Cubic Incubi

Hi folks. I registered at this forum last year when I was looking at the LS400. By and by I bought a lpg'd merc estate for the wife in the end. I'm still a gold member at Toyota Owners Club (sister site I've heard) and still have my celica's. Anyway, to the hub; Is there any interest in coming on a Euro road trip i'm co-organising / promoting at the end of august for a bunch of like minded folks? Dates are 25th July to 5th August - 10 days. I can't decide wether to do this on my touring bike or my new L200 animal - either way... General idea is to take tents and camp over on the way with a couple or as many nights in a hotel thrown in for needed rest. Itinerary (not confirmed) is as follows. 2 days in each location other than the first leg to la rochelle which is a one nighter/ f le compt Day 1 - Calais to Fontenay Le Compt (by La Rochelle - my parents farm house in hamlet - rural france) Big BBQ and get to know each other to set us off on our way. Day 2 & 3 - Fontenay Le Compt to Biarritz. Sun, beach and sea. Loveley town for eating out etc. Day 4 &5 - Biarritz to Barcelona - cross the pyrenees and andora range to the city and have a good time. Day 6 - Barcelona to Marseille - needed rest. Day 7 - Marseille to Bern - alps ahoy. Day 8 & 9 - Bern to Bonn - have some beer, visit nurburgring for those interested. Day 10 - Bonn to Calais - home we go. This route sees two 6-7 hour legs (first leg and leg to Barcelona) every other leg of the journey is between 4-5 hours of driving + stops etc. All confirmed by Micehelin route palnning web service (not taking accidents into and congestion consideration, that may require navaigating) So not really a Enduro in the true sense but it will pay to have a co driver/friend along. Accomodation Costs - if we are camping, costs for accomodation will be minimal, like a fiver a night here and there and no more than £20 a night in any event. Hotels - once the route is confirmed, anyone wishing to stay in a hotel must make their own arrangements. Fuel costs. Current $15 dollar a barrell costs in euro indicate 1.3-1.5 euro per litre (low, route nationale - high, auto route) for petrol. Derv is 1.10-1.30 euro per litre. My estimate used a presumption that; a car that does 30mpg will use 350 litres for this trip. Fuel therefore £350. Tolls £75. Ferry £135 or EuroTunnel £165. seacat £120. So a car with two passengers is going to cost around £300 PP. if you get better fuel economy even less. Currently I have a list of party's showing interest attending from Toyota Owners Club, Celica Club, GT4 Owners Club, Mercedes Benz Owners Association Forums and have posted at the L200 owners club and various motorcylce touring clubs. Anyone who is interested please add to the thread. There may be spaces in other vehicles if you dont want to use your own machine. But who's gonna miss driving on this trip The itinerary is loose to keep it open and relaxed. Any takers and shakers? cheers Karl

cheers chaps :D u guys are a friendly and helpful bunch isnt this club linked to TOC? I'm a gold member there..... well i'll stay in touch and see what I find - I can't stand to drive the Mitsi Space Wagon family hack any longer - its an abortion of a car. Its gotten to a stage where the wife and I fight over who drives the space wagon and who drives my Van

is the GS a bigger car? is the GS the E class equivalent and the LS the S class eqv'lnt? hmmm.. showed the wife some pics of the LS and its a toss up with a Range Rover which she loves (horrid big ugly slow road things - off road a different matter)

So anyone interested in fuel consumption can't afford one then? Maybe I had better stick to my 'small engined' GTfour that drinks 15-20mpg on an average run ;) So it's reasonable to say the LS is sedate then? has power as a cruiser but is otherwise a ditherer about town.... thats what I want - a nice quiet comfy luxury ride. I've had enough of screaming around like a banshee. Dave - seems you got a good one mate. from everything i've browsed they seem pretty bomb proof. OK, few other Q's LPG? are the kits any good - does the engine like lpg? does the performance suffer? (Petrol) Fuel tank capacity? its about 85 litres right? so that should see a motorway run of about 250miles before a refill? Are there any special editions with extra's or is it a standard car with factory options? any goodies to look out for? Leather - how does it age? are the seats heated? cheers

Hi Folks Right, I'll get straight to it then... Been looking at E Class Merc's again, had a straight 6 couple of years ago and loved it. I've a few Toyota's (GT4) and thought I'd look at the Lexus comparison. Never paid that much attention to them before although I know they are solid and reliable, many LS400's from early to mid 90's seem capable of over 200K miles.. So I'm thinking about driving another big heavy barge for the next couple of years after toying about in four pot turbo malarkee.. sort of had my 'bigger' car situation sorted with a Mitsi Space wagon but oh my - what a mistake this has turned out to be. from a point of view of doing what it says on the tin the space wagon is a practical hack - but you feel like a turd driving one. So I'm looking for a 94 onwards LS400 with up to about 130K on the clock, full service history and in good nick with near on perfect bodywork (no dings or scrapes), full gismos and leather - I guess this shouldnt be too hard to find. How much should I be looking to spend and what should I be looking for that will require replacing - best to get one with the stuff done I fathom. a check list would be cool. If there is a check list on the site a link would be appreciated. Now - questions about the V8 - the engine seems moderately powered for a 8 cylinder which I guess leads to the reason why they tend to go on forever... from the cockpit do they 'sound' like a V8? are the brakes and overall handling good for a bit of spirited driving or is the car a cruiser and that's about it? the merc was fun for a bit of welly now and again and i would hope the LS is just as eager. I would be looking to keep the car totally standard, but if there are any minor modifications that make it a wee tad better what would they be? (I assume this part gets no reply as the car should be bullet proof) Last - Fuel/oil consumption and Insurance group? .... ok. nuff for now - cheers