Car Talk Topic

[Outcast]

 

Got the Work Brombachers in 19" and in matte black with silver lip. I wanted the HREs but Lurch talked me out of it after literally hours lol. It'll take about 45 days to arrive.

What size?

 

 

235/35ZR19 & 295/30ZR19 Michelin Pilot Sports

[mr quick]

I live in the Norwegian southwest; A lot of rain, some snow (salting), and very sunny summers (up to 42c). What american car (1978-1998) could one use as a daily driver?

 

edit: Nevermind, it mustn't be american. It just has to be a classic that has strong bodywork that can handle the winter, it needs a good heater for the times when we have -22 celcius, and it needs to be relatively quick.

Edited December 31, 2013 by Marwin Moody

[sivispacem]

Subaru Legacy (BL/BP) in flat 6 EZ30 or EJ225 2.5T form. Or an Impreza WRX or STI estate. Fast, fun and totally dependable in all weathers.

[Mega]

 

 

A quick I made last summer.

[Carlover325]

Last night a Jeep Grand Cherokee took out the railing that is right outside the door of the Walgreens I work at.

Here are a couple pics of the carnage:

Luckily nobody was injured. Alcohol was not involved.

The front clip is inside the rear cargo area, everything was completely destroyed.

[epoxi]

How did they manage to ruin the rear tyre?

[Carlover325]

Probably from going up the curb so violently.

[sivispacem]

I'm amazed that, despite all that damage, they still got the thing into a parking space.

[friendly luggage]

This is the new black cab for london

Just like the latest Routemaster I don't like it. Looks like a standard van with tacky lights and grille stuck on and reminds me of this knock-off Rolls

[Danikov]

This is the new black cab for london

Just like the latest Routemaster I don't like it. Looks like a standard van with tacky lights and grille stuck on and reminds me of this knock-off Rolls

 

Omg,what is that horror?

[RedBull FM]

 

Edited January 6, 2014 by RedBull FM

[epoxi]

IMO the Nissan is so bad it makes the Rolls look legit.

 

 

Also, doesn't this mean New York cabs and London cabs are basically identical?

 

I suppose it's good for economies of scale and parts availability, but aren't the taxis supposed to be iconic? (the experience better be something special considering the prices they charge!)

Edited January 6, 2014 by epoxi

[mr quick]

Subaru Legacy (BL/BP) in flat 6 EZ30 or EJ225 2.5T form. Or an Impreza WRX or STI estate. Fast, fun and totally dependable in all weathers.

Boring! And not my style of car... I like sharp angles.. Here's a Nissan Laurel, 86 model. Any experience with these?

[Zyo]

 

Also, doesn't this mean New York cabs and London cabs are basically identical?

 

I suppose it's good for economies of scale and parts availability, but aren't the taxis supposed to be iconic? (the experience better be something special considering the prices they charge!)

 

Yes, that stupid "taxi of tommorow" nonsense. I'm glad they are pushing that thing back a bit. Give me a good ol Crown Vic any day. London adopting the Nissan in a different version actually doesn't suprise me too much.

 

They should just bring back Checker Marathons. They were awesome taxis. Might almost be worth the $10 a mile.

[Outcast]

Omg, just f*cking no. I'm starting to despise Nissan for destroying automotive icons. I've become very familiar with the London Hackney Carriages and many of their drivers as I did some work for one of Hailos competitors and as a result I feel emotionally vested in the LTI TX1s. I wish they would just tell Nissan to go f*ck off with their NV200. TfL my ass.

[Mega]

 

Subaru Legacy (BL/BP) in flat 6 EZ30 or EJ225 2.5T form. Or an Impreza WRX or STI estate. Fast, fun and totally dependable in all weathers.

Boring! And not my style of car... I like sharp angles.. Here's a Nissan Laurel, 86 model. Any experience with these?

 

Try something really hard to find (direct import from the US might be a good idea), i.e., Lexus ES250 from 1991-92. Most people forgot these exist.

 

[Lurch]

I got some wheels off of an ES250 a few months back for his gf's Corolla (it was the last gen of camry to use the 5x100 pattern). It was really a bad car, though I don't think very highly of any of the Lexus-branded Camrys.

[epoxi]

Yeah, the only thing I know about the V20 ES250 is that it nearly compromised the reputation the LS400 had built for Lexus. Luckily the brand survived and that thing never made it beyond the US.

 

The LS400 is a great car though, not the sharp lines you want but (according to old Top Gear) it out-handles the 7-series, out-luxuries the S-Class and out-accelerates the XJs of the time. There are models on the road with 250,000+ miles that supposedly have had nothing done to them except regular servicing.

 

Disadvantages include the large size, poor fuel economy and the fact it's an automatic.

Edited January 7, 2014 by epoxi

[mr quick]

 

 

Subaru Legacy (BL/BP) in flat 6 EZ30 or EJ225 2.5T form. Or an Impreza WRX or STI estate. Fast, fun and totally dependable in all weathers.

Boring! And not my style of car... I like sharp angles.. Here's a Nissan Laurel, 86 model. Any experience with these?

