What did you do Today 2018

Microscopes! Me too. Not very active with mine mainly due to shortage of time. Better than astronomy because you can keep warm and be in bed before 9pm. Interesting how many forum members have multiple technical hobbies, not just metalworking.

Heard on Radio 2 recently that people who bought electric cars last year are currently able to sell them second-hand at a profit. Going electric got them a year's free motoring! Won't last of course - down to demand exceeding supply. Still, makes you think.

Dave

I have been told off for not wanting an automatic. I am told they have come on in the last 40 years but in my heart of hearts I don't believe a word of it. My brother has a Mercedes hybrid, wouldn't touch it with someone else's barge pole let alone mine

I drive a 2002 Honda 1.6SE I got a new drive shaft and a new battery fitted this month for £250

I now drive a Hybrid (automatic) having driven manual cars all my life, and I love it! I do around 800 to 1000 miles a week, and an automatic in traffic is a delight. Motorway fuel consumption is on a par with a normal 2 litre car, but around town I don't use any petrol. You have to modify your driving style somewhat to conserve battery energy, but for me it's a small price to pay. This is a company car, so the benefit in kind tax saving is well worth it.

Andy

p.s. I charge at home as well as at the office when I'm there.

Interesting that in France the MOT or Control Technique is 67€ for petrol / diesel cars, 75€ for hybrid, 90€ for electric and even more for GPL (Gas powered) cars.

I am pretty certain that for most drivers a modern automatic will give better fuel consumption than if they drove a manual. It's still entirely possible to decimate the fuel consumption by driving an auto with a complete lack of talent but generally most drivers don't know where the optimal gear changes should occur. On the other hand, autos are calibrated very carefully and contain vastly more knowledge of the engine calibration and vehicle characteristics - even the calibration engineers would struggle to drive optimally in manual.. It's also pretty much impossible for a human to cope with the sheer number of gears available - some modern autos have 8 or 9 ratios to choose from, plus several driving modes.

I don't know why people insist on manual gearboxes just as I don't understand why so many people insist on reversing into side-by-side parking spaces. In that instance, I drive straight in, stop the engine and get out. Each to his own....

Murray

All going up in May though BobH, 80 tested items up to 136 items. Just as well had both of mine done !
DaveD

What Frances says particularly if in a van. Though it does present other problems if you want to put something long into said van!

Interesting observations. I'm entirely with you on the former, but have to disagree with the latter....sometimes. We were always taught to park with the vehicle facing 'outwards'. So in cases of urgency, a safe and quick exit was possible. I could just imagine the pandemonium if, for example, fire engines had to reverse out.

But...on a visit to B&Q frinstance, it makes sense to have the boot of the vehicle easily accessible by parking nose-in.

Pete

Well it is shear common sense isn't it? If the parking bay is on the same side as you then you often do not have room to straighten up so you would end up p..ssed & if you have to reverse to straighten it is awkward to get central. When exiting out you are manouvering into traffic & as well as having to watch the front of your vehicle as it moves sideways & can catch the adjoining cars.

When you reverse in you are not reversing in towards traffic but into an empty bay & you can check it is so before you go in. In doing this manouver you automatically stop the traffic because you are already in the lane rather than having to try & stop it when reversing out.

I'll grant automatic gearboxes are miles better than they were ... perhaps more efficient than a manual ... but automatic gearboxes can't engine brake ... seems like a compelling safetynet argument for slowing the car down if there is a brake failure ... perhaps going down a steep hill.

I like the double rows in car parks, where you can often drive forwards through one empty bay and end up facing outwards in the bay behind it. But then I'm a lazy sod.

I am often one of the last half dozen cars at work - why is it one of the other 5 is in the bay in front blocking my exit and another blocking the straight run at the exit ramp? People reversing in just slow the process down for everyone trying to sensibly just drive in to the hole and stop without pratting about.

Yabbut, people tend to be in more of a rush at going home time!

You can always do a manual shift with an autobox, although the DSG gearbox on my Kodiaq seems to understand hills and will stay in a lower gear when descending.

Rod

SWMBO has an Aygo automatic that I have to drive once in a while. I do not relish the experience, there is so little control. It starts a gear change when you least want one and if you kick it down you wait even longer for power while it tries to figure out how to do it.

How many brake failures have you seen in the past 20 years?

Now brain failure-- that is another thing I grant you

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 14/03/2018 09:13:15

Slow you down a darned sight longer reversing out !!!

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 14/03/2018 09:14:57

Modern autos seem to have a gradient sensor, so change down when descending a hill etc. And you couldn't shift up or down anything like as quickly if you were driving a manual, particularly in sport mode.

If you look ahead and anticipate the road conditions, you find you can significantly reduce the amount of braking you need to do, even in an auto. Safer, better fuel economy and less wear and tear. Lower insurance costs too....

I like the notion that you can make a fast getaway in an emergency if you are facing out. Presumably if you are doing a runner from a restaurant or encountering a mistress's angry partner. Not something I generally consider when parking - it's about as likely as brake failure.

Murray

In some places in the USA, it's illegal to reverse into a parking space. The reasoning being that many cars there don't have front number plates, so law enforcement patrols need to be able to see the rear number plate. Personally, I prefer to reverse in to a space where I can, which is why I once received a telling off whilst on holiday in the US!