Mincey

But where are they going to refuel? (runs and looks for cover... 😉 )

Chortle!

I'd rather have a hydrogen powered IS.

5Y, 5S and all that too? Aaargh!

I'm not sure now - I thought it was three years. If it's two then I don't have much longer to go! Edit: I know it's The Sun, but How long does the course stay on record? Your details are kept on a database held by the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme. If you're caught speeding again within three years of taking a speed awareness course, you're quite likely to receive a fine and penalty points straightaway. https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/5343032/speed-awareness-courses-cost-how-long-on-record/

In theory, a 20mph limit in built up areas makes sense. As long as it is enforced. Round here there's a road which has had a car crash into a house, one which has taken a wall out, two which have overturned and one which ended up in the middle of a roundabout. It's a 30mph limit and there are two schools and a row of shops in the vicinity. Without wishing to cast aspersions, it's young men and young to middle aged women who are the culprits (apart from a middle-aged tosspot in a Nissan GT-R. You know who you are if you're reading this, which you probably won't be). As I'm sure many of you will be aware, I'm currently sitting out a 3 year "Be a Good Boy" order after taking a speed awareness course, so I'm sticking religiously to an indicated 30. I regularly have someone glued to my back bumper in this area and see plenty of the types mentioned earlier doing in excess of 40mph. This is despite the road having parked cars either side in places. The Police have been asked to intervene, and I'm sure that a camera van on site for half a day would raise a fortune, but they're not interested even though they know there's an issue with cars crashing into brickwork and overturning. It's madness. Absolute madness. I'm just waiting for one of these idiot scooter boys to get smashed to pieces as they ride along the middle of the road with their enormous pair of ear-covering headphones on. Permission to end my rant?

I've got a Lexus fitted Nextbase in my IS and I have to say it's a pain in the Aristotle whenever I want to get anything off it. Getting it to talk to my Samsung S20 is always hit and miss. Trying to see whether the blue wifi light is flashing in anything other but total darkness is almost impossible. I find it easier to take the camera indoors and connect it directly to my PC. The quality is top notch though.

I'm reminded of my very first Lexus "Experience" at Marshall Cambridge back in 1999. My family's dealings with Marshalls over the years in Peterborough were never very positive. My father had an Austin Princess and several Rover SD1s and 800s from there and to say he thought that they were generally hopeless would be an understatement (the garage, not the cars. Well, the Princess was a bit of a disaster anyway). When he learned that I was going to drive all the way to Cambridge to look at a Lexus, he raised both eyebrows simultaneously and warned me not to expect too much. To set the stage, earlier in 1999, I'd seen an article in the Sunday Times about the IS200 launch over here. I was about six months away from a new car, and fell in love with the IS immediately. The looks, the speedo, sat nav (in 1999!) and the fact that it wasn't a BMW made it a delicious proposition. Off I went to Cambridge to take a look. There was a silver IS200 SE in the showroom and I spent at least half an hour walking around it, prodding it, sitting in it, opening the boot etc before a salesman eventually came over to ask if I needed any help. The showroom, I should point out, was completely deserted apart from me. Could I take one for a test drive? No, I was told. The demonstrator was out but I could drive it if I came back tomorrow. I left the showroom and walked by a black IS200 which was parked outside the entrance back to my car. I was a bit miffed as this meant another 80 mile round trip, but hey I wanted one. If only I'd known about Lexus Leicester at the time. The next day I returned and was shown to guess what? The black IS200 which was parked outside as I had left the previous day. My Miff Levels were reaching new heights. Anyway, after a successful test drive, I left after being promised a quote the same day. I had wanted to know there and then, but I was besotted by the thought of getting into a shiny new black V plate IS200 Sport with Sat Nav on September 1st, so I just headed off back to Peterborough. Days passed without any quote. I eventually received it with the offer of a p/x for my current car which was substantially less than I was expecting. As luck would have it, I was doing some work for Automotive Leasing at the time. I happened to drop my Marshalls experience into conversation and the chap I was working for went into overdrive. A deal for a black IS200 Sport Navigator was done in about 10 minutes, including a far better p/x value. The only issue was - you guessed it, it would come from Marshall Cambridge. Bugger, as Unlucky Alf might say. You'd think that would be it, wouldn't you? Oh no. I'll save the story about the mat recall, seat fixing and headrest debacle for another time. Luckily by the time I needed a new IS three years later, Marshall Cambridge had lost their Lexus franchise - I can't think why for a minute - and it was now Lexus Cambridge. The buying experience was much better with them and it was out with the black one and in with a silver one. Due to working for a while at Boots in Nottingham, Lexus Nottingham got the first service and then I discovered those frankly wonderful people at Lexus Leicester and have stayed loyal to them since.

I think I've had to jump start my IS300h about 2 or 3 times now due to me not using it and failing to heed the advice from Lexus on running it in Ready for an hour a week. I really should trade it in for something more reliable. Lexus - hang your heads in shame. Call yourselves Paragons of Reliability? I think not.... (tongueincheeksmiley)

As posted elsewhere on here, and subsequently printed out and stuck onto the box for my jump leads:

A good point, well made! 😄

Pop a dongle into the ODB port, link it to your phone, job done:

They look like Scalextric car motors :-)

I think I'd have to adopt the Clarkson approach here, and take whoever did that to the GS outside and shoot them in front of their family.

It's only from being on here that I've discovered that there are splitters other than the Judean People's Front.

I thought it was one of their best...! 😉

There is something interesting about the stretch of the A1 from the Hatfield Tunnel to South Mimms. My current wife has had surgery on her leg at RNOH Stanmore which has required quite a few trips down there. The time before last, we were just about to emerge from the tunnel when everything went blue, flashy and noisy. An unmarked 3 Series came hoofing by at a rate of knots with its stealth blues and twos on. As we arrived at South Mimms for a comfort break, we saw the 3 Series parked up alongside a marked patrol car. A ne'er-do-well was being detained by the occupants of both cars. I'm sure that he would be finding out what it's like to bounce repeatedly down the station steps a bit later on. Yesterday, this trend continued. A mile or so out of the tunnel, a grey C class came tanking past, followed by a marked 5 Series, which then put its blues and twos on. Unfortunately I was in my wife's car - yesterday's trip was to have her Taylor frame taken off, and there was no way she was going to potentially rip my upholstery with it - so I cannot provide dashcam proof of what went on. Again, we had to dive off at South Mimms so I couldn't see the outcome of the chase but I did see that two lorries were holding them up in the distance. Whether this was planned action by the lorry drivers, or just their usual selfish behaviour, I will never know. How long the chase lasted is also another interesting question. Were other counties involved? Will it be on "Stop, Police, You're nicked Sonny!" in years to come? Did the chase end suddenly as one (or both) cars inevitably broke down?

Me too. I suffer from Range Anxiety.

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/1449924/jaguar-land-rover-hydrogen-fuel-cell-car-sales-uk It will obviously break down and/or fall to pieces within the first 100 miles, but interesting to see them put their hat into the hydrogen ring.

Go to page 124 in the attached. OM53E89E.pdf

With a Gen 2 IS right behind it - I wonder if they decided that discretion was the better part of valour and turned around?

That's a very good point. When my IS went in for a service in January, the park assist somehow got turned off. I only realised this as I was doing a three point turn between two walls thinking it was quiet...

I've often wondered why, if the 220d is so bad, do I still see so many on the roads? All appear to be in good shape - not spewing out enormous clouds of black smoke, or parked up on the side of the road waiting for the AA...

Do you run a bodyshop....? 😉

Living in Cambridgeshire, I doubt I'll ever see a full bar... 😉