January 2007
My example is the Ford Escort mk2.
One was purchased, used, by my father in the late 70s, it was 3 years old when I first put my head underneath on the drive to check out the rustproofing. There seemed to be just lightly rusted sheet steel all the way across the underfloor area.
At 7yrs it needed welding for the first time, at 10yrs it scraped the MOT after a massive welding up and at 11 yrs it was gone....
I noticed that about 11 to 13 years after the last model of the MK2 came off the production lines, they seemed all gone.
Of course it seemed there were the odd one here or there that perhaps some old boy had kept in a garage and only used in the dry..
But it seemed as though over a 2 year period 99% went to the scrapper.
It had me wondering about other cars of that era and others more modern.
Anyone aware of other cars with seemingly such a *well defined* natural life?
Read more
my megane scenic's heater / demister has stopped working. Its not the fuse or anything obvious. any ideas? Read more
TomTom to offer portable GPS device to the automotive industry
Wolfgang Gruener
January 9, 2007 17:59
Las Vegas (NV) - Pre-installed navigation systems in automobiles do not only have the disadvantage that they are significantly more expensive than most after-market systems, they are also, well, stationary which limits their use.
TomTom said that it will be marketing a GPS navigation system to the automotive industry, which can be embedded into the dash, but also comes with the capability to be removed by users of the system. According to the company, the new device, scheduled to be available this summer, can be coupled with a radio, infotainment head unit, or built directly into the dashboard.
The manufacturer said that the navigation device will provide full audio integration with other components of the car, playing CDs and MP3s in Hi-Fi stereo quality, and will be compatible with spoken instructions and phone calls via the car's speakers.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF > Read more
Another thing to possibly consider is that built-in satnavs will certainly be a boon to HM Gov and other motorist bashers, who will think how wonderful it will be for the "pay by satellite" ideas.
And, of course, our speeds will be noted as well...
Oh the joy of technology...
was geting 51 mpg,but now 47mpg,it loses about 10th of a mile every few journeys,has any body got any idea why.
Read more
And not just one tank but several!!
Did anyone listen to radio 2 at lunchtime today. They were having a discussion about emissions comparing car and aircraft emissions (I think this was on the back of Tony Blair saying that he would continue flying to his holiday destinations). Apparently a return flight to New York is equivalent to each person on that flight doing 10,000 miles in their car. It is quite useful putting it in perspective like that. It also highlighted that flying really continues to be too cheap an option. It is quite often much cheaper to take a domestic flight than the train. So really the pricing structure is all wrong. Flights should be taxed more, trains subsidised and cars taxed less.
Will it happen? Probably not. Read more
747 gross around 360 tonnes say 150 tonnes of fuel at
9lb/gallon is 168k litres.
400 Passengers, 6000 mile flight - 2.4 m passenger miles.
(my estimates may be out)
Equates to 14 passenger miles per litre, my Accord does about
40 passenger miles per litre with four up.
Lets talk gallons not tonnes, lb or ltrs so as to compare with cars mpg.
I reckon a 747 uses on average 2000 gallons an hour ( that is about 8.5 gals per min per engine ), so on a 3600 mile trip with 400 passengers that takes 8 hours:
8 hours x 2000 gallons = 16,000 gallons
3600 miles x 400 passengers = 1,440,000 passenger miles
1,440,000 / 16,000 = 90 mpg per passenger or about equal to your Accord two up.
Hi,
I have a mk2 scirocco GT2 with a weber 32/34dmtl carb.
I've recently been experiencing some problems with the car cutting out just as it starts to accelerate.
it does it randomly and can often be solved by turning the engine off and leaving it to settle for a bit but very often it does it and sticks like it until its settled overnight.
looking aroundf and posting on other news groups i think its either carb icing or some dirt in the carb.
I've got the heated air supply all set up off the manifold but it still does it.
I've taken the part throttle channel heater off the 2e2 but can't figure out where to put it on the weber, does anyone know where it fits?
does anyone have any other suggestions as to what it could be? Read more
The heater bolts onto the adapter plate on the side facing the cam cover.
--
Simplicate and add lightness!!
'Chrysler's chief economist Van Jolissaint has launched a fierce attack on "quasi-hysterical Europeans" and their "Chicken Little" attitudes to global warming'
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6247371.stm
"Chicken Little?" - not exactly minding words!
Read more
This is a fascinating debate as there is not only argument amongst scientists and the public about the science, but also the interpretation of the science. We all see and read different things into the observations as we seek explanation. I well remember Lindzen's participation in a discussion about the greenhouse effect some years ago now where he and other scientists came up with completely different perspectives based on the same data. He has been a consistent nay sayer of climate change.Twenty odd years Paul Ehrlich engendered vigorous discussion and concern about the world population exploding out of control (his book was called The Population Bomb) and whilst accepted as credible then, he is now widely derided.
I think the one thing we can all agree on is that this is a wonderful excuse to clobber the motorist even more, if the environmental taxes dont get you then road pricing will.
MGs
What car manufacturers used to call "cigar lighters" are more often than not used as anything but.
Would there not be a better way of allowing one to power our phones/ satnav etc than by the cumbersome means of that plug that never fits as snugly as one would like? Perhaps a miniature version of a three pin plug?
Is it just down to car makers saving money by not "reinventing the wheel"? Read more
To tjink my Dads 1937 Austin 10 and 1949 Austin 16
both had a two pin 12v supply on the dashboard ,he
used to plug his Lancaster bomber heated gloves and boots into
it.
LandRovers had them too. So does my 1964 Triumph 2000, but under the bonnet mounted on the wing. It was a standard size, for inspection lamp, parking light, map-reading lamp, etc.
Of course, you had to look at the colours, red/black, if the polarity was important.
The outer edge of the L/H front tyre on SWMBO's Renault Modus is wearing down quite badly.
Her brother [my brother in law] swears this is being caused by the power steering and not bad alignment. He has worked for a local tyre fitting firm for 22 years as a tyre fitter so he does have some [relevant] experience on this matter - in my opinion. Apparantly the power steering can cause more 'aggressive' wear than a car without p/s on turns.
He has even checked the alignment [not using laser equipment though] and it is within tolerance.
Question - should I pay to get a 'proper' laser alignment check done? If so what can I expect to pay? Any recommendations - I live in Bristol and work near Swindon.
As new tyres are £80 a pop [fitted] I don't want to pay for a new tyre only to fnd that in a few thousand miles the wear is back again.
Tyres have done 19000 miles and have few thousand left in them - but not if the edge wear is allowed to continue.
Also would having an alignment check be better with new or old tyres fitted? Does it make any difference?
Read more
I think part of this is due to roundabouts.
And being in the verge all the time with the potholes, drain covers and the like.
Hello all,
I am a sales executive in a prestige car dealership and would be interested to get feed back from the general public on their experiences in the pursuit of a car purchase. What do we do right and what do we do wrong. Read more
I've bought 2 SEATs from Westerham Garage- fantastic service. They send me a xmas card every year!
--
Dr Alex Mears
MG BGT 1971
If you are in a hole stop digging...unless
you are a miner.
Browse
Presumably this search relies on
No - the DVLA database gives their current tax status.