A New Car

rosalan

rosalan

Joined
Jul 12, 2013
Posts
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The City of Henlow
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26,906
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Adria Supreme
Exp
Since 1980
My friends brother said that his new car was so smooth he did not need to use fifth gear once, on his maiden trip to Cornwall. The sad part is that this story is true!!

I also spoke to a fellow motorhomer who bought a nearly new Kon Tiki as the owner found it too slow for his liking. After agreeing to buy the van, the new owner took a test drive with the previous owner who was amazed to find it had five gears. This is also true!
 
vehicles with modern 6 speed gearboxes regularly confuse new owners. once conditioned to using a 5 speed, it is difficult for some to retrain their brain to accept there is a new higher gear

conversely i sometimes find myself trying to engage 6th when driving a 5 speed. its just an automatic reflex reaction, but you soon adjust normally
 
Quite common here. :(Driving for miles in 3rd in a 5 speed , is a local pastime .
One of the boys next door never used 5th unless we were on the autovia & it wouldn't be used until up to 120. His new Alfa has 6 gears. :eek: His sister drives all the cars & has never been known to use anything above 3rd nor can she turn on the wipers.:LOL:
 
TheBig1 said:
conversely i sometimes find myself trying to engage 6th when driving a 5 speed. its just an automatic reflex reaction, but you soon adjust normally
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Yep used to do that all the time in the car when I had the last van, thank goodness I now have a Comformatic box in the van.
 
Reading this and just wondering how some people would get on in a modern truck with 16 gears

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rosalan said:
My friends brother said that his new car was so smooth he did not need to use fifth gear once, on his maiden trip to Cornwall. The sad part is that this story is true!!

I also spoke to a fellow motorhomer who bought a nearly new Kon Tiki as the owner found it too slow for his liking. After agreeing to buy the van, the new owner took a test drive with the previous owner who was amazed to find it had five gears. This is also true!
Click to expand...

I like the Elddis YouTube video concerning the Avtex "bee sting" aerial, where he claims one owner who complained about TV reception didn't even have the aerial plugged in (3:26):


Brian
 
Is that video a wind up perchance ?
If it isn't then it has reinforced what I think of all Avtex 'experts' Bunch of thieving morons who think every one else is as stupid as they are..

Digital coax indeed !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I should have waited !! Further in to the video he comes out with MORE absolute and total bull plop

If I was Avtex I would do my utmost to get that removed from YT as it is actually promoting lies and misleading the public..
 
Avtex or other TV, it's still the same old programmes!
 
Reminds me.. Back in the 70's when I was still racing, one of my main sponsors was WillHire

I still remember a couple of the stories from there concerning the sort of thing in the OP..
The first I was not privy to but the whole place was talking about it..
A woman took the Escort back after a weeks hire and complained about terrible running and drinking fuel.

The car was almost new.. Chap took the lady outside, started the car and asked her to demonstrate what had been happening.
She got in, pulled the choke right out and hung her handbag on it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The next I was there when a yank brought back a motor.. Complained again that is was REALLY slow and flat out at about 40mph
The thing seemed to do less than 20 to the gallon too

Again, the tech could find nowt wrong on a test drive..
Got the sceptic to take him round the block.
He was putting it in 2nd gear at the off and just left it there !
When the tech asked why he was doing it he just said that was how he had always driven.. Put the car in DRIVE ( !!! ) and that was it.

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This is also true - honest!

Many years ago I knew someone who had an Austin Metropolitan, I was out in the car with him one day and noticed that he only used 1st and 3rd gear. When I asked him why he didn't use the others he replied that he was saving them for when 1st and 3rd wore out! Mind you, he was a bit eccentric!!

Mike
 
A friend of ours bought a Smart car for her commute down the M1 to Sheffield. She didn't realise that on the semi-auto Smarties there is a button on the side of the gear lever to switch between manual and auto. She thought that she had been driving in auto when in fact it was in manual - and was in first gear!!!! 70mph down the M1 in first is not recommended.:(
 
ROFL !!! But rest assured, she was not in first :-)
When you reach certain revs the things do change up on their own (y)

But she had to be revving it almost to the red line in every gear though !!!!!!!
 
Isn't that in the full auto mode John. When I've driven Merilyn's and forgot to press the button (ie it's in manual) it revs it's goolies off until I either push the gear lever forward or press the button. There's the lovely little arrow flashing in the up direction pleading with me to change gear but it has never done it on it's own. Perhaps the rev needle needs to go all the way through the red zone? :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
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No mate.. When it reaches the red line even in manual mode it changes up :-)
It is how I use it when racing usually ;-)

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Jaws said:
No mate.. When it reaches the red line even in manual mode it changes up :)
It is how I use it when racing usually ;-)
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My first experience of a Smart was the one I bought for my wife. Bought off eBay & collected from Bristol so my first drive was a lot of motorway. My first impression was that it wouldn't hold 6th on any incline & was generally gutless - an impression that stuck with me for the first 12 months of ownership.

................. until I spotted the link from the wastegate servo to the wastegate itself was simply dangling. A whole year with a non-functioning turbo. :doh::doh: It's quite nippy now:).
 
Jaws said:
Is that video a wind up perchance ?
If it isn't then it has reinforced what I think of all Avtex 'experts' Bunch of thieving morons who think every one else is as stupid as they are..

Digital coax indeed !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
I think what they mean is not the push in type but the BNC screw ends on it.
 
And that makes it a digital bit of wire ? !!
Think you mean F-Type plugs :-)

As far as I am aware Avtex still tends to use standard Belling-Lee type coax plugs ( but no idea about the new ones )
Either which way it is still very misleading bullplop !!
The words digital added to anything media related doubles the price .. I made a shed load of lolly when digital tv came out.. Dug out all my old wide band aerials and sold them with the magic word digital in the ad.
Instead of going for £18, I flogged the lot for £54 each LOL !!
 
bertiebasset said:
Reading this and just wondering how some people would get on in a modern truck with 16 gears
Click to expand...

16 SIXTEEN gears? Wonderful. When do I start?

I learnt to drive in a car with three forward and one reverse gear :) Love the six speed box on the van and wish the car had six (or more). Maybe when we change cars ..... but just filled the car with fuel and getting 58 mpg on a car more than 10 years old so hoping it will go on a bit longer.

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