Back to the question of 'road presence', I *do* find that since changing to a much larger car, albeit an oldie with no 'street cred', on the whole I don't get such intimidating behaviour by other drivers towards me. It's not a case of me feeling less vulnerable or driving any differently - it just seems like the bigger your vehicle, the less risk people are going to take with you. Maybe I should get a bus.
The other advantage I've found, although it's horrendously out of sync with good road practice, is that on the rare times when I'm going somewhere unknown, and it's hard to find which lane you're supposed to be in, with the bigger car you can kind of straddle a couple of lanes until signs become clearer, without anything untoward happening. Which was impossible in the Renault 5. No lessons please on this, it's just that I find multi-laned roads an absolute nightmare, with all the arrows pointing in different directions, to the point where I will if at all possible find an alternative route if I can. But it's a little less of a problem with the bigger car.
HF
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HF - *do* get a bus!!!! They're fantastic things for road prescence! I *never* drive in a intimidatory way, but by George do people get out of your way!
By the by, what (if you're willing to tell me) is your oldie with no street cred? I'd be interested to know, being a fan of all things old and decrepit. Getting that way myself! If you don't want to bare all in public, e-mail me. God, that sounds like a come on doesn't it? Sorry...
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LOL Rob, it's common knowledge here anyway, so I have no hesitation in spilling the beans in public!!
Sorry, it's not an old classic for you either - (mind you if you're a fan of all things old and decrepit perhaps you'd like to join my personal fan club ;)
I drive an Astra 1.7D, LS, 1992 J reg. That's it, nothing exciting like Morris Minors and the like, I'm afraid.
Any buses going cheap up your way??
HF
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No, they go brrrmm brrrmm like they do every where else BOOM BOOM!
How does a twenty year old Leyland double decker with a six month old engine straight out of regular service with all the nasty bits fixed for £1000 grab you? Seriously! Make an absolutely fantastic motor home!!! If I had somewhere to put one, I'd buy one like a shot!
For the love of God, will someone please give me a life!
;)
Rob
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No, they go brrrmm brrrmm like they do every where else
Ehem, I set myself up for that one didn't I?!
How does a twenty year old Leyland double decker with a six month old engine straight out of regular service with all the nasty bits fixed for £1000 grab you?
Only problem is, I'm told that my parking of an ordinary car requires a space of at least 3 bus-lengths. Trying to park a bus I'd need a whole street cleared of traffic.
Make an absolutely fantastic motor home!!!
Used to think about that - nowadays I'd be more worried about someone breaking in while I was sleeping :(
For the love of God, will someone please give me a life!
If someone does, can you please tell me where you got it from, and if they're easily come by???? ;) Rob
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As far as I'm aware, you can't just get another life 'off the shelf' as it were. However, I believe that there's a rather good computer game called 'Better Than Life' which indulges your wildest fantasy (yes, even that one). Oh hang on, I'm confusing fiction with real life again aren't I. Damn you, Red Dwarf...
I would seriously consider a bus for a motor home, especially the Mercedes 709D mini buses that are used round these parts (basically bread vans with seats). Because they aren't going to be used for passenger carrying any more, the emergency exit can be welded up and the passenger foldy door thing (see my technical grasp on the subject!) can be replaced with a locking door. Sadly, they tend to be very much more expensive (£5k) than the bigger buses simply because they are newer.
Anyway I'm starting to sound like a sad old beggar aren't I? Oh, how I wish I was hip and trendy again. Actually, I've never been hip and trendy, but that's life eh? ;-)
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I would imagine that the words 'hip and trendy' are no longer considered 'hip and trendy' amongst today's youth. But now that I've said something with no motoring connection, I had better shut up.
HF
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Just throwing my 4p re being hassled on m/ways etc. I noticed a total change in attitude when I changed from a small Corsa to a new shape Mondeo. No tailgating, people let me out, let me in. Overall motoring experience was a lot better, and much less stressful. Was surprised as I thought that I would be put in the Rep catagory with this car!
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Well good luck to you Yoby,
Is anyone else in agreement then that size *does* matter, as far as vehicles are concerned?
HF
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I know exactly what you mean Yoby. I went from a Fiat Uno to a Ford Granada and the difference was amazing. I may as well be driving a Chieftain Tank sometimes, for all the road space I'm given.
