dutchie01

Some in the West are more afraid of a trade war with China Malc. Biden just increased import tariff for Chinese cars to 100%

Thankfully i have never lived through war which seems exceptional if you look at wider European history. My Parents on the other hand had to live through WW2 and my grandparents through 1 and 2. That seems good progress to me.

11 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

Perhaps we shouldn't be too hard on ourselves. Apart from the first item on your list any student of history could reasonably say the rest have been with us since  we first crawled out from our cave. Even a generation that lived through such an age of dynamic change should be modest enough to accept you cannot unravel what is so firmly imprinted onto human DNA. Let's leave future generations something to do.

Iife expectancy did improve a lot since the eighties as did healthcare. Economic growth has lifted millions out of poverty, Animals seem to live on just like they did 45 yrs ago and the overall quality of life, in our part of the world, has never been better. We can travel freely wherever we want and are free to speak our opinion. I am not too pessimistic.

Are you happy with the car? What is the range you get out of it or doesnt it matter as you charge at home?

Could wrapping be an option? its not only used for the tuning scene to create bizarre colors but can well replicate original paint colors. Cheaper than a respray i think?

2 hours ago, Mincey said:

Just like Lexus Leicester did with me. Took my IS in for a recall, was given Betsy for the day and the paperwork was all ready for me to sign when I took her back.

true professionals and that should be the standard

17 hours ago, Gary H said:

Unfortunately I wouldn't touch a Stellantis-based Vauxhall and now it's a brand I purposefully avoid for that reason. It pains me to say that because they're a brand which I spent quite some time growing up with (with the factory nearby) and of course, friends and family who worked there for decades. My late grandfather was in the first batch of employees at the Ellesmere Port factory. I've owned a few, my father has owned several and both of us together have driven countless Vauxhalls and enjoyed them over the years. A Stellantis Vauxhall though? No. Sorry. They're poorer products after the takeover (obviously being little more than a mildly re-styled Peugeot/Citroen) and those 1.2 Puretech engines are showing themselves in their earlier French stablemates to not age very well at all. 

I don't understand car-pricing these days. We're seeing Fords, Vauxhalls, Kias, Hyundais e.t.c all trying to sell cars for premium prices. It's ludicrous. 

Speaking of hire cars, about six years ago I owned an Audi Q5. A fabulous car which unfortunately the nearside rear door ended up with a stone flicking up onto it whilst the grass was being cut in the unit next to ours (I was at work). It ended up putting what resembled an air-rifle like pellet dent right in the middle of the panel. So, I popped along to Audi for the repair only to be told all their cars which need repairs like that go to Volkswagen. Fair enough - the parent company. So, I drove along to the VW dealer where indeed repair the door flawlessly. Full credit to them. The problem? I was given a base model VW Up! as a hire car. 

Now, I'm generally not a snob. A hire car is a hire car at the end of the day, but surely if you take a mid-size SUV in for three/four days, surely someone there must have some sort of common sense to assume the smallest city car wouldn't be a suitable replacement? I would have been perfectly happy with a Golf or a Passat. But no - a dinky city car. A car which was fine pottering around town in, but back and forth to work (involving two motorway journeys a day) was a real chore. When I first started dealing with Audi on a personal basis in 2008 - you were basically given a courtesy car of similar size/spec to what you took in. For instance, when I had an Audi A4, they always given me an A4 at servicing time. On one occasion they given me an A6 Avant. I even managed to get an A3 Cabriolet and a TT coupe (with the Golf GTi 2.0TFSI engine) on other occasions. It was only in that final 18 months or so during my time with Audi they seemed to care much less and it was one of the main reasons why I moved. 

So many lost opportunities in sales it is frightening. A courtesy car is a once in a ownership lifetime opportunity to sell a car. Come in with a Q4, give a Q5 etc. prepare an offer and when the customer returns the car go for it. It just seems not recognized or is too much trouble. I received dirty cars with personal belongings ( Jenna from admin normally drives this sir) or empty tanks, so i had to fill up, car parked in between others so i had to wrestle my way out. In all cases the sales department was not envolved they did not even know i was there. Only with Lexus this was different got a nice RX when bringing my IS in for service

I once had a Honda Jazz Hybrid as a rental and that for me was the surprise of the year. Great little car and due to the hybrid fast in city traffic. Great little thing and what more do you want from alittle runabout. BTW not so special for a Honda to reach 100k miles. Now , if it was a Range Rover...

6000 miles in some years time. isnt using a taxi cheaper?

10 hours ago, Malc1 said:

 

Also reading the piling high of EVs at docks and ports globally where they're being effectively stored coz no dealers want to buy them for stock holding and not being able to shift them to retail punters  .................. 

Possibly not much demand for 2ndhand EVs, even Porsche 😂  

Malc

European ports are completely full with Chinese EVs. Hamburg, Zeebrugge, Antwerp, Rotterdam and so on. Previously cars were unloaded and then disappeared to the end customers mostly through dealers. The Chinese have a different approach they just use those ports as storage area. Some cars have been there for 1.5 yrs. Chinese manufacturers get paid per car by the Chinese government so keep producing my friends happy days and who cares if nobody buys them ?!

