On going arguement./
What is the legal stand point on a driver being able to see/watch a tv from his driving position????

I have been told it is ilegal for driver to view entertainment systems from driving seat???

Graham. Read more

there is no water coming out of my washer jets on the front. it still comes out onto the back window. i uncliped the hose that leads to the jet and tried to spray and no water came out. does anyone know wat could be doing this? Read more

Swmbo asked me to pose this question. Her friend took another friend out in her car for visit to somewhere or other and when they returned to the car someone had attempted to break into the car then gave up leaving £300 or so as a a repair bill. The question is that the car owner is peeved that her friend didn't offer to pay some of the bill as an insurance claim is not worth the loss of a no claims. Do you think the passenger has a moral responsibility to contribute. Swmbo and I disagree on this. Read more

Hi all,

I passed my Mazda 323 (model year 2001) on to a friend.

He would like to insert a CD player into the modular audio system.

I've visited a Mazda dealer and asked the parts dept if they could source a CD player for the 323. They told me that there is nothing listed for a CD player against a 323 in the parts catalogue.

It does sound strange that a CD isn't available. Before I try another dealer, has anyone out there acquired a 323 CD player recently? Or, instead of obtaining one via Mazda, is there an equivilent oem version that's suitable? Read more

I?ve long wanted to test drive one of these stunning vehicles, so imagine my surprise and delight when the lady at the car rental desk at Frankfurt Airport gave me the keys to one instead of the Golf I?d actually booked. The Brera turned out to be metallic grey, with enormous alloy wheels, and just as gorgeous as the Ferrari red one I kicked the tyres on at an Alfa Dealer about a year ago. I think it?s great that Alfa put what was basically a concept car into production.

I unlocked the door and climbed in. The seats are covered in highly attractive black and grey and nice smelling leather and, after some fiddling around with the buttons, I found a comfortable driving position. This was a first for me in an Italian car. The fly in the ointment is the head rests which are non-adjustable. The rear seats look attractive but are strictly for people with no legs but, unfathomably, they are fitted with adjustable headrests. Boot space, by the way, is poor but no-one buys something like this for practicality.

Putting the key module thingy into the slot, I pressed the Start Button. Nothing happened. A message on the info panel told me I need to press either the brake or clutch simultaneously to the button. I tried again and then the biggest disappointment of all. Instead of the famous Alfa sonorous howl of a highly tuned 6 or 4 cylinder, the rattle of a tractor engine. Oh dear, it?s a diesel. Reversing out of the parking space revealed the one Achilles Heel of the Giugaro styling. This is a large, wide car, with almost zero rearward visibility and no indication where the bonnet is which, combined with the turning circle of an ocean liner, makes low speed manoeuvring tricky to say the least. Thankfully this model was fitted with parking sensors at the back though it could do with them at the front as well.

Out on the open road, the engine quietened a little, though being a five cylinder still sounded weird, and the car turned out to have accurate steering, and excellent brakes but felt rather nose heavy in bends. I pulled onto the Autobahn and put my foot down ? nothing. I changed down a gear and took off like a rocket, then needed to shift up again sharpish as the engine fell off the torque curve at around 4500 rpm. I took stock of the interior. Nicely put together if not up to BMW standards and very comfortable. There are some ergonomic peculiarities such as a rather strangely calibrated speedo and non-selfexplanatory climate control, but hey, it?s an Italian car. There are 3 instruments in the centre console, one is a turbo boost gauge so you can watch the turbo lag as well as experiencing it.

Onto the unrestricted section and up to 230km/h. Very stable and confidence inspiring and the steering really comes to life at higher speeds. Some wind noise from the frameless windows above 150km/h but otherwise a very relaxing high speed tourer.

Overall I enjoyed my 3 days with a Brera. It gave me a feel good factor to be driving something so jaw droppingly attractive and it literally caused traffic to stop in some of the small towns I drove through where Porsches are so boringly common. For me though, the engine spoiled the picture. It is noisy, has a narrow power band and never leaves you in any doubt that its main purpose is to save money rather than enhance enjoyment. So I?m still going to test drive a dealer model, only next time it?ll be the 3.2 V6.
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