resurrection ?

How about in my high street in NW London , Rolls Royce Phantom, current shape - with Russian number plates ?

and how do you track such a car in the event of a prang ... ?

A few days ago I saw a 'monster truck' on a main road in Somerset. Not just a lifted pick-up on bigger wheels, but a pick-up body perched on a specially built chassis, with tractor sized wheels. From the noise, it had a V8 engine, which one would expect. It was doing about 30 mph with a queue of cars behind it.

It wasn't as extreme a monster truck as the ones they have at shows but it looked pretty unwieldy onthe road and took up the whole of its side of the road.

The monster truck must be one of the silliest and most pointless of automotive inventions!

Edited by Sofa Spud on 06/08/2011 at 23:00

A guy in our village has bought an Alfa 8C in red, with black leather. Although I am not an Alfa fan, this does look the dogs gonads. The sound is fantastic and gives me goosebumps. God I am jealous. hate to think what he paid for it. New I think they were about £175K !!

That's £10 more than S-types sell for. ;)

Jamie, that's the best way to buy a car. Buy something which is perceived not to be as good as it is. Let some wealthy mug take the hit, so you win! :)

BTW I have a soft spot for Alfas having owned 3. Presently I have a Skoda and a Merc, the latter is rarer than an S-Type. :)

Edited by Trilogy on 07/08/2011 at 23:00

Saw a Lancia Beta Monte Carlo yesterday.

Amazed any have survived.

Edited by Armstrong Sid on 10/08/2011 at 20:08

jamie, I think you'll find Avant has a Skoda and a BMW.

I see an unusual car very day as I haven't seen a Merc like mine since I bought it. I'm thinking of starting a running report, but not sure how many people would be interested in a 15 year old car. Also, I'm planning a long term report for the Octavia. I've had it twice as long as any other car. As much as anything because it's a diesel, which I've run from 94,000 to 205,000 miles.

It's a W124 E300 Diesel, 7 seater, automatic estate. The car had 2 owners before I bought it in June, with 166,000 genuine miles. I've had a few things done and a few more next week. Today, the guy who it's going to next week has told me he knows of someone who would pay more for it than I did. I've wanted one for along time. It won over a Passat TDi, A6 TDi, 406 2.0HD and /Octavia TDi 1.9. So far it's an every day car but after the end of November could become a limited mileage one on classic insurance. The Octavia will be run during the winter and then I'll probably sell it. However, that scenario could change.

Im interested in a 15 year old car, but struggling to find a Mercedes Diesel interesting in any respect :)

jamie, one of the reasons I like it so much is because it's very difficult to tell it's a diesel. It's very smooth, nothing like gravelly modern diesels. It's not a turbo, but masses of torque makes for a very relaxed drive with a lazy feeling. It may appear to be large, but is easy to place on the road, with a tight turning circle.

Just saw a pale blue Toyota WiLL Vi on the A14 near Huntingdon.

In carmarthen last week saw a Rover 75 vanden plas with the extended body and the final radiator grille as per the roewe 750. Would love one but brain says no, no, NO! (plus SWMBO would emasculate me with one of her surgical scalpels) so that's a no then.

Saying no to a rover 75 shows your woman has good sense.

What's wrong with it?

In response to being asked whats wrong with the Rover 75, i say this.

• Its a Rover
• All the engines are pretty poor
• Badly made
• Falls apart much earlier than 3 Series and A4 it was meant to compete with
• If it was any good co-owners BMW wouldve shut it down, so obviously it wasnt
• Too small inside
• Too big outside
• Its a Rover
• Handles like a Yacht with a hole in the sail
• That clock!
• Uneconomical uninspiring tat

Lovely job. Thats that one sorted.

Personally I couldn't have lived with that dashboard: the combination of dark brown wood and sepia-faced instruments is reminiscent of a 1940s parlour - the 'front room' that never got used unless Great-Aunt Bertha came to stay, or there was a death in the family (or both).

They're not my style either Avant but it's entertaining to get the response from Jamie.

I'd never buy an Octavia myself because its not my sort of car but i can fully respect anybodies decision to purchase one and if someone asked me for a simple effective reliable car to recommend, i'd put an Octavia on the list. I'd also point out its a Passat for a few quid less. I like a car which makes me smile when i get in it, my Jag does that, a Skoda wouldnt, even though i know as a car to drive its more than capable, but unlike an Alfa i doubt i'll have many instances where the Jag makes me angry. Not everybody is as into cars as some of us and some people just need a car which will 'do as it says on the tin' somewhat and thats fine, sensible pragmatic decisions always get my backing. And because an Alfa Romeo falls into none of these categories than i could get behind is why i specifically dont like them.

Rear visibility is an issue as ive been complaining about it for ages with so many new cars, you may aswell put van panels in and forget about the window in some of them, the new Fiesta is hopeless out of the rear. Some of the door pillars and B pillars in many new cars cover entire square postcodes in their blind spots, no wonder so many cyclists get run over. You know alot of you on here probably think the only type of car i like is big petrol powered luxo barges but thats not true, i love small cars. The new Ka for instance looks fantastic and for simple transport im sure its great fun, yes the interiors cheap but the car is cheap. The old Ka was a riot, specifically after the stoneage engine was dropped. The 1.25 Zetec Fiesta from the late 90s, still the best small car ever made, terrific thing. Renault Clio and Peugeot 206 were fun as well even if the latter had an awful interior. And i like hot hatches as well, i'd happily walk into any second hand dealership and buy a Focus ST tomorrow.

I trust Skoda pay up for these shameless plugs Avant! ;-)

Although I can't fault your justification-with the exception of:

proper door handles;

Have you see the plastic interior door handles on the base model octavia-horrid things!

The big red 'start button' has to be the most cheesy gesture. It once had a use when the starter was on its own circuit, but now it just sems like a childish affectation*.

* The Morris Minor (and other cars) have a starting switch on the bulkhead which is very useful when attempting to coax a recalcitrant engine into life and an assistant isn't available.