corozin

Well I've got the only remaining telegrau grey VR6. Also rare as it's a Nothelle car. But that doesn't stop it breaking down all the time. It looks nice on the recovery truck though :D

Yeah I went this year for the first time and it was actually a much better show than I thought it might be. Good turnout, and even some opportunities to cut deals with the traders, which seems to be an increasingly rare occurance on the show circuit compared with years gone by. We also had one of the best curries I've ever had at a VW show - not something to be underestimated in terms of the customer experience! If the weather is good, will probably make the trip again in 2011. I've already listed it in the event calender posted on the events board.

Lotus cars makes losses, but I'm pretty sure I'm correct in thinking that Lotus Engineering does good, profitable business as a design and engineering consultancy to a number of manufacturers.

Yeah and as if to prove the point look what happened to Noble when they tried to push massively upmarket. They not only forgot their existing customer base, they purposefully neglected them. Everyone aspires to be the next Ferrari or Lamborghini, but the truth is both of those brands are very much in the minority, and when you consider it objectively there are alternatives that make both look very expensive (Porsche being one of them) Now the Lotus 2Eleven was a success but it wasn't a road car, and wasn't a volume car either. I'm a little worried that Lotus may have gotton grand ideas which it's brand is just incapable of supporting. Remember that the last model V8 Esprit was a pathetic seller, despite being a tremendous car both visually and dynamically. You can argue that the Elise proves that Lotus can be profitable, but in fact the truth of that resurgence in the 1990s was more to do with the lucrative contract Lotus got to build the VX220 for Vauxhall, which they made a lot more profit on. But the point is that British history is littered with the carcasses of failed low volume sports car makers. I hope that Lotus recognise that thier brand has been in the dustbin for at least 5-6 years, and damaged even further by it's association with Proton. And as my father has said since the 1970s when he owned an Elite +2, there is a limit to what people will pay for a car made out of fibreglass, and a limit to what they will pay for a Ford. And he's right about both things.

Ok I looked it all up. The Evora is actually a bigger car than the Corrado both in length & width Corrado = 4050x1796mm Evora = 4342x1848mm The differences aren't huge, but it is a bigger car. But I still can't really understand the weight, given that (a) the Lotus bodywork isn't made from steel (b) the engine is an alloy Toyota lump rather than the piece of iron that is a VR6. So I'm back to thinking there's Kryptonite in the chassis or something. But while I'm poking a few holes in what is a pretty and undeniably fast car, £57000 is a hell of a lot of money for a Lotus.

You need a stiffer Corrado Kev, I can open my door easy with the car jacked up. I thought you had strut braces fitted front & back too?

Kev is correct, it is supercharged - not turbocharged. But it's still an absolute tank by most standards, let alone those set by the ethos of what a Lotus should be. Hence the post. I still can't understand how it weighs so much. They must have hidden some kryptonite ballast in the floor or something. I bet the owners of your average Elise/Exige (both under 800kg) must be scratching thier heads on this as well, but the fact is true.

1) Quoted kerb weight of a Corrado VR6 = 1,235kg 2) Quoted kerb weight of the new Lotus Evora S = 1,437kg How did a GRP bodied Lotus end up weighing so much more than a piece of 20 year old German iron like the Corrado? Unbelievable!! Note that performance is not an issue for the Lotus as it's twin turbo'd V6 thumps out 350bhp. But I'm still surprised the Lotus is coming in at anything more than a tonne considering the construction.

a) I have no idea at all. I don't know him b) I posted the whole colour code list on page 1. Your answer lies there :wink:

I'm pretty sure that list (less the Khaki Green) is correct for UK cars. The only other colour which springs to mind isn't actually on that list, being the shade which the G60 Jet specials were done in (those were also non UK models). From recollection it was called something like Genesis Blue (I know a guy who had a G60 Jet about 12 years ago)

In my rush to cut/paste the list of colour codes I missed the fact that Khaki Pearl Effect was a Germany only colour. That said, many years ago there was such a car in the UK, which had been ordered (in RHD) by the owner when he'd lived in Germany and had brought it back here with him. The colour was certainly unusual, but nowhere near as bad as you'd have thought based on the colour description. Unfortunately the car was stolen in 2001 and never seen again.

