Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Jeeezzzz

RIP :(

You're all free to disagree with me, and I wouldn't buy one regardless of how many lottos I won, but I stand by the irl comment. I rode behind an excellent BRG Jade Green one.

To me there's a sort of Daimler DS420 spirit to it.

Small lol at car users suggesting other car users are 'planet killing cunts'

Yeah but his is elecyric.

So it's still planet killing but done quietly.

But Tesla

I drive a lot for work, at least 80kms on an average day and over 500kms on a really bad day. I have to buy a new work vehicle this year but there isn't an EV available that'll do what I need it to do. I would love to be able to kill the planet a little less as I'm going about my business but I just don't have that option right now.

Last month I ordered a GWM Tank 300 hybrid, my least worst option. I don't feel great about it. I'm paying a A$10k premium over the ICE version for the 'planet saving' hybrid bit. It's bollocks.

I want an all electric 4x4 Hilux.

I don't know of an electric 4x4 pickup in existence as yet, someone does make a 2wd one. I frequently need to carry ton bags of materials, so it's diesel or nothing. I wonder what the battery life will be like when carting around a ton plus of stuff....

Sir, here at Royce we like to accommodate all customers. Have a glass of this fine white burgundy and consider the option list on this chariot...

https://www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com/en_US/showroom/spectre.html

Was recently in Connecticut & New York State for two weeks. Was surprised by how many Rivians i saw on the road. Even spotted a few in NYC.

Not sure if they are available outside U.S.

Apparently they are or will be for a mere £56 to £75k. They're advertised as an 'adventure vehicle', not a working truck. I doubt I'll be an early adopter!

With the new ULEZ scrappage rules now applying to ‘all Londoners’ no matter income. Can I buy a crappy banger for as few pounds as possible and use the £2k scrappage allowance to help towards a ‘nice’ car?

I don’t need a car but I guess I will in future. This policy might actually encourage me to buy a car if I’m reading it right.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-66398942

The OG banking crisis sponsored scrappage-scheme required you to have owned the car for 2yrs iirc.

So I think you're out of luck.

That said the OG one got extended for quite a while so maybe it's worth a punt.

Every now and then I feel a twinge of guilt for my stereotype based prejudices.

Then the counties of cunts deliver.

Kent, Surrey and Essex county councils have already said they will ban Ulez signage on their land.

Fairly sure you need to have been the registered owner of a vehicle for more than a few months. At least that was the score when I looked a few months back.

Trying not to read the small print too much as I just scraped a car for £300 and don't want to know if I was even eligible for £2000.....

Not sure today's EV technology is viable with load carrying working vehicles. They need a tonne of batteries to give enough power to carry heavy loads, which makes them heavier, which requires more power, more over building which increases the weight further.

Then again someone could rethink how pickups are designed to make them more efficient....

...If there was a way to shorten the bonnet you could move the seats forward and free up more cargo space behind. Lowering the ride height could allow you easier loading and then mean you could use the gained space for storage. Similarly you could reduce the wheel size and move them apart. Then if you put a high fixed cover over the back you'd have more space still and be able to protect your cargo.
... it's probably not viable though.

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Big swing open doors on the back, you could even have sliding doors on both sides to make access really easy. I bet Ford would be interested!

Nah. Someone would have done it already.

The truth is that a high percentage of pickups are tonka toy ego trips, particularly Ford Rangers in gangsta specs, which are completely useless as working vehicles. These new-fangled 'vans' are a great idea until you have to drive across a field, then they're as fucked as a dalek faced with a staircase.

What a RR is supposed to look like; our testing platform for a new electric motor we are converting with.

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Did you covert a Bentley in BRG, similar age? I followed it on the M25 a few months ago, it looked superb.

Borrowed one for a week in Austin from a friend earlier this year. Was massively impressed, biggest barrier to me is I don't think it would fit down the farm roads in Devon.
Fairly used as intended review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr5x62MyAUg

Is it full-size, F150/Silverado/RAM 2500 proportions? Impossible to tell on the YouToobz. I love the design, some very neat storage ideas in there. How was the range on it?

Very sad.
Sold my GTV today.

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Sad day indeed :(
Is there a replacement coming?

I have hardly used since buying another Abarth.
Abarth may be an ugly duckling in comparison , but it is a fucking hoot.