Bluemarlin

Not really, it's more of a conditional statement, in that if hydrogen cars become widely adopted, then 1200 stations will be built. Therefore, if the condition is met, the outcome will occur. So it's no more a fantasy than petrol stations and charging points before ICE cars and EVs were widely adopted. One might have once thought that geographically separated strangers, debating semantic irrelevancies, would be a fantasy, but then some idiot invented the internet, and created the condition for that reality to be met 🙂

I've driven across France a couple of times in the last 18 months in my 2009 RX 450h, and at speed limit (70-75) got around 32-35 mpg. However, the last time I pottered along at around 60-65 and got 41 mpg. That tends to be my experience here too on motorway journeys. As it happens, the slower top speed doesn't seem to materially affect journey time, largely because it's easier to maintain. At a higher speed I find there's more slowing down behind other drivers, and then having to speed up again, which not only drops the average mph, but also burns more fuel at the higher speed and from the accelerating to get back up to speed. I should point out that this is with E5 petrol, usually Esso which is zero ethanol. With E10 it tends to drops by around 3-5 mpg.

Ok, I've just checked on my Android phone. After it's connected to the car network, go to settings and tap Network and Internet. At the top it will show WiFi, with the name of the car network underneath. Tap on Wifi and it will show the name of the car network, with "Connected" underneath. Tap on the name of the car network and it should come up with options to Forget and Disconnect.

I'll try a very simple answer then. There aren't 1200 BP hydrogen filling stations, and I don't believe anyone has claimed that. Currently there are a dozen or so hydrogen filling stations, as per the map earlier. What is being claimed is that BP currently have 1200 filling stations where they can add the ability to refill with hydrogen. How many there are now is immaterial, as was the number of electric charging points in 2005. If hydrogen becomes widely adopted for passenger cars, then BP, along with other fuel providers, will provide the necessary capability at their filling stations, in the same way that electricity charging points have been provided to cater for the adoption of electric cars. It is no more a fantasy than that claimed by EV supporters regarding electric charging points before there was widescale adoption, and is instead simply an understanding of how such markets work. In short, if hydrogen powered passenger vehicles are developed and adopted by consumers, then sufficient filling stations will be provided by the fuel suppliers. If not, then they won't.

Ultimately it would come down to price and condition for me. If it's significanty cheaper than similar aged or older cars with lower mileage, then I'd consider it, even more so if my own usage was going to be low mileage. If I was going to put a lot of miles on it, and hope to get a good price when I sell it, then I'd give it a miss. One think I'd check is the rear tyres, as they were replaced at the last MOT, and it's not uncommon for an owner to stick cheap ones on to get a pass if they're about to sell the car. Check also that mileage based maintenance haas been done, like spark plugs, which either should have been done at last service, or are due. It would be good if the transmission fluid has been replaced at some point too. On the plus the it seems to have averaged 25k miles a year, which likely means a lot of motorway miles, which in some ways is better than lower mileage consisting of short trips, pottering about town. As mentioned, the mileage excludes it from the Relax warranty, but there is a 10yr plus extended warranty available for cars over 10ys/100k miles up to 15yrs and 150k miles. I don't know if a car under 10 years but over 100k miles is eligible, so you'll have to check with Lexus. If so it's around £550 a year and includes AA cover. Like I said, it would really come down to price and condition compared to similar cars, and how many miles I expected to do.

Once it connects to the car network, go to settings/network and internet/wifi then tap on car network and the option to forget should appear.

