useless fact

[webby]

Every human spent about half an hour as a single cell.



I know of a few that havent evolved any further.

[Silvery Thing]

you'll never see a Pious in the Louvre :)

Nor will we see any 4x4 cars either :D

Every human spent about half an hour as a single cell.

Some spend a lifetime that way :roll:

[Kaneda]

Nor will we see any 4x4 cars either Very Happy

You are in fact WRONG. There's one

http://www.austin-rover.co.uk/index.htm?rroverf.htm

It seemed that everyone did indeed love the Range Rover - even the French - who exhibited one in the Louvre art gallery during 1970 because of it being an, "outstanding piece of modern sculpture". Autocar magazine loved it as well, and in their November 1970 Autotest, they concluded that, "We have been tremendously impressed by the Range Rover, and feel it is even more deserving of resounding success than the Land-Rover."

[Kaneda]

The single cell fact was a useless fact, not meant to be a springboard for people to insult or belittle others  :(

[Silvery Thing]

I stand corrected with the Louvre issue.... but I love the comment.... "outstanding piece of modern sculpture".... jeez what a comical statement :D

The single cell fact was a useless fact, not meant to be a springboard for people to insult or belittle others  :(

So what was your use of the word "pious" meant to be.... don't bother to answer as I already know :?

As there are a couple of you that seem to dislike the Prius concept so much can you tell me that you hate this car with the same passion

Although still a concept car it might just make it into production. It has a 3.5 litre engine with the same hybrid technology that is in the Prius.... oh yes it is a crap pious car too but with a total of 400bhp!

[Kaneda]

Pious due to the media hype, the "stars" that buy them and ram them down our throats. Now that other one you showed me looks much better, but the technology is wrong. It's not green, it is an alternative, but it's not green.

Nothing is green - not even cycling or walking now that the war has been declared on CO2.

[Silvery Thing]

Pious due to the media hype, the "stars" that buy them and ram them down our throats

I'm sorry but I really do not know what you mean by the media hype or the "stars" that buy them :?

I have always ignored what appears to be 'hype' in order to formulate my own opinion on something.... I cannot recall ever reading any hyped up comments on hybrid cars but then again I regard most forms of modern media promotion as crap :?

[davidlandy]

like the look of the concept car
400 bhp - the environmentalists will be q'uing to buy that eco vehicle

[Boggert]

After the kebab I had the other night I need to do some Carbon off setting... :lol:

[Disco Matt]

On the useless facts front, I have a few:

Jet engines have been used as snowblowers. The experiments took place shortly post-WW2 on a railway line at Dowlais Top. Unfortunately they were a tad over-effective, removing not only the snow but the ballast too...

Ever wondered why your PC has no drive B? This is a leftover from the days when some computers had twin floppy disk drives. The second floppy drive would have been B.

Left Hand Drive versions of the original Range Rover couldn't have an overdrive fitted, as the altered handbrake linkage was precisely where the overdrive would be.

[Bulli]

Pious due to the media hype, the "stars" that buy them and ram them down our throats

I'm sorry but I really do not know what you mean by the media hype or the "stars" that buy them :?

I have always ignored what appears to be 'hype' in order to formulate my own opinion on something.... I cannot recall ever reading any hyped up comments on hybrid cars but then again I regard most forms of modern media promotion as crap :?

dont you, sorry i assumed you knew everything!! So far you seem to....

right back to your previous comment , dispose of does not mean remove from the universe. You can dispose of hydrofloric acid...infact you pay a lot of money to do so....but it still exists and will still kill just as easily as before. So can we agree that disposal is simply moving the problem elsewhere.

As for prius owners being pratts then i stand by it,as its my opinion. They bought the car for one of 2 reasons.
1- they want to be green
2- they want save money on fuel.

as we all seem to have agreed they are neither green or as economical as they appear to be.

You seem to be an expert on everything, well try running your CLEAN Landcruiser on bio diesel or oil....i think you may end up with a large repair bill.

