Are you going to the Motor Show?
No, I thought not.
No, I can't be bothered either.
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yes I am going
far easier to get to than brum for me
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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If it was at the NEC I would go. London is just too much hassle and expense.
Why not alternate locations each year?.
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Went once. Hated it really. Earl's Court and Olympia are just down the road but I can't be bothered, even though I cd park free within easy walkers of either. Nor would I bother with Paris or Milan or any other.
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I understand it isn't in a real place but on some reclaimed swamp on the wrong side of the river at the wrong end of London.
Does that make me want to go after all?
No it doesn't.
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If you mean its being held at the regenerated heart of London, and hence the worlds, commercial birthplace and cradle of civilisation
then Yes I am going
Fairly pleased you aint going lud, all those old wrinklies in wheelchairs does tend to clutter the place up a tad.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Went to Earls Court Motor show in Oct 1995. Fab day out, plus there were lots of smart birds giving away freebies, including Marlboros!
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Looks like it'll be a real pain to get there (heading over from Oxford....not my best idea ever) but looking forward to it.
Anyone else going to be there next Tuesday?
Lee -- There\'s no place like 127.0.0.1
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I went yestrday ;)
It was supprisingly easy to get to.
To be fair though, if i didn't get the tickets free through work, I wouldn't bother going.
Not really anything that new or exciting if your read the motoring press. And very little in the way of freebe giveaway's.
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Yup, I'll be driving down from Liverpool a week on Saturday.
It's a fathers day pressie from me to my dad and I got a 3 for 2 ticket offer, so I'm also treating one of my uncles as well.
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Fairly pleased you aint going lud, all those old wrinklies in wheelchairs does tend to clutter the place up a tad.
OOOOh TVM, you do know how to get a girl's heart racing... Perhaps I will come after all. What do I look out for, a teenager in a baseball cap?
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London, the 'cradle of civilisation'? Gulp.
Hope that was an ironic comment, TVM.
I guess that, to be fair, although Athens has the Parthenon and Rome the Coliseum, London has the Millennium Dome...is it still there?
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I can't believe it's held in London on principle. Apart from being probably the most hateful place to own and drive a car in the whole of the UK, there's also the congestion charge and a car hating mayor. Why give the revenue and business to such an anti-car city?
No I won't be going. I'll wait until it's back in Brum.
Cheers
DP
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Perhaps I will come after all. What do I look out for, a teenager in a baseball cap?
DOH showing your age Lud, I will be the one in a hoodie
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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But don't you whippersnappers wear the hoodie OVER the baseball cap? I see it all the time round here.
Just the weather for it too!
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Especially when a perspiring Tory politician bears down on you with arms spread wide for a cosy hug.
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I understand it isn't in a real place but on some reclaimed swamp on the wrong side of the river at the wrong end of London.
How wrong can you be? It is on Royal Victoria Dock with some nice hotels and an excellent Thai Restaurant nearby, as well as a ship hotel.
Well served by Docklands Light Railway and London City Airport. The old docks cranes are still there as a monument, and a quite groovy bridge over the dock with good views of London.
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If all goes well and SWMBO gets her new MINI next Wednesday as promised, I might go on Thursday and get on to the MINI barge....
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In response to DP?s comments about having to pay the congestion charge. The show is at Excel, which is no where near the congestion charge zone - no need to pay anything to Ken to get there.
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i have been to every motor show since 1984 either in the NEC or to the Motorfairs at Earls Court. Shan't be going this year though.
The NEC is easy, jump in the car, two and a bit hours to the car park, no problem. To get to the London show jump in the car, contemplate the M25 or parking at Richmond and tubing and DLR across the city, or getting a train to Waterloo then the tube and DLR or even train to Waterloo then boat.
Too much hassle either way.
Also when the show was in the Autumn there was nothing else going on. In July we're about to go on holiday, there's a music festival to go to, or air shows or motor racing.
Lastly the show will be wholly in the school holidays so whichever day you go you won't be able to see anything for the crowds.
The last NEC show was fantastic with loads of activities, displays and a huge off road course.
Sorry, but I can't get enthusiastic about the docklands show, even with the prospect of the world debut of the new Vauxhall Corsa.
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totally agree stackman and apparently you cant even get a decent glass of water down there either.......
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NEC at Brum is great: easy to get to and a good show.
Went to one Motor Show at Olympia once (from the wilds of Sunny Stoke - god's own country - at least today and this week when sun is shining).
Can't be bothered again. Road system, chavs, London .. not for me...
As for London being the birthplace of civilsation: which one? If it's a Balir one count me as uncivilised...