Demand for 2nd hand ones is very low out of consumer fear. What are you buying? what is the state of the Battery? High electricity prices make EVs as expensive as petrolcars? In most countries you pay roadtax based on weight and that is much higher with a Battery? How about value will they continue depreciating like crazy? From the model you are interested in for sure there will be newer versions withmore range faster charging so why buy this one? In short there are too many uncertainties for private buyers. Like before the market is driven by companycars only.

You know when you feel a dinosaur? When your five year old grandson can operate the satnav better and faster then yourself ( without any form of explanation whatsoever) !!!

The sound warning when driving over the speedlimit is new regulation. all new cars do have this now, just wait until they introduce the next step in limiting your speed so even if you want you cant go faster.

The LBX dash and infotainment seems relatively simple compared to some of the German competitors with humongous screens and a thousand options. They design this to impress customers in the showroom. First time a potential customer sits in the car they have to be wowed and immediately the car is sold especially with the younger generation. That you never use 95% of possibilities does not seem to matter.

I like the LBX, it looks good and is the right size for what it needs to be. If you want a small car and like some more upmarket feel what is the competition?

Dont underestimate the power of food. Connoisseurs of risotto likewise paella are to be found in every region and all claim their way of cooking is the original best and forget about the rest. This runs deep. Remember Jamie Oliver some years ago? He published his Paella recipe and the highest diplomatic circles were working overtime to prevent Spain from declaring war! 

Chefs surprise dinner at an Asian fusion restaurant with trendy purple lighting and too beautiful people ( me not included). So basically i have no clue..

Will you make an offer?

https://www.knightfrank.co.uk/properties/commercial/for-sale/burgh-island-hotel-burgh-island-bigbury-on-sea-kingsbridge-devon-tq7/HTV012399404

just did a quick google. 208 million scam emails were received by UK residents in 2023.  69000 cases of identity theft were reported.  46% of UK consumers have been victim of cybercrime.

I knew it was bad but this?

On 3/21/2024 at 4:27 PM, Boomer54 said:

Doesn't time fly when you are having fun?

As I was reminded upon receipt from DVLA of a need to re apply for my driving licence.

Compete with photo now of course. Wife took one for me and I swear I have no idea who this old geezer is who is impersonating me. 50 years leaves a mark. However, wear it with pride I say to which end I updated my avatar although I dare say you can hardly tell (sic).

Great phote but are you sure its you and not Andy Warhol?  ( only joking...)

Lots and maybe most of smaller companies do not even think about IT security which is the number one reason why phishing and email interception fraude is on the rise. So simple, so under the radar and with people not expecting it at all so effective.

On 3/2/2024 at 6:37 PM, GMB said:

The company I worked for had a 24/7 contract. On call any time of day or night. A worldwide private VPN for all our network traffic use and full monitoring of all their/our remote devices. We were 100% logged in to the servers at all times or nothing worked.  If we did not accept those terms ( and their decent salary ) then we were free to leave anytime. Maybe today this could be seen as intrusive but we accepted that basically it was good practice and very safe. We had a " demilitarised" network zone available to outsiders and all the servers were virtual machines that had no physical presence and no way to get at the base systems from outside.. It may help to know that the servers were based in Tel Aviv and were under attack most of the time, so go figure why the security was so absolute. We all learned a lot from these practices.😇. I just wish our banks were half as good as this lot.👮‍♂️

 

Banks do have a pretty strong IT defense they literally spend billions in keeping safe. Its in their DNA. Companies however... Our company got hacked last year, ransom ware all systems down. After this was solved it was shocking how naive we have been the door was wide open. IT Has now become a fixed part of our plans and we allocate large sums towards it. 

Nice interior for the passengers that is. However it seems to be in the wrong package. 4 pot cvt and questionnable styling. From whatever angle you look at it its well... weird? Maybe more suited for Asian inner city transport. And i did not even start about the price!

I think most will have their own preference. Some like pre war cars that leave me cold. I like the seventies as cars were relatively simple then, no electronics and the design of that era was just great. Various decades did give us some great motor cars and each to their own. That brings the question what, for you, was the highlight, the pinnacle, the one car that stands out?  For me the Citroen 2CV. The sheer simplicity of the design, the lightness the way the chassis worked the undestructable 2 cylinder engine, all a masterpiece of design ( in my opinion).

For car designers and engineers those were the days. No safety standards, no crash regulations, no emissions and fuel consumption, who cares? They could litelarally design their dream car, and that is what happened. Below you will find a clip from an italian automotive journalist that interviewed all the old timers ruling the industry in those days and they way the iconic cars of the days came to light is mind boggling. In todays world that is absolutely impossible. If you have the time have a look switch on undertitles its in english as well