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Post by Ben on Feb 12, 2022 2:52:46 GMT
Hello Sir. Welcome back.
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Post by Ben on Feb 9, 2022 14:53:21 GMT
Back to the Alfa for a moment. Apparently it has its own NFT.
WTF
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Post by Ben on Feb 9, 2022 13:46:40 GMT
MPVs are neat, man. Those large ones with sliding doors, rotating and reclining seats and even a fold-out table are just the business.
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Post by Ben on Feb 9, 2022 12:22:56 GMT
To be honest, the Yaris Cross is a sort of concession to my mum. She's fairly pint-sized and she appreciates the higher seating position. I'm not a fan of it because it feels like you're sitting in an office chair rather than low and stretched out as in a normal car, but I've gotten used to it by now.
The SX4 was a sorta strange halfway in-between. It's not quite as elevated as an SUV, but you still sit slightly higher than in a normal car, and it always felt weird whenever I got into it after test driving other cars.
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Post by Ben on Dec 29, 2021 3:07:11 GMT
Honestly I didn't like Coldplay's early stuff. I find it too whiny. But their later dancey tracks I kinda liked. Probably says more about my tastes in music really. I was into that electronic dance music fad for a bit (Avicii, David Guetta, Calvin Harris et al). You should try finding some late 80's/early 90's dance/house playlists on Spotify. I do like stuff from then too.
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Post by Ben on Dec 27, 2021 4:41:38 GMT
Honestly I didn't like Coldplay's early stuff. I find it too whiny. But their later dancey tracks I kinda liked.
Probably says more about my tastes in music really. I was into that electronic dance music fad for a bit (Avicii, David Guetta, Calvin Harris et al).
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Post by Ben on Dec 24, 2021 4:56:01 GMT
Happy Christmas all.
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Post by Ben on Dec 10, 2021 14:12:45 GMT
Well, the latest one was quite a good episode, surprisingly.
The Aston Victor looks utterly insane.
The bit with Freddie getting his racing licence had a nicely serious tone, almost documentary-like, which is a refreshing departure from they usually do.
I loved the DeLorean bit. I enjoy stories like that.
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BMW XM
Dec 1, 2021 16:58:36 GMT
Post by Ben on Dec 1, 2021 16:58:36 GMT
The best description I could give the big grilles was "attention grabbing". The first time I saw the new 4 Series on the roads in the flesh I literally stopped in my tracks, in a kinda 'WTF' sorta way.
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BMW XM
Dec 1, 2021 12:23:24 GMT
Post by Ben on Dec 1, 2021 12:23:24 GMT
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Post by Ben on Nov 29, 2021 16:55:41 GMT
Well last nights episode was a new low ,it was dire . Yeah there didn't really seem to be much point to it. It didn't tell me much about Iceland and they didn't really seem to go anywhere or do a lot. Clearly I'm not alone then. Iceland looks beautiful but the whole segment seemed rather pointless.
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Post by Ben on Nov 25, 2021 15:55:27 GMT
I broadly agree. I hated Vettel in his younger, petulant Red Bull days, but I've now somewhat warmed to him later on in his career.
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Post by Ben on Nov 25, 2021 15:53:47 GMT
For what it's worth, racism is a problem in Asia too.
Any place where there is a majority and a minority, there will always be a power imbalance, like Stuntman describes.
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Post by Ben on Nov 24, 2021 14:32:18 GMT
I've tried those camera mirrors on the Audi e-tron, and honestly they're a bit hard to get used to.
I thought this because the screens were in the door. That would mess with my brain, thinking it's a mirror and wondering why it's "reflecting" an image of what's behind when it should really be reflecting an image of the interior, based on its position.
Partly that, but also with a regular mirror you're looking outside, and you can pick up and see what's on the periphery of the surrounding area of the mirrors (like an object coming from the front side corner). The camera doesn't capture stuff like that.
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Post by Ben on Nov 24, 2021 11:24:20 GMT
I've tried those camera mirrors on the Audi e-tron, and honestly they're a bit hard to get used to.
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Post by Ben on Nov 23, 2021 11:02:28 GMT
Oh man. Given what I do, quite a lot actually.
Probably not a comprehensive list, but I reckon:
Audi A6 BMW 1 Series BMW i3 BMW X6 Kia Sorento Land Rover Discovery Sport Mazda CX-30 Mini Cooper Mini Cooper Electric VW Beetle Cabriolet VW Golf Sportsvan (that SV thingy) VW Golf Variant
There's probably a few more that I can't recall at the moment
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Post by Ben on Nov 19, 2021 16:45:19 GMT
As a friend of mine remarked: “it’s good we’re not famous”. Everyone is an idiot at some point in their life even if that idiocy was accepted behaviour at the time (like the logos on those shirts) and then judged decades later. I think none of us can confidently pretend that we didn't say silly or even offensive things when we were young and stupid. What is helpful is that when I was 18 I said these things to friends in person, not viable Twitter and those friends didn't have a smartphone on which to film it. Given how today's young adults are finding themselves in hot water for using racist, misogynistic or just generally offensive language on Tweets they send in their mid teens over 10 years ago, I would say we're rather fortunate. But I don't think we should be hounding people out for what they said as a stupid teenager to try and impress their mates if it is in no way a reflection of their current personality and behaviour. There is an element that also sometimes that behaviour was accepted at the time and just because we now live in more enlightened times doesn't mean we should necessarily judge people for what they did in the past. Taking this to a more historical level there's been a lot of calls for statues that were put up of people involved in the slave trade in celebration of their philanthropic activities to be torn down. But I can't help thinking that if I was alive 300 years ago and had a significant wealth to invest I would imagine I would have put it in the slave trade too because that is what you did back then. In 100 years from now if climate change has the devastating effect it is being reported to have, will we be cancelled because we were happy to burn petrol or hold pensions that were invested in oil companies? Sorry I know that is completely off topic but the point is how fair is it to punish people for what they did in the youth when they didn't know better or thought that what they were doing was acceptable at the time? (Just to caviat I don't believe the slave trade was OK just saying that 300 years ago I wouldn't have known it not to be, as most wealthy British people didn't) This +1 Also, your own wrongdoings doesn't absolve the wrongs of others towards you. They don't cancel each other out.
