Smoking and cars

A bit late for this as I should be discussing plain packaging of cigarettes by now. But I thought my readers might be interested in this info graphic.

I would like a volunteer from amongst the Anti-smoking fraternity to step up for this experiment. Don’t all run forward at once as my garage will only fit in about one hundred. (No pushing to the front of the queue, Debs Arnott).

E cigarettes and smoking in cars.

Last week the House of Lords voted to ban smoking in cars carrying children.

It’s interesting to note that at the same time the anti-smokers are campaigning  to have E cigarettes banned from enclosed public spaces. 

It might seem a coincidence, but I feel that their slippery slope of bans would come to a halt without a ban on E-cigs. After all how can you tell that a driver passing you with a child onboard is smoking or vaping?

As we all know this ban is just the start. I personally think that the ban on smoking in cars with children would be impossible to police anyway and would soon be amended to no smoking in cars at any time. Just to get around the vaping issue. That’s why they have to ban vapers from enclosed spaces.

As others have pointed out this is a major erosion of liberty, in the fact that they are at last managing to get their jackbooted laws into peoples own private property. Of course this will soon lead to “Think of the cheeeeeldren” in smoky homes. Your home will no longer be your own when the Nu puritans have the full force in law to inspect your home at a moments notice.

Be warned, other anti everything enjoyable groups are watching as this template unfolds.

So if you like a drink, sugar, soft drinks or anything else that public health deplore, then you will be next.

Count on it.

How do they make a living?

Apologies for the lack of posts of late but things are quite hectic at the moment.

My present motor conveyance has been costing me money that I don’t want to spend. So I’m looking for something new.

Having looked on this Interweb thingy I found a slew of franchised dealers that sold the make of vehicle I wished to purchase.

Mrs FE and myself jumped into our motor carriage and sweated (Bloody AC has gone tits up) our way to the dealer. On getting there, and finding a parking space we wandered around the forecourt for a good fifteen minutes. Now in the old days, within minutes, you’d be fighting of salesmen like a diver fights off sharks. They didn’t have what I wanted, but I doubt whether I would have bought from them anyway. (They were probably sitting in the air conditioned showroom giggling at the two old duffers braving 32 degrees of heat).

Anyway back to the internet for another look. And guess what? I found just the car that would suit us at another dealer linked to the same franchise. Naturally I phoned that dealer and arranged for a viewing and a test drive in an hour and a half’s time.

Hah.

When we got there (Drenched in bodily fluids. And no we hadn’t pissed ourselves), no-one seemed to know why we were there.

An utter shambles.

Not only was the vehicle to be viewed stuck behind three rows of other cars, but they couldn’t find the sodding keys for ten minutes.

Anyway I shall cut them some slack as I’m going for a test drive on friday.

Is this the same in all British industry or am I just unlucky?

You think I’m stupid?

Today was the day my renewal notice for my car insurance tumbled through the letter box and onto the mat. With bated breath I ripped open the envelope to get to the heart of “What are they going to try and con me into paying this time”?

£33 pounds more to be exact, is the figure. That’s 8% higher than last year. I would consider that figure to be unjustifiable as inflation at the most is 4% (Depending what index you use. RPI or CPI). and my car’s value has depreciated since last year.

So quick as a flash I logged into a price comparison website to see what insurance there was available for my trusty vehicle.

The only trouble with those sites is minutiae of detail they need for some reason. Why for instance do they need to know whether I’m married, homeowner, have children, or the names of my cats. (Alright I made the last one up).

Any way the upshot of all this bollocks was that eventually I found a policy that matched my needs. And of course it was lower than the quoted new premium by my present insurer. 11.5% less to be nearly exact. That’s less than I’m paying now.

Oh and do read the back of the renewal notice. My present insurer had quietly added into the policy that they were increasing the excess by a whopping £300.

I was nearly caught out a couple of years ago when the insurance company renewal notice gave me the renewal cost in bold on the front, but had hidden on the back the insurance tax and VAT.

Sneaky

Smoking whilst driving will attract a fine for “careless driving”.

Police currently enforce most careless-driving offences by issuing a warning with no further action, but government plans revealed yesterday will give them the power to issue fixed-penalty tickets.

Last one on the list.

Now I’ve been lighting up cigarettes whilst at the wheel for more years than I can remember. It’s completely second nature to me. I do it without taking my off the road for a second.

And before someone at the back shouts out that you must have both hands on the wheel. That’s bollocks.

Have you never changed the radio station, switched the lights or windscreen wipers on? Do you never change gear?

Just another little money earner for the government coffers.Or just paving the way for no smoking in cars?

Shocking!

Sometimes, we all see something so incredibly cruel, so incredibly heart-wrenching that we feel that it’s our duty to step in and right wrongs.

Enzo Ferrari, named after the company's founder

Only 400 of these beautiful cars were ever produced. Ever. So hands up who thinks that some guy’s wife got this out of the divorce and broke his heart by painting that gorgeous car that disgusting, revolting colour?

Microsoft and cars

I don't know how true this is.


At a recent computer conference (COMDEX) Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, is reported to have compared the computer industry with the auto industry: "If General Motors had kept up with technology like the computer industry has," he said, "we would all be driving 25-dollar cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."

In response, General Motors have issued the following press release …

"If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:

1 For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash … twice a day

2 Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car

3 Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this

4 Occasionally, executing a manoeuvre such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine

5 Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads

6 The oil, water temperature and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation" warning light

7 The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying

8 Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna

9 Every time a new car was introduced. car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car

10 You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off

Thanks to the grumpy old sod for this.