August 2006
Hi All,
Was listen to the radio the other day (forget which station) and caught the tail end of a conversation about what steps we as the car using/buying public can do to reduce our emissions (so to speak!) and environmental impact.
In this conversation, a workman was praised for trading in his old van for a new one (a Transit Connect TDCI) and the gist was that the new van has much cleaner emissions and we should all be doing that as manufacturers have made big strides in cutting pollution.
All true, except this Guy (who was doing the praising of the workman) was from the SMMT which for me made me suddenly cynical and I thought well he would say that wouldnt he - not biting the hand that feeds and all that.
Okay, this got me thinking.
I always thought that its better to soldier on with an old car doing it up when it needs it than waste world energy/materials regardless of wether the old car chucks out more emissions because your'e saving the manufacturing process and everything from ore to finished car.
Using the above theory, If you only changed your car when absolutley necessary, then at least over your motoring life you might save the production of thee or four new cars even if you only buy secondhand (cos its a knock on thing).
However, being a petrol head and a classic car enthusiast (I have an Allegro- I know, I know), I then wondered is there such thing as a point in time where a car drops out of the used car cycle i.e unwanted/old >10 years nowadays/unfashionable that you could buy with a clear concience knowing that your purchase of it is not causing the knock on effect of someone buying a new one at the other end of the market?
I'm asking cos I fancy and want to justify in my mind a pre cat 4.0 Sovereign Jag over a brand spanking Focus which I conceivable should buy (If the man at the SMMT is to be believed).
Sorry if its rambling
Cheers,
David
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I'm just curious from a design point of view what backroomers think of the new square format Car magazine. Somebody just pushed an issue under my nose and asked me what I thought and what the UK market would make of it.
Firstly, I'd love to know the rational for the shortened, square format. Great way to lose your mast-head behind all the other mags on the shelf.
It's nice to see they've cleaned up the Bulletin pages and got rid of the uneccessary design flourishes but when I got to the first feature i.e. the Veyron... well I'm shocked quite frankly. I'm staring at huge golden, elegant serif drop caps that seem to have been lifted straight from Vogue or Elle. By the time you get to the American muscle car feature, they've grown to about 10 cm tall. The Renault article and Bentley article have superfluous drop caps i.e. a large cap plus the first word in full - Nnever Sseen that before.
Excessive use of gold, lots of white space and women's typography. It's just too pretty and effeminate. Perhaps I'm too set in my ways in believing car mags should look a bit butch, but I'm looking at the cover with it's white border and artsy photography and it's just screaming "interior design/photography magazine" at me.
Barlow makes a comment at the bottom of his intro "You will not be able to confuse CAR magazine for any other title out there" Damned right, boyfriend. Read more
Perhaps the format will look better and more appealing lying on the coffee table at a dealership with all of its square-cut brochures.
My daughter's headlights are very poor. They have been fitted with uprated bulbs by boyfriend but they are still pertty hopeless. She tends to drive on full beam. Taking them apart the reflectors do not look overly dull and the glass is not dull or marked. A new seat would be hideously expensive but the danger of getting s/h ones from a breakers is no telling if they will be ok ,bearing in the mind the current ones appear to be fine.
Any suggestions ? Read more
If the headlamp reflectors have become dirty and dull over time, you can try removing the headlamp units and washing them out with plenty of clean soapy water.
Remove all bulbs and pour the soapy water in through the headlamp bulb aperture. Shake well and rinse out with plenty of clean water. Afterwards use some dishwasher rinsing aid, such as Finish, to prevent streaks etc.
I tried this on a Golf III once and the results were brilliant (pardon the pun!).
What with the latest petrol engines with direct injection, seems nothing is really new...
Rolls-Royce Crecy - 2-stroke 90 degree V12 26L liquid cooled, direct petrol injection, stratified charge injection, variable blade superchargers .... Crecy number 10 achieved 2500 hp on 21 December 1944. Subsequently single cylinder tests achieved the equivalent of 5000 bhp for the complete engine ... that's 190 BHP/Litre !
That'll do in my Skoda ! Read more
detroit weasel by any perchance? starting backwards occasionally if not careful
Posting on behalf of a friend. He has a 54 plate ZR.
The drivers side door lock sometimes makes an awful grinding noise when locking or unlocking.
It sounds like cogs grinding but he's been told that they use a solenoid and if they don't get enough power they make a noise similar as they fire repeatedly. (This is the jist of what I was told, I've slept since then ;o)
Any ideas? He's had the door cards out but it's just a sealed unit... Read more
Thanks for that sgreenwood - less encouraging but worth knowing!
We have had a 54 reg Scenic 2 from new. The leather on the side of the bolster on the drivers seat as started to crack. Is this something the warranty will cover?
It's a company car, but we intend to purchase it at the end of the lease, so could do with this sorted. Read more
Turns out the side of the bolster is vinyl, so it's not actually leather which has split. Warranty claim is in process ...
