flotsam

The one advantage EV cars have is if you own your own solar panels and wind turbines. Otherwise, hydrogen is better in every other respect. It seems we can no longer afford fossil fuels which is why they're scaremongering. The Independent shows two weather maps with the lower temperatures during the current supposed heatwave doctored to look scary:

Someone just blew up his Tesla because the cost of replacing the battery was tens of thousands.

A go-slow on the M4 means drivers caught up in it will expend more fuel. They've pulled this stunt before, when truck drivers, supposedly protesting high fuel prices, formed a convoy. Another time a truck driver blocked the entrance to a fuel depot, again supposedly protesting high fuel prices. Then there's Francis Maude suggesting drivers store petrol in their garden sheds, which resulted in panic buying. Similarly, astro-turf group "Insulate Britain" protests by gluing themselves to junctions on the M25. Obviously, with the rocketing prices they can't shift the petrol as fast as they want. The government has also lifted the anti-trust ban on petrol retailers colluding. I could be wrong, but it seems the traffic lights are also MUCH slower in turning green with the result that traffic in both directions is sitting there waiting. Empty shelves mean you either bulk buy or buy an alternative (often more expensive) or have to go to more than one supermarket, expending more fuel. Several weeks ago where I live, all the roads were blocked on the weekend in town so that no one could get to the discount supermarkets. I had to shop at Asda instead. Over Christmas, my ISP was stuffing data so that I ran out. I usually only use half of my allowance. So I bought extra data. But that ran out twice more. After lost of complaining they admitted they were ripping me off and gave me my money back.

How heavy is it, how many years does it last, how long does it take to charge, will it burn your house down?

The Guardian reports that sales of petrol and diesel were DOWN 4.7% in December. How is that a panic? My local petrol prices haven't changed for weeks according to petrolprices.com. Presumably they don't want to cut prices but are struggling to find buyers. Is it the same panic as empty shelves where you're encouraged to buy a more expensive alternative? I bought some Esso super-unleaded because I read an article that claimed they didn't add ethanol. But the pump said, "E5". Peed-off about being conned, I just bought a few litres. My car will take 95 octane fuel, but since the switch to E10, I tried super unleaded from Shell, and noticed it was definitely quieter, which is strange because in all the years I've owned it, I never noticed any difference before. Have they been "watering-down" 95 RON petrol for some time?

And after about 7 years you'll need a new one. I'm waiting for hydrogen

Oh, and Germany demanding short-term contracts for natural gas from Russia is just an invitation for higher prices. This makes the US's expensive LNG commercially viable. As for the mRNA vaccine, that now requires three booster shots a year. Since when does a vaccine require a booster, when the whole idea is that it provides immunity by priming your immune system. Have immune systems now become senile? As for Tamiflu (Rummyflu) that was never a vaccine and that's according to the leaflet that came with in the box.

petrolprices.com is showing no updates for super unleaded these days. Obviously, the higher prices is scaring everyone off except me.

Wanted to do my Sunday grocery shop only to find ALL the roads blocked!!!! Some had road works, others simply had traffic cones across the road. Clearly, this is the same policy as the "Insulate Britain" astro-turf group. Now it's Monday and the road works/cones have magically disappeared!

Yet another astro-turf group, Insulate Britain, choose block roads causing hundreds of drivers to consume more petrol. What a co-incidence!!!

I refuse to be panicked. I'm retired so only put 4 litres into my 80 litre tank. p.s. I tried to post the above a few hours ago but suddenly couldn't access this website.

Prices have been gradually rising instead of shooting up. That's a herding action. Blame is being put on car drivers themselves, claiming we're panicking, which is a circular argument. Those of us who have worked in the oil sector, know refineries take an age and a fortune to shut down and start up again. That's why they formed OPEC to manage supply. It's also why the occasionally perform propaganda stunts to panic people into buying. It's also why they sometimes hire shipping to store the excess and why during the lockdown oil prices went negative. France is now offering €100 to the middle classes for fuel instead of ramping up supplies to meet demand. That will only push prices up. Unless the alleged panic-buying is staggered, there should be a time when most people have filled their tanks to the brim anyway. That will mean they will be forced to cut prices in a desperate attempt to create demand.

