What was it all about tonight - racing pigeons, car darts, snooker..this will soon be on CBBC....complete waste of video tape.
Very entertaining I thought.
Can't believe the Audi managed that journey though!
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I was most heartened tonight by Top Gear. I was pleased to see an Audi that costs more than twice my Renault has worse accuracy for the trip computer
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I also enjoyed it immensely. What was the 'Y plate' convertible they launched into the quarry? It looked like an odd cross between a 306 and a Saab 9-3 and could have been either, I suppose, or something completely different.
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Half thought it was an old Celica.
Anyway, enjoyed the show immensely. Seems at last to have found its legs and be doing some genuinely original, fun things. In the last series I felt it flagged at an hour, but not anymore - nicely paced show.
Got to say it is beginning to make C5's prog look a wee bit old hat now.
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With regards to the Audi seemingly running on fumes, surely the gauge shows empty long before it actually is to prevent you from running out of Diesel and having to bleed the system
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"..soon be on CBBC"
Quite agree, PU. The 'car darts' was a great hit with my six-year old, which was probably the combined mental age of the presenters (I was going to say IQ, so I'm being generous). I thought better of James May, but not the other one, who I doubt would pass a dope test (pun intended)
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Was it just me, or was Jessa driving that A8 down the motorway without his lights on when they should have been?
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I only saw the beginning of the prog., did Clarkson make it to Edingburgh and back?
I couldn't understand the trip computer readings, I would have thought they would be much better than that. Was JC using the official Audi fuel consumption figures? Surely mid to high 40's would be a more likely figure.
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Yes he did, but the fuel pump was spinning dry a good distance from the destination which means that they either stopped and added a splash of diesel and edited that bit out or the A8 has a massive fuel filter that held enough fuel to get him fully back onto the forecourt.
I wonder if Audi billed them for that fuel pump?. I have often heard that if you run a fuel pump dry then you have pretty much killed it.
I would have thought he knew better than to use the cruise control at all.
Mid to high 40s MPG is barely manageable with a 2.0 litre TDCI in a Mondeo, so to expect the same from a 4.0 litre TDI in the much larger A8 would be a stretch.
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A8 might be larger, but it'd be interesting to see the weights. When the A8 was first released Audi made a big deal of how light it was due to the body being aluminium.
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...and then loaded it with four-wheel drive and ever extra under the sun.
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Don't forget the weight of Jezza's belt buckle and hair.....
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Don't forget the weight of Jezza's belt buckle and hair.....
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and the obese ego....
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Strange no-one has mentioned the request for a 1000 potential BMW owners to cancel orders in retaliation for BMW ignoring the motorshow and cost them the 5 million attending the show would have cost?
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Strange no-one has mentioned the request for a 1000 potential BMW owners to cancel orders in retaliation for BMW ignoring the motorshow and cost them the 5 million attending the show would have cost?
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I noticed it, and it'll be fun to see if it works out. (Though it did occur to me that they are mixing up turnover and profit there).
V
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Trancer
I get mid 40's mpg in a MB E320CDI - dricing (driCing, driCing - who said anything about driCing to Edinburgh, I thought JC was driVing) at around 60mph on a motorway, warm engine, steady driving. Quite easily attainable, I would think. Audi/VWW have a fairly good reputation for fuel economy.
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Is that your instant MPG while on the motorway or your average which takes into account the acceleration up to motorway speed?. Do you think you would still get the same if you had 4 wheel drive on the MB?.
Even if the A8 weighed the same as the Mondeo, it is still a physically bigger car which means a larger hole to punch through the air when driving. If you have a Micra and an HGV weighing exactly the same, which do you think will get the better MPGs?. 8-)
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Had to satisfy my curiosity so checked out the car stats on MSN cars. The 4.0 TDI Quattro A8 weighs 875lbs/397kg more than the 130 TDCI, Ghia-X, 5-tronic Mondeo. I chose the fully loaded Mondeo as that would be the closest match to the toy-laden A8.
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Getting from Nottingham to London while the car fuel gauge was in the red shows just how much fuel is left when the fuel warning comes on!
