December 2004
I found this article about an attempt by Italian environmentalists to ban the Fiat 500:
www.planetsave.com/ViewStory.asp?ID=5435
Apparently its lack of catalytic converter causes 'unacceptable levels of pollution'.
What these people don't seem to realise is that a car causes more pollution before it's ever driven than in it's entire lifetime of use:
www.greenspeed.us/electric_bicycle_manufacture.htm
Shouldn't environmentalists be encouraging us to keep old cars in good condition and on the road, and more importantly shouldn't they make sure that they are familiar with all the facts before preaching to others? Read more
I am looking for peoples opinions about the Audi A4 M registered. Are they any good Yes / No? (Genuine reason for inquiry Thanks for any help.) Read more
We have a 2.6 V6 Avant on a N plate with 125K miles - wonderful engine and very reliable/super quiet on the motorway (with Conti eco-contact tyres). Had the suspension arms done three years ago under Audi goodwill, rear offside 'floating' caliper siezed last summer and the locks are starting to get 'sticky', otherwise no problems.
El Dingo.
There seems to be a few of these for sale on ebay going for silly prices ie, some of them are over 4k and people are bidding like theres no tomorrow! One was on there with a starting bid of 6k so whats so special about these? So what if theyre RWD, they are still 20 years old, so if people want RWD that much, just buy an old BMW for a grand! Read more
They are becoming popular in the sport of 'Drifting' (powersliding in front of a panel of judges) which has a traditional bias toward Japanese vehicles as the sport started amongst the 'import tuners' of the USA.
I once bought a car of a chap who had one stored safely in his garage for use on high days and holidays as if it were a priceless E-Type.
Just got a letter from my friendly local Vx dealer to say my car is ready for a service, which it is (ticked over 70k miles yesterday!).
They have included details of their "WinterCare" services whereby for £45 they will do the following: (I am quoting)
- Pressure testing of the complete cooling system
- Inspection of the cylinder head and block for leaks
- Tightening of the hoses and clips
- Renewal of the anti-freeze
Has anyone had this done? Would you recommend it? Or is it a complete waste of time and/or money?
FYI, I have the car serviced at the Vx dealer every 10k miles and change the oil and filter every 5k miles.
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Would they really have covered the headgasket, Dave?
In the case of mine, yes. I had coolant leaving via the exhaust because the headgasket had failed between one of the waterways and cylinder 4. Didn't affect the running of the car, quite the opposite in fact - it went a hell of a lot better. Apparantely adding water vapour to the exhaust gasses cools it and acts like a simplified turbo.
if you consider that antifreeze doesn't need replacing every
year and which is done as part of routine servicing anyway.
Vauxhall have never offered to change my antifreeze as part of a routine service interval.
I'm buying a diesel in the new year. Has anyone tried that millers diesel plus stuff? Read more
While this may not be of interest to you, some Tesco
filling stations now sell diesel which is 5% biodiesel. I
imagine that this would improve the lubricity compared to their regular
stuff by some margin.
Do they name this diesel something else? Is it labelled differently.
I would have thought they would - for marketing purposes if not anything else.
These are my proposals for changes relating to transport in the coming Budget.
A reduction in the Excise Duty on petrol and diesel by 25 pence per litre.
Road Tax to be reduced by 25% on all cars. New tax class for caravans at £25.00 per year due to road space used.
Scrapping of taxation of benefit in kind relating to company cars.
A 50% increase in Road Tax for long bendy buses as they are too long.
All fines relating to vehicle offences to be added to the transport Budget to benefit law abiding transport users.
The surplus of Congestion Charge fees should be spent on improved roads and car parks not subsidies to public transport.
To pay for the direct reductions in the taxes above it will be necessary for the rate of VAT to be raised to 19%, which is similar to many other European countries.
The above proposals shall be open to discussion and amendment by the Backroomers. Read more
Free LPG for us that run on the stuff as it is lovely and clean and is a bi-product of refining anyway.
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\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
We don't yet know all the facts, so must reserve judgement, but at face value this seems to be a rather obvious oversight:
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/4061147....m
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A solution has now been agreed in the form of tags: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/4075723....m
Now the cold weather is here again the car does not want to start, i have changed the glow plugs but that did not help, now it only just turns over which in turn deadens the battery? Any ideas would be gratefully appreciated.
Thanks Read more
Inlet valve clearances closed up leading to compression loss, therefore cold start heat is low, hence the non start.
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
While skimming a recent copy of "Land Rover International", I came across an article about a Police constabulary (can't remember which) that use the new Range Rover as their M'way patrol vehicle of choice.
What surprised me was a claim and I can't remember the exact phrasing but words to the effect that a 4.4l Range Rover can easily tow a 44 tonne artic - is that plausible?
As I said, I was only skimming and didn't get a chance to fully read the arcticle so may have got the wrong end of the stick....
Chad. Read more
Some years ago I saw one of the early police Range Rovers tow a fully loaded fire engine - complete with crew - most of the way up Reigate Hill. I have no idea why this was necessary (no spare vehicles available perhaps?!). It was quite slow, but made it to the top in one piece. Most impressive.
On my route to work through chelmsford there is a tight bend with a set of lights immediately after it. There is a camera on them and I inadvertantly went through the amber this morning, my mate was in the car and didn't see a flash but i wasn't sure, i think i may have seen one (or could be a car pulling up at the lights behind me and my active imagination) this got me thinking: if i did get done, what would be the effect when i renewed my insurance? (i have 3 years no claims and an otherwise squeeky clean licence.) Read more
However, I would argue that there is not sufficient time to
respond to those lights as it is a 40mph speed limit
and because it is a tight bend the lights do not
come into view until you are within the Highway Code stopping
distance from 40mph.
www.highwaycode.gov.uk/09.shtml#105
Browse
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The big mistake was to specify the method rather than the objective.
And what use the graduated RFL according to emissions is I fail to see, so what if you get £5 off if your CO2 is a shade lower, that's a gallon of petrol a year, more or less. Since C0 output equates directly to petrol input and most of the price of petrol is tax, the systems already in place.