BTW this is MUD CLUB not clear wheels r us.... :roll:  Fancy a day laning??lol

[crazymac]

I stand corrected with the Louvre issue.... but I love the comment.... "outstanding piece of modern sculpture".... jeez what a comical statement :D

The single cell fact was a useless fact, not meant to be a springboard for people to insult or belittle others  :(

So what was your use of the word "pious" meant to be.... don't bother to answer as I already know :?

As there are a couple of you that seem to dislike the Prius concept so much can you tell me that you hate this car with the same passion

Although still a concept car it might just make it into production. It has a 3.5 litre engine with the same hybrid technology that is in the Prius.... oh yes it is a crap pious car too but with a total of 400bhp!

I think thats butt ugly!! The reason I'm against the Prius has nothing to do with the styling, its to do with the way they promote it as "THE GREEN ALTERNATIVE" when its clearly not!! No factory I know of that produces bits for our supposed green monsters of the environment has poluted the environment the same way as the place that produces the stuff for the Prius!!

[muddycarl]

aparently No-where in england is more than 52 miles form a coast-line

[v8kenny]

I stand corrected with the Louvre issue.... but I love the comment.... "outstanding piece of modern sculpture".... jeez what a comical statement :D

And just what is so comical about that statement ?
The Range Rover was ground breaking design and technology at it's best when it first appeared on the market and is still an icon and the forerunner to every other 4x4 SUV on the market today
Including that fugly piece of Jap design in your sig







whatever it is..................................................................

[freelanderpx54]

I get the usual crap about driving a gas guzzler from my esteemed colleagues. However, I drive about 300 miles per month in my Disco (heavy driving month) as I cycle to and from work. We drive to Kent in my car as it will hold all of our luggage and fit 3 adults(I include myself) and 2 children in car seats. Last summer Kim said we would be going to Kent in her Honda Jazz ?????????? I told her to give me a shout when the car was ready for going - after an hour she came in and said " looks like we are going in yours" The issue here is if we both had smallish saloons then we would be taking 2 smallish cars to kent instead of one larger one.

To get to the point of the thread, yes the pious does seem "green" but at the end of its life it creates more pollution (FoE) to dispose of it than it did to create it. ALL Landrovers can be built and rebuilt from previously scrap landies/ rangies et al

[rollazuki]

OK guys.


Draw a line in the sand for me.



Where would you like mankind to end its automotive evolution?



Many of you seem to think the Rangerover with a lumpy old diesel running on veg is the place to be. Some are happy with their RR V8, some of you have sense and drive a Landcruiser. Perhaps one of you has delved into a 'green' car like a Prius.

Cars like the LR and then RR led to modern 4x4's that were more efficient and safer, cars like the Prius will lead to more efficient and greener cars. Damn it, its the only car of its nature at the moment.
Dont harp on about the so called green diesels, ever seen a direct injection motor pull away hard.....that cloud of black smoke(yes, they all do it) is called pollution.........The Toyota Dcat engine has an injector into the exhaust to burn diesel in the manifold to keep the cat warm. wastes fuel so it reduces emissions.......waste of resources???

Mankind has grown used to its multi speaker stereo systems and climate controls and sat navs, it believes it needs cars it can safely crash at 30 mph, with maybe 10 or 11 explosive charges insisde to operate safety devices, so manufacturers are building greener cars with all those things in mind.

Naming no names, but a showroom full of old rangerovers with reused daihatsu motors running like smokey old tubs on veg oil would NOT win the current auto buying market over.

Lets make today the day of the field trip!

 Lets all go out(those of you who arent working) and visit dealerships and see what is available. Pop out and see the tiny diesel polo and think, great car, but would wife/kids/dog all fit? Lets see the prius in the flesh and wonder at its......startling beauty?......and the fact  that it is an economical and roomy green car, lets look at Japanese 4x4's and be amazed that the little oriental guts have taken a 4x4 and added comfort and reliability, and if you can manage it, a trip to the LR showroom to ogle to RR sport in all its snrting beauty.

There are so many blinkered views on here, generally thrown out onto the net with little thought or intelligence behind them. I know the Prius isn    THE    answer, but its an evolution which may lead us to the future, just like fuel cells, and electric power.

