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Post by racingteatray on Sept 28, 2021 13:39:25 GMT
Well this is where I have some sympathy for one Dominic Cummings and his desire to break the party duopolies here and in the US on the basis they have become stagnant repositories in hock to tribalism, identity politics and vociferous minorities on their outer fringes.
I find both the Tories and Labour unvotable as it stands. Would sir prefer a bucket of cold sick or some maggot-infested roadkill?
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 27, 2021 14:55:02 GMT
Indeed best of Britisch!
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 27, 2021 14:53:17 GMT
I reckon the huge majority of PHEV owners never plug them in.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 27, 2021 11:13:59 GMT
I was wondering about PHEVs. Our neighbour has a company Passat GTE estate and yesterday, as she is low on fuel, she was trying to work out whether she could do the trip to her office in Surrey on the electric range.
But, if you do that, don't you then need to either (a) plug it in at your destination to recharge or (b) go home using petrol?
I don't know if she plugs it in at the office but I've not once seen it plugged in at home.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 25, 2021 14:49:07 GMT
Bimbling around my local 'hood here in London doing weekend errands (going to the tip, getting the car washed etc), I did notice that none of the five petrol stations I drove past had any fuel whatsoever.
It's of no consequence to me for the time being - as it happens the BMW has over 3/4s of a tank, and the Fiat has a full tank, as both were refilled quite recently.
But I'm glad I don't have a pressing need to go anywhere particular at present.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 24, 2021 9:48:19 GMT
You should call it Eva after the Braun interior I like that suggestion. I was thinking "Plumbago" on account of the colour and being nearly the size of a Winnebago... Jesting aside it looks nearly perfect, aside from the engine bit.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 23, 2021 14:54:15 GMT
Not really. My first car was known as Pop (last three letters on the numberplate). My father arbitrarily decided that my first Z1 was called "the Bolt" and I called the second one "Hercule" because it was originally registered in Belgium. The 135i coupe was christened Bruce by a friend of mine during a drive down to the Alps to go skiing when it was new - her husband had already decided the female voice on the sat nav was "Sheila" so she riffed on that. The M135i, on the other hand, I used to refer to as "Ugly Mug". None of the other 20 or so cars I've had has had any form of name beyond "the car", possibly distinguished by make or colour when I had more than one.
The person in my family who used to have a thing for naming cars is my father. When we were teenagers, he had three successive Range Rovers over about a decade and they were always called "Boris" by everyone. Then he had a classic Jag Mk2 3.8 which was called James (as in "Home James, and don't spare the horses!") and his wife had a black Golf GTI 16v which was known as "Baby Rocket" (it was an early 3dr Mk3 with a black leather interior, the right alloys and every possible option - I wanted it badly). The only surviving named car is his wife's 1965 Fiat 500, which they've now had for 30 years and which is known by all as Humphrey. Since then the various Audis and now Macan haven't had names, but Dad's daily driver has always (since before I was born) worn one of those silver bonnet mascots that you rarely ever see anymore and that's called Herbert. It's a flying pheasant.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 20, 2021 11:06:23 GMT
Perhaps they like a PHEV.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 19, 2021 15:20:40 GMT
It’s always a complete lottery depending on you, what you do, what you drive, when you got it, what you do with it, where you live etc.
Different insurers seem to like different profiles. I’ve never had anything remotely competitive by way of a quote from Direct Line for example. They might surprise me come November but I’m not holding my breath.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 17, 2021 15:42:28 GMT
Is it wrong to quite fancy the Golf Rivage?
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 17, 2021 9:49:36 GMT
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 15, 2021 10:46:24 GMT
The France to Belgium (or Belgium to France) transition is weird as the Belgian limit is lower, but absolutely no bugger adheres to it, so you very quickly find yourself doing 150 km/h with everyone else. Although I recall once driving along in Belgium at what I thought was a safe and leisurely 130kph with all the A8s and whatnot zooming by at 150kph+, and being mildly outraged to be pulled over by a motorbike cop who fined me 50 euros for speeding. I noted rather sourly that in the same service station he'd led me to, there were three other motorbike cops all dispensing tickets to foreign cars. He explained that they only stopped foreign cars because Belgian drivers would be dealt with by fixed overhead cameras but foreign drivers could only be dealt with on the spot. This seemed highly fishy to me since if the overhead cameras actually worked (and I hadn't seen any) surely all the speedy A8 drivers would know that and temper their speeding accordingly.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 15, 2021 10:40:42 GMT
It's going to be interesting to see how fuel economy compares if you look to keep the same average speeds with the new car. Once the battery is depleted, you are lugging the car, the mini-me EV and your passengers with an engine working much harder.Yep. This was on my mind the entire journey through Germany, although the speeds I was doing on the Autobahn are actually the posted maximum of the new car. And this is precisely why Mr RT Snr dispensed with his hybrid Q5 after barely six months and replaced it with a Macan S.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 14, 2021 22:51:52 GMT
Great write-up - thanks! I'm a little scared of your servicing costs! I doubt I've spent more than about £2,500 in nearly five years, including all services, two warranty extensions and one claim.