Did anyone else see the piece in the DT on Saturday regading the North Wales Police Deputy Chief Constable's blog, and to think that this guy is a public employee!
www.north-wales.police.uk/nwp/public/en/blogs/view...2
5
I quote: "Is it now time to banish motorcycles completely from our National Parks?", so if I lived in Exford or Keswick or Dolgellau or Whitby (yes Whitby!) I would not be allowed to ride a motorcycle - ridiculous! I suggest it should be questioned as to whether someone who makes such an ill thought out statement should be able to hold such a senior office.
To declare an interest - I have an aftermarket exhaust on my ZRX 1100, it is more efficient than the standard one and being made of titanium is much lighter than the steel original, that would probably have rusted through by now anyway, however it is road legal, if the powers at be have an issue with the noise emmitted from EC approved standard or road-legal aftermarket systems then surely they should campaign for a reduction in the allowable noise limit rather than suggest banning a whole category of transport.
Yes, many motorcyclists run illegal race cans that are rather noisy however to suggest banning motorcycles because of an inconsiderate few is like banning cars because because of the Saxo brigade's big bass booming or banning football because there is the odd punch up after a game.
Seems to me that Deputy Chief Constable Clive Wolfendale should get his boys out with noise meters tackoling the issue? No, of course not, they have not got time because they are too busy enforcing often inappropriate speed limits, penalising almost innocent motorists based on a 1/1000 sec snapshot in time that bears absolutely no relationship to the other 99.9999% of their journey and doing nothing to deter - yet alone catch - other road users who are drugged up or drunk, perhaps driving illegal, untaxed, uninsured, unsafe vehicles - or riding noisy motorbikes!
Regards.
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I think mountainkat you will find that North Wales police have been targeting bikers for years: they bought a helicopter specially for this purpose.
I have had a few biking holidays in North Wales, but not any more. We clear off down to the South of France now (and Germany for the Nurburgring), with the added bonus of not getting rained on every day!
--
\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
I have a 2001 ford fiesta 1.6 zetec s, i used a power washer to clean all the rubbish out of my wheel arches about a year ago and after i had cleaned them i turned the ignition and the indicator clicker was going crazy!! it was clicking really fast but the indicators werent flashing, eventually it calmed down but now every time its starts raining or gets damp it does it again occasionally!!! any ideas what it is??? Read more
Years ago, flashers were thermally operated.
The current flow heated something which broke the circuit until it cooled down again enough to make a contact again. Thus when one of the bulbs failed, it clicked more rapidly, because the circuit did not stay broken as long.
So, one of the first tests you could usefully do, is to take out one of the indicator bulbs to see if your car does this. If it does, your problem could be caused by a bulb failing to make contact. You, being in the car, would not see the faulty bulb.
I have not tried taking a bulb out on my recent cars, and I always change my bulbs before they wear out -- when they look black. Flashers may no longer be thermally operated but, I guess, the speeding up clicking process will probably still take place (electronically?) to indicate that something is wrong. So clean the bulb contacts and make sure they are contacting properly.
I am importing a 2007 ford focus from the US. I am having a difficult time getting insurance. The dealer wont supply it until i get a registration. The only info i have on it is the VIN. Any suggestions to help me out i only have 2 weeks left!!
Thanks Read more
But you can import a RHD vehicle from Europe, and save money. But anything from USA will be LHD so you're not saving when you factor in depreciation. And import costs will be quite high (type approval, VAT etc).
So I agree this thread must be a windup. i hope it is because the OP surely cannot think this is a good idea.
Folks,
I know this is a common problem (but I can't find out how to search the back room database effectively yet)...
Since it was 2...My Micra Twister 1.0L (98/R). Has had the following problem:
In the morning (almost exclusively) if it doesn't start first time, it doesn't start!
Luckily, I've always lived on a street with a hill and I can bump start it 100% of the time (which is fine unless I stall it right at the bottom of the hill). Point here is it would always catch and start.
Last 2 days, however, it wouldn't catch first time and wouldn't bump either (got the wife to give me as tow start yesterday which was a funny experience as she had never done it before - big terrano pulling little micra all over the road).
Wish I had got something done in the warranty. However, found several hints about resoldering throttle control PCBs and suggestions about air flow sensors. Would appreciate some sound advice on adjustments or which bits to replace (hopefully I can get them from the local scappie).
Thanks... Read more
Folks,
Thanks for all your help...The Silver-Dart lives again...
Swapped in another throttle body from the scappies and running fine now.
Best regards to you all...
ScottieDog
Browse
It's certainly not everyones cup of tea and I've never liked to follow the crowd.
Funny thing is the more she nags me to get rid of it, the more I want to keep it....
On another note - is it possible to find out how many of particular type of car are on the road? I seem to recall that someone (possibly on this forum) managed to get some sort of report from the dvla.