New car sales and features.

[frank rabbets]

I see new car sales are very down. eg VW have closed 2 factories. What the hell is going on? Are people frightened of buying ICE cars and are they put off by the complexity and cost of repairing those ICE available? I see Ford and Toyota Landcruisers in USA are in big trouble with unreliable engines. What do I need over what my 80 offers. Just a reversing camera which I fitted. I've just watched a utube video about the 2024 USA Toyota Tacoma. What a nightmare of features. You could never drive safely and browse the menus.

 

[Towpack]

This is not just affecting car sales. Several large bike dealerships have gone under in the last few months due to slow sales of new machines. I bought a new Triumph in March from Pidcock's, Long Eaton, a long standing family dealership selling Triumph, Ducati and BMW bikes and they went under a few weeks ago.
The general increase in the cost of living with rising energy prices etc must be playing a part but the uncertain future of ICE vehicles with the drive to electric, increasing LEZ zones, potential rises in vehicle and fuel tax to "help" people make the "right decision must be putting a lot of people off forking out £££££ for a new ICE vehicle, especially if they don't like/want/trust EV's or don't have access to suitable charging facilities.

 

[Shayne]

Microsoft pioneered global contempt for the end user , its a business model set to fail when the individual end user must fork out 10's of thousands for something they have no real want for .

 

[Juddian]

Too expensive, too complicated, too nannying, not reliable or cost effective long term, they all look the same bloody awful, just the fairy lights alone which are too camp by far put me off.

Only bought one new vehicle in my life, a Hilux in 2007, that, like the present 2005 regd 120 series, had and did everything i or the good lady could ever want.
Course it would be nice to have better economy but the roads are hell out there, there's no pleasure to be had from going anywhere after 4am any more as the country fills up with people and morphs into somewhere i no longer recognise, so where would i go in my overpriced nannying machine as i'm fighting the steering as it corrects my lane positioning for me or bongs cos i'm doing 41 in a 40 or slams the anchors on because it thought it saw something, no sorry not interested.
Buggered if i'm doing as i'm told by some sleazy politician or its owners or its mates in the media to comply with their latest wheeze, wouldn't want to be in the same room as some smarmy saleman, i'm not having a new vehicle of whatever drive train, none of them make anything i'd give you a thankyou for any more so why the hell should i blow anything from £30k upwards of my own hard earned dosh for something i'd detest.

Euro factories will be down, pick a fight with and endorse sanctions against Russia who has some of the largest energy reserves in the world, and these brainboxes hadn't the common sense to realise that (helped along by lunatics operating the climate scam) that energy costs were going to triple...hows that war working out by the way, Boris parachuting in to rally the troops on behalf of two tier kier?
Meanwhile, we shut our last coal power station whilst we sit on hundreds of years of the raw material, and our leaders and betters tell us we'll be an economic and manufacturing powerhouse via a field of solar panels (no food mind) during a British winter and some bird choppers which for many winter days are becalmed anyway, well done Claude have a knighthood.

If Volvo still made the 940 estate with the 2.4 6 pot turbo VW LT van engine unchanged from the 90's i'd buy one tomorrow.

Sorry about the rant, the whole bloody world has gone stark raving mad, we appear to be market leaders in that.

 

[chapel gate]

Now that sir, is a good rant!

 

[Towpack]

I've bought numerous new bikes over the years but never a new car. The youngest car I ever bought was my first, a 1975 Capri 3L GT in 1978. The 2nd youngest is the 80 I have now along with a 1973 XJ12 in 1980. The massive first year depreciation on most cars has always put me off but new EV's seem to be hit more than ICE cars nowadays thanks, I suspect to the limited lifespan of their batteries which ain't cheap! Does anyone really think the owners of ICE vehicles are going to be allowed to hang on to them indefinitely?. Sooner or later we're going to get hit where it hurts with big increases in taxes, running costs and even fines and use restrictions so enjoy them while you can!

 

[LandcruisingFarmer]

I’m sure some of you have seen this but it was sent to me the other day.

 

[Shayne]

EV's can't go in the crusher either so who pays to dispose of them ?

