June 2006
A friend is about to buy one. An underpowered shed or highly ecnomical modern car ?
I'm trying to persuade him to go for a 2.0litre
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Oh dear!! Beat this!!. I just had to share it.
I was behind a new Audi A4? convertable, with the top down, in Kingston SW London.
Red and white dangle on the rear view mirror
Red and white ribbons on the door mirrors.
Red and white stickers on the boot lid and back.
Red and white probably on other surfaces.
No flags flying cos all the windows were down to show off the driver.
and the registration was R O O 6 N E Y.
Mods please move this to a sad corner after a few have read it and have groaned.
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I've seen that car somewhere, can't remember where now, but definately an Audi convertable. Possibly at a service station off the M6.
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
Interesting site:
So many bad cars, so little time. We take you through 10 of the most painful in motoring history
tinyurl.co.uk/0dgf
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The Ford Probe was a flop - Even ford admitted so.
Altough Jermeny C Liked it a lot so much so he hated the Calibra which ok was just a Cavalier but the Calibra was so much better hence why it sold more.
Ste
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1983 (A) Vauxhall Astra 1.3L
1993 (K) Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0i GLS
1999 (T) Renault Laguna 1.6
Hi all,
Just got some standard Citroen alloy wheels from a VTR to replace the steel ones on the VT. Both cars have exactly the same running gear and the wheels appear to be the same size (diameter).
Will they just swap over? They're both the standard citroen supplied items. I've got the alloy wheel nuts and locking nuts.
Or where could I find out...? :-)
Thanks in advance
Lee Read more
After making sure they are the same size as the old wheels.
Use the alloy nuts on the alloy wheels & then tell your insurance company you have fitted the alloys.
If they are a slightly different size a Citroen dealer can adjust the setting in the cars computer to keep the speedo reading correctly.
I have just covered about 2000km of driving in Germany in a new BMW 1-series 'pool car'. What a disappointment!
I am a pretty big guy (nearly 18st and 6'4") and found the 1-series very uncomfortable. The A-post is wide and sweeps back which made entry and exit difficult for me without banging my head. When driving the car I felt very cramped; my left elbow kept hitting the door trim and visibility felt very poor with a claustraphobic feel to the interior of the car. Anything over a 60km drive was a bit of a trial. Any considering one of these vehicles needs to take a LONG test drive before committing..I would say a Focus is a better car.
On the positive side it was another opportunity to practise my iDrive skills! One thing that puzzles me about BMW's is why they do two versions of their SatNav; the 'Professional' version (with map overview) and the 'Business' (no map, just an arrow). I had the Business version and was glad I took my TomTom along with me - its much easier to navigate when you can see a map. Also the BMW system kept throwing up odd 'random' instructions - e.g. coming up to a left turn it would show a left turn arrow but say 'Bitte rechts biegen' (please turn right) before, a few yards later, giving the correct 'Bitte links biegen' instruction. Very confusing. At least it better than the dreadful system in GM Vectra though!! Read more
>Also the BMW system kept throwing up odd 'random' instructions..
It runs Micro$soft Windoze. What did you expect?
Kevin...
Hi
My sister has a Honda CBF600. As the weather is getting hotter, the gauge is going past the middle part, but not overheating.
Does anyone know if this is ok. Is this part of hornet type engines that run with high temperature, or should it be inspected.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Greg Read more
I agree with the others - as long as the fan cuts in and out and the temperature doesn't keep climbing, it's fine.
From memory, I think the Hornet has a protective grille/cover on the radiator. These can cause crud to get trapped in the rad fins. Might just be worth having a butchers when you get a spare few minutes to make sure the rad fins are clear. I had this problem on a GPZ500S once with a similar setup which was running its fan almost constantly in summer. A quick clean out with a hose and an old toothbrush and it was good as new.
Cheers
DP
I did a sorn earlier this year on my car and I have now decided its time for it to go. Obviously its not taxed or insured and the mot ran out last month. I know someone who wants to take it but I don't know what to do. Does it haved to be towed and how do I go on about the paperwork?
Thanks Read more
yep just has to be insured and on his way to a prebooked mot test. make sure he gets the garage it's supposedly going to tomake a record in the book
chris
Looks like oil's coming down
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5058822.stm
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Oil prices might come down....I bet fuel prices don't!
Down to 92.9 round here from 98.9 a couple of weeks ago.
I'm trying to get hold of some "Lubegard" ATF additive (seems to have a pretty good reputation and there's even a Saab technical bulletin that recommends it) but I can't find a supplier in the UK. Any ideas? I emailed the US manufacturer but as yet no reply. Read more
Maybe I should say 'sqwark'??
Its a chirping noise that some auto's make as the clutches engage. Due to high frequency 'stick-slip' of the plates. Using a more highly friction-modified fluid helps alleviate it. I've heard it on ZF 4HP14's and 4HP18's.
My mate bought a 1.6 Fiat Stilo Dynamic yesterday and I must say, for what it is, I'm very impressed.
The kit on them puts Fords and Vauxhalls to shame. I think it's only the one up from base spec and has;
Adjustable rear seats, computer, air con, reverse parking sensors, central locking, alarm, auto lights, traction control, ABS and more to boot. All on a 1.6!
Car seemed solid enough and was quite cool in the gadget department. Whenever a door was open, instead of a boring light to warn you (yawn!) it came up on the screen "Front right door OPEN". The computer was actually controlled by a button keypad on the right too instead of messing around with buttons on the stalk.
The drive was very quiet and quite comfortable but never went on any motorways. (I'm assured that it is very quiet on these too). City steering mode was a gimmick but handy to have in tight spots I guess. Comfy seats too!
Not the best review in the world but I never knew they had all this kit on! The 2.4 Abarths have Sat nav and more stuff apparently! Definitely a massive improvement on the Brava. My other mate has a Y reg 1.6 and I've been in it hundreds of times and it's like a completely different car rather than a mildly updated one. I was telling my mate (with the Brava) about the other (with the Stilo) and he's so impressed, he's actually hopefully going to look at a 2.4 Schumaker at the weekend. Purely on my review and the kit on the "normal" Stilos.
Look out for the next installment of "Stilo Review" chaps. I think I could get into this journalism lark.
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.. touchdown! Oh my stomach hurts from chuckling..
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[Nissan 2.2 dCi are NOT Renault engines. Grrr...]
Browse
My father and step-mother have one - and I've driven it one-up - lots of stirring of the stick to keep it on the boil. Loaded with kids, dog and luggage it'd struggle to keep up, IMHO, and the fuel consumption would not be pretty.