June 2008
Read in a science mag recently that scientists have the ability to make buildings with floors sandwiched with some electricity generating technodooberry stuff that creates a charge with movement. It was claimed the footfalls of thousands of employees walking through the foyer of a building could generate enough elastictrickery to power the lights etc. The same could be done for shopping malls etc.
What if the same stuff was applied to a motorcar. i.e the slightist movement of panels, or floorpan generated sufficient charge to top up batteries. maybe a generator could be combined with the wheels spinning or the suspension working, so that each time a bump was hit, a charge is created and stored. You'd never run out of juice in London with all those speed humps!
Anyone else got any ideas on saving planet Erf whilst still being able to enjoy the freedom of a car? Read more
Hi folks,
Just wondering what people's thoughts are on the Proton Savvy compared to similar sized / priced cars...
Don't see many of them about on the streets, but Autotrader (along with Daewoo Matiz and Ford Ka's) has hundreds of them...
For example 2007 (07) Proton Savvy 1.2 Street (rear parking sensors, air con etc) 1,168 miles on the clock = £4999
Sounds a great price for a car with less than 1200 miles on the clock.... Read more
The reason they are cheap is because few people know what they are and as such, need to be cheap to catch the imagination. Price is good for sure, so if thats all you care about its a great value option.
Interesting styling is about all I can say about it. Its not very frugal for a small car, is unexceptional in almost every respect and dealers are thin on the ground. Emissions are not as good as they can be, but its old-tech as Protons always are.
It really depends if you want a small car or a great small car for a little bit more cash really.
Might be hard to sell on with almost zero market awareness.
I have been considering various supermini size cars and the Fiat Grande Punto had been fairly high on my list for a while. However, it does seem that any model above the smallest engined variant has a Sport spec with the accompanying sports suspension. This is not what I want which is a bit more power but a comfortable ride. The roads in my area are pretty bad and I don?t need regular visits to the dentist to replace fillings.
Then I saw the new Mazda 2 and fell for the looks of this as I did for the Punto. However, it seems that the most ?powerful? variant is a Sport version again (1.5 Sport). Does anyone know if this has sports suspension as well? I find that Sports suspension on a medium size car is not too bad but on a small car can be pretty tiresome.
Read more
Try a Suzuki Swift 1.5 GLX or a Yaris 1.3 TR as well. The Yaris seems more expensive but better deals are on offer (assuming you're buying new). The ride on both seems fine; neither is the sports model (Swift Sport / Yaris SR - by the way the Swift Sport is faster, whereas the Yaris SR is a cosmetic job).
Elder daughter has just got her third 1.3 Yaris. We looked at a Mazda 2 but it didn't do anything that the Yaris doesn't, and the local Mazda dealer was a disgrace, in contrast to the excellent Toyota garage (Octagon Bracknell).
hi my car smokes like hell black smoke not all the time just when accelerating hard when the turbo kicks it runs fine no loss in power and so on only when i first get in it when i set off it will judder slightly then wont do it all day i put some injector cleaner in it 2 weeks prior can anway provide me with the answer i need thanks Read more
oh, and consider trying millers derv treatment, reputed to work wonders
I will be returning to live in the UK next month after 5 years away, and I need to buy a secondhand (c.3 years old) car quickly. I want a petrol 1.4 or 1.6, to keep insurance down. A Focus would fit the bill, but I have been attracted by the Corolla, and Mazda-3 because of their supposed greater reliability. However, I hired a Corolla about 6 years ago and I remember what an awful gearchange it had. Am I right in thinking Ford gearboxes are the most precise? Is it the same in the Mazda (Ford subsidiary)? I never like hunting for gears.
I have also wondered about the Ceed - I know secondhand models are only 2007, but I am attracted by the long warranty. I would welcome readers opinions on these various cars, as I want to be able to make my mind up quickly - and not waste time on too many test drives etc.
