Spot of the day V8

[Toftdale]

1 hour ago, kiseca said:

I don't see an XK8 but I do see an Aston Martin DB7?

Oh, thats embarrassing 😳,  in nothing else the Aston Martin logo on the wheel caps should have given me a clue😁😅 - Andy 

[klubman01]

The fuel tanker is an interesting spot.  It's carrying JET-A1, which is aviation fuel for gas turbine engines.  I wonder what they would use that fuel for at the facility where you saw it?  Turbine powered electrical generators, as used on North Sea gas/oil rigs, perhaps?

Trevor

[ajwebb]

51 minutes ago, kiseca said:

 

All within the rules if the Nissan driver reversed in through the hedge.. 🤔

Well it certainly seems like that happened, the driver even managed to tear a hole in the treeline as well! 🚜

[Spiny]

23 hours ago, kiseca said:

 

I can't speak for everyone, but the thing I hate about it is that they called it Capri. If they hadn't, I probably wouldn't give it any attention.

 

 

I guess that probably explains why marketing called it a Capri in that case - as they say any publicity is good publicity.

 

14 hours ago, Farmer matt said:

I think it is the front that really kills the Capri, but that seems to be the case with most electric cars. It is as if having been given a clean slate by not needing to accomodate a grille, the designers have no clue how to approach the area.

The recent trend towards gigantic grilles and outsized badges on normal motors is not much better though.

 

Matt

 

I have seen before that generally cars are designed to have a face so as to help potential buyers relate to them and get more character. The grille is often taken to represent the mouth. Someone has already remarked about the Tesla and their lack of grilles making them look odd. So it could be that far from freeing designers by losing the grille, it's actually a problem as the 'face' is no longer complete, hence why we get all sorts of fake grilles.

[keefr22]

19 hours ago, Toftdale said:

Stopped in a lay-by for a quick sandwich on a completely miserable day, so was quite surprised to see a T4A park in in front of me.

 

Looks like his roof might be leaking and he needs to bale out some of that downpour that's got inside....!! 🤣

 

Keith

 

 

[keefr22]

16 hours ago, klubman01 said:

The fuel tanker is an interesting spot.  It's carrying JET-A1, which is aviation fuel for gas turbine engines.  I wonder what they would use that fuel for at the facility where you saw it? 

 

Or is it actually still in use? Looks to be in RAF livery (is there a roundel on the front?), so maybe just someone's pet classic. Great looking vehicle though!

 

Keith

[kiseca]

17 hours ago, Toftdale said:

Oh, thats embarrassing 😳,  in nothing else the Aston Martin logo on the wheel caps should have given me a clue😁😅 - Andy 

 

I still wasn't sure if you meant the DB7 or if there actually was an XK8 somewhere and I just couldn't find it

 

[kiseca]

15 hours ago, Spiny said:

 

I guess that probably explains why marketing called it a Capri in that case - as they say any publicity is good publicity.

 

 

That's a very good point. The name certainly meant it has received a lot of attention on Britmodeller, where if had been called something nondescript, it is unlikely it would have got any at all. And while the majority reaction here has been negative, if just one person has seen it and quietly thought the new Capri is actually just what they need, it's done better than it would have done without the name.

 

 

 

15 hours ago, Spiny said:

 

I have seen before that generally cars are designed to have a face so as to help potential buyers relate to them and get more character. The grille is often taken to represent the mouth. Someone has already remarked about the Tesla and their lack of grilles making them look odd. So it could be that far from freeing designers by losing the grille, it's actually a problem as the 'face' is no longer complete, hence why we get all sorts of fake grilles.

 

 

This I agree with too, but there are examples of vehicles that can look attractive without a face. Aircraft and boats being the obvious ones, but in the car world, cars with popup headlights often looked attractive even though the "eyes" were missing. Cars like the Ferrari 308 and Countach take on a sleek attractiveness more like an aircraft, with their muscular or sensuous beauty being provided from other areas of the body, whereas something like a 1980s Aston V8 Vantage is all about the face, the character, the big, muscular bruiser in a tailored suit and a face that just says "I'm more powerful than you.".

 

Also cars with four headlights, or even 6 in the case of the Alfa 159 and Brera, can have as much character as a car with just two, and can look just as good or better. I guess "face" doesn't have to mean human face, neccessarily. So there are ways around it. I think Tesla's ummm..... facelifted (really wish I could have thought of a term that didn't reinforce the "face" aspect :D) Model 3 looks a lot better than the original one now that they've gotten rid of that odd bump in the crease that runs along the tip of the car and just put a straight, horizontal crease in its place instead. Now, for me, the oddest things about the Model 3 are the upsweep of the rear quarterlights which just go nowhere, and the lack of tumblehome which makes the cabin's greenhouse section look too big for the rest of the car, and not dynamic enough, and top heavy when viewed from the front. Overall, to me the 3 and the S have always looked like cheap Jaguar copies.

