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stanski

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Posts posted by stanski

  1. 15 minutes ago, Ekona said:

    Alternatively, what would be the point in pushing for automated taxis if most people who used to commute now work from home? If that continues, then the desire will be a lot less for companies to bother with. 
     

    Mass automated motoring is an awful long way off. It’ll only take a couple of software glitches and big accidents to set it back years while safety is reassessed, which will likely happen when the first big push comes. That’s inevitable. 

    Exactly this is the wonder of a pandemic it has forced companies and us to reconsider how we work in the future.

     

    For me personally I always had to be on-site even though I could work from home for years, but that was down to micromanagers being paranoid and controlling. Funny they trust you in the office to be responsible for multimillion pound systems but not from home, even though you are 'on-call' from home for those systems anyway! A lot of companies were reluctant to let their staff work from home even more reluctant to spend a fortune on old network infrastructure to allow home working. 

     

    We see in the press how people are apparently running away from Central London to live by the sea or the countryside, the very places that have been neglected both in infrastructure or jobs investment? It has crossed our minds to move somewhere we always wanted to. I can I have no ties anymore but my other half cant and of course my daughter is in primary school so not such an easy thing?

     

    I am wondering if they implement that hydro loop thing for real, when the first time that goes splatt will it end up being a white concrete elephant?

  2. I think I should rename this thread - The Dystopian Future thread! :lol: 

     

    I think all of you are correct in one way or another. If you automate stuff people lose their jobs? If people lose their jobs there is no need to worry about taxis anyway, why would you bother, you cant afford it and have nowhere to go unless its a job interview, which will probably be via zoom now anyway! Current Pandemic perfect example.

     

    Most of these organisations will use cloud providers to keep maintenance costs down. The cloud providers will be mega automated and monitored as much as they can be and employ minimal staff to save cost. The price of providing that service will be high to the companies who offer the taxi or coffee supplies or whatever, because the cloud shareholders want their investment growth. The cost to you and me will probably be the same as today, if it is not they will want something else from you such as personal data about you, don't forget that is a commodity in itself? Why do you think phone apps are free, because they want to show off how good their programming is so Google employs them?

     

    So the only real change in the future will be less human contact, restricted use of personal vehicles or heavy tax on its use. Every organisation looks at the pay as you go model from mobile phone companies and adapts it to fit their industry. The Americans have been doing this for years.

     

    I had to sell my tin hat on ebay last week, so I am using an old Le Creuset pan - bleeding heavy I can tell you - those microwaves wont be infiltrating my head comrade! :snack:

     

     

  3. If you don't know a recommended MOT station, look for one that does Class 7 commercial vehicles. They tend to be no nonsense kind of guys who know their stuff, If anything they will be pleased to see a zed rather than a transit van for the 100th time that week. I have a place near me for my van, they are decent people sadly I am further north than you.  

     

     

  4. 10 hours ago, GranTurismoEra said:

    what you think of the interior of the zp...I think theyll keep it the same for the final version

    Yes exactly, it's very much a 370z vibe in keeping with Zeds and why change it? 

     

    They are never going to take on Audi or Bentley for interiors but they are functional no nonsense sports car. Even my 350 with its scratchy plastics was ok and fairly robust, the 370 was like a jump forward just because of the stitching and velour (sorry alcantara). 

    My only gripe are the dials on the top don't look quite as good as before but I wont be able to afford one so not an issue for me. 

  5. 12 minutes ago, ilogikal1 said:

    But then you will be being picked up in a brand new, cutting edge of technology vehicle, which we all knows is notoriously cheap...

     

    The cost will eventually be really cheap... just as soon as all the outlay costs are recouped, maintenance costs, wear and tear costs, cleaning costs, monitoring costs and, ultimately, the greed of businesses who want to make money suddenly disappear too then you’re onto a winner.

     

    The biggest cost of running a taxi is not the human at the wheel.

    But I don't want autonomous I was flying taxis!:lol::drive1https://youtu.be/IJhlD6q71YA

  6. 17 hours ago, BOINC UK said:

    I have had my 2005 350Z Roadster for 9 years now and the only things that have gone 'wrong' were rear discs needing replacing (my own fault - should have checked pads) and a screen washer pump that gave up the ghost.

