This is the “Real Deal”

If you are seeking a satellite navigation device, you could do far better than buying a TomTom Start 20 model. I bought one today and it is a big thumbs down already. I do not recommend you buy one.

Fundamentally, the product is not fit for purpose as it is sold. Here is why.

I got the version with 45 European maps on. I actually wanted one with world maps (or USA at least as I visit there). However, I couldn’t find such a version online at reasonable money, and the guy in Halfords (yes, I know) said they could be downloaded from the TomTom website in exchange for money. All well and good up to now.

So I waste an hour or two clowning around on the TomTom website, downloading crap to make sure my computer can talk to my new TomTom Start 20. Then you need another programme – not really very straightforward (and I am not dumb with this stuff). A lesser mortal would struggle – trust me. Anyway, eventually they are talking to each other.

So I buy the US maps to be downloaded to my device – £35. So on top of the £140 it cost, we are now up to £175. Why they don’t sell them with US maps installed is anyone’s guess, but I digress……

The update screen tells me that in addition to the American maps I just bought, various speed camera updates are available, a set of newer EU maps and an operating system upgrade too. Fine, lets just do the lot and be bang up to date eh? Rock ‘n’ Roll. Um…… No.

It seems the TomTom Start 20 comes with a paltry 3 or 4 MB of internal memory. The European map it came with was something like 2.7. The newer version was 2.8. A few European map updates and the memory will be totally obsolete. Cute huh? This also means that there is no room to install the USA maps they just stung me £35 for. One must choose which map set one wants to use, install it and use that. Later you can revert it back. Well, how crap is that? Why isn’t there enough memory for both? I must start downloading and updating stuff every time I get on or off a plane to the US? A suitable sized chip would have added what £3 to the price? Meh!

The map download takes an agonising two hours as it loads only direct to the device. Two hours? Every time I go to or from the US? Oh dear!

Time to quiz TomTom [lack of] support. By phone it is a pay-for 0845 number. I don’t do those. I don’t need to pay to talk to someone in Waziristan who likely unconvincingly calls himself Michael instead of Gupta.

Lets try “live chat” instead. You are 7 in the queue, then 5, then 3 then……………. No operators available. Hmm. Probably a glitch; lets try again. This happens four times.

Google is your friend. Lets Google for some info. Google tells me the TomTom Start 20 has a micro SD card slot for memory expansion. Great! I check it and there is a sneaky slot I hadn’t seen by the power plug. I do another £6 on eBay for a 4GB card, so we are now up to £181 from £140 and I haven’t even used it yet.

Lets try the “support forums” and see who is talking about the dire memory issue, US maps, SD cards and the like. They are full of people complaining that although the micro SD slot exists, it doesn’t bloody work until TomTom do an “update” sometime in the summer [of 2011]. However, the forums are still full of people complaining that this promised update hasn’t yet arrived in October. When will it arrive? Who knows. There is no official response to that question.

So, does the SD card slot work yet? Nobody seems to know. Will my SD card purchase have been pointless? Who knows? When it arrives I will try it and see.

Right now, after spending an agonising 2 hours downloading the newer European maps, ist another hour and twenty minutes to “install” them.

I should devote an entire day to this probably.

Is it so much to ask to buy a satellite navigation device with world maps already installed? For TomTom, yes.

People – do what I wish I had done. Spend your money elsewhere!

Let’s talk about Greater Manchester Police’s camera cars. These little buggers have recently sprung up all over the place. They are growing like cellulite on a fat girls thighs.

Very often on my drive toward central Manchester down the A57 Hyde Road, I see one of these parked up. They are very often to be found lurking on the pavement at Reddish Bridge snooping on the oncoming traffic. Going the other way, they lurk on the pavement on the M67/M60 roundabout at Denton (Sorry Rozzers – I feel the public should know).

This must be the new sharp end of policing in Greater Manchester. Pay a guy to sit on his fat arse half the day and snoop on passing traffic. Really, do the police have nothing better to do than cough up thousands of pounds each (of our money) for these things? They must generate more money than they cost or else we would not be seeing them everywhere. That means, you and I dear reader, are paying our local taxes to be snooped upon by the Old Bill so they can harangue us through the mail for money for various non-offences.

Observe the sneaky camera located on the roof of the car. It is helpfully highlighted above by an arrow in case your peepers are not too keen.