Thanks,
Paul Read more
i think with zero no claims a focus/corolla will be silly money to insure
if it was me id just go buy a new fiat panda diesel for 6300 new, then its only group 2 insurance, 35 quid road tax, and miles for not much fuel
especially if young driver on policy, and/or depending where you live, will it be garaged or not etc
use the money you save to hire a bigger car for the odd week or weekend you need it
also if youve been out of the country for a while be careful cos road tax is now tied to emissions of car, and some cars in this category are due a steep rise in road tax soon (if labour can cling on to power)
right i'm dealing with this bravo 1.2 16v which when you put your foot down the revs pic up but nothing realy happens, i'm thinking something along the lines of throttle possitioning sensor or a blocked fuel filter, but i can't seem to find it, the engine manegment flashes for a while but eventualy goes, the problm is more likely to happen when running cold. thanx Read more
Kevz
If the revs pick up, but the car doesn't increase speed; then a slipping clutch comes to mind.
Interesting motors in this weeks Autobild especially the Dacia and the Alfa
www.autobild.de/ Read more
Current car is leased from the finance division of the manufacturer with leasing company as the owner/registered keeper. After a number of visits to the dealer for different, significant issues which are now escalating it's time to consider rejecting. Leasing company are denying all blame saying it's up to me to reject via the supplying dealer whereas my view is that I have a contract for them to provide me with a working vehicle.
I've searched to no avail for any similar cases so can anyone suggest the best way forward ? Read more
Is this a business lease or a personal one?
If it's a business lease then bear in mind consumer legislation doesn't apply in the same way as it does to private customers. You'll have to rely more on breach of contract.
The tyre tread depths on our Zugara are coming down to around 3mm and will soon need replacing. The car is fitted with OEM Bridgestones 215/45-18. According to the owners manual and the tyre label fitted to the car, this is the correct size. When I was doing my research for buying the replacemnt tyres, all the sellers websites came up with a different size - 225/40-18. I've used the tyre calculator at www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html to compare the tyres.
The wrong size is a much cheaper tyre than the original and only differs in rolling circumference by -2%. However, this means a 2% increase in fuel consumption. Opting for the wrong size will save around £120 for a set of tyres but inrease the fuel bill by 2%.
Any thoughts? Read more
Tt
Why not just stick with the correct size and make of tyre.
That way you won't have to declare modifications to your insurer and there will be no need to lose sleep over it.
I`ve been pondering renewable and looking into it with not too precise calculations.Well, really no calculations, just `guess-timation` which we all know doesn`t often mean much;)
That said, I looked at home `windmills`. Seems you can sell back to the grid any spare power ..
(visions of a battery car on the drive charging at night)
But it seems you get around 40 watts in a 10mph wind rising to 400 watts only if a jet stream blows over the roof. Best bet, no wind and so on and gentle breezes i bet you would be lucky to get a constant 40 watts over a year.
Contrast that with the house storage heaters drawing 9,000 watts through a winter night, that`s excluding the part heated by gas and without the 300 watt TV, kettle, lights, computers and so on.
Not much spare capacity then to charge an electric car at night... How many roof `windmills` would I need to break even on electricity? (Excluding the cost of the equipment) selling spare to the grid to compensate for windless periods?
Renewable doesn`t work in other ways too. I was looking at torches today. Hand cranked one`s can get twenty minutes or so if you wind the handle like mad and get 3 or so dim LEDS. Or you can buy a 20 LED (3Dcells) torch that will last for 100 hours full on.
(OK if there`s a nuclear winter and so on that`s different, but then there would be other issues beyond hand cranking a feeble torch)
It all just seems to highlight the actual trivial power outputs of this sort of generation and solar equipment. The inefficiency must surely be similar with the bigger `wind farms`being proposed off our coasts?
No chance of a `green` pure electric car then, when all of the wind farms combined will not even be able to power the nations electric kettles.
A disappointment (but no surprise looking into it)
Regards
and yes, I chose the 20 LED battery torch Read more
I suspect people must fit these roof top `windmills` believing they are generating a significant amount of energy for them. (why else) I thought a `motoring` slant may explore that in a context acceptable to the forum, ;) as we all know that the *ultimate* automotive power will be electricity, whether that takes 30 years or 100.
I`m quite sceptical that roof top generators are anything much more than a green gimmick, but am not sure of exactly how useless they are in the context of modern domestic electrical demands. Maybe one of them would be up for charging an electric bicycle on a `now and then` basis?
Or is it really just half the fairy lights on the tree if there`s a strong wind on Christmas day?
;)
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>>. i.e the slightist movement of
It does, they do. Especially where different metals are contiguous in the presence of moisture and road salt. Makes a little battery whose only effect is to accelerate and worsen corrosion. Ask any one with an old aluminium-panelled car.