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not sure hopw accurate fuel gauges are. I always thought that they worked on a float system and that the red light would come on when there was approx 2 gallons left.
Nott>London (end of M'way) is about 115 miles.
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Modern cars have a requirement to ensure that some fuel is left in the tank even when it appears empty to protect the catalytic converter.
I've driven an S-Class Mercedes 320 CDi - it consistently displayed at least 35mpg at around 80mph on motorways.
The mid-1990s A6 with the 2.5-litre TDI engine similarly would show up to 80mpg or more at the same 80mph on the computer readout if you eased the throttle to just maintain the required speed.
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The mid-1990s A6 with the 2.5-litre TDI engine similarly would show up to 80mpg or more at the same 80mph on the computer readout if you eased the throttle to just maintain the required speed.
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Well, I believe you, but when I recently posted something similar but a bit more modest about my 2.8l Scorpio I got some derision for my trouble.
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There are always disbelievers....:-)
It all depends too on how accurate is the computer readout.
I can get my 1.6-litre VW Bora's onboard computer readout up to 199mpg (as far as it goes) if I ease off the throttle at modest speeds or on slight motorway gradients; however, it's generally between 25 and 75mpg around town depending on which gear I'm in. If I ease off completely the mpg readout reverts to a line of dashes.
Average fuel consumption is actually 40.9mpg, exactly the same as my son's recently departed Ford Fiesta with the 1.4 Zetec engine and a much lighter vehicle altogether.
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Just come back indoors to find that BBC2 Digital has decided to turn itself off 20 minutes into videoing the programme. Either that or the remaining 40 mins of the show was broadcast in a blizzard.
Not the first time this has happened either. I already had to re-program the sky box to come on at 8pm tonight after discovering that previously saved programmes had been misteriously deleted.
Did I miss anything of interest?
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Did I miss anything of interest?
Just the usual: lots of sideways driving--but this week sliding through salt water on Pendine Sands in a Jag, Porsche, and BMW.
Oh, and Richard Hammond sitting in a car being zapped with 800,000 volts!
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I actually enjoyed it (despite myself). Rover V8 approved of in a JC sort of way. Celebrity thing is useless and waste of time.. who was that blonde ? The shoot out between the 911,Jag and 6 series was well made and enjoyable. Pass me the Jag keys..tonight's viewing not help by a neighour popping around, he wants to borrow the Landie for some rustic task....
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It bored the pants off me tonight, apart from the lightning thing.
As a matter of fact, I think the funniest thing was Richard Hammond getting drenched in sand... ;)
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What will happen to the Jag.BMW and Porche which were thrashed up and down Pendine Sands on Top Gear 06:06:04,the speed at which they were driven will have forced salt water into every nook and cranny,I doubt if pressure washing will get it all out,will they become a time bomb for some unsuspecting future owner?.
ndbw
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...I doubt if pressure washing will get it allout,will they become a time bomb for some unsuspecting future owner?.
All I could think about was whoever had to clean those hideously expensive cars after the lads had had their fun...
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I had always understood that press cars got crushed at the end of their stint out there with the journos. This being in no small part due to the comprehensive thrashing they receive at the hands of the press.
Doesn't do the company's image any good to sell on a low mileage car that falls to bits after 6 months.
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Next time you watch Top Gear, have a competition with the rest of your family as to how many "Likes" there are in the show. For years JC has done this, comparing anything with everything, it glides like a ... etc etc.
Now the other 2 presenters are trying to become JC clones by doing the same thing. As usual, it is funny and witty when the original does it, when it starts to get copied twice and three times then it becomes boring.
On the lightning feature, I assume someone on here will either be able to tell me that it wasn't real, or that it is a well known scientific fact that he couldn't get electrocuted? Take it they wouldn't have ran the risk otherwise. Incidentally, with 400,000 volts running through the roof, allegedly, thought it was strange that there was absolutely no interference in the picture!
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The lightning stunt has been done before, I seem to remember it was a VW Polo and the ECU got fried. The guy in the car in this particular stunt was in fire proof clothing, it must have been a good few years ago.
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Yes as said in the programe, you wont get electrified inside the car due to the faraday cage effect. Its a well known and long understood fact, electricity taking the path of least resistance. This applies to interference as well so perfectly feasible for a self contained battery operated video to work with no interference.
