Does the panel approve?

Accompanied by the sound of a chisel on slate Tom De Moor, managed to produce the following words of wisdom

Bugger.

could have been worse.

I still prefer decent engine responses. Diesel still can't provide them.

Slow burning fuels make cars less enjoyable to drive though, and diesels still sound nasty in most cases.

LPG is still my preferred way to save money. I don't care if I have to fill up every 250 - 300 miles, I stop for coffee and a piss about that often on a run anyway.

Range is my only complaint with the Golf.

225 miles from full to empty is all I get.

Only costs 16 quid though.

You will change camps after driving a Audi A8 4.2 TDI.

I drove a standard one, then the same without speed restriction and with a bit extra boost. No f***ss -the A8 is somewhat expensif- wants to be seen in a car restricted at 250 kph. The Abt-powerbox made topspeed free and gave the engine 100 HP/liter, that being 420 HP.

Slow burning fuel? The standard A8 TDI stays nicely close to the all new XKR even with the Jag having 100 horses more and 200 kg less to pull. With the Abt-version however the standard XKr is ... ahum... bombed back to the stone age.

The XKr has afterwards also received a smaller pulley on the supercharger and a more open exhaust. Then they were dead even again.

From Kempten to Brussels (750 km) the A8 toured "slowly" 220 kph cruise- controled and without refueling in about 3.5 Hrs. The XKr came in an hour later and had fueled twice. MAybe he took the more scenic route.

For both cars there is a public but the A8 is a car to drive, meaning it will notch up around 200.000 km in the 5 years it stays with the current owner. The XKr is more of a poser (the owner is an architect, the kind who sees himselve as an artist). I guess that XKr will have about 50.000 km in the same 5 years.

Diesel? The Merc owned AMG is working overtime now Audi has released big power cars which are useable. Me thinks the petrol V8 AMG-engine will retire quite soon.

Tom De Moor

My answer is to get a BFO tank fitted and only fill up once every 2-3 weeks. It's only a plan at the moment, and filling up would take fecking ages, but I've got a couple of little ideas to make that a bit easier....

Mine work fine, one of the nicest feature of the car.

I'll decide when I need headlamps, not some computer.

Merc GL420CDi Merc CLS320CDi (unless you think of it as a smoothed off E class) Alpina D3 Challenger II

There, that brings it to 10. Though I'd be swapping the 335d for a 535d, and the Xantia would be excluded for being French, probably to be replaced by the V10 Phaeton.

I'll crank my engine with a handle, not some motor thingy.

Not comparable at all.

Mind you, I probably have my lights on at least 50% of the time, anyway.

What about electric handbrakes?

They rock. Seriously. I thought it was a useless gadget, but all cars should have them. Make hill-starts a doddle.

I'll decide when to apply/release my handbrake, damn you.

You can still do that.

The only electronic over-ride on mine is that it'll take it off for you as you apply throttle and raise the clutch pedal. It's probably one of the greatest driver aids in a generation.

Ahhh, I've got hill start assist for that, just like them subarus have (and saabs IIRC)

So really, the problem is gadgets your car doesn't have?

(c:

I only have one 'gadget' as such, that's the leccy handbrake.

However, it's more useful, more of the time than most of the other gadgets mentioned today.

I can do without auto wipers / auto headlamps / steering wheel controls / auto dim dash etc., but I've been looking at cars in advance of our replacements being ordered and found myself thinking 'that's alright, but... it has a normal handbrake'

I think that really defines a useful addition to me.

I've got auto transmission. Kinda negates the need for an auto-handbrake.

Don't forget active suspension to prevent the immense bodyroll generated by having 300 litres of petrol sloshing about _or_ anti-baffle tanks.

Multiple tanks is another idea. That space in the doors, yeah, why not...*

*I can think of lots of reasons why most cars have a small tank and why the doors are not used for fuel storage, sadly.

I use the bumper of the gadget-less Passat behind for... oh, hold on, we're being serious.

I've found that having replaced the rear discs and pads, now my handbrake works properly again.