Driving is dead :(

Resident said:
Doesn't matter where you are, they're everywhere.
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Yes, but the proportion is vastly higher in London. It's an entirely different style of driving.

I dread ever having to go there. And, in fact haven't driven to central London for a loooong time. I'd much rather view the madness as a pedestrian these days.
 
However saying that, I got to test drive a Model Y last weekend. What a revelation - can't wait to just sit back and let the car do all the hard work for me.
 
Bug One said:
can't wait to just sit back and let the car do all the hard work for me.
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Sounds like something my dad would say at 70.

Can't think of anything worse than an uninvolving driving experience, that said i'm a staunch believer in the old school manual transmission too, hate driving the wifes DCT Octavia, it's very beige.
 
Iamzod said:
Sounds like something my dad would say at 70.

Can't think of anything worse than an uninvolving driving experience, that said i'm a staunch believer in the old school manual transmission too, hate driving the wifes DCT Octavia, it's very beige.
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Anyone want to wager how often this chap actually drives a
1) decent car, on:
2) decent roads

Nothing worse than stirring petrol in rush hour :D
 
Have to say I've not really gelled with VW's DCT but a modern torque converter automatic suits me - I used to be kind of suspicious of automatic but I wouldn't use anything else on the roads these days.

EDIT: Don't really know how to explain it but with the TC based ones you can kind of influence the behaviour more around your driving style - the DCTs just do their own thing.
 
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dLockers said:
Anyone want to wager how often this chap actually drives a
1) decent car, on:
2) decent roads

Nothing worse than stirring petrol in rush hour :D
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1 . Subjective, but having an uninvolving drive is no fun at all, driving should be entertaining, how often would you take a Model Y out for a run for no other reason other than to enjoy it when it does the work for you? I did 36 miles today for no reason other than entertainment.
2 . The roads here are actually really good, 45 seconds from my house it's basically 50 - 70 limits to both the M1 & A1, if I lived in a city I can't see me owning a car to commute, it's a pain in the a** driving in really built up areas whether that be in my own car with it's snatchy clutch or the wife's boring DCT Octavia. I'd rather walk and/or get the train.

Thankfully in my area of work I can work from home, therefore I never need to sit in rush hour stirring petrol.
 
Trifid said:
Driving in large towns and cities sucks due to traffic levels. Unfortunately the alternatives are less appealing in most places currently. Many will jump to the conclusion of more roads, more lanes but this will just drive more people into cars (sorry about the pun) and make driving worse. Ultimately the better option is for the alternatives to be more appealing, such as cycling short journeys, dedicated bus routes that bypass congestion, higher frequency public transport and just as important, lower cost public transport - whose going to jump on a bus when they already own a car? Electric cars make this even more challenging and will further increase car usage.

I haven't driven in inner London for about 10 years now and I may need to in a couple of weeks time due to train times not being early enough on a Sunday. I'm really not looking forward to it.
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I think the opposite may well happen in large cities and you've hinted on it in your post. Electrification may well mean more electric autonomous buses (large or small) and perhaps even on-demand services as no pollution or bus drivers to employ will make it cheaper. Think Uber but without the rape risk and publicly funded. Probably take more than 20 years before that's likely though, or a millennium before it's a public service.

As for driving in London or any other city for that matter you need to treat all other drivers as ****nuggets, that way you won't be surprised when they do something stupid and can act accordingly.
 
Iamzod said:
Sounds like something my dad would say at 70.

Can't think of anything worse than an uninvolving driving experience, that said i'm a staunch believer in the old school manual transmission too, hate driving the wifes DCT Octavia, it's very beige.
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You've never done a long enough commute. After a few hours sitting in traffic the involving experience becomes a lot less desirable.
 
Bug One said:
You've never done a long enough commute. After a few hours sitting in traffic the involving experience becomes a lot less desirable.
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45 minutes is my limit and that's pushing it, been a 25 min walk from the office for 5+ years or a 3-4 minute drive.

That said I can work from home.

Commuting sucks in any vehicle.
 
Iamzod said:
Sounds like something my dad would say at 70.

Can't think of anything worse than an uninvolving driving experience, that said i'm a staunch believer in the old school manual transmission too, hate driving the wifes DCT Octavia, it's very beige.
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My mrs only has an auto licence. Thankfully her car has a semi-manual option on the box with flappy paddles.
 
We 70 year olds would say things like that because we had the open roads, the traffic free motoring, or largely. The absence of cameras for the odd blast at 90mph on a well liked stretch. In London it was possible to drive at 40mph down Park Lane in a car at times. I dropped my bike outside Buck House when there used to be a proper roundabout there (the road was greasy).
So the 'fun' of driving has largely gone for most, particularly in cities. The ubiquitous and bland kraut motors have taken over with auto and power everything I'm afraid.
 
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Iamzod said:
1 . Subjective, but having an uninvolving drive is no fun at all, driving should be entertaining,
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Very subjective. There's too much traffic, too much monitoring, too many idiots for a drive to be anything other than functional these days. You're in a small and shrinking minority to think driving should be entertaining - something I'm glad of, as the fewer people who decide they need to blast around just for their own edification the safer the roads get.
 
squerble said:
Very subjective. There's too much traffic, too much monitoring, too many idiots for a drive to be anything other than functional these days. You're in a small and shrinking minority to think driving should be entertaining - something I'm glad of, as the fewer people who decide they need to blast around just for their own edification the safer the roads get.
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You're arguing with folk whose peak of automotive fun is doing 90mph in a straight line on a motorway, and 40mph down park lane. The same folk who are cross we have fuel injection and the choke has been removed.

Luckily it is a generational thing and will be over in the next 15-20 years :D
 
dLockers said:
You're arguing with folk whose peak of automotive fun is doing 90mph in a straight line on a motorway, and 40mph down park lane. The same folk who are cross we have fuel injection and the choke has been removed.

Luckily it is a generational thing and will be over in the next 15-20 years :D
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Aah the smell of carburetted four star in the morning. :p
 
squerble said:
Very subjective. There's too much traffic, too much monitoring, too many idiots for a drive to be anything other than functional these days. You're in a small and shrinking minority to think driving should be entertaining - something I'm glad of, as the fewer people who decide they need to blast around just for their own edification the safer the roads get.
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You don't need to be "Blasting Around" at high speed to enjoy a car, if that was all that was required than an electric Model Y would be right up my street, it isn't.
 
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