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Post by Ben on Nov 17, 2021 14:33:28 GMT
I'll be honest, I've never heard of Eddie Kidd. So the feature was a bit weird to me, and actually rather sad.
The car stuff I found boring, except for the bits with the F1 drivers. Vettel is quite a character.
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Post by Ben on Nov 2, 2021 2:57:46 GMT
One thing I've always done, no matter how drunk or otherwise intoxicated I may have been, was to make sure the female members of my group got home safely. Even if it meant me or one of the others walking miles out of our way. I try to do the same, but in Singapore crime is less of an issue (it's not non-existent but mostly it's relatively safe here). So sometimes if the girl insists she'll be ok on her own I won't force the issue.
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Post by Ben on Nov 1, 2021 17:50:55 GMT
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Post by Ben on Oct 29, 2021 14:40:08 GMT
It looks too sporty and AMG GT-like IMO. An SL should be a classy grand tourer.
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Post by Ben on Oct 29, 2021 14:38:13 GMT
I think the warnings are getting louder at the moment because of the recent murders of Sarah Everard and the two women stabbed in the park by that devil worshiper last year. There was also a recent case in Nottingham of a drunk girl being raped and murdered. Understandably a lot of women feel that enough is enough and not enough protection is being given and in many ways I'd agree, however as a man I hate the way we're all being labelled as some sort of predator. But equally as a father of two girls I do see how men should be made aware of how very low level stuff such as looking at a girls arse in the street makes them feel very uncomfortable and I wouldn't like another chap doing that to my girls when they get older. I know it's a bit extreme to suggest that if you think it's OK to look at a girl with a low cut top you'll probably end up raping her - of course 9999 out of 10000 men won't, but that doesn't mean that it's OK and that women somehow appreciate the gesture. Honestly it's the actions of the minority that tarnishes the majority, and I don't blame women for being fearful and defensive against men. Such incidents leave terrible mental scars that can be hard to erase and forget.
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Post by Ben on Oct 22, 2021 17:05:56 GMT
I don't get it either. What have the Belgians done to be number one?
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Post by Ben on Oct 18, 2021 12:32:01 GMT
As you can imagine, with my job, I've driven quite a few electric cars myself. The one that impressed me the most was the Porsche Taycan, because it felt like a proper performance car and not some glorified fast golf cart.
I've also driven a Chinese BYD electric van thing, and that was proper shite.
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Post by Ben on Oct 15, 2021 15:58:54 GMT
My view is broadly in line with Blarno's. Famous people are people too, and they are entitled to their own private time. But there are ways to reject someone nicely and politely.
I've actually been recognised and approached in public twice (since my mug is on a car magazine that apparently some people read), and TBH I did feel a tad uncomfortable. I forgot how I reacted but it was probably nothing more than a shy nod of acknowledgement.
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Post by Ben on Oct 6, 2021 16:05:51 GMT
Not easy to find a balance it it? If it happened over here the police would have cracked down on them so hard and sent every single one of them packing to where they belong (most likely jail) before they would even know what had hit them.
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Post by Ben on Oct 2, 2021 12:14:16 GMT
I haven't watched it yet, but I quite liked Spectre, so would probably look forward to this one.
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Post by Ben on Sept 25, 2021 2:41:43 GMT
Nope
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Post by Ben on Sept 20, 2021 14:20:24 GMT
I think the idea of swapping batteries is a non starter (pardon the pun). The batteries can weigh anything up to a tonne and the fitment would need to be very accurate to avoid damage. Given the number of charges a car will need in its life, I just can't see a system that would be robust enough or accurate enough to allow proper fitment every time without breaking something or doing potentially irreparable damage. The whole design of cars would also need to change significantly. Seems like it's already been done. cleantechnica.com/2020/05/31/nio-completes-more-than-500000-battery-swaps/autonews.gasgoo.com/china_news/70018107.html
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Post by Ben on Sept 19, 2021 16:59:26 GMT
As a Schumacher fan, it was an emotional watch. I feel blessed to have seen him in his prime, but I'm also sad at what has happened to him.
The bit that really got me was at the end, when his son Mick lamented at how he was robbed of so many moments he could have had with his dad growing up, and how he would give up everything to get that back. That really hit me so hard.
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