The Editor

OK.... I got caught (with three points added to my Licence on the A52 between Grantham and Notts !! The speed limit is 60mph in the single carrageway section and I got done for doing 82mph in a ........ wait for it........ Daewoo Matiz (which I thought was impossible according to the laws of Physics !! :D :D :D) The SPECS start on the dual carrageway at Gamston (where the dual carrageway is and where the speed limit IS 70mph) and continue all the way on the A52 onto the single lane section (where the limit is 60mph). You can go through the first camera doing 150mph if you want and you won't get caught... it's when you pass the SECOND camera that the laws of maths and average speed/distance take over :duh: :duh: The Editor

Hi, Yes did this a few years back at Silverstone - You'll be in a little Formula 1st car..... Great Fun.... Bags of grip but if you do push them too hard you'll spin and come off like I did (more than once !!!) As you say you get a briefing first and then you're straight out on the track. A pace car will take you round first and you are not allowed to break formation. The car takes you round about thre times increasing speed with each lap and after that.... You're on your own. If you do make a mistake or spin off, you will get called into the pits told what you did wrong and then be allowed to rejoin the "race". Have fun - you'll love it The Ed

Your policy will say that you MUST contact your insurers as soon as possible after an accident. Questions will be asked as to why you have left it three months and they will argue that their position has been prejudiced by your late reporting. The Editor

Premiere Pro 2.0 has a totally different interface to earlier versions although I wouldn't necessarilly call it more 'user friendly' There is enhanced functionality embedded within it now including direct MPEG export from the timeline (again this isn't really an issue in the pro arena as two or three types of software may be used before you even get to the stage of authoring a DVD. Quality is no different from earlier versions but would be superior to 'domestic software' if you are talking about DV as this is the point I am making above - you are working in the native format and thus not losing any quality within the editing process (other than the standard DV compression ratio of 5:1 and colour sampling of 4:1:1). The advantage Premiere Pro gives over and above 'domestic software' is the ability to work in Native HD (assuming your machine is fast enough !!!) Cheers The Ed

I'm probably a bad person to ask as I do this for a living (hence the nickname !!) and I work with pro gear and software all day but..... If you are capturing via composite you are working in the worst possible resolution (apart from via an rf modulator it doesn't get any worse!!). Since it's an SD DV camcorder your best course would be to capture via firwire to a program that will edit in Native DV. This will give you the advantage of working in the format as it comes out of the camera and not subject to recompression and thus losing quality. Any of the editing software that allow you to work in native DV will do an okay job and they should then allow you to export out so you can author a DVD. Bear in mind though as soon as you export out your masterpiece to build your DVD you will be compressing to MPEG2 and all the associated 'proplems' that can bring. This is why it's important to capture and edit in the best resolution you can and then export. Two Programs I can recommend are Premiere Pro (for editing) and Adobe Encore (for DVD authoring)... the only thing is... they are not cheap !! There are an abundance of budget 'editing' software packages out there but as I say, I'm probably not the best person to recommend them as I don't use them. The important thing is make sure it will capture in native DV (via firewire) and make sure it will edit in native DV. Your export options for MPEG will be customisable but again the end result is only as good as the alogrithms in the codecs. Hope I've been of some sort of help - If you want to know anything else just ask Happy Editing Regards The Editor

why I only ever play CD's I've burned myself in the car !! Gracenote will nearly always pickup the right Album/Track Listing and then using Nero (or similar) burn straight to the polycarbonate !! All tracks & album title then show up on the screen The Ed

There's all the usual ones like "Airports" - shows Airport Icons "Petrol Stations", - shows petrol station icosn "Car Parks" etc, etc, etc Then there's "Zoom in/Zoom out" (does what it says to map display) "Screen Off" - Does exactly that !!! (to turn it on say something like "Map mode" to bring up the map) "Heading" changes the mode to North up or heading up mode "Suspend Guidence" and "Resume guidence" does exactly that (this saves the GPS recalculating the route if you pull off into services or into a petrol station etc. It retains the route even after turning the engine off. When you jump back in just say "Resume guidence" I shall think of some more I regularly use later... Cheers The Ed

Updated Sat Nav disk is 149 euros direct from lexus. The Ed

£60 and 3 points is useless !! Should be £1,000 and a spell behind bars !!...

