Conference terri::cars_uk

    Don't know, but Jeremy Clarkson is jolly good (and funny), carrying over
    his wit from "Performance Car". He looks a bit like me see, same hair
    "style". :-)
    
    Gary.

    
    The only trouble with Clarkson is he makes every car look horribly
    cramped! :^)
    
    Mark

    This is in actual fact very true Mark. I always think flipping heck
    there ain't much room in there, then you see him emerge and tower
    completely above the car (even landies :-) ) and a strange realisation
    suddenly comes over you..... my God there has been a terrible mistake
    on the production line, they have built them all exactly 1/3 scale
    size... telephone the police, firebrigade, coastguard, Wonderwoman,
    Godzilla, cos we need help! ;-)
    
    Gary.

    When does Top Gear get repeated??? (or doesn't it anymore!)
    
    Greg
    

    I think it may be on again this afternoon around 5.00pm, not sure
    though...
    
    Gary.

    
    
    How do all the XR3/XR3i owners feel after last nights prog ?
    
    

    
    Re .6
    
    No-one admits to owning one of these cars do they? :^)
    
    Still TG was at it's best again. Of course the newer cars are
    treated better. Nobody who wants to drive a performance car would
    dream of looking at a recent Xr3i! :^)
    
    Mark

    
    	I'll admit to owning an XR3i.
    	I wouldn't pay full price for one, but I get a good discount on all
    	new Fords so it wasn't bad for the price.
    	I know that they are always slagged off by the motoring press
    	and I do agree with most of the criticisms, but I still get some
    	fun out of the car.
    
    	Tony
    
    	PS I will not be buying another new Ford - not because of the
    	actual car - I am just fed up with most of their dealers and
    	most of their policies.

    Why is Chris Goffey (sp?) still on the programme ?
    Admittedly he is proffesional, knowledgable etc,  but after listening
    to him for the last couple of years I get the impression he isn't a car
    ENTHUSIAST in fact sometimes I think he doesn't like cars or car
    drivers very much at all.  At least Wally Woolards heart was in the
    right place.
    
    And while I'm having a Monday morning whinge :-(
    
    Why do they always have to find bad points about a car just because the
    Graphic on the screen has space for 4 minus points and 4 plus points
    eg:-
    
    			MAZDOTA  2.0i GTXLRTZ Turbo 
    			0-60  		3.6 sec
    			Top Speed	145 mph
    			Fuel Cons	76 mpg
    			Price		�9,999:36p
    			
    	GOOD POINTS				BAD POINTS
    
    [] Four Wheel Drive			[] Ashtray too small
    [] Space for 6 people 		[] Boot carpet wrong colour
    [] Turns on a Sixpence		[] Wheels too circular
    [] 10 year warranty			[] Salesman had bad breath
    
    
    .Stevie.

    .9>>	[] Ashtray too small

Just what I'm looking for.  A car for non-smokers!

    
    Isn't it BMW who now offer cars without ashtrays?
    
    Mark
    

    2 things that were mentioned on top gear that surprized me -
    
    . They were talking about car thefts and mentioned that 20% of cars	   
      stolen were left unlocked. I wonder how they worked that out. 
    
    . About second-hand cars, 1 in 4 cars have the mileage "clocked".
    
    Roy.

    
    Re .12
    
    I wonder if the real figure is that 20% of stolen cars are admitted to
    be unlocked. I hope that's not true, because it would seem to suggest
    the reality is MUCH higher.
    
    Mark

    Re: the milage being clocked.
    
    Again they trotted out the old dodge of checking that the numbers on
    the mileometer are alligned. If they're a bit wobbbly, apparantly, it
    means the car's been clocked.
    
    I've had both my last two cars from new, and both have had misalligned
    numbers on the mileometer.
    
    Ian.

    Funny you should say that Ian. I thought the same thing. Its especially
    noticeable when it registers a new number. For example, I've just gone
    over the 12000 mile mark and the "2" is not yet aligned properly, it
    will probably correct itself when it reaches 12100.
    
    Roy.

    I was told by a mechanic that there are pins that align the numbers.
    These have to be taken out before clocking and are very difficult to
    replace properly, which is why the numbers on a clocked car are not 
    aligned. This does not include, as described in the last note, when
    a number takes a while to get into place.
    
