30/07/2012
Lexus in lift shaft freefall
I’ve no idea how it would impact on your chances of getting a cheap car insurance quote, but I can say that driving down a lift shaft is never a good idea.
Someone should have said this to a parking garage attendant in New York who accidentally drove a Lexus five floors down a lift shaft.
Before you start thinking this is a bit of a light-hearted or macabre way to report a tragedy, I’d like to say that it wasn’t a disaster.
This is because the man in question somehow survived with only minor injuries.
“A guy drove into an empty elevator shaft. The elevator wasn’t there, he went all the way down,” said one observer, succinctly while at the same time sounding like he was leading into a punch-line.
It was a freak accident said another, perhaps putting it mildly.
Others in the area reported hearing an explosion-like sound while some were worried that a bomb had gone off.
I’ve often had nightmares about falling down a lift shaft, but never in a car, not until now anyway.
Someone should have said this to a parking garage attendant in New York who accidentally drove a Lexus five floors down a lift shaft.
Before you start thinking this is a bit of a light-hearted or macabre way to report a tragedy, I’d like to say that it wasn’t a disaster.
This is because the man in question somehow survived with only minor injuries.
“A guy drove into an empty elevator shaft. The elevator wasn’t there, he went all the way down,” said one observer, succinctly while at the same time sounding like he was leading into a punch-line.
It was a freak accident said another, perhaps putting it mildly.
Others in the area reported hearing an explosion-like sound while some were worried that a bomb had gone off.
I’ve often had nightmares about falling down a lift shaft, but never in a car, not until now anyway.
Photo © donebythehandsofabrokenartist via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: cheap car insurance quote, Lexus
26/09/2011
Been abducted by aliens while driving? Don’t tell your car insurer
We at duck2water have often wondered what a close encounter with the third kind would do for a person’s chances of receiving a cheap car insurance quote.
If a driver reported such an encounter would it mean he or she was suffering from potentially dangerous and distracting hallucinations and should be banned from driving?
Would it mean that he or she was actually being stalked by aliens and could therefore be considered to represent a significant car accident risk?
Or would it simply mean that the driver in question had had by freak, random chance an unusual and unexplainable encounter?
Perhaps one Australian car insurance company will now have to be answering this question after reports of a man in the Northern Territory “freaking out” after being “followed” by a “UFO”.
The man was driving in the outback when at about 3:30 in the morning he looked in his side mirror and noticed a light behind him. At first he thought it must be another car.
He explained, "I thought 'geez, they must be driving fast' as I was doing 120km/h.
He added, "When I looked again after a few minutes the light was really bright but it was in the bloody sky."
"I put the foot down a bit more," he said. "Then I looked back again and this time the light was huge and the most brightest light I had ever seen.
"But the strange thing is that the light had like an orange colour to it, but was white at the same time.
"It was about the size of a large car and stayed with me for about 20 or 30 minutes.”
He then became worried that he was going to be abducted, "I said to myself: 'no, no, no, not me, go and take someone else, I am not interested.”
That’s not a question you see on any motor insurance application forms: “Any history of alien abduction or close encounters of the third kind while driving?”
Perhaps it’s a question that needs including…
If a driver reported such an encounter would it mean he or she was suffering from potentially dangerous and distracting hallucinations and should be banned from driving?
Would it mean that he or she was actually being stalked by aliens and could therefore be considered to represent a significant car accident risk?Or would it simply mean that the driver in question had had by freak, random chance an unusual and unexplainable encounter?
Perhaps one Australian car insurance company will now have to be answering this question after reports of a man in the Northern Territory “freaking out” after being “followed” by a “UFO”.
The man was driving in the outback when at about 3:30 in the morning he looked in his side mirror and noticed a light behind him. At first he thought it must be another car.
He explained, "I thought 'geez, they must be driving fast' as I was doing 120km/h.
He added, "When I looked again after a few minutes the light was really bright but it was in the bloody sky."
"I put the foot down a bit more," he said. "Then I looked back again and this time the light was huge and the most brightest light I had ever seen.
"But the strange thing is that the light had like an orange colour to it, but was white at the same time.
"It was about the size of a large car and stayed with me for about 20 or 30 minutes.”
He then became worried that he was going to be abducted, "I said to myself: 'no, no, no, not me, go and take someone else, I am not interested.”
That’s not a question you see on any motor insurance application forms: “Any history of alien abduction or close encounters of the third kind while driving?”
Perhaps it’s a question that needs including…
Photo © tm-tm via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: cheap car insurance quote, driver, electric motor, ufo
14/04/2011
British pride, it’s… Chinese
It’s a sad thing that the days of British manufacturing are long gone but it’s also true that these days being a mature and developed nation, invariably means having only very limited heavy industry.
