dutchie01

6000 miles in some years time. isnt using a taxi cheaper?

European ports are completely full with Chinese EVs. Hamburg, Zeebrugge, Antwerp, Rotterdam and so on. Previously cars were unloaded and then disappeared to the end customers mostly through dealers. The Chinese have a different approach they just use those ports as storage area. Some cars have been there for 1.5 yrs. Chinese manufacturers get paid per car by the Chinese government so keep producing my friends happy days and who cares if nobody buys them ?! Demand for 2nd hand ones is very low out of consumer fear. What are you buying? what is the state of the battery? High electricity prices make EVs as expensive as petrolcars? In most countries you pay roadtax based on weight and that is much higher with a battery? How about value will they continue depreciating like crazy? From the model you are interested in for sure there will be newer versions withmore range faster charging so why buy this one? In short there are too many uncertainties for private buyers. Like before the market is driven by companycars only.

You know when you feel a dinosaur? When your five year old grandson can operate the satnav better and faster then yourself ( without any form of explanation whatsoever) !!!

The sound warning when driving over the speedlimit is new regulation. all new cars do have this now, just wait until they introduce the next step in limiting your speed so even if you want you cant go faster. The LBX dash and infotainment seems relatively simple compared to some of the German competitors with humongous screens and a thousand options. They design this to impress customers in the showroom. First time a potential customer sits in the car they have to be wowed and immediately the car is sold especially with the younger generation. That you never use 95% of possibilities does not seem to matter. I like the LBX, it looks good and is the right size for what it needs to be. If you want a small car and like some more upmarket feel what is the competition?

Dont underestimate the power of food. Connoisseurs of risotto likewise paella are to be found in every region and all claim their way of cooking is the original best and forget about the rest. This runs deep. Remember Jamie Oliver some years ago? He published his Paella recipe and the highest diplomatic circles were working overtime to prevent Spain from declaring war!

Chefs surprise dinner at an Asian fusion restaurant with trendy purple lighting and too beautiful people ( me not included). So basically i have no clue..

Will you make an offer? https://www.knightfrank.co.uk/properties/commercial/for-sale/burgh-island-hotel-burgh-island-bigbury-on-sea-kingsbridge-devon-tq7/HTV012399404

just did a quick google. 208 million scam emails were received by UK residents in 2023. 69000 cases of identity theft were reported. 46% of UK consumers have been victim of cybercrime. I knew it was bad but this?

Great phote but are you sure its you and not Andy Warhol? ( only joking...)

Lots and maybe most of smaller companies do not even think about IT security which is the number one reason why phishing and email interception fraude is on the rise. So simple, so under the radar and with people not expecting it at all so effective.

Banks do have a pretty strong IT defense they literally spend billions in keeping safe. Its in their DNA. Companies however... Our company got hacked last year, ransom ware all systems down. After this was solved it was shocking how naive we have been the door was wide open. IT Has now become a fixed part of our plans and we allocate large sums towards it.

Nice interior for the passengers that is. However it seems to be in the wrong package. 4 pot cvt and questionnable styling. From whatever angle you look at it its well... weird? Maybe more suited for Asian inner city transport. And i did not even start about the price!

I think most will have their own preference. Some like pre war cars that leave me cold. I like the seventies as cars were relatively simple then, no electronics and the design of that era was just great. Various decades did give us some great motor cars and each to their own. That brings the question what, for you, was the highlight, the pinnacle, the one car that stands out? For me the Citroen 2CV. The sheer simplicity of the design, the lightness the way the chassis worked the undestructable 2 cylinder engine, all a masterpiece of design ( in my opinion).

For car designers and engineers those were the days. No safety standards, no crash regulations, no emissions and fuel consumption, who cares? They could litelarally design their dream car, and that is what happened. Below you will find a clip from an italian automotive journalist that interviewed all the old timers ruling the industry in those days and they way the iconic cars of the days came to light is mind boggling. In todays world that is absolutely impossible. If you have the time have a look switch on undertitles its in english as well

Genocide and ethnic cleansing have been around since the dark ages. Its in all of us, that new neighbour that is different to us.. That kid in school with thoses glasses, that colleague with the wrong trainers, that friend of a friend with the wrong religion, that guy down the road with the wrong skin color, that guy from the next village. Does it matter to put it in the right context? I truly dispise the cancel mob, its egoistic self centered elitist left wing types blocking streets, throwing soup at paintings. Do we really need to put ethnic cleansing in some sort of perspective? Mass killings fitting the social development of the world at the time? Bad is bad, wrong is wrong. China is wrong big time beeing a dictatorship. Feel free to buy a car from there. Its cheap so lets go!

It is around the corner Malc and will raise its head when opportunity arises. Humans are the worst predators on the planet but we like to think we are civilized, thats all.

Just saw some scary statistics about China as car manufacturer compared to the rest of the world. 2011 Europe produced 28,2% of all cars worldwide and China 20,1% , mainly for the local market. 2022 Europe produced 19,4% and China 34,1% now also being the biggest exporter worldwide of cars. Allianz Trade is saying the European Automotive sector is at risk currently employing some 13 million people. This is including suppliers like electronics, plastics, metal etc. Currently 4 out of 5 cars sold in Europe are assembled in Europe and they think that will disappear. In future all cars will be manufactured in China by a Chinese company or a European manufacturer producing there. They are warning about de-industrialization in Europe and are drawing parallels to the solar panel market. Not happy reading...

With China there is an underlying issue connected to economic growth or stability, namely people control. Beeing the high tech dictatorship it is it will have to keep the population satisfied/frightened. Fear runs deep within the Chinese community even abroad. I have a Chinese neighbour in my office centre and he told me that even amongst other Chinese he does not talk freely as he once got a call from his mother in China telling him he has to stop talking as they will get into trouble. So, fear rules. But Economic stability is also vital. Lots of Chinese used their savings to invest in the real estate market. They really think that housing always gets more expensive and your money will be safe. Until now. These people lost their money and are protesting in their thousands. If the economy goes down people will stop spending and so on. Social unrest is something the Xiś of the world would want to prevent at any cost?

Still available on the web new for 70 euro( not 1700 ). Battery lasts 2 weeks

Fully agree boomer. Its a bit dark and nerdy but look at a graveyard and you look back at local history. I once visited a small village in germany was utterly bored did visit the graveyard and oh boy ww1 and ww2 in your face it was..

But what have the romans ever done for us??

Same experiences with me. Parents, grandparents, neighbours never ever spoke about the war. Grown up in Holland the German occupation was still "alive"in my childhood but questions were never answered other than "that was a long time ago. It was this deafening silence that did make me realise something really bad big and horrible happened and it was only when i found a bag with foodcoupons and german written forms my father opened up a bit telling me he was in a german labourcamp for 3 years in Bremerhafen building U boat shelters. Conversation abruptly stopped when mother came in she threw the bag away instantly. Later when we went on holiday to spain the first question he asked meeting British of the same generation was Hi, were have you been? I never understood until later in life how these people understood the question and started a conversation about the war and it was like they already knew each other having a beer and patting each other on the shoulder ( he sent me to mum first). Although i was born after it definately influenced me like they say it works through the generations. My children? no luckily not, for them Hitler is Napoleon, too long ago. Good but bad in thesame time as now with Israel look what happens in Europe, are we about to make thesame mistake again? So many years later here we are complaining about a crappy Lexus satnav.. Talking about putting things in perspective hey!