I came across this concept quite recently and I was pretty stunned. I love the idea of just driving onto a metal ramp, getting out and watching the car being whisked to an allocated bay. Very impressive. It means all spaces get properly filled, no-one is parked badly and your car is unlikely to be vandalised given that the criminal would have to be like spiderman to reach it.
Two problems though. First, what if it goes wrong? What is my car is on the way down and it falls, or is squashed by another car? These things can and do go wrong, at least theoretically. As it's the first time I've heard of them though I dunno if they have. Second, what if I don't engage the handbreak well/correctly/if it fails? I've seen some pics of this and some of the cars look pretty high up. Maybe my car would actually squash me!
Anyway, if it means more/cheaper parking in the city centre, then I'm all for it. £1.10 p/h is a complete rip off. Christ, it'll get to the stage where parking meters in town make more per hour than the average person. Well okay, maybe not the average person... But still!
Friday, 18 May 2007
Thursday, 17 May 2007
Fiats and First Gear
I've had a Fiat Punto, my folks have had one. Or is that two? Anyway, point is both of them suffered from a very serious problem. Sometimes it just wouldn't shift into first gear. This meant that you'd think it was and it would just do nothing. Other times it would be pretty obvious that it wasn't in fact in gear. Anyway, just a little annoyance that could have been potentially serious!
Monday, 14 May 2007
Driving Fast Through Villages
No - I didn't. So, why did you? You tailgated me dangerously for quite a distance, giving out rude gestures when I slowed down. You sped past me on a corner. You were going about 45 mph as you rounded the bend into the village. You would have killed a child outright.
This is something that really happened to me. I'd been out hiking for a bit, and was on my way home. I was followed dangerously closely by someone driving an older MR2. He's out there now, no doubt speeding again.
I'm still really surprised that, given how much knowledge that people have of how easily cars can kill, that they still go far too fast. Frankly I was saddened by this experience and it took some of the pleasure away from driving, so I may not have too many positive articles for a while.
This is something that really happened to me. I'd been out hiking for a bit, and was on my way home. I was followed dangerously closely by someone driving an older MR2. He's out there now, no doubt speeding again.
I'm still really surprised that, given how much knowledge that people have of how easily cars can kill, that they still go far too fast. Frankly I was saddened by this experience and it took some of the pleasure away from driving, so I may not have too many positive articles for a while.
Sunday, 13 May 2007
Top Gear 100
The Top Gear 100 Fastest Cars is a great breakdown. It is not rated strictly on BHP but rather on how fast a car has felt to drive. An interesting one that. Do take a look, see whether you agree. Personally I'm not happy about what's at number one... But then if it is not a Koenigsegg then I wasn't about to be...
Cinquecento Wants You!
Mad mad mad. But absolutely brilliant. This is a picture of the new Fiat 500. I think it's brilliantly cute and I can genuinely see Fiat dealers selling them by the bucketload. Even better than this is the mad Fiat 500 website with various songs, including the bizzare "SEXYYYYY" and others. Go here to see what all the fuss is about.
Pushing Too Hard
Well, I did a run to the countryside recently only to reach a very steep incline. I was in third and I thought the engine power would be enough. Apparently though, I didn't have enough NM of torque. Naturally I switched down a gear, and blam before I knew it to get up the hill I'd redlined it, with a nasty smell of burning reaching the interior.
Quickly I switched down again, let the revs go low and then gradually put on the power. The ozone-y/burnt quality of the smell was disconcerting so immediately when we came to a stop I checked the running temperature, the oil, water and everything else was checked later.
Apparently, I'd just hit the redline and perhaps gone beyond it. Remember, doing this for extended periods in your car can damage it. In my case, it was a split second and then a changedown, after which I let the engine fully cool before giving it a full inspection including valves, belt and cylinders, all of which were fine.
My advice therefore in the future is, if in doubt at the gradient and with little traffic around, stop then head up in first. Unless of course you're driving a big diesel or a supercar, both of which just might have enough torque to carry you up just about anything.
Quickly I switched down again, let the revs go low and then gradually put on the power. The ozone-y/burnt quality of the smell was disconcerting so immediately when we came to a stop I checked the running temperature, the oil, water and everything else was checked later.
Apparently, I'd just hit the redline and perhaps gone beyond it. Remember, doing this for extended periods in your car can damage it. In my case, it was a split second and then a changedown, after which I let the engine fully cool before giving it a full inspection including valves, belt and cylinders, all of which were fine.
My advice therefore in the future is, if in doubt at the gradient and with little traffic around, stop then head up in first. Unless of course you're driving a big diesel or a supercar, both of which just might have enough torque to carry you up just about anything.
Thursday, 10 May 2007
Don't Drive a G Wiz
Why I hear you say? This, a very simple answer. The car will almost certainly severely injure you in a crash, look at how the front compartment invades the driver space. Due to it not being classed as a car (due to some stupid government regulation) it doesn't have to pass N-Cap tests. Oh well. If you buy one, pray you're never in more than a very mild bumper-to-bumper.
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