There's nothing in what I've read so far about how far back this may apply. In countries like France & Belgium you aren't allowed to do any engine modifications at all but I suspect that any attempt to harmonise the rules anywhere even close to that is going to be a massive problem if applied in a country which has been used to little regulation in this area previously. I sure I recall reading somewhere that the vehicle aftermarket for modified parts & services is worth around £4bn in the UK, so I'm sure there will be a lot of resistance if VOSA try and push things too far. But it's not all bad news; I certainly wouldn't mind if (for example) the MOT went bi-annual, as it seems to come round very quickly! Will try and keep a look out on how this develops.

There was a thread on here a couple of months ago regarding changes to the MOT which a number of people - myself included - poohpooh'd because the references in the link provided no substantiation of the changes. But it does seem as though VOSA are looking to review the MOT rules in mid 2011 in light of the differences between our tests and those carried out in the rest of the EU. And we now have a document to read this time touching on some of the issues which will be looked at. It's actually an interesting read in any event. What seems apparent is that our own MOT is one of the most stringent tests currently applied in the EU. Many other countries don't start testing cars until at least 4 years old, and then test every two years unlike our own annual test. We also have a very comprehensive checklist compared to other countries, but many of those on the other hand don't allow the test to be conducted in the same location as any repair work, which is obviously allowed here. One particular item which will be of interest here is the intention of VOSA to consult on making "illegally chipped" engines an MOT fail, as is the case in many other parts of the EU. It sounds as though VOSA don't really have a clue how this would be enforced if they chose to go ahead with this move, but the implications for owners of modified cars in this area are very significant. Obviously where an engine is changed substansively (e.g. where new cams or a supercharger is fitted) it is necessary to remap the ECU to optimise the efficiency, not to mention emissions of the engine. But what happens where the original ECU is replaced with and aftermarket management system? This is clearly something which will have to be flagged up in consultation as just impractical. Take a look at the booklet. From the contents it appears VOSA have already shown thier hand in terms of an intention to ban "chipping" despite dressing it up as an intent to consult. We may need to get ready to petition VOSA and our MPs next spring if this does become a consultation point.

Colour Paint Code Year Black LO41 88 -95 Brilliant Black Metallic LA9V 91 -94 (95?) Helios Blue Metallic LA5Y 88 - 90 Inca Blue Metallic LK5T 91 Blue Pearl Effect LC5Z 90 Aqua Blue Pearl Effect LC5U 91 - 95 Moonlight Blue Pearl Effect LC5M 92 - 95 Mystic Blue Pearl Effect LC5L 94 - 95 'Storm' model only Tornado Red LY3D 88 - 91 Flash Red LP3G 92 - 95 Red Pearl Effect LC3Y 89 - 91 }Same colour Bordeaux Pearl Effect LC3Y 92 - 93 }different name Sherry Pearl Effect LC2U 94 - 95 Blackberry Metallic* LK4Z 94 - 95 * = Bramble to VW Dusty Mauve Pearl Effect** LC5P 92 ** 'Campaign' model only Dark Burgundy Pearl Effect LC3U 90 - 94 Twilight Violet Pearl Effect LC4T 94 - 95 Quartz Metallic LD7Y 88 - 90 Diamond Silver Metallic L97A 90 Light Grey Metallic LP7Z 91 Pearl Grey Metallic LA7U 91 - 93 Satin Silver Metallic LB7Z 92 - 95 Storm Grey Metallic LK7Y 94 Ice Grey Violet Pearl Effect LK4U 94 Nugget Yellow LK1B 90 - 91 Alpine White L90E 88 - 92 Candy White LB9A 93 - 95 Dark Green Metallic LD6U 90 Green Pearl Effect LC6V 90 - 93 Khaki Pearl Effect LC6Z 92 - 93 Classic Green Pearl Effect LC6U 93 & 95 Dragon Green Pearl Effect LC6P 94

Aqua Blue is the most popular colour on VR6s Storm Grey is pretty rare, but you probably already know that. Telegrau (Forest grey) is unique, but then it's also not an original colour :wink:

You can flash the headlights without engaging the lock on full beam, if you have a light touch you can do it without pushing it past the click point. Just takes a bit of practice.

