Cars

Questions and Answers

Cars??????????

Q) Hi what is a good website to look at cars and what is a good first car to get? Thankyou.

A) Get a Lada, it would really suit you.

Is there a big disadvantage to importing Japanese cars to the UK to make up for the lower cost?

Q) Well, I've been thinking about buying a Japanese sports car, but in searching online for different ones I keep on getting links to websites that specialise in importing (2nd hand) Japanese cars to the UK. In some cases, the cost is around 30-40% cheaper than an equivalent car in Britain. Also, the Japanese seem to take better car of their cars in general as the condition of the vehicle has a bigger impact on the resale value in Japan. So what is the disadvantage? I'm thinking about getting a Nissan 350z (Fairlady in Japan).

A) Make sure that the car will be able to pass any pollution tests you may have in the UK. Or see if you can get an exemption. Research any taxes,tariffs or extra unseen fees associated with registering the car there. Research the company you are thinking of doing business with. Find out the differences between the UK models and those for registration in Japan. Can you read the owner's manual, etc. If it is a UK firm doing it, why don't they just import the cars and make the profit themselves? If it is a Japanese firm, how can you safeguard yourself should any litigation arise from the transaction? Just a few thoughts, hope they help.

How do we stop a crow from attacking cars in the car park?

Q) A crow is attacking the windscreen wipers of cars in our car parks. It is a new building and it obviously nests next door to the car park. It sits on the bonnet and pulls at the windscreen wipers until they come off? Any safe, easy and generally acceptable measures for stopping this character? We would like to avoid anything that is going to lead to its demise!

A) Use the old farming technique - no not a scarecrow! Hang a few dead crows about the car park and your nuisence bird will soon get the message. Not sure of an ethical way of obtaining a few dead crows though, maybe that should be your next question.

Why do people keep insisting that electric cars are more green than other cars?

Q) They run on electricity, and that means they don't belch out loads of fumes into the atmosphere. But that electricity has to be generated in a power station before it can be used in the car, and nine times out of ten, you can be sure that it was generated from fossil fuels. So surely, electric cars are still responsible for polluting the planet. Kennilope. That's just about the dumbest, most poorly thought through answer I've ever read.

A) Agreed, electric cars which are charged from traditional grids are not as environmentally friendly as most people believe. That electricity is generated elsewhere, usually by burning, unless you live near a large hydro electric dam or near a lot of windmills. In the case of coal-fired electricity, you're just moving the pollution from all over the street to the source of the power. The greenest transportation would be an electric vehicle which is charged from a renewable source. If your home were set up for solar-electric generation, you could use your home's electricity to charge your car's batteries. If your home is near a hydroelectric dam or a wind power generation area, then you're much greener than the rest of the coal fired electric areas. Ultimately, a solar car which recharges itself while driving would be ideal.

Is it cheaper to have one large car or two smaller cars? Which is more environmentally friendly?

Q) My husband often travels long distances, in our large family car. In a smaller car we could not travel with our whole family at weekends, and would therefore need two cars. Is it better for the environment to have two small cars or one large car? Which is cheaper?

A) well since your family is large i would say the larger car

How long will it be until American cars are as small and efficient as European cars?

Q) I live in the UK, motors from the USA look pretty gross, with grilles like the front of a bank, all square, heavy, pedestrian unfriendly and obviously fuel inefficient. It's obvious from the fuel efficiency, comfort, internal quality and space effectiveness of European and Japanese cars, that the USA is buying dinosaurs. How much much longer will they last?

A) who knows but they are some pretty cool motors with some massive powered engines. you know long ago your street races came from America with the just standard v6 cars none of this nos maxed up little civics like you get now. they may be big you may think they are ugly but you must admit they was and are good. regards x kitti x

Do car dealers really have to pay to get rid of part exchange cars?

Q) I have a mate who saw Top Gear about once and he says that it costs some classy car dealers around £1000 to get rid of unwanted part exchange cars. and that if you ask them right they will sell them to you for not very much money at all. I disagree; I don't see why a car dealer would not take the opportunity to make even a few hundred quid. Is my friend right? And if he is, how do I go about claiming one of these old cars for myself?

