oldgregg

This really winds me up... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47845971 Fiat Chrysler are basically pretending to be a sister company to Tesla in order to bring their average CO2 rating down and avoid the huge fines - Obviously Teslas have no tailpipe emissions (or a tailpipe) so it's a good wheeze. How it's legal I have no idea.

It seems to have worked for the Conservation Centre in Ranworth... I'm sure someone will say actually no that's a nightmare and is forever about to sink, but it does seem a good idea.

I do like them a lot... But I don't have the ability to rebuild the engine when the apex seals go like you do!

I think the best Toyotas had a fair amount of help with the handling from a certain outfit not too far from here.... But yes the Z4 had become something that fat old men could fit in, rather than a sports car.

At least it's an option - I don't think Audi have it on the list?

Yeah it does a bit. Talking about BMW... Anyone seen the new Z4? Co-developed with Toyota and will also essentially be sold as the new Supra. I can't find it now but there was an interesting video floating about a few weeks back where they were showing how Toyota does durability testing on components in their labs - There were quite a lot of BMW-designed engine components which failed testing and had to be improved so I think this will be a really good collaboration. A BMW built like german cars used to be, potentially! Hopefully they didn't let Toyota do the handling.

Yup, built at Hethel. It's an Astra GSI lump in the Turbo, which was a lot more powerful and eventually more reliable than the 2.2's which have some funny issues. Not the lightest engine ever but the car was so light it didn't matter. Only problem with it was the cooling, which they didn't uprate properly and so the Turbo version had a tendency to burst the coolant system if it had been used enthusiastically (and believe me you would want to). When the VXR220 came along it had a bit more power and that's the thing they talked about.... But actually the coolant system had been sorted quietly as well and so that's the one to buy. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

The Toyota recall was hardly a fundamental system design fault - It was a manufacturing issue. And as usual they're sorting them without fleecing owners. But I concede that hybrids are mostly dull and I don't personally have one, in fact I also have a Honda. Me too, beautiful car.... Best car I've ever driven was a VX220 Turbo. Basically a Lotus Elise but with some power. Unbelievably agile handling, and sub five second 0-60. Biggest problem was changing gear quickly enough.

Have you looked at how the Kia / Hyundai system works? It's not quite as bad as the VW group implementation, but it also uses a DCT (VW group did not invent DSG, Borg Warner did) and is neither elegant or reliable. The only advantage to their system is that it simulates old fashioned gearchanges better. That's not really a plus, it's just for people that can't embrace change. Journalists would have no idea about what makes a well-engineered hybrid system, let's be honest. All they ever seem good at is talking about "high quality plastics" like they have any idea about material science.

This is a big deal https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47799998 Some other manufacturers are currently making very bad hybrids (especially a certain german brand) because of Toyota's foresight in patenting the best way of doing things a long time ago.

It does look like there's not a huge amount of space generally, yeah.

For a Woods build she looks pretty smart actually. Looks like there's a lot of fittings out of the Broom parts bin, although clearly a much more hire-focussed fitout.

I think it is, yeah. The Japanese know how to build cars that don't rust, but if you remember the original pitch to Mazda management for the MX-5 was that a car could be built for a third less than a 323 and sold for a third more then it sort of makes sense.

Yeah indeed - There aren't many mk1's around with the panels they left Hiroshima with! Or mk2's...... Or early Mk3's.... Best to paint the underside and check the drainage channels regularly.

But that's the point - On a boat like Commodore you can see what is there very clearly and that's not quite the case on Broadsman, for example. The extra couple of feet makes a huge difference. Height-wise you're effectively stood on top of the rear coachroof of a tall centre-cockpit boat. I do agree, though, a centre-cockpit is the best all-rounder for the system.

One thing I would add to that is that when you go through the 'dreaded stretch' between Stokesby and Yarmouth it is noticeable how much more you see on a high-level dual steer than even some centre-cockpit boats (and obviously bathtubs, therefore) and it really does make the landscape considerably more interesting. The other benefit is that because you can see for such a long way ahead it makes taking the 'racing line' on corners just something that you do and so even at a sensible speed (before anyone picks me up on that!) you make better progress.

That's a bit harsh? It genuinely is a thing and I think the OP is basically asking why is it that newer Broads boaters have become scared of Breydon. He's not saying they're wimps - More that a number of factors have made people wary of it and exploring why that is.

Yeah they really are and DJI drones particularly are incredibly smooth. It's mad really. 20 years ago I was shooting on VHS shouldercams and editing on a pair of VHS decks, and today I have a camera in my pocket which shoots footage that broadcasters could only dream of even 10 years ago and can edit on an app. And we can buy a flying camera for a few hundred pounds.. Or about the cost of hiring a helicopter camera crew for the day back in the 90's.

I think also some yards do discourage it in order to stop less experienced hirers from sticking it in the mud. When I hired last year the handover guy asked us what our plans were for the week. We said that we'd find somewhere quiet on the first night and then head down south for the rest of the week. The response was something like "Ooh I wouldn't mate, there's strong tides down there and you have to be really careful, more hassle than it's worth" etc etc. We pretended to have been discouraged and then were at Oulton Broad the following evening as planned, but I do think it will put newer hirers off. I was speaking to a (distant) family member last year about it as he'd been on the broads a few times both North and South, having hired from NBD and Silverline and he said that he was reasonably confident but went on to say that "the one thing I'd never do is go across Breydon, sounds too risky". I just think that's a shame as like Paul says, you use the tide tables and then keep within the posts. There must be a lot of northern hirers that don't get to see the south and that seems a pity as it's (arguably) the nicer part.

I think if done well they do enhance a film. Having the camera 15-20ft above ground level adds a perspective to filmmaking that you just can't get from a camera mounted on a tripod at ground level. Also, because drones open aerial photography up to anyone and because they can be flown in places where helicopters can't it does result in footage you wouldn't otherwise see and some of it can be amazing. But yeah, it's possible to overdo it and drone footage generally needs to be cut in with other footage in order to make an interesting film.

Yeah the one I looked at was 2010. I don't fit in them either.... S2000 is a bit more spacious (relatively) although the price tends to reflect how good they are. Just don't buy an RX-7 or RX-8!

I think that's one of the reasons the MX-5 is so popular actually - There are no roof electrics to go wrong (apart from the folding hardtop version obviously) and the engines are Japanese so other than a bit of rust the cars are fairly painless to own.

https://www.dronsfields.com/

Agreed. Old Mercedes' (well... old but post 1997) are notorious for electronics problems and because they tend to use a lot of proprietary components things can get expensive.

Cars are being packaged with LED lighting in mind and have been for a few years - Unfortunately the short term drawback is that early production and lower-spec models have halogen lighting and so there has to be a (clumsy) workaround for changing bulbs.