First_Lexus

Hard to imagine what the youngsters of today will be saying in fifty years time… “…I remember when we didn’t have these computer chips put into our brains at birth, and we used to actually hold a separate device…” Let’s hope they’re not saying; ”…I remember the days before the war / asteroid / pestilence (delete depending on level of pessimism) when we had devices that would do all sorts of things for us. Now go and hunt squirrels if you want to eat tonight.” Remain indoors.

Still mulling a sensible downsize from my RX next year, I’ve now decided on a shortlist of a Toyota Corolla Excel, Mazda 3 Takumi and…erm…I included the BMW 1-Series due the reviews, and never having owned a BMW. Prices of all three when specified to the same level are within a few pounds of one another, with the Mazda cheapest. What I can’t understand are the reviews noting how wonderful the BMW cabin is, both in terms of design and quality. What Car? even notes that while the Corolla interior is very good, it can’t match the quality of the BMW… …I must be looking at different things. Both the Mazda and Toyota appear far better made to me. I specifically looked at cars on the forecourt that were 1-2 years old, and the BMW doesn’t wear miles well whereas the Japanese (Toyota built on British soil) pair are just superior.

I feel the same sometimes. It’s a funny thing, age. When I first started work - no mobile telephones, only a few big desktop computers - I worked with senior managers who I considered ‘old.’ They were actually about the age I am now. They lamented the decline in Britain’s global standing, the change in etiquette and standards, we’re appalled by long hair and as for removing formal dress (and I mean three-piece suits) in the office, it was like the world was ending! They found new technology scary and threatening. I thought they were out of touch and that I knew it all… …fast forward and I now know only too well how they felt. I don’t do much online, I also lament Britain’s (continued) global decline, I don’t like home working much, and as for the move from business dress in the office to no dress code at all…! One of those managers, all those years ago, used to tell youngsters like me - who thought we knew it all - that “…I’ve forgotten more than you’ll ever know.” Turns out he was right.

This isn’t just affecting EVs as many of us with the 4th Gen RX are painfully aware…😬

I think the stereotype of ‘thick posh children’ going to private school is just that - a stereotype and a cliche. Harry Enfield’s ‘Tim Nicebutdim’ for those with cultural references from the 1990s and ‘Whacko’ with Jimmy Edwards for those of an older vintage. The majority of private schools have an entrance exam - Common Entrance - which is far from simple to pass to get to the better establishments. Many also add in interviews with both prospective students and parents. Worth noting that in the past thirty years many fee paying schools also partner with local state schools to try and raise standards, and almost all offer scholarships to the brightest. Granted, money has a place - but it isn’t a passport to a good school if the child doesn’t have the academic ability. For those students, a less well known and respected private school may offer little benefit over the better state provided options. For me the issue is the approach. Academic rigour and education for its own sake isn’t fashionable in the state sector, perhaps because so many teachers are (with good intentions) left leaning. The result is unintended consequence, essentially a race to the bottom designed to ensure nobody feels left out and that nobody feels in any way superior to anybody else. That isn’t the real world and serves no child well.

Funny thing. Corporal punishment existed when I was at school in the 1970s. The cane was in the Headmaster’s private study. To my knowledge he only used it once - possibly progressive for the time, and it was a deeply traditional school, but he preferred to engage with the children and present positive reasons for us to conform. We all did. Perhaps it was the threat in the background of the cane. I’d prefer to think it was the collegiate style of the Headmaster and his staff who respected us, and we respected them as well as their rules. Even so, I have to post these classics…

I’ve been considering a Hyundai IONIC5 EV. That’s not quite comparable in terms of size or price, but it’s not far off. Like for like insurance quote for that was £375. I fully accept that insurance costs have risen, and that other brands are affected, but none seem to impacted as Range Rover and Lexus as far as I can see, albeit Tesla are having similar issues with price. I bought my RX on a PCP that expires in twelve months. There should be a lot of equity in it, and as I said on another thread I’ll be downsizing. It’s a real struggle tbh as I like the RX so much, but not enough to have that sort of insurance cost. The cost / benefit analysis doesn’t add up for me. I’m only doing 5k miles a year these days, so I may even consider a supermini like a Honda Jazz Crosstar. Something like that has added savings on VED and servicing. I never needed an RX, I only bought it because I could tbh. That itch is scratched, and I can downsize ahead of retirement in 12-18 months time.

It’s more whether spending that money just to insure a car is worth it based on other things you’d like to do with said money. In 2022 my annual insurance for the RX was £350. This year it rose to £750. As things stand it’s looking like another rise to £1500 next year if nothing changes! Frankly I’d rather not spend that just to insure the RX, regardless of how much I like it. Add in the potential for theft - or damage trying to steal - and come May / June next year I’ll be changing to another brand.

