2024 Rendezvous

[GORDON STREETER]

It looks like the Spanish tourism boom will take a big drop this year through 2 things, first one is the price of flights to some airports and more importantly a major water shortage. Already in our area there are restrictions regarding usage as just about all of the reservoirs have dried up, and the only desalinize plant that is near us at Carboneras is very small. No filling of swimming pools / washing cars/lawn sprinklers etc is making people think very seriously. We have had virtually no rain for the last few years and with large amounts of houses and hotels being built all the time it hasn't helped. At this moment we are back home in the UK surrounded by floods and mud !

[John Elwin]

It is the same here in France. The south is absolutely parched with farmers in a fairly desperate state, whilst here in the north we've been awash with the stuff for months & vegetables are rotting in the ground because farmers cannot get them out.

It's a strange old world...

[Peter Mallett]

Strange really, people obsess about windmills but don't give a thought to cross country water Pipelines and reservoirs. #gofigure as they say.

[John Elwin]

France still has many, many water towers. How much they contribute to 'the system' I have no idea, but are they even used any more in England? I remember there was one near where I lived as a child but I don't think they are a common sight any longer.

[Gerard C]

They are supposed to contain enough drinking water to satisfy small towns needs during two or three days. Some having been converted in appartements or restaurants, no one can say if the water has been replaced with beer or soda.

Still very unseful for navigation, planes and boats in spite of green people protests.

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

France still has many, many water towers.

Just had a wiki look, you're right we have 16 k châteaux d'eau!

[GORDON STREETER]

Well we are back in the UK for a while and we have plenty of rain at the moment, good job that I have a happy go lucky wife

[Tel 911S]

This one should be of concern to everybody .https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-cont...EX:52023PC0451
The EU is proposing a law to ban any repair / maintenance on vehicles over 15 years old .
As usual , the wording of the proposal is very vague , but it probably depends on how it is received as to how tight the restrictions will be .

So be worried , be very worried .

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Tel 911S

This one should be of concern to everybody .https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-cont...EX:52023PC0451
The EU is proposing a law to ban any repair / maintenance on vehicles over 15 years old .
As usual , the wording of the proposal is very vague , but it probably depends on how it is received as to how tight the restrictions will be .

So be worried , be very worried .

Yes, that story was on the TV news here several days ago, but I don't think they got a straight answer out of the EU (surprise, surprise!).

My current car is 16 years old & I expect it to last a good deal longer...

[Gerard C]

Same here, John, my Bimmer wagon is from 2004 and the odo shows only 220K km. With the restrictions about the vehicles (no more allowed in towns), we'll have probably to scrap 7 millions of cars soon.

Worse, we gonna have a MOT for the motorbikes, scooters and some trottinettes too. guess what? The exhaust system wont be checked noteven the data engraved on the muffler. What Paris instances will do is forbid the circulation of ICE bikes at night.

[Mike Harte]

Thinking about this, I cannot understand the thinking about the proposal. If one assumes that "x" number of vehicles are scrapped, that also has to also assume that "x" number of new vehicles will have to be produced less a number of 2nd hand vehicles that are for sale. And I would imagine that there will be nowhere near "x" number of 2nd hand cars for sale.

Just reading the first couple of paragraphs - my life is too short to read the rest - from the link provided, the concern appears to be about the amount of steel and power resources required to manufacture automotive vehicles, and yet this proposal seems to be promoting even more production to replace all the scrapped vehicles.

I would understand this more if the proposal was to place more severe restrictions of any noxious gases that were produced by older generations of vehicles - that might be a good thing - but anything else is stupid. Public transport, certainly in the UK - this shouldn't affect us now - is nowhere sufficient or good enough that motorists will give up their cars, so I fail to see how this would be of any benefit, except for the vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers.

I bet the Chines will be rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of it.

[Gerard C]

All your thinking makes sense, at least for me, Mike. Just common sense and numbers. One can't argue against this. One day or another, many people will be in the street but it will be too late. Only farmers and cattle breeders are "talking" here ATM.

[Tel 911S]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

Thinking about this, I cannot understand the thinking about the proposal. If one assumes that "x" number of vehicles are scrapped, that also has to also assume that "x" number of new vehicles will have to be produced less a number of 2nd hand vehicles that are for sale. And I would imagine that there will be nowhere near "x" number of 2nd hand cars for sale.

Just reading the first couple of paragraphs - my life is too short to read the rest - from the link provided, the concern appears to be about the amount of steel and power resources required to manufacture automotive vehicles, and yet this proposal seems to be promoting even more production to replace all the scrapped vehicles.

I would understand this more if the proposal was to place more severe restrictions of any noxious gases that were produced by older generations of vehicles - that might be a good thing - but anything else is stupid. Public transport, certainly in the UK - this shouldn't affect us now - is nowhere sufficient or good enough that motorists will give up their cars, so I fail to see how this would be of any benefit, except for the vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers.

I bet the Chines will be rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of it.

Another link to the story .https://euroweeklynews.com/2024/01/1...lder-vehicles/
Perhaps someone has taken a large backhander from the Chinese to import millions of their EVs , which is the sort of thing to be expected from EU politicians .
But it could destroy the classic car scene so everybody should start to look into it .

[Gerard C]

We already have special allowances for classic cars, so no worry. Concern is about old cars, say ten or twenty years old or maybe less.

