Zeke

.....The couple refused to discuss a mysterious character, known only as Vik, from their murky past. However, he was spotted lurking in the carpark in a very mean looking (and sounding) vehicle....

SOCIAL NOTE: Spotted yesterday, enjoying a quiet drink at a near-city hostelary, was eminent master snake-charmer, the suave Mr Ramm Chandra and visiting interstate celebrity, Miss Kitty Kat Smack. Miss Smack and Mr Chandra appeared to be enjoying themselves, with Miss Smack learning Indian prayer techniques, until an unfortunate incident in which they began to make disparaging remarks about the competence of a photographer. One of them was heard to mutter "papparazzi". Nevertheless, this charming and exotic couple can be forgiven for becoming a little carried away by their fame and notoriety. Unfortunately, when questioned about rumoured recent clashes with authority involving indiscreet public comments, the pair remained tight-lipped and departed rapidly soon afterwards in separate high-powered sports cars. Footnote: The photographer was indeed later shown to be incompetent and has been relieved by his manager of all photographic responsibilities (How hard can it be to switch on the correct auto-focus mode?!) However, it is rumoured that further photos of the occasion still exist and may be produced later when time permits.......unless the money is forthcoming. anyway MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Hey Rusty I'll have a punt. Will give you the $5 and my guess at the Hackney tomorrow.

Well, maybe I won't bother to turn up after all......especially with Mr Chandra threatening violence on the vibe thread! (Actually, I've always been a bit suss about those Indians.)

But Mr Chandra.....all the Indians I've met have been gentle pacifists. And you have no allegiance to Phantom, do you?

PS.....if you do a search, you might find some of the photos that have been posted of the standard screen displaying full colour dvd, TV, satnav etc.....they're very impressive.

I wouldn't write-off vibe on those photos. Could just be a bit more subtle than "violet crumble". But envi......no way!

Nope.....You're not colourblind. But, it is a good quality, full-colour screen. It's just that the standard system and software only uses very limited colour.....like blue. At least it doesn't clash with anything!!!

When will the envious masses in their jelly-bean flavoured kiddy-colours get tired of making inane unoriginal slurs on the steely stealth that is HgAg? Unfortunately, not as soon as we more sophisticated and discerning connoisseurs get sick of reading them.

Hey Lumpy, have you read the articles in autospeed re the 2.4 litre Pintara? Could be worth a look. A couple of paragraphs from the end of an article called "package for peanuts" ( I think that's meant in the nicest possible way) : "In contrast to many of the popular entry-level turbocars the 2.4 Nissan Pintaras cost almost nothing in insurance; this Ti model was comprehensively insured for around $300 per annum! Oh, and note that - with 9.1 - 9.5-second 0 - 100 km/h performance - the 2.4 LSD Pintaras are actually faster than the mega-buck-to-insure Pulsar ET and 2.0-litre 626/TX5 turbo. Unless you plan going to town with mods, why on Earth would you bother with one of these turbo machines? And, of course, there's no reason a high-flow exhaust and air intake couldn't deliver about 10 percent more Pintara power... So let's put any preconceptions behind us. The 2.4-litre Nissan Pintara models - especially those with a viscous LSD - are relatively quick in a straight-line, competent handlers, comfortable, well appointed and, of course, downright cheap. They really are an excellent all-round package for the money." Maybe you're under-rating your current ride.

That's OK..you're welcome. If I can be of any further help, just let me know.

Well, if Ken gets 12-13 litres per kilometre as he says, he must be a REAL leadfoot. Some people only use that much to go 100kms.

Well, unfortunately for me, I won't get to go on the big Saturday nite cruise At this stage, I could be tied up on Saturday arvo too (will know for sure on Friday nite). But I sure hope a meet up with Kitty gets arranged, cos, if it does, I'll get there if I possibly can. C'mon guys, we all know Kitty's only coming over in the hope of meeting Ramm. I'd love to post a photo of Miss Kitty and Mr Chandra on the forum. Cheers Kitty....hope you have a good trip over to sunny SA.

Hmmm.......I wonder if that's zeke jr's rooom......haven't been game to go in there in years.

Didn't think you had to be an IT Geek to realise that XP pro is the only reason MS has come up with yet to warrant a move from 98SE! Even then, I only changed the main computer so I could run Photoshop Album. The old one is still on 98SE and it's as stable as Gibraltar. BTW, how can you tell the difference between XP pro and XP *beep* from the screen shots?

I can remember thinking how cool it was that my grandfather's 1956 Dodge didn't have a starter button.....you just used the key in the ignition! First car in my experience to do that. That was an amazing car for a big ol' lazy sidevalve 6 motor. Also, the dash had gauges for the temp, oil pressure, amps and fuel that were all about as big as the speedo. Gramps, who was a bit of a geriatric leadfoot, used to tell his SHMBO "look at that - I'm only doing XXmph"....and point to whichever gauge best matched his claimed speed. Seemed to work, but then again, she wasn't very smart. Ah, them were the days!

....Quote Ken??.........Why??????? (jkg)

If Ford gets the Getrag and if my next car is a Ford.......then this old bugger's going back to manual. Will also stop zeke jr from driving my car until he learns to drive a manual!

Well, they say great minds think alike.

Hi All I just phoned Vik and had a long chat. He can't even access the forum at present so I can say what I like about him without repercussions. He has apologised to the powers-that-be for typically Vik-like intemperate comments about a moderator that he sent in a PM (personal message) to another (very) prolific poster from banana-bending territory. So, let's see what comes of Vik's heart-felt apologies. If that doesn't soften the hard hearts of officialdom, then I think we have to take more drastic measures in support of the old rat-bag. This site needs Vik. SA posters, in particular, have to be united in fixing this travesty of justice.

Totally agree....bloody ridiculous! Some of these dealers sound like refugees from the Gestapo. Glad I've got a good one, but I wouldn't buy a car from someone I couldn't trust to service it and honour the warrantee with integrity and commonsense.

48's a youngster....Vik looks older than that. At least as old as me (just my opinion) and I'm 54. What's this about Vik being banned? Was the offending PM to a moderator? Doesn't everyone know how to take Vik by now? Think I'll ask Rusty for his details and give the old boy a call and find out what's going on. Re the 17th...might make it but we'll see....things are still a bit hectic at chez z.

Absolutely. Given the extra heat produced by the Turbo I was worried that the A/C might struggle a bit. No way! The A/C in the T is the BEST I have ever experienced and that includes a Lexus LS400.

Bloody good idea Tom.....but far too sensible and imaginative to be meaningful to our elected reps. Even I would line up at a venue like that to see how good my T is.

Just one person's opinion, but why not have a regular subscription to retain donating member status. I guess it would be a bit "off" to require people to contribute in order to access the site or to post, but, if you leave it up to people to donate what they think is appropriate, there will always be an uneven sharing of costs. I, for one, would be happier to commit to a regular subscription than to make ad hoc decisions about donations. I would hope that the financial security of a regular income for the site would outweigh associated admin costs and hassles. If the income exceeded costs it could be used in many ways....one possibility would be prizes for competitions etc. And people that genuinely can't afford to contribute wouldn't be disadvantaged in any way other than not having donating member status. Maybe a poll on this would be a possibility? And I would support moderators' subscriptions being optional....after all, time is money. (please note when next considering giving me a warning)