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Automobiles : Good,Bad & the Ugly.

LOG

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Loads of ads on TV from claims company’s about a class action against Mercedes who have been caught out fiddling the emissions figure on Diesel vehicles.
I’m not convinced the majority of motorists who purchase or lease a car look at the emission data.

The cost that I looked at was the RFL(yearly car tax) that was more a gauge of emissions that you could see in pound notes(of course this has been proved to be false in the case of diesel vehicles)

Anyone thinking of trying to get a few quid out of the German motoring giants in a class action.
My old Audi was one affected by their own emissions cover up. I was contacted by Audi and some nice men from the local dealership picked it up, did whatever they did and delivered it back with a posh car care kit.

I'd looked at the class action papers that were around at the time and found them to be a little vague when it came to who was liable for costs if the action failed. I didn't really have any interest in taking part anyway and the resale value wasn't affected by it so i didn't see any reason why i should be compensated. It was all a bit ambulance chaser for me.
 

Greyhound

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I used to set the dies in Swindon's Austin-Rover plant and can inform you that 214/216 used zintec steel that cut down corrosion. Manufactures weren't always keen on zinc coated metal as they received less money from scrap merchant for the off-cuts.
My Rover's bodywork has been pretty good. Needed some repair work on a rear wheel arch a few years ago, but otherwise just a few bits and pieces along the sills.

Probably shouldn't use the word "sills" on a civilised website. Might get me infraction points, or even a ban.
 

Colesman Ballz

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Probably shouldn't use the word "sills" on a civilised website. Might get me infraction points, or even a ban.
I think that infraction points were dumped into the obit thread recently so just bans to dodge !
 

Snakebite

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Loads of ads on TV from claims company’s about a class action against Mercedes who have been caught out fiddling the emissions figure on Diesel vehicles.
I’m not convinced the majority of motorists who purchase or lease a car look at the emission data.

The cost that I looked at was the RFL(yearly car tax) that was more a gauge of emissions that you could see in pound notes(of course this has been proved to be false in the case of diesel vehicles)

Anyone thinking of trying to get a few quid out of the German motoring giants in a class action.
I believe it's a bit of an opportunisitic 'scam' (for want of a better word) as far as I'm aware there's been no real accusation or problem found with Mercedes engines, (nor Nissan/Renault who also have similar adverts against them).
 

Snakebite

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Has anyone thought about buying a electric car or plug in electric/petrol car ?
Or who has one already ?

I would imagine the looming economic Armageddon is going to put the roll out of infrastructure for electric vehicles back a bit.

I have a self charging petrol hybrid which is great in slow moving traffic just running on battery but of course is limited over a prolonged period.
The smart bit of the technology is when braking the heat from the brake pads is converted into battery energy.
At the risk of stalking you Olds...

I've driven them a lot through work, in fact outside my office window I can see >25 right now (design office for an OEM) although I've not yet taken the plunge with actually getting one.
Lovely to drive with the flat torque curve (you probably see it with your hybrid) but for me it's only the range that still puts me off a bit.

When it was company car changeover time recently I worked out the difference in cost between a petrol car and battery EV considering the miles I do commuting.
The cost difference was negligible but the deciding factor for me was the range availability to drive to Devon to visit the family without charging and the frequent business trips we make to Sunderland/Paris by car which wouldn't be easily possible.

I suspect it won't be long before we get one though.
 

DB9

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Hampshire. Heart's in N Devon
I believe it's a bit of an opportunisitic 'scam' (for want of a better word) as far as I'm aware there's been no real accusation or problem found with Mercedes engines, (nor Nissan/Renault who also have similar adverts against them).
Nissan/Renault did supply Mercedes with engines for some of their ranges, Maybe why they have similar adverts?
 

Oldsmobile-88

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In RaWZ we trust....Amen.
Lovely to drive with the flat torque curve (you probably see it with your hybrid) but for me it's only the range that still puts me off a bit.
It is a great drive(Lexus GS) Really smooth between battery & engine start up,don’t really notice the transition...I often forget to push the button to switch the car ‘off’ when I park up,because my brain is accustomed to hearing a engine after 40 years of driving..Luckily the chime when I open the car door reminds me ! 😁
 

Stuffy

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Swindon
I believe it's a bit of an opportunisitic 'scam' (for want of a better word) as far as I'm aware there's been no real accusation or problem found with Mercedes engines, (nor Nissan/Renault who also have similar adverts against them).
And yet it's almost like a cartel. My link ( for what it's worth) not only gives gives you some idea who might have been sat around the table but the fines meted by the US Courts and what it has so far cost the VW Group ($33.3bn). As for Brussels, did they protect EU citizens and hit these same manufacturers hit with similar sky-high cash penalties or did they get the soft option of merely rectifying their customers vehicles???

 

Stuffy

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Swindon
British Leyland at its worst..No wonder the Japs cleaned up.

I remember at work there was talk of trying to help the ailing British car industry(this would have been the early 1980s) from other successful nationalised industrys employees in the form of loans at a reasonable interest rate to buy from BL...Someone shouted out.
“could we buy a Datsun instead,if we took the loan”
😁😁
And yet when Honda came on board with Austin-Rover things began to look good - the Honda Concerto was built in Longbridge on the same production line as the Rover 400. However, stormclouds were on the horizon as Thatcher had given A-R to British Aerospace with the proviso they couldn't sell it on for five years. As the fifth year approached the workforce got nervous despite on BA's Irish born boss saying we figuered "long term in their plans." The next thing we knew we had been sold to BMW and our new German boss threw the spanner in the works by pulling the plug on the Metro even though it's sales were still good and delaying the launch of the MGF because it clashed with the launch of BMW Z4. After that it was all downhill as the Mini was being sold below cost price and "Red Robbo" the commie convener was forever taking the Longbridge workers out on strike which meant the Swindon got layed-off because our "skin panels" would have to be stored in hired warehouses that invariably led to rust. Swindon briefly had problems with six left-wing agitators who came down from a 'certain' Oxford college looking for jobs but word got out that they were coming and they were quickly shown the door.
 

Greyhound

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the Honda Concerto was built in Longbridge on the same production line as the Rover 400.
Could Honda parts be used on the Rover 200/400 models to any extent, Stuffers? Can be difficult getting Rover parts these days.
 
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