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Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>
> Oh yeah, like they're *really* going to let some college kid test-drive
> a £400,000 car. :-P
Neither one of those is a £400000 car. Or if was, Saab wouldn't be in
financial problems :-).
Mind you, I recall we're about the same age (I was born in late 1981)
and I just bought a 9-3 TiDS. TTiD costs only 3000€ more in Finland.
> Still, the only vehicle I've come across that had a turbo was a busted
> old Land Rover that was, like, 30 years old or something and rusting
> apart... Maybe they've improved since then?
I don't think Land Rover had turbos 30 years ago (not sure though).
-Aero
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Invisible <voi### [at] dev null> wrote:
> I also liked the warning to never leave children unattended inside the
> car. Yeah, LIKE ANYBODY IS TAKING ANY NOTICE OF THAT ONE! Still, I guess
> the idea isn't really to keep children safe, but to protect Renault from
> lawsuits. ;-)
Maybe they are philanthropes honestly worried about the safety of children.
--
- Warp
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Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>
> ...it's grey.
>
Yes, yes it is.
>> I doubt it's not turbocharged.
>
> Really?
Yep.
> The turbo version apparently generates an extra 30 BHP.
And an enormous amount of torque.
> My previous car (exact same brand and model, just the previous revision)
> had a clutch which behaved normally. (Although it was starting to wear
> out TBH. One more reason to get rid of it!)
It must have been broken :-P. My mother's 1.gen Megane did have the
French clutch.
> Turns out the button on the door handle will lock the door - if the key
> is in range.
...even if the key is inside the car?
> [Insert joke here about the legendary tendancy of the French to not work.]
It's not a question of working or not, it's a question of different
styles. It does it's job quite nicely after all, doesn't it? Therefore
it works.
> This morning I drove to work on a dark, cloudy day - but the computer
> still decided I didn't need my lights on. *I* would have kept them on
> anyway...
Then you should tune the automagic up to light them up easier.
> The wipers leave little streaks behind at exactly eye-height [but only
> on the driver's side].
Clean the driver-side wiper. If that doesn't help, change it.
> The rear wiper only sweeps 10% of the screen in the first place [because
> it's conical], and do almost nothing to clear even the area being swept.
Well yes, that is a common problem (the rear wiper being mostly cosmetical).
Change the wiper, it's worn out.
> And, unlike any other car I've seen, driving at speed seems to somehow
> *attract* water to the screen, rather than repel it.
The rear glass? Yes it does, because it's vertical. It's aerodynamics.
> So far I haven't been able to climb above 35 MPG - so that's 10 MPG
> lower than my old car. :-(
That's because you're not familiar with the engine and transmission.
According to SID (the on-board computer) I'm driving 5,7l/100km (around
41MPG - dunno if that's American or Imperial).
> Selecting reverse requires you to pull the little ring. But, unlike my
> old car, it's at the opposite end of the stick, which keeps confusing me...
Ah, you'll get used to it :-).
-Aero
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Eero Ahonen wrote:
> Clean the driver-side wiper. If that doesn't help, change it.
That, and scrub the road grease off the window. And clean the other wiper
while you're at it, if it pushes into the space used by the driver's side wiper.
--
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
Forget "focus follows mouse." When do
I get "focus follows gaze"?
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Eero Ahonen <aer### [at] removethis zbxt net invalid> wrote:
> Me too!
> http://www.zbxt.net/~aero/saab/sc_front.jpg
> http://www.zbxt.net/~aero/saab/sc_back.jpg
Some vandal went and ruined your license plates!
--
- Warp
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Warp wrote:
>
> Some vandal went and ruined your license plates!
>
Yes, they really are everywhere...
-Aero
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Eero Ahonen wrote:
> Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>> Still, my new
>> car has a superior turning circle and sharper power steering. (Now if
>> only selecting reverse wasn't so hard and the clutch worked properly...)
>>
>
> You haven't driven Volvo 940/960 or even 740/760, have you? ;)
http://www.xkcd.com/671/
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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>> Clean the driver-side wiper. If that doesn't help, change it.
