First_Lexus

My last NX had a windscreen replacement (through insurance) with National Windscreens. A perfect job, no issues with calibration of radar cruise, automatic wipers or anything else. They used a genuine Lexus windscreen too. That was the Newbury branch, and I’d highly recommend them.

Assault

I know of one friend who kept their new - and expensive - Jaguar EV for only two months as the EV range in the real world was less than 50% of what was promised. They’ve exchanged it for a plug-in hybrid instead…

For a U.K. view on this generation of RX - in this case the 400h - I find this chap does a good review. Simple and straightforward…and more good news.

If it’s a light scratch - that is one you can’t feel with your fingernail - then try CarPro Ceriglass. I’ve used it to good effect a couple of times. The trick is to get the supplied hard pad damp and then really work the affected area. Takes a while by hand but does make a difference in my experience.

TBH I think the proposed ‘European Super League’ would have been a good thing. Take out the biggest teams from every European league - Barcelona & Real from Spain, PSG from France, Juve and both Milan clubs from Italy, Bayern from Germany, the big four from the PL - and those leagues would likely become more competitive while the ‘Super League’ could become a vanity project for wealthy owners and Chinese supporters.

I’ve been using some Rain-X glass cleaner that I bought cheap in Costco. It’s actually very good, especially useful on the side windows which in my experience really do stay clearer as the water beads away more easily.

I beg the indulgence of the honourable members for this one. I know times have changed, and I know there’s no solution to this - but I feel I must vent my frustration. The FA Premier League. What’s the point? There are now only two or three clubs who can reasonably expect to actually win anything, unless increasingly dubious foreign owners buy a different club (see Newcastle United). Everybody else is there for…what exactly? Where’s the fun in aspiring to finish in the top ten or to avoid relegation? Trust me, there isn’t any. I was reminded of the change in the sport by @royoftheroverspost earlier in this thread. When I was growing up in the early 1970s things were very different. My school didn’t play football, only rugby or hockey in the Winter and cricket or tennis in the Summer. We weren’t even allowed to play football in our leisure time! Naturally that made us fascinated by the ‘forbidden fruit’ and my Father (also not a football fan) took my brother and I to our local club - at that time, fourth division Watford. I ended up as a season ticket holder for over thirty years, but I gave it up about a decade ago now. Back then, the players were largely local boys who had been scouted and come through the youth set up. They lived locally. They played squash and tennis at the local tennis club where my family were members. We played against them and their children! They were approachable and normal, and when they retired they’d run a local sports shop or pub. Other sports were similar. My Father worked with a former England cricketer. My school rugby master had played rugby for Harlequins. What do we get now? Massively overpaid players who (mainly) have no loyalty to their club or region. They follow the money. I don’t really blame them, but are they really the positive role models we’re led to believe they are, with their huge houses, ludicrous tattoos and fast cars? I know we can’t turn the clock back, but that doesn’t make this any less valid for a good moan. I actually now far prefer watching lower league football. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that - pre-pandemic - attendances at non-league football were rising fast. It’s because of that crucial connection between community and fans. They’re real people, not remote modern Gods. I asked the children of some family friends who they supported. I was told Manchester City by one child, and Chelsea by the other. Neither has any connection with those clubs. They simply watch on TV and choose the team they think will win or who they liked best at that moment. Sigh. We’re all doomed…

I doubt I’d be willing to queue for more than fifteen minutes,but lunchtime fish and chips does sound like a nice idea…

Parade

Bob

Galore

😇

Interesting. I’ve been conditioned with a similar tradition from my Father. In our case, you put a silver coin under a piece of coal on the doorstep, ready to bring in on New Years Day. The idea is that you will always have warmth and wealth. Love this type of thing, passed down from generation to generation… @MinceyI wouldn’t take a chance with not continuing the superstition. Find a coin of some sort - you must have something in the house. Don’t risk angering the Gods!

Release

RIP

Inflation

Tiny elves making shoes using an anvil. I owned a Metro back in the day and that was the only reasonable explanation for the noise the engine made…

Quincy

The bigger issue may be whether petrol is still widely available in a few years. If take up of EVs continues at pace I can see additional Government pressure to reduce the availability of petrol and diesel in order to force the issue. As the range of EVs extends and the charging network expands there will be less need to legislate. There will likely come a point - maybe in as little as 25 years - where legislation will seek to remove any remaining vehicles powered by traditional fuels. I’ve heard those who say it will never happen, but Government has already started speaking about the future status of ‘historic’ vehicles. Who defines what is ‘historic’ is one issue, but the bigger issue is what happens to those NOT defined as ‘historic…’ I think we all know the answer to that… “But what (I hear you cry) about those not able to afford an EV.” Simple. If the environment and global heating is as severe as the experts say, and it seems to me like it is, then there will HAVE to be Government investment in public transport or some solution nobody has really thought about yet for those people. Clinging on to the past for social or economic reasons won’t be an option. It’s going to be an interesting next hundred years, not that I’ll be around to see most of it!

Chintzy

+1 to this. And with an SC430 in the garage @Ian M you still have considerable - and fine - options!

@Ian M I’ve owned two NX, and recently moved to an RX. I’ve had UX courtesy cars on a couple of occasions. What I’d say is this. They’re all very good cars. My personal favourite, even after a month with my RX is still the NX. However, I get used to what I drive very quickly so if your circumstances and personal choice is that a smaller car a) will suit you and, b) you are happy to live with one longer term, then I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with a UX. My own (limited) experience of the UX suggests it is a very perky drive, and that the build quality is what I’ve come to expect from Lexus. My only disappointment was the plastic door cards but I’m being very picky. Space is obviously more limited than the bigger models, but if you don’t need the space… If it helps, when my Father retired (a good few years ago now) he needed to buy his own car after a lifetime of company supplied vehicles. He’d always had big beasts - Rover SD1, Ford Granada, even a Toyota Cressida estate at one stage when there were four children and a dog to cart about! I fully expected him to buy a big car for his retirement but - very surprisingly - he went and bought a Peugeot 205! He never regretted that decision as he used to say there is a time of your life when you want or need a big house and car, and a time when you don’t. It’s all personal choice and preference. We all make decisions for different reasons and with different priorities. The trick is to make those decisions based on the maximum amount of information, and not to regret them if they aren’t what you expected!

The addition of the bagpiper is a stroke of pure genius. The ducks always add a touch of comedy too. Watching the senseless waste day after day I can only think of this. ‘Into the ford of death drove the six hundred…’ “Forward, the Light Brigade! Was there a man dismayed? Not though the soldier knew Someone had blundered. Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die. Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.”

George