Show notes 134
Added 2022-11-13 18:01:02 +0000 UTCHello again. This week in pictures we have the Cupra T/Formentor, the interior of the MG4 (tiny heated seat buttons not pictured), Matt LeBlanc in some terrible ‘90s sunglasses, Tom Cruise not suiting Aviators (according to Jonny), a listener’s lovely E34, and Richard’s Boring Car Trivia book list of what Fiat names mean in Italian.
VW is bringing back proper buttons - https://uk.motor1.com/news/618273/volkswagen-bringing-back-steering-wheel-push-buttons/
The Queen’s X-Type going to ock-shun - https://www.historics.co.uk/buying/auctions/2022-11-26/cars/ref-115-2009-jaguar-x-type-estate-ex-hm-queen-elizabeth-ii-jg/
Guitarist falls off chair - https://youtu.be/aYFRfqi44go
Comments
Mums got the MG4 and you can actually control the heating and fan speed through the buttons on the steering wheel which is very useful I’ve found. Also there is a way to put a large tile on on the Home Screen for climate. I’ve yet to do that though :)!
Jason Park
2022-11-25 10:14:04 +0000 UTCHarry Metcalfe should buy the Queen's Jag
Simon O
2022-11-20 16:40:20 +0000 UTCOn my lunchtime walk at work I walk past Julian Thompson's Grand Design-esk house, some interesting cars a MK1 F Pace SVR, Honda Civic Type R and a ermmm Quashqui...
Ross Hetherington
2022-11-17 21:54:12 +0000 UTCSpeaking of Subaru Legacys (ies?) RHD white legacy estates were used by the US postal service. Well in VA/DC they were anyway. Being RHD they could easily access the ‘mailboxes’ OTSOT and all that. My parents lived there in the mid-90s and almost bought a new one to bring back to UK. Instead they bought a Volvo 960.
Richard Barry
2022-11-17 13:06:11 +0000 UTCGiven we have now firmly established that tortoises have feet, and turtles have flippers .. are either of you able to explain how Touché Turtle was able to wield his sword?
Stuart Jarret
2022-11-17 08:17:15 +0000 UTCExcuse me, but can Jonny please explain this - https://twitter.com/rmajor86/status/1592826561572786177
Richard Major
2022-11-16 10:44:51 +0000 UTCFun episode. Not sure why it’s not just Seat Cupra, that’s was an decent hot hatch, but perhaps not as good as the 306 GTI6 at the same time. A bit odd that Australia concessionaire has Peugeot and Seat at the time. Also a budget of 30p for marketing.
Dean Groom
2022-11-16 10:25:30 +0000 UTCAs a Leon FR driver I'm well acquainted with that friggin dash and it's the worst part of a very decent car. If you want to zero the trip you've got to dig through about 4 layers of menus.
Dave Law
2022-11-15 16:58:47 +0000 UTCThe Cupra badge looks like an angry vagina and having trim levels named V1 & V2 means I will chuckle and think 'Angry Vagina Vengence Weapon' when I see one. And then my missus will ask what I'm laughing about, I'll try and explain, and then she'll think I'm an even bigger one-handed flute soloist than usual. This podcast has corrupted me.
David McNelis
2022-11-15 14:18:11 +0000 UTCThey’re Oakley e-wires on Matt LeBlanc I think!
Sam Jinks
2022-11-15 11:29:43 +0000 UTCThe ‘Dememtor’ is a good car, when the infotainment system works, driving it though feels like your in a speed boat on maximum throttle, looking down the bonnet.
Noel Huggett
2022-11-14 23:10:37 +0000 UTCYes Richard you got it pretty much spot on, The P38 was pulled out by my Father In Law with his DAF recovery truck from his coach firm. I'll email you with all the other hilarious aftermath events of his original accident that precluded the construction of the escape lane.
Nigel Hancock
2022-11-14 22:50:24 +0000 UTCThere are Diamondback Terrapins in Outer Banks they inhabit the marshes and creeks I have seen lots of them while fishing in the bays.