Now where was the steam engine invented? And the car? London? And Magna Carta?
Typical Londoners... don't know their own history:-)
madf
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I used to regularly go to the show in Brum, living in the midlands it was just so easy to get to. Less than half an hour and always a certainty of parking, with the choice of a free bus to the gates or a short walk past the lake. Can't be beaten.
There's no way I'm going to make the 3-4 hour trek to Docklands though. As for the NEC, I don't care how much the parking costs or how old fashioned the "big drafty sheds" are (who cares what the building looks like, I thought the motor show was about cars?) I just hope the motor show comes back to the spiritual home of the motor car - the west midlands!
Of course. all the London based media are loving the fact the show is on their own doorstep, they've always been quick to criticise the NEC for supposed weaknesses and relished rubbishing the show at every chance they got - leading to naturally falling attendances and loss of interest by manufacturers.
How about a yearly show (instead of bi-annually), one year at Docklands, one year at the NEC? Then we'd all be happy? Apart from the poor Scots who have to travel light years either way!
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In response to DP?s comments about having to pay the congestion charge. The show is at Excel, which is no where near the congestion charge zone - no need to pay anything to Ken to get there.
Sorry, didn't make my post very clear. I know it's outside the zone, but the only city in the country that charges for car use and has such an openly anti-car mayor should not get the revenue and income from a motor show out of principle.
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OTOH, isn't having a car show in London like sticking a big V up to Ken and his anti-car dogma?
In which case I'm all for it! ;)
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"Apart from the poor Scots who have to travel light years either way ! "
Not true. Both the NEC and Excel are very close to airports eg Birmingham and London City.
There are around 15 flights a day (except at weekends) between Edinburgh and London City. There are also a four flights on weekdays into London City from Dundee
I would imagine a Scot could reach Excel faster than someone living in the Home Counties.
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now let me see
Schloss TVM toNEC
M25 Jam J11 to J15
M40 toM42
M42 Jam j3a toJ6
Nec Que into carpark
Nec long walk or wait for bus to sheds
Bus driver uniteligible due to strange accent
Schloss TVM to Excel
Aircon train to Waterloo 30mins
Fast tube to Stratford 15 mins
DLR to excel 5 mins
Ooh yes its NEC *every* time
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Long walk? You are kidding me? The centre is like 5-10 minutes walk at most from the furthest car parks. I've been to the NEC on countless occasions and stopped bothering with the free buses long ago because the short walk just was too easy. Directly comparable to the walk from DLR - which I have used too.
You did take the well signed shortcut through the underpass and not the long on road route the buses uses, I assume?
There's also Birmingham International train station for those that find the car journey too tricky. No queues on the trains! ;) Although if you're local like me, you know all the back routes out of the NEC and past the slow bit of the M42 anyway...trade secret though.... :-D
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Yes OilBurner, and let's start lobbying to revive the idea of a nice GP and sports car race circuit, to be used for a total of a fortnight a year, extending from Marble Arch to Victoria and passing either side of Buckingham Palace... Route obviously Park Lane in one direction but should take in the Serpentine Bridge. Of course the speed bumps in the park would have to be taken away and put back along with a certain amount of street furniture, but are we bothered? London can afford it thanks to the Congestion charge...
Come on Livingstone! Do something popular for a change! (smirk)
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LOL!
The burning question is: would the Formula 1 cars have to pay the congestion charge? ;)
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Inner m25 is where money is. It's that simple. Year after year more and more companies resigned from going to NEC, and so did press and people who were charged their curiosity in gold for the priviledge.. All wrong reasons. They want the show to regain good name, they want to attract international premieres, if it won't happen in London, you can as well scrap the whole idea all together.
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[Nissan 2.2 dCi are NOT Renault engines. Grrr...]
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The NEC lost the Motor Show because of dwindling attendance figures. Given that London Docklands is just too difficult to get to, for the two-thirds of our population outside SE England, it'll be interesting to see the attendance figures this year.
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Me neither drbe. I only ever go to those held at the NEC. A local coach firm used to do an 'all-in' kind of service where the entry fee and bus fare were all combined into one, which proved good value and convenient.
London is a pain, and its just too far away to go just for the motor show. At least the NEC was a relatively central location....
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"Inner m25 is where money is. It's that simple ".