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What's the betting that tomorrow I will have to eat my words on this subject! :-)
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There's more than an outside chance I'd wager!
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>>How does a twenty year old Leyland double decker with a six month old engine straight out of regular service with all the nasty bits fixed for £1000 grab you? Seriously! Make an absolutely fantastic motor home!!!
I'd love it. Probably get my head stove in by SWMBO, but I'd love it.
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ITMA! Blimey, you get around, dontcha!
Last year, for £2400, including wheels and tyres, I could have bought one of the very same Leyland Atlanteans on a 'Y' plate that I drove around Southport. It had been fully restored, repainted and reconditioned. If I'd have had storage, believe me, I'd have snapped his hand off. Fortunately, my SWMBO knows that I'm a sad old git and that eventually I'm going to come home and say 'guess what I've bought darling!'.
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>>eventually I'm going to come home and say 'guess what I've bought darling!'.
Mmm, well, did that with a Ferrari a few months ago. Can't say it went down very well. Just done it with a Sat Nav system and that appears to be a little difficult to cope with as well.
I am trying to broach the subject of a XKR, and that definitely is not going well, even with the promise of selling the others (except the Landcruiser, of course)
But I could fancy the idea of a double decker camper !
All together now........
We're going where the sun shines brightly.
We're going where the sea is blue.
We've seen it in the movies.
Now let's see if it's true.
We're..........................
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>>eventually I'm going to come home and say 'guess what I've bought darling!'. Mmm, well, did that with a Ferrari a few months ago. Can't say it went down very well. Just done it with a Sat Nav system and that appears to be a little difficult to cope with as well. I am trying to broach the subject of a XKR
You see, that's the difference between us and the laydeez. We love toys and things that go 'brrrrmmmm' very loudly, but they just can't grasp it (at least none of the ladies I know can).
BTW, on the subject of an XKR, an architect friend of mine treated himself six months ago to a 'P' plate XK8 and now *really* wishes that he hadn't. Seriously expensive to run. And now the temp gauge is doing a silly kind of up-and-downy dance and he's too scared to take it to the garage! So he's ended up back driving the Maestro 1.6 auto that he had before. I don't know why he bothered!
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The difference between men and boys
is only the price of their toys.
Why don't women understand that all the good things in life have buttons, flashy lights and make good noises ??
The one thing wrong with the Landcruiser was lack of buttons and flashy lights. *That's* why I had to buy the Sat Nav. But does she understand, oh no; mutters on about useless toys and how men have no restraint or common sense, no understanding at all. Doesn't she realise that there is only one true advantage of being male - there is no expectation on the part of society that we will *ever* grow up and stop playing with toys. In fact, we're not even expected to become emotionally mature until we're about 160 years old.
Mind you, the same logic doesn't apply where a new pair of shoes is concerned, and as far as I can see, given a choice between settling the national debt of half a dozen third world countries or letting my wife go shoe shopping, I'd prefer the smaller amount involved in settling the third world debt.
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I have a sneaky feelin that HF has retired for the evening as, given the direction of this thread, an HF-esque interjection seems almost inevitable. I have no wish to embarrass SWMBO but she just doesn\'t get this whole boys and their toys thing. In fact, it\'s so bad that she classifies cars on the way they look from the front. So we have (and I kid you not), \'happy\', \'grumpy\', \'growly\' and \'plain pfd off\'. When looking at a car with a view to buying it, I am expressly forbidden (despite the fact that SWMBO does not hold a driving licence and will therefore be merely a passenger. This, to me debars her from any voting rights) from buying a \'grumpy\', \'growly\' or \'plain pfd off\' car. Now, the fact is that the best driving, cheapest to run, most lovely car on the planet may have a front end like a slapped pfd. But I would not be allowed to buy it. Well, I would, but the sulky silences and cessation on privileges would just not make it worth while. Do you know where I\'m coming from, or am I just hopelessly hen-pecked?
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That's not fair. I enjoy "our" toys as much as he does. Just the Harley is too heavy for me to handle so I have the Virago instead. But we Filipinas maybe understand our men better --hee-hee....