In the heyday of British manufacturing almost all families contributed in one way or another to sectors such as aviation, pharmaceuticals, textiles and tobacco.
Perhaps none was more ingrained in the national identity than motor vehicle manufacturing. Names like Vauxhall, Leyland, Rover, Mini, Metro, MG, Aston Martin, Bentley, Lotus and Jaguar all became synonymous with British pride and excellence in automotive engineering.
These days very little motor manufacturing lives on. Yes, many major names still have a presence – Ford, Honda, Nissan, Mini, Morris and Jaguar Land Rover are just some of the companies which still retain UK vehicle production plants – but it is a scaled down presence and the industry does not employ anything like the hundreds of thousands of workers it used to.
At least Nissan, Toyota and Jaguar Land Rover can lay claim to decent levels of vehicle production, as all produce over 200,000 vehicles a year, but it certainly isn’t the same, particularly when there is only a limited level of British ownership.
Still, that didn’t prevent me from feeling excited at the news that MG is to produce its first completely new vehicle in 16 years. Yes, it is a now a Chinese owned brand, but MG is one of the most iconic of all British brands and the new model, the MG6, has been engineered in Britain and will be assembled over here at the famous plant in Longbridge, the West Midlands. I certainly won’t allow myself to make tired jokes about MG going all MSG.
My first thoughts on seeing pictures of the new vehicle? Well, I’m disappointed to say that I think it looks a bit samey, so I very much doubt I’ll be seeking a cheap car insurance quote for an MG6 any time soon, but I will reserve final judgement until I see it up close and in the metal.
In the heyday of British manufacturing almost all families contributed in one way or another to sectors such as aviation, pharmaceuticals, textiles and tobacco.
Perhaps none was more ingrained in the national identity than motor vehicle manufacturing. Names like Vauxhall, Leyland, Rover, Mini, Metro, MG, Aston Martin, Bentley, Lotus and Jaguar all became synonymous with British pride and excellence in automotive engineering.These days very little motor manufacturing lives on. Yes, many major names still have a presence – Ford, Honda, Nissan, Mini, Morris and Jaguar Land Rover are just some of the companies which still retain UK vehicle production plants – but it is a scaled down presence and the industry does not employ anything like the hundreds of thousands of workers it used to.
At least Nissan, Toyota and Jaguar Land Rover can lay claim to decent levels of vehicle production, as all produce over 200,000 vehicles a year, but it certainly isn’t the same, particularly when there is only a limited level of British ownership.
Still, that didn’t prevent me from feeling excited at the news that MG is to produce its first completely new vehicle in 16 years. Yes, it is a now a Chinese owned brand, but MG is one of the most iconic of all British brands and the new model, the MG6, has been engineered in Britain and will be assembled over here at the famous plant in Longbridge, the West Midlands. I certainly won’t allow myself to make tired jokes about MG going all MSG.
My first thoughts on seeing pictures of the new vehicle? Well, I’m disappointed to say that I think it looks a bit samey, so I very much doubt I’ll be seeking a cheap car insurance quote for an MG6 any time soon, but I will reserve final judgement until I see it up close and in the metal.
Image © dok1 via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: automotive engineering, cheap car insurance quote, manufacturing, MG, motor vehicle
13/01/2011
Did your car suffer whiplash this Christmas?
If you’re anything like me and had to make myriad journeys up down the country this winter in order to commingle with various far-flung friends and family, then chances are that you’ve faced the perils of black ice and pothole-ridden winter roads.These journeys were not helped by the fact that they always seemed to involve a full car, packed as it was with overfed children, oversized Turkeys and overpriced presents.
As such, now is the time to take stock and consider a bit of basic vehicle maintenance. This is because icy roads can cause cars to slide into curbs and potholes may sometimes result in “vehicle whiplash”.
Vehicle whiplash is when the shock of impact causes a car’s wheels to come out of alignment.
Paul Beurain, managing director of Pro-Align comments, “Although drivers may not notice any difference to the way their car feels after sliding into a kerb or other object, it's important that they have their wheel alignment properly checked.
"Even very low speed impacts can cause significant misalignment or damage to components, especially if they occur at an unusual angle. Many workshops across the country are equipped with the latest four wheel alignment systems which can determine in just a few minutes if a car's alignment needs adjusting."
And since having misaligned wheels can cause an accident its best to get them checked out – otherwise it could ultimately have a negative impact on your chances of receiving a cheap car insurance quote.
Image © Alan Stanton via Flickr under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: cheap car insurance quote
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]