Early Risers.

[jjb1970]

25 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

That is a monumentally ugly vehicle.

 

Looks more like a minivan than an "SUV".

 

 

It's certainly not a car I would lust after, and I can't imagine they're great to drive. 

 

I am not against MPV/people carrier vehicles per se. We had a Toyota Verso when the kids were small, it was a seven seat MPV derivative of the Corolla. In five seat mode it had five big seats with plenty of space for bulky infant carriers and a huge boot that would swallow anything. Importantly the rear door opening was wide and the upright stance made it very easy to load infant carriers or put toddlers into a car seat and strap them in. The rear two seats weren't great but it did allow us to take grandparents out for short trips with the kids. I wouldn't say I especially liked it, but it was a great practical car which did exactly what we needed.

 

The Alphard however is some sort of weird Asian status symbol, it seems to hold a similar appeal that cars like the Mercedes E Class, BMW 5 and Jaguar XJ had in Britain (whether the lust many had for those cars was anymore sensible is of course a fair point too). They are popular with private hire drivers here and as a passenger I must admit they're great. A leather air cooled captains chair with electric adjustment is really rather pleasant but they're dreadfully expensive. Some people here buy them and register them as taxis, then do the minimum necessary to keep their taxi registration as they pay a lot less in vehicle taxes and CoE fees (yes, even in Singapore people work the system).

[jjb1970]

On personal imports, I was talking more about buying second hand cars overseas and importing them, or more usually buying them from someone running a business doing same. So they're not official imports and in many cases (such as the Alphard) they're not sold officially in Britain. Even if they are, such as the Subaru Impreza, hot Impreza STi models aren't exactly the same in Japan as those which were imported into the UK and spares can be an issue. Companies like Subaru UK generally refuse to have anything to do with such cars.

 

When I was at sea a few guys bought second hand motorbikes in Japan and took them home on the ship, and at the time P&O had two Australian managed ships (the AJCL ships 'Ariake' and 'Arafura') and a New Zealand ship (the 'Aotea') on which some of the crew were making way more money buying motorbikes to sell at home than anything they were getting from P&O.

[monkeysarefun]

15 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

That is a monumentally ugly vehicle.

 

Looks more like a minivan than an "SUV".

 

 

Jeeeesus! And how come Asian carmakers love putting stupid creases in all the panels just cos they can, that one looks like someone's given the side a big kick. Hyundai do the same thing, the new models have a meeting of 3 sharp creases in the middle of the front doors, just looks like the panel has taken a hit. 

 

As for imports, VE and VF Commodore Utes into the US are a popular option for those who want something different from the usual big pickup or muscle car. Process to get it road legal in the US is quite involved including getting a damaged ute body from Australia or NZ and  a  donor US Pontiac G8 sedan or a Chevy SS  (both of which are actually  Australian designed  Commodores,  imported into the US).

The next step is to cut the Holden Ute and Pontiac G8/Chevy SS  in half and weld the ute rear onto the Pontiac/Chevy  front, then get it registered in the state of Indiana using their  body transfer avidavit to rename it as a Holden Commodore rather than a Pontiac.  

 

 

[Ozexpatriate]

2 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

a  donor US Pontiac G8 sedan or a Chevy SS ...

Pontiac is now long gone. (The last Pontiac GTO was of course a Monaro.) 

 

The Chevy Camaro SS is gone too. The Camaro will be discontinued with the 2024 model year.

[monkeysarefun]

2 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Pontiac is now long gone. (The last Pontiac GTO was of course a Monaro.) 

 

The Chevy Camaro SS is gone too. The Camaro will be discontinued with the 2024 model year.

As is the Commodore, killed along with Holden in 2017.  

[jjb1970]

I remember the Monaro in the UK, it was great, it made absolutely no sense at all in Britain given our fuel prices, road tax etc. Commercially most British people looking to buy an expensive high performance car struggle to look past expensive German badges (which is why the superb KIA Stinger is all but invisible in the UK) but it was a terrific car for those able to afford the fuel and who weren't slaves to badge snobbery. I only ever saw a couple, they were as rare as rocking horse turds, but it pleased me that such cars were still being made. 

