Head Wreck

on a note, Peugeot will release its RCZ with a 2 litre 163 bhp diesel option. and peugeot had developed but not released a diesel hubrid

ps either of my lottery tickets come up in 1.6 diesel plz

RE: american engines. they have a FAR from good reputation over here. the rover K series is known to be more reliable. early BMW Mini's with the chrysler engines were known to explode randomly a few minutes after patrking up and being switched off. as well as the usual "chrysler eat the turbo/compressor and dump all engine oil down the tailpipe"

Japanese ratings are usually lower than the actual when they have been tested here. and the difference between the flywheel and after the gearbox is enough to offset. this is why i think Toyota's hybrid drive system is wasteful (and proven so by the BBC show Top Gear) why get a motor to turn a generator, to power a motor that still goes through a gearbox. its just more loss on a system, where direct in wheel systems may have some mechanical gearing but may not be as wasteful as a full gearbox. today actually my mother has been looking for a car for herself, recently diesels have been available with automatics, but Citroen seem to favour the semi-automatic "sequential" gearboxes and she is most impressed. a 1.4 diesel with "floppy paddles" to shift takes a whole lot of strain of her clutch foot and arthritic hands on the note of hybrid systems. The route michelen and Volvo are taking are to do away with the mechanical shifter altogether and rely solely on regulation of the drive motors. its agreed that most fuel economy goes out the window on start and stop driving, so an engine turning at a consistant speed to power a battery source or wheels is better, and when starting off from a red light the extra oomph needed can be drawn from the cells and over time replenished by the generators excess energy at the next red light. A computer can regulate the right amount of RPM for the average trip and over time driving habbits are learned and calculated to set a more ideal RPM for the drivers start and stop habits. Volvo's system in fact is designed to recuperate some of the energy loss under braking (not sure how). small diesels have improved a lot over recent years. my previous car was a Peugeot 106 old school diesel, 1.5 litre capacity and about 45 bhp at the flywheel. the car was about the size and weight of the fiesta. the current motor is a 1.4 common rail turbocharged produces 70 bhp at the flywheel. unsure if they did any alternative ECU maps like they did with the 2 litre in my van (90, 110, 120, 150 bhp outputs i nearly went with a blue 150 bhp model. but 70bhp does me well) diesels have always been better under load due to the higher torque outputs. so running a small generator will be ideal.

*bows* yes a lot of the UK tuning scene has gone to remapped diesels. some even replacing the turbos for supers. my car is rated for 64 miles to one British gallon. the trip computer puts mine realistic at 55, but i do live in a hilly region, and on straight and flat with a good road it can reach 90+ mpg as it trundles along at 40 mph. accelerating, well average i get 40mpg, but for gonzo booting it i have gotten in late tweens. no differant than a good small gas engine. the Peugeot diesels are good motors and pretty bombproof, Ford uses them but for some reason the same engines installed on a peugeot are much more "green" take the Ford Fiesta 1.4 diesel, its emissions are in a tax banding that hems it in as £125 a year my Car is a 2004 Peugeot 307 same engine but with an added particle filter emissions cost me £35 a year which has some of my ford fiesta driving collegues livid as thier small green car isnt as green as my larger car

the ones on site were ex militry (as were tyhe landies, the M35's the helecopters and an ex rangers chevy blazer) as to diesels. I honestly cant see why they aren't being used any more. high pressure common rail systems now are very efficient, over here we are taxed by emissions and my lump of French diesel costs about as much to tax as a smart 2 seater city car and cheaper than ford fiestas which I believe they want to tote out there now

yes a good example. then again take the BMW's out there that suddenly decide to set the immobiliser when parked up because a brake light has blown and refuse to start again until you buy a bulb, and the cost of a BMW technician to come out and reset the BSI (and btw, the car will not tell the owner this, as discovered by a Peugeot technician who bought one and on way home from collection it decided to do this) I use a blackberry Bold rather than the Storm because I like the buttons over touch screen. the iPhone is just too bloody expensive to consider as an option. as with most apple devices. i'll wait for 5th or 6th generation and not be lumped with buggy systems with its replacement a month down the line with no option of trade in due to the bugs

i agree, it looks like what i have been looking for, a prtable net surfer i can move about the house. but to take an assus ee with solid state drive is still cheaper. anyhow

Sum up. a Giant Ipod touch. to read though i do prefer the electronic ink devices. less eyestrain

agree. i like hitting things with a wrench to fix (as the land rover owners here in the 2003 big game chuckled when the humvee's were down for most of the event due to gremlins). but i like the ability with my Peugeot, and my friends Peugeot's to plug in the laptop and say "yes injector 3 is dud" and confirm with multimeter. my friend at the time was looking at a twin coilpack replacement. i think its pro and con. as we look more and more into alternative drivetrains, such as in wheel motors from the likes of michelen and Volvo (Volvo's system looks economic btw, and michelen's system is good for the home-builders who don't know suspension geometry that well) we may be going more in the drive by wire route. the smaller Mercedes Unimogs here already have wire guided steering and advantages being the steering and pedals can be changed from the regular side to the curb side for applications like roadside tree/hedgegrow trimming. the reliability of Mog's have not suffered. just as long as they don't do the clanger GM does by putting plastic selector togles on the gearbox end of the linkage (facepalm)

not only GM candyman, Ford tried introducing the Ford Explorer here a few years back but quickly recalled them due to accelerators sticking and vehicles going out of control and colliding with items such as immobile rebar pillars. The result, sales bombed and the only US ford people tend to buy now are ford rangers (when not buying their cheaper Mazda equivalent), quite a few people didnt want thier explorers back after it had been fixed. better to be safe than sorry and replace them before incidents occur. similar with Peugeot and Fiat a few years back on Peugeot expert/Citroen Dispatch/Fiat Scudo a suspect problem with a weld on the manual transmission shifter, so they all got recalled, the mechanic twated the lever with a heavy mallet if it broke, it was replaced with a one piece. very little broke but some did, better than than the commercial industry slate the model even though its successor was 2 years away

Aqua. I kid not

get some sleep, finish packing cases into the van send my love to my wife. i t will not be long now

it was a cracker :D very much enjoyed it. the new guys style is good and develops well into the book, the writing style becomes seamless with Jordan's towards the end (not surprising as the wheel of time series inspired this chap to become an author.) bottom line, it does not disappoint and its one of the better books of the series

Max Manus Norwegian film about the famous saboteur some of the historical details are sketch, and it followed the key personal events Max underwent, to put all his major raids on there would have made the film to long. I liked it it was not a gung ho film at all.

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5946084.ece

I will have to wait until I am sure I can spend a little.

teleportation. I'd abuse it as a job as an esclapeologist. and no one would suspect because it has to be a hidden door or key. not to mention a few border protection agencies would be scratching thier heads to wonder how i got through. and where i went. It'd be the greatest mind fuck to play on a government agency. an unanswerable;e "how the fuck did he enter and leave as will"

mine IS flatulence!

ironicaly. 61 stopped by a tree AND a fire hydrant

Angel and I share the same level. its all that matters to us

a laughing cow outfit!?!?

I think this is a splendid idea.