    
    Jerome.

RE: .14

Are you SURE that your last two cars were both new?

:-)

Steve

	I consider the figure of 25% of cars clocked to be absurd, I
	would think it more like 25% that aren't.

	-John_who_appears_to_have_the_highest_mileage_205_in_all_of
	Britain_and_I_only_do_14,900_a_year.

    In my note a couple back about clocked cars, I neglected to mention
    that my info came from the brother of my ex-girlfriend, who worked at
    his fathers showroom. Part of his job was to clock *all* of the cars
    they intended to re-sell. The father told me once that almost all the
    second hand car traders clocked their cars. They also used to transfer 
    cars between several showrooms so that it could not be proved which 
    place had clocked the car if they were clocked. This bloke was so
    unscrupulous that he sold a Lancia Delta HF Turbo to his "favourite"
    daughter (my "ex") that was two cars ends welded together. It was such a
    death trap that the garage that did the MOT test wouldn't let her have 
    the keys back 'cos it could split in half at any moment. In my opinion
    all second hand car dealers are stitch-up merchants and you should only
    buy a car from a reputable dealer that can't afford to lose their good 
    reputation. I will never buy privately again when I heard some of the
    things my ex-girlfriends father used to do (he has now moved onto pastures
    new).
    
    
    Jerome the enlightened.

    Note that I am not recommending the procedures described below.
    
    Many moons ago I owned a P6 Rover 2000, it had 80 odd k on the clock. 
    After rebuilding the engine, and since I had no intention of
    re-selling the car, I decided to reset the odometer to 00000.
    
    I removed the speedo unit, took the glass cover off and shunted the
    numbers round using a small screwdriver.  I remember that they would
    only move in one direction, and only in a certain order.  It took about
    5 minutes to do.
    
    Once it was re-assembled, it worked fine, with no problems of poor
    alignment etc.
    
    Previously, when I wanted to start with a "clean sheet" on a Moris
    Minor, I disconnected the speedo cable from the gearbox, attached it to
    a power drill running at a low speed, removed the speedometer needle
    and used the drill to wind the clock on to 00000.  I replaced the
    needle, and away I went.
    
    When it came to getting the cars MOT'd, I simply said that I had fitted
    new speedo units, since the old ones were broken.  When it came to
    selling the cars, I explained to the new owners what I had done, and
    why.
    
    
    John

    Well after watching the last two editions of Channel 4's "Classic
    Cars" programme, it was quite refreshing to see watch some genuine
    classic cars actually being driven on Top Gear last night.
    
    Mind you, what Stirling Moss did to that Healey made me wince a bit!
    
    The best part for me was the guy balancing on the windscreen of the Alfa
    operating the throttle through the open bonnet!! 
    
    A great programme.
    
    Ian.

    If you enjoyed the 5 minutes of the Pirelli Marathon that the Beeb
    deemed to show, imagine how good an hour of it was a month ago on
    Screensport! :^)
    
    Mark
    
    PS It's not really fair to expect that Celica replica (sorry MX-3) to
    be able to sit 4 giants in comfort is it? However, I can't imagine
    anyone buying one instead of a Calibra. I reckon the MX-3 would go
    in my boot! :^)

	I don't suppose that you happen to have a video tape  of the Pirelli
	classic, do you.  For years, I've hunted in vain for copies of that
	thing (any year, but the BEEB's first was very good), I've not found
	anywhere that sells it...

	Dave

    
    I might have (along with a VSCC meet at Silverstone) although it is
    on loan at the moment.
    
    I have seen it for sale (not sure which year) in Smiths in Newbury.
    
    Mark

    There is a company named "DUKE Marketinng" offering all sorts of
    motor sport videos. They have also the Pirelli Marathon from the
    past years. I do not have the address with me, if you want it send 
    me a mail. 
    
    Klaus
    

    
    Duke Marketing is owned & run by Geoff Duke. He stays faithful to his
    motor-cycling roots, & lives on the Isle of Man
    
    Mail to Duke Marketing, Douglas, Isle of Man will find them. Not a very
    big shop, but a decent-sized letter box!. They publish a big catalogue, 
    & thankfully their prices are coming down at last..... Often available 
    for rent at motoring accessory shops, video rental places etc
    
    Colin

    Just to bring the discussion back to something vaguely related to the
    base note...
    
