Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Quick question : has anyone seen a Renault Twizy lately? :lmao: I guess, like all fashion accessories, it ran out of fashion (and battery).
There’s a bunch of street sweepers in my home town that have twizys with large garbage cans strapped on the back 😜

Here goes:
1662582315725.jpeg
 
That actually seems like a totally appropriate use for a vehicle like that.
 
Having sat in the back of one, you could just throw the trash behind the driver and it would be exactly the same as the plastic bin. :p
 
It's a bit like the Citroen Ami : everyone says ooh it looks so cute, I'd definitely buy that, but nobody ever does because it's daft and pointless and slow. From what I hear they're not actually that terrible to drive as long as you do mainly B roads, but apparently too "out there" for most people?

I kinda like the Twizy though, because I'm weird? The 2 people sitting behind each other made me think of that weird Dutch car/bike thing that leans in the corners (Carver I think)...
 
It's a bit like the Citroen Ami : everyone says ooh it looks so cute, I'd definitely buy that, but nobody ever does because it's daft and pointless and slow.

How I feel about the Opel Adam…
 
The Ami is a quadricycle like all the sans-permis stuff that's been offered for decades, but the best thing is it doesn't have a jittery diesel.
 
The Twizy is awesome if you need a city-only vehicle and don't want to tip over when you stop.
 
  • Like
Reactions: lip
There’s a bunch of street sweepers in my home town that have twizys with large garbage cans strapped on the back 😜

Here goes:
View attachment 3566685
I don't think the lorry one is technically a Twizy.

Anyway, Los Angeles of all places has a bunch of both of the things pictured for assorted city government uses.
 
Okay but for real I need to know more about that lorry.
 
Okay but for real I need to know more about that lorry.

Top speed: 25mph/40kph
Range: 60, 80 or 110km (depending on the 8.6, 11.5 or 17.3kW battery)
3m turning radius for short wheel-base
Weight: 1009lbs/457kg

...and totes adorbs.
 
boooooooooo lead acid.
 
They definitely knew what they were doing when they applied the stickers above the headlights, it looks quite shocked and upset. Meanwhile the Twizy just continues to look like a white owl on a roller skate.
 
They definitely knew what they were doing when they applied the stickers above the headlights, it looks quite shocked and upset.
You...you wanna stick that big load where?
1663102107087.png

1663102118473.png

1663102140223.png
 
Got the wife's car in for its yearly service and first MOT.
Weird thing was that it gave an engine fault immediately driving away from the dealer, also no powah.
Took it back, and it was a bad sparkplug? So swapped out, on to the MOT station (they're a seperate, government run thing here), and passed.
Weird thing nr 1 : how did the dealer not notice a bad sparkplug?
Weird thing nr 2 : they only did oil, filters, and misc shizzle, they went nowhere near the sparkplugs?
Weird thing nr 3 : car did poorly on the shock absorber test thingy, showing a massive difference between rear left and rear light. It somehow still passed?

Anyways, because relatively new car, and relatively low mileage (4 years, 32k kms) I'm good for another 2 years (instead of just 1).
 
I wish my state still had safety inspections, and the ones we used to do were nowhere near as comprehensive. Things like shocks were never tested, only visually inspected. I don't think a blown shock would result in a fail either.
 
Ordered new winter tires the other day. Almost all of them were made in Russia, including Nokian which I had planned to get. It seems manufacturers stocked up before sanctions put an end to the exports. I read somewhere that it's not the easiest thing in the world to just start production of nordic winter tires somewhere else. You need special tooling and trained workers for what ultimately is a small market, and it seems Russia was the place you went to if you were a tire manufacturer and wanted to be in the nordic winter market. I ended up with Good Years made in Poland because I'm not putting Russian tires on my car.

Anyway, my size was available with the sound insulating foam in it, so I went with that. Another €50 or so for the entire set so I thought why not try it out. This is typically invented for and marketed towards the EV market, but you can't really hear the engine in most other cars either once you're done accelerating and trundling along at 1500rpm. This includes my diesel and the substantially noisier diesel I had before the VW. Interested to see if it's going to make a difference.
 
Replaced the leaf springs on the rear of my Nissan Frontier this evening. Not really news worthy, but the gripe is... I'm getting older and less flexible, so working in a gravel driveway, getting jabbed with sharp rocks, hunched over, just ain't going to cut it anymore. I need a shop with a lift if I am going to continue to work on cars. Heck part of the problem was, if I got the wrong size wrench or socket, it took a full minute to stand up, walk into the current shop (which is no longer usable do to being used to build timing system equipment), exchange the tools, then return to the truck and flop back on the ground.
 
Replaced the leaf springs on the rear of my Nissan Frontier this evening. Not really news worthy, but the gripe is... I'm getting older and less flexible, so working in a gravel driveway, getting jabbed with sharp rocks, hunched over, just ain't going to cut it anymore. I need a shop with a lift if I am going to continue to work on cars. Heck part of the problem was, if I got the wrong size wrench or socket, it took a full minute to stand up, walk into the current shop (which is no longer usable do to being used to build timing system equipment), exchange the tools, then return to the truck and flop back on the ground.


A big sheet of corrugated board reduces the pain of gravel greatly! It also makes getting out easier.
 
Top