Bill
2022-11-14 21:14:28 +0000 UTCReally nice to see some love for the E34 this week 💕 I’ve been lucky enough to have had my 540i saloon for 17 years now, nearly sold it twice but could never quite bring myself to let it go, one of the best BMW’s ever in my book…
Charlie Trueman
2022-11-14 20:12:02 +0000 UTCFiat 500 MPV. I actually bought one with real actual money. Never worked from the moment I got it. I forgave the gomping looks for what was a clever bit of packaging. 7 seats in a car shorter than a MK1 focus estate. However. It had several mysterious illnesses that the Fiat main dealer couldn’t get to the bottom of, nor several other mechanics. Drivers window never worked (4 years old at time of purchase) the turbo kept knocking off, which Fiat diagnosed as a faulty alternator. This was replaced along with several other bits. It didn’t fix it. Then it started emitting large clouds of dieselly white smoke and then would go into limp mode. I think something DPF but the light never came on. In the end I just gave it back to the dealership and told them to do their worst. I then bought a Passat “sports” PD130 that had been bodged by every owner for 10 years. I spend an unhappy oily year returning it to factory before giving up and just buying a old X-trail. It’s a right old tractor, but by god everything works. Which is lovely.
Pete Lonsdale
2022-11-14 20:01:50 +0000 UTCWhy was the MG photographed while flying off a cliff?
Tailen
2022-11-14 16:49:52 +0000 UTCOh I think you know and hail his name. Guessing your also a fan of Cobra, Specter and Dr Evil.
Stigfan
2022-11-14 16:38:35 +0000 UTCRegarding “Guitarist fall off chair”, the version that has Phil Collins dubbed over the top is even more amusing. https://youtube.com/shorts/OI8Ow4zKrWI?feature=share
James W
2022-11-14 16:37:58 +0000 UTCLast night in had a dream I broke into Jonny’s house (door was unlocked), hid in the bathroom and got chased by him on a bicycle. I’m not sure what this means. Maybe I was foreshadowing a new show: Late night Brake in Show featuring bicycle chases
Adam Russell
2022-11-14 13:26:53 +0000 UTCThank you for highlighting the biggest problems with modern cars. One of the primary goals of controls that need to be used whilst driving is that they can be operated without looking at them. It baffles me why we've moved from buttons that work flawlessly to these fiddly touch screens. Talking of which, keyless ignition. During Covid, I decided I wanted a nice big car for camping, so a friend sourced me a Nissan Serena in Japan. It was absolutely spotless and probably an ideal car for Jonny. It's about 90% of the size of an Elgrand, but with a two litre engine and a CVT gearbox, so 30mpg is quite achievable. Three rows of seats with the back two rows folding flat so two people can sleep in the back. The rear row folds up to the windows and the middle row slides forwards to the front row, it's brilliantly practical with van-like carrying capacity. I digress. When my Serena arrived, I discovered that the keyfob had buttons to open the sliding side doors remotely. This was really quite useful for chucking stuff on the back seat. However, it was also keyless ignition. As long as the key was on your person, the engine would start using a twisting knob on the steering column, just like a key would. Fun fact: there's a key in the keyfob and a key slot underneath the plastic cover of the twisting knob, so you can operate it entirely conventially. I digress again. You've probably worked out where I'm going with this, but I'll fill in the blanks just to make it really clear. I parked the Serena on a main road outside the office. I switched off the engine before realising I'd forgotten to fold the mirrors. For some unfathomable reason, this only works when the ignition is on. Anyway, I shut the door, crossed the road, blipped the keyfob to lock it and walked to the office a few minutes walk away. 9 hours later, I wandered back to the car and as I turned the corner, I noticed the headlights were on. My immediate thought was an electrical issue and would the car start when I got there? I needn't have worried about starting the car as when I crossed the road, I realised the engine was running. The lights were on because it was now dark and the automatic lights had switched on. I had idled through quarter of a tank of fuel and it was running on fumes. I gently drove to the closest petrol station where it guzzled £80 of Tesco's (re)finest. I advertised the car for sale when I got home and that will be my last keyless experience. On another note, I walked past a modern Grand Designs-style house whilst listening to this podcast. Parked outside? A Tesla and a Range Rover. When Jonny mentioned it, I nearly doubled back for a photo, but it looked like rain was coming and I'd not brought a jacket. Soz.