>
> That, and scrub the road grease off the window. And clean the other
> wiper while you're at it, if it pushes into the space used by the
> driver's side wiper.
I've yet to meet a car where the wipers *don't* leave smears. My
previous two cars have both had dozens of wiper blades, all to no avail.
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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>> Oh yeah, like they're *really* going to let some college kid test-drive
>> a £400,000 car. :-P
>
> Neither one of those is a £400000 car. Or if was, Saab wouldn't be in
> financial problems :-).
>
> Mind you, I recall we're about the same age (I was born in late 1981)
> and I just bought a 9-3 TiDS. TTiD costs only 3000€ more in Finland.
I *was* going to buy a Mazda RX8. Almost the same price. [Obviously both
are second-hand.] It has a 3.0 L Wankel engine, agressive styling,
bucket seats, the whole lot.
...but then I took it for a test drive. Man, it JUST DOESN'T MOVE!
I have since found out that the road tax alone is £500/year - that's
more than my *insurance*! o_O
>> Still, the only vehicle I've come across that had a turbo was a busted
>> old Land Rover that was, like, 30 years old or something and rusting
>> apart... Maybe they've improved since then?
>
> I don't think Land Rover had turbos 30 years ago (not sure though).
Well maybe it just *looked* 30 years old then. It was really, really
rusty. (But then, it was a Land Rover.) For example, there was a hole
under the accelerator pedal where you can watch the road go past below.
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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>> And another thing. Does anybody remember when if you wanted to fit
>> seatbelts, you just went to B&Q, bought some seatbelts, and bolted them
>> to the car?
>
> OTOH you now have officially room for 5 passengers (really for 4) and
> also seatbelts for 5 passengers. Why would you fit more of them?
Once upon a time, some cars actually didn't *have* seatbelts, and so
you'd have to go fit them. But yeah, today that doesn't happen much. My
point is really that you now cannot modify almost any aspect of the car
because there's so much high-tech stuff in there.
> Isn't it actually a *good* thing that it's a lot safer than your old car?
Sure is! I guess it got five stars from NCAP for a reason. (That would
also explain the huge door pillars that obscure the view of the road...)
It just means that if you want to make any modifications at all, you
have to go through Renault, which limits choice and increases the price.
(Not to mention that we don't *have* Renault dealers in England...)
>> Now manufacturers *always* want you to use their own parts. They make
>> way more money that way. And I'm pretty sure that no matter what the
>> manual says, putting non-approved engine oil into my engine isn't going
>> to destroy it (provided that it's of the correct type).
>
> Yep. It just can void the warranty.
My car doesn't *have* a warranty anyway. ;-)
>> You're supposed to get the crash sensors and air bag pyrotechnics
>> checked annually - which can only be done by specially-trained Renault
>> technitions with specialist equipment.
>
> That's probably in the service program, right?
Probably. If I had one.
>> Mine evidently has the automatic option, since it wipes every 20
>> seconds, but now and then it suddenly starts frantically trying to file
>> through the glass! o_O
>
> If you have a properly working automatic wiper option, you simply don't
> need to touch the lever yourself except for some rare wipe-once
> -situations - just keep it in the automatic position.
Doesn't work like that. Like I say, automatic seems to just mean "random
speed". Doesn't appear to be related to the road conditions in any way.
(Although I presume if it were to rain really hard, the wipers would
speed up.) The long and short of it is that if I find that I can't see,
I need the wipers to wipe NOW, not in 20 seconds' time.
>> This is probably THE single most annoying feature. It's raining, you
>> stop at some traffic lights, and suddenly you can't see ANYTHING.
>
> Yes, that sounds stupid.
It is.
>> And the middle part of the back seat folds out into a table with cup
>> holders. WTF?
>
> If you'll take some nice girl to a car-picnic and it starts to rain, you
> can benefit from that table ;-).
If I *ever* get a nice girl to sit in my car, I'm not sure they'll be
any picnic stuff happening. 0;-)
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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