    However, the 2012 Audi A5 1.8 TFSI Coupe is turning out to be a nightmare.  We have only had it for about 4 years (under 70,000 miles when bought) but have had to replace:  both rear shock absorbers, air con 02 sensor, cooling system expansion tank, drivers door lock, boot lock and now, to add insult to injury it would appear that the cam timing sensor is playing up, my boot will not open and I am getting constant 'stop/start' not working, n/s reversing light u/s (it is !) n/s rear fog light u/s (it is !), n/s side light u/s (it is !) - boot not opening, bulb failures (?) and stop/start failures are down, apparently, to a well known n/s rear wiring loom or ecu issue due to water getting into the boot.  My garage tell me that it is a widespread issue across Audi, VW and Skoda. 

    We have been offered a 2002 Maserati by my daughters partner and I am sorely tempted despite it's age.  I will never touch an Audi again !!

     

    Sorry to hear about your issues. A lot of people on here love Audi's and they are probably generally ok although I did have a lemon A4 back in the day. 

     

    I have been jap since 2000, although I ventured to Chrysler for a while but that was pants too (Merc under the covers) .

    Stick with Japanese, as nice as the Maserati might you will regret it in the end. 

     

    Same for me as @Stewal had a MK1 and MK3 Mx5s both bullet proof. The 1998 MK1 cost me £400 off a mate and just worked. Rust killed the cills in the end. 

     

    Hope you get sorted soon.

  7. 2 hours ago, galaxyg said:

    There is already a system in place where you can summon a car to take you anywhere, without having to drive it or park it - Taxis. Most people prefer to own a car instead. Why would they suddenly swap to a self-driving taxi if a human-driven taxi already wasn't a good enough option to give up the car?

     

    Ignoring the negatives of knackered seats and unsolicited opinions. :)   But seriously - we're all going to give up driving because a slight variation on the taxi theme becomes available?  Unless it's a lot lot cheaper by the mile than a taxi, I don't think so.

    The video is funny but sadly probably going to be true! :surrender:

     

    https://youtu.be/uV9ZDF09pkY

    • Haha 1
  8. 52 minutes ago, GranTurismoEra said:

    The idea of changing relationships with 'autos' is already in existence. Thats why we have popular 3 year pcp and lease. 

     

    Summoning vehicles like a Cyberpunk videogame sounds cool, and makes us seem like we are in the future. 

     

    My dream is to have the world dominated by an alternative biofuel especially in developing and third world countries. Not dominated by Electric vehicles. That may be the case for Europe and America. How viable is it for a country where basic Electricity supply is not consistent. In Nigeria people are driving Teslas but they can only charge at home as the network infrastructure is non existent. Some plans are afoot to create public charging infrastructure in countries like Ghana but its not a thing.

     

    Electric cars are not realistic in some places. We should be seeking alternative cleaner fuel as well.

     

    Technology that aids laziness a word now substituted for convenience, is not really great for a society that is already fat and isolated. Why not speed up that evolution by pushing through convenience tech to feel like were are moving forward to the future lol....

    I have to agree.

     

    I would prefer they focussed on producing a clean fuel compatible with todays engines. We can continue to use what we have and eV if you like.

    It would allow a quicker reduction of emissions without everybody having to put their hand in their pockets trying to afford an expensive EV or hybrid? Of course I am biased to internal combustion, but off shore wind farms don't grow they have to be made from concrete and GRP and other not so friendly materials. 

     

    I sometimes wonder if Wall-E is actually a documentary, the way we are heading, convenience is laziness in my eyes!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alIq_wG9FNk  :lol:

    • Haha 1
  9. Sadly most issues with tech are not being hacked but poor design /architecture and having low paid idiots look after them. 

     

    I have worked both on commercial and secure government contracts and I have to say the secure stuff is annoyingly secure to the point of being unworkable sometimes, expect big public IT is generally pants because it's mismanaged. iCloud accounts getting hacked is nothing, anything cloud is fair game, it's just your stuff on someone else's computer somewhere else, you don't know where and how good their security is. 

     

    From the commercial side, I said it before they outsource and cost cut that's when the problems start. I used to work for a global company and some of the issues were scary. A friend works for a well known global soft drinks brand and it's hilarious the things you hear, but not for my mate who has to work long hours to fix it!

