GamithUK

Peugeot also do a Hybrid4 system (ie. the 3008 src: http://www.peugeot.co.uk/discover-hybrid4/), where the IC engine drives the front and electric the rear, so you can choose between either or both for 4x4 is needed. There are quite a few interesting ideas coming out; swappable batteries, high-speed recharge, range extenders, different battery technologies - it will be interesting to see what the market decides. For me I need a town car for very occasional use - in fact in some regards I don't need a car at all, but a weekly trip from Stevenage to Watford to drop my son back means I do need one. I must say the plugin makes a difference, in my mind, to having an electric vehicle - having a battery that needs an engine to charge seems to be missing the point somewhat, so for a purely town car you need the plug-in feature to make it worthwhile. I shudder to think what the second-hand market is going to be like though.

Who knows - shifting load, burst tyre(s) or pressure too low, panicking driver? At least no-one seemed to get hurt - aside from possibly the driver.

Can you imagine what it would be like getting into and out of that car in the rain?

Nice one WIM - I was holding of the congrats until _AI_ confirmed it was Ok - for something so minor to have such repercussions is strange, but there you go. My beast of a motor is still going fine, there is a little wobble over 70 but since I don't get there that often I'm not fussed. :-)

Hmm not - funny, try some of these:

Nope - religion seems to be used as an excuse to do horrible things to one another.

Oh there is so much more: http://www.medievality.com/torture.html

There is the follow-on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yn6oB52sxCw

Actually helpful in one way - since it's made me realise that I will have to get the address changed on my old paper license, so I will have to go through this palaver now :-(

Good question; "Minutes before the train came off the tracks he received a call on his work phone to get indications on the route he had to take to get to Ferrol. From the content of the conversation and background noise it seems that the driver consulted a map or paper document," a court statement said. So I would make an assumption that it was a mobile (if it was the train phone would they say 'his work phone'?) but it's not clear - though it sounds as though he was looking something up and didn't notice he needed to slow down.

Root cause found it seems: Spain train driver 'on phone' at time of deadly crash http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23507348

Going too fast for the section is the problem - the question is why was it going too fast. Almost certainly it was the drivers 'fault' but maybe he was under pressure to make up time, or break a record or something? Interesting video though - the engine seem to be Ok, but the first carriage one comes off - I would hazard a guess that the heavier engine was able to do those speeds, but the lighter carriages were flung off the rails.

Is the drivers wing mirror melted? What on earth happened? did they clean it with angle grinders?

They will be picking it up on Monday morning, so here's hoping. ttfn

The 'or so' are my words to stop myself from quoting exactly. I'm actually going with Alterstart in any case since they will pick up and drop off my car, and though they are 'more expensive' the service is worth it to me, or I'll have a job driving it myself or have to take a day or two off work. To be honest £300 doesn't seem to be too bad at all, it's apparantly a 4hr book-time job, but I'm more interested in getting the job done properly. I haven't bothered asking Renault since the steering adjustment episode, which is the only bit of garaging contact I have had with them. If they can't get that right then I won't trust them with something that can break the car big time. I have tried finding reviews on them and have not had any luck, so I will have to take a chance. ttfn

Cheers Tony, I have sent them an email (ie used their website contact form) and we'll see what they say. From what I can see Mr. Clutch in Watford are to be avoided - does anyone have personal experience of them? ttfn

Ok well - that didn't go quite to plan. :-( Got as far as the 'jam a screwdriver into the ring-gear to lock the crankshaft prior to undoing the pulley bolt' and couldn't get the TDC sensor out - the two bolts came out Ok and the sensor was loose, but it just wouldn't come out. It didn't help that it's a different design to the one in Haynes - the bolt holes have threaded sleeves and it undoes on the engine side - not on the gearbox side. The Haynes manual shows a sensor like this: http://www.renaultforums.co.uk/_User-folders/vBulletinImg/%7B29268D0F-E9B3-4973-B600-ED734F0E8C30%7D.jpeg but my one is like this (a far as I can tell): http://www.justanswer.com/uploads/fordtwo1/2008-11-30_164253_TDC1.jpg So - couldn't get the TDC sensor out (and even if I did I couldn't see how to get a screwdriver in there anyway) so I put everything back in again and packed all the tools away. What a palaver - and a world of difference from my GSA, and my BX come to that. Can anyone recommend a garage that can do a cambelt/ water pump change for a reasonable cost? ttfn

After reading Chickenhawk it's amazing what experienced helicopter pilots can get away with.

The pale blue dot that is high-lighted is Earth. Picture from a blog here which is worth a read, but originally from NASA. ttfn

Yep - One tug on the blind side of the advancing ship and the ship itself was trying to push itself forwards away from the other boats. Quite a mess.

You can also lick on the 'Youtube' link at bottom right and it will open in it's own tab/window ttfn

Something a little unusual: http://www.collegehumor.com/embed/6898827/bagpipe-thunderstruck

I have a couple of scaffolding boards that I use, very thick (an inch or so) wood with metal strap-ends to keep them together, I would nix the concrete slabs as too heavy and if they do go they will break suddenly which isn't going to help. I would get some thick wood panels of some sort - heavy duty ply would work and if the load was too much you will be able to tell well before they break. ttfn

'Murica: From http://uberhumor.com/ which is well worth a trawl through. ttfn