Partner up to keep you safe, and join in the field trip, check out what other people have done with cars, see the modern creations for what they are, then take the blinkers off and post informed comments.

Rolla

[rollazuki]

Oh yeah, make a trip to a Toyota dealership in the North of Sheffield and you might see me, and win a free mug of hot chocolate or coffee. Your choice.

Now theres an exciting offer, Landcruisers, Priuses, and Warm beverages.


DAMN thats good.

[lambert]

Just a thought but petrol engines will run very nicely on fermented sugar otherwise known as ethanol that is carbon neutral ish compared to dead dinosaurs. Just a thought.

[Tommo]

and in brazil all cars run on alcohol.

[rollazuki]

Sounds like a waste of good booze to me

[crazymac]

Some of you are missing a crucal point in all of the "green" debate.........

I drive my discovery because I bloody well want to!!!! It does everything I want it to do, and I'm sure that there are other 4x4s out there from other makers that will do it as well, and quite possibly in better comfort!! But I want to drive a discovery!!

I like Landrovers, I'm not so blinkered to miss the fact that other 4x4's have more comfort, some are faster, more fuel efficient etc, but I WANT to drive the Discovery!! I would not buy a small car, be it a Prius or other make/model because they would be absolutely useless to me. I need a car that will pull a 3 tonne trailer, haul up the motorway at the legal limit and go off road because I want it to!!

No matter what people say about the Prius, its NOT a green car!! Its full life cycle is more polluting than a hummer for goodness sake!!

It is an attempt at a green car, and compared to some, it may well be? but a true green car its not! Landrover and many other manufacturers are investing shed loads of money in alternatives to the fossil fuel engines, and WHEN they get there, I will probably still drive my Discovery cos I want to!!

My issue with the Prius is the claims that they make! Its green this, green that!!!! its all balls!

[diggerdog36]

The first product ever to have a bar code was wrigleys chewing gum!!!!

[Silvery Thing]

dont you, sorry i assumed you knew everything!! So far you seem to....

right back to your previous comment , dispose of does not mean remove from the universe. You can dispose of hydrofloric acid...infact you pay a lot of money to do so....but it still exists and will still kill just as easily as before. So can we agree that disposal is simply moving the problem elsewhere.

As for prius owners being pratts then i stand by it,as its my opinion. They bought the car for one of 2 reasons.
1- they want to be green
2- they want save money on fuel.

as we all seem to have agreed they are neither green or as economical as they appear to be.

You seem to be an expert on everything, well try running your CLEAN Landcruiser on bio diesel or oil....i think you may end up with a large repair bill.

BTW this is MUD CLUB not clear wheels r us.... :roll:  Fancy a day laning??lol

Sadly you have the inability, in my opinion, to put forward a reasoned arguement without resorting to bitching. Shame!! I will debate/argue a point with anyone but it seems that you are either unable or unwilling to do the same. I took exception to your comment that Prius owners were "pratts" simply because you don't know all the Prius owners or their reasons for buying such a car. Have you ever considered the possibility that they might just like it and may never have even thought about the environment when they bought it. Ah well there ends that issue. As for my LC and running it on bio-diesel or oil, I never said anything about such a thing as I very much know that it is not able to, see I do know that much! I enjoyed your feeble comment "...BTW this is MUD CLUB not clear wheels r us.... :roll:  Fancy a day laning??..." You know my reasons for not going laning and they are something covered elsewhere on this board so not worthy of mentioning again.

I think thats butt ugly!! The reason I'm against the Prius has nothing to do with the styling, its to do with the way they promote it as "THE GREEN ALTERNATIVE" when its clearly not!! No factory I know of that produces bits for our supposed green monsters of the environment has poluted the environment the same way as the place that produces the stuff for the Prius!!

You are entitled to your own opinion where styling is concerned as am I. I happen to very much dislike those stupid ugly red Italian cars. Its a good job we are all different.

