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I would definitely agree that machine process does not save time. The more you delve into it the more time you start spending setting up/going through different polishing stages etc.

Could you run me through your pad/compound combination and how many stages you did? There are a few different factors that could have caused your paint to show love marks. Like you said it may be even pre-existing imperfections that your technique did not eliminate. I'm no professional by any means therefore my advise may not be 100% correct. What I would suggest is if you are able to, change the pad or best change the compound to a softer abrasive - there are many great products such as the Meguiars 205 or their ultimate polish & wax, the latter is a polishing glaze which will in turn use micro filling elements to hide a few of the imperfections - I remember it working really well on a budget detail I did on a '02 Mini Cooper. If you're spotting the imperfections that means you are using correct lighting for the job as well as have a keen eye, that's already a great step so congrats. Just keep at it, experiment with the final stage machine speed & abrasive combination and you will eventually achieve the results you are after. Also, don't forget to clean your pads as you go along. One pad will get clogged up way before you are through the entire car, if you haven't got access to compressed air I suggest using a toothbrush - just simply switch on the machine and run the brush around the pad as it clears the pores. I do that between every panel I touch regardless of which stage I'm at, there's a lot of contamination on your pad, might as well get rid of it!

John I'd argue driving and resting are not mutually exclusive activities. Although parts of interior will be designed with safety in principle they will also serve as a comfort feature. Head restraint is one good example, but the rest of the seat is designed in the same way. Same goes for sun visors - they obstruct your view and you could always use suitable eyewear instead. We'd all be sitting in bucket seats and wearing HANS devices in full fire retardant clothing every time we sit in the car if we wanted full safety at all times. If one's feeling more comfortable resting their head they are fully entitled to do so. It does not necessarily mean they pay any less attention to the road. If drivers are meant to be driving and not resting, why are most arm rests designed so that the driver cannot use it whilst simultaneously holding the steering wheel? Two reasons - most drivers don't use two hands at all times and there's no escaping that fact and if the armrest was too close it would be in the way of properly operating the steering wheel. I have never used a headrest simply because I find it uncomfortable, I have however driven a 7 Series BMW on a long journey where the design allowed me to do so whilst maintaining my neutral position. In my opinion there's nothing wrong with being comfortable as long as its safe.

Okay to start with your initial post no, the head restraint is to: Provide safety in an accident Comfort whilst driving. It is not bad practice to drive with your head resting against it however in most cars these are by no means designed for resting on. Some Mercs and BMW's will have soft pillows mounted on them to provide you with comfort, some cars will have 3 axis of adjustment, however the main purpose of them is to prevent whiplash or worse during an accident. The slanted forward design in the headrest points toward crash safety as the energy absorption will be much better, a flat contact patch will be much stiffer. I would definitely advise against any third party headrest options, chances are they will not have gone through the rigorous crash testing and R&D and will fail when they are most needed. Bending the metal pins is a definite no-no from me, you will jeopardise the integrity of the equipment which in turn invalidates your insurance and again puts yourself at risk of a serious injury.

What is the government subsidy for new EV purchases? From what I saw previously a lot of European countries are boosting EV sales through very attractive deals. Norway being a good example, it's enough to take a stroll through Oslo to realise where the market is.

I imagine the future looking something more like this Energy Vault . Although you've got to admit the pyramids are an amazing achievement given the tools. I bet there was no mental health days off though or bank holidays.

