|
Information |
|
Seriously?Views : 934418 Replies : 6616Users Viewing This Thread : |
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
Jul 5th, 2022, 10:04 | #1811 | |
Torquemeister
Last Online: Today 08:19
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Asgard, Cheshire
|
Quote:
__________________
loki_the_glt - Skipper of the Exxon Valdez, driver of Sweden's finest sporting saloon - and pining for another Slant-4. |
|
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to loki_the_glt For This Useful Post: |
Jul 5th, 2022, 10:34 | #1812 |
Premier Member
Last Online: Today 15:06
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Lakenheath
|
.......... but does it still sound like a Golf?
__________________
Cheers Dave Next Door to Top-Gun with a Honda CR-V & S Type Jag Volvo gone but not forgotten........ |
The Following User Says Thank You to Laird Scooby For This Useful Post: |
Jul 5th, 2022, 11:09 | #1813 |
Premier Member
Last Online: Today 13:40
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Skeg Vegas
|
Wasn't that a VW advertisement from back in the day?
Alan
__________________
... another lovely day in paradise. |
The Following User Says Thank You to Othen For This Useful Post: |
Jul 5th, 2022, 12:59 | #1814 |
Premier Member
Last Online: Today 15:06
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Lakenheath
|
It was indeed.
I was thinking "If it looks like a Golf and sounds like a Golf..........." but seriously, all the cars that we knew as small cars when we were younger like the Mini, Fiesta, Golf etc are all now bloated facsimiles of their former incarnations and generally no longer fit the bill of "small car" except perhaps on occupant space. The new Mini Countryman is nearly as long as my 760 but has less space inside, the new Golfs are bloated Teutonic Euro-blobs with no character and the Fiesta has overdosed on Sushi - a few years back i was semi-surprised my Rover left a Focus (or Fiesta) ST standing when it tried to leave me behind. Don't get me wrong, the Rover is a quick car in its own right but i expected the Ford to be quicker as it allegedly had 200bhp in a much smaller and presumably lighter shell. Turns out it was heavier than the Rover and if that engine was pushing 200bhp then my Rover had to be nudging 230-240bhp. Go back to when the Rover was first new (1994) and we were just about into the Mk3 Fiesta that was still a relatively slender weight. I'm not sure that people actually want most of the gadgets and gizmos fitted to cars these days and also, much of the extra weight is from IEDs fitted everywhere in the cabin under the guise of Safety Restraint Systems aka airbags. I wonder what the weight difference would be between a standard model (Golf, Fiesta, Mini etc) and those with stripped out interiors with only the basic running gear (including half a ton of electronics) to enable them to go and stop would be?
__________________
Cheers Dave Next Door to Top-Gun with a Honda CR-V & S Type Jag Volvo gone but not forgotten........ |
Jul 5th, 2022, 15:50 | #1815 |
Premier Member
Last Online: Today 13:52
Join Date: Sep 2021
Location: Stowmarket
|
Fully agree Dave.