    Even if you aren't impressed by Chris Goffey's (lack of) enthusiasm for
    the cars he tests (see Reply .9), he makes a great quizmaster!  My home
    village (Wheatley, near Oxford) is organising a week's worth of events
    to raise money to buy food for Africa.  Last night we held a quiz, and
    persuaded Chris to host the event.  (The organiser is a BBC producer
    and Chris has a lad at the local secondary school).  He did a great
    job - a nice combination of humour and control.  (And I say this in
    spite of the fact that my team didn't win.)
    
    Maybe when he moves on from Top Gear, he'll turn up on 'Every Second
    Busman's Holiday Is A Blockbuster' or some such...
    
    Ian
    
    ...or maybe Chris Cross Quiz??!!	

       Last nights was the last "Top Gear" until the  Autumn. I don't
       know what other people  think, but I reckon  it was the best 
       series I've seen. Jeremy Clarkeson and Tiff Needle are excellent
       presenters (IMHO),  and I have to admit I even quite like the
       slimey guy who reports on second-hand cars.

       Anyway talking of yesterday's programme, can someone tell me why
       Mussolini's Lancia was right-hand drive? 

       Ian (ex Morris Marina owner).

       P.S. Did they give the answer's to the competition? I'm over the
       dissapointment of not winning the �10,000,  but I'd like to know 
       if I got the answers right.

    
    Yeah, I enjoyed (on the whole) this series of Top Gear with Tiff and
    Clarkson being the highlights (although Quentin Slime's BMW plug left a 
    bad taste. I don't watch TV to get hard sell jammed down my ears! -
    This guy was _born_ to be a used car salesman).
    
    Sometimes Clarkson does seem to be playing it for laughs though, at the 
    expense of any real facts, but what the hell, it's enjoyable enough.
    
    Mark (Looking forward to the next series).

    Clarkson is OK, but still miles better than Wally Woolly ever was (IMO).
    
    
    Tiff is a hero.  He should be given his own programme, provided that
    they can find enough competition vehicles for him to 'play' in !
    
    
>>       Anyway talking of yesterday's programme, can someone tell me why
>>       Mussolini's Lancia was right-hand drive? 
    
    Haven't seen the programme yet (should be on tape), but I have read
    that at least one Alfa was made in r.h.d. as this gave the driver an
    advantage in positioning the car close to the edge of the road, in
    particular on Alpine passes under competition (so it said)...
    
    J.R.

    
    Could it be that the Lancia being right hand drive has anything
    to do with the driver then being next to the pavement enabling
    him to get out more easily and so get the back door open that much
    sooner for the esteemed rest seat passenger ??
    
    Just a thought
    
    R
    

    
    Anybody actually seen the advert that was being made and know what it
    was for?
    
    Chris
    

    
    It was for Renault France and a program about it's making was shown 
    (including the full advert) on Eurosport a while back.
    
    Mark

    
>>       Anyway talking of yesterday's programme, can someone tell me why
>>       Mussolini's Lancia was right-hand drive? 
    
    Perhaps he was planning to drive it over here... so unlucky !!
    
    :-)

       	Re .35

       Keef,

 �  I like yourself enjoyed this series better than ever before. There
 �  have been better road road test, reports on second hand cars etc. More
 �  my kind of motoring magazine.

       I agree, but I think the most important change has been the
       presenters. There was something about Willy Woollard, Frank Page
       and that woman from the Observer that got up my nose. I don't know
       what it was, but the current bunch are much better. Humourous without
       being condescending.

 �    Mussolini's Lancia? Now here's why it was right hand drive. This one was
 �    planned for the UK.
    
	So .34 was right then!

 �    You don't have any shame, telling everyone you used to own a Marina.
 �    Your street cred has hit the fan. 
    
	I'm not ashamed. I've driven worse cars than the Marina.
               No I haven't! 

       Ian.    

       BTW. What was the point of Hitler's car having one inch thick
       glass; bullet proof bodywork; a bomb proof floor - and a canvas
       roof?!!