[Gwiwer]

Good morning. 
 

Yacht or not?

 

 

[iL Dottore]

6 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Japanese model railway exhibition.

 

If he's lucky @iL Dottore might find one when he visits Japan.

Thanks for that video, Phil.

 

Some thoughts:

• Lots of micro “roundy roundy” layouts (given how small most Japanese dwellings are, understandable)
• Loved the micro layout in the Bento Box
• A lot of the above created the impression that the moving bits were just an excuse for some truly superb scenic modelling
• There were a lot of “effects” (sound, lighting) on almost every layout.
• A lot of modular layouts (which seems sensible: club members could work on individual sections away from the club rooms - which might be shared accommodation [???])
• The club layouts were very impressive. Some lovely cityscapes and industrial areas
• Everything worked flawlessly (I would imagine that a Japanese MR Club would not want to “loose face” by exhibiting a badly working layout)
• A total absence of fat blokes in club polo shirts, standing around gossiping whilst another member is lying under the layout - cursing - trying to get it to run 🤣

I really wish that you hadn’t shown me that video, Phil, I fear that now I may return from Japan with a wee bit more than a souvenir “starter” set…..

[monkeysarefun]

57 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

I remember the Monaro in the UK, it was great, it made absolutely no sense at all in Britain given our fuel prices, road tax etc. Commercially most British people looking to buy an expensive high performance car struggle to look past expensive German badges (which is why the superb KIA Stinger is all but invisible in the UK) but it was a terrific car for those able to afford the fuel and who weren't slaves to badge snobbery. I only ever saw a couple, they were as rare as rocking horse turds, but it pleased me that such cars were still being made. 

The Monaro was an iconic model from the mid-60's Kingswoods until the introduction of the Commodore in 1979, produced to  vie with the Falcons at the  Bathurst October race. 

 

In the early 2000's some members of the Holden design team wanted to reintroduce it and worked secretly in one members house  without the knowledge of management to produce a viable design, then a clay model, which they presented to the incoming US manager of GMH.  He gave it the thumbs up and we got the Monaro back, at least for a few years until they killed it off again.

The ute went on to take on  pretty much the  2 door sports model role with the advantage of large load carrying ability,  with  a 6 litre motor, brembo brakes and a mean growl. But yes its a thirsty beast , which is why mines a 2010 model with just 34,000 on the clock...

 

 

 

[iL Dottore]

1 hour ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

Jeeeesus! And how come Asian carmakers love putting stupid creases in all the panels just cos they can, that one looks like someone's given the side a big kick. Hyundai do the same thing, the new models have a meeting of 3 sharp creases in the middle of the front doors, just looks like the panel has taken a hit….

It’s all part of an ongoing conspiracy between carmakers and dealers to make repair and servicing of vehicles so fiendishly difficult and practically not-doable without specialised equipment so that car owners have to go to a dealer’s garage.

 

Long gone are the days when even a Bentley or Jaguar could be repaired and maintained using readily available tools found in most reasonably equipped workshop/garage.

 

And whilst on the subject of cars: does anyone on ER have any experience of/with the current generation FIAT 500? I’m toying with idea of buying a secondhand one so I’m not without motorised transport when Mrs iD is in the Holiday Hovel with Hettie the Yeti

Edited April 21, 2023 by iL Dottore

[monkeysarefun]

9 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

 

 

And whilst on the subject of cars: does anyone on ER have any experience of/with the current generation FIAT 500? I’m toying with idea of buying a secondhand one so I’m not without motorised transport when Mrs iD is in the Holiday Hovel with Hettie the Yeti

 

No but I can help you with the old version since I learned to drive in my mum's one in 1981, they used to be made in New Zealand in the 60's.

 

We had an Irish Setter at the time, it would sit in the passenger seat and it's head would stick out the roof, people used to do a  double take thinking there was a dog driving along.