No - Is the simple answer !! To do this would require a large(ish) database of user POI's - The Lexus system has a maximum of 106 !! Best get your self a GPS camera detector Regards The Ed

£5,000 deposit !!! When I bought my new GS I gave them £500 deposit and they were lucky to get that much !!! Told them I didn't want it for three months (until March 1st) and they were fine about it !! Was it the dealer that asked for £5,000?????? The Ed

You do NOT have to have a tracker fitted to cars over a cetain value/price Underwriters used to flat rate cars up to circa £25,000 anyway and now the figure is nearer £40,000. This is why it's totally pointless when they ask you on the phone "What is the value of you car" if it's under say £35,000. Just give them the answer "Market Value" cos that's all you will get in the event of a total loss !! (Unless you have an "Agreed value")

Cooper, Have a look here . Should tell you what you want to know !! Cheers The Ed

All dealers will do this at the right time if sales are poor. Also dealer will sell brand new cars at LESS THAN COST PRICE if the need to meet their sales quotas and are near the end of a qtr. Manufacturers give large bonus payments to dealers for exceeding their quarterly targets and any 'loss' a dealer makes on heaver discounts is more than made up by this bonus payment at the end of the qtr. I bought my Brand new GS at the end of last year (between Xmas and New year) but I said I didn't wan't delivery until 1st March. To cut a long story short - I got a VERY large discount on the price of the GS and they gave me well over book price on the car I was trading in !! It does pay to pick the time of year to buy new !! The Ed

Errrr.... Guys Firstly let me say I HAVE signed the petition. Secondly, maybe I am being a bit of a optimist but... This daft British Government thinks it's going to rely on the Galileo infrastructure to be able to impliment this scheme (the only other alternative would be to have sensors/transponders placed on EVERY road/junction similar to EZ Pass) and they won't pay out for that ! Galileo was supossed to be fully deployed by 2010, I believe this has now slipped to 2012! This wonderful satellite system is a joint venture between various EU Governments and the private sector (Theirs a recipie for delays if ever I saw one !!) Even assuming this system gets up there in it's entirity and I'm sure it will (eventally and probably 15 times over budget) it will then have to track EVERY SINGLE CAR in this country on every journey. We have circa 30 million cars in this country and assuming there are 50 percent of them on the road at any one time Galileo is going to have to track and log 15 million moving objects with the integrity of data to bill people. Me thinks the governemnt have been sold a pipe dream by the techno boys !! The system may be on trial now, using a few cars and controlled installed units in these vehicles but that is in a 'controlled environment under ideal conditions. Currently the system will not be able to handle traking every vehicle on our roads simultaenously. There is going to be legal problems such as damage to peoples vehicles when these GPS boxes are installed, incorrect billing (the sytem is already making mistakes on parrallel roads) - so you could end up being charged for a 'premium' route when in fact you were on a side road !! Don't forget, if the implimentation date for the so called required technology is 2012 and this will slip further, this pathetic excuse for a government will not be in power then as they will have been voted out years before. HOPEFULLY - whatever lieing government get in will scrap this looney idea before they realise that to try and impliment it will cost more than a small countries national dept - and then the technology will be flakey at the best of times. This whole idea exists at the moment as a White Paper and there is already admissions in there that problems exist !! I'm getting off my soapbox now and going down the garden to sit in my shed !!! :winky: The Ed

Yes - I got a call from Lexus UK on Tuesday at 8:40pm !!! YES 8:40PM !!! Some daft woman reading off a script telling me that my new GS was due a service and they could book it in for me there and then !! I then asked if they had a computer system "Yes" she said.... "Well" I said "Might I suggest you get one that works?" "Ah" she said "If you booked it in over the last few days it may not appear on my system" "No" I said "I booked it in a month ago - get a system that works and don't disturb at 8:40 at night" (not that I was in a bad mood :P I put the phone down and my wife said "You were so rude on that phone call" "Don't care" I said "Lexus have the money to pay for an IT system that works !! They shouldn't pester people at gone 8:30 at night on the pretence they are doing you a favour !!" Rant over !!! :tsktsk: :tsktsk: :tsktsk: I love my Lexus but I don't want to be disturbed at home by someone reminding me it's due a service, I would hope I'm intelligent enough to figure that one out for myself !! The Ed