I stand corrected with the Louvre issue.... but I love the comment.... "outstanding piece of modern sculpture".... jeez what a comical statement :D

And just what is so comical about that statement ?
The Range Rover was ground breaking design and technology at it's best when it first appeared on the market and is still an icon and the forerunner to every other 4x4 SUV on the market today
Including that fugly piece of Jap design in your sig







whatever it is..................................................................

I don't like the Range Rover.... never have and never will but I have to say the Transit in your avatar ain't so bad.... meoow

Thanks to everyone for their comments and should you wish to continue to reply then of course feel free to do so. But don't expect me to read them or even respond as I will most probably be outside cleaning my car and making the wheels even more shiney than they currently are 8) :D

[Drift]

Spiral staircases in medieval castles are running clockwise. This is because all knights used to be right-handed. When the intruding army would climb the stairs they would not be able to use their right hand which was holding the sword because of the difficulties of climbing the stairs. Left-handed knights would have had no troubles, except left-handed people could never become knights because it was assumed that they were descendants of the devil.

Ok Im left handed  :(  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[v8kenny]

 but I have to say the Transit in your avatar ain't so bad.... meoow

Transit ?????????........................................................................






I thought it was a Taxi !

[Bulli]

Spiral staircases in medieval castles are running clockwise. This is because all knights used to be right-handed. When the intruding army would climb the stairs they would not be able to use their right hand which was holding the sword because of the difficulties of climbing the stairs. Left-handed knights would have had no troubles, except left-handed people could never become knights because it was assumed that they were descendants of the devil.

Ok Im left handed  :(  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

Sinister is originally a Latin term for left or to the left, and is used in heraldry to refer to the left of the bearer of the arms, and to the right by the viewer's eyes. It is often used to mean evil.

[Drift]

Spiral staircases in medieval castles are running clockwise. This is because all knights used to be right-handed. When the intruding army would climb the stairs they would not be able to use their right hand which was holding the sword because of the difficulties of climbing the stairs. Left-handed knights would have had no troubles, except left-handed people could never become knights because it was assumed that they were descendants of the devil.

Ok Im left handed  :(  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

Sinister is originally a Latin term for left or to the left, and is used in heraldry to refer to the left of the bearer of the arms, and to the right by the viewer's eyes. It is often used to mean evil.

Please dont tell my Mrs that  :shock:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[muddycarl]

Spiral staircases in medieval castles are running clockwise. This is because all knights used to be right-handed. When the intruding army would climb the stairs they would not be able to use their right hand which was holding the sword because of the difficulties of climbing the stairs. Left-handed knights would have had no troubles, except left-handed people could never become knights because it was assumed that they were descendants of the devil.

Ok Im left handed  :(  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

Sinister is originally a Latin term for left or to the left, and is used in heraldry to refer to the left of the bearer of the arms, and to the right by the viewer's eyes. It is often used to mean evil.

Please dont tell my Mrs that  :shock:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

thought your mrs knew that  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[Drift]

Spiral staircases in medieval castles are running clockwise. This is because all knights used to be right-handed. When the intruding army would climb the stairs they would not be able to use their right hand which was holding the sword because of the difficulties of climbing the stairs. Left-handed knights would have had no troubles, except left-handed people could never become knights because it was assumed that they were descendants of the devil.

Ok Im left handed  :(  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

Sinister is originally a Latin term for left or to the left, and is used in heraldry to refer to the left of the bearer of the arms, and to the right by the viewer's eyes. It is often used to mean evil.

Please dont tell my Mrs that  :shock:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

thought your mrs knew that  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

No she only thinks it, and I dont want it confirmed  :shock:  :lol:  :lol:

[DEANO3528]

'The Devil's Advocate Rides Out"
You are all falling into the trap of actually trying to justify your choice of vehicle to this 'Silvery Thing'.
Just like the anti 4x4 brigade, it's not his business what you choose to drive, and rising to the bait as you all seem to have done isn't helping your cause.

Talking of the Prius, no one will win me over to that environmental killer - prat or not - it has destroyed the landscape both in Canada and around the works in Wales. One of our members worked on the battery engineering in Wales and told me personally how the area around some material within the Prius had shrivelled and died.

