The Chief

Maybe its been happening a while now, but slowly and surely i see the end of performance motoring.

No i'm sure some of you will think i'm talking b***ocks (i probably am)

But i have seen things get worse, for instance many moons ago i used to be a biker and ok i admit i was a bit of a t*t on one and i was young and full of it and thought i knew better.

Then on the routes i used to take and speed cameras sprang up everywhere, the police clamped down as they saw it as anti social and now if you go into Matlock (a bikers gathering spot in Derbyshire) it is a shadow of its former self, in fact going back 15 years they seemed to be a damn sight more bikers on the road full stop then they're is today.

Now i can see the Performance car going the same way.

Constantly hounded by the police and with new laws being constantly put into place under our noses by politically correct MPs and the like, we are being priced out or banned out of our cars.

Where does it end?

High emmission car - ok we will wallop them with taxation,

Any loop hole will be closed as the new law was put through today (where your points are doubled if you refuse to name the driver)

I see most if not all Motorways and major A roads will have some sort of average speed cameras over the set distance with the politically correct idiots in control reducing the speed at a whim (M42 springs to mind)

And then this:

PistonHeads Headlines


when will it end, will the enjoyment of a performance car be confined to the odd track day - i think so, yet there is not a political party that supports the 10's of millions of motorists on the road, it is never spoke about or reported by the media

I'm not saying lets all drive round like t**ts but nor do i want to drive like miss Daisy 100% of the time.

is so wrong and unacceptable to have a bit of a blat on that deserted bypass or country road?

it seems so.


Is there a solution?


I'd love to hear it.

Matteeboy

Get a powerful(ish) diesel.
It's the only way now - sadly.

Shark Man

Emmigrate.

Some cracking back roads in inland Spain, although it getting a bit like the moto-Gp on weekends.

If you think some bikers here ride like t*ts you should see them over there

Although, if I had my bike over there I'd probably be doing the same

The Chief

Funny you should say that i've just come back from the Costa Del Sol - roads seemed really greasy to me

Clarebabes

This country is using taxation as a control measure. The sooner everyone boycotts cars the better, but that may be cutting our noses off to spite our faces, and let's face it, there's not an alternative, is there?

Ghetto Dude3

i have felt that for a few years, which is why my clanky old wrx will be the last performance car i ever buy, and im keeping it until it falls over and dies

Shark Man

Go inland, get away from the masses (and those bladdy annoying ex-pats) and one will find some superb smooth twisty roads wondering through fincas and hill/mountain passes going up into the clouds, and dropping back down with loads of sweeping bends and hair pins going into deep valleys with lakes and river, then back out again. No speed camaras, very little traffic and a big grin from ear to ear.

Just the important thing is not to over cook it, because its either ending up in a 2ft deep concrete drainage ditch or end up driving off a cliff I guess the Spanish let Dawinism take presidence to armco

David Lock

The worst thing to happen was the national 70 mph speed limit many years ago.

You could do 130/140 in a decent car then but today you would possibly be gaoled.

Not helped by a huge increase in number of cars of course.

Yes those "good old days" are nearly gone. As a kid I remember "borrowing" my old man's Jag' late one night so I could do 100 mph before limits came in as I thought I'd never have the chance again. Anyway I did it dl

Matteeboy

There's still Wales, Scotland and some parts of Devon and Cornwall left to have fun on....

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Legislation is the least of my worries, getting a decent car past my missus is impossible.

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

Gone are the days of telling her the 200+bhp Subaru on the drive outside is a Kia

boxst

I don't really speed that much anymore (getting old ) but the average speed cameras are the way forward I expect. I had the delight of driving 'Up North' the other day and the end of the M11 has average speed cameras. Wow it is a pain. Sitting at 74mph and then calculating that I was behind a slow car for 1 minute, so can do 80mph for the next 2 miles.

Steve

Trout

iTrader: (1)

I think if you do a little research you will find that in the UK we live in a democracy. As such I think you will find that tens of millions of motorsists actually voted the current political party into power; ergo there is a political party supporting tens of millions of motorists.

I am somewhat confused by your post. You are berating a leadership that has the capability and wants to deploy that capability, to uphold a long written law that has been presided over by political leadership of all leanings for decades.

Is this correct?

Maz

iTrader: (34)

Democracy in name only. We vote in a party of certain denomination, they take power and do what they want. Pre-election promises are left by the wayside. Wishes of the electorate are a mere annoyance to the majority of the cabinet with their snouts deep in the trough. They know their time is limited so they take as much they can and fulfill their personal agenda. Then Joe Public becomes peeved and votes another party in and the cycle continues.

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

There is a way to help, though.

For starters, don't spend too much more time putting your thoughts into writing on an internet forum for high performance car owners - you're preaching to the converted, which is a waste of time.

Write them instead in a letter your MP.

Write to the DfT.

Join ABD

Point out to the people that actually matter that you're fed up with paying disproportionately high taxes, with having a police force more interested in measuring speed than in picking out dangerous drivers however fast or slow they're travelling, with threats to our privacy, and with public transport that's no alternative in many cases.

