pinkpanther

A few other shots from yesterday.....

A few from Calke Abbey this afternoon...........

The AA guy looked a little puzzled and was presumably seeking advice from Head Office? I was passing in my 21 year old V8, but suspect a jump start wouldn't have helped matters ⚡️

A pretty quick car back in the day I imagine. Must admit I always preferred the Vauxhall offerings to their Ford equivalent (Manta vs Capri / Firenza Droop Snoot vs Escort RS2000).

A Droop Snoot no less👍 The bodywork looked to be mint

My daughter sadly lost a nearly new Michelin Cross Climate to a particularly savage pothole and whilst having a replacement fitted I came across this beauty. The owner was happy to chat and gave me permission to photograph it (although i obscured the reg plates)👌

Sky cleared after a deluge earlier......

Couple from this evening's walk........

The car bought for members of the family to learn to drive in has now clocked up fifty thousand miles! I bought it pre-registered in January 2019, in the 'pre-crazy car price' era for £7500 and in fact it was worth more than its purchase price for at least the first 3 years of its life!! I swopped all 4 tyres for Michelin Cross Climate all-seasons 20k miles ago. Beyond annual servicing, it needed new front discs and pads and the rear drum brakes have never worked satisfactorily, despite repeated attention by 2 different main dealers. Whilst under manufacturer warranty it needed a new electric power steering motor and replacement rear shock absorbers. None of the SEAT main dealers we used were especially helpful, or offered exceptional service, so it now goes to an independent VAG specialist for annual servicing - https://autohausdolby.co.uk/services-volkswagen-passenger-cars/ Despite 'only' 59 BHP it's great fun to drive and has averaged more than 50 mpg (at a fuel cost of 12.5p/mile) thus far👍 Total fuel cost has been £6268.68😳 Despite CO2 emmisions of 96 g/km the government's ill-considered VED policy means I pay the same for annual road Tax as a similarly aged Range Rover😠 I now primarily use it to carry bike(s), which had less effect on MPG than anticipated (September 2023 onwards). I'm hoping for a similarly uneventful next 50k miles, although I guess that might be wishful thinking🤞 In my view it is a sad reflection of the car industry (? possibly driven by government policy) that such inexpensive cars are no longer readily available at reasonable cost.

A couple from last night..........

It turned into a lovely evening last night, despite the earlier ☔️

A great outcome, although disappointed to hear of the initially poor response from Skoda.

Lovely skies this evening:

A couple from earlier @ Rufford Park:

Despite this morning's rain it was a glorious Spring afternoon 😎

A friendly goat I happened across in Derbyshire earlier today ........

Although in all honesty I'd rather have the white Lotus (and an Alpine if I wanted to go fast)👍

Happy memories - I had a fair few manual choke equipped 'Breadvan Polo's which were a joy to operate, especially when compared with later Autochoke (? Pierburg) carb versions👍

Similarly - no sign of MPG improving with age in an owned-from-new Yeti 2.0 TDi (80k miles in total).

The 'loosening up over time' is a phenomenon I've never actually seen in practice. This represents the first 17k miles of 1.5 TSi manual Karoq ownership: On very short journeys I typically see similar (mid 20's) MPG👍

My 2023 1.5 TSi Karoq SE-L announced I'd owned it exactly 365 days yesterday by informing me online services had expired and requested a mere £76 for the privilege of a 1 year extension 😀 Planning to see if I miss it before parting with the readies👍

Nearly at the end of a tank of Shell V-Power E5 and no appreciable difference in resistance to stalling, performance or economy😕 Next step will be to consider a pedal box (or a different car altogether!)

I believe the Audi flat blue differs from Energy Blue ?

Any idea if this represents a particular cloud formation?

Colourful end to the day earlier..........