 

Try something really hard to find (direct import from the US might be a good idea), i.e., Lexus ES250 from 1991-92. Most people forgot these exist.

 

 

That's gonna be much too expensive! The laurel pictured I could probably snatch for 2500, whereas a lexus would be expensive regardless of norway's ridicolous toll policy. Also, why must it be very hard to find?

e: also, this may seem odd, but anything that would look cool with cop steelies

Edited January 7, 2014 by Marwin Moody

[D- Ice]

@ London and New York Taxis:

I'm really surprised the Nissan NV200 won the contract for NYC Taxis - had to look it up to believe it!

Hasn't it always been American saloon cars in recent history? I guess it's something to do with the recent trend for higher cars - as seen with the surge in popularity of crossovers.

The iconic London Hackney Cabs and NYC's Chevrolet Caprice and Ford Crown Victoria taxis were far better, and choosing the Nissan NV200 for either city undermines their image IMO.

Edited January 9, 2014 by D- Ice

[Sup3rman]

I would give anything to sit into an old Checker Marathon taxi and be driven around in it in NY. The Nissan however....never. I do have to say that the Nissan Leaf taxis in my home town are extremely comfortable and the interior is top notch. The Leaf's are the cheapest taxis here too. Other taxis are usually just random cars, mostly german saloons.

[Moth]

@ London and New York Taxis:

I'm really surprised the Nissan NV200 won the contract for NYC Taxis - had to look it up to believe it!

Hasn't it always been American saloon cars in recent history? I guess it's something to do with the recent trend for higher cars - as seen with the surge in popularity of crossovers.

The iconic London Hackney Cabs and NYC's Chevrolet Caprice and Ford Crown Victoria taxis were far better, and choosing the Nissan NV200 for either city undermines their image IMO.

They were looking for vans, since they wanted all taxis to be wheelchair accessible. Can't really get into a Crown Vic or Camry in a wheelchair.

 

Still hate how the NV200 looks. Hopefully they won't become a thing here in Canada.

[epoxi]

Insurance renewal time:

 

Premium Choice - £540 (£400 excess)

Admiral, Elephant.co.uk, Diamond - £650 (£100 excess)

 

Which of the four is the best one to go for?

 

I've only heard bad things about Premium Choice on the internet. I know people only write things when they have a bad experience, but all the other insurers at least get some good reviews.

Edited January 11, 2014 by epoxi

[sivispacem]

Admiral Group are sh*t too. Actually, that's not entirely fair- Admiral are sh*t, I've not had any experience with Diamond an Elephant are surprisingly quite good given they're actually the same company as Admiral.

[epoxi]

Thanks.

 

I guess that explains why all their quotes came out within £10 of each other...

 

 

 

UK brands

 

Admiral Group operates under a number of brands in the UK:

• Admiral Insurance
• 'Bell' from Admiral (Exclusively Telematics Policies, previously Bell Insurance)
• Diamond Insurance (for female drivers, launched in July 1997)
• Gladiator (for commercial vehicles)
• elephant.co.uk
• Confused.com

Edited January 11, 2014 by epoxi

[Carlover325]

My Jeep left me stranded on the side of the road for the first time ever last week. My crankshaft position sensor (CPS) went out and killed the motor while going 50mph down the road and would not restart. No warning (which led me to suspect CPS). Pushed it into an apartment complex parking lot, got a ride home, and replaced the CPS with a genuine part from the dealer the next day. Surprised me since it was actually cheaper than if I got it from the local auto parts store. Would've used the dealer part even if it was more expensive.

 

Been all good since then.

Edited January 12, 2014 by Carlover325

[epoxi]

Reading around, the only differential between Elephant and Admiral seems to be that Elephant only have premium rate phone numbers (as opposed to Admiral's local rate ones), they also spam you with paperwork and try to get to give direct debit details (so they can carry on taking money next year).

 

The disadvantages of all the brands in general is that they jack up renewal prices for non-at-fault claims, use terrible cheap body shops and replace car parts with used base model parts. Given the car is 10 years old hopefully this isn't a problem in monetary terms, though I am sure I would still be very upset in the event of a claim.

 

Agh, I am just so annoyed Aviva wouldn't match it (£790 and they were only willing to come down £15!), especially since even in the event of a typical claim they'd still have made a profit from me overall.

 

Ah well, I guess I'll take the risk with Admiral...

Edited January 12, 2014 by epoxi

[sivispacem]

Have you tried any of the specialists like Adrian Flux? They've very cheap for me, though I'm currently with AXA.

[epoxi]

Funnily enough, I actually was about to check AF but it was coincidentally my breaking point when I loaded their form to fill in (covering all providers/comparison sites and option combinations is exhausting!).

 

I don't know whether to check now in case I disappoint myself...I've just bought the Admiral policy and of course they have all sorts of 'administrative' charges for cancellation haha.

Edited January 12, 2014 by epoxi

[Outcast]

So..just saw the new 911 Targa and I have to say it is goddamn sexy. I love the throwback to the Pre-993 Targas.