I must remember to pop back later to see whether the 🔥 fire on this thread leads to a collapse as dramatic as the Luton Airport car park… …either way, I’m fairly certain that just like the car park this isn’t going to end well!

The official version of events so far - from the Bedfordshire Fire Brigade - is that the fire started in a diesel vehicle. That doesn’t rule out that it could have been a diesel / hybrid (although they’re not that common) or that the information could change with further investigation, but for now they seem to be sticking with ‘diesel.’ My question is on the second order impact with any EVs that subsequently caught fire. Could that be why it spread so fast and was seemingly so intense? Or was that simply because of lots of petrol/diesel cars and fuel (not to mention interior materials etc.)

My Nov 2021 RX had the plates fitted in September. It’s also done 12k miles, all by me. Front tyres 5.8 - 6.3 mm, rear 6.8 - 7mm remains. Front brakes 5% worn, rear 10% worn. The only difference is that my RX is running on the Dunlop SportMaxx rather than Bridgestone.

https://fullfact.org/health/NHS-test-and-trace-app-37-billion-instagram/ Yes, it cost a lot…but the £37bn number isn’t accurate, urban myth based on viral (and incorrect) social media posts… “The actual cost of the app was about £35 million in its first year. That £37 billion figure refers to the budget for the whole test and trace programme in its first two years. Inaccurate claims about the Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic have spread widely on social media, and can damage trust in politics. The £37 billion figure has been misused frequently on social media, as we’ve written several times previously. A Labour MP also made the claim in November 2022, and corrected himself after being contacted by Full Fact. The £37 billion figure refers to the total budget allocated to NHS Test and Trace in its first two years. A National Audit Office (NAO) interim report in December 2020 said that the Government allocated £22 billion to the test, trace, contain and enable programme in 2020/21, with a further £15 billion for 2021/22.”

Trying to drag this back to climate change, even though the last discussions have been entertaining… The question for me, is whether the response of (global) Governments to the climate situation - essentially their policies and legislation - are both proportionate and reasonable, much as terms and conditions need to be in order to be enforceable if legally challenged. Personally I think most of what the UK Government has done is both proportionate and reasonable. I do believe the climate is changing / has changed. I don’t know how much of that is caused by the impact of people and how much is natural as I’m not a scientist, but I do believe we as global citizens should do what we can to minimise the impacts. If that means following Government directives, then that’s fine with me as long as they remain proportionate and reasonable. Now, I know that many people don’t agree that what Government is doing is either of those things, but I do. I may be wrong, but that’s my judgement based on my beliefs and values. However, it must be said that even I do think some of the media reporting is overly dramatic and unnecessarily alarmist. People need to be bought into the need for change, and that comes from sensible and pragmatic policies articulated by sensible and pragmatic politicians. I’m rather afraid that we have don’t have those on any side at the moment.

One of the very first things I learnt at University - political philosophy (it was a foundation ahead of my political history and theology degree) - was that the oft quoted “…people want and deserve to live in a democracy…” is actually a myth. Most people simply want a good standard of living, food, housing and education for their children, exactly as you note. How it is achieved, and by which political system, is pretty much irrelevant. Well, as long as one group isn’t favoured over another. Ironically the almost perfect system - stick with me here - is a benevolent dictatorship, as long as it delivers for all the people. It does away with costly elections, short-term planning and popularity contests, instability caused by changes in direction etc. Unfortunately it’s almost unachievable, what with power corrupting and preferences shown to the elite (whosoever that may be). Even so, how lovely would it be to live under an altruistic leader who did everything for his or her people without any other motive…and yes, I know I sound like a conflicted hippy.

