The Editor

Is it just me being my usual cynical self (again) or is this daft new GPS system an utter waste of money??

The first Satellite was launched last week that will ultimately become the European version of GPS - Called Galileo.

Costs have been estimated at circa £3.5 billion. Now we all know what estimated costs are like (remember the Millenium Dome fiasco??). So I think it's fairly safe to say that the eventual final cost of this space junk will be at least double that.

Why do I call it space junk? Well who actually want's it (like the Millenium Dome)?

The American GPS system works and it works well. It has been de-militarilised for some years now and has always been available to the public for free. Can anyone here honestly say that this new fangled Galileo will be offered completely free of charge to us mere mortals. Once this theiving lot of Labour lefties get wind that they can charge for the services everyone will be required to buy a 'Galileo Licence'

The question I ask is.... Are car manufactures going to be asked to install Galileo only navigation equipment in cars imported/built in europe as a condition of sale? Or perhaps they will be required to pay a licence to the government (More revenue for the greedy politicians)

So what will happen? Will owning an american based GPS navigation aid become illegal over here and will the thought police confiscate your nasty american piece of hardware if you are caught using it??!!

The truth of the matter is, £3.5 - £7 billion could be much better spent on our national health service, education system or countless other sensible options.

This system will be run by the private sector and I'm sure they can already smell the money. So what will people do if... sorry I mean WHEN the government starts charging for the privilage of satellite navigation under Galileo?. Well if bespoke car systems are Galileo only then people will say :tsktsk: that. I'll get mysely a TomTom (or similar) and avoid the licence fee !!!

Of course the properganda line is "Oh we don't want to be reliant on a system that is run by the American Military" I feel the truth is much more commercially orientated

I see Galileo failing... SPECTACULARLY !!!

Can't say I didn't warn them.....

The Ed

If you park in their car park you CAN take the tax disc in with you and they will issue a new one then & there and take the old one from you.

Just one less thing to bother with if you park on their premises !!

The Ed

Gl;ad to hear you and the vehicle are ok !!

It really pi**es me off that the fine for still using a mobile while driving is so low.

It hasn't stopped the really bad offenders and never will.

I would like to see a MINIMUM fine of £1,000 plus say 8 points on the licence. That could be for a first offence followed by disqualification for say..... 5 years and a £5,000 fine !!

Course, that will never happen but I can dream.... :tsktsk: :tsktsk:

The Ed

If they are as mucky as you describe then you may need to soak them.

Pull them fully out from the reel and pop a bulldog clip on to stop them retracting back into their home.

then make up a solution of strong fabric cleaner lukewarm in a bowl. Put bowl on the seat and pop seatbelt in and let soak for 10 - 20 mins. Scrub with a nailbrush if required. Once you've got the stains out put cold water in the bowl and rinse out any soap left in the belts.

No - Here's the important bit.... Make sure the belts are COMPLETELY dry before you take that bulldog clip off and the belt snaps back in taking one of your eyes with it !! :duh:

The Ed

I guess they do but I can't hear above about 3khz soI could tell you !!... It's like listening to the world through a telephone cos I'm 104 years old !!

My hard disk drives make the dog bark !! :D - No Seriously !

Mmmmmm St Davids day :D

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Well I won't be drinking !!!

So who saw Tg last night with the 1,000 bhp Bugatti ??

I wan't one !!! Only £860,000 !!

It seemed... um...... rather quick !!

The Ed

Ahhhh.... Phew.... Well I'm a bit of a car detailing looney (Porter Cable at the ready) and it's always kept garaged so I'm hoping it will stay fairly clean (even though I know I only have to reverse it out of the garage and it will be dirty !!

Still can't wait till March 1st though :D

congratulations........hope you have more fun with black paint than i did on one of my Is'sss

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Thanks - ohhh...errr... you're gonna tell me a horror story now about soft paint aren't you??

The Ed

Oh well, done it at last :P :P

Today ordered a GS300 SE-L in Astral black for a March 1st delivery :D

Also bought a number plate I've had my eye on but not released until December for use on an 06 car :D

Can't wait... Just got to get Xmas out of the way (Bah Humbug) and then it's countdown to March 1st.... Already booked the day as a days holiday :P

The Ed

If you DO have to park in a car park, try to park in an end space as well - this will minize the damage to your car being on only one side. :winky:

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A very good point... By following this tip you have cut the chances of getting a dent by 50% !!

The other one is leave someone sitting in the car (if possible) - People tend to be a little more careful if there is someone sitting in the vehicle.

I always try and get in a Parent and child space if I can as they are wide enough to stop the door dent brigade attacking you. I did get out of my car once and a chav piped up "Oi mate they're Mother a baby spaces" to which I replied "No - They are actually parent a child spaces and I'm a parent and my children are at home"... He didn't know what to say :P

As an aside - when I was brinnging up my kids I always taught them to be very careful opening their door so as not to dent the car next to us. Sadly the sport of today for most people (not just kids) is to fling the door open as wide as possibe and use the vehicle in the space next to you as a door stop.

There are basically two types of people in this world....

1) Ones that care and take pride in their vehicle

2) Everybody else :tsktsk:

The Ed

It doesn't warn you of lane change coming up to a complex junction (as my Garmin unit does) such as " In 400 yards - Keep Right" etc

Mine does - On the M25 as I was approaching the M3 (anti-clockwise) the unit said to 'keep right' exactly as you quote. I have however downloaded and installed the latest software version.

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Ahhh... Maybe it only does on 'major' junctions/motorways etc - either way it isn't really THAT much of an issue.