And yes it has been done before, and it was a polo and the ecu got fried and it wouldnt run afterwards.
Good to see Richard Hammonds eyes open that far!
Hammond seems to have found is place as the John Noakes of TG, anything messy or frightening comes his way.
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Hammond seems to have found is place as the John Noakes of TG, anything messy or frightening comes his way.
Damn... I'm definitely messy but I can't do frightening.
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PG, look Im sorry about this, I know I shouldnt, I know we have had a little run in about it in the past, and before it comes out I will say sorry again, but I just cant bite my lip here the chance is too good.
You could try driving him around?
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I love the JC 'three word finale', whereby he seems to pause for a second before delivering the last three words of any given sentence. For example:
'..and it's guaranteed to go... like a rocket'
'Richard Hammond is really.. after my job'
Sniffpetrol.com did a story a while back regarding JC's return to TG, stating that he'd never actually left but was just in the middle of a remarkably long pause.. ;)
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My immediate reaction was 'pity the poor sucker who gets those cars s/h after being valeted and polished'. Glad to hear they dont reach the market.
But from earlier....pity the poor audience member who admitted to driving a Multipla!
Ian L.
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Doesn't do the company's image any good to sell on a low mileage car that falls to bits after 6 months.
Alfa? Oh sorry, you said low mileage, not no mileage ;o)
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Speaking to the test driver who drove us round the Motorshow off road course, he went to the states for a Subaru launch. All 50 cars used by the press/testers etc afterwards were scrapped because the warranty costs on those cars would be too high, and the negative publicity to great.
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Not true. In fact some motoring correspondents who fancy a particular car in a Press fleet buy it at a very fair price when it has done its duty being flayed by the hacks.
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Not the first time this has happened either. I already had to re-program the sky box to come on at 8pm tonight after discovering that previously saved programmes had been misteriously deleted.
Dynamic Dave, my Sky+ box also for some reason failed to record last nights show, although it has set itself to record next Sunday.
How odd.
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Dynamic Dave, my Sky+ box also for some reason failed to record last nights show, although it has set itself to record next Sunday.
Mine didn't even do that. It deleted the programme altogether from the listings - which it shouldn't have done as I selected the "series link" option. I had to put it back in again for next Sunday's show, which btw, is is being shown later, at 10pm.
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Concerning the lightning thing, I noticed that the Golf was a diesel. Would he have been able to drive a petrol golf out with its more complex electronics/ignition gizmos ?
Also I'd have liked to see the state of the paintwork on the roof where the arc was striking it.
When I worked for a car transporter company we had a load of BMW's that got driven under some trees and dislodged the rain gutter on the front car on the top deck. It flapped about like an aerial and all was fine until the truck went across a level crossing. The gutter contacted the overhead power line resulting in the spot welds down the front pillar being blown out, the chains holding it down welding together and the tyres on the transporter, which were on the rail line, blowing out.
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It was a bit of a fib that car manufacturers don't test for lightening strikes, I've seen a film of a Volvo being driven around inside one of these places and the voltage spikes made the rear wiper flick every so often.
You're taking a chance with how much damage the car's electronics get but it's safer than being outside the car in a real lightning storm.
Gareth
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>> after discovering that previously saved programmes had been misteriously deleted. >> Dynamic Dave, my Sky+ box also for some reason failed to record last nights show, although it has set itself to record next Sunday. How odd.
perhaps it was struck by lightning!
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It's getting tedious, with the same old items each week. Some expensive cars race about at high speed. Clarkson places things on the 'cool wall' regardless of other opinions. Hammond is abused about being small. Clarkson abuses the undead in the studio. Tedious guests - unattractive and dull blond and dull witted man with big mouth and ego - drive fast.
Last week at work we were all sitting around the tea table and everyone said TG is boring and Fifth Gear is good. I was surprised but I agree. TG is no longer a car program, but rather a quirky light entertainment, scraping the barrel to find novelty items. Watch out for the car sumo wrestling item, coming soon ...
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It's getting tedious, with the same old items each week.
