Car Chat

[Eye of the Tiger]

Suck woman for life/familygru. Sporty character, sauber non refundable veggie, suck passenger fraud.

[Soup DeVille]

DATING DONE RIGHT!   

This guy was in front of me today. His self-made sign reads:

"Looking for a woman for life [with the intention of starting a family]. [Woman needs to have] a strong character, be athletic, hygienic. Non-Smoker and Vegetarian. If you are this woman, contact me.... [inserts his Twitter profile link] (pixelated because of GDPR).

Seems like a winner.

[cawimmer430]

Seems like a winner.

Suck woman for life/familygru. Sporty character, sauber non refundable veggie, suck passenger fraud.

Last photo of Priscilla with those gorgeous 19" AMG wheels. Had my winter wheels and tires fitted today... 

[cawimmer430]

So France has just gone full retard on the taxation of heavy cars for next year. Any car that is heavier than 1800 kg will be subjugated to a brutal tax. Every kg of extra weight means 10 Euros in penalty. Therefore, if you're an owner of a BMW X7 luxury SUV in France, expect to pay 7,650 Euros for your ultimate driving SUV.

Criticism of the new law comes from the fact that most French cars weigh less than 1800 kg and are therefore not affected by this law. Also, heavy hybrid, Fuel-Cell or electric vehicles are not penalized with this law because they "emit no CO2 bla bla bla bla bla..."

The law clearly targets German luxury vehicles and potential American imports and is actually intended to kill the sales of SUVs, which many eco-retard Europeans view as "climate killers".

Link: https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/article218411838/Frankreich-SUV-Steuer-trifft-vor-allem-Porsche-Audi-und-Mercedes.html (GERMAN)



EDIT, English link found.


France slaps new weight tax on heavy cars, SUV owners to be hit hardest

In grim news for lovers of big cars, France is to introduce a weight tax for vehicles heavier than 1,800 kilos – though those with hybrid and electric engines will be spared.

The penalty, to take effect from January, 2021, will mainly apply to purchases of SUVs and large four-wheel drives. The exact cost is yet to be determined.

Taxing the weight of polluting vehicles was one of many proposals put forward by the Citizens' Convention for the Climate (CCC), which called for a penalty of 10 euros to be levied on on every kilogram exceeding 1,400.

However the government rejected the idea, arguing that such a tax would hurt the French car industry, already hit hard by the coronavirus crisis.

In an about-face on Thursday, Ecological Transition Minister Barbara Pompili told newspaper Les Echos that, after lengthy discussions, the government had worked out a compromise.

The decision to levy the tax on vehicles weighing more that 1,800kg, instead of 1,400kg as suggested by the CCC, means almost all French-made cars will be spared. Exemptions are also being made for seven-seater cars owned by large families.


Mounting pressure

Last week the French arm of the World Wildlife Fund ramped up pressure on the government to take action against the country's top-selling SUV cars, which it says have a "crushing impact" on both the climate and household budgets.

SUVs – powerful, large-format passenger cars that combine offload features such as raised ground clearance – have seen growing demand in many parts of the world, and now account for 38 percent of sales in France.

WWF warned the "heavy" and "greedy" vehicles had become the second largest source of growth in French emissions – just behind the aviation sector.

France urged to put brakes on booming sales of polluting SUVs

France rolls out €1,000 grant for second-hand electric cars

"The problem with these vehicles is that although they are heavier, they are used for the same things: to take the kids to school, to go to work, or the visit grandma," WWF-France president Isabelle Autissier told FranceInfo radio.

"People are getting around in a car that is 200 kilos heavier and that releases 20 percent more greenhouse gases."

The French car industry is expected to oppose the new weight tax, amid fears it will be increased over time.

The Committee of French Automobile Manufacturers has already argued that vehicles have been gaining weight for safety reasons - to better resist frontal impacts, and carry new equipment such as airbags.



Link: https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20201015-government-u-turn-as-france-slaps-weight-tax-on-heavy-cars-suvs-climate-pollution

[CaminoRacer]

Good! I wish we did that here. Too many massive trucks and SUVs

[r0tor]

Good! I wish we did that here. Too many massive trucks and SUVs

True

[RomanChariot]

It looks like they already put in an exemption for 7 passenger vehicles for large families. I expect that their will be unintended consequences from that such as manufacturers finding creative ways to classify their vehicles as 7 passenger vehicles (random jump seats in cargo area, back seats divided into 4 smaller sections, etc.).

This may end up being like the US tax deduction for work vehicles over 6000lbs. People who would have purchased a smaller truck ran out and bought larger trucks to get the tax deduction. People in France may end up buying 7 passenger vehicles when they only need a 5 passenger vehicle.

[AutobahnSHO]

https://www.automobilemag.com/news/2020-polaris-slingshot-first-test-drive-review/

Lol. Says everything I already did, plus it's too noisy plus they say you "should" wear a helmet and then it's still too noisy.