A few points on the above, and earlier comments by others.
i) "Poor" people buy cars too, and also people go to dream about cars they can't afford. Not ALL posh car companies are snooty about letting the hoi-polloi on (Bentley for example let anyone on) and anyway, most exhibitors are mass-manufacturers.
ii) Rich southerners can generally afford to leave their beloved metropolis for an afternoon to go to Birmingham! An hour on a train is hardly going to put anyone off going is it?
iii) I live in Cheshire. 3rd richest area in Britain. Areas of Yorkshire are also very rich. Not ALL of the money is in London, Londoners are just so self-important they assume it is. Yes there IS a lot of money there, but (believe it or not London-junkies!!!!) MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN THE UK, AND THEREFORE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WEALTHY FOLK LIVE OUTSIDE THE M25!!! Hard to believe isn't it? But it's true.
Birmingham is in the centre of the country. Incidentally TVM, I find a lot of southerners "unintelligible". South London Ongy accents and that horrid Hertfordshire Mockney are THE most irritating accents in the world, I'd much rather talk to a Brummie, even though they do sound miserable "orl the toime"!
Before anyone starts to pick on me, I used to live in London. 6 years of my life in fact. I moved back to Cheshire through choice. I don't hate London, it just doesn't suit my temperament. What I DO hate is smug anti-provincialism from people who think the South is some sort of mecca.
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smug anti-provincialism from people who think the South is some sort of mecca
Not at all, just make sure your prayer mat is pointing south.
Like it or not it was moved south because it was deemed as insignificant in Birmingham and the major manufacturers were starting to desert it. Up north? How long would a motorshow last at the GMEX?
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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The GMEX? Probably not very long! It'd be stolen within minutes....... : )
I understand what you're saying, I just don't understand why it was deemed "insignificant" at the NEC. It's ideal for the Motor Show, and it's easy to get to and park at etc. etc.
And anyway, I'm in a mood because I have to spend a week in the "Canary Wharf swamps" as of Monday! When it was at the NEC I could go home at night if I needed to....
PS TVM, my prayer mat faces west, towards my spiritual home, the land of the VERY silly accent, Wales. Yakkydar and all that.
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Never mind mate, a few stops up the dlr to shadwell will get you a really good pie n' mash and jellied eels place..
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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*applauds stevied*
Spot on Mate - exactly what I was hinting at. TBH, I can't be bothered to rise to TVMs comments, as far as motoring goes (see on topic!) I'd much rather live in Brum, or anywhere else but car hating London with it's slower than walking roads. ;)
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Quite right HJ. For all those who live ooop t'north, you can pretty much do dual carriageway all the way if you drove. i.e. M6/A14/M11/A406/A13. If you go to laterooms.co.uk , you can probably find a very nice hotel not too far away at a very reasonable price. Make a weekend of it, treat yourself
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Quite right HJ. For all those who live ooop t'north, you can pretty much do dual carriageway all the way if you drove. i.e. M6/A14/M11/A406/A13. If you go to laterooms.co.uk , you can probably find a very nice hotel not too far away at a very reasonable price. Make a weekend of it, treat yourself
I couldn't make your link to 'laterooms' website work.
I sometimes suggest www.airport-hotel-shop.co.uk
www.laterooms.co.uk quote £132.00 per night for The Crowne Plaza, Docklands for august 3rd - while
www.airport-hotel-shop.co.uk quote £154 without parking and bizarrely £149 with parking
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I couldn't make your link to 'laterooms' website work.
Because there was a comma at the end of the link with no space between it and the .co.uk bit. Now amended. DD.
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Hi all,
visited yesterday and it was alright, not as good as Birmingham - not as many exhibitors or things to see (or shows) but probably worth a day out. Some useful tips:
* If you want to do the adventure 4x4 thing, visit the Volvo/Toyota/Kia/Diahatsu/Nissan stands and get a priority pass(es).
Bingo, straight to the front of the queue and you get the next available car
* Ford are giving away drinks and more impressively, ice lollies in their ice bar
* Subscribe to Whatcar/F1 Racing/few others for 6 months and get a full AutoGlym valet kit - 6 months of What car and the full kit, £19.40!
* There are test drives to book for cars and they had some cool stuff - Saab 9-3 cabrio and C6 for starters. We missed it until we left!
* You can walk up to the Land Rover test and get on, but there's little shelter from the sun - get there early doors to avoid the queues/sunstroke
* If you can get hold of a key for a new MINI, you can get onto the MINI BARge for free drinks and snacks (and loud music)
* The outside loos are "fruity" but the ones indoors much nicer
Look out for the bloke in the dinghy picking golf balls out of the water...
Have fun if you go, it was easy enough via DLR although how the superheated underground can exist in a civilised society, I don't know. Bank to Ealing on the central line was like being a jammed a pizza oven for the journey.
