video smart phones. 8th deadly sin

I can understand your issue. I never use a real Town High Street, though I do go along the ‘main (one way street) with the shops in the village’. A lorry safe highway it is not! It is a narrow road with overhanging buildings and a sharp right angle entry and exit at each end. Happily few if any large lorries ever need to use it and the lack of crowds in general means you would be safe from gawpers.

For me a bigger issue is the number of clowns in largish vehicles driving about our private road. While some, including the current crop of ‘municipal waste removers’ are highly skilled, others do deserve to be exposed. For them a reminder that gardens are not part of the highway is certainly in order. The main recipient of their attention now holds a silent ‘Rock Event’ with large stones to mark and possibly upset short cutters, one of them ripped the mud guard off a small trader lorry. The Biffa GP racing clowns using the road as a turn round point when collecting from a nearby property have been a real issue and they are not even especially large vehicles.

Keith I sympathise with you, but does your truck not have a dashcam of any sort? Video the barstewards and take it to the law. The days when there were “Drivers’ mates” are long gone of course, thanks to the cost of wages and overheads. An old mate of mine owned a small haulage company and drove one of his own trucks. He always took a mate, which paid off one night when he was forced off the road by an attempted hijack. His mate got out quietly, unseen, and set about the 3 hijackers with an old cricket bat. Dave joined in with boots and fists. The 3 guys legged it to their car, the drivers got the Reg plate and the law picked up all 3 within a week.

My mate sold up and retired 7 years ago, then started taking “one-off” jobs for others. Asked me to go with him on some Euro trips, but I didn’t fancy it. I saw what living in truck cabs did to him: he is 3 years younger but looks older, than me.

Richard, you should see what happens in my village at times. We are on the (single-carriageway) A157 road to the coast, the village has a series of sharp bends running through it. In the last few years we have had several incidents: a truck full of 200+ piglets overturned, blocking the road, a huge truck carrying a massive static holiday home overturned onto what was once the Post Office and several other RTC’s including two fatalities and several injuries. Ther are big trucks, huge agricultural machines, cycle races, horse riders and in season, the worst hazard of them all – holidaymakers. Motorhomes, caravans and campers are driven through the village at well above legal maximum of 30 mph. There is a Junior school just before the last hairpin bend which exits the village, and a nursery just around the corner from that. There have been several accidents near those, fortunately no injuries to locals. Grockles* are irrelevant, if they cannot drive with consideration at legal speeds and cause RTC’s, I would have survivors euthanised. People who buy a caravan for the first time and neglect to learn how to drive with it attached to their car, should be made to live in it. At John o’ Groats, from November to April.

This is our peaceful time of year: very little traffic apart from tractors, etc., and they are a big part of the local economy. We love our farmers!

*Hoidaymakers. Codes:

Carfull of holidaymakers: Grockles. Caravan: semi-detached Grockles. Motorhome: Detached Grockles.

Bob, my BiL last year asked if I would take his caravan to a park about 70miles from me.

First time I’d pulled a caravan, and id been driving an auto for 12 months by then, so jumping in his manual pulling the caravan was…er… lets say interesting. Luckily for me I didn’t have to reverse at any point. But after every long ish run id forget to clutch at round a bout. Or what felt like every one.

Not a fun drive for me, especially as his wife and kids was in the car with me.

That’s the funny thing, I’m 3 years into auto driving and I still reach for the gear knob going round my local lanes enthusiastically! But then jumping in a manual going down boring straights ill forget I’m in a manual when I come to a stop. Or will until it shudders. “Shit clutch” come out while I’m stamping on it.

I do love a manual, that’s proper driving, but I’m a total auto convert. Although I’d never buy, say a, mx5 in auto flavour, but wouldn’t buy a large car in manual. Right tools for the job and all that.

Though an auto with paddles is a good compromise.

My wife’s car is auto with paddles, though out of the tiny mileage last year, I had to do most going to and from services, the MOT, new battery etc. My wife did take me to and from my cataract operations and that was about all she was well enough to do.

I did find that I could get into a right old mess with the paddles and ended up realising that it was best to stop messing and let it sort out its own salvation, unhindered by me. My very similar car is manual but they are different enough to remind me.

In the Middle East my wife had Japanese automatics and I had a European manual. After a while I slipped into Japanese car = automatic, European car = manual.

The company car pool cars’ gearboxes tended to encourage me to rethink that plan!

Why would you not have an auto with paddles bob? I don’t see any drawbacks. You don’t have to use the paddles.

