MartinH

True the Alfasud was a rustbox but what a sensational drive! I rented one (in Turin) only weeks after its launch and took it for a thrash in the hills. The roadholding and handling were far beyond anything one had experienced previously. Can we get back to heuristics and the early days of the interwebz now please? It was getting so interesting.

If you look at the US election, you will see it is a political rather than an ethical creed

Splendid! A great advance on the self-abusing DPD chatbot story that's been doing the rounds!

Thank you for clearing that up. It did seem improbable.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterlyon/2024/01/21/toyota-creates-ultra-luxury-brand-above-lexus-and-its-called-century/?sh=3b7238663399

It would need painting in any case, my car being such a bizarre colour

I could in fact do with the towing eye and its front-bumper cover, lost by some third-party recovery cowboy working for RAC. Are those parts available please, Linas?

Ah but I have the last three options on my SE, and the moonroof too! Apparently the car was specced by the GM of Toyota GB for his father-in-law. As I recall, the SE had a lower car tax at the time (2007). Smart!

I commend a 16-year-old IS250 for all-round peace of mind. Luxury bangernomics.

This was not reported by any media — it's anecdotal and undoubtedly an exaggeration. The owner's golf club mates tell him they avoid parking next to his Tesla lest their own car be trashed by the likely conflagration, so 19th-hole banter.

Trouble is, the ES is so big. All that passenger space is wasted in a car that normally only carries two people. The IS2 is perfectly sized! What a dumb move by Lexus GB to drop the IS.

Quite right!

Hence its almost-universal use by private-hire cab drivers

Anecdata: a 'friend of a friend' has a two-year-old Tesla (idk which model), whose fully-charged capacity is now 20% less than when new. So yes, bin it when battery capacity falls short of need, just like a mobile phone.

Ah OK, I'm out already 😬

Ref, please?

As a wise Greek once remarked to me: do not confuse stupidity with ignorance

On society, yes, already under way... https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/oct/23/uk-officials-use-ai-to-decide-on-issues-from-benefits-to-marriage-licences

For those who don't have a clue what this is about:

Haha now you talkin! It's murder on that dancefloor! No doubt you have watched the early 70s Tony Palmer film on Northern Soul?

Looks rakish, history a bit approximate, but sunroof and red seats are attractive! https://www.cargurus.co.uk/Cars/inventorylisting/viewDetailsFilterViewInventoryListing.action

Useful intelligence, but unlikely to be current given the speed of advancement in AI technology. I use Gmaps on an Android phone attached to the screen using a Quadlock magnetic arm (very good). But the AI does need to be used with a little common sense. A described route may be shorter, and may be able to divert you round delays. However it takes no account of the human cognitive load in following a complex unknown route, and the likely exposure to a greater number of turns and other higher-risk scenarios such as narrow roads. Often it is better to stick with a known, or main-road route, even if the time taken is longer, for a lower-stress experience. It would be helpful if the software engineers were able to introduce a routing option that picked the 'lowest-stress' route but that would require the coding of some very tricky human factors. Also, Gmaps does simply make mistakes sometimes. For example, it knows where Waitrose is in Wellington, Somerset, but not where its access road is. (It's not through the wall of an adjacent light-industrial estate.)

Mais non, non, on ne regrette rien !

Err yes that does make sense

Haha yes, I had two successive 304 Cabriolets, plenty big boot for two people's luggage, and strap the bike in on rear shelf with the wheels off. The first one had to be re-built after a stolen double-decker London bus side-swiped it. (This is true.)