Car (or bike) Chat!

[Marco]

She says, sounds like naughty unky needs some ice put on them, to reduce the swelling!

Marco.

[struth]

[walpurgis]

Where did all the Vauxhall Belmonts disappear to?

Okay, there were never that many around, but they've all but vanished now. Apparently there are 40 left on the road in the UK. I quite liked them as a basic everyday runabout.

What other previously common cars are now nearly gone or disappeared altogether? Bet nobody's seen an Ital for a while.

[struth]

Where did all the Vauxhall Belmonts disappear to?

Okay, there were never that many around, but they've all but vanished now. Apparently there are 40 left on the road in the UK. I quite liked them as a basic everyday runabout.

What other previously common cars are now nearly gone or disappeared altogether? Bet nobody's seen an Ital for a while.

only 23 left on the road here... it had the distinction of being the most stolen model in britain(it was only sold here) with 1 in 10 being nicked at some point.

[struth]

dropsnoot firenza's are pretty rare too

[dave2010]

I red a review of a Tesla a few years back now where the reviewer decided to use it for his annual family holiday to the south of France - which he usually did in his ICE car (think it was a Jag).

Upshot was it took 12 hours more to make the trip because of all the recharging stops. Added to which although the fuel bill was less he ended up spending more because at each hour long recharge stop they would be spending money in the services whilst sat about waiting.

In the Jag he would just pull in, fill up, and off again, no additional expenses since the rest of the family didn't even get out of the car.

I guess motorway service station owners will love them though.

Depends where you want to to on holiday. Many people seem to prefer flying these days. I wish that car hire companies would start offering decent EVs at holiday destinations - and at reasonable prices.
Going from a fairly decent car to a c**ppy little car with stick shift to drive on foreign roads is not something I enjoy - though there are merits in having small cars - for example in the south of Italy where large cars might get stuck between stone walls.

Re long distance holidays - this web site might give an idea of charging and drive times - https://abetterrouteplanner.com/

I tried it with destinations of Bari and Gibraltar, and indeed in the case of Gibraltar the charge time was around 5 hours (one way) so would be 10+ hours there and back. However the distance is over 2000 miles and most of the time taken is still driving time.
I don't know what kinds of car people would use for long distance family holidays nowadays. We have used a van (VW) and a Volvo estate, as well as some really small cars. Arguably the Volvo was the best. I'm just not sure that many people want to drive long distances on holiday any more.

Trying to justify car purchase for one or two holidays a year doesn't really make sense - for most sane people. I don't think I'd want to take a Tesla to the south of France anyway - though the only time we had a problem with a car being broken into and things stolen was in France on a trip to Italy. Oddly the thieves took a bag of clothes, but didn't take some of the more valuable stuff.

[Macca]

I think a lot of people still use their car to go abroad - I know a fair few.

Plenty of people will not get on a plane under any circumstances, and some will not get on a boat either.

If you've used your car to go on holiday every year for decades then I think it would certainly be a consideration when buying a new one. People want their cars to do everything they require since that is what they have become used to over decades. It requires the EVs to improve, not for people to settle for less.

[struth]

I think a lot of people still use their car to go abroad - I know a fair few.

Plenty of people will not get on a plane under any circumstances, and some will not get on a boat either.

If you've used your car to go on holiday every year for decades then I think it would certainly be a consideration when buying a new one. People want their cars to do everything they require since that is what they have become used to over decades. It requires the EVs to improve, not for people to settle for less.

they reckon 5 million cars will cross channel this holiday year; a bit more than normal

[Pigmy Pony]

I think a lot of people still use their car to go abroad - I know a fair few.

Plenty of people will not get on a plane under any circumstances, and some will not get on a boat either.

If you've used your car to go on holiday every year for decades then I think it would certainly be a consideration when buying a new one. People want their cars to do everything they require since that is what they have become used to over decades. It requires the EVs to improve, not for people to settle for less.

I suppose using the Eurotunnel will give better protection from Covid, but we always preferred the ferry - it gave a little driving break to the journey, and more interesting than watching a tunnel wall rushing past.

We once took the bikes through Spain and Andorra, and got over there via a ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbau. Took 2 days, but it was bit like a mini-cruise, with cabaret, bingo and cinema (we watched Tarantino's "Sin City").

The return trip was more entertaining though. The sea was so rough, glasses and plates were sliding up and down tables and seasickness was rife - I watched one young woman crawling to the toilets on her hands and knees, vomiting as she went, with a toddler hanging on to her skirt. A pitiful sight, and I felt a bit guilty about sniggering, not so my mate, shouting better out than in

I would have no qualms about using ferries, especially if they're going to be half empty. And they were always cheaper than the tunnel.

As for doing it in an EV - not a chance! I'm not even sure if rural France has electric, despite having more wind turbines than people

[Macca]

I did Liverpool to Dublin in a Force 9 once time. I don't get seasick but that wasn't the case with most of the passengers. The crossing took 12 hours and by the end of it the whole boat was carpeted in puke.

Thinking back it's a wonder we didn't sink the weather was that bad. All the day's crossings after that one were cancelled.