... of Jura by running over a submerged container (it was afloat all right - there's 200m of water where it happened): just managed to get the boat in and beached in time. Floating containers are a real hazard. -- Andy Breen ~ Not speaking on behalf of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth Feng Shui: an ancient oriental art for extracting money from the gullible (Martin Sinclair)

... entertaining as ever, though ‘we like to keep these things (races) as close as possible’ did amount to sending May and Hammond on the train via Kyoto. That’s a bit like racing from Aberystwyth to London with the train passengers having to go via Edinburgh. There is no more direct rail route. They may have tunneled a M-way though those mountains but have yet to work out how ...

...>>Very entertaining as ever, though ‘we like to keep these things (races) as close as possible’ did amount to sending May and Hammond on the train via Kyoto. That’s a bit like racing from Aberystwyth to London with the train passengers having to go via Edinburgh. There is no more direct rail route. They may have tunneled a M-way though those mountains but have yet to work out how ...

... doing away with metal and just sprayed rust on the inside of the paintwork? You're thinking of the Vauxhall Victor. I'm trying desperately not to :-) Don't worry. It won't last very long. -- Andy Breen ~ Not speaking on behalf of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth Feng Shui: an ancient oriental art for extracting money from the gullible (Martin Sinclair)

... above, the late '80s/early '90s XJ40 was north of 1800kg. Sure - but the XJ40 had most of the crash-resistance measures in place. The OP's position was that crash protection couldn't add that much weight.. -- Andy Breen ~ Not speaking on behalf of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth Feng Shui: an ancient oriental art for extracting money from the gullible (Martin Sinclair)

....ln2@news.aber.ac.uk> IIRC wasn't the Cortina where they got they weight down by doing away with metal and just sprayed rust on the inside of the paintwork? You're thinking of the Vauxhall Victor. -- Andy Breen ~ Not speaking on behalf of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth Feng Shui: an ancient oriental art for extracting money from the gullible (Martin Sinclair)

...), but in spite of the XK boat-anchor in the old Jag and the new 'un's alloy structure, the old'un is still lighter. So: the aluminium cars are heavier and use more power than their steel predecessors... -- Andy Breen ~ Not speaking on behalf of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth Feng Shui: an ancient oriental art for extracting money from the gullible (Martin Sinclair)

... of trains looks very modest by comparison. Noise, vibration and harshness. Think that particular TLA was coined by Ford engineers during the development of the original Cortina (weight: 787 kg[1]). [1] A 2008 Ford Focus weighs about 1350 kg dry -- Andy Breen ~ Not speaking on behalf of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth "Who dies with the most toys wins" (Gary Barnes)

... car has close on doubled over the last 35 years - almost all due to crash protection (with some down to NVH supression and some to a/c and such). The weight growth of trains looks very modest by comparison. -- Andy Breen ~ Not speaking on behalf of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth Feng Shui: an ancient oriental art for extracting money from the gullible (Martin Sinclair)

...Very entertaining as ever, though ‘we like to keep these things (races) as close as possible’ did amount to sending May and Hammond on the train via Kyoto. That’s a bit like racing from Aberystwyth to London with the train passengers having to go via Edinburgh. There is no more direct rail route. They may have tunneled a M-way though those mountains but have yet to work out how to tunnel...