Thanks gents, problem solved by turning the audio off 🙂

I was in a similar position almost 2 years ago, and actually stretched my budget a little to go for the 450h over the 400h. In part because I came across a one owner car with full dealer service history, that looked and drove like new, and in part because I preferred the newer model. I didn't want a sunroof or roof rails, as I didn't need them and they're a potential source of faults or leaks; and they were more common on the 400 over the 450. In general there seemed to be fewer leak issues with the 450 as well. A small thing, but I also really like the additional cupholder on the right of the steering wheel, and use it a lot. The other factor is that with the 450h being a little newer, you'll still be able to get an extended warranty on cars over 10yrs old but under 15yrs and 150k miles, if you like that kind of peace of mind. Ultiimately though, have a good look at both and, if you find you have no preference, then buy on the condition of the car. Things to check: MOT history, make sure everything is fixed promptly and that there are no recurring problems. Look over service receipts to see that services were done on time, and scheduled items attended to. It obvously helps if the tyres are good ones, but it's not ususual for an owner or dealer to stick on a cheap one if one fails just before selling. If buying from a dealer, ask for the money off instead of them doing the usual pre sale service. Apart from the fact that it usually means just an oil & filter change, with possibly cheap oil, it means you get a back street garage stamp amongst all those main dealer ones. Much better to get one done yourself, at your dealer of choice, if one's due. Engines, transmission, and hybrid stuff are usually pretty reliable unless any faults have been flagged up, but budget for a transmission oil drain and refill (a couple of hundred pounds) if one hasn't been done recently. Other than that, check for any signs of corrosion beyond surface rust, personally I avoid cars that have lived in coastal regions, or too far north. Check bottom of doors, sills and wheel arches. Take a torch and have a good look underneath, the RX is high enough to do this easily enough. Feel the carpets under the mats for damp, and lift out boot mat and look in all compartments for any signs of water ingress or corrosion. That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Good luck in your search!

That makes sense, thanks John.

I belive sodium ion batteries are a lot safer too, close to lead acid, although as yet without the same capacity as lithium ion. Despite the interest in hydrogen, currently tens (if not hundreds) of billions is being invested worldwide in EVs and battery technology. Condensed matter batteries are being developed for aircraft, and sodium ion batteries are being developed as an alternative to lithium. The problem with EVs is largely around the batteries, and my guesss is that with the money being thrown at it, along with the potential application of things like AI, that faster development of battery technologies will emerge and resolve many of the issues. Just a layman's guess though.

In a roundabout wayy I think it might have helped, as I think my problem is that my audio is set to start on bluetooth. Will set it to radio and see if that stops it. Thanks David.

David, are you saying that yours only starts when you select Bluetooth, or when you start the car? I'd live with the former, but the latter is happening for me. You have given me an idea though. Perhaps my audio is set to start in bluetooth mode when I turn the car on, so I'll try fiddling with that and see if that's the cause.

For some reason, whenever I start the car, once the bluetooth connection is established my music starts playing. The phone is an iPhone and this never used to happen, it only started after I recently had to re pair the phone to the system. I've looked up any potential iphone issues/solutions, but I'm not entirely sure it's down to the phone settings, as it doesn't autoplay when it connects to any other bluetooth speakers. Anyone have any idea how I can stop this happening? Thanks

Here's a map of them Gang: https://www.glpautogas.info/data/hydrogen-stations-map-united-kingdom.html

I will certainly agree with you that they have an unfair advantage, and believe that insurance companies take advantage of that. I guess the bit we don't agree on is risk profile based pricing. You think it's unfair on younger drivers and those who have a history of high risk behaviour, whereas I believe a flat rate is unfair on more experienced drivers with a low risk record. I think I'd agree if the risk profiling was arbitary, and didn't reflect reality but, if younger, less experienced drivers, or those with convictions or who drove specific kinds of car, were responsible for the most claims, then I favour it. I am curious though as to why you're in favour of flat rate car insurance, and yet think a flat rate is unfair for health, and would prefer risk based profiling for that. That would just result in older people, or those with genetic conditions, being profiled into higher premiums. It seems contradictory to favour it for one and not the other. Not all illnesses are choice based. But, as you say, that's a different argument. Additionally, I still maintain that the tax argmument is false, as they're entirely different for a number of reasons. Firstly, one can't accurately predict earning based on age, gender or colour. Secondly, and more importantly, there's no need to predict anything, as tax is retrospective. We can see to the last penny how much an individual has earned and tax then with 100% accuracy. That said HMRC is trying to get away with it to a lesser degree, by trying to get people to pay a proportion of tax in advance, based on the previous year's earnings. Insurance however has to predict risk, and base it's charges on that, hence the need to profile for that risk. If you wanted to treat them the same, then you'd have to charge everyone at the end of the year, based on their actual record for that year, which is of course unworkable. The only perfectly fair way is to have no insurance at all, and people simply pay as they go for any damage they cause, but that too is unrealistic and so we're left with imperfection in whatever system we have. The reality is that, as technology advances, more and more data will be collected, and more sophisticated systems will be developed to analyse it. This will inevitably result in more profiling, and a greater ability to predict things. Some of this will be good, and some bad.