So what are these latest manifestations of the Big Brother State all about? Well, of course, they are about raising some cash for the Old Bill. I am not 100% sure which dreadful crimes against humanity these things are designed to capture. No doubt they will be ANPR enabled, which means they check your number plate against the DVLA database and that allegedly tells them if you are insured and taxed. Probably they have the capability to detect such heinous crimes as not wearing a seatbelt, which I got a demand for recently for sixty quid having been photographed by some covert police operative. You even get a photo of yourself through the mail to prove to you what a danger to society you really are.

Does it stop astonished-looking and totally clueless Nigerian asylum seekers drifting from lane to lane aimlessly in an old dented Rover? No, not at all. That would take actual Rozzers in a real traffic car. Not these little pen pushers in their low-budget “Smart Cars”. Those things have lawnmower engines are and not capable of a hot pursuit. The real cops are stuck at the station filling in 276 health and safety forms – in triplicate – for the EU, rather than doing some actual policing.

How embarrassing must it be at a barbecue to have someone ask you “What do you do?” and you reply “I sit in a Smart Car all day photographing people to raise money from hapless motorists” I wonder? Probably those guys prefer to use a macho term like “traffic enforcement” to make themselves feel better about what they do. Saying, “I sit with a camera all day on a verge hoping to catch Mrs Mablethorpe with a two day out-of-date tax disc” is not too ego enhancing.

What does this stuff cost us? Well, the guy in the car must cost us £25k a year (perhaps more with pensions and other stuff). Add to that the £10k or so for the Smart Car. What must the camera and equipment cost? Ten grand? Then there is all his insurances and associated costs. On top of that will be a multitude of Quango outfits that will need to “certify” the camera at regular intervals. Servicing and uniforms…. triplicate EU form filling…..other stuff I forgot…..lets add £10k for all that. These things must cost us £55,000 a year each. At least.

Now these guys have generous holidays no doubt; being in the public sector. So minus weekends, paternity leave, holidays, classes as to why you should give a black man with a wrap of crack outside a school the benefit of the doubt, sick leave, team bonding weekends, ethnic diversity education seminars, etc., they likely only really work half the year in reality. That means each of those cars has to earn £300 a day just to break even. Now, out of this revenue they collect, there will be a deduction for the Central Ticket Office to myther people for the money, a cut for the courts, probably the council, defaults and non-payers to consider, various other deductions for numerous other government departments you never knew existed……… so, we can safely double that. So we are at £600 a day.

Now, they need to make a profit. Anything less than 100% wouldn’t work. It is more likely 200% or 300%, but lets run with a mere 100% for arguments sake. That means each car must generate £1200 a day. If the average fine is £60, that means only 20 tickets a day. Actually, it more likely means 20 tickets a shift. The Rozzers work on eight hour shifts, so that means only 2.5 tickets an hour. That means one every 24 minutes. And you can bet your arse that these guys will be targeted for something well beyond that. So that means that little Jackass sat in that comedy car on the pavement must find something to fine someone for every fifteen or twenty minutes or he misses his target and doesn’t get his invite to the policeman’s ball this year.

Isn’t this country a sad place to live in if we are reduced to this? I think so.

What do you know about these camera cars? Do you have them where you live? Lets talk! Use the comment box below to tell the world.

Really enjoyed my test drive of the Mazda CX-9. I was really surprised how well the car handled and performed for a midsize crossover SUV. I was comfortable in the drivers seat and there were plenty of gadgets and gizmo’s that made the driving experience more enjoyable. The blind spot warning detector was a great example of this. If there is a car in your blind spot and you want to change lanes, a warning light appears in your left door rear mirror alterting you to danger. 40 to 0 mph brake test – passed with little or no forward angle thrust. Sound system was good. I want the navigational package but the car I drove didn’t have it available. I’ll definitely want to see how it operates before I commit to any purchase.

Big advantage was price. Fully loaded we’re looking at about $40,500 which will make it about $8000-$10,000 cheaper than all the other cars in my “final cut”. All the others will have to prove they’re worth the extra investment.

Next the Infiniti FX35 . . . . . .

Test Drive Review Infiniti FX35 AWD

WOW! What an absolutely fun car to drive. When sitting in the roomy drivers seat the front fender bulge gives you the impression of sitting in the cockpit of a sleek fighter jet. The performance of the car doesn’t disappoint. To goes like a rocket ship, corners like a race car and handles like a dream. The coupe-like styling makes it seem like you’re not driving an crossover SUV at all. The interior has all the high tech features you will ever need. The XM radio intergrates with the navigation system on an huge color graphic screen. I don’t think anyone could possibly learn to master all the high tech gizmo’s this car offers. The dealership offered what seemed to be a excellent maintenance facility any needed repairs – which included free pickup and loaner car service for as long as you owned the car.

