Diesel Chrysler Minivans in London

Very sweet... an American abroad in Europe..

;-)

Of course (modern) diesels accelerate like petrol cars. In fact in mid-range probably better. Can hardly hear them from the inside and offer better fuel economy. Why do you think diesels are rising in popularity even in anti-diesel Britain. In some European countries the share of new-car diesel sales are greater than 50%. 'We' keep telling 'you guys' this but the North American reaction is usually one of disdain. Perhaps its understandable, given the history (bad experience) and even the present. However, when low-sulfur fuel becomes available all over the US the situation may change.

I don't know what your driver or you think "high" depreciation means, but most cars lose 15% or more the second they are out of the showroom. You can reckon on maybe 30% in the first year. In each country the exact percentage will depend on the brand and model and other external factors. When the Merc SLK first came out in the UK it was the slowest-depreciating (might have been zero). For years the Mazda MX-5 (Miata) held its value resally well. In the UK smaller-engined Mercs (say 2.2 litres and below) of the C and E-Class probably don't depreciate more than about 15 - 20% per year, esp the diesels. I don't know how they shape up in Germany.

Big saloons (sedans) always depreciate much faster because the after-market is so small. Thus the tip always is, if insurance costs are not an issue, buy a big car (e.g. BMW 7) maybe two to three years old.

DAS

Yeah, and he probably didn't bring his M16 or camouflage jammies!

:-p

--Geoff

Was stopped at security with the M16. LOL

Have you ever been to NY City? London tubes seem a lot deeper than NY subways but I haven't been back to NY for 4 years so may be my imagination. Sure seemed a long trip down to your trains. Any idea if they are unusually deep?

after-market

Some London Underground ("Tube") stations are very deep, others not. One is known as the deepest, but I can't remember which. Probably a couple of questions directed at Prof Google will provide the answer...

Have been to NYC many times but don't often take the 'Subway'. Don't recall anything special, except that they mostly go north-south :-)

DAS

True story: I was on the tube in London. A very, very obvious American stood staring at the station map for long minutes, then turned to me (I was pretty obvious myself) and said "No matter what train I get on, according to these maps they all run East-West! I need to go North!"

I couldn't help myself. I tried, but I couldn't. I said "Oh -- yeah, if you want to go North or South you have to go up to the surface and catch a bus or a taxi. The tube only runs East-West."

You were right about google. Instantly found a great site on London Underground. Unfortunately, couldn't find anything comparable for NYC subway system. Deepest station is over 136 feet below street level in inner London. Don't think I was at that station.

Art, you prompted me to look at the TfL (Transport for London) site, which is more famous for being a place at which to pay the f************* Congestion Charge (sorry for swearing, normally never do online).

I was reminded that it's Hampstead on the Northern Line that is deepest below ground. New to me is the one about the Jubilee Line platform at Westminster being the furthest below sea level. Normally this type of nugget of info is of not much use as it doesn't tell me how far below street level it is, but it attracted my attention as it's quite new. Westminster Station (next door to the Houses of Parliament) was closed for years as it underwent substantial reconstruction when the Jubilee Line was built through/under it.

In fact the lines do not run jsut run east-west. Just look at the map here:

The current system is here:

DAS

One thing I found interesting on the tubes was the lack of standardization. In NY when they replace subways, they get a bunch of the same subways and phase the old ones out. In London every line was different from what I could see. One was very poorly designed with doors that angled into the ceiling. Some one stepped into the train and it was clear to me that the top of his head was not all the way in. I felt funny being in someone elses's country but I warned him anyway to tuck in his head. He looked and thanked me for the warning.

Also I was surprised by the lack of facilities for handicapped or even baby strollers. I helped one woman with a stroller on 3 flights of stairs. According to the subway maps, very few of the stations have anything for handicapped or strollers. In this respect though I don't know what the story in NY is these days. I might not have noticed the situation in London except now my father uses a walker or powerchair to get around.

You are right that the train types vary across the lines. Well spotted!

I am curious as to why you think that having a door that angled into the ceiling is poorly designed.

I think the main reason for differences is size/size of tunnel. Thus some lines need trains of smaller cross-section.

What's more, renovation has been very spotty. A few years ago a study showed that about 1.2 billion pounds sterling were needed to modernise the system, money that no government authority could bring up. Thus a partnership betwen private and public capital was born and the investment has started. This is quite controversial because there are justifiable fears that some of the mistakes in the privatisation of the railway are being repeated.

Problem is, that parts of the Underground are from the 1880s... that makes it the oldest underfround system in the world, AFAIK.

When we were students we used to have the ambition of setting records in getting to as many stations as possible without repetition...

:-) DAS

Because it almost cut the guys head off had I not warned him to duck.

NYC has two basic differences. Its older IRT line uses different cars than the BMT and IND lines because of tighter turns. Thus shorter cars.

Also, because of the solid bedrock in NYC it is not practical to build the lines very deep. Open trench was used in Manhattan for much of the construction there.

Richard.