dutchie01

Could not agree more. Most of the motoring press are spoiled brats. Time and again they receive invitations for another car launch in nice destinations in Spain, Portugal, Hawai. All expenses paid and a boatload of cars to drive around in. Tech support available and wine and dine. After a testdrive and pic/vid opportunities of a couple of hours they receive goodie bags and fly back. They then come up with nonsensical claims as "the steering does not feel very sportive and the gearchanges are a bit slow" In a family hatchback.... In case of Lexus its always about the cvt. Floor the throttle and look into the camera with a droopy face. All based on a couple of hours driving an absolutely nothing to do with day to day use. There are not a lot of indipendant journalists out there but savagegeese is nr 1 on my list. BTW i loved the cvt in my IS especially in city driving. A bit like a BEV before they did exist.

And what about cars? prices went up to rip off level? for instance a BMW 320i available from 27k back in 2015 now starts at 40K. Thats 34% more!

RX450h

never use second hand tyres for the simple reason you dont know the history. Could be from a write off big bang accident and internal thread could be damaged. Dont save money on safety. Btw, like Linas said you think you are cheaper but as it is an inferior product you will have to buy new ones really soon. Another topic is brake distance. no comparison between A and C brands. Best to surf the net look for an offer of a quality brand like pay 3 get 4 and go for it

Wintertyres are totally different than summers. The rubber is different it stays soft at low temp while summers become rock hard. The profile and depth of the grooves secure grip in snow of all sorts bar iced roads that when you have to visit a local pub and leave the car! Jokes aside the difference is simply unbelievable. Summers in snow just no grip and outright dangerous and on winters you simply plow on RWD FWD or AWD. My IS250 had a snow button that worked miracles. Making sure there is less power to the wheels by driving off in 2nd or 3rd and not revving abobe 2500rpm. Then on top of that the abs and tractioncontrol kicking in.

And the insurance withdraws cover its all in the smallprint

Morning Doctor, i got a bonce in my scroates which is a bit of a gotspe?

Indeed not bad at all. And cabin crew gets 8 pounds per hour....

All for the profit. They absolutely dont care about your or mine opinion but why should they with a record profit of around 2 billion this year? their strategy works, just pay and shut up complaining is useless. Car hire companies can do thesame without blinking and eye. Goldcar and other B rated outlets will force you to buy their full insurance package if you show up and did already pay for the car. Complaining is useless, a real rip off. Next level rip off is the Germans charging you per month if you want another color on your 12 meter wide superscreen in where once was a dashboard. Heated seats? yes Sir per subscription of 5 pounds per month please. Next up will be a new car with all goodies active and working leaving the showroom and after 2 months the company remotely switches things off including reducing the capacity of the batterypack. Mark my words! Christmas ripp off in the local restaurant yesterday glass of Moet Champagne for only 18 Euro! The world has gone crazy..

All surcharches have absolutely nothing zilch nada to do with woke or politics. Its all about profit. If mu neighbour does it so can i. Look at the airline industry. They used to charge for you as a person to fly. Then extra for your baggage in the hold. Then extra for your trolly in the cabin. All to create added value and increase profit, nothing else. Parking lots are thesame. Dont know if you know but i know, a single parking area for a car is more profitable than a hotelroom!

Probably because the GSF is very understated and not understood at all. You have to know this car to recognize it. Just look at the RS6 and the E63. you cant get more agressive flashy in your face styling than that, Combine that with thunderous noise and you have the preferred motor for those that seek attention. The GSF is way too civilized for that. It is not a motor you can show off with as nobody recognises it.

International Politics especially in the Middle East is an international pokergame where everybody cheats. You never know what is true and what not, what happens behind the curtain remains untold.

Spot on Malc, some 6 billion of aid poured into Palestine in the last 7 years. Guess where it ended up. Starts with an H, ends with amas

Social media or TikTok generation. Short focus and base your opinion on another opinion that in most cases is shallow and uninformed. No time/interest or capability to dive deeper into the facts look at history and form an opinion of yourself. Easier to follow the herd. Clearly visible in the Israel/Palestine conflict and the entire Woke movement. Same for Anti Slavery and XR Rebellion type movements. Full circle to education here as they dont read books dont get trained to look at subjects from different perspectives dont get taught the difference between facts and opinion. Even worse as you sometimes hear "a fact is just an opinion". Lots of things have changed since i was a student but i sometimes just dont understand todays ways of doing things. I remember we had 16 hours of language per week. Maths was repetition repetition repetition never ending until right. We were forced to read study and discuss a pile of books. I know its all very old school for todays youth but i am sure it was better.

In France they will simply occupy the hotel refuse to leave for months and hostage the management. All other hotels in the region will go on a support strike as will the suppliers. Taxidrivers in town will lay down their job as well as all lorry drivers. In Germany they will send in the lawyers, activate the trade organisation and trade unions.

Who was Hitler?? Ask todays youth and it seems to me the vast majority have no clue too long ago like Napoleon. Maybe someone on TikTok?

This security for employees is not only in France but thesame in most European countries. Germany, Benelux, Spain, Scandinavia etc. Only thing setting France apart is they take management hostage! If the company is successfull and profitable but changes course so no longer need you or your department fine, but they will have to to pay no questions asked. And yes this could be expensive but all will be calculated in the total reorganisation package. Whats the issue.

Oh the irony. Years ago i dumped my BMW after the third breakin and total clean out of the cabin. Steering wheel, aircon, satnav, controllers all gone. My logic then was to go for a brand that has low sales thus no market for spare parst e.g. Lexus. I bought an IS300H and drove if for 4 yrs without any attempt to break in or worse. Happy days.

So what is your preferred alternative to Ruinart? Pol Roger?

ruinart, now you have my attention!

Its all about supply and demand. If demand is high prices go up. You will find absolute crap old ****ty hotels in a prime location in Paris, Rome etc called boutique hotels and they are full for 300 euro/night. always. Same for parking. Why should a city centre hotel give a secure parking for free? its a big asset. i see no problem in paying 30 Euro for that? Like you say maybe not the place for you.

This year it seems to be quite different as the power seems to have moved to employees. You just cant get them. Raise your finger and you have a new job kind of thing. It is an international phenomena as i hear thesame in literally every European country and it is definately limiting growth of companies and even influences strategies. Do we have to start producing outside of the UK and where? Automotive thesame albeit for different reasons. Germany is a mess with VW closing EV factories and moving production out of Germany to China. Legislation has become so strict that producers ( also non automotive) are rethinking their future. Confusing times we live in.

Its not coming Malc. Better keep driving your old and reliable horses, petrol will be around longer than us..

That bonnet! Surely there must be a massively tuned V8 with compressor on top inside that car. Something you absolutely need to cross the undiscovered highlands of London?

I have been visiting Sitges for the last 25 years on average 5 times a year, was there again last week. Its where i spend my days. Fully agree with the prices but its not only about the cost of the meat or bottle of wine. How many staff you got in your restaurant? chefs, waiters, cleaners? You have to rent the place. So at what cost? Taxes how much? You will soon find out there is a big difference between Spain and the rest of the world. Comparing is not always easy/honest. Nandos to a Michelin star restaurant. Why are they so expensive?? Its cost. 2 cooks and machines in one place and 250 seats compared to 20 cooks and 30 seats in the other? Which hotel you normally use in Sitges?