I agree. If they're not careful they'll end up losing their unofficial sponsorship from Ford. Not a week goes by without some comment about how wonderful Ford are.
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If they're not careful they'll end up losing their unofficial sponsorship from Ford. Not a week goes by without some comment about how wonderful Ford are.
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Is this because JC wants to jump the queue on one of their new GT40s?
Gareth
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Is this because JC wants to jump the queue on one of their new GT40s?
Well either the new GT40 has more headroom, or Clarkson has been at Hammond\'s shrinking tablets. I remember Clarkson was unable to testdrive the original GT40 as he was too tall for it. He had to get Noel Edmonds to do it instead.
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Saw an orginal racing GT40 at the Heritage Museum at Gaydon.
The roof line was so low there was a bubble in it for the drivers helmet.
No wonder Clarkson couldn't fit in one. Ha Ha
New model BTW is called 'GT' only because someone else other than Ford owns the GT40 name. S'pose Henry Ford Jr didn't want to dig too deep in his pocket to resurrect the proper name and blow half the development budget. Most people won't notice the difference and call the new one a GT40 anyway.
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An urban myth perhaps ... but I recall reading/hearing that the GT40 got it's name because it is only 40 inches tall - if so headroom is obviously going to be at a premium and no wonder JC doesn't fit.
......I suppose they call the new one just GT, probably because GT43.5 doesn't have the same ring to it :-)
Chad.
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I must be a fuddy duddy 'cos I think TG is getting stupid. I want reviews on cars that are relevant to me:the odd supercar feature is interesting but so is the Saturn Rocket. I will now duck from the flack from the Clarkson lovers.
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if TG was meant to be a "car" prog, it would be only 30 mins duration, so we must assume that when BBC give it a whole hour it's got to contain "entertainment", too - hence you have the three musketeers who bounce funnies off each other in the name of motoring .. I like it, and go to other channels for true "driving" progs.
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if TG was meant to be a "car" prog, it would be only 30 mins duration, so we must assume that when BBC give it a whole hour it's got to contain "entertainment", too
exactly. if you want serious informative motoring journalism, then watch 5th Gear. Those of us who want to see cars being used as darts will stick with TopGear. There is plenty of choice for everybody.
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Because it's "Entertainment" it can get a wider audience.
Mrsb wouldn't dream of watching a true motoring prog, but quite likes TG and is still talking about the Toyota Truck*
* I've warned her not to try it with the Yaris......
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Think Hacko's hit the nail on the head: TG is an entertainment programme in which cars are an incidental part. So it's probably going to seem a little frivolous and uninformative to dyed-in-the-wool enthusiasts. But it's not really aimed at them, and if you accept it for what it is then the one thing you can say about it is that it's more polished an imaginative than the last series.
I'm afraid I've got to take issue with the contributor who said Fifth Gear was serious journalism. Twenty-four minutes of a format which doesn't seem to have moved on in years ain't serious to me. Tiff has been playing boy racer on the tracks for far too long and he doesn't do it with the freshness of the TG crowd. I can watch it, but it's really a bit flat now.
Bring back Wheelbase, I say. There isn't nearly enough time devoted to final-drive ratios, overhead cams and string-backed gloves these days...
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Thing that annoys me about TG at the moment is the insufferable smugness of the presenters. Everything they say is said with the total conviction that it is totally correct and cannot be contradicted. This came through in a comment or two to the Multipla owner- treated him with contempt - yet who is to say that the Multipla isn't the perfect car for him in his eyes which is what counts? Same with the MG - yes it's expensive to me and it only went round the track in 1.33 mins as opposed to 1.31 of some other car but does that make it bad? Do we drive as if we are on a track all the time? I followed a Ferrari today for about 3 miles and kept up with it perfectly well (in a stream of traffic - but that's what we drive in most of the time) Did it matter that he could accellerate from 0-60 in a quarter the time it takes me? Does it matter that he has better "turn-in" (?) than me? They put a C2 in the cool bit -great for my son who is buying one of those and wants to look cool but I couldn't care less. I want a car that has the capacity of a van and can seat 4 in comfort - that could be a Vectra, or Mondeo or a Berlingo, it's my choice so please Jeremy, Midget and the bloke who needs a haircut don't try to make me look small through my choice of car, and you sycophantic lot in the background can stop giggling too!