 

[chapel gate]

I've bought numerous new bikes over the years but never a new car. The youngest car I ever bought was my first, a 1975 Capri 3L GT in 1978. The 2nd youngest is the 80 I have now along with a 1973 XJ12 in 1980. The massive first year depreciation on most cars has always put me off but new EV's seem to be hit more than ICE cars nowadays thanks, I suspect to the limited lifespan of their batteries which ain't cheap! Does anyone really think the owners of ICE vehicles are going to be allowed to hang on to them indefinitely?. Sooner or later we're going to get hit where it hurts with big increases in taxes, running costs and even fines and use restrictions so enjoy them while you can!

i hear you TP, and im not adverse to change, but there are three kinds of change to me. good change, bad change and change for the sake of change.

on the whole progress is through evolution. people didnt need to be persuaded to move on from horse and cart to petrol driven cars or steam power. it came about through evolution as it was a better technology.
lithium is clearly becoming the new black gold, but how sustainable is this?

as long as agriculture and HGVs rely on diesel i have no worries about fueling my 80. plus the 80 is capable of running on alternative fuels.

 

[karl2000]

You'll be able to fill it and make it move but I bet they'll tax us all off the road in the end (eg Glasgow LEZ)

 

[chapel gate]

You'll be able to fill it and make it move but I bet they'll tax us all off the road in the end (eg Glasgow LEZ)

im honestly convinced that non of this will actually work out how the government wants it to.

 

[LandcruisingFarmer]

Apparently my 80 which was an import years ago, is ok to go into the LEZ zones up here which seems crackers. That’s according to the number plate check system for the areas. Virtually never going now anyway so it doesn’t really matter but amusing none the less.

 

[frank rabbets]

Then when you've bought your shiny new car you are treated badly by the main dealer. VW Stourbridge are beyond words having told me a pack of lies about faults on my new Golf. And I was working on cars aged 14 long before any of the techs had been born. In the end I went to reception and asked which was the managers office. She said "you'll have to make an appointment" so I walked straight into his office, slammed the door behind me, and sat down. After another pack of lies I asked for £200 to settle the matter. Never seen £200 appear so quickly before. Not good to know too much about cars. Best to be ripped off without knowing it. Makes my blood boil.

 

[Towpack]

Aston Martin are trying to raise funds after a big profit drop and blimey, looks like KTM are on the verge! We're all doomed!

KTM

Doomed

 

[chapel gate]

Aston Martin are trying to raise funds after a big profit drop and blimey, looks like KTM are on the verge! We're all doomed!

KTM

Doomed

Vauxhall as well.

 

[frank rabbets]

Parts prices as well!! My friends son has an old Aston Martin Vanquish. Failed MOT for a faulty rear tail light. £3,100 + VAT not fitted. Dread to think what a current model price would be.

 

[Bob]

We've had a loan car from the main dealer while Mrs Bob's car is getting warranty work done. They gave us a 6 week old Peugeot 3008 hybrid.. I took it to work today..

I'm driving the cruiser tomorrow just to get that other thing out of my system..

Now I'm not a complete luddite... I manage 940 ipads in a school, run digital effects for shows part time, and I like my Android Auto in the Rav4 I drive daily. But that Pug is just ridiculous.. no physical buttons, touchscreen that is 2 feet wide.. menus to change anything.. computer interferes with Lane assist and auto braking, which on rural roads in Ireland with no white lines was an interesting experience.. it was all just too much.. tech advances can make some things really good, but driving is a tactile experience, and needs minimal distraction.. Using the phone is banned, but here, use this multi layered and hard to read touch display to put the fecking fan down 2 notches...

I'll be back with levers and buttons tomorrow. Hallelujah

 

[chapel gate]

the problem with all of these driver aides is its very hard to go back once you rely on them.

a bit like soft close toilet seats..

 

[Bob]

I'll give you the toilet seats. At least they're not connected to the flippin WiFi... yet....

 

[Shayne]

im honestly convinced that non of this will actually work out how the government wants it to.

Trouble is it doesn't matter to them in 5 years they can retire set for life with all the backhanders and money laundering facilitated by the billions supposedly spent on windmills that don't work .

Government is subsidizing the motor industry , Government bails out banks , we are taxed to support private sector profit , profit milked from the masses .