So, we’re in lockdown. There’s much less traffic on the roads. So, there’s less need to enforce the “clearways”?
Err, no. The tow truck has been just as active as ever. I’ve seen them towing cars several times now.
Category: Cars etc
Second-hand cars
The quote for renewing the car insurance, as usual, increased from last year. I shopped around a little and decided that it was about as good as I could get. But on looking little closer – the “nominated value” of the car had increased too, by a little more than 7%. There have been reports that the price of second-hand cars has increased, due to shortages of new cars, so for once, it seems that the car isn’t a deprecating asset.
In a way, this is a nice feeling, but of course, it obviously is one of the factors that has led to an increase in the premium.
Torquay 2021
We’re at Torquay for a short break. As I’ve already posted, it’s not a new experience for us, but in these uncertain times, we must take any opportunity as and when it arises.
We diverted into Geelong on the way down with a view to having some lunch at Eastern Beach. But – nothing doing. The crowds were out, at restaurants where bookings were possible, there were no vacancies, and there were queues at the cafes. Everyone was out in the post-lockdown sunshine.
So we headed on to Torquay. There traffic on the Esplanade was likewise bumper-to-bumper, and parking was at a premium. So, on to Plan C. We checked in and then had a leisurely but late lunch at the resort. Nice views out over the golf course and the ocean in the distance, and closer-up an antique Jag!
Then coincidentally we ran into B and M! So, coffee and a long conversation. It was nice to catch up.
A “see through” fence
It was thoughtful of the authorities, when they upgraded the fence along the railway line, to provide some “see through” (mesh) panels close to the intersection. They’re not of very much assistance to drivers of ordinary vehicles, but they’re better than nothing, and might conceivably assist drivers of trucks who are are higher up.
Losing things
I’m the first to admit that I’m quite prone to losing things – typically, my reading glasses. Something comes up, and I whip them off and put them down on a nearby surface without really thinking. I’ve tried to train myself to make a mental note that I’ve done this, but it still sometimes occurs.
At least, in the case of glasses, I can generally re-trace my steps and locate them. However, recently I did the same thing with the car keys. I had taken something out of the car, and then, distractedly, saw that there was something else in the garage that needed to be done. In hindsight, I still had the keys in my hand from locking the car, and for some reason, put them down in an obscure location instead of in my pocket.
Needless to say, when I became aware the next day that I didn’t have the keys, I went into panic mode, but to no avail. I retraced my steps several times, but … nothing. Only when S came to my aid, and pieced together what I had been doing in the garage (very smart detective work!) did she locate them – in an obscure corner, and to my great relief.
Electric vehicles
I was interested to read the RACV’s report on consumer attitudes to electric vehicles (here). They found that three in five Victorians would consider buying an electric vehicle (EV) for their next car, but there are three big reservations, namely, high purchase price, range anxiety and limited choice of models.
The report says the most “affordable” EV in Australia right now is the Renault Zoe, which is a hatchback priced from $49,990 driveaway. Yet for that money you could buy two similarly sized Mazda 2s. And the prices only go up from there, particularly for premium brands. And although there are an increasing number of recharging stations (such as the one at Euroa that we saw recently), these only provide “top-ups” unless you’re prepared to wait some hours.
I saw a recent review of the Jaguar I-pace. The reviewer was very enthusiastic but the cost? $138,460, and although the claimed range is 407 km, the review stated that in mixed conditions, it gets about 320 km. Being “up-market”, an 80% charge will take 45 minutes, but that’s on a 100kW charger. More common are 50kW chargers, and they take twice as long.
I chatted with the owner of a Tesla, who, like the reviewer of the Jaguar I-pace, loves it. But he down-played the need always to be thinking about the next re-charge and emphasised the “automated” driving features. I don’t doubt that these exist, although of course there are issues about totally “driverless” cars. It’s interesting, however, that “driverless” (or near driverless) seems to be equated with EVs; if the technology is there, surely the method of propulsion is at least to some extent a separate issue?
Be that as it may, as I’ve noted, the combination of electric propulsion and advanced driving technology has done no harm to the price of Tesla shares. And certainly the owners of EVs seem enthusiastic about them, but from what I can discern, this appears largely driven by an emotional attachment to “state-of-the-art” technology by people who are happy checking the state of their car’s charge from the app on their phone while having breakfast (paraphrased from the Jag review). But others of us have different priorities.
Electric car recharging
No doubt, one day, we’re all going to go to electric cars, although to my mind there’s still a way to go in an economic sense before the numbers stack up. But for those who take the view that there are bigger issues at stake than just the numbers, I see that efforts are being made to address the “range” issue. There are recharging points at places like Chadstone, and you can find others here. I saw that, at the service stop at Euroa, there’s a whole line up of recharging points – seemingly powered by the solar panel nearly.
Local excitement
We had a little excitement locally when a car ended up on the footpath, crashing into a shopfront. Just how this occurred is a mystery to me: the traffic here is almost always slow-moving, and the vehicle was w-a-y off course.
Notwithstanding the presence of firetrucks and police cars, there was no ambulance, so thankfully it seems no-one was any the worse for wear – except of course the shop!
Airbag recall
We had the problematic airbag in the car fixed over two years ago when we heard about the recall, but I think I read somewhere that the authorities are concerned that they haven’t caught up with all the affected cars.
Just the same, it came as something of a surprise to get an email from the insurer stating that “Your car manufacturer has asked us to contact you due to your car having a Takata front or front passenger airbag…”.
I checked, of course, but it seems the email from the insurer was just blanket coverage. Perhaps the era of data matching hasn’t yet got to the stage where the insurer can check the recall data base before sending out unnecessary emails?
Car servicing
It was time for the car to be serviced. Because it’s only a year old, I took it back to the dealer. Car dealers – as I’ve previously stated – tend to be located in inconvenient parts of Melbourne. However, when I booked it in, I was told that the work could be arranged so as to be completed in about an hour, and that I could wait while it was being done. I’m aware that most dealers offer other alternatives, such as a shuttle service to a local railway station or a loan car for the day, but I didn’t investigate these.
I got there a little early, and I was told “no promises, but we’ll see what can be done”. Coffee was available but I thought I’d get some exercise in, so I walked up the street. It didn’t seem that there was much to be seen – warehouse type buildings, lots of traffic, a freeway – but then found that there was a mid-sized shopping complex within range (just).
I spent a few minutes there, returned to the dealer’s waiting area, had just made some coffee, and the car was pronounced as “ready”. Not such a bad experience, after all!
Musings and Mutterings 