By the way, my trousers come from M&S and not Versace - they fit well and serve the purpose. However, if you wish to buy a Ferrari or a Smart car and wear your Versace trousers and Oakley sunglasses while driving them, please feel free to do so- it's your choice!
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Yes but did you laugh at the car darts or when Hammond got covered in 14 toms of sand from the jag?
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Yep! And I watch it every week and enjoy it!!
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Yep! And I watch it every week and enjoy it!!
well in that case you have totally contradicted yourself from 2 posts ago.
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Reminder that it's on at 10pm tonight folks.
Also, on a slightly different note, if you've missed any of the episodes from the current series, they appear to be repeating them on the Sky Digital channel UK-People (channel 566) at 7pm on Saturday evenings.
The episode shown last night had the race between the uk studio's and Monte Carlo, with Jezza in the DB9 while Shorty Hammond and James May used the train. Also had the secret recording of the City Rover roadtest made by James and his tie cam.
If they're showing the episodes in order, it means that they're approx 3 or 4 episodes behind BBC2.
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Back tomorrow night 8.00pm according to TV listings in my local rag...
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And at 9 pm tonight on BBC2 "Stars in Fast Cars" in aid of Sport Relief.
To quote from the BBC website,
"An unbelievable line-up of celebrities go head to head, and wheel to wheel, to discover who really is Britain's Best Celebrity Driver.
Jeremy Clarkson himself takes part against Jodie Kidd, Darren Jordon, Patrick Kielty, Alan Davies and Jimmy Carr, all under the wry gaze of hosts Richard Hammond and James May."
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hosts Richard Hammond and James May."
Has anyone told Pologirl??
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No! Nobody told Pologirl! :(
Speaking of Top Gear... is it still on? I lost track when it got shifted in favour of football.
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It's on now PG - NOW! HURRY!
Adam
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In case you're not watching Top Gear, you're currently still in time to tune in see Lionel Richie lose (yes literally) a wheel in the Reasonably Priced Car, and thereby cheating death*
*according to The Sun, anyway
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According to Jeremy 'Swampy' Clarkson, the well known eco-warrior and friend of speed cameras, a recent study has shown that trains use more fuel per head (even when full) than a car. Does anyone have further details of the study?
Talking of which, last Saturday I took the train from Slough to Torquay and back. Never again. Expensive. Dirty. Noisy. Cramped. Uncomfortable. (The train, not Torquay.) One train had brown fluid smeared over the windows. The fold down table on one train turned out to be disgusting and I put it back up. I couldn't move seats as the train was full. I was stuck with a boiling hot tea to hold, with it spilling onto my lap as the train lurched from side to side. On one carriage my feet stuck to the floor - squelch, squelch, squelch ... and there was rubbish strewn across the floor. The seats were uncomfortable too. I enjoyed the view along the South Devon Coast and the return train from Exeter to Reading was clean and modern.
It seems to me that some people must behave in the most disgusting manner, though the train companies clearly do not seem to make much attempt to clean it up.
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It is a study done by lancaster university. I would expect to be on their website somewhere. It appeared in the newspapers around 21st June.
The same is true of buses, they're much more polluting than an equivalent number of people in cars if they occupancy level of the bus is below a certain level. I would like some proper data on exactly which buses and which cars they are using in the comparison. Picking the average polluting vehicle for each group would seem like the fairest way of doing it.
It said it all when the green party person had said 'the cleanest journey is one that is never made'. Let all the green minded people go live in mud huts without electricity and live the 'good life' and in the energy they save we can have a more comfortable life because they won't be travelling to press conferences or sailing large ships around the oceans wasting global resources. Mind you I am slightly biased as I just bought a book called Global warming and other eco myths :-)
teabelly
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It is a study done by lancaster university. I would expect to be on their website somewhere. It appeared in the newspapers around 21st June. The same is true of buses, they're much more polluting than an equivalent number of people in cars if they occupancy level of the bus is below a certain level. I would like some proper data on exactly which buses and which cars they are using in the comparison. Picking the average polluting vehicle for each group would seem like the fairest way of doing it. It said it all when the green party person had said 'the cleanest journey is one that is never made'. Let all the green minded people go live in mud huts without electricity and live the 'good life' and in the energy they save we can have a more comfortable life because they won't be travelling to press conferences or sailing large ships around the oceans wasting global resources. Mind you I am slightly biased as I just bought a book called Global warming and other eco myths :-) teabelly
Yes I too wonder about buses. What I do know is that when cycling I avoid being behind a bus as they stink something rotten.
