No Big G, that isnt the answer. I will go back there if this does all become far too much of a big brother society because that is inhumane and a total invasion of our liberties...

My point is - what is proposed at the moment SHOULD NOT be allowed to happen. I am sure it wont because the british public will not put up with it - most are fed up with the existing intrusive surveillance & high taxes - but this will be a step too far.

If there are rallies and protests - which there will be - i promise you i will be there & i will go & have a good rant outside Parliament & that way at least i have done my Pro-motorist bit & will feel alot better!

Whether they will listen i doubt very much because they are dictators. But if enough rallies & protests ensue, theyll be out of government & leave the possibility of someone sensible getting in - someone who leaves us overburdened motorists alone.

If the government want more money it would be best if they stopped giving it away to Europe.

What is this? a get at Palmira thread? Bottom line is drive what you like, live where you like, eat what you like, drink what you like, go where you like. BUT....

in any modern country be prepared to pay for it.Taxation is a way of life and different countries need different amount of revenue to function. It doesnt matter how it is raised as if its not on big SUVs it will be something else. What matters is how it is spent and at the moment i think that is the issue.

Incedently. I think they should cut all this rubbish and just simply stop taxing cars and put it all on petrol. You would then pay for each mile you drive and the more pollutting and gas guzzling the car the more fuel you have to buy. They should then let you park outside your own house for free. It would be the only way of getting people to think about how economical they are.

Other way of looking at it (the selfish way) we will all (probably) be dead in 60 years time so who cares what happens with global warming?! - just playing devild advoacte here, dont shoot me

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Noxide:
he is far more of a patriot than someone like Roma, who just wants to sell us out to the EU.
QUOTE]

Thats a bit harsh Noxy. The UK wouldnt be able to survive without the EU as its far more important politically and trade wise than the US. If we left the EU it would be a disaster for us and wouldnt solve the problem of migrants or any other issues we have.

The problem with the EU is that we were too pig headed to get in there at the begining, lead it, develop it how we wanted and to our purposes. Instead we joined when we had no choice and had to join on their terms. That is the problem with the UK more than anything politically, its never prepared to take a risk and only wants to join things once they are established. The same will happen with the Euro and we will join when its bad for us and create all manner of problems.

Let's hope we never join the Euro. We are heading towards being a non-descript superstate Craig, one with no customs, morals, traditions or identity in pursuit of trade and universal wealth.

I am already not allowed to go into certain areas of Britain without being looked at with Scorn. I am heading towards being a minority race in my own country. Traffic signs, road markings and chocolate bar wrappers are being written in dual languages. I am not allowed to say certain previously harmless words or phrases without being persecuted, and soon I won't even be allowed to use the English pound in my own country.

If only we could turn back the clock 50 years and change things, it could all have been so much better today. Instead of having a nation of teenage single mums, thicko swaggering Chavs, benefit frauds, leeches, drug addicts and wasters we could have had a nation of hard working, honest and responsible people.

Like we had 50 years ago.

Nox, its easy to think back 40 years and wish we were there the problem is that the bits that are remembered are the good bits "the good old days" and not the bad bits.

Postwar britain was banrupt and unemployment was high and so was crime. Wages were low people couldnt afford more than the necessities really and driving was something which only the wealthy were able to do with more than a Ford popular rustbucket.

It wasnt a particularly great place and the wave of immigration you refer to was in some respects due to the sheer mess we made of a lot of those countries through colonial rule. Hardly good old times.