[Laconian]

And it's the same price as a ND Miata, which has four wheels and looks amazing!

[AutobahnSHO]

And it's the same price as a ND Miata, which has four wheels and looks amazing!

+1 plus Miata is more functional in so many ways....

[MX793]

The other drawback to a trike that nobody thinks about is that it's nearly impossible to miss potholes.  They are about as wide as a car, so you don't have a ton of extra space to swerve within the lane like on a bike, and pretty much no matter where the pothole is, one wheel is going to hit it.  Potholes to either side of the lane are going to hit one of the outboard wheels.  Potholes in the middle of the lane, which a car could straddle, will hit the rear wheel.

[Morris Minor]

Went on an outing yesterday with the photo club here. One lady there was driving brand new soccer mom Odyssey, a replacement for the SUV she & her hubby had before.

Her 91 year-old father-in-law now lives with them and he finds it much easier to get in & out - middle row captains chairs & sliding door.
Also it has a ton of space for all her photo gear, bags, lights, tripods plus general crap.
It drives buch better than the SUV they had before and she loves it.

She'd had tint film added to the front windows for privacy (she's early 60s - still knockout-beautiful, gets unwanted attention)

[cawimmer430]

Good! I wish we did that here. Too many massive trucks and SUVs

The problem with such ideas is that they can easily be modified to penalize owners of other vehicles.

Today it's heavy SUVs and luxury cars, the next day it's sports cars - because let's face it: nobody needs a 600-hp [sports] car. The government is essentially telling you what to drive, and that has nothing to do with freedom.

Also, the person who buys a heavy luxury SUV will laugh at the extra tax; it does not bother them. But the medium-income family man with say five or six children who also takes care of grandpa and grandma who needs a van will also be punished. Vans like the Volkswagen Multivan or Mercedes-Benz V-Class weigh 2.2 and 2.1 tons respectively. A Citroen Spacetourer starts at 1.7 tons (how convenient for this law...).

[r0tor]

Well this should end the old 2wd on snow tires vs AWD on all season tires debate...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7E3GTpgvjs

[MX793]

Well this should end the old 2wd on snow tires vs AWD on all season tires debate...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7E3GTpgvjs

That's largely been my experience, though I think using a pickup truck does further exaggerate the advantage of AWD.  Outside of pickups, and most people who own pickups and live where it snows get them with 4WD, not terribly many RWD passenger vehicles out there.  A contest between FWD on snows vs AWD on A/S would be closer, though I expect the AWD to still have an advantage in accelerating (and the car on snows will stop shorter, corner more sharply, and have more lateral grip).

[FoMoJo]

This Russian Burns Down Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S Out Of Sheer Annoyance

[cawimmer430]

Last drive of the year with my dad's '89 500SL. Man, that was so much fun! Tomorrow she's getting prepared for her winter hibernation sleep.

[Raza]

https://www.automobilemag.com/news/2020-polaris-slingshot-first-test-drive-review/

Lol. Says everything I already did, plus it's too noisy plus they say you "should" wear a helmet and then it's still too noisy.

I like the idea of a three wheeler, but this isn't it.

[Raza]

Last drive of the year with my dad's '89 500SL. Man, that was so much fun! Tomorrow she's getting prepared for her winter hibernation sleep.

I still love that design.

[MX793]

OMG this is like somebody crossed a Mini Baja car with a Formula SAE car and then put them on a WRC course.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpH6A-_UDY0

[veeman]

This Russian Burns Down Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S Out Of Sheer Annoyance

Full video of it:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-b1DVlX_wDo

Very similar story to the Italian guy who took a sledgehammer and axe to his BMW M6 on a public street because he was so disgusted with BMW and the dealership that sold him his unreliable car.



I can't think of a lesson learned.  Maybe get a Lexus. 

[r0tor]

Bleh... He probably made more money off of the clickbait video than the car was worth

[cawimmer430]

I still love that design.

Drives (and drinks) like a dream.

[cawimmer430]

God damn, so cool. 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0shLNNkQ58

[cawimmer430]

I really love how passionate Chris Harris is about his 1957 Citroën 2CV with 12-horsepower. This is a guy who vaporizes tires on 600-hp super cars, and yet he claims he has some of the most driving fun in this!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUZq0jSKP5g

[r0tor]

I'll take a guess that when he is not making a clickbait Youtube video - he never drives the 2CV

[cawimmer430]

I'll take a guess that when he is not making a clickbait Youtube video - he never drives the 2CV

In another video he states that "any journey that's under 10 miles he tends to do in his 2CV". It's essentially his grocery-getter/shopping car.

[r0tor]

In another video he states that "any journey that's under 10 miles he tends to do in his 2CV". It's essentially his grocery-getter/shopping car.

Again - I'll place money on him never really driving it

[cawimmer430]

Again - I'll place money on him never really driving it

What makes you think that?

[Soup DeVille]

What makes you think that?

Because he sees no reason to believe that anybody would like things he doesn't.