Your current car auto will have a manual option, they all do, usually you push the lever to the right, to engage manual, then you puss +to up a gear or -to go down. It’s espally usefull when going a hill. I’ve found autos are a bit dumb going down hill and will gear up not realising (would be a simple fix too), so to to engage manual you can lock it in second.

The same for when your attacking corners when alone, you can hold gears and drop down much later, dropping two gears like you would in a manual. And then hold the gears much longer on the way out the corner. Also make sure it doesn’t randomly change mid corner and upset everything .

Granted if you don’t drive spirited around the twisties the last example isnt really relevant.

I like the paddles. However if I had anything bigger than a saloon, I wouldn’t be bothered.

Talking of spirited driving my BiL that left the Raf last week called me an hour ago, he just bought an amg merc with an auto option. He is a fool of aging fast, once expensive german cars. And they always cost him a fortune in upkeep

We are going to test it out tomorrow. So an unproductive afternoon is now planed.

Hopefully it’s dry. Ironically while we are out in his flashy, thirsty, posh speed machine I’m going to drop off my girls 2005 ka at the garage for an mot. So I’ll be jumping out of a 50hp tin can into that. At least in mine id of been half way there!

I’ll just have to not break it !!!

I actually love basic small cars, bit I’m not 6′. And also around 13st. The ka is a fun little car. Far better than the second gen. The current one is more fiesta than ka. I’m yet to drive one. Also a 4 door ka! Isn’t that just eating into 4 door fiesta space?

My MiL use to have the tiny pug 105(iirc) the citreon saxo clone one. About 1l 50bhp, but it you could have the same fun at 30/40mph that id have in mine doing 90mph.

For me I’d love a feast st150/200. Outgoing model 2 door. Maybe at 4 year old ill pick one up as a second car. Only issue is the inside needed updating 5 years ago, bit as a fun local car, the inside wouldn’t bother me. Strangely of i bough the bog standard 1litre 3cly turbo (great engine btw about 115bhp), given it would be a main car, why else by that one, id want a nicer inside. But at around £17k brand new, a 200bhp fiesta with up rated under pinnings to match, i think the money is spent where it’s should be. If you can get one in 4 to t years for about £7k, you’ll have a great track weapon. Same with the focus RS with 350bhp and easily upped to 500 plus, £32k new is a bargain. (Even with its block issues). The issue with the current RS is its so so so much performance for its money (yes 32k for a focus that starts at about £15k is mental, but for what it is its a steal) the issue is i don’t think they will take much depreciation. It will be a future classic. Shame it’s 4 door. If it was two oh it would be hard not to “invest” in one.

32k is also cheaper than a golf R and very similar in performance. Golf is probably better all rounder, but the RS even with its terrible cheap interior is better. Ford seem to be way behind all the oems on the interior front in all their models, even the brand new updated  2018 stuff. Resting on laurels comes to mind.

You shouldn’t get me started on cars. I’m a massive car nerd. Since a child car stats just stick for me. Always have. This comes an issue when coming to buy one. Like now my lease is up this year. And i have an added option of motobility, though I’m still not fully sold on it. Seems you could lose the car at a whim. And the prices don’t seem that cheap, apart from the deposit, even the more expensive models is quite a bit cheaper. But again with out a full term guarantee , is the worry  worth the saving a few grand?!

The hope is the wife one day get more well, if not better. What happens then, you give it back but your out of pocket on the “cheaper” down payment.

A decision for after the summer holidays.

Id prefers their current v8 sports car, id take the v6 if I’d have two. Both sound amazing. If you watch Grand tour, (good this season bar the last ep), they use the entry level 2l jag sports car. Which is still lovely, and they have it not to kill the celebs, but come on its not meant to have a sill 4 pot 2l on a fast cat.

How is your tuscon Bob, i said i had two in my street, both mobility, and they both that much trouble mobility took them back in under two years, they both now have Qashqis. Both loved the car to start with, both had many loaner cars why hyundi worked on them. It got to the point they asked to give them back, and they said, that mobility have had so many issues, they didn’t even put up a fight. Just accept the return, when neighbour 2 was told, she had hers gone within a week.

I don’t like the Qashqi at all, liked the tuscon more. But when your confidence goes in a car that’s it. Especially for women it seems.

Amazingly for one month at least in 2017 the qashqi was Britains most sold car, knocking the focus and astra of the top space. Usually it’s focus, astra, fiesta corsa. How dare these upstarts upset the status quo. Lol how olds nissan again? Lol.

My phone is suffering horrific lag this week, so my typing has become a real pain. So i apologise in advance.

This is why I’m dubious about the whole thing. Cheers ?