A) When we get in cars like that, we want to get rid of them as quickly as possible. We have no use for them. We cannot resell them, we don't want the bother of taking them to auction, and they look bad sitting on our lot. If you are looking to buy something like that, simply ask the dealer about the wholesale cars that they just want to get rid of. Explain to them what you are trying to accomplish, and they should be more than happy to work with you.

What year did the speedometer in cars change from mph to kph?

Q) I know it might be different for all cars but what was the general time this occured. Was it around 2003?

A) Interesting question and many not so interesting answers so far. In the UK, it is required that your speedometer is calibrated in mph but for nearly all analogue dials (ie with background and pointer) there are km markings too for the benefit of those to travel abroad. Ironically in the rest of the EU we only get km calibration so when we drive into the UK we do not have mph markings and have to constantly recalculate the speed limits. Not so difficult as 160 kph = 100 mph, 80 kph = 50 mph etc etc. One exception to all this is where you have digital instruments and you can set both the speedometer and the odometer to record in miles or kms. In my Opel, the on-board computer can be set first to any language, then to use European (km/hr; litres per 100 km) or to GB (mph, mpg) or even American units. My speedometer is analogue so only gives me kph but the on-board computer can give me anything I ask it for. In international debate it is potentially quite confusing when you try and compare eg UK gall vs USA gall, UK miles vs Swedish mile (Sweden has a "mile" meaning 10 km). Then of course as UK fuel consumption gets better the number goes up but for the km brigade the number goes down. Roughly speaking 53 mph is 5.3 litres per 100 km which I find a useful reference point as my car does slightly better or slightly worse than this depending on the fuel used and the journey. You will find that the place of manufacture does have an impact but I once bought 2 almost identical Astras, one UK model and one Spanish model. Both were built in the Netherlands but quite clearly one to UK spec and one to ES spec. So to conclude with an answer to the question, they havent changed as such, they have become a bit more sophisticated and flexible but UK still uses mph and on the continent we use kph. It is quite legal for me to drive my continental registered car in the UK without mph markings but if I wanted to register it with a UK plate, then it should be modified (as also the headlights). It is not economic to change LHD to RHD and at least in Spain, they are beginning to refuse to relicense old UK cars to Spanish plates because a RHD car is more dangerous to drive in traffic. If you do find a UK plated car without mph on the speedometer than it could be illegal in more than one way. Have a nice one.

Why do cars have a max speed potential which is double the speed limit?

Q) If all cars were made with a max speed of 80mph this would stop speeding and possibly prevent accidents/loss of life. I mean what's the point in a car being able to travel 160mph?

A) For a car to have 'performance' it has to have room at the top. This means that a car with a top speed of 150 will perform far better at 70 than a car with a top speed of 80. There is no point in limiting cars because then you are paying for engine you dont use and making smaller engines will be less fuel economical as they will have to rev harder / wear out quicker to produce the upper speeds. As others have said speed limits vary also. Most of the accidents around happen in towns and cities with idiots driving at 60 in 30 zones .. more focus should be put on this as relatively few accidents happen on the long motorway stretches.

Do air flow induction kits for cars really make a difference? Is it worth changing them?

Q) I am due for a service so will be changing my air filter as part of the service. The air filter is the standard audi a3 air filter. Someone suggested getting a K&N Induction kit or a pipercross induction kit but are they really worth it? Do they actually make a difference to the cars performance? Got a full performance exhaust fitted. Scorpian system and new cat.

A) The trouble with induction kits is they are great on the race track but for normal driving they suck hot air from under the bonnet, especially when stuck in traffic. I had trouble with a bit of pinking with one of my cars, and was told by a tune up engineer that i would be far better of with something like a K&N replacement panel filter, as it utilizes the cars original induction system which after the millions of pounds of development they have invested would be more than fine. Unless you do high revving driving all over the place a replacement panel filter will do just the job, you just would not really notice the difference between them. And by the way i have spent more money on this stuff than i care to think of.