When I was growing up I was told to eat my greens. Seems a bit harsh to me.
BTW I would take that book with a pinch of salt. There might be some truth in it, but it is very contentious among serious scientists.
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I roared with laughter at the incident with Lionel Richie when the wheel came off and the 'reasonably priced car' became a Reliant.
Is there any truth in the rumour that he's going to re - record that old number 'three wheels on my wagon ?'
A similar incident happened to my father in law a few years ago but it was slightly more serious as it was in the rush hour in south London - as he braked for the lights his offside rear bounced past him down the road.
Half a dozen drivers literally picked the car up and put it on the side of the road out of the way whilst he called a breakdown truck ( and me to collect him.)
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To be fair to Richard Hammond (and it's not very nice to keep referring to his height - or lack of it) his presentational skills have been developed very substantially since his Men and Motors days.
Let's face it, apart from the fact that there's always something different and entertaining to watch on Top Gear, the chemistry between Clarkson, May and Hammond is usually richly entertaining.
May is so wonderfully laid back and delivers such laconic soundbites, I'm surprised he ever manages to get to the studio in time...
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Really enjoyed TG last night - probably because its been off for so long. Clarkson having fun in the new MB V12 bi-turbo whilst slagging off the build quality.
Test driving two MPVs - I went in a new Scenic whilst in France and was quite impressed with the interior finish and dash layout. The comments from the presenters after the piece sounded like the build quality was typical Renault. Whilst seeing their point about the purpose of an MPV they are very easy to get in to.
Spyker Sports car - expensive for what it is, but what an interior.
Race against Aston, Bentley and MB - I'd still have the Aston!
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Entertaining.
Simple. Lionel Ritchie losing a wheel raised a chuckle as did the 'don't go south of the river' Richard and James the Cabbies.
They don't pull any punches, I loved the Speed camera bit and for Sunday 8pm, it's perfect.
And as my best friend's dad has just walked away from his CLK 320 after 25 years of MB ownership and bought a Jag, Clarkson's remarks had a special resonance.
Lovely car too, the XJ.
As for the Spyket, great to see something a bit 'different', if I had the cash, I'd buy one just for the chromed up gear linkage.
Put me down for the Aston too.
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Very interesting to see that 8 men were able to beat a 612 bhb Mercedes in a tug o' war! When JC asked the audience how many men it would take to beat the merc, some answers were over 200!
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According to Jeremy 'Swampy' Clarkson, the well known eco-warrior and friend of speed cameras, a recent study has shown that trains use more fuel per head (even when full) than a car. Does anyone have further details of the study?
The key words are 'per head'. The study assumed full cars. As the majority of cars have only one or two people in them I'd wager trains are more fuel-efficient in the real world. And certainly more efficient for heavy freight.
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SWMBO forgot to tape it!
Anybody care to advise me if it gets repeated on one of the cable channels, or what they were saying about the Scenic? Was it a proper test of it or were they racing it round a racetrack?
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Richard Hammond and James May were employed as mini cab drivers for the night in South london, using the Renault Scenic and Focus C max as their taxis. The general consensus was they both preferred the Scenic for comfort, but the C max as a sporty driver.
Top Gear is also shown on sky channel UK TV People, can,t remember the actual channel number, five hundred and something!
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SWMBO forgot to tape it! Anybody care to advise me if it gets repeated on one of the cable channels,
UK People seem to be running approx 3 weeks behind BBC2. Channel 566 on Sky, Sat and Sunday Evenings at 7pm.
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gear.viper007bond.com/downloads.php
TG episodes - at your own risk, etc - please don't ask for support here, it's fairly complicated.