Very insightful view there @Linas.P thank you for bringing the statistical data to this conversation because it helps to paint a better picture. The reason for why we look into CO2 pollution and not much else is because it makes up around 3/4 of all "greenhouse gases" which in turn cause accelerated Climate Change we're experiencing now. People are scared to talk about it but unless we experience a systematic revolution we're heading toward extinction that isn't that far away from us. That is a fact. Going back to vehicles and the issues @ciao_chao spoke about, it's because elected officials make money of being lobbied by the big bucks we don't see corporations going through massive changes. It's much easier to point the finger at the poor 90% which stands for only 50% of the country's wealth rather than really having a go at taxing the rich. Things like CO2 tax and allowing corporations to operate within countries whilst not paying any local taxes should have never been allowed by any government. Amazon Luxemburg comes to mind. What I disagree with is governments targeting the ones who cannot afford to upgrade to the latest and newest by bringing in low emission zones and keeping high road tax for older vehicles. Scrap road tax and tax the fuel. But before you do, explain to me why red diesel is a thing and how it deserves to be cheaper. Private car ownership must be seen as a great privilege, not as a right. With the current population in the world if you gave everyone "the right" to own and operate a vehicle, you'd run out of space on planet earth way before everyone got their share. It's a commodity that we must unfortunately pay for to be able to enjoy. Now if we think about bringing that privilege into big cities where properties sell at £2,500sq/m it's easy to understand why the governments are doing their best to keep you out, where are you going to park that thing?! We could build an affordable house on that parking lot and sell it for £350,000 to a 30 year old who will die before he pays off his mortgage interest. With regards to cycling. I merely suggested that it's the green solution. On a global scale. It would also solve a lot health issues many are struggling with these days. I sometimes cycle to work quoting the very reasons you listed, my job is mobile and sometimes allows me to take a bike and cycle from hotel to place of work, but at the beginning and end of the week I still make a 200mile journey home. Public transport is a no go work wise but I'll happily take the bus/train on the weekend. I have also reduced meat from my diet to around 2% in order to do my bit as David Attenborough told me to. I know it's nothing but if I don't do it and then brag about it then nobody else will, but if it becomes dialogue then more people tackle this subject and maybe we'll see a shift in years to come. I'll open a can of worms with this but I'm enjoying the conversation so hey ho.

Welcome to the forum! I'm sure if you send us a few pictures inside/out we'll be able to play a little game here!

I don't believe so. Regenerative braking is used to pump charge back into the batteries. I understand you know how that process takes place. However as you pointed out because that energy is converted into electricity and not excess heat (through friction) there is a specific amount of power to be generated by the motor. In order to achieve the equivalent braking power, with typical deceleration of 1g, you'd need to around 250kW on a 2 tonne car in 3s. Where you start seeing it as an issue is that at 350V(Tesla battery system) that equals to over 700Amps of charging current. Something no battery or wiring could withstand.

It's interesting to watch the global car market react to the recent trends. Whilst car economy plummeted last year we have seen a major shakeup in many line-ups. A new OEM does so well and then the big boys jump on the bandwagon. What forced them to do so? People are buying Tesla's for two reasons - it's "Green" or because it's decades ahead in terms of technology available to the customer. No one cares your Mercedes is watching your eyes to tell you you're tired, my Tesla drives me home whilst kids in the back play Fifa on it's on-board computer and I catch up with "The Crown" on netflix with the wife on the front screen. I can't see many companies catching them up in that retrospect. It's what the iPhone did to Blackberry and Nokia. Furthermore, governments are pushing green deals and emission regulations. Euro 6 already shook things up for many manufacturers. We saw VW being slapped on the wrist for their absolutely unacceptable criminal damage. What's worse? People all around the world refuse to take their german vehicles back to the dealers and have them re-mapped to make them compliant. And why should they - it makes their car slow and sluggish. We see big fossil fuel companies slowly turning their our attention towards renewables - DONG rebrands itself after selling off its fossil assets and becomes Oersted, the worlds most green company, whilst the others spend over $100bn on fossil expansion. They're not stopping as long as it makes them money. Now here's my issue with EV's. Is it a greener option? No, cycling is. #Astongate helped us realise that owning an electric car will eventually end up greener than a IC equivalent. But does it make it green? Will it be the answer to our CO2 struggle? Electricity to power these cars will still need to come from somewhere. And in highly developed country such as the UK that will bring new challenges as the power demand will shift drastically. Don't get me wrong, it's admirable that the governments are trying to kick out any pollutant from our cities to make the air more pleasant to breathe as we're sipping on our ice cold lattes. Air quality has become a great argument for them to push new policies and a scapegoat to excuse poor city planning. But that electricity is still made by polluting elsewhere. And the more electricity we produce the more wasted energy comes with it. What's good is that we are now so far ahead in out technological boom that it takes much less time to invent and pioneer in new fields. We will come up with better ways of recycling, better ways of obtaining and most importantly storing energy and then better ways of using it to transport our people to their Benidorm holidays. We are living in the future and something exciting is just around the corner. And soon we will all know how to swear and greet in Mandarin.