Lee -- There\'s no place like 127.0.0.1
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Thanks lee
I remember the good advice you gave about the last show in Brum that was spot on
TVman and ToddlerVM are off on Friday
Toddler ! huh listen to me - he is 16!
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Funnily enough I did exactly the same Ealing - Excel route when I went on Monday. The central line was bearable but the DLR was agony, there's no shelter from the sun and boy did it get hot.
I worked out it would have been quicker to drive to the NEC from Ealing than get to Excel on public transport. This city is a pain sometimes.
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went down today. I live north london, just inside the m25. I would have preferred t odrive to NEC (at least i would have aircon!)
I occasionally go to excel for other shows and do drive (last time got stuck for two hours getting out of the carpark because of queues) but took the tube. An easy route, but my god it was absolutely toasty.
Take water for the journey!
big queues noted at cash points, so stock up before you go.
One of the best looking cars for me was the alfa spyder convertible. Gorgeous. But i would nt buy one.
Too hot outside so couldnt be bothered with the bmw plaza.
The 300c estate in the flesh looks good. Saw it in the states and wondered if we would get it here.
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Oh yes the cars!
Agree with your take on the spyder , very nice indeed. The Seats all look good too, imho. Not sure what the deal is with the Dodge Calber or the H3 (well, you have to look!) Opposite of Big Small. Big on the outside, tiddly inside.
300C very nice though, even in silver. There's a four door Aston, the Lotus Europa S, a smattering of supercars including a cool Lancia look-a-like and a lovely Zonda, even if it was yellow. There's two Mer/McLaren SLRs and a very odd Maybach concept. Saab have a very weird front-off concept, I think they got the idea from the Bond Bug.
TVM, if you're with TVToddler, take him over to the Alfa stand, the ladies on there all seem to have dropped out from planet supermodel - stunners, every last one and very well dressed...A nice treat for any teenage boy!
Have a good day!
Lee -- There\'s no place like 127.0.0.1
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I'm going because my son has been looking forward to it for months!
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\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
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It must be 10 years since I last went to the Motorshow, made the effort yesterday with son number 1 (aged 17 and a 1/2, passed driving test last week) and son's friend of similar age.
Oh to be 17 again with a nice, crisp, clean, new driving licence. So well done Lotus, that's definitely two sales. Put a 17 year old into an Elise and there's a fan for life. I tried to take advantage of BMW Mini hospitality, the nice lady asked me if I had a Mini, I replied that I had three Minis, this is technically true .... but I wrote the last one off in 1983. So no key fob, no entry. Where is the fake key fob when you need one? BMW's offering is a fake Mini anyway, and none of the Minis on display had an Japanese motorbike engine in the boot, how tedious. I did check, much to the bemusement of the onlookers.
Car of the show for me? The Z06 Corvette, all the main stream stuff was yawn-inducing in the extreme. However, it was worth going to watch the BMX 'bikes and the bonkers skaters .... but that was only the appetiser for the MX 'bikes, how can those things leap so far and so high with minimal run-up? The Monaros were very sideways indeed. I've seen very few Monaros, but all of them are driven by hooligans. Disgraceful.
Would I go to the next one? Only on a complimentary ticket (again).
Must go to drool over the 'photos of that Z06 ... again.
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Well - went today.
Much less crowded and more compact than Birmingham. The use of outside spaces and the dockside was good even tho it damn hot. All in all a much much clasier event but lacking in sheer numbers of events and exhibiters. It meant however you could get into any car you wanted really with minimal shoving and pushing.
Lee is right, the Alfa chicks were the sexiest and I have never sat in a car that felt more "to hand" and just right than the 159. It was just perfect.
The top gear stand was good, they have the three (toybota, damper van and the herald thing) cars from the boat sketch, and ToddlerVM had his photo taken with the the Stig. (or a stig look alike anyway)
The adventure arena ( the 4x4 course) is quite frankly a waste of time and space.
I was the first one of the day to get a quiz right on some police stand, even tho they have thrown in a brand new sign I have never seen before (junction on a right hand bend)
And as for nothing ever gets bought at the show, I have booked a two day test drive for Nicole (Yaris) which is a "buy or not buy" clincher.
So wanted to like the C6, but i cant - it just dont push any buttons on any level.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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i went to the show today and i really liked the c6 , id buy one tommorow with somebody else money.
the police and motorbike accident area was a sobering reminder of looking out for bikers properly.
much better i think than the nec but as i live in southend it was a nice easy drive.