Seriously these Recaros aren't even leather. If these go for more than £400 the world will have gone truly, truly bonkers. But then I said something similar before I saw Lamborghini Reventon wheels fitted to a MkIV Golf earlier this year. Perhaps we're already in Narnia...

I half expect the RS3 will be bought by the kind of pretentious dumkopf who thinks £40k is price worth paying for a car which will be substantially slower than a whole range of cars which are easily £10k less new. And when they finally take delivery, expect the owners of proper RS Audis to start picking on them on the road, to show them what a proper RS2/4/6 goes like. You can buy a S3 right now, chip it to at least the same power, and have £10k left over. I just don't comprehend this car. At least we'll be able to identify the "total cocks" in society again. They'll be easily spotted driving these.

At a thousand for parts alone you might want to look at the option of looking for a cheap whole car secondhand, removing the panels you need, and scrapping/selling as much of the rest as you can to recover most of what you spent (if not make a small profit). Might also leave you with some useful spare parts. Realise this will also depend on your circumstances, how handy you are with tools, whether you have storage etc, but it's just a suggestion... John

My dilemma is that the Skyline engined Datsun 180B is just the coolest car on that page by miles. What do I do?

Not being funny but if you go through the original link onto the MOT Tester's site which the article quotes there's no mention of any of these changes, which makes me a little suspicious of the actual reporting. I also have a feeling that if stuff like aftermarket HIDS and chipping was going to be banned there would have been an uproar in the mainstream as well as the motoring press by now. But I havn't seen a thing there either. I'm tempted to call the whole article bulls***...

The chipped ECU is just unenforceable when you think about it. What would be the situation with a modified engine which needs to be remapped in order to function correctly? Also why would VOSA try and bring that rule in? I'm sorry but I just don't buy that one at all. As for the airbag test, well I don't suppose that's something Corrado owners need to worry about. But it is slightly concerning that VOSA seem to be looking over the MOT rules for older cars again, and potentially moving the goalposts for older cars. That is a bit worrying....

I think you need to push back against the salvage costs. £630 sounds like quite a bit for a car which is a write off. You're wasting your time arguing the settlement number as they're paying the agreed valuation When my 1st VR6 (M100 VRG) was wrecked I only paid £400 to get the salvage back, and that was 5 years ago. I'm sure there's some room for negotiation; a few extra hundred quid on the deal would be nice.

Bit of a tuffy Andy. I think you'll find the size of the Impreza's boot handy when carrying Noah's kit on days out, but at the same time I think you'll find the BMW is at least as comfortable but more importantly a cheaper proposition to own and maintain; cheaper insurance, mpg, the parts are generally cheaper and there are more mechanics who understand them. I also have to admit really liking the unusual colour of the BMW you've posted. It's nicer than the Subaru IMHO anyway.

They often set the write off value at 50% because most repair quotes only list the materials required to do the job, and the normal thumb-rule is that the labour and tax will double whatever the materials are quoted at. You'll need to get the quote down to well under £2k. The alternative will be to think in terms of writing off at the agreed value provided they allow you to keep the scrap - voila you have a £4k budget to work with. If you can pick up a suitable broken shell to cannibalise the panels from you may be able to restore it all back to glory for around the settlement. If you start with a whole car you can also reclaim extra funds back by breaking and selling the bits you won't need. When I bent mine last year I did a similar deal; front wings are like £400+ and the slam panel was over £600 from VW, but (having settled) I managed to source both for only £30 each and spent the insurance money in the bodyshop. Gives you an idea of what's possible anyway. Still wishing you lots of luck Paul :)