December 2006
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/...m
Doesn't even make the front pages after all that fuss a few months ago.. Another British motoring Icon (the factory) withering away without virtually no-one noticing.
Does anybody care anymore?
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Why on Earth should this be locked? I have just opened the link without any problem.
You need to look at your pc. Read more
I thought PG had made it clear as to why she locked it.
Given that I can't access the clip either, then the decision remains until the OP (or anyone else) can clarify PG's earlier queries by email.
DD.
Fog lights. There, that should be enough to start a thread! ;-)
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L\'escargot. Read more
Fog lights are the future. What better reason to give someone a tug and breath test them eh ?
Hi guys i have a problem with my off side cooling fan.
I have got a replacement but i am having problems removing the old one
I have removed the front grill area exposing the blades, i have removed the cir clip on the blades but it would budge.
I note from the new motor it has three bolts holding it in place but with the blades still on it makes it impossble to get to these bolts
Anyone help me out there
Cheers guys
Dai O Read more
The motor itself was the problem with ours, the spindle was loose so changing the blades wouldn't have helped.
I don't know how they got the bumper off, but the Haynes book doesn't make it look too hard a job, looks like a few nuts to undo!
This is a different topic from the current Prius thread, so rather than hijack that let's start a new one.
Just back from our annual blissful holiday in South Africa, where we stayed a weekend with friends who have a new Prius. We thought we'd try one: I do recommend Octagon Toyota in Bracknell, Berks, who let you out on your own with a demonstrator for an hour or so. SWMBO and I tried a Prius followed by a 140 bhp diesel Verso, which is about the same price(list about £18k). Either could potentially suit us as an eventual successor to the B-class.
Prius -
Surprisingly lively, although the petrol engine is quite noisy under hard acceleration. Would be very economical if most of your mileage is in traffic, with the electric motor to the fore: at motorway speeds the petrol engine is working hard and would be pushed to achieve 40 mpg.
Quite comfortable and lots of room in the back. Shallow boot but a big space under the floor. Silly spoiler and steeply-raked rear window makes rear vision difficult.
Nasty foot-operated parking brake.
Verso -
More lively than the Prius: automatic available only with the petrol version. Diesel engine quite subdued, much quieter than the B-class (faint praise!). 6-speed gearbox (excellent dash-mounted gearlever) so very good on motorways.
Comfortable - 7 seats whether you want them or not. They all fold flat but just backrest on to cushion, so the floor is high.
There is a 180 bhp version which is a lot more expensive, largely because the TVs in the headrests are standard. I was told that the extra performance is mainly at the top end - I certainly didn't feel that the 140 was underpowered.
Both very impressive and much more enjoyable to drive than older Toyotas - as indeed is elder daughter's 1.3 Yaris. Definitely worth putting on your shortlist: the Prius if you drive mainly in traffic, the Verso if like me you do a lot of long runs.
Hope that was helpful ! Read more
In support of the above:-
The car that became the Prius began life in 1993, when Eiji Toyoda, Toyota's chairman and the patriarch of its ruling family, expressed concern about the future of the automobile. Yoshiro Kimbara, then executive vice president in charge of R&D, heard the rumblings and embarked on a project known as G21 (for global 21st century) to develop a new small car that could be sold worldwide. He set two goals: to develop new production methods and to wring better fuel economy from the traditional internal combustion engine. His target was 47.5 miles per gallon, a little more than 50% better than what the Corolla, Toyota's popular small car, was getting at the time.
Full story at:-
money.cnn.com/2006/02/17/news/companies/mostadmire...m
I know people are very quick to criticise the Prius (and I am not particularly a fan) but if you read the above it will give some explanation of where Toyota's thinking is with the Prius. It's easy to be clever after 13 years of development on Toyota's part but maybe after reading some of the cynicism may go a little.
