dutchie01

Debateable; I was gently driving along approaching the puddle drove into it not expecting it to be that deep! I was completely taken by surprise and am of the opinion the localcouncil is fully responsible as they need to secure the safe state of the roads. This road should have been closed and i hold them responsible for all damage. ( and i did not see half the village and the bagpiper cheering me along but i am not sure if i have to write thet down).

Now thats a good one John. Will they pay at all? Brandnew car all risk ensured so they will surely pay for all damage to the car even if self inflicted. But not in all cases.. Trackdays, driving under the influence to name a few. I dont know the smallprint but will they fork out a couple of grand to replace the engine if you take the decision to drive through the local swimmingpool??

Maybe an idea to dig a hole and fill it up in every village? Free entertainment for the masses!

If i think back some 15-20 years buying a new car was a slow and sometimes cumbersome process. Getting an offer would mean sitting down with a salesperson and step by step build the car you desire, What color, wheels, ashtray yes or no and so on. The salesperson would explain all options and in the end the figure to pay was always higher than expected. Today everybody is better informed as internet so people know exactly what they want. I had numerous negative experiences with dealers throughout the years. Not interested or not knowledgable salesmen, others trying to talk me into a different car or simply tell nonsense. I had testdrives refused and was send away when i asked for an offer( had full spec i wanted with me). Since 6 years our company changed from buying to leasing and all this is digital. For me this has been a positive experience. I know what i want and a testdrive is arranged without problem. Since we also bought an ex-lease car privately and traded ours in. Very efficient process, fill in questionaire of current car take pics from all sides and interior, 4 wheels and odometer and same day they make you an offer. For me personally this is all fine although i do get it if others prefer a realationship with a dealer. Local village garages are different in my idea as all is built on trust. You see each other in the pub and at the butcher...

With another year almost behind us i am wondering how the future will look for Lexus dealers in particular and all dealers in general. I predict their future is bleak and do fear for their existence. The automotive landscape is changing rapidly and on line sales of cars are getting more common now. We do know Tesla is on line only but also Volvo at this moment has 25% on line already. The new on line sub brands Polestar and Lynk & Co not included. Most manufacturers expect 50 to 80% on line by 2030 ( only 8 yrs away!). Then there is the transition from fossil cars to battery. Truly immense consequences for the garages. from 4000 moving parts to 40. hardly any maintenance and no fluids to sell, oils cooling etc. The business model of the large main dealers is just melting away and they are even under attack by their own supplier. I expect the large manufacturers to start some massive experience centers serving a range of 150km. The rest will close shop. The local village garage will continue. Any thoughts?

I am dying to see the first glimps of the 2022 cars and the result of the first tests. Initial reports are the cars will be able to follow each other closely and will be closer in performance as well. Will Mighty Mercedes still be as strong? Will Red Bull "without"Honda be up there? Will Ferrari finally be back on top? Will Mclaren be the big surprise? Will there be a four way battle between the drivers? Bring it on !

Kev if you are really bored try chewing your way through the satnav manual. A bizarre piece of work that would not look out of place in the Metropolitan.

Die hard 1 to 200, or, every movie with bruce willis please give me time to put on my superdark sunglasses

Nonsense! you only need 3 cm either side of the car as this gentlemen from Belgium proves!

Brussels Sprouts Ketchup??? Is this from thesame company producing Herring Mayonaise and Raw Liver Mustard?

And now Lexus is becoming a full BEV producing company. Is that a big thing? Hmmm i guess so as Lexus could lose their main USP, reliability. a Petrol engine is complicated and lots of things can go wrong. Lexus did build a reputation on exactly the opposite, nothing went wrong. Enter an electric motor... nothing can go wrong.. The new competition for Lexus is coming from China, no longer from Germany.