i love my country...i feel that i am a libertarian...you should be able to drive what you want...but as i have said...responsibly.....i have a 400 quid 7 series that only gets out on the motorways where it gets about 30mpg.....if i need to go into town i cycle or take the daihatsu..40mpg regardless....yes i believe you can drive what you like...yes im fed up with people getting at suv drivers when they leave drivers of s class mercs/ferraris etc...alone..the suv is a convenient ie big and ugly..target....if however you decide to take your suv into a highly polluted, highly congested area and take 2 hours to trave 2 miles getting about 10mpg and you are alone in your behemoth, then you deserve to be pilloried...as does the driver of the 400 quid 7 series next to you.....a little education goes along way...re-educate derivers needs etc...i genuinely dont even have a problem with mr and mrs sloane taking the brats to school in the cayenne...at least its serving a purpose...car sharing, even in a cayenne or the like, would reduce pollution hugely.....a seven seat disco with children from 3 or 4 families in it will still churm out less polution than 3 or 4 family cars sitting in the ame traffic congestion......we need education, not persecution.....social and ecological morals are neccessarry in this day and age and i do wish the papers etc..would stop making drivers etc...a convenient and headline grabbing scapegoat..

Yet again, Big G, Nox and Craig making absolute sense! You are good chaps and i agree with whats being said here.

Craig where did you decide to settle in the end? If its London SW then gissa shout, id like to see that classic car of yours! Ive been keeping my eyes peeled on the roads but havent spotted it yet!

Nox, probably youd like to join us - we can go & have a spot of dinner afterwards. Civilised!

Big G, those 7-series are one of my all time favourite cars. One of my neighbours has a 1990 silver 730i in perfect condition & it even has the original MLG CHISWICK license plates & rear window sticker! Its dechromed & still looks fabulous today - id buy one, i think theyre still modern even after almost 20 years. Just think, in 5 years time, youd have a car which is exempt from road tax but is still modern! Fantastic!

I had the misfortune to have to use a bus this afternoon. Ive taken my bike into the Kawasaki dealer for a service, and got the bus home. The journey (Barnes to Hounslow) took me 15 minutes on the bike - but the return on the bus took over an hour!!! And it was crowded too!!

I had wondered if it was being driven by Ken, or if Ken was a passenger, but i didnt spot him... Theres a surprise...

I think cycling is the answer - shoudlve dropped my pushbike off at the motorcycle dealer yesteday, then it wouldve been there for me to ride home!

As you know Big G, i cycle in London all the time when im not working.. sometimes if ive got further to go i ride the motorbike, but the motorbike is usually for pleasure - weekends away or european hols.. My Trek 1000SL pushbike does the trick here.

Do you ride far on yours? Im trying to get fit again. Many years ago i was a racing cyclist - i raced for 10 years , time trialling, road racing and long distance. Trained every day, and used a different pushbike as a mode of transport.

If you really want to be green, and enjoy your life, then own an SUV, a sports car (my ideal would be a Range Rover and an SL 55 AMG), and a pushbike. Use the cars for going out and about on evenings or weekends, driving along the motorway doing good MPG, and use the pushbike around town. Perfect.

And it would solve britains obesity problem at the same time as reducing the bus-jams on our roads.


God these politicians are morons - and greedy to boot.

..about 12 miles a day in the good weather palmy....and the rolling exemption from tax is another thing blair inc.(reg tm) did away with...car has to be registered or made before 1st jan '73 to be exempt....iv had three old seven series now and they are amongst the very best 'banger' luxobarges you can buy...mine has 197k up, a full bmwsh, was a company directors car, has every conceivable extra bar leather, everything works which is unusual for an old bimmer..its dolphin grey( a bluey grey) mettalic and drive absolutely spot on...they are a bit of a geezas car at this age...but then im a bit of a geeza!!!!.

sometimes I think it would be nice to have a g wagon, G500 appeals

quote:

Originally posted by barky:
sometimes I think it would be nice to have a g wagon, G500 appeals

G55 AMG anyone ??

That's very un-Lib Dem of you Barky

But please save one for me!

quote:

Originally posted by biggbn:
..about 12 miles a day in the good weather palmy....and the rolling exemption from tax is another thing blair inc.(reg tm) did away with...car has to be registered or made before 1st jan '73 to be exempt....iv had three old seven series now and they are amongst the very best 'banger' luxobarges you can buy...mine has 197k up, a full bmwsh, was a company directors car, has every conceivable extra bar leather, everything works which is unusual for an old bimmer..its dolphin grey( a bluey grey) mettalic and drive absolutely spot on...they are a bit of a geezas car at this age...but then im a bit of a geeza!!!!.