 

Edited April 21, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[jamie92208]

14 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

 

 

And whilst on the subject of cars: does anyone on ER have any experience of/with the current generation FIAT 500? I’m toying with idea of buying a secondhand one so I’m not without motorised transport when Mrs iD is in the Holiday Hovel with Hettie the Yeti

We hired one for a week in the UK last year.  I ended up liking it once I got used to the 6 speed box.  Well appointed for 2 people and I had no trouble fitting into it. Drove well and had a good sound/information system.  I would say it's worth having a test drive. 

 

Jamie

[iL Dottore]

6 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

No but I can help you with the old version since I learned to drive in my mum's one in 1981, they used to be made in New Zealand in the 60's.

 

We had an Irish Setter at the time, it would sit in the passenger seat and it's head would stick out the roof, people used to do a  double take thinking there was a dog driving along.

 

They were great fun (and pretty much ubiquitous when I was a teenager in italy in the 70s). One day a friend with a 500 decided he would takes us all into the village (I was at summer camp) - so he removed the front passenger sear and we managed to get 8 of us into it.

 

Y’know, Chimpy, I reckon a good 90% of what we got up to in our teens and early twenties would nowadays be banned/prohibited/socially unacceptable (and I’m not referring to anything illegal or morally questionable - just high spirits and joie de vivre). The younger generation nowadays certainly seems both very prudish and very censorious, more than we ever were…

 

I guess I’m just showing my age, perhaps the kids nowadays - when old - will fondly remember the days when - vegan burger in hand - they would set-off a Twitter witch hunt or a TikTok craze…

[Ozexpatriate]

56 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

Yacht or not?

"Rock the boat"? - Not, according to Yacht Or Nyacht?. Soul/R&B (pre-Disco, disco).

 

From my brief introduction this evening, 'Yacht rock' is more late 1970s/early 1980s. It was called 'soft rock'.

 

Edited April 21, 2023 by Ozexpatriate
Link

[Ozexpatriate]

29 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

The younger generation nowadays certainly seems both very prudish and very censorious

Many norms changed with the onset of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. I don't see Gen Z as 'prudish'. They do insist on treating others with a greater degree of respect for individuality than previous generations, if that's what you mean by censorious.

 

Searching for 'traits of gen z' results in a lot of blog posts on marketing to or hiring Gen Z. I found these sort of observations (selected) accurate:

• DIVER­SI­TY IS THEIR NORM

• THEY ARE OUR FIRST “DIG­I­TAL NATIVES”

• THEY ARE PRAG­MAT­IC AND FINAN­CIAL­LY MINDED

• They’re avid gamers

• They’re prone to anxiety

 

(I have a 17 year-old granddaughter.)

 

Edited April 21, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[NGT6 1315]

2 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

That's cos vans have morphed into  SUVs. Proper SUVs are things like my old Bronco or MrsID's Jeep Wrangler.

 

Tbh, I think it’s a pity that MPVs have declined in importance!

 

I can see why the Alphard/Vellfire polarizes with its styling, but I gather it’s right comfy. That is something where it might score with me, if it was sold here.

 

Styling-wise, I’m not terribly fond of the current Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson personally, even if they are competent cars otherwise.

 

Moaning awl. I seem to have had dreamed strangely, but I cannot remember anything specific.

 

Enjoy whatever you got planned… 👋

[NGT6 1315]

MAZINGER!

 

 

Something for @jjb1970, I'm sure! As it is, 269 601 has actually been restored to this livery, even if with a lighter blue. It remains operational, too.

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Attended a cricket umpires meeting last night.. ended up checking with the MCC about the interpretation of putting saliva on the ball. Just shows that once you get the grass roots umpires looking into the Laws (written by a team of top level umpires) the loopholes are quickly identified.

 

Wombats are lovely as infants,boisterous but n8ce. They get to about 18 months old and.. bang.. they are like teenagers. I took one gor a walk at Australia Zoo in Brisbane. Min8bus is a one eyed wombat.. in reality she took me for a walk. Never put your hand in front of a wombats mouth.. they can bite very hard (corn on the cob gets chewed to bits very quickly.