About workplace.. We have an outside internet security company doing safety training for our staff. After some initial sessions all had to attend they now try to lure you into clicking on mails they write as phishing or scammers will do. If you click you have to attend another training. All fine until the moment they initiated another on line training session by mail with a link i had to click to start the session. Of course i didnt.... 2 weeks later i was told off why i did not want to participate!! I did not complain only asked if they could see the irony in this. Did not get a reply yet.

Here we go again.. Netherlands in full lockdown for 4 weeks

I strictly follow his advice! Dont know about you guys but frankly speaking i am living like lockdown now since the beginning. I work from home and only go to the supermarket dont travel and so on…. Sad story but hey.. could always be worse!

Maybe there is another aspect as well. In the past 8 years he was comfortably cruising to his championships as the Merc was by far the fastest car around. The only competition was from his teammate and that, well you know. Only Rosberg succeeded due to lack of motivation from Lewis that year. Just google the final standings from 2014 onwards, its bordering on a joke. A bit like footballresults of 10- Nil. And yes afterwards thank the team thank the best crowd ever and say you had to go really deep it was a tough race phew. Everyone did see another picture though. People remember this and yes he does not have a lot of friends in the paddock. Come to think of it it could well be that Russel and Norris are already more popular than lewis in the UK. Remember when Russel had to step in for Lewis last year and drove rings around Bottas? Or Norris in Sochi in the rain? The cheers were incredible. The press however is full on on Lewis, never one critical question. Yes i do think he is a great driver but the best? Also the last race regardless of the result was questionable. He had the fastest car but did not put it on pole. He was overtaken twice by Max and in both cases he left the door wide open did not defend the corner. Maybe it is time to move on and let the youngsters have a go.

I have been following his daily updates since this horror began March last year. For me he is the voice of reason and the guide through this pandemic. No sensationalism, no politics, only scientifically proven factual information.

Dr john campbell youtube check him out

the toyota BZR will be around 45k sterling in the UK. seems like a tad high compared to the VW and Skoda models.

A French friend, who lives in the UK and who follows F1 opined that this was “…just another example of you Brits being bad losers.” I do think a legal challenge might have firmed that opinion up outside of the UK. That is the elephant in the room. The British press is not covering this at all, only Peter Windsor in his fantastic blog was asking - why is Lewis not so popular outside the UK ?-. As i am living in the Netherlands ( i try to look at F1 unbiased surrounded by a sea of orange..) i can only confirm this. We all have seen the booing in the majority of countries and i think in general he is not seen as a likeable character. Respect for the driver yes but he is not fully embraced by the crowds. On top of that outside the UK the last lap discussion is a non topic. In the European press it is not mentioned at all. My guess is that the Mercedes board gave instructions to stop here and now all to avoid a potential public relations disaster developing that could harm the brand image and sales. Even Bernie Ecclestone said pushing it through could scratch Mercedes. Will Lewis drive next year? i think he will maybe as last season. But all has changed now the cards are different on the table. A new competitive teammate that wants to outperform him everywhere and probably has the capabilities to do so. No longer reigning champion, different cars. It is no longer an easy Sunday walk in the park for him...

Serious topic this. Automatic lights DONT work as they do not recognize fog. Daytime running lights are only at the front for reasons beyond me so nothing at the back. In foggy conditions nothing happens so no ligths at the back. Beats me how this is legal. I always have my lights on dont use the auto setting

Could be me but i think it just looks horrible, a melted Supra with Audi backlights. Positive is that a new LFA is on the drawingboard

Bottomline is that to my big surprise, and i am still baffled about it, that Lewis did not defend the corner, did not position his car blocking max going for the inside. He left the door wide open knowing Max will go for every gap always. Same in the final lap, he did not defend the corner inviting Max right in. Why??

Lewis did not loose the championship last weekend where he did nothing wrong ( other than leaving the door open 2 times with Max behind him ). He lost it in Baku.

A move like this needs exceptional car control and brake feel. Most drivers cannot execute this without locking up or totally missing the corner and making a big mess of it. Max can do this time and again. Lewis thesame but forget about Bottas, todays Vettel and most others.