I came over to the old Volvo side, back to basics, some 9 months or so ago, basically fed up with all the electronics and gizmos that are great in theory, whilst they work!!! Occasionally I have to drive the mother in laws Peugeot 5008 crossover thingy I think, absolutely ginormous on the outside, but miniscule inside, could hardly see out of the rear window using the rear mirror, and blind spots all over the place. No wonder it has all the damn buzzers and safety gizmos when being overtaken, as you can't damn well see out of it. Volvo 940 estate is like driving heaven after that, not many cars have better all round vision, a pretty basic plus for safety. Don't even get me going on Stop/Start........😀😀👍 Cheers Steve |
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Steve 940 For This Useful Post: |
Jul 5th, 2022, 16:02 | #1816 | |
Premier Member
Last Online: Today 13:40
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Skeg Vegas
|
Quote:
Alan
__________________
... another lovely day in paradise. |
|
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Othen For This Useful Post: |
Jul 5th, 2022, 16:07 | #1817 | |
Premier Member
Last Online: Today 13:40
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Skeg Vegas
|
Quote:
:-) Alan
__________________
... another lovely day in paradise. |
|
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Othen For This Useful Post: |
Jul 5th, 2022, 17:58 | #1818 | ||
Premier Member
Last Online: Today 15:06
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Lakenheath
|
Quote:
Many moons ago i worked in a Pugrot main dealer, very poorly designed things, ditto for all Citroen models since they merged to form PSA in the mid-70s. I've also had many near misses due to brake malfunctions on new/near-new PSA vehicles and as such wouldn't give one driveway space. However i take your point about visibility, a close friend of mine has a 2017 Audi A1 and the visibility is terrible. I've never driven it but even as a passenger, you notice how good (or bad) things like visibility are. Quote:
As for Dacia, in the 70s they were building Renault 12s under licence from Renault including if memory serves, a van variant and also a 4x4 that was in fact closer to a Lada Cossack but powered by Renault mechanicals. These days because of the tie-up with GM and Nissan, many Dacias feature components from those ranges too such as Nissan Micra tail lights on one particular Duster model (the name used by Dacia in the 70s for their "Renault 12-a-like") so while they're still simpler, they're a generation or two behind the general confusion we currently have in new cars. I've not driven a car with start-stop but i know it would annoy the living daylights out of me but as for the other bells'n'whistles such as one-touch down and up on all electric windows should be standard on cars these days. I've had 1986 registered cars with that feature on as standard so there isn't an excuse but neither my Volvo 760 nor the Jag has that feature. Also what i've come to know as "Lazy Locking" where all windows and sunroof can be closed when the car is locked. Again, i've had 1986 cars with that on but the 760 doesn't, the Jag does but you have to use the key rather than fob or key. I don't know of any newer cars with these features on so to my mind, manufacturers are missing the point somewhat.
__________________
Cheers Dave Next Door to Top-Gun with a Honda CR-V & S Type Jag Volvo gone but not forgotten........ |
||
Jul 5th, 2022, 18:10 | #1819 | |
Premier Member
Last Online: Today 13:40
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Skeg Vegas
|
Quote:
Do we need all the bells and whistles that come with modern motor cars? I'd had the Skoda for 5 years (from new) before I realised the electric mirrors folded up for parking, I was even more surprised to find they did so remotely from the remote :-). Did I need that feature? Of course not - I'd lived for 5 years without it, but now I know it is there it is actually quite useful and I use it every time I park. The Skoda and the Porsche both have the 'lazy locking' feature. On the Porsche this includes closing the convertible hood, the windows, locking the car and folding the mirrors all remotely from the key fob. Now that is a nice party trick in Morrison's car park. :-)
__________________
... another lovely day in paradise. |
|
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Othen For This Useful Post: |
Jul 5th, 2022, 20:43 | #1820 | |
Premier Member
Last Online: Today 15:06
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Lakenheath
|
Quote:
Arguably speaking, because AC is more fuel efficient than driving with the window open, you could say we all need AC but very few people actually know how to use it to its fullest potential. Slightly harder to justify alloys except they're allegedly lighter than steel rims and therefore offer more economy because of the weight saving and improved handling through reducing the unsprung weight. We've had the discussion before about alloys being lighter, it's possible that back in the 70s when the "fact" first originated, thicker steel was used to produce steel wheels and therefore they would have been heavier. The facility to power-fold the door mirrors remotely is a good one and one that i'd use if any of my cars had it. I'd only had the Volvo a month or two when the drivers door mirror was taken out by some idiot in a tractor/trailer combo doing about 40mph down Main St (30mph limit) so i was lucky it wasn't the whoel side of the car in a way but power-fold mirrors would have saved it. I like the description of the lazy locking on your Porsche, my Jag has a similar thing if you hold the unlock button on the fob for an extra second after unlocking - it opens all 4 windows and the sunroof, again a nice party trick on a hot day. However it only has one-touch down on the drivers window, no one-touch up either! Swings and roundabouts i suppose!
__________________
Cheers Dave Next Door to Top-Gun with a Honda CR-V & S Type Jag Volvo gone but not forgotten........ |
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 3 (0 members and 3 guests) | |
|
|