Barry

That's interesting about the cucumber. Motorists in the uk have recently been advised to carry watermelon in the car incase they get stuck in traffic for a long period of time. I don't know about that place sometimes, if it goes above 25 degrees Celsius, people start panicking like the end of the world is coming lol. I'd like to see how some of them do over here when it goes above 50. Everyone told me I'd get sick and die when I came here because of the heat but it's not so bad. Your body adjusts to it pretty quickly.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36885393

I would be up for a day karting but I'd pay my own way. I still want my share of the money to go to charity. 

I really like the little 127. If you had one of those now with jap style arches and a set of wide, dished rims, you'd be the coolest kid in town. 

I go through 6-8 litres in a hot garage most days. I dread to think what it was like for those guys stuck out in the desert. Horrible way to die. Do mobile phones not work when you go so far out?

I like the look of that. I like the 80% charge in 15 minutes too. I wonder how quickly that will kill the battery though. 

I just received an email from Carnity stating that the top 20 posters with the most likes will receive money on August 31st. 

I would be very grateful if Carnity would donate my share to the Emirates Down's syndrome association. http://www.uaedsa.ae

Thank you

The company that makes these taxis is called The London Taxi Company, formerly known as LTI. Chinese car manufacturer Geely also have the rights to build them. The model name of the one in the picture is the TX4. They all come with a slow, noisy 2.5 turbo Diesel engine. Famous for their small turning circle. I worked for an official franchised parts supplier for them for a while. 

I'm surprised I haven't seen any of the badge snobs driving these round Dubai yet. Looks like a London Taxi doesn't it? Built on the same platform as Audi Q7/Porsche Cayenne/VW Touareg/Lamborghini Urus and running a VAG 6.0 WR12 48V engine. Also comes with the same V8 used in the Continental GT, Audi diesel V8 and plug in hybrid, again with the Continental GT engine although if you ask me, having a hybrid V8 kind of defeats the purpose of the hybrid technology. Top speed is 301 kph making it the worlds fastest production SUV.

What was your first car?

Mine was a 1987 Vauxhall Cavalier Mk.2 with a 1.6 8v OHC engine same as the one in the pics. I got it when I was around 12 years old. It was previously my uncles car but the engine was rattly and smokey and the cops harassed him every time he went out on the road in it so he gave it to me to have a bit of fun with rather than scrap it. Looking back, it was a horrible thing held together with cable ties and tacks of weld but I had hours of fun racing it round a field beside my house.

I never heard of  Hyundai Galloper before so I had to google it. Won't a lot of Mitsubishi Pajero parts fit these?

Is it just me or does it have a kind of GTR look about it? The American styling is still there but the looks are becoming more mainstream from what they originally were.

I had a P38 for a while too, the 2.5 TDi. Woefully underpowered but I felt like a pimp when I was driving it. I remember it was ruinously expensive to keep on the road when things started going wrong with it. I thought I got a good deal on a cheap Range Rover but cheap to buy doesn't always mean cheap to own. Also had a 300 TDi Discovery. The engine and gearbox would have lasted forever but the body was horribly rotten with rust. I welded the body to chassis mounts a couple of times but soon realized I was fighting a losing battle so scrapped it. Asides from the rust, the only trouble I ever had with it was the immobilizer but it's easy enough to bypass. 

Ive currently got a 2012 Range Rover in the shop for some work. Head gaskets shot and heads were a bit wonky. Real nightmare of a car to work at. I had to remove the injectors so I could get the rocker covers off to get the cams out and get the heads off. Injectors wouldn't come out so I ended up having to remove the engine and complete front of the car to get proper access with tools. It's the 5.0 Jaguar engine. It's made from chocolate and I wouldn't recommend one to anyone. The older BMW engined ones are a much better bet. 

I remember seeing this when it was originally on Top Gear too. Can't wait to see Clarkson, Hammond and Mays new show when it comes out. New new Top Gear with Chris Evans was a total flop.

@Derick This is what Range Rovers were built to do. Where I come from, you're just as likely to see one in a field as you are to see one on the road. People here just seem to see them as a status symbol though.

Does anyone play racing games and what games do you recommend for different consoles?

I play Forza 4 a lot on Xbox 360. Great game with great dynamics and the handling of the cars are comparable to the real thing. 

I also play PGR 4 on 360. Also a good game but it's more arcade style and less of a simulator. 

Also playing Sports Car Challenge on iPhone. All based around VAG owned products. Good graphics for a phone game and a good way to pass the time at work when waiting for parts to arrive. 

For free food and a sightseeing trip around Dubai, it sounds like a good deal. Free food is always the best. The only downside is that you have to admit that you're a grown man playing Pokemon. 

If you do the crime you should do the time. I don't see why fines should be discounted on any occasion. They're supposed to act as a deterrent and if you know that your fine will only be half of what it should be, it doesn't really deter you much. 

What's racist about it?

Just to clarify, I'm not racist at all. I dislike all people in equal amounts. 