Now I went looking for the original link and it has strangely been replaced by an apology that the article had been misinterpreted!
Hope The Mail had a good xmas party on the proceeds of that retraction.

Shame that, except I still have the original on file...

Toyota factory turns landscape to arid wilderness

By MARTIN DELGADO, Mail on Sunday - Last updated 18th November 2006

The 'green-living' Toyota Prius has become the ultimate statement for those seeking to stress their commitment to the environment.
However, the environment-saving credentials of the cars are seriously undermined by the disclosure that one of the car's essential components is produced at a factory that has created devastation likened to the arid environment of the moon.
So many plants and trees around the factory at Sudbury in Ontario, Canada, have died that astronauts from Nasa practised driving moon buggies on the outskirts of the city because it was considered the closest thing on earth to the rocky lunar landscape.



Unlike normal cars, hybrids such as the Prius, whose proud owners include Gwyneth Paltrow, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and ex-Tory leader Michael Howard, are powered by a battery that contains nickel - as well as a traditional petrol engine.
Toyota gets the metal from a Canadian company whose smelting facility at Sudbury has spewed sulphur dioxide into the air for more than a century.
The car giant buys about 1,000 tons a year from the plant, which is owned by Inco, one of the world's largest nickel-mining companies.
Fumes emerging from the factory are so poisonous that they have destroyed vegetation in the surrounding countryside, turning the once-beautiful landscape into the bare, rocky terrain astronauts might expect to find in outer space.
Although efforts have been made in recent years to reduce emissions from the plant's 1,250ft chimney - dubbed the Superstack - campaigners say the factory is still responsible for some of the worst pollution in North America.
David Martin, energy co-ordinator of Greenpeace Canada, said: "The acid rain around Sudbury was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the soil slid down off the hillside.
"The solution they came up with was the Superstack. The idea was to dilute the pollution, but all it did was spread the fallout right across northern Ontario. Things improved in the Nineties but the plant is still responsible for large-scale emissions of sulphur dioxide.
"Sudbury remains a major environmental and health problem. The environmental cost of producing that car battery is pretty high."
Once the nickel is smelted it is sent 10,000 miles on a container ship journey which in itself consumes vast quantities of fuel and energy.
First it is shipped to Europe's biggest nickel refinery at Clydach near Swansea, South Wales. From there it is transported to the Chinese cities of Dalian and Shenyang to be turned into a lightweight substance called nickel foam.
The final stage of the manufacturing process takes place in Japan where the Prius batteries are made.
Toyota produced nearly 180,000 Prius cars last year, some 4,000 of which were sold in Britain. Last week 14 MPs from all parties claimed they had exchanged their petrol-guzzling vehicles for a Prius or similar hybrid.
But some experts doubt whether the Prius even wins the argument over fuel consumption.
Robert Fowler, of the Battery Vehicle Association, said: "It is questionable whether it does any more miles to the gallon than a good diesel.
"The hybrid system has a very small battery so most of the time it's operating as a petrol car, particularly out of town and above 30mph."
A Toyota spokesman said last night: "I cannot confirm the source of the nickel used in the Prius battery. It is true there is a slight increase in the energy required to produce the materials for the car."

An engineer wrote:

I designed the machinery that made the Prius batteries possible, taking the raw reticulated foam through the coating process, the furnace lines and the slitting and editing machines.
I don't have time to write about how horrible the process is but, down in Wales where the plant is, they have a large rock from which the nickel ore is extracted, sitting in pride of place on the lawn outside their offices. The rain has dissolved the nickel and it, along with sundry other elements, has killed all the grass in a twenty metre radius.
The prius batteries use a nickel matrix, which is made by depositing pure nickel on to a polyurethane foam, this proccess involves converting the nickel to a gas form known as carbonyl, which is has the strange characteristic of condensing on to things warmer than itself.
which means that if you were to breathe in the carbonyl gas, it would coat the inside of your lungs in pure nickel.
Consider the possibilities of a gas leak!

Unlike others, I leave the choice of vehicle one drives, to the person driving it.