Andy Laurence
2022-11-14 12:58:04 +0000 UTCI love a good breakers yard although the true scrappies are very hard to find these days as safety rules and environmental regs mean vehicles are often pre-stripped. Harry Buckland's in Cheltenham is still a self-dismantle type of place with bartering on the way out for the parts. I had a visit in April to strip a Mk1 Twingo they'd got in for breaking. However they process most cars within a month so you rarely find anything interesting. My favourite breakers was a yard just outside Hitchin in Hertfordshire called Rush Green Motors. They amassed a huge amount of old commercials and what didn't sell just sat in the yard, they'd pile things on top of each other and lots of it was lost in the vegetation. It was like it for decades and you could lose hours having a mooch. It was a mecca for commercial vehicle owners. They had a bad fire a decade or so ago and a huge area was destroyed which resulted in them finally sorting the place out a bit and ridding some of the most demic things. They still trade though from a site of several acres. There are lots of videos and photographs online from their heyday.
John Hammond
2022-11-14 10:31:32 +0000 UTCGod I used to love a Scrap Yard. Mr and my mate, Saturday morning, driving to Harry Bucklands in Cheltenham, either in my MK3 Scort estate or his MK 3 Astra 16v. Buying/stealing switches from an escort ghia, and filling in the blanks in my 1.6L dashboard. Getting a 5 speed gear knob to put on my 4 speed box. Most concerning was taking bits off a smashed car, and thinking after, I wonder if the person driving that actually survived Best scrappy was a small one local to me, run by a cockney. He was always oily looking. My mate wanted a steering wheel from an original Mini. So he undid the bolt a bit, stood on the bonnet and repeatedly swung a sledge hammer towards the wheel to remove it, inches from my mates face. Also, to remove an engine from a car, they simply hooked a chain onto the engine mounts, and then to the bucket of a tractor. The guy then repeatedly bounced the bucket up and down, ripping the engine out. Long live the scrappy
Richard Matthews
2022-11-14 10:09:27 +0000 UTCThat E34 has made me have a moment.
Toby
2022-11-14 09:47:20 +0000 UTCThe best current VAG steering wheel in my opinion ist the one in the current base model Golf8. My company car has the infuriating touchscreen infotainment, but the buttons on my wheel are delightfully analogue.
Richard Giles
2022-11-14 09:46:36 +0000 UTCWhile watching Jonny's Cupra Born video I couldn't help but look at the Stream Deck button box I have with little OLED screens and wondered why that hasn't been done in cars, physical buttons any driver can assign to their own options. Make them e-ink so the legends are visible when powered off and can be lit from behind like trad buttons. It definitely seems that the buttons got mixed up on the CAD design of the Tormentor, in my mind the ESP and start/stop buttons really make more sense swapped around.
Matt Tester
2022-11-14 09:43:54 +0000 UTCScrapyards are regulated by the Environment Agency and as a site inspector I used to visit most of the ones in Devon. This was particularly upsetting during the governments scrappage scheme, when perfectly good and often delightful older vehicles HAD to be destroyed. I would often be on site when cars were driven in by their owners to be put down like a sad old horse.
Devon Franky
2022-11-14 08:00:35 +0000 UTCOh no … https://reddit.com/r/facepalm/comments/yu63xy/dj_khaled_at_an_nba_game/
Conor O'Leary
2022-11-14 03:10:24 +0000 UTCThe next Cupra model - Cupra Skeletor (I am pretty sure Skeletor is a cartoon villain but not sure exactly from which. Might be He-Man???)
JTonCars
2022-11-14 00:50:18 +0000 UTCI think one of the best heated seat controls are the scroll wheels in VAG cars before touch controls.
Robin Johnsen
2022-11-13 23:09:26 +0000 UTCThat Jag is lovely regardless of the name on the V5.
Daniel Ferguson-Smith
2022-11-13 20:45:06 +0000 UTCVW thankfully got rid of the idiot CEO Herbert Deiss that created the touch sensitive and cheapness issues. Looks like the new guy has quickly implemented changes of quality and common sense.
Richard Fitton-Perkins
2022-11-13 18:20:30 +0000 UTC