Singapore are getting autonomous taxis,

http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/1/12337516/delphi-self-driving-car-service-singapore

Its not even the fact that I don't want to ride in one of these things, I don't want to be on a road with them. 

The problem is not the area the work is done in, it's the people doing the work. Pay peanuts, you get monkeys. I've tinted windows both indoors and outdoors and had very few problems. The surface of the glass has to be perfectly washed and squeegeed then covered in soap and any bubbles can be removed no problem whilst applying the film. 

This refers to another problem with autonomous vehicles,

Australia plans new co-ordinates to fix sat-nav gap
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36912700

Countries, entire continents are constantly moving due to the tectonic plates of the earth constantly shifting. Australia for example as show. In the above link, moves 7cm per year. If some of these cars are relying on GPS to navigate, 7 cm can be a hell of a lot when it comes to road positioning. 7cm can be the difference in passing safely or clipping a wing mirror  or worse, a corner to corner head on crash. 7cm can be the difference between driving on the road or putting a wheel off the road into the sand and causing a high speed rollover. Bear in mind that this 7cm shift is every year. After 2 years it is 14cm, after 3 years it is 21cm etc etc. The Australians are compensating for this by overcompensating which means that the GPS position on the road will not be correct until 2020 whilst they wait and hope for technology to catch up which means the GPS system will never be accurate. In my eyes, this is nowhere near good enough. Do I want to be a passenger in an autonomous vehicle which thinks it's 21 cm away from where it actually thinks it is? Hell no. 

Let's say there's is an average of 15% loss of power through the transmission,

if the quoted figure of 1750 is wheel horsepower, the engine is producing 2012 horsepower. 

If the quoted figure is horsepower at the flywheel, there is 1487 horsepower at the wheels. 

Either way, it's still telephone numbers, a couple of hundred horsepower either way won't make a noticeable difference. 

Poor Samir. Maybe he should just listen to the co driver?

Electric cars actually began in the 1800's, long before the first combustion engine car was produced. Although, here is one from the 1940's that caught my eye.

The 1942 Oeuf électrique, or electric egg, had three wheels and ran on batteries decades after gasoline became the dominant way to power cars, and decades before Elon Musk decided to make electricity cool again. Its designer, Parisian Paul Arzens, worked as a painter and designed railway locomotives before moving on to cars. The bubble is made of hand-formed aluminum and curved Plexiglass, a novel material at the time.

That wasn't so bad. At least he didn't hit anything.

But did you see the way the GTR flew past the M5 when he got going? That's the difference in horsepower and HORSEPOWER.

25 Lessons for Driving in Dubai

1. If your road map is more than a few weeks old throw it out and get a new one.

2. If you are in Rashidiya and your map is one day old, then it is already obsolete

3. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Dubai has its own version of traffic rules, which can be summarized as 'Hold on and pray!'

4. If it is your priority to cross, forget it and wait.

5. There is no such thing as dangerous high-speed chase in Dubai. Everyone drives like that.

6. When you plan to get a new car, ask first about its acceleration for 89 to 160 km/h (recommended: 3 seconds). Very important if you frequently use the Emirates Road.

7. All directions starts with Sheikh Zayed Road, which has no beginning and no end.

8. The morning rush hour is from 5:00 AM TO 1:00PM. The evening rush hour is from 1:00 PM to 10:00 PM.

9. Thursday's rush hour starts Wednesday evening.

10. If you slow down at a yellow light, you will be knocked behind by another motorist and then awarded a white ticket by the Dubai Police.

11. If you are the first one at the intersection when the light turns green, ignore the car honking behind you and count to five to avoid crashing into one of the cars jumping the red light.

12. Construction on all main roads is a way of life and a permanent form of entertainment. 'Sorry for the inconvenience' is an honor for your long-suffering.

13. All unfamiliar sights are explained by the phrase, 'Oh, we must be in Sharjah!'

14. Car horns are actually toys for Adults.

15. Anyone in a Land Cruiser, Tuned Patrol, Tahoe, Dodge, BMW or Mercedes with less than 5 digits in their number plate and tinted windows, has the right of way. Period!

16. If you are driving a Corolla, Sunny, or another Japanese car, stay on the far right lane. No comment!

17. Most roads mysteriously change names as you cross underneath intersections or bridges.

18. To ask directions, you must have good knowledge of Hindi/ Malayalam/ English.

19. A trip across town will take a minimum of four hours, although Sheikh Zayed Road has an un-pestered minimum speed of 150 Km/h.

20. It is sobering to realize the local Arab are taught how to drive by Malayalees.

21. 18 wheeler trucks are one of the fastest vehicles in Dubai; they can do 120 km/h on Hatta-Oman Road when fully loaded.

22. The minimum acceptable speed on the Emirates Road is 160 km/h. Anything less is considered downright sissy.

23. Al Khail Road is Dubai's daily version of NASCAR.

24. Dubai Autodrome has a new extension: The Emirates Road.

25. People staying in Umm Al Quawain reach Dubai faster than People staying in Sharjah.