Good lad! Nothing wrong with "geezers". Often the best minds are the minds of geezers!


Barky - yes id love a G500 or G55 AMG - see quite a lot of those in London, although no doubt the people in this Borough (richmond) who own one will be building themselves a driveway so they dont get ripped off for having the audacity to park their own legitimately purchased vehicle outside their own home...

C55 AMG - fantastic compact road burner! Id like one of those too - and relatively rare compared to the M3 against which it (almost) competes!

quote:

Originally posted by craigjmitchell:
The problem with the EU is that we were too pig headed to get in there at the begining,

Thought it was more to do with a certain tall French ex wartime General veto-ing us joining?

quote:

Originally posted by b308:

quote:

Originally posted by craigjmitchell:
The problem with the EU is that we were too pig headed to get in there at the begining,

Thought it was more to do with a certain tall French ex wartime General veto-ing us joining?

Not at all, if we had joined at the outset when it was the coal and steel community then we could have led it and moulded it. The problem with De Gaulle was that he didnt want us to join as by then it had been in existence for years and the French had come to have the loudest voice. IF we had been in at the outset it wouldnt have been an issue

quote:

Originally posted by Palmira:
Craig where did you decide to settle in the end? If its London SW then gissa shout, id like to see that classic car of yours! Ive been keeping my eyes peeled on the roads but havent spotted it yet!

Hi Palmy, im not really settled anywhere at the moment as im splitting my time and not full time in London yet but my part time digs are in south london as will somewhere permanant when i get round to selling my northern place.

As for the classic well you wont be able to see it now! im keeping a low profile at the moment as im having a bit of serious aggrivation to do with the job and the poor Rover was in the carpark at our office when it was firebombed and is no more! needless to say the issues are that severe I am currently driving around in a armoured Jaguar XJ given to me by the Met Police. Once things have calmed a spot of dinner and a glass of whiskey sounds good.

i want a 4x4 because pedestrians do less damage to them when they get hit.

quote:

Originally posted by craigjmitchell:

quote:

Originally posted by Palmira:
Craig where did you decide to settle in the end? If its London SW then gissa shout, id like to see that classic car of yours! Ive been keeping my eyes peeled on the roads but havent spotted it yet!

Hi Palmy, im not really settled anywhere at the moment as im splitting my time and not full time in London yet but my part time digs are in south london as will somewhere permanant when i get round to selling my northern place.

As for the classic well you wont be able to see it now! im keeping a low profile at the moment as im having a bit of serious aggrivation to do with the job and the poor Rover was in the carpark at our office when it was firebombed and is no more! needless to say the issues are that severe I am currently driving around in a armoured Jaguar XJ given to me by the Met Police. Once things have calmed a spot of dinner and a glass of whiskey sounds good.

Are you serious old chap?? My goodness, what on earth happened?

That is a very nasty business indeed - what did they do to your office and your car?

unfortunately yes palmy, would rather not discuss it on a public forum ask oli to pm me your email address on the other side

quote:

Originally posted by PaPa SmUrFF:
i want a 4x4 because pedestrians do less damage to them when they get hit.

You have to get out of the car sometime.

Will do craig, feel free to get in touch, will be good to hear from you

quote:

Originally posted by Noxide:
Sorry chaps, just logged on over there and I've been banned too. My user name is still active though.

Craig, send me an email through there and I'll email you back the relevant details.

someone's forgotten their password ????
you don't have to ban yourself btw

Hi Barky, I can only see one sub forum "Read here first", none of the others show up on my list, nor can I click on Craig's name over there.

I may be able to log in, but I'd say I was technically banned

I don't think you're banned Noxy, you still show up in the list of members.

I think you just need to log-in.