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Some of us ladydeez can! I think I have more boys toys than all the men I know (all platonic before you get ideas....) Flashy lights, buttons, motorized volume controls, burbling v8s.....
teabelly
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Goodness, Teabelly, I never realised you were a female before!!
Rob, your hunch was correct, probably just as well too, otherwise your discussion with M would have gone on half the night with HF-esque (love it) interjections.
For the record, shoes do not excite me one little bit, they are just something you usually have to put on your feet before venturing out of doors.
But I *will* concede that the vast majority of us do not understand the obsession with gadgets and things that light up and make noises - which makes me wonder, how come none of you seem to be fascinated by washing machines?
HF
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GRowlette and Teabelly - I am very pleased to see that there are some ladies out there who like toys, flashy lights, twiddly bits and engines that make a wonderful noise.
HF - I am pleased to see that you buck the trend and shoes don't excite you. And, whilst I'm not exactly fascinated by washing machines, I can work them (after a fashion). You see, they've not got enough lights and noises. If someone made one with a fourteen inch touch sensitive screen that lit up in all manner of interesting ways, then I'd be there like a shot!
Quick, talk cars!! Mark's coming!! I just know that we're going to be told off for being silly very soon! ;-)
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"You see, they've not got enough lights and noises."
Our new Zanussi, definitely definitely enough lights :-)
hardly any noise, which actually is quite cool, or should that be quiet cool :-)
and it was light enough to fetch in the back of the estate so no delivery charge, (vague motoring link)
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Rob: well I'm in love with this guy so what to do. V-8's and Harleys, they're part of the deal I signed up for and yes they make great noise! Will post some more pics of us on the upcoming Bike Week.
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GRowlete, I'm curious! Is it a V8 in a Harley, or just plain V8 and Harleys? If it's the latter, then cool! If it's the former then you and your better half are as mad as a box of frogs!
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Mr Rob, I do know a gent in Florida who put a 327 cu in Chevy V-8 in a trike frame, not uncommon. Last time I saw him he wanted to put a nitrous kit on there as well, said he wanted something that (italics) really moved....mad all right. You can check Lee's site for a pic of our current V-8 (one of them anyway), and the current Softail lo-rider Harley. It's the only one in the Philippines with dual headlights. It's a bit lonely so I'm picking up a Fat Boy with police spec: blue lights and siren next week to keep it company. Growlette's shapely derriere finds it a bit much for anything more than the the usual club ride to the bars.
As for road presence, 35 years ago I drove a 1955 Leyland Tiger Cub (had the flat engine) with Ball and Chain #1 as partner. It cost £225 and was painted psychedelic colors all over and did at least one round trip London-Nepal with 20 or so what were termed hippies. Many local hand-rolled cigarettes were smoked to pass the time, since 50 mph was about all it made, but it never went wrong and driving it did wonders for my biceps. It was a real pig. We were stopped by the police in Austria and I was told my vehicle's color vos inkorrekt and please not to stay in Austria. On return we came off the ferry at Newhaven late at night and stopped on Brighton seafront for a drink. When we came out a Morris Minor with a couple of Pandas in it asked why we had no tax disc. I explained we had only just arrived. Where have you been they asked. Kathmandu, Officer, I said......
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Hmm, toys and twiddly bits....my initial reaction is not suitable for public expression.
HF
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Tsk tsk, HF! See what you mean though! I could have worded that a little better!
Anyhow, road prescence....I don't believe that many of the current 48 postings have helped the poor beggar that started this thread in the first place!
I think that one of the best cars for road prescence would be a Renault Avantime, but I doubt you could precure one for £15k. So that bit of advice was fairly useless, then!
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"Anyhow, road prescence....I don't believe that many of the current 48 postings have helped the poor beggar that started this thread in the first place!
Surely the ultimate answer to this and meeting the original criteria would involve two more R's
Rolls and Royce ?!? Used naturally.
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which makes me wonder, how come none of you seem to be fascinated by washing machines? HF
Probably because we are the poor beggars who have to plumb them in, crawling around under sinks, and then we have to skin our knucles trying to fix the things when SWMBO forgets to take change out of my pockets and it jams the mechanism ...
:)
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when SWMBO forgets to take change out of my pockets and it jams the mechanism ... :)
Simple solution to save all that knuckle-grazing - check your own pockets?....... ;)
HF
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