search on eBay found one with air & 109k sold last week for £650. cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=...1
These must be good nominations for Banger of the Year. These cars are good for a million km - if not miles.
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The QX was a lot of car for the money but, like so many in this class, suffers higher depreciation levels than smaller models.
It's also a bit anonymous in looks which put a lot of people off buying one.
Bit like the Toyota Camry, another fine car for the money.
Neither might be true driver's cars but offer comfort, room and reliability.
I'm thinking of getting rid of my current car, Impreza Turbo as it isn't fast enough or fun enough to justify it's high running costs.
As I see it I have 2 paths open to me
1. Buy a high output VAG group diesel- either a Skoda VRS, Seat Ibiza TDi 'Sport' or a MKIV Golf GTDI 150, all around the 12K mark.
2.Buy a Porsche 944 Turbo for around 10K, leave myself 2K for any repairs that need doing.
The Posrsche costs less to insure than my current car (about £300 pa more than the diesels) and compared to the diesel cars I mention is unlikely to depreciate.
Can't help thinking the amount of depreciation of the diesels will outweigh the savings to be made on fuel.
The more I think of it the more sense the 944 starts to make or am I being stupid? If anyone can point out any flaws in my logic then please let me know before I take the plunge. Read more
Only ever been in one and that was 20 years ago when I was young! Thought it to be the most uncomfortable thing I had ever been in. Buy a Volvo T5 or T6 etc. understated supercar (ish)
Regards.
The two main brake lights on my 406 have stopped working. I have checked all the fuses which are intact and the brake switch is ok. The high level third brake light still works so I am at a loss as to the cause of this. Can you shed any light on this please as I tearing my hair out in great lumps.
Cheers
Fed Up Alan
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Sometimes a filament looks intact, but it is the bulb that's gone. Usually on my cars this is accompanied by the bulb having a black appearance.
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was kev_is_here
It was rusty, I kid you not.
At the bottom of the bootlid, patch of bubbling paint with some rust showing through.
There was also something hanging down underneath the car, dunno what it was. Read more
I saw a City Rover recently and it was upholding all
that we associate with Rovers. It was on the back of
a recovery vehicle.
So they pushed the Alfa off into a ditch to make room then.
Dear All,
I am considering purchasing the 3.0l 1994 version of this vehicle. The motor is diesel and I am wondering about conversion to LPG (preferably to run alongside), is this feasible or do I need a petrol engine - I\'m guessing I do.
Also, does anyone have any knowledge of JICC ( www.jicconline.co.uk ) - they seem reputable but I\'d be grateful of any first hand information anyone has.
Many thanks Read more
I'm no expert, far from it, but I've always been under the impression that only petrol engines can be modified to run on LPG.
The 3.0 V6 petrol in the same vehicle can be converted to run on LPG.
PP
I have found Fuse 22 has blown. Replaced and blown again. The fuse serves interior lighting, seat memory and mirror memory. Everything works fine without ign on and with ign on. As soon as I start the engine - POP.
By process of elimination I have disconnected devices to try and isolate offending item with no luck.I have checked the loom through the FOS door which appears OK
Trying to use logic it would appear that it is a device which pulls in 2 power sources - non ign and engine started.
The Haynes manual digram is quite simple to follow but I can only find that the interior courtesy lights have 2 power sources - non ign and ign but nothing to do with engine started. Infact I cannot find any output from engine started.
Any ideas anyone??
Fullchat Read more
Cheap fix is to unplug the mirror motor untill you can get another one.
Some of the very last softtop 306s had parking mirrors fitted & you might be lucky & find the motor is the same inside both mirrors.
Scrapyard hunting or even a model / hobby shop might turn up what your looking for.
Just read the review on the rexton, sounds good.
Was wondering if HJ could describe the carina driver in a little less colourful term, some visitors may be offended. Read more
Comforting to know that HJ's job isn't all beer and skittles! :-)
I have a majesty 125cc scooter (automatic trans). The problem I have is that it will start first time every time. However, if I switch the scooter engine off, and then switch it back on in less than 15 minutes, it can take two attempts to restart. It is reluctant to start from restart and cuts off on first attempt in 60% of cases.
What could this be? The battery is fine, the leads are fine, the air filter is new and the oil is fresh. The mileage is only 21,000 miles and the bike is 2 years old.
Also, how many miles should I expect this engine to last me with regular oil changes and frequent servicing.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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But how can the bike become flooded after being parked for
¼ hour, and generally starts at the 2nd attempt?
Easy - heat from the engine is reaching a fuel line. The fuel in that part of the line evaporates and forms a gas plug behind the fuel further down the line. This plug expands as the fuel evaporates and forces the fuel into the cylinder, flooding it.
Hands up everyone who learnt to fly the Bulldog light aircraft. The starting procedure for this was very involved and required you to know EXACTLY how long the aircraft had sat since it last ran.
Having read many arguments on behalf of the pro and ant motoring lobby on the subjects of cameras, speed limits, GPS monitoring, road tolls etc etc I was reminded of a Rush track called Red Barchetta, set in a future where actually driving a car yourself is rather frowned upon.
While searching for the lyrics to the song I found the article from Track and Road in 1973 by Richard S Foster (A nice morning drive) that was the inspiration for the song. Read in retrospect it was well ahead of its time! Well worth a read.
Road and Track article:
members.aol.com/redbarche/ANiceMorningDrive.html
Lyrics to Red Barchetta:
www.purelyrics.com/index.php?lyrics=dqbmwcsq
I realise that music from a Canadian heavy rock band is not to most peoples taste, but the original article and the corresponding lyrics are well worth a read
StarGazer
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A classic - one of the first tunes I learned to play bass to. If I want to rewind further, Moving Pictures was in my Walkman when I went to see Henry IV Part 1 at the Barbican in London when a certain Mel Smith (of Not the Nine O'Clock News fame) walked past. After some persusion he signed the ZX Spectrum magazine I was reading.
In the current climate of pop pap, Red Barchetta still stands the test of time.
Thanks for the memories Stargazer - time to dig out my Moving Pictures CD...
All the best
CM
Browse
BB has it re the compromise problem. If Toyota made cars that went like M3s then they wouldn't be as reliable as their previous efforts. Or they would be very much more expensive and overengineered. At which point they would get heavier, and no longer perform like an M3.....