I'll chuck my five pence into this. For a couple of years I have used the same bargaining tactic with regards to insuring mine or family's vehicles all bar one, works every time. I have a GT86 which since owned by me has been insured by Greenlight - they offer a very specific package catered for modified/track day cover - I have been very happy with them for many years. With regards to a few other vehicles inc. my Lexus I spend a few hours ensuring I get the best deal: 1) Wait for renewal letter and laugh at the rate being doubled yet again. 2) Visit GoCompare and Confused, type in appropriate details and get a feel for the quotes, play about with the mileage or named drivers if you feel like it and have the ability to do so. 3) Call existing insurer, ask for an updated quote as they will always be happy to lower the price (don't tell them you've obtained other quotes), don't accept the renewal just yet. 4) Call other providers - AdrianFlux, Admiral & Hastings are a good start. Say you've shopped around and quote your lowest comparison site result (I always apply a 10-15% discount on top, that's my bargaining allowance). 5) Don't stop until you've heard all the options. Some will offer better cover some will try and match your imaginary best result. Last month I've gone from £874 for my partner on her CT200h to £550 on her renewal. Went back to Admiral after a year with Hastings. Yes it's time consuming. But as a youngster it saved me forwarding my weekly payslips to these thieving corporations.

Welcome! I hope you find your ES the quietest and most relaxing ride of all previous cars!

Thanks Mark, Wish mine was like that, this is what the hunter had measured:

HI Garry, All depends on what it is you exactly require. Do you need an aftermarket bolt on or are you happy to take it to your local exhaust fabricator? Is it a full header-back, cat-back or just a muffler delete? £320 for two muffler replacements and new tips in Newport South Wales, here's how it looks:

I've just missed their opening hours but I will try them tomorrow, thank you for your help John. Mark I fully appreciate however I know two Kwikfit outfits local to me in South Wales haven't got the best reputation, plus if the main dealer is having issues I was hoping for motorsports business' advice as they tend to be more accurate than OEM. Is yours a Premier or Luxury? I'm wondering if I'm onto something here because only the F sport and GSF came with staggered wheel options.

Very interesting NemesisUK, do you happen to know what generation the RC hybrid drive is? I long for the ability to use the EV in the mornings but it will only ever engage after a few minutes of petrol driving, regardless of season/temp. Unless I've already pre-heated the petrol engine, the EV will not start the car. And the EV mode will only stay on until 30mph, although the electric drivetrain will actually work until 45mph. With regards to A/C I found it that the EV mode will cut off much sooner if it's switched on (especially the demister), tried it in my GS as well as the latest RX whilst waiting at Dover ferries. The battery charge status seems to have shown higher bars when cutting off the EV mode if the A/C was still on in both vehicles. The UX is a 4th gen and the EV can actually go into much higher speeds (I remember seeing at least 60mph EV cruise), wish I've tested its top speed when I had one. It will also cover quite a good distance on batteries, it's miles over any other Lexus Hybrid I've driven before. I've scheduled to have the electric one as courtesy car during my next service as I'm quite excited to see what Toyota has managed to come up with.

Thanks John, Lexus Cardiff has the same Hunter system and from what the technician was telling me they had previous issues with RC's and GS's but never with any other model. I wonder if it's anything to do with the staggered wheels. How long did it take? I might see if they are available, I'm currently in Staffordshire so could make the trip down!

The EV mode will require a lot of conditions to be just right, it will not engage if: ●The temperature of the hybrid system is high. The vehicle has been left in the sun, driven on a hill, driven at high speeds, etc. ●The temperature of the hybrid system is low. The vehicle has been left in temperatures lower than about 0 °C for a long period of time, etc. ●The gasoline engine is warming up. ●The hybrid battery (traction battery) is low. The remaining battery level indicated in the “Energy Monitor” display is low. ●Vehicle speed is high. ●The accelerator pedal is depressed firmly or the vehicle is on a hill, etc. ●The windshield defogger is in use A lot of times it's A/C that catches people out. Try these things out, if a problem persists there might be another problem which would require diagnostics

HI Herbie, Lexus touch up kits are a must - Mica Red is a beautiful colour unmatched by no Dulux. You can find your exact paint code on a sticker found on the front passenger side door sill. I've ordered mine from our trusted Swindon friends. I've used cocktail sticks before however found myself a little inaccurate in deployment. After watching AmmoNYC videos I started using this Loew-Cornell Fine Line Painting Pen. You have to get the technique right but once you do it's small potatoes. Use IPA to prep your surface (3M VHB Tape prep is 90% IPA and its price didn't skyrocket during the pandemic), then dab the colour until you have covered all primed/bare metal, cure for at least 12hrs (keep out of sunlight & rain) then apply clear on top. Wet sanding is my last step before it's ready for handover, but if you're not comfortable enough you can always be precise enough with the clear coat to apply a nice finish that won't require any more attention. If you feel like the chips have persisted a long time and rust may have developed, it may require rust treatment before painting. Something Bilt Hamber's Hydrate is good for.