The panic comes as gas (not petrol) prices have tripled, lorry drivers have disappeared and Covid-19 will probably cause another lockdown around the Christmas shopping period; the busiest time of all. What next, a 230,000 ton ship blown off course by a gust of wind and getting stuck in the Suez Canal, or an electricity connector to France catching fire?!?!

petrolprices.com seems to have kicked back into life. Unfortunately, prices of super-unleaded from Tesco is the only one I could find nearby reporting both unleaded and super-unleaded prices and it's over 5% more expensive for super-unleaded, which is a big jump from earlier this year.

Obviously. There are plenty of petrol stations I've seen which are open but no queues and I live in a city.

They always play these tricks. The last time, it was Francis Maude who told everyone to store petrol in their shed, until everyone pointed out it was a hazard. Before that Shrub told everyone in America to only buy as much as they needed, which resulted in panic buying. There have been protests by lorry drivers over fuel prices, except they ran a convoy blocking the motorway, which caused more fuel consumption. One blocked the exit of a refinery. After workers at Total got everything they demanded THEN they went on strike.

WE'RE BEING PLAYED! I've seen petrol stations closed but no queues. petrolprices.com has stopped reporting prices. Usually it takes a short time but I posted prices yesterday and the pages haven't changed in days. Meanwhile the government has suspended anti-competition rules banning collusion between petrol retailers. In other words, it's authorised a cartel.

Can anyone explain why E5 doesn't corrode but E10 does?

And it's a reversal of the "Cash for Clunkers" policy. The Covid-19 scam had my local shopping mall forcing shoppers to walk in specific directions. Obviously, this is to deter shoppers. The supermarkets made people queue outside. Trolleys were reduced in number. Items on shelves went missing intermittently. Hyperstagflation here we come!

Then we're being played! I read one article which claimed that the new E10 had increased the octane rating, but I couldn't find any reference to the old E5 RON. I still don't see why E5 didn't corrode components but E10 might.

That list refers to post 1998 cars. I'm assuming that they can't use E10 not because the ethanol damages the car, but because the lower octane rating means the engine won't run properly. With ethanol having about two thirds the energy of petrol, you get about 1.66667% less. Super unleaded, which is still E5 is about 2.3% more expensive where I live. My energy bills from Utilita have gone up too: Here's a breakdown of how our prices are changing: Electricity Until 30 September After 1 October First Rate 31.836p 34.040p Saver Rate 17.811p 19.800p First Rate is charged for the first 2kWh used per day and Saver Rate is charged for the remaining kWh used per day. All prices include VAT. Gas Until 30 September After 1 October First Rate 21.198p 21.414p Saver Rate 2.957p 3.984p 2.957 to 3.984 is almost 35% !!!!!!

I use Total Quartz Energy fully synthetic but mine's low mileage. Viscosity at 40°C and 100°C: Total Quartz Energy 0W-30: 68.45 12.18 Castrol Edge 5W-30: 73.4 11.9 So it's less viscous when cold but more viscous when hot. What's not to like! I've been using this fully-synthetic for a few years now and the engine runs super-smooth and quiet. And it's cheaper too. As my Lexus manual suggests I let the engine run for 10s on start-up to oil the overhead cams, this is ideal as it's the least viscous when cold of the oils I've compared.

Hope this wasn't Inchcape Retail, Farnborough on Elles Road. They're worse than Lexus Hull. Not only are they cowboys, they're crooked cowboys. The botch job they did to my car has had to have endless repairs to the botched repairs they did, including things they shouldn't have been touching whatsoever. Complete low life.

According ot the tests, my LS400 mkIV is 67.5dB at 60mph. In other words, it's all tyre noise.

Here's my mpg in mkIV LS400 passing the same point on cruise control, which has a VERY slight incline (as I didn't want a coasting mpg), almost flat. Notice how Lexus has set it up for 56mph: mph mpg 40 42 50 42.7 55 44.4 56 47.2 57 42.9 59 41.1 60 39.7