You've nothing to lose - just don't end up regretting that you never bothered to try.

Suresh

I'm thinking that even if a high performance zero-emmissions car ever comes to market, there'll be a lobby out there who try to stop it to show that they can

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

The PistonHeads headline will never happen UK wide as there will eventually be riots in the street. The Govt can only push these things so far before (a) there is a Poll Tax style riot (b) they get voted out. They have to tread a fine line ... IMHO the car tax thing is verging on the straw that broke the camels back

TX.

The Chief

You wouldn't think so sometimes.

Agreed and now were being sh*t on big time

I dont see whats confusing about it?

i',m not berating just this leadership i clearly stated that no mainstream party that i know of supports the motorist.
If a party was created that supported the motorist wholeheartedly i'd vote for them tommorrow.

I vote for one of the mainstream parties after i decide what (i think) will be best for the country i.e. Lower taxes, better policing, education blah, blah, the truth is none of the parties support the motorist but..... what are the options????

You damned if you do you damned if you dont - what i mean is, you vote x, y, z, party and then get told dont complain when they screw the motorist every which way, the alternative is not to vote!!!! then get told i have no reason to complain as i did not pencil my vote.

If your happy with how things are going then fine - If not then what would you do?

Leslie

I think what you are saying is absolutely right and also very reasonable.

We have to remember that historically this sorry lot have always hated cars from very early days, especially since like fox hunting it would have been considered as just one of the things enjoyed by the upper classes. They have not changed that opinion over the years. Thay hate the personal freedom that we get with a car, except for them of course since they are so much more equal than us. Also of course we have the opinions of the prats who count themselves as Greens but with no thought for anyone else. What a wonderful excuse that green business is for taxing us even harder!

Add to all this the fact that they are grossly authoritarian and want to have complete control of our lives and no better way than to know what we are doing at every moment of the day, and the picture of the future falls into place!

The only answer is that we still have a vote, the problem is that all politicians now seem to have the same greedy and grasping ideals!

Les

r32

Just who has joined the ABD? Why dont you?

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

That's the big problem - that all the major political parties are engaged in a race to see who can be perceived to be greenest. Green is fashionable.

That's why it's so very important to tell the current lot what we think. Remind them that ordinary people have cars, need their cars, and get a vote.

Brendan Hughes

I've said THIS for years.

Cars are getting faster because they are also getting smoother and quieter. As such, to have any sensation of speed, you have to severely break the limit (and risk crash/legal consequences).

And when Audi give out a press release of the latest 600bhp monster with beautiful interior and half a ton of sound proofing, you know it's going to continue.

You want fun? Sell your performance saloon and buy a Caterham, Elise, or similar, and a jap/eurobox for commuting with the change. You'll need surgeons to get the grin off your face afterwards. They make them for big people too.

This is not an option for some people, I know (not an option for me either ) but when I see people here asking about 30k cars, it usually bloody is one.

And I know a lot of people on here like Smarts.

BHP is NOT the solution.

pwhittle

it's not just spped and emmisions that'll affect it though, there are future regulations regarding the distance between the top of the engine and the bonnet, and distance between the driver and the windscreen, which could leave any front engined cars looking like Lada. That'll kill them just because nobody will want them!

mind you, it would halm the 08 'Impreza' in the looks department

The Chief

Some very good points there Brenden, i'm with you on the Caterham/Westfield, lightweight is the way forward,

I personally could not give a hoot about doing 160mph+ on the public highway, acceleration and handling on a nice twisty road is where its at but who am i to judge? if someone wants to go out and buy the latest 580bhp RS6 and boast its power figures down the pub what f**king right have i to say 'Sorry you cant do that'

But the politicians can and do.

The sad thing for me is all these silly new laws go un-reported and quietly get introduced and taxes forever hike skyward - and no body says anything.

Its about time we did

Chrisgr31

Democracy?

So its a democracy whem labour are in power with a significant majority and of those that voted 64.7% voted for someone else?

Should be a hung parliament!

Leslie

i agree about the hanging bit!

Les

Chris L

I think the days of performance cars are numbered too It's very sad. How dare you enjoy yourself while driving?

Which is why I intend to have one last throw of the performance car dice with my new car - details to follow next week

vindaloo

Sadly, I think that the South and the South East are a lost cause. There's too much traffic around during the day and most roads are never completely quiet, even at night. Building programmes mean that there are little hamlets and estates popping up everywhere. Which means more cars, more urban sprawl and more chance of a) reduced speed limits and b) pedestrian accidents.

An open stretch of road is likely to have a camera on it somewhere. Or there's the possibility of wandering into the path of a Scamera van.

One possible side-effect is that people push the envelope more on roads that they know. If they're lucky, nothing happens or they get a fright and they slow down. If they're unlucky, they or someone else ends up injured or worse.

In summary, a camera can't do you for driving like a tit nor stop you once in a while to let you know it's interested in the health your driving future .

J.

Leslie

I think it shows what is coming when the rumour is leaked that they are going to ban aftermarket silencers. That will certainly be extended to any form of tuning to improve the performance of our cars.

Les

Clarebabes

Not necessarily a bad thing