oldgregg

All of it is based on code that people - very clever people, but people nonetheless - have written, and the engine has been trained on content from the web. That's the bit that joe public don't get. It has taken decades to get AI to where it is now and it will become more self aware but basically it's learning how to ingest information, apply it to a particular scenario and learn from that to build its knowledge. Which is what we do really...

And still wearing her Broads reg number, as often seems to be the case....

Indeed. I was talking to our marketing team about it the other day and they think it's great for getting a first draft sorted. It needs the human touch to polish, but saves a lot of time getting to that stage.

No, indeed, and that kind of knowledge isn't going to be ready anytime soon. The media are massively overstating the impact of it for now, but it will get better. All it's really doing is scouring a snapshot of the internet and making sense of different articles about a topic and coming up with a view based on those disparate sources. Where it's at currently is a public beta - They've spent years training the AI and now they're getting feedback from real-world users which will help refine the tech. I don't think it'll steal anyone's job just yet, but it's being plugged into the internet and it will get smarter.

Yeah I think a single 55hp BMC in one of those would not be great.

That would be a salesman answer, certainly. But it's standard on the new Honda Civic (which has almost identical power/performance specs to a 320i). It's standard on an Octavia VRS, Toyota Corolla and various other cars.... Why the justification to charge extra? It's not like their system is any different - All manufacturers are just buying the same system from Bosch etc. I ran a Honda CR-V for three months over the winter and that had adaptive cruise and it's brilliant.

It was an expensive option. But then isn't everything on a BMW. I was amused recently when Inchcape told me that adaptive cruise control is a £2000 option on the G20/G21 and that their demonstrators don't even have it. The salesman didn't really know what to say when I mentioned that even a Toyota Yaris has it as standard kit.

Pre-LCI G20 / G21 3 series..... Could also be a 4 series I guess.

I think there's a point where it's not necessary, certainly. Having decent mid-range pull is much more pleasant if you do a lot of motorway miles, but a 0-60 of 8 seconds or so is mostly adequate. Below 5 seconds I don't think is probably necessary in reality, and I did hear the EU is considering introducing legislation around it. Does anyone need a Tesla with a 0-60 of below 2 seconds? Of course they don't, but if such a thing is on sale then you can guarantee people will buy them.

That's not what the brand is for. They're essentially a budget Renault, hence the bodyshells are based on previous-generation Clios. All of the development costs for the platform, crash structures etc have been amortised during the main model run and a budget brand is a great way of giving those platforms a second life to earn from them and help reduce development costs further. As an example, Dacia use the same door panels for most of their cars to minimise the cost of tooling. It won't ever be a mid-range marque because Renault already has their own brand for that. Dacia is for people that see a car as a household appliance, a means to get from A to B. Those people don't care that it's the previous gen Clio in a dress, or that the production accountants have been busy reducing costs by removing features, sound deadening etc. Hyundai / Kia are very different in that they are the main brands for that manufacturer. They do have others but those are their main focus and so they want them to be aspirational.

I hear they're fitting them with radios and electric windows now too.

I'd argue that what you want is less weight rather than more power. Look at the Lotus Elise - They used to come with a 1.6 litre engine with 134hp, but they weighed less than a ton so reached 60 in 6 seconds and cornered like they were on rails. Didn't even have power steering and didn't need it. The steering actually feels light. Try one with a bigger engine and you'd run out of talent long before you ran out of power.

Instead of CD's in a changer magazine, you have mp3 files (in folders) on a USB stick. It allows you to have more than just 6 'discs' and as there aren't any moving parts they're more reliable. You can't get them for all systems but this is the sort of thing.... https://www.xcarlink.co.uk/bmw-usb-sd-interface-business-radio-or-navigation-with-text-display-and-plug-and-play-harness-new.html

And they're usually cheaper in the summer when fewer people want boilers.....

If the car has a CD changer then you can sometimes get a 'changer emulator' which plugs into the standard loom and allows you to play back tunes from a USB stick / SD card, which you can control from the stock head unit so the facia still looks original. I've not had a car with a changer for years (and even then I had to fit it) but the emulators seem like quite a neat solution.

I'm guessing that's a floor-standing model? Those things last forever and as you say there's so little to go wrong.

Definitely! All of these points are very valid.

I think it's a strategic shift away from the larger 'stag' boats, as many yards have also done. It's a bit of a shame as there were quite a few boats that I'd have liked to hire with the group of mates I go boating with every September, but ultimately they're a business and the platinum fleet is very popular.

That's a bit of a shock. Just seen it on FB and came here to see this thread. As someone who has been involved with the forum for more years than I care to remember and very heavily involved in the day to day running a while back, I knew Alan reasonably well. We've met up a few times on the Broads and he was a really solid and genuine guy and a great help to me in my time at the helm of the forum. I think of him as wise and experienced and someone who didn't seek the limelight, but who was just willing to get stuck in and get on with it. RIP Alan, you'll be missed.

I think that's why it's not being adopted more widely. If we start generating enough power to be self-sufficient then why would we need so many energy companies.... So they'll be busy lobbying the government about whatever downside they've invented.

It really is. And we're still building houses with a traditional pitched roof when there are other designs that allow for more solar panels to be installed. Some of those designs look a bit weird, but they're not uncommon in other countries and I think people would get used to them pretty quickly if that's what all newbuilds were like and if their energy costs were next to nothing. Heatpumps, solar etc are great if done right but many of the pilot schemes are trying to do them in the wrong way and not investing sufficiently in the right technology (mainly because they're specced as cheaply as possible as a gimmick to fool planners). If we crack this then we don't need to build nuclear power stations in the future, and new housing developments won't be the massive drain on infrastructure that they currently are.

Can you imagine what insurance group a car covered with solar panels would be? It would get written off if you looked at it funny . But the main reason is that if you did (and the Lightyear Zero is the car being referred to) then it would add probably 5-10 miles a day in the British summer sun.... Great for a car being used locally I guess if you don't mind the pricetag. I have seen the Lightyear in person and it's massive and not very practical. Better to have a useful load of solar (not just the token amount that 'eco' houses have) with battery storage on every new home, office and factory and use that power. Why that hasn't been mandated by the government I really don't know. Over a generation or two it would pretty much solve our energy problems. But when the likes of Persimmon only make an average of £60K profit on every new home, then how could they possibly afford to do it .

But can he charge at Gridserve at Broadland Gate on the way to the wetshed and then top up on his way home? And if he charges the car at home before leaving will the overall return journey cost less than it would for me to do it in my petrol car?

I don't disagree. What I do disagree with is all of the stories we keep hearing about "oh what if it rains" or "what if it's cold" or "what if the owner drives it through a ford" and all of these stories that some people seem to actually believe. Let's be honest, lots of people can't even work out how to keep batteries on a boat (or an ICE car) in good condition. Yes, cold is not the friend of any battery technology really. But can a Tesla work well in a cold environment? Yes it can, which is why they sell in decent numbers to the scandinavians. Our winters are ridiculously mild in comparison. No the infrastructure and battery technology isn't ready yet and you won't see me trading the ICE car in any time soon, but are EV's doomed because it snows on the M62 occasionally? No not really.

Must be true then.... I won't be buying an EV any time soon, but they aren't as hopeless as some would have you believe. Cheap ones are rubbish but Tesla etc are pretty good at what they do.