December 2018
"The only complete solution is a hydrogen car".
Oh yes?
Just wait a moment whilst I pluck a bagfull of hydrogen out of the air!
Hydrogen in the UK is available either from the steam reforming of natural gas or light fuel oil.
For large users it is available as liquid hydrogen manufactured in France for their rockets.
You can make it by electrolysis of water in "very" expensive plant, and that might happen in a big way if wind or solar power becomes really cheap, (or if steam reforming for fertiliser production is banned or taxed).
It really gets my goat when online reporters talk about hydrogen as if it's some carbon-free fuel. Read more
... is in the news again, with (it seems) a national league table of charge rates. Do we think this 'market' is elastic - to use the economic term - or is the demand for parking space independent of the cost? If the latter, it follows that it is only a money-raising enterprise for the hospital (millions annually in many cases), serving only to make some visitors park somewhere round the corner, and could be described as a tax on the unfortunate. Read more
If you go anywhere near a hospital, I would say you need to track everything yourself and chase it up.
Totally agree. A close relative was supposed to be put on the cancer care pathway just before Christmas - they weren't.
They were told they'd be referred for a CT scan - they weren't, twice....
Hi All
Can I fit 3 average size suitcases in the rear of a Honda Civic 2017 ,I will look myself but don't have the time at present. I need to get 3 cases in the boot and 1 in the back with 2 people when I go on holiday is this do able ... Read more
Car wow reviews, on you tube gives a short review including boot size and fit and finish. Quite useful for researching your next purchase.
These markers of tragedy, which rapidly become unsightly and neglected, seem to be proliferating. I contend that the comfort they presumably give to the deceased's friends and relatives is substantially outweighed by the tens of thousands of mood depressions they cause to passers-by. Is it time for some national guidance for local councils? And another reason for their prompt removal - one in particular is situated between two tricky bends where concentration, not distraction, is needed. Read more
I was doing some trading network installation and testing in the City on the day of the Diana funeral, and was in a MacDonalds for a break (not much else open).
There was a posse of journo's in there staking out one possible cortege route (I think it was secret, probably specifically to avoid the media). I dunno if they;d been drinking or if it just came naturally, but they were being impressively obnoxious....
While cycling slowly along a winding country lane I was aware of an impatient MG SUV behind me. Eventually it was safe to overtake, so he floored it. As it passed, it changed up and there was a distinct transient scrabbling from the wheels as the revs suddenly dropped. Presumably the much vaunted millisecond gear change results in a brief surge of kinetic energy from the engine suddenly spinning more slowly, causing a bit of wheelspin. I don't know whether the MG uses a DSG-type box or not, but it was obviously an automatic. Read more
Slow as a dog, but the A+ Maestro 1.3E would do a genuine 60mpg on a run.- astounding for a mid sized car of the day.
...
Today I had pretty much reversed out of a parking space when I heard a bang. Someone had reversed out of the space opposite, and the rear of their car had gone into the side of my car, destroying the passenger door and part of the sill beneath. I’ve gone through LV insurance, and they suggested using their approved repairer, ABL in Portsmouth. I will get a courtesy car which is excellent. They said I could go through the VW garage for the repair if I wanted, but I said I’d let them handle it.
So, can I assume their repairer is fine, they said they give a five year warranty and are Kite approved?
Secondly, can I assume the other party is at fault given that the rear of their car went into the side of mine? I have dash cam footage which shows that I am out of the parking space and pretty much ready to drive forwards when the impact occurs. Obviously the damage to my car confirms the impact area. There appears to be no damage to their car, maybe some fine wrinkles on the chromed bumper, it was a nine year old Fiat 500, mine is a 2018 Polo bought new! Read more
As said earlier, the other party admitted fault. LV have been reimbursed, £1500 I believe. A week has passed since they got their money and I have yet to receive a refund for the excess, which was £250. Are they obliged to pay that? I admit I don’t understand how this works. I assumed Admiral would pay LV for the cost of the repairs, and LV would reimburse the excess. LV described the excess as an uninsured loss. The personal I spoke to at LV didn’t sound too clued up, so I will phone again in a few days.
I recently had one of the rear corners of my scraped by another vehicle, the marks aren’t significant whatsoever but I would like to have them treated nonetheless. I’m hoping someone with a trained eye and with experience in this area can gauge how much I should be quoted. ... Read more
Hi, Looking at the picures the scuffs are very minor. Before spending lots of £££s go and buy some T cut and a colour match polish. Give the scratched area a good going over a few times with T cut then use the polish. You might be surprised with the result.
Hope this helps...
Advice needed
So we had our Audi stolen around a year go... we sent all the paperwork in like the V5 and keys etc and subsequently received a pay out.
we received a letter from the insurance company in November this year saying they no longer have an interest in the private plate so we can now retain the plate, after doing some digging we have found out the car has been found in Durham .... admiral have sent us the log book back which is still in our name as proof for dvla for the plate.
I want to know even though they have paid out are we still entitled to the car back now it’s been found? Do they insure the risk and not the asset and after all the v5 is still in our name ? Read more
They’ve bought title to it by paying out. You can ask for a price to buy it if you want but even if it’s salvageable and fit to return to the road its write-off status will mean it has little value so don’t sink much money into it if you do.
Hi All, sons Kia Ceed appears to be on the road to needing a new battery. The car isn’t stop start, but putting the reg into the search engines of major car parts suppliers brings up stop/start battery options in excess of £200. One famous auction site, however, gives options from £50 upwards. Is it safe to opt for the cheaper battery, or is there something about the wiring of cars with a stop/ start option that means all cars in the range, even non stop/start, need the uprated battery? Thanks in advance. Read more
Many thanks, I’ll pass that info on.
I've been using Honest John's site for a while now to read car reviews, but I have a question.
Under the car reviews there is a 'Good & Bad' link near the top, see this example:... Read more
Yes, he's a real-life chap, but there are other journalists in the organisation, who put their names to some of the road tests.
Browse
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Yes but by your own admission premium fuels are better, better mpg, better cleaning of engines, better inclusion of additives. Plus for performance engines essential. I had a Cooper S once, the supercharged version, no matter how I drove I got 28mpg. Read Honest John's views and changed to premium, then got 31 to 31 mpg regularly.