Well there's the answer then. Bigger spaces, fewer cars, less weight to support.

How recently? If it was from a dealer I'd take iit back to them to diagnose and fix.

Same. Mine is set to open/default to the info screen, but if do anything else and then exit out, it exits to the map screen. I wouldn't mind, except I never use the inbuilt navigation.

Of course insurance is discriminative, that's the point. The higher your risk profile, the higher your premium. It works exactly like tax, as the more you earn, the more you pay. It's both unfair and inaccurate to compare the two by imagining tax as an age based charge though, as tax is income based, whilst insurance is risk based so, whilst both have incremental charging, the basis for it is different. Aggregating it wouldn't be fair either, as the 50 year old driver, who's had no accidents or convictions, and drives a Focus one day a week, would be charged the same as a 17 year old, with speeding convictions, drink driving bans, and multiple crashes, driving a souped up hot hatch. Risk based insurance encourages and rewards good behaviour, whereas a flat rate rewards recklessness. How is that either fair, or sensible? Besides, insurance is to some extent aggregated anyway, as you don't pay what you cost. Some pay more than they claim, and others pay less. It's just fine tuned by profiling risk, to put more of the burden on those more likely to present more of a risk. As such your calculation loses any value by not looking at the total amount claimed, and seeing what proportion of that is due to the higher risk drivers, who pay the highest premiums. If the numbers are weighted in that direction, then it would show the risk calculations to be accurate, and thus a more fair distribution of the cost. A comparison to health insurance is unreasonable too, as public health is pretty much a basic human right in any civilised country, and driving a car, where you can reduce your risk profile by how and what you drive, is a choice. Where would you draw the line? Gas and electricity are expensive, and they're even more necessary than a car, so should we all just pay a flat rate for that? What about petrol, that's effectively compulsory too? I do however agree that insurance in the UK is too high. Whether that's a reflection of costs, or blatant profiteering, I don't know, but agree that prices should be better investigated and regulated, especially given that it's compulsory. I also agree that there should be a greater differential between third party and fully comprehensive insurance. Ultimately though, insurance is a gamble, with insurance companies betting that you won't crash, and you betting that you will. As such, the odds, and therefore the price, are risk based. So, whilst I agree that there should be changes, I feel that preventing better data collection, and more accurate assessment of individual risk, would make things less, rather than more fair. I have no idea who's right though Linas, we just have different opinions.

I thought Lucy was good too. The other day I was in more of a transport mood, so watched Ford vs Ferrari and The Right Stuff, back to back.

I had a slight squeak over speed bumps but since I gave the underside a good spray of ACF 50, to rustproof it, I've had no more squeaks.

’tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church-door; but ’tis enough, ’twill serve... ...at least until you get the email, which I believe can sometimes take a few weeks to arrive.

That would cause a bit of a shock while reading the morning paper, Renato 🙂 The bathroom light use case is very good though, as it allowed me to not only add a light switch without have to install any wiring, but also to have it in the bathroom, instead of outside.

I'm 18 months in too, and couldn't be happier. Yes it's large, but I like the higher seating position, bigger door mirrors, and am grateful for the comfort and space on my occasional fishing trip to France, without the need for a roof box. Despite it's size, I've averaged 31 mpg since I've had it, and current tank is averaging 36 mpg, which isn't bad for such a big lump. With a five year service plan and a couple more years of extended warranty, I also have a bit of peace of mind regarding costs.

What we should do, instead of medicating people for obesity, is get them to run on a treadmill for an hour a day, and generate electricity from it:) On a bit of a tangent, I have a remote control light switch in my bathroom that needs no batteries, as it's powered by the kinetic energy of pressing the switch. I wonder if we'll one day see a time when such energy harvesting is built into roads and pavements to generate electricity.