I basically fell in love while driving this car but not so fast. The FX looks good but its sort of like seeing the picture of a beautiful Ukrainian girl on an agency web page; those looks get your heart racing , but they aren’t a firm foundation for a long-term family relationship.

The car has virtually zero passenger space in the back seat. The cargo space is also a bit small even when the back seats are folded down to expand the space. The high performance is because of a sporty suspension which I found a bit rough on regular freeway driving. They only offer it in 7 colors; 5 of which are shades of black or grey.

The starting offering price including the “premium option package” was $49,350 with $2000 rebate or 0% financing for 60 months.

As much as my heart “loved” driving this car, my practical brain will probably give it a pass. But I’d encourage anyone looking for a sporty luxury car to give one a test drive. It was a wonderful experience.

Samochody z Anglii są dostępne po bardzo korzystnych cenach. Spowodowane jest to obecną tendencją zniżkową na tamtejszym rynku oraz ruchem prawostronnym w Europie, co oznacza, że rynek angielski jest właściwie „zamknięty” dla samochodów używanych i kontroluje on ceny, trzymając je na niskim poziomie. Inna zaletą angielskich samochodów jest fakt, iż umiarkowany klimat i znakomity stan dróg sprzyjają utrzymaniu samochodów w doskonałym stanie. Coroczne, ścisłe przeglądy prowadzone przez Ministerstwo Transportu oraz surowe prawa ograniczające emisję spalin zmuszają kierowców do częstego serwisowania i napraw samochodów, a więc ich rutynowa konserwacja jest rzeczą dobrze znaną i zwykle dobrze udokumentowaną. Co to oznacza dla potencjalnego nabywcy? Oznacza to, że angielskie samochody z kierownicą umieszczoną po prawej stronie są tanie i doskonale utrzymane.

Autod on Inglismaal saadaval väga soodsa hinnaga. Siinne majandusliku aktiivsuse langus ja fakt, et Mandri-Euroopas on liiklus vasakpoolne, tähendab seda, et Inglismaa on kasutatud autode jaoks „suletud turg“, kus hinnad on kontrolli all ja madalad. Teine Inglise autode eelis on see, et Inglismaa mõõduka kliima ja suurepäraste teede tõttu on autod enamasti esmaklassilises korras. Transpordiministeeriumi poolt läbiviidavad iga-aastased ranged kontrollimised ja ülimalt karmid heitgaasinormid sunnivad siinseid inimesi oma autosid väga tihti hooldusesse ja remonti viima, mistõttu sõidukid on alati läbinud tavahoolduse, mille kohta üldjuhul väljastatakse ka vastav dokument. Mida see teie jaoks tähendab? Seda, et Inglise parempoolse rooliga autod on odavad, hästi hooldatud ja esmaklassilises korras.

Автомобили из Англии в настоящее время доступны по невысоким ценам. Это обусловлено нынешним финансовым спадом в Англии, а также тем, то что в большинстве стран Европы используются автомобили с левым рулём. Таким образом, Англия фактически является «закрытым рынком», что способствует контролю за ценами и их удержанию на невысоком уровне.

Get your Mercedes-Benz rotating star screensaver for just £1.49

For Sale: 2007 (2007 Model) Ford Mustang 4 Litre V6 Coupe.

This is the modern shape Mustang (S197 series) in alloy grey with dark grey (almost black) leather interior. It has only covered 15,000 miles from new. It is UK registered on a 56 plate and has MOT until February 2011 and road tax until the end of August.

Here is the full premium spec: Auto gearbox, air conditioning, angel eye headlamps (like a BMW), remote control central locking and factory alarm, remote control boot release, cruise control, Shaker 500 AM/FM radio and 6 CD in-dash multichanger player (that also plays MP3’s and has an extra port – presumably for an iPod or similar), 17” GT alloy wheels with Pirelli P6 tyres (tyres have done 1000 miles only), “MyColor” dashboard lights (which allows you to mix and match lighting at the touch of a button to create more than 125 colour backgrounds), heated front seats and electric drivers seat.

Looking for a relatively ageless STU plate? A Stuart private number plate? An STU cherished number?

You can buy the number plate “STU 38J” (or more correctly, the right to display the number on your vehicle).