Same goes for using a pressure washer on bodywork !!! - They should be shot !!! (Not the pressure washers but the people :P !!) Using a pressure washer on any of the body panels can cause serious damage. If you have so much as a tiny stone chip on that panel a pressure washer can cause the laqeur/paint to start lifting. Once that's started, it's nothing short of a respray for the effected area !! You have been warned peoples...... The Ed

Yep Just goes to hammer home "Rip-Off Britain" !!! I've been travelling to the States for years and can remember petrol as low as $1.30 in Florida (yep... That's 70p a gallon !!!). Still - we can all lok forward to road pricing soon and being watched by Big Brother !! In answer to your original post, you won't see that many Lexus around central Florida. Miami you wil see a few more and The Palm Beach area will yield a few but central Florida is all tourist and as you say rental car territory. If you travel to New York you will see a good mix of the marque along with more exotic brands. Although the Americans do love Lexus they are very loyal to the American brands. btw - I did the same as you the first time I saw a RX 470 :P !! Cheers The Ed

There are no decent Theme Parks in the UK.... Full Stop !!!!!

Hi Rizlam and welcome to the club, This has been coverd many times before and the simple answer is - YOU CAN'T (Not without taking out the head unit and doing some rewiring, and even then it's met with differing success depending on what side of the water you live) It's never ben an issue for me as I think it's sensibe that you can't enter addresses whilst on the move, the same as I don't believe people should be jabbering on their toy phones while driving either. If you nip over to the US forums you will find this topic extensively covered. Cheers The Ed

Talking of which - I saw the ad for the new LS on TV while I was ove there....... JAW DROPPING !! :D :D They showed you the 'Auto Park' feature. Basically the car paralel parks itself (Yes I know BMW tried it but they failed miserably) This is something else. They have two pyramids of cut glass crystal champagne flutes with a gap in between just big enough for the LS to fit into. The guy drives the car past the crystal glasses and the onboard display confirms the space is big enough. Then he just hits the 'Park' button and then sits there with his arms folded !! The car reverses into the space while turning the wheel, stops about 6" from the rear glasses and then straightens up and stops around 6" from the front pile of glases. It then moves to an equal distance between the two perfectly parked (All while you have your arms folded !!) I WANT ONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

So where are they then?? Just got back from taking the family on an early Xmas shopping spree (wallet is still recovering but should be out of intensive care soon ) While we were in NYC saw lots of GX470's !! - Never seen one over here.. WHY NOT Suppose we are never likely to see them this side of the water? The Ed

I think every road should have a speed camera !! Ohhh... and they should be placed at the end of peoples driveways as well (far too many people reverse off their drive too quickly) Could we also get them installed in playgrounds in schools and parks as I've seen a lot of children running about a bit too fast for my liking. How about on the exit of revolving doors on supermarkets ?? Inside Multi Storey car parks would be agood idea as well. (You can't have people whizzing about with fully laden shopping trolleys you know) Car washes is another area that the government have overlooked I think. Put a strategically placed camera on the exit of a car wash and you will get the odd over zealous driver pulling out at over 4mph !! (Oh and the photo will come out really well cos the number plate will be nice and clean) Don't worry - All of the above could really happen folks if this looney governemnt could get away with it !! The Ed

Yeah... and that REALLY does an Auto Box a lot of good !!! Also - You can't push/nudge a car without marking the paint. Oh - I will NEVER be taking my car to Italy or Paris !!... Neanderthals !!! The Ed

From memory (and I don't have the manual in front of me - but I'll check next time) the recalibration needs about 4-5 miles of straight(ish) road to do its thing. I seem to remember that after hitting this option it then instructs you to drive in a straight(ish) line (motorway or A road or similar) until its got its marbles back !! :D Hope this helps, I will try and confirm this for you next time I can get to my manual Regards The Ed Oh - P.S. STOOOPID !! :D :D