Recent content by Cubefish

I'm no petrol head. The car is merely a device that transports me from place to place in greater comfort than my bicycle or any form of public transport. That said, I do care for my car, and I'm trying to learn about it and understand how it all works, and I'm not averse to the odd...

Definitely. I think that for a lot of them, it's to compensate for the insecurities they feel about themselves. They believe that an ostentatious vehicle will turn heads and people will think "What a magnificent car! The owner must be a smashing fellow... what else does he have that is so...

Mine have been a little lower. Curiously, if I include my wife as a named driver, insurance is lower even though she had an joint-fault accident within the last 5 years. Can't work that one out.

I had a 2009 Smart (made by Mercedes) and it was nothing but trouble. Constant problems with the engine randomly cutting out and not restarting. No error codes generated by the ECU, so the dealer wasn't able to find the problem. Sold it back to the dealer and bought a Citroen C1 instead. Never...

I admit to being ignorant about the way cars operate. I'm not proud of that; in fact, I'm ashamed. But I AM trying to do something about it, starting with having bought a Haynes workshop manual which has proven to be an invaluable starting point. Of course, I can do simple things like keep the...

Given that diesels are more efficient than petrol engines, are they more polluting per mile, or more polluting per litre? If the latter, then it's feasible that diesels are less, or as, polluting per mile as a petrol engine. We need to find a fuel source that is not derived from the oil...

I totally agree. Although I've held a licence for 27 years, I always drove my father's car, then my wife's, and didn't own my own car until 6 years ago. Recently I have been telling my eldest son about the cars 'back then'… The way my father would, after church on a Sunday, pull out the ramps...

Yes, the rules changed when the tax disc was done away with. Quite a cheeky thing to do, and not well publicised.

I'd rip the 'ICE' out of my car if there were a way to disguise its absence. ICE is a distraction to the driver… how on earth can you be fully focused on your driving if your fiddling with a knob, shouting at Nick Ferrari, or singing along to One Direction?

I fell for it, and had to look closely to see what the photo was...

Sounds a little like what happened to me, except I hadn't left any electricals on. One morning, the battery was inexplicably flat. Tried charging - nothing. My Scangauge II reported the voltage as 11.5 V, not enough get started. This was after about 18 months of ownership. In the end I replaced...

Good morning, and welcome from NW Kent. I love the sound of diesels, and the fact you're permitted to make 2000 litres of your own bio-fuel each year.

In normal driving conditions I don't notice a great deal of difference. But one route I drive involves two very steep inclines, and they just at the distance from my home where the LPG system clicks in. The loss of power is painfully noticeable; once the changeover from petrol to LPG is...

Thank you for that. Very interesting to see where the black spots are. The map show accidents that resulted in injury... I wonder if that means genuine injuries requiring paramedic attendance, or after the event whiplash claims.

My first car was a Smart, bought new. It kept breaking down, so in the end I sold it back to the dealer and bought a new Citroen C1 instead. After three years, Citroen started sending invitations to buy a new car, in the expectation that I am one of those people who buys a new car every 3...