--
Lee
MINI adventure in progress
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gear.viper007bond.com/downloads.php TG episodes - at your own risk, etc - please don't ask for support here, it's fairly complicated. -- Lee MINI adventure in progress
Caution - the downloads are via Bit Torrent, which I believe can be a security risk. Any IT experts care to comment?
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Not sure I'd call myself a security expert (*although I'm not bad ;) )
Yep, it can be risky.
{quote=me}
At own risk, etc
{/quote}
--
Lee
MINI adventure in progress
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>> According to Jeremy 'Swampy' Clarkson, the well known eco-warrior and friend >> of speed cameras, a recent study has shown that trains use >> more fuel per head (even when full) than a car. Does >> anyone have further details of the study? >> The key words are 'per head'. The study assumed full cars. As the majority of cars have only one or two people in them I'd wager trains are more fuel-efficient in the real world. And certainly more efficient for heavy freight.
I was wondering about the car occupancy. However, a train has a engine at each end, a buffet car and a wotsit car (where you can put bikes and stuff) which must reduce efficiency. And the carriages seem large and heavy too.
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There's more information you can glean from a piece "Cars are more fuel efficient than trains" from the Daily Telegraph www.telegraph.co.uk dated June 21.
Older trains are still efficient but the problem lies with the new generation which, because of safety and passenger legislation have become heavier so they consume more fuel. For example, Virgin's latest Super Voyager diesel trains are said to be 40% heavier per seat than the ageing HS125s (125 mph diesel trains) they replaced.
The problem is even worse with very fast 186mph trains like Eurostar and France's TGV running over electrified lines because their engines, air-con systems and so on require so much more energy.
Airplane manufacturer Airbus claims that one of its modern A321 craft is more energy efficient than a Eurostar/TGV train.
alex
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Really enjoyed tonight's show - the highlight for me was Clarkson driving a Fabia vRS to beat Hammond in the Cooper, and admitting afterwards that diesel has "caught up with" petrol. Anybody fancy the Ford GT that does 4 mpg (that's four, imperial miles, to the imperial gallon, of petrol). Still like the look of it though.
--
andymc
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The Mondeo obliterated by the Virgin 747 was not the same one shown beforehand...
Glad Clarkson liked the GT and has bought one too but inevitably most will hate it 'because it's a Ford' (you could tell the little bloke did.)
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imagos,
I picked up on the Mondeo as well. Perhaps the Mark 2 was too good to waste? Why not show the older one in the first place then?!
Adam
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I think I neeeeeed a Skoda VRS thing.
Has the reasonably priced car been to the same bodyshop as Polo? One of the rear doors is about ten shades darker than the rest of the car.
And isn't Martin Clunes dim and boring when he hasn't got a script?
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>>And isn't Martin Clunes dim and boring when he hasn't got a script?
Actually I thought the opposite. Seemed like an amusing and general guy to me. At least he made Jeremy actually laugh for once, rather than pretending to do so.
The Skoda thing worries me. In fact the whole idea of diesels improving worries me. Living on the same planet as No Dosh if I ever buy a diesel will be a trying thing.
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The Skoda thing worries me. In fact the whole idea of diesels improving worries me. Living on the same planet as No Dosh if I ever buy a diesel will be a trying thing.
[smug mode]Really? And why's that?[/smug mode]
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> Perhaps the Mark 2 was too good to waste? Why not show the older one in the first place then?!
To be pedantic, I thought they were both mark 2s - the 1st one had the 'slanting hole' wheel trims which I had on my old V6 and AFAIK aren't used on mark 2s, which is why I noticed the one that got blown away had the different 'slot' trims.
I reckon they filmed the intro, ran it past the 747, but with only partial success. The second attempt with the different car was the one which got broadcast.
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I realise this is getting picky now :-) but the one they showed they were going to use was a Mark 2 so from about R reg to X. The one they actually used was the mark 1 so from K to P I think. It only caught my attention because of the back lights and then the front when it showed you the other camera angle. I agree with you. Must have had a failed attempt at the first go and the closest reserve Mondeo they had was the Mark 1 in the same colour.
Either way, whatever model I won't be driving behind a 747!
Adam
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