Hi Dan, Best cure for laziness is helping out local detailing businesses! All jokes aside, I recently detailed my relative's new...ish NX300h F Sport in Sonic White. For general prep I used a few polishes and pads but I understand that may not be as much of interest to you. As far as de-contamination goes I would equip a good fallout and glue&tar remover - white paint is notoriously bad for displaying everything on the paintwork that shouldn't be there - Carpro TarX or BiltHamber Korrosol are very good at removing fallout however they will also strip your protective layers. I would definitely try out the PoorBoys White Diamond Glaze that you can apply by hand after ensuring you have a perfectly clean paintwork (I hope you already found a good pressure washer & snow foam combo but I find a good citrus pre-wash will help to maintain a sparkling shine on that new whip of yours). Then when it comes to protection there are many ways of going about things - I wouldn't advise ceramics unless you have a garage and some detailing experience, otherwise Soft99 products are very good and rather long-lasting - check out Fusso Light - as long as you keep the timer on you won't need Hercules hands to buff it off. +1 on Soft99 for their Glaco range - fantastic easy-to-apply rainscreen that will make you regret you never tried it before!

Anyone considering a leaf blower over a filtered air blower (pet dryer, can pick them up on a cheap) risks a lot however it's all relative to your normal detailing practices. If you do not use 3 buckets and separate mitts for different car sections - wheels/upper chassis/lower chassis & sills then a handheld leaf blower will do little damage compared to your washing technique. Yes you may blow some dust onto your paintwork but trust me cross contamination will already have done the damage. Power output wise don't expect the dedicated detailing blower to scare all the water away if your paint isn't in the greatest shape - water will have a lot of resistance on poor paintwork. On well prepped and protected surface the best thing I found before obtaining a dryer myself was an open hose rinse as I always go over the whole body with a top up coat anyway - that's when the water from door handles and mirrors would get absorbed by some microfibre contact. That's unless you live in a hard water area - then I would suggest looking into spotlesswater.co.uk - very cheap way of obtaining DI water that dries with no spotting.

I have in the past used a Gtechniq G4 Glass Polish and a soft foam pad. If that's not within reach any reputable detailer will have an old open bottle of Autoglym Super Resin Polish - hand application with a pad should bring decent results as it also has fillers. I would steer away from any stainless metal polishes such as the Meguiars Nxt or, it's great for exhausts but a little harsh on the plastics. Another great product is Great Lion applied by hand with a microfibre pad. It's very harsh but hand application shouldn't be too abrasive.

Very good improvement on the GS, Ian86! Looks like you've had quite a few water spots there, do you live in a hard water area? BTW on your next try you could scrap the compound and start with the polish on an orange pad, do a test 1/4 of a panel swipe and see how you feel about the results. Too many times I've seen holograms from the Meg's compound &harsh pad on a DA combination and it doesn't get noticed until it's too late. With regards to the original topic - DA's are very easy to use as long as you follow a few basic rules and are happy to equip yourself with a decent selection of polishes and pads. The benefit is that with an investment of less than £300 you can equip yourself with an arsenal that will last you a quite a few vehicles before you should consider expanding your detailing parlour with more pad sizes and maybe go down the rotary route. I bought my first DA polisher (DAS6) back in 2016 and still have it as backup DA however I now find myself much more accurate on a rotary machine. I have found that Toyota paint was very interactive and any change in the abrasive mixture manifested itself very clearly. Started out with just a few hex logic pads and Halfrauds off-the shelf polishes. One thing to keep in mind is that the DA can still cause shoulder strain, you will still find yourself in awkward positions handling a piece of power machinery, although it won't require as much movement it is an added weight on your extended arms. It's always good to keep an eye out on detailingworld in case group buys or discount events are taking place. At the time of writing a DAS6 Pro with a Gyeon sample kit (very decent polishes) will set you back £128, that's not bad! Then all you need is a couple of 2" or 3" pads and a backing plate to complete the set - modern cars such as yours will have plenty of places where the standard 5" pads become very unpractical or dangerous to use due to limited throw space.