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I made the trip all the way from N Wales last weekend i thought it was very good well worth the entrabce fee for a very enjoyable day out
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>>The adventure arena ( the 4x4 course) is quite frankly a waste of time and space
Yep, although you it was possible to cut the queues, it wasn't a patch on the outdoor course at the NEC with mud and a more authentic feel (if that's even slightly possible in this set up). a bit pointless, all in all.
My heart sinks, but I'd agree with you to an extent on the C6. There were some very cheap feeling bits on the showcar which I assume to a range topper. It's a aching beautiful thing to behold from the outside, but doesn't set the world alight inside. Maybe a ride in one would have changed my view a bit, but given the likely depreciation, it'd be tough to choose one over the usual rivals.
Funny what you say about the 159- I was in Rome at the launch at loved it there, it felt "just right", but my favourite car to be in at the show was the Volvo C70. And no, I don't understand that anymore than I understand why I find Mariah Carey attractive. I can see that both would appeal to certain people, but I didn't count myself amongst them finding nothing about then on paper that "floats my boat"
Disappointed that Fiat weren't there to give Alfa's representatives a run for their money!
Lee -- There\'s no place like 127.0.0.1
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Help,have I missed something,I understand that tomorrow is the last day of the 2006 motor show,I have seen no mention of a TV programe covering it?.
ndbw
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One thing I have to say, the standard of catering at the Excel, makes the NEC look like a rwanda soup kitchen on a bad day.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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only if the NEC has improved in recent years.
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It hasn't. I was there for the Bike Show last year and got charged 7 quid for what supposedly was a bacon butty but looked (and more to the point, tasted) like the tongue off one of my shoes.
And yes - I do know what they taste like.
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You were at the bike show? Me too. Don't understand our two wheeled friends, but I recall being annoyed by the price of drinks and parking.
At £7, I'd be tempted to eat my shoes too.
Lee -- There\'s no place like 127.0.0.1
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Yeah Lee - Dad's obsessed with them and the Bike Show is usually a precursor to him convincing Mum to sanction a new bike. Somehow, she never comes along though!
Parking isn't usually a problem for us because we recruit a few of Dad's mates (one of which sorts a minibus out) but we always get there dead early (too early in my opinion!!) and are hanging around for ages.
I'm determined to have a go of those mini-motos this year though. Might see you there!
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Had two rather nice Hot Dogs (fresh rolls) , with two bottles of coke (ice cold) for £5.40.
Ok not cheap, but fairly typical Central London prices, so no rip-off.,
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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.... as long as you used public transport to get there, Excel did work well. HJ
I thought the public transport was very good. Decent announcements stating which station for non ticket holders etc.
I was a little surprised there was not a bridge from the DLR into the Excel area.
I finished up as a cheap skate. £5 for a SAT evenings entertainment . It was not crowded with a max of three people in front if you wanted to twiddle the steering wheel.
I guess they did not want to hand out brochures as there was a destinct lack of them and goody bags.
I was interested to view a HUD on the Citroen. The guy on the BMW M5 was happy to spend time going through its features including its HUD - most impressed.
I thought the MB stand had a poor selection of its range.
Ford guys were struggling with getting the Focus lid to perform.
I thought the rain shower in the hall was a very clever idea to demo a folding roof.
It appeared that a large area of floor space was filled by an interesting variety of less common vehicles rather than the likes of Audi.
I noticed an Ipod docking station on one car. A nice response to public demand?
I just missed a hole in one on the UNICEF site. What a great idea to extract funds from posers ( and others)
I enjoyed it but have not visited the NEC so cannot compare them.
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Can't be sure, but wasn't the London show held over a longer period than that at the NEC? Might account for some of the extra people
Lee -- You know, it\'s not like changing toothpaste
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Excel was 10 days, NEC was 27th May to 6th June 2004
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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As I said I would, I went and it was thoroughly enjoyable, if a little busy (I went on the last Saturday).
The last Motor Show I went to was about 6 or 7 years ago at the NEC and I thought Excel was a better venue, even though it was much further away for me.
I took some pics as well if you're interested...
www.eatontrifles.co.uk/motorshow
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As I said I would, I went and it was thoroughly enjoyable, if a little busy (I went on the last Saturday).
It looks VERY busy compared with the evening. There was a fraction of those numbers there and it was easy to view everything etc.
Thanks for the pics
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Thanks for those bobda, good pix and give some idea of what the show was like.
Is it just me, or are cars, especially upmarket ones, getting uglier by the year?
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Thanks for the pictures bobda. Very good.
A almost wish I'd gone!
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