dutchie01

Thats why they they say in the restaurant business, you loose money on the food and make money on the drinks.

Could be correct. Just looked at the Dutch Lexus site and the RC has gone and the LC is offered at limited avaiability from stock only.

Historic GP is fantastic as well. The wide spread of machines from 12 to 4 cylinders from the fifties all the way up to the seventies. Big suicidal ( in my view) CanAm thundermachines. When they fly by you feel it in your bones and hope all goes well. The Danger. E grand Prix is a clinical non event that nobody asked for. Vegan burger anyone?

Could be more to do with the combination of electric vehicles and racing. It just does not seem to work does it? The E series is mostly ignored by spectators and press alike. No noise, no smell, no emotion. Manufacturers have pulled out as there is just no return on their big investments ( as it is mostly ignored). So it surely seems to be the wrong approach for motor racing.

Hotelprices almost doubled compared to pre Covid, and guess what, theyre all full

great list makes me jealous. My favorite is the Lancia or the 190 cosworth

long time ago after saying goodbye to motorcycles i owned some sporty vehicles manufactured in Italy. First one an Alfa Romeo GT Junior 1600 Bertone coupe. Bloodred and breathtakingly beautiful. Rust killed the romance. Best gearbox i ever had. Then another Alfa, the GTV 2.0 gearbox in the back transaxle. More GT than sports. Tuned engine, lighter flywheel, drank like an alcoholic. Sold after the breaks stopped working in the middle of town. 3rd one much later Alfa 75 INDY. again 2.0 and transaxle basically same car different shape. Great to drive when it worked. Got stuck in 3rd gear in the middle of Paris traded it in for nr4 the wonderful Alfa 164 with the V6 Busso engine. I think only 204hp but fast it was. And dangerous with FWD and left or right wheelspin. Just could not get the traction on the road. Had it for a year and a half and had 3 new clutches. When i literally had the gearstick in my hand, pulled it right out of the mechanism, i had enough. No more Alfas for me. I then entered decades of sensible companycars so here you go!

For me its about value for money. If i find an extensive buffet with fresh of everything plus a chef preparing every egg fantasy that exists and they charge 25 euro fine no problem even if i only take one sandwich and a coffee. same amount for old croissants and some chocolate bread ( you guessed it French breakfast) is getting away with legalized theft. same with cars really?

In my experience you always had to pay for the hotel car park. Price can be ambitious to say the least, last time i paid 40 euro/day in amsterdam and 28 in Barcelona. Country side hotels will be cheaper of course. The real ripp off in hotels is the breakfast charge going as high as 35/40 per person. I spend a lot of time in hotels and never stop to be amazed. Another creative hidden cost is roomservice. when checking the bill afterwards it stated 10 euro DELIVERY charge. Now, how about that?

Woah! thats 333 a month for an 18 year old on insurance alone! No wonder todays youth makes different choices.

everything for the environment!

Yes, prices of second hand cars are going down but dont forget they increased considerably over the last two years. Covid turned the market upside down. Shortage of electronics, parts and chips delayed production of new cars with leadtimes creaping up to 18 months. Result was that everybody went for demos, used cars of 1/2 yrs old. These went within 6 months then all went for higher mileage ones. Covid also played a role a people refused public transport and bought a cheapo. Result is the second hand car market went crazy and prices increased by up to 30% with some popular models even more. I personally sold my wifes car for more than i paid for it 2 years ago. Crazy! What you now see is a correction of the market. New cars are readily available. EVs are getting cheaper every month and everybody already bought a used car in the past 2 years. This means the used car market is in the dolldrums. Dont despair however as it will come back just hang on and give it another year, donts sell now

like the Zeekr? take a look at this one. China Styling. That how they roll.....

For sale in China only and a revamp of the ZEEKR 009.

nice partytrick to make these useless. Covered by darkness and silence at night drive up to the camera in your hillbilly pick up or old farmers vehicle. slowly slowly drive up to the camera until you touch it then accelerate slightly and presto the pole is no longer at 90 degrees making the camera useless as it inspects the rooftops or grass below it. Happens a lot here in the countryside. Expect them to cast them in concrete soon..

Situation of the EV market differs per country but what makes the UK situation special is RHD. If we compare UK to the Netherlands the situation is not that different. Maybe the charging infrastructure is better in Holland and as a result there are more EVs around also being a much smaller country. Similar is that in both countries the EV market is fully driven by company car drivers and lease companies. Get a new car and get rid of it after 3/4/5 years. These cars then enter the second hand market and that's where the problem starts. The rapid battery development makes a 4 yr old car an " old car " as newer better versions are available sometimes even cheaper. Then fiscal stimulation will disappear making ownership more expensive plus the doubt of the general public about longevity of batteries. Result? a second hand car market coming to a standstill. I spoke to a VW dealer telling me new EV sell ok but second hand stay there for 12 months until they have to move them off the balance sheet. In the Netherlands these cars are then exported to other countries with an interest of cheap motoring. BUT, where do you export to in the UK?? These cars are stuck and will continue to fall in value until someone bites. Just wait and see you can take one home in 12 months after bringing coffee for the staff!

Come to think of it its quite tempting. Once a week i drive off to clean the car and i call it an hour for myself. Nobody giving me orders or complaining about whatever..... I might give it a try!

Sitting in the car for 50mins with the engine idling whilst reading a book? Maybe time to call a helpline?

With all respect but the LS beeing the first Lexus and the current RZ cannot be compared other than having thesame badge. The original LS had to establish the brand in the states and Toyota used 60 designers, 1400 engineers in 24 teams, 2300 technicians and over 200 support staff to develop the original LS400. All at an estimated cost of 1 Billion USD. How many LS400 were built? Well 165.000. Do the maths. It is likely to be one of the most over engineered cars of all time. No surprise this is not sustainable so Lexus cars in my opinion over the years have become more and more Toyota with lipstick just as Audi to VW. The RZ will not sell much and is not meant to do so. It more seems to be an in between car as Toyota completely missed the BEV market and just needed to bring something out fast until they will be able to offer full BEV in some years time. They have just started development of the first ground up electric platform.. The perception of Lexus seems to change with the general public. They seem to continue bringing out cars that are not competitive enough in todays market. RZ with polarized styling and mediocre tech. All fine but not for the pricepoint. Same issue with the new LBX. Too expensive for the product and no BEV available. It is just not going to work.

And pay for the shiny dealer palace you are instructed to have by your only supplier that also attacks you from behind as they want to go direct to your customers over the internet. And to witness the transition to no maintenance electric vehicles, no services needed, no engine, gearbox oils or cooling fluids to sell. Before you know it you are a mere service center trying to survive on an annual kickback from your only supplier that will keep you alive as long as needed. What will be the role of a dealer in 10 years time??

Opel Kadett coupe.

Alfa Romeo GT 1600 Junior Bertone Coupe. Emotional, not too fast, temperamental and breaks down every now and then.

took me some time to figure this one out Renato but hey also the grey cells are slower arent they. beeing of a certain age is like a good classic car i guess. Top speed a bit lower, the windows leak a bit and the steering gets a bit rusty but it still drives!

Well Magnus you sure make it difficult. I googled the licence plate and the result was "organ malfunction". Could tell a thing or two as it seems like a bit from everything. 3 Litre V6 Ford engine RWD and a polyester bodykit? Miata based? Or some anodyne US convertible? Something tells me it was not very successfull.

I am not. Still an athlete with a perfect body nothing wrong with it. (Just pulled a muscle in my back while stringing my shoe laces, could not walk for a week!!)