Zel's Fleet Blog - BX, Jag XJ-S, Sinclair C5, Mercedes 208D & 230TE, AC Model 70.

[CitroJim]

I do the same on my runs around town Zel although now almost all the lights are LED I've not seen any failures - yet...

I was always quite impressed on how quickly the council fixed duff ones, especially on the footpaths...

I also report potholes too, especially if they are dangerous for cyclists...

Oddment storage space is *definitely* something that's been vastly improved on the S2 Xantia.

Indeed, a vast improvement! Worst of all is the S1 Saxo... Apart from a small bin just above the keypad and the door pockets it has no oddment storage at all. It does redeem itself a little with a fairly spacious glovebox... Unlike the S1 airbag Xantia - the glovebox is barely an ornament

In contrast, the 207 is full of useful little cubby-holes and shelves...

[daviemck2006]

I think it’s a general thing with older vehicles. There’s a distinct lack of storage space or places to put a drink in the 205 either.

[Stickyfinger]

Yet the AX has "Wine bottle" holders in the doors

The X7 on the other hand, has door pockets you cannot get your hands in but hey, they light up at night to show you cannot get anything in them
You also have the glove box that does not even hold the owners manual.

[CitroJim]

Yet the AX has "Wine bottle" holders in the doors

You're lucky, the Saxo door pockets are slimline jobs like the X7... You can just about fit a pouch of Capri-Sun in them, no chance of a wine bottle

[Stickyfinger]

AX Door cards into a SAXO ?

[CitroJim]

AX Door cards into a SAXO ?

The way AX prices are sky-rocketing I could never afford them

[Stickyfinger]

LOL...

[Zelandeth]

Worst storage solution in a car I've come across was in a 2015 VW Scirocco. Tiny narrow storage cubby in the centre armrest, with the USB and aux sockets for the stereo at the bottom. The problem was that it was that rubbery soft touch plastic that VW love - so anything going in there was *never* coming out again as the sides of the cubby hole gripped whatever you were trying to retrieve far better than your fingers could. Many expletives accompanied my attempting to get my iPod back out of there the one time I made the mistake of putting it there.

[Zelandeth]

Well that was a stupid mistake. Totally forgot to account for the Christmas Factor before heading towards London today didn't I...

What was meant to be a nice light day out to an event I really enjoy is rapidly deteriorating into more stress than it's worth.

Currently crammed into a London Midland train more tightly than the Tube is usually crowded at rush hour.

Seriously considering just hopping off at the next station and abandoning the whole thing as a bad idea.

[Gibbo2286]

National Express coach, quicker and cheaper?

[Zelandeth]

Sadly the timings seldom work for what we're looking at - and we've then got to get to the coach way which is on the opposite side of town, whereas the train station is a ten minute walk. We don't usually know when we'll be heading back either as it tends to be dictated by when the social energy runs out on the part of me or my other half rather than any actual plan.

We made it work at the end of the day, spent a considerable amount of time attempting to be two dimensional, but survived. Oddly the Tube was only marginally busier than I'd normally expect at the weekend...given the state of the train into town I'd expected it to be crazy. Had a good time in the end though and made it home in one piece. Train home was also silly busy, though being a Virgin one we managed to camp out in the vestibule between carriages. It was direct as well, so only had to be ensured for 35 minutes rather than an hour.

I don't hate Christmas. What I hate is the fact that it makes it so difficult to do virtually anything between mid November and January...

[CitroJim]

I don't hate Christmas. What I hate is the fact that it makes it so difficult to do virtually anything between mid November and January...

Ditto I was staggered to see Central Milton Keynes so rammed with shoppers last Tuesday I could not park - or even get near any car parks due to the traffic congestion......

I drove home, got my bike and cycled back... No problem parking or navigating the snarl-ups...

[Zelandeth]

Observation: people down here have zero understanding of how to drive in snow.

The Clarkson approach of POWER!!! seems to be king. That and people seem to be terrified of it.

Seriously people, if the snow terrifies you that much... don't go out clothes shopping today!

Have rescued a couple of people simply by removing them from the car and proceeding to drive straight out of the spot they've been stuck in for the last half hour.

Does the training documentation for new drivers even cover the theory of how to deal with these conditions any more? Know there's a whole section on it in the ancient driving manual I read through before I started learning.

[CitroJim]

Observation: people down here have zero understanding of how to drive in snow.

The Clarkson approach of POWER!!! seems to be king. That and people seem to be terrified of it.

Yep. And they never learn...

A few years ago I and a small lorry got stuck behind a tractor-tyred BMW revving the t*ts off of it trying to get traction and failing...

It took a lot of effort by both the lorry driver and I to convince the driver to try a higher gear and very few revs.. He did not believe us but did eventually when he gave in and took our advice... It worked for him but we needed to give him a bit of a push..

Sad fact is we don't have this weather often enough... Back when I was a young driver it was a regular occurrence and we soon learned how to drive in deep show and ice...

A good fall of snow was followed by a trip to the nearest empty car park to practice... It was good and useful practice too. We learned very well how to control slides, go round corners and gain traction...

[Michel]

I hate driving in snow. Not because I can't, but because no one else down here seems to be able to. It really gets on my wick. There isn't really that much magic to it - would you run down an icy/snowy garden path? No, because you'd hurt yourself. Apply the same logic to the road, and the driving pretty much takes care of itself. Snowed pretty much every year when I was up North. I never got stuck, it doesn't all turn to chaos (not in rural Rossendale where I'm from) and people just get on with daily life. The first time I drove down here in the south when it snowed, it was unbelievable. Felt like my head would explode!

I've driven all kinds of car in the snow - MX5s, Xantias, 2CVs, BMW 5-series Autos, my old Lada .. a CBR900RR on summer tyres and never had a problem.

Karma therefore dictates that now I've said all that, I'll put the Ka in a ditch on my way home tonight..