Amused to see that your summer trip and mine were very nearly the same length. My car was showing about 36,300 miles when I left London on 12 August and 40,003 when I got back on 12 September.
And yes, my Eurotunnel experience was as per yours except that scarred from my last experience I turned up over an hour early and didn't miss my allocated slot. It was much better than back in May because, as you noted, they have since introduced the ability to upload all the docs for checking in advance, meaning you can check in by credit card to a machine again. So that was much quicker than last time.
But then having also zoomed through the French border check with little delay, I also nearly died of old age in the queue for the UK border check. Fuck knows what was going on in the six cars ahead of me, or indeed the other queues to my right and left which weren't moving any quicker. Because when it came to my turn, I had my passport checked and back to me in easily under a minute - friendly middle-aged lady who beamed at me and thanked me for opening the rear door window before she even had a chance to ask (an easy win that one).
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 14, 2021 22:24:42 GMT
O Joy - who knew the blasted speed wombles had their very own day. I don't approve. I just don't. They aren't capable of a reasoned approach - it's all far too black and white.
I don't speed in urban areas either, and while I can see the need for 20mph speedzones on little narrow residential streets, I cannot see why the entirety of Westminster and the City needs to be a 20mph speed limit. That's just wilful priggish municipal twattishness. Even unfit me can easily exceed 20mph on a pushbike along Victoria Embankment and there is no penalty for doing so - the real MAMILs are pedalling along at 30mph, yet you cannot travel at that speed in a car on a wide road with little pedestrian footfall.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 14, 2021 16:48:19 GMT
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 14, 2021 13:25:55 GMT
In the 440i, it's more akin to the drivetrain having been dosed with Valium. It just sort of slurs amiably along like Leslie Phillips after a long boozy lunch. It will still fully kick-down and bark at you, but only if you physically mash the accelerator into the carpet.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 14, 2021 13:19:27 GMT
Not standard that I'm aware of.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 14, 2021 9:44:10 GMT
I'm barely two weeks back from my summer holiday - I cannot possibly be expected to think about Christmas for at least another two months!!
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 14, 2021 9:39:03 GMT
Would you actually buy that car though with that interior? I don't mind any of the elements individually (ok I don't like the aluminium dash but that is changeable) but the combined ensemble doesn't work - the red seatbelts just clash horribly with the seats.
Pricing's punchy too.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 13, 2021 17:47:56 GMT
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 13, 2021 16:45:05 GMT
Hmm, what an intriguing question! There have been a few occasions I've wondered exactly that; must say, I'm surprised at "only" 300K for you racing, given all the continental trips, working (and driving to/from) Russia, etc, you've done, not to mention SE England to St Andrews more than a few times over the years, I'd imagine. Anyway, first car I bought was in late 1981, a Golf 'N' which cost me the princely sum of £50! I estimate, on a fairly accurate basis I think, around 395K miles in cars of mine, another 69 in lease cars, 56K+ on my bikes and probably a good 8-10K in other cars/vehicles. Total somewhere in the region of 520-530K miles in 40 years, or a bit over 13K p/a. Given that a quarter of that time I lived on the Isle of Man, and a nearly a year out when I had the cancer, that's not too shabby. I think the answer is that, asides from the three years in Moscow, I've lived in central London for the last 20 years and never regularly used a car to commute or for other work purposes, so those are all just SD&P miles (to use insurance jargon). There's no way the average Londoner does 12k miles p/a.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 13, 2021 16:36:15 GMT
My 440i is like the 430D in that it freewheels in ECO Pro but not otherwise. I made good use of it yesterday when faced with going through the 17km San Gotthard tunnel with the range read-out showing 45kms of range remaining. There was only one motorway service station between Lugano and the tunnel and it turned out to currently being rebuilt, such that you could stop for a pee and a sandwich, but not to refuel.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 13, 2021 13:48:45 GMT
All figures in kilometres The Mitsubishi Lancer I did I think about 80,000km in four and a half years. The Toyota Prius I did 26,000km in six months, mainly because I used it to do Uber on the side. The Suzuki SX4 so far I think has done almost 20,000km in slightly over two years of ownership. I've obviously used it a lot less now. So added up, that's 126,000km over I think seven years of car ownership, which works out to 18,000km a year. Ubering aside, I thought Singapore was quite small! Where did you go?!