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-conspiracy-against-grammar-schools/ I’m finding this debate about education interesting and constructive. The different opinions and perspectives show why successive Governments have struggled to really implement change for the benefit of our young people. My own perspective, for what it’s worth, is as follows. We speak about ‘education’ as a single and specific activity, but I don’t consider it to be so. There are people who are more suited to academic pursuits - even those can be split into science, maths, humanities, art, music, languages etc. Then there are those who are more practical, and there are large numbers in the middle. In my opinion we specialise too early, and we’ve drifted from offering ‘education’ to providing ‘training’ for future careers. The Grammar School system (selective by examination at age eleven or twelve) suits those with an academic bent. It was a good enabler for social mobility as it was based on (essentially) an IQ exam. However, what it did was consign those who failed to poorer quality schooling, whereas it SHOULD have offered those who didn’t pass the exam the chance to explore more practical options. The comprehensive school system, which largely replaced the selective system from the 1960s, merged everybody together. It was a fine example of unintended consequences. Instead of raising standards for all, having multiple ability children in one educational setting rather reduced overall standards, frustrating the potential of higher achievers, broadly trying not to upset any specific group. For me, education - at least to the age of twelve - should be for its own sake. Knowledge and exploration. Children, parents and teachers could then specialise in secondary school, including apprenticeships from age fifteen of sixteen. University or higher education shouldn’t be seen as a goal for all. It should return to being the exception for those who are really suited to it, and who will really benefit from it. It should be useful, rather than being something to fill out another three or four years. Choice - as has been noted - is the key. There is a place for selective education, apprenticeships, and private education as well as for comprehensive schooling for those that want it. These options should all be available, enabling parents with different views and aspirations and children with different abilities and skills to thrive. I’m afraid I see what we have as a mandated (to a degree) ‘one size fits all’ approach, symbolic of the left leaning Governments that introduced it, albeit with good intentions. Private education exists so that those willing and able to afford it can escape the system that we now have. It should not NEED to exist, but it does. Same with private health, as I see somebody’s ability to access better healthcare as just as important as their ability to access better education. Choice again, and that’s right. As has been said, those who pay for either health or education also pay for the children of others as well. Double bubble. I find it hard to argue that offering that choice is a bad thing. Finally, in the UK; Public school = fee paying top private school Private school = fee paying smaller school State school = any school where there are no fees Comprehensives, Grammars, Secondary Moderns, Academies etc. are all different versions of state education.

I had the Avons on my NX300h and they were bloody brilliant!

I have sonic white on my RX. In the sunshine (or under lights) it’s very sparkly!

Yes, no problem at all using snow foam products, or actually pretty much any detailing products, as long as instructions are followed. The only thing to avoid is anything too abrasive (T-Cut, yikes!) unless you know what you’re doing and are correcting the finish. I’ve used Bilt Hamber Auto Foam for years on NX and RX and it’s very good, albeit quite strong so make sure the dilution ratio is right otherwise you might impact on previously added sealant/wax protection to a degree (but still wouldn’t damage the paintwork as you’d simply reapply protection as desired).

I’ve had Avon tyres on a couple of cars and always found them to be very good. Mid-range price but good reviews. The best Winter tyres I had were Falken Eurowinter, which were simply superb in challenging conditions. Amazing. The worst I’ve had were Vredestein. Very highly reviewed but I found grip poor, noise levels high and to top it all they wore quickly! As others have said, the issue with the RX is size for the 20”, but there seem to be a few more options now. Michelin - personally - I’ve never had great experiences with, but based on the reviews both here and elsewhere I think I’d be looking at either those or the Goodyear as @Herbierecommends.

I remember the newspaper adverts for the Stellar - along the lines of “We saw the Cortina replacement slightly differently” aimed at the jelly mould Sierra. The Stellar was a Korean produced Cortina effectively, correct?

One of the reasons I went for Sonic White on my RX…far less prone to showing imperfections than darker colours and still very sparkly in the sun!

They may also be able to use heat lamps to help remove it as I understand it. I also had this on my ceramic coated NX300h in Mesa Red, and heat sorted a couple on the roof without any aggressive correction work that would have required the coating to be reapplied. Lexus Swindon used to have heat lamps in one of their workshops to help with this sort of thing (going back 3-4 years).

These announcements are just politics, nothing more than a (probably futile) attempt to retain power. There hasn’t been a ‘road to Damascus’ moment for Sunak, he is simply changing policy in order to try and attract votes - after all, that’s what politicians do. They need to be in power in order to do anything. As @Boomer54said, this is likely a political trap for Labour who, in common with most opposition parties, are vague about the detail of their own proposals. As Andrew Marr broke on Friday, Labour oppose scrapping the Manchester leg of HS2 but won’t reinstate it if they win power, and oppose the new Shetland oil field but won’t shut it down if they return to office. Presenting their ‘green’ policies as an attack on drivers and households, as was successful for the Conservatives with ULEZ in Uxbridge, is the aim here - hoping for clear differences between the parties on some issues - it’s as simple as that. In reality I can’t see this will shift the dial enough. Regardless of what we may think, or what political commentators obsess about, it’s all about the economy. If people feel good and confident, they’ll vote for the party who (they perceive) delivered that. There have been exceptions to this rule - 2019 was one - but not many. I don’t think green issues will be anything more than a minor distraction in any coming election tbh.

When I was young there were plenty of anglicised pronunciations. What we now call Audi (ow - dee) used to be ‘awe-Dee’ 😅. Let’s not even discuss Hyundai - ‘High tech, high spec, HIGH - OON - DIE’ as the adverts used to proclaim. Funny how they’re now having to do another advert telling us we (and they) were wrong all along!

…which is? I’ve always believed it to be ‘Lan - cha’ based on my one visit to Italy 😇