[Alfaholic]

Originally Posted by Tel 911S

This one should be of concern to everybody .https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-cont...EX:52023PC0451
The EU is proposing a law to ban any repair / maintenance on vehicles over 15 years old .
As usual , the wording of the proposal is very vague , but it probably depends on how it is received as to how tight the restrictions will be .

So be worried , be very worried .

Nowhere in that regulation is there a specific clause banning the repair or maintenance of vehicles over 15 years old.

[midgetman]

Unfortunately my phone doesn't allow me to load up screenshots but this part from the news article supports your supposition.

>>>>The crux of the controversy lies in a draft regulation redefining waste classification and management for end-of-life vehicles, promoting a circular economy.

>>>>The European Commission’s office in Spain has clarified that the proposal does not intend to prevent necessary engine repairs or replacements in standard cars.

>>>>The regulation specifies conditions under which a vehicle is deemed technically irreparable or residual. These include extensive damage, such as being cut, welded, burnt, submerged, or exhibiting irreversible technical defects.

>>>>Controversially, a vehicle requiring major part replacements or whose repair costs exceed its market value could also be classified as residual

So my reading is that the directive will probably mean the end of "written off" cars being bought back from the insurance company. But if a car needs repair to keep it going then it can be worked upon.

ISTR we all got worked up about Vnuk and it went away so this probably will too. But equally we're not in the EU so it's not our problem. Over to Gérard.

Sent from my AC2003 using Tapatalk

[bauble]

Just as long as they don' extend the regulations to include the driver ......
Be worried, be very worried.

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by midgetman

So my reading is that the directive will probably mean the end of "written off" cars being bought back from the insurance company. But if a car needs repair to keep it going then it can be worked upon.

Perfect for me, thanks Max. We already have official checks for this, its called Contrôle Technique aka MOT.

Its done very seriously here, many points are checked including the stamped numbers on the chassis. An MOT center can't have any direct relashionship with a garage (well, in principle).

Each center is monitored live, in case of doubt one of the well trained brigades can come in situ without any prior notice. I dont mean its impossible for a car owner to try and cheat but the center owner/employee could be in deep troubles if anything wrong is discovered.

[Gerard C]

Its so serious that they also monitor the delay between the first MOT presentation and the second one when some repairs are said mandatory. Only issue, sometimes, is for ambulances, police vehicles and the like which are repaired faster than others. Plus, if your MOT is out of date, you're no more covered by your insurance, proof in the windscreen sticker!

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Perfect for me, thanks Max. We already have official checks for this, its called Contrôle Technique aka MOT.

Its done very seriously here, many points are checked including the stamped numbers on the chassis. An MOT center can't have any direct relashionship with a garage (well, in principle).

Each center is monitored live, in case of doubt one of the well trained brigades can come in situ without any prior notice. I dont mean its impossible for a car owner to try and cheat but the center owner/employee could be in deep troubles if anything wrong is discovered.

In theory, it was the same in Spain when I lived there.; their tests are conducted by the ITV, who are not affiliated with any garage or workshop unlike in the UK where our MOTs are conducted in local garages.

I was really frustrated when I took my 1987 Mercedes 300SL over there and registered it because, initially, the ITV station would not pass it because the headlight beam, after it had been adjusted by the local Merc main dealer, didn't have a small "flick up" (I do not know what to call it) to the right which is supposed to light up road signs. After three attempts, the general manager of the dealer came with me to the ITV and ended up having heated words with the ITV manager who basically said that he understood why we were upset because it was such a minor detail, but if another ITV manager saw it, they would probably sack him for allowing it.

In the end, I ended up having to pay a few thousand Euros for completely new headlamps to be dispatched from Germany. Although I like the car, after a short while I sold it because some kind sole decided to key it from front to back on both sides whilst I was out eating in a restaurant. Then a few weeks later, when out again some drunk idiots thought it would be a good idea to throw full cans of beer at the side windows.

[Tel 911S]

Originally Posted by Tel 911S

Another link to the story .https://euroweeklynews.com/2024/01/1...lder-vehicles/
Perhaps someone has taken a large backhander from the Chinese to import millions of their EVs , which is the sort of thing to be expected from EU politicians .
But it could destroy the classic car scene so everybody should start to look into it .

Funnily enough , 1 day ago about 3000 Chinese EVs landed in Germany .https://observatorial.com/news/econo...nd-in-germany/

[Derwent]

These huge ships that BYD & MG are using to bring these thousands of cars to Europe, do they take anything back? At least with Nissan there are cars coming and going from the UK and Japan.
if these ships are running empty then think of the environmental impact.

[Mike Harte]

Yes, they are filled up again. When in Germany, they pick up BMWs and Mercedes, etc then com to the UK where they collect plenty of vehicles ranging from Minis to Rolls Royces plus other things like JCBs. They usually go off to America and the process starts all over again.

To the best of my knowledge, those so-called car transporters usually carry fairly full loads; it's the giant container ships that are often sailing back to the Far East that are sailing light, often not even staying in ports long enough to pick up empty containers. That's why Europe, including the UK, are building huge container mountains and this accounts for the shortage of containers that one reads about from time to time.

[GORDON STREETER]

Being a scuba diver this is a dive that I have done a couple of times.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Zenobia

[bauble]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

Being a scuba diver this is a dive that I have done a couple of times.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Zenobia
Attachment 79430

Ripe for restoration then, Gordon?