Didn't want to spoil the story for those with time! Funnily enough I was working in Newcastle as this was happening and their branch suggested reaching out to Teeside as Newcastle didn't do alignment. However it was never on my way. I'll keep them in mind, I'm at the point where any branch is okay as long as I can trust them to sort this out - to do this I need to reach out to a trusted source of opinions. My fall back guys are at RRG Macclesfield.

Hi everyone, hope you're all staying positive and testing negative! My apologies. I have had much higher aspirations with the forum however work overtook all parts of my private life. Well not one... I've had my '16 GS300h since Sep'19 and have very much enjoyed all +35k miles spent together. That was until I took it for a service with Lexus Cardiff on the first anniversary of my ownership in September '20 (2nd service since owning the car). It all went down from there. The car had been diagnosed with an Aircon Amplifier issue at the start of 2020. I had noticed that every time I got into the car it took about 2min for the aircon controls to become active and the temperature setting always seemed to reset to 20 degrees. I was very eagerly awaiting an amp replacement delivery so that they could repair under warranty, although it took quite a while (thanks to "the thing") they managed to strip the dash and fix my issue. The replacement is working fine, and I got to experience what 40°C feels like inside the car on a summers day. No problem. It was also time for new tyres (just the back, fronts had a few 1000's motorway miles left in them), so I've ordered the dealer to have them replaced like for like. They did - and whilst at it advised me that I have the alignment checked and corrected to preserve tyres. No problem at all, there will be no expense spared on this car I thought. I have made sure to include in my correspondence that I feel there is no current issues - the car tracked perfectly, steering wheel was right on the money and tyre wear nice and even. I get an email back with readings - slight toe offset on front and rear, caster out of norm(strange), and slightly varying camber at the fronts. I thought I must've been wrong and they can get it set much better for me. Queue the pain. I pick the car up at the end of the week, drive it home and notice that my steering wheel isn't quite right. Turns out I'm about 10-15° out on the steering angle - something that does not go unnoticed on the first driven mile. And it only gets worse the further you go. I had to wait to take it back as I had scheduled quite a busy week ahead therefore I put about 1500 miles on the clock before returning to them for a re-adjustment. They were more than happy to oblige and upon re-visit they admitted that it was unacceptable how the steering was left. This is where it gets worse - the service manager had told me that they took it out for a test drive at least twice and could not fault the new alignment. I pick it up on a Saturday - the steering is still off, a little bit less off, but still off. Oh and the car drifts to the left now, great. Quick phone call with the manager on Monday and we come to a conclusion - we need to replace the fronts as they are throwing this whole thing off (supposedly the worn tyres that are put right have a tendency to steer you off due to uneven wear - fair enough). The car gets left with Lexus for another week later on as I get a brand new NX as courtesy. Tyres get replaced (more to come on that later), a Hunter specialist comes into the workshop to help the technicians with achieving absolute perfection on alignment of my troublesome vehicle. Car is ready to go. I pick it up the following Monday. Upon arrival I find my vehicle parked in the prime location of the lot. It took me less than ten seconds to realise they did what I fear the most - the car has been "washed". They knew not to touch it, however the scratch-and-shine specialist saw it in the morning, thought he missed it and didn't want to lose his job. Burning up with anger I pick my car up and take it home - I now have a polishing job to complete, on the house as they admitted the wrongdoing and agreed to pay a detailer to fix the damage. But here is where it gets interesting - the wheel still feels off to me. Not by miles. Not so that it renders it undriveable. But it's still noticeable to someone who spends so much time in the one thing he takes away with him every week. Plus my lane keeping assistance now features a "suicide mode" where it keeps dragging my car to the very left of the lane on towards the rumble strip. And the worst bit is that it's now been 6 months since my last visit and I'm too afraid to mention the alignment again in fear of them messing it up even more. Ergo this post - Does anyone know of a Lexus Dealership that they could trust in the UK. One that I could take this car to and be 200% sure that when it gets set again I could achieve that "perfect" alignment again? The car now has 50k miles on it, it isn't much. My GT86 has nearly 60k and the steering on that is within 0.01° perfection. I know it's doable. PS. Those front tyres they replaced on the last visit - Bridgestone Potenza RE050A were replaced with Potenza 5001's, so not quite the like for like I asked for. I noticed about a month and 2000miles later(next car wash, thought it looked different), by that time I deemed it too late to even get back to Lexus Cardiff and thank them on the great choice. TLDR: Took GS300h for service and got advised an alignment. Dealer unable to get it right and I'm left with a ruined ride and steering angle that's off. Looking for advice.