Another sign of getting old !!!

[Centrepin]

4 hours ago, serrac said:

Neither manual or auto after 2030 if the net-zero no internal combustion engine madness prevails

I'm getting prepared by self inflating my own gas balloon by eating lots of veg as we're definitely going backwards.

WW II cars

Cars preparing for 2030

 

[mel b3]

On 07/09/2022 at 18:15, Walker570 said:

I have only done it once, that is driven a car with hands only. My crew member decided to arrest a driver for drunk in charge...he was legless(no pun intended) and I had the job of driving his car back to the police station.  How I made it I don't know ....I still have nightmares

In my previous life as a mechanic , I used to fit hand controls , for disabled drivers .  The test drive after installing a set of controls was always interesting,  because it just feels so unnatural . I remember fitting a set to a 2.8injection Ford capri , and fully expecting that I might die on the test drive 😄.

[mel b3]

On 08/09/2022 at 11:39, Centrepin said:

Eventually all vehicles will be auto with manual as a more expensive option.

I passed all 3 of my tests in crash boxes, Car, HGV & PSV. I've also taught driving in cars privately and professionally to HGV Class 1 standard.

For maybe 40 years or more buses have all been auto and coaches a mix or semi auto. In the last maybe 10 years all HGV & PSV (now LGV & PCV) have been auto. I'm mostly out of date now but my son informs me (he owns 18 lorries) that manual is unavailable in most makes and the few that offer it, it's just not financially viable anymore.

As cars follow the trends of larger vehicles it'll not be long before you're unable to purchase a new vehicle with manual transmission. 

...talking of new trends...take a quick look at the new Volvo lorries. Rear view mirrors are no longer standard fit. It's all by camera now. Of course you'd never notice or not if buses had them as it's mandatory not to use them.

I'm definitely out of touch with the reality of HGV 1 driving after only 4 years 10 months retirement, I can't imagine what's going to happen in the next 5 or 10 and to be honest I'm glad I'm out of it. Even cars with all the electronic trickery confuses the hell out of me now. Gone are the days when "almost" everything could be fixed at the road side with a few spanners, a screwdriver and the ubiquitous big hammer.

Most of our hgv at work are auto . They're so much nicer to drive , and I feel myself sulking when I have to drive a manual truck now 😁.

Trucks have changed massively over the last few years . You don't even need to get out of the cab to check your oil and water now .

[London Best]

3 hours ago, mel b3 said:

You don't even need to get out of the cab to check your oil and water now .

Pre-war Rover cars from the 1930’s had that feature for the oil level. 
When I was a kid my Dad had a succession of old pre-war Rovers in which I was taught to drive on a disused airfield, aged about ten.

[Westley]

5 hours ago, mel b3 said:

In my previous life as a mechanic , I used to fit hand controls , for disabled drivers .  The test drive after installing a set of controls was always interesting,  because it just feels so unnatural . I remember fitting a set to a 2.8injection Ford capri , and fully expecting that I might die on the test drive 😄.

I ALWAYS felt like I would die driving one of those things, they were horrible. Now the RS2000, well THAT was something  !

[mel b3]

2 hours ago, Westley said:

I ALWAYS felt like I would die driving one of those things, they were horrible. Now the RS2000, well THAT was something  !

I absolutely loved the Ford capri . I must have had a dozen of them . You're right though , they were awful 😖.  I also had a couple of rs2000s, back in the days when they were a relatively cheap fast car . They were very good cars (especially compared to the capri) . I have pretty much zero interest in cars these days ( other than using them as a tool) , but , if I had money to waste , I'd either waste it on a rs2000 , or an old 911.

[Westley]

5 minutes ago, mel b3 said:

I absolutely loved the Ford capri . I must have had a dozen of them . You're right though , they were awful 😖.  I also had a couple of rs2000s, back in the days when they were a relatively cheap fast car . They were very good cars (especially compared to the capri) . I have pretty much zero interest in cars these days ( other than using them as a tool) , but , if I had money to waste , I'd either waste it on a rs2000 , or an old 911.

We had both on one of the many driving courses I went on. Just never felt in control of the Capri, but the RS was a dream, especially at speed on winding roads. The Capri was great on motorways and dual carriageways, but a pig anywhere else.  Ah yes, those were the days  !

[mel b3]

4 minutes ago, Westley said:

We had both on one of the many driving courses I went on. Just never felt in control of the Capri, but the RS was a dream, especially at speed on winding roads. The Capri was great on motorways and dual carriageways, but a pig anywhere else.  Ah yes, those were the days  !

I had a long love affair with the Ford capri , but it drove more like a boat than a car . It was just a Ford cortina , that looked cool 😎. 

[Westley]

Just now, mel b3 said:

I had a long love affair with the Ford capri , but it drove more like a boat than a car . It was just a Ford cortina , that looked cool 😎. 

I nearly drove a Capri "like a boat" once. I almost lost control on a bend on the approach to the old Runcorn bridge, over the river Mersey !   🙄

[mel b3]

Just now, Westley said:

I nearly drove a Capri "like a boat" once. I almost lost control on a bend on the approach to the old Runcorn bridge, over the river Mersey !   🙄

That " interesting" handling , was all part of the capris charm 😄.

[Westley]

2 minutes ago, mel b3 said:

That " interesting" handling , was all part of the capris charm 😄.

And a good line in underwear  !   🤣

I wondered why all the driving Instructors wore.........Brown Trousers  !

[London Best]

I think you gentlemen may actually be referring to the Ford Crapi.

[Centrepin]

5 hours ago, London Best said:

Pre-war Rover cars from the 1930’s had that feature for the oil level. 
When I was a kid my Dad had a succession of old pre-war Rovers in which I was taught to drive on a disused airfield, aged about ten.

I've had lots of old Land Rovers with that feature. As you get in, if there's no oil patch underneath it needs topping up.

[JKD]

Well, when I put up this thread I never dreamt that it would veer so far off course 🤔😆 I did expect some other people's experiences of a similar theme 🙈🤣

 

[London Best]

25 minutes ago, Centrepin said:

I've had lots of old Land Rovers with that feature. As you get in, if there's no oil patch underneath it needs topping up.

I have had nothing but Land Rovers since 1976. The only oil leak was leaking when I bought one of the 1950 series ones I had. But it only leaked for one day, because I won’t tolerate an oil leak.

The pre-war cars had a push button which registered oil level on the fuel gauge.