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 13, 2021 13:47:03 GMT
I’ve been in care homes, know people that work in them and know people that own them. My father was quite clear that if he were to make it out of hospital and require care in any form I was to buy him a bottle of scotch and several hundred painkillers. Look back at the post I wrote when he died. W2.0 has also advised me that if she is required to care for me as a drooling, shitting old man I will be taken for a walk into the forest: she with one of her father’s rifles. I tell my mother to spend her money as I told my father to but the idea of handing it over to a care home is not my idea of what they, I, or my own children envisage as useful or desirable. “Care” is a loosely defined word where care homes are concerned and comfort is better served being looked after in your own home even if the risk is higher that you’ll gas yourself or get in the bath with an electric fire. In all seriousness euthanasia needs to be a part of this broader conversation. There's a whole other minefield to be sidestepped! I've always told my mother that her money is her money and if there is nothing left when she dies then so be it. All three of her children have well-paid careers and the two of us who are married have spouses with well-paid careers, so any inheritance from her would fall firmly in the "nice to have but not essential" category.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 13, 2021 13:00:14 GMT
The more thoughtful corners of the press have noted that this is a classic Tory "protect the wealthy homeowner" policy dollied up as something apparently more egalitarian. Leopards, spots etc. Have you changed your spots since you last voted Tory? Nope. See my original post, which I thought was quite neutral given my usual penchant for machine-gunning the Tory party given the slightest chance.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 13, 2021 12:50:49 GMT
Yes, but quite hard to afford if you are on the state pension topped up by the microscopic additional income afforded by your small investments.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 13, 2021 12:48:12 GMT
The driving on the South Circular at gone 10pm last night through Catford and that sort of area was quite special. I saw several instances of terrible driving - in particular, on one sharp uphill bend, an elderly Corolla Verso coming down the hill the other way completely misjudged it and nearly took out the Prius in front of me, an Uber who mercifully managed to take evasive action without losing control. Then at another point, we all stopped because someone two cars ahead had stuffed their Astra into the back of the BMW in front of them. It wasn't a major bump but it clearly did not occur to any of those involved to move their dispute to the side of the road.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 13, 2021 12:40:20 GMT
I think it is more of a case of proportionality. At the moment you can get it all for nothing at one end and lose everything you have worked for at the other end. I would like to see a compulsory insurance scheme. This could/should be a properly funded State scheme in my opinion because it would otherwise be too difficult to monitor and control but that then brings in all sorts of other issues such as the difference in the price of care homes in different areas and also the difference in quality of care homes but I am sure there could be some scheme that provided, say £800/week and if you want to go in to a nursing home that charges £1,200/week then you pay the difference. No-one is suggesting that people should be left to die but people who are parents will always want to provide for their children (I know the strength of those feelings and nothing could ever change my opinion) and it is only fair that there should be some means of doing this if the parents have built up wealth from taxed income. The problem with this attitude is that the burden of the additional costs most heavily on those who can least afford it. Asking the state to pay for your care when you have the means to do so does unfortunately reflect the general attitude that the government is responsible for everything and nobody is responsible for themselves. The more thoughtful corners of the press have noted that this is a classic Tory "protect the wealthy homeowner" policy dollied up as something apparently more egalitarian. Leopards, spots etc.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 13, 2021 12:38:33 GMT
But is that not like us kicking off because we work and pay huge amounts of NI and those who don't pay into the system get the same level of NHS treatment as us? I sympathise with your friend's parent's opinion but what do they want - anyone who hasn't got the wherewithal to pay for their care to be just left to die? My mother has a decent pension and she has thought about renting her house out if she goes into care so she doesn't have to sell it. I think it is more of a case of proportionality. At the moment you can get it all for nothing at one end and lose everything you have worked for at the other end. I would like to see a compulsory insurance scheme. This could/should be a properly funded State scheme in my opinion because it would otherwise be too difficult to monitor and control but that then brings in all sorts of other issues such as the difference in the price of care homes in different areas and also the difference in quality of care homes but I am sure there could be some scheme that provided, say £800/week and if you want to go in to a nursing home that charges £1,200/week then you pay the difference. My mother paid for her own private health care policy until recently, but she had to give it up as once you go over the age of 70, the premium becomes simply unaffordable and gets exponentially worse each year. I forget now how much but it was over £3k per year at the point she gave it up.
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