 

For most modern cars, I think the huge size and height of them, particularly the height of the bonnet are as big a problem as any. It must be difficult to give the car an attractive front end without needing a grille to break up that huge flat panel at the front. Mercedes seem to have compensated by giving some of their cars a huge grinning halloween pumpkin face... like whatever it is that they use as a Formula 1 safety car. It has distinctive proportions that are love it or hate it, I think, but it stands out.

[klubman01]

Spotted today at the service station just north of the Black Cat Roundabout on the A1.

 

 

A chat with the owner revealed that is an ex-Ginetta Cup race car from a couple of seasons ago.  He got it MoT'd and on the road earlier this year.  No creature comforts added, so he says it's a bit "raw" on the road. 

 

 

He passed me on the A421 shortly afterwards, and it sounded great!

Trevor

[Farmer matt]

A G-Wagen on a wagon..

 

 

 

Matt

 

[bentwaters81tfw]

N prefix Volvo 480 in a dark red. Getting scarce now.

[stevehnz]

Possibly an AEC Militant refueller?

Followed a 1st gen BMW Z4 coupe today, from the back, I thought it looked pretty shapely. It's the kind of thing I tend to notice.   

Steve.

[Tyas]

18 hours ago, klubman01 said:

Spotted today at the service station just north of the Black Cat Roundabout on the A1.

 

 

A chat with the owner revealed that is an ex-Ginetta Cup race car from a couple of seasons ago.  He got it MoT'd and on the road earlier this year.  No creature comforts added, so he says it's a bit "raw" on the road. 

 

 

He passed me on the A421 shortly afterwards, and it sounded great!

Trevor

That is one sweet G40...

[Mr T]

Taken on my phone through the window of our car, so not the best.

It is a 1938 Austin Seven Ruby, first registered in November 1938 and so amongst the last as the Seven was discontinued in March 1939. Mrs T pointed it out to me as we just got into the car on Northallerton, and so we were still parked when the photo was taken. Came home via Leeming in time to see four of the resident Hawks in the air, and watch eight Swiss Air Force F18s taxi out and take off.

[Toftdale]

A pair of Mircolinos awaiting their new homes spotted in Bury st Edmunds last week.

And I've only just noticed the Challenger (?) In the corner of the photo.....D'oh 😁.

[stevehnz]

2 hours ago, Toftdale said:

A pair of Mircolinos

They look very like the Isetta of my youth, guessing they're electric though. (Photo from wikipedia)

Steve.

[Spiny]

1 hour ago, Toftdale said:

A pair of Mircolinos awaiting their new homes spotted in Bury st Edmunds last week.

And I've only just noticed the Challenger (?) In the corner of the photo.....D'oh 😁.

Oddly enough, it was the Challenger which drew my eye first. Although to my eyes those red and orange things are pretty awful, trying to think of the cartoon character that they remind me of. I hate to say it, but I actually prefer the Citroen Ami! But although they are clean and (maybe) good for the planet, I'd still much rather squander the planet's resources driving that Challenger 😁

[Karearea]

On 11/12/2024 at 5:46 AM, Toftdale said:

Not a rare car, but it made me chuckle to myself. 

This is what’s known as ‘putting a Note in the margins’

[pigsty]

13 hours ago, Spiny said:

trying to think of the cartoon character that they remind me of

Dunno about that, but Little Tikes spring to mind.  How are those things road-legal?

[kiseca]

1 hour ago, pigsty said:

Dunno about that, but Little Tikes spring to mind.  How are those things road-legal?

 

From what I can gather it's a quadricycle so will have a mandatory limited top speed.

 

I think they make as much sense as bicycles and motorbikes or mopeds for urban transport with the advantages of a roof, luggage space and less propensity to fall over. However at the asking price approaching £16,000 before extras, that's a hell no from me. For that money I'd just get a car.

[bigbadbadge]

Travelling back from delivering a training input today, I saw a Martini liveried Lancia Delta Integrale leaving Ashford towards Faversham, what an awesome beast it was too.

Chris

[Farmer matt]

 

30 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Travelling back from delivering a training input today, I saw a Martini liveried Lancia Delta Integrale leaving Ashford towards Faversham, what an awesome beast it was too.

Chris

Perhaps we need a 'jealous' emoji for that one!

 

Matt

[Spiny]

Little bit of an odd one today (although no photo) - an S-reg (i.e. 1978-79) Mk2 Jag. Definitely a Mk2 Jag and not a Mitsuoka View-T.

 

Would I be correct in thinking it's likely to be a reimported export that someone has been a bit naughty with the registration plate?

[Farmer matt]

Probably either a repatriation or been off-register for a period. Before the advent of Q plates and the routine issue of 'age-related' plates, many vehicles with patchy or no history simply received (then) current marks.

When the rules on trade plate use were tightened, many ex military lorries used as civilian recovery vehicles etc. were put on the register for the first time received D, E, F suffixes for example, despite being twenty years old.

There was a preserved RTL type London bus re-imported from Jersey that gained a P suffix despite dating from 1954 at the latest.

 

Matt

Edited November 15, 2024 by Farmer matt
Checked

[Farmer matt]

Not a great pic, but can't remember the last one of these I saw

 

 

Matt