 

The one to watch for in New Zealand are... Kiwi. They are bigger than you think and will draw blood in your shins by kicking you.. ouch.

 

I hope that mitsubishi do start selling cars in the UK again.  One of their owners (Renault) wanted their share of the market place. The current Renault hybrids are not very good and definitely smaller than the outlander phev.

 

Time to..  go get some broadband, do some emailing then off to try out some "fixed" items.

 

Enjoy your day!

 

Baz

[New Haven Neil]

Morning, bit draughty out and 8c.  Bikes later.

 

We have had two Renault Espaces in the past, the original square one (a bit basic) and a later rounded off version.  The latter was a very nice car, my lease vehicle back in my NHS days.  Great for camping!  Certainly less ugly than that Toymota.

 

 

[NGT6 1315]

Mitsubishi are still present here, though a lot less prominently than in the 1980s and 90s. 

 

I've seen a Hyundai Staria around here recently. That, too, might be a competent car but the front end is, shall we say, daring, to my mind anyway...

 

[TheQ]

Alphard Definitely an ugly van.

 

Mooring Awl ,

4.5 hours sleep, 4 hours sleep I needed that.

 

It was chuckinitdarn at half sleep time, it's chuckinitdarn now. We now know we can blame BSW01 he's the cause of the rain, having watered things.

 

My 4x4 is definitely not an SUV, it's a Landrover.

The modern fiat 500 is much bigger than the original one. 4 version is almost the size of my Landrover 110.

 

Time I got change to make an exhibit of myself at https://www.radarmuseum.co.uk/

 

 

 

[tigerburnie]

I drive a Mitsubishi ASX, had their Shogun Sport Warrior before that, two excellent motors, when I worked at the Toyota factory in Derby I used to get a new one every two years, Carina E, Corolla, Auris and Avensis, all very reliable and got you from A to B , but back then I also had my classic Aston Martin for driving for pleasure.

[jjb1970]

1 hour ago, NGT6 1315 said:

MAZINGER!

 

 

Something for @jjb1970, I'm sure! As it is, 269 601 has actually been restored to this livery, even if with a lighter blue. It remains operational, too.

 

Splendid!!

 

Is this the Electrotren model or another?

[jjb1970]

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Thanks for that video, Phil.

 

Some thoughts:

• Lots of micro “roundy roundy” layouts (given how small most Japanese dwellings are, understandable)
• Loved the micro layout in the Bento Box
• A lot of the above created the impression that the moving bits were just an excuse for some truly superb scenic modelling
• There were a lot of “effects” (sound, lighting) on almost every layout.
• A lot of modular layouts (which seems sensible: club members could work on individual sections away from the club rooms - which might be shared accommodation [???])
• The club layouts were very impressive. Some lovely cityscapes and industrial areas
• Everything worked flawlessly (I would imagine that a Japanese MR Club would not want to “loose face” by exhibiting a badly working layout)
• A total absence of fat blokes in club polo shirts, standing around gossiping whilst another member is lying under the layout - cursing - trying to get it to run 🤣

I really wish that you hadn’t shown me that video, Phil, I fear that now I may return from Japan with a wee bit more than a souvenir “starter” set…..

 

Japanese people often take hobbies way more seriously than in other countries, attention to detail and commitment to getting things right can verge on bonkersness. They do however follow a different approach to the hobby, it's not that it's less attentive to detail but that they apply this in a more impressionist way, it's about capturing the look of something and recreating a world in miniature rather than counting rivets (to use the cliche). 

[NGT6 1315]

2 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

 

Splendid!!

 

Is this the Electrotren model or another?

Yes, Electrotren. The one thing that looks a bit off is the pantographs, or their geometry when raised, specifically. That might just be down to the third party parts I presume they’re using, though. The H-shaped mounting frame does seem specific but the arms and head look a lot like Sommerfeldt to me. I wonder if I could hack something together from that frame and LS Models uppers…