    A lot of stuff never reaches the press but if you want to find out read The Register https://www.theregister.com/ 

     

    Ignoring tin hats and paranoia most of this kind of behaviour was already predicted in the 1920/30s before we even had computers.

     

    I can see the advantages of self driving stuff but for me personally no thank you.

     

    Cars will become white goods, which in effect that's what they are we just love them for the freedom and fun they bring.

     

    ;)

     

    Pandora's box is open we can't go back to the 50s now, we just have to be sensible what we allow these large powerful corporations do with all the data they collect about you. It's not that you have done something wrong or how they sell it to someone else to target you for sales but who else uses that data against you if they have nefarious intentions?

     

     

  10. 1 hour ago, Ekona said:

    It’s emissions based: Subaru don’t sell enough crappy hybrids to offset the CO that the BRZ would put out which would raise their overall CO output. Toyota can do this with ease. 
     

    I can’t believe the new 86 will have a different drivetrain at all compared with the new BRZ. It’ll be a styling and slight suspension change like the early cars (which, btw, I much preferred how the BRZ handled over the 86). 

    It's a shame about Subaru they kind of lost their way. They had the boy racer rally car of choice (that fetch silly money now) but maybe wanted to get away from that image and were the 4x4 farmers alternatives to the usual Ranges and Volvo estates? My mate has been a lifelong fan, he still has an early Forrester prodrive edition, goes like stink but looks understated. I don't even know the last time I saw a Subaru dealer are they still here?

  11. 34 minutes ago, GranTurismoEra said:

    only getting the 86 in UK. The Subaru had better styling shame it wasnt as popular. Its naturally aspirated again and only 228 hp. The GR Yaris will eat it :lol:.

     

    Its probably toned down because of the 2 liter Supra

     

    Interior is a no no. Looks cost saving

    Why are they not selling in the UK? Is it emissions like with the Jimmy? Why don't they take out the back seat and black out the rear windows call it a van to get around it? :lol:

  12. For a car that handles like a go cart I just think it's let down by the styling. 

    I suppose you can say they are being sustainable and environmentally friendly by reusing design elements from about half a dozen cars starting from the mid 90s! 

     

    The interior dash really looks like they went to IKEA in the broken parts section got all the bargain wardrobe units with missing hinges and shoe horned them in the make a glovebox and dash! Sorry looks pants really does. 

     

    It's a filler special keep things going till the next model I suppose?

    • Like 1
  13. Go for a test drive of a few see what you think (post lockdown of course?)

     

    If you look at my signature you see my cars since 2000 have been of the Japanese persuasion. I used to cover around 30000+ miles per year due to job so did change cars a bit and when my daughter arrived, why the zed had to go. :surrender:

     

    But I loved each and every one of them, for what they were even the chocolate Cube we had.

     

    Honestly I miss the MR2, RX8, Zed ,MX5 MK1 and yes the Cube they were not the best cars on the planet and often slated in the press but you know they had soul were a bit different and I was glad to have them.

     

    I really wanted a Nismo 370z in storm white but due to circumstances (unfortunately sad) the Mustang appeared and just had everything I wanted. Yours will run rings around it as will the TT no doubt but it's got soul character lots of fun. I do get boy racers but mostly bikers and Subaru WRXs with a big thumbs up and smile. Isn't that what driving should be about fun? 

     

    Go for it, if you don't like it hang on for the Zed-pee? :thumbs:

     

  14. A bit random but I realised the club fleece and cap that Mart arranged is still going strong after 13 years!

     

    I use the cap for running when it's cold or tipping it down and the fleece is still the best I have. Perfect car wash gear for winter. 

     

    Ok so looks a bit odd wearing a Zed fleece washing a Mustang but they are distant brothers honest. :lol: 

     

    Do you guys still have yours or is the club wear all fancy new age cool stuff?

    IMG_20201121_121825288.jpg

  15. 1 hour ago, Ekona said:

    Well that’s just bloody obvious. Maybe those people can pick up a used car instead, like the vast majority of people do?i

    It's lazy journalism. It's like those vast university research projects usually in California that discover, water is actually wet and yes we can breath air? :D

  16. 1 minute ago, marzman said:

    Electric vehicles can fly!

     

     

    Haha I just saw that too. Going to take people a while to get used to them? Maybe they should have someone walk in front with a red flag like they used to. 

    Job creation if nothing else?:lol:

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