As regards to swapping it from car to car - the suction mount is very quick to release and affix (around 5 seconds !!!) so it isn't really an issue. Also it's a good idea to take the mount off the windscreen when you park up and pop it in the glove compartment as I understand it's the mount that thieves are looking for as it advertises the fact that there is probably a GPS unit in the car as well !!

Cheers

The Ed

Can also add my recommendations to this post.

Purchased a TomTom One a couple of weeks ago for an early Xmas present for my eldest daughter.

Have given the unit a good test and have to say I am VERY impressed. I also purchased a 13amp mains/Cig lighter adapter from here for £7 which means you can use/charge the unit indoors which makes it more convienient. The only minor niggles I would have so far are

1) It doesn't warn you of lane change coming up to a complex junction (as my Garmin unit does) such as " In 400 yards - Keep Right" etc

2) It has required a hard reset (with a paperclip in the reset button) once - don't know why this was but will keep an eye on it.

Other than the above I have to say the aquisition time is VERY fast for a portable unit (almost instant) and the sensitivity is unreal. It will lock onto 2 or three sats while I am sitting in the lounge, something my other portable units could never dream of acheiving !!

Overall - I would say if you are in the market for a compact Sat Nav unit with FULL POSTCODE search facilities... Go out and buy one !!

The Ed

P.S. - btw.. the supplied windscreen sucker mount is very strong - once you place it on the screen and push the lever to create the suction... It aint gonna fall off !! :D

Ohhh... and don't forget on the other side of the pond the warranty is better as well !!

FIVE years I think you will find !!

But hey... It's official we're NOT rip-off Britain !!

The Ed

Will do a full report on the boot light lumens output once I get used to it - I see its a topic of great concern on the forum  :D

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Yes please... A full diagnostic and a footcandles output graph please !! :D :P

The Ed

Ha ha... false alarm - it is there - a little light on the right hand side - noticed it while i was cleaning the car.

Got to say it's pretty low on my extras list, but for those concerned about night time boot fumbling, the panic is over!

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Thanks Nick.... My faith has been restored and I WILL go ahead and order one now :P (Couldn't possibly be seen driving around in a car without a boot light !! :D )

Thanks for the info guys

The Ed

Opps....

Might have been too hasty guys - sorry..

Look here.

It does sound very plausible though !!

Sorry for the scare

The Ed

Apologies if this has been posted already....

ALL CAR OWNERS AND CAR DRIVERS, PLEASE READ

(originated from Alliance Cornhill insurance)

Be aware of a new car-jacking scheme.You walk across the car park, unlock your car and get inside, lock the doors, start the engine and select reverse. You look into the rear-view mirror to back out of your parking space and notice a piece of paper stuck to the middle of the rear window.

So, you shift back into park or neutral, unlock the doors and get out to remove the paper (or whatever it is) that is obstructing your view.

When you reach the back of your car the car-jackers appear out of nowhere, jump into your car and take off. Your engine was running and you would have left your handbag or briefcase in the car.

APART FROM NICKING ANYTHING OF VALUE, THEY MIGHT FIND YOUR ADDRESS AND THEY ALREADY HAVE YOUR KEYS!

Remember, if you see your rear view blocked like this just drive away and remove the paper later ! It is stuck to your window!

THIS SCAM IS HAPPENING IN LONDON RIGHT NOW AND WILL SURELY SPREAD TO OTHER AREAS.

JUST BE AWARE AND TAKE CARE.

The Ed

These look good (would give a nice bespoke finish) but you would have to pay import duty

Click on 'products' and then select Lexus and model etc

The Ed

Niraj,

Remember you DO NOT have to accept their approved repairer !! It's YOUR car and the insurance company has no right to say where it goes for repairs YOU DO !!

What all insurance companies will do is try to cut down the labour cost to rediculous levels by using their muscle. You do not have to roll over and accept their venue for repairs.

They may well ask for two estimates of garages you are prepared to take your car and they will always pick the one with the lowest labour cost as this is always negotiable - The price of the parts generally aren't.

Hope you get things sorted

The Ed

since i have one, i can tell you that - nope, no light! Bit of a pain in the dark! Not exactly an issue for me though - best car i've ever had!

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WHAT :tsktsk: ??!!!! No light ??!!! - On a £40,000 car !!

Well maybe the Japs don't load or unload their boots after dark but that's a serious design defect on that class of car !! I thought the land of the rising sun was suposed to design these things to 'anticipate our expectations' (or something like that)... Well I can tell you when I open the bl**dy boot I expect a light in there the same as when I open my fridge !!

SACUNFRASUNRASEN (said very muttley like !!)

Right - Rant over - Still won't stop me buying the car though - I will just 'rig something up' for those darker moments in my life !!

Thanks for the info

The Ed

Thanks Lexlex2,

I said it was a silly question and couldn't see Lexus omitting something so pratical but when you try something twice and it doesn't do what you think it SHOULD do you begin to wonder whether it doesn't (If that makes sense)

Think you could be right Matthew, maybe the vehicles I tried were on 'Auto' light and therfore didn't come on as I was testing them in the daytime...

Cheers

The Ed

I assume the new GS300,s have a boot light?

Is it ambient light sensing in that it only activates when it's dark? The reason I ask is twice I've peered into a GS300 boot and twice it was like the black hole of ... well exactly !!

I couldn't be bothered to call over the sales chappie so I'm still wondering. I can't believe a £38,000 car doesn't have a super-duper illumination system?!

Please put me out of my misery...

Thanks

The Ed

Don't forget Chain Gangs !!

Make them put something back into society first by repairing our *** awful roads and THEN hang them !!!