After all the fuss last week about falling 4x4 prices I approached my local Toyotal dealer with trepidation when test driving a replacement (yaris). I was even more horrified than anticipated to be offered £6,500. The car is a March 2003, GX model five door auto with added parking sensors and has an, admittedly high, mileage of 63,500 miles but in very good condition. Please can anyone give me any advice on whether this is reasonable or not. I was offered £7,500 by a mini dealer and £7,800 by Honda at the end of August and have done little mileage since.
The reason I have been dithering is because all the cars which interested me would not fit down my steep drive and I have only just had it re-engineered. I am also wondering whether I am being treated like an idiot in being told there is no reduction on the list price - on mentioning the What Car target price I was told, basically, that this was all a lof of nonsense. Of course, I would get another £1,000 on the car if I go down the finance route (although, as this is not 0%, it would not save me the £1,000 quoted).
Any advice would be really welcome. My instinct is to go to another dealer. Thanks for your knowledgeable advice. Read more
Well said leonora! Fact is that you WANT a new car, and have come to the forum looking for advice as to how to get one. We forum members, as presumed motoring enthusiasts, should be happy to offer appropriate advice.
You didn't come to the forum to get killjoys telling you that you're best off keeping the car you've got!
Anyway, someone will be on here in a minute suggesting that you need to get a used Mondeo TDCi ;-)
FWIW, if the Toyota dealers won't offer you a decent price on a trade-in of one of their own cars, I'd give them the bird and go and look at a Micra or Mitsubishi Colt or something else instead. Toyota are not exactly rewarding customer loyalty are they? I'm sure another brand will be happy to give you a higher trade-in price just to win you over to their brand.
Something to cheer everyone up, at this time of year...Bah Humbug
8< SNIP
1. Not at all motoring related.
2. The content of the now deleted clip was an infringement of the forum policy on the posting of video clips. Namely being of adult content.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=46222
DD. Read more
i think i have more than 1 problem with the car and they hav all come at once. the car is overheating after only a few miles of driving and the revs drop to below 500, the heater sometimes blows cold air, and there is sometimes a knocking sound from the engine when the revs drop. the was also a lot of smoke/steam coming out of the back. the oil levil is fine and its not leaking water, the only water loss is in the form of steam from the bottle.
any ideas? Read more
Does the radiator get hot and cooling fan come on?
Could also be water pump which might cause the heater to go cold.
Steam out the exhaust is not that unusual in winter depending on temp & humitidty etc, and does not automatically signify HG failure but combined with the other symptoms is doesn't look good.
Assuming the radiator is getting hot then Purhaps start with a compression test?
www.nothingtoxic.com/uploads/c9345aac15c2c0d6432e3...v
The above link is to a disturbing (but not gory) video clip.
It depicts an actual head-on collision between a limousine and a car. The limousine chauffeur and his 5-year old girl passenger were killed instantly (the 5-year old girl was decapitated). The car driver survived and is in custody.
The accident was caused by the car driver drunk-driving on the wrong side of the road; the limo chauffeur had no time to do anything to avoid the car.
This story resonated with me because something similar (on a much smaller scale) almost happened to me 2 years ago: I made a post here about it entitled (rather flippantly) "Small earthquake in Chile, no casualties", a pun to emphasise that it was a scary event but I got away with it with nothing worse than a clipped bumper. In my case, the other driver was on the wrong side of the road and had no insurance. The police weren't interested; and it was in the days before I had a flash camera phone (which I could have used to photograph the other car on the wrong side of the road after the accident).
Has anyone got any thoughts on the feasibility of installing grille-mounted (or dashboard-mounted) video cameras? Similar to what the cops use.
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In the light of this:
"The car driver survived and is in custody."
The following statement worries me while the case is active...
"The accident was caused by the car driver drunk-driving on the wrong side of the road; the limo chauffeur had no time to do anything to avoid the car"
I can't open the clip so I'm kind of working blind, but until someone tells me otherwise, this thread is locked.
PG
.******** Read more
As you can see, I cannot refrain from swearing, so therefore one of the very nice moderators has taken the liberty of disabling my account before I make an even bigger idiot of myself than I have already done.
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,the
If it's the 50+ generation that understands all this, how come we're in this mess? It all happened on their watch after all.