dutchie01

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?

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.

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

Genocide and ethnic cleansing have been around since the dark ages. Its in all of us, that new neighbour that is different to us.. That kid in school with thoses glasses, that colleague with the wrong trainers, that friend of a friend with the wrong religion, that guy down the road with the wrong skin color, that guy from the next village. Does it matter to put it in the right context? I truly dispise the cancel mob, its egoistic self centered elitist left wing types blocking streets, throwing soup at paintings. Do we really need to put ethnic cleansing in some sort of perspective? Mass killings fitting the social development of the world at the time? Bad is bad, wrong is wrong. China is wrong big time beeing a dictatorship. Feel free to buy a car from there. Its cheap so lets go!

It is around the corner Malc and will raise its head when opportunity arises. Humans are the worst predators on the planet but we like to think we are civilized, thats all.

Just saw some scary statistics about China as car manufacturer compared to the rest of the world. 2011 Europe produced 28,2% of all cars worldwide and China 20,1% , mainly for the local market. 2022 Europe produced 19,4% and China 34,1% now also being the biggest exporter worldwide of cars. Allianz Trade is saying the European Automotive sector is at risk currently employing some 13 million people. This is including suppliers like electronics, plastics, metal etc. Currently 4 out of 5 cars sold in Europe are assembled in Europe and they think that will disappear. In future all cars will be manufactured in China by a Chinese company or a European manufacturer producing there. They are warning about de-industrialization in Europe and are drawing parallels to the solar panel market. Not happy reading...

With China there is an underlying issue connected to economic growth or stability, namely people control. Beeing the high tech dictatorship it is it will have to keep the population satisfied/frightened. Fear runs deep within the Chinese community even abroad. I have a Chinese neighbour in my office centre and he told me that even amongst other Chinese he does not talk freely as he once got a call from his mother in China telling him he has to stop talking as they will get into trouble. So, fear rules. But Economic stability is also vital. Lots of Chinese used their savings to invest in the real estate market. They really think that housing always gets more expensive and your money will be safe. Until now. These people lost their money and are protesting in their thousands. If the economy goes down people will stop spending and so on. Social unrest is something the Xiś of the world would want to prevent at any cost?

Still available on the web new for 70 euro( not 1700 ). Battery lasts 2 weeks

Fully agree boomer. Its a bit dark and nerdy but look at a graveyard and you look back at local history. I once visited a small village in germany was utterly bored did visit the graveyard and oh boy ww1 and ww2 in your face it was..

But what have the romans ever done for us??

Same experiences with me. Parents, grandparents, neighbours never ever spoke about the war. Grown up in Holland the German occupation was still "alive"in my childhood but questions were never answered other than "that was a long time ago. It was this deafening silence that did make me realise something really bad big and horrible happened and it was only when i found a bag with foodcoupons and german written forms my father opened up a bit telling me he was in a german labourcamp for 3 years in Bremerhafen building U boat shelters. Conversation abruptly stopped when mother came in she threw the bag away instantly. Later when we went on holiday to spain the first question he asked meeting British of the same generation was Hi, were have you been? I never understood until later in life how these people understood the question and started a conversation about the war and it was like they already knew each other having a beer and patting each other on the shoulder ( he sent me to mum first). Although i was born after it definately influenced me like they say it works through the generations. My children? no luckily not, for them Hitler is Napoleon, too long ago. Good but bad in thesame time as now with Israel look what happens in Europe, are we about to make thesame mistake again? So many years later here we are complaining about a crappy Lexus satnav.. Talking about putting things in perspective hey!

Best to stay in open a nice bottle of rioja and look at a revenge movie like the equalizer. Let the idiots do idiots things, not for me please

and rightfully so as no doubt the agressive hotheads giving you trouble will carry one. Some countries do allow it but i am not sure if its is really working for them.

All very civilized and the right thing to do but what your inner devil tells you is to pull out the bazooka and blow their car to smithereens! ( oh well, metaphorically speaking that is..)

Stephen, there is this special category of people you do not want to meet. Inner city folk know who i mean. from coke filled hot hatch juveniles to real underwold criminals. I can remember one occasion i was cut off driving in city centre by a black mercedes s class with 4 bearded gentlemen inside that looked they were not going to attend the annual stamp convention. My wife sitting next to me wanted to hit the horn and tell them off. I made it clear that was propably not a good idea. Stay under the radar and go with the flow is my motto.

No brainer, go fo the model 3. By far the most economical of all, no maintenance, plenty of room inside for 4 adults and the absolute fastest out there. If you have solar panels on your house visiting a petrolstation is a thing of the past. Also super reliable and practically unstealable. No comparison with the rest. Test it and you will find out

They seem to offer it as an accessory now something that is not really needed but you can use it to achieve enhanced protection. Something like a plastic wrap around your suitcase at airports, or ceramic coating to protect your paint. A recall is normally only done if there is a safety concern and it looks like Lexus does not really know how to handle the situation. It is not a UK problem only but its spread worldwide in both Toyota and Lexus vehicles so Toyota Legal will have a major say in this as well and they could be afraid that if they recall all cars it will be seen as an admission. This will open the door to numerous claims from insurance companies and private individuals alike. I really feel they want to keep this under the radar as long as possible but you what happens with a smoldering fire don't you? So far for putting customer first and the relentless pursuit of perfection, all seems a long time ago. This will bite them hard if they don't fix it.

Surely this honour should go to the infamous Alfasud from Alfa Romeo, that rusted already in the brochure!