Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Re: Stellantis.

A case study in horrible branding. Literally no mention of the company can pass without a 'Formerly Fiat-Chrysler' because ain't nobody knows who the hell Stellantis is.

I still refer to either as Chrysler Group or Fiat Chrysler. Even FCA made sense too.
 
I think the name sounds like a drug that will need to list off a bunch of side effects.
 
I think the name sounds like a drug that will need to list off a bunch of side effects.
Ask your doctor if Stellantis is right for you.
 
I go for FCA generally. Italian Leyland if I am going facetious
 
Somehow Saab 9-5 wagons have become a really hot item on the used-car market around here. They sell within days of being listed anywhere.
 
Somehow Saab 9-5 wagons have become a really hot item on the used-car market around here. They sell within days of being listed anywhere.

I look at last models sometimes thinking "ooh, that'd be nice" but the rest of them just are attention grabbing enough for me. It doesn't give me the fizz.
 
The last ones are a disappointment, to be honest. If you've ever rented a Chevy Malibu or any other Epsilon platform car, they'll feel pretty much the same.
 
I've never driven a 9-5NG but I do own a close sibling since five years.

It boggles the mind a bit how a small cash-strapped company managed to make a whole new interior instead of using what they could from the GM bin. Last time I looked in one i recognized the light switch, handbrake switch, start button and steering column stalks. They redesigned everything else including even the gauge cluster and touchscreen infotainment system.

I also can't really agree with them putting the Aero badge on the TTiD because, well, I have one and it doesn't have anywhere near the performance to back up the Aero badge.
 
I think the name sounds like a drug that will need to list off a bunch of side effects.

Jonny Smith (from Fifth Gear) has an excellent podcast in which he compares Stellantis to a weird 90s eurodance band. Kinda fits, too.

But yeah, silliest name ever
 
Top tip.

remember to check which port you have the vacuum pump attached to on the self brake bleeder. Otherwise you’ll ruin your vacuum pump and have a puddle of brake fluid while covering your hand in it.
 
The Finnish agency in charge for license plates have recently started issuing license plates with the letters KUK. Kuk is swedish for "dick".

I know only 5% of the population are Swedish speakers, but i'm fairly sure a big chunk of the Finnish speaking population knows what "kuk" means in a language they were taught at school. Bad words tend to be the first ones you learn, after all. I've no idea how nobody at Traficom noticed this before it was too late. It's a fuckup of intergalactic proportions.

KUK-914 is a Taycan, apparently. KUK-911 is not in the registry but chances are that they're waiting in storage at the same Porsche dealer. Hopefully they'll end up on the correct model.
 
Interesting case on AutoExpert. Dealer probably didn't tighten tow bar bolts, and that cracked chassis on a Ford Ranger.
Dealer told customer to get stuffed!

 
Let's see how this will do here, on a fairly pro-car forum :D

This would very much be the exact same situation here, where people routinely (and illegally) park so far onto the sidewalk, as to make it impossible for me to still walk there with a pram - a situation the city authorities fully condone and are not prepared to do anything about, even if actively requested.
Additionally, I watched a segment on the local news the other day, where a bunch of Müslis wanted to plant a communal herb and veg garden in a public green space. After a bunch of bureaucracy and having to sign all sorts of contracts with the city including obligations of care and such, their initiative (of about 20 people i think) got granted very limited use of a total of 20m² (on a multiple-1000-m² wild grass area next to a main thoroughfare)... it's ridiculous. Would've indeed been much easier and probably cheaper for them to just buy a friggin barely TÜV-able cabrio and a public parking permit (30€ per YEAR ffs) and plant their stuff in there...
 
Well that's one of the reasons I don't like the idea of living in a city. I unfortunately have to visit one if I'm working in the office and can say first hand that poor public transport is the reason I now drive into the city.

Anyway, I just wanted a reason to post this picture proving that 306 cabrios are excellent at growing people as well as herbs.

DSC_8436_P_S1920.jpg


From the POV of a car enthusiast I don't mind people preserving cars that would've otherwise been scrapped.
 
I don't really think cars belong in the city center either. It's always a hassle and never particularly enjoyable to drive in the city. I'd just rather park reasonably near, somewhere safe, and take public (heh) transport to the center. EVs get a pass re: emissions but they still take the space.
 
I don't really think cars belong in the city center either. It's always a hassle and never particularly enjoyable to drive in the city. I'd just rather park reasonably near, somewhere safe, and take public (heh) transport to the center. EVs get a pass re: emissions but they still take the space.

Our town center is slowly dying because everyone wants to shop in the shopping district outside of town where parking is free and plentiful. Same thing is happening in the next town over afaik, thanks to a new mall.
 
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That ^.

Parking is getting so expensive and they’re making it so difficult to actually get there by car (30 koh everywhere, a million speedcamera’s, everywhere you want to go is inaccessible by car or they make you go the long way around). I don’t bother any more and either order online or go visit a smaller shop in a nearby town where you can actually park without it costing an arm and a leg
 
"Why are our cities designed for cars, and not for people?"

The smug aura of this statement mocks me. :p

*Insert ISO rant about the cars taking the people to and from the cities and how the statement creates an artificial exclusionary division.*

Cities can, of course, go ahead and keep becoming increasingly pedestrianized, but they shouldn't be surprised when they note the reduction in business as the city becomes essentially self-contained and self-serving. The whole concept of "city center" and "shopping/entertainment district" is already being quickly redefined thanks to easy delivery to the home.
 
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