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Simply fantastic product and fantastic people. I had been suffering from white exhaust smoke and burning oil. I came across lots of symptoms on forums and came across the dreaded swirl flap issue. Needless to say I was very concerned and got in touch with PMW. There help, advice and expertise was invaluble.
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The controversial issue this week has been concerning Swindon town council’s decision to ban speed cameras from its roads (it only had three anyway) and to use the road safety budget in other ways, namely more speed awareness initiatives and other traffic calming measures.
Councils in Portsmouth and North Somerset are now said to be considering following suit in the next year (to read more visit Guardian Motoring), while an emotive public debate is currently taking place on the issue. I can’t help but feel though that a few seemingly obvious points are being ignored…
1. Whichever way one looks at it, speed cameras do work to reduce speeding. The variables involved mean that while some only slow down temporarily, other drivers will then adjust their speed for a longer period and maybe even for the rest of their journey. For particularly dangerous stretches of road it may be considered enough if speeding is stopped even for just a short stretch where otherwise many more accidents would occur.
2. The reason speed cameras are so unpopular is due to cynical positioning - hence why many are welcoming this measure. Far too often police and councils would place speed cameras on stretches of road where the speed limit is confusing or illogical.
Near to my house for example is a two-laned road with dual carriageway style barriers on either side and no housing nearby, yet the speed limit is 30mph. Many, assuming the road has officially turned into a dual carriageway, speed-up and are then caught and fined. In such instances the camera positioning has been decided by the potential revenue projections rather than the danger of the road (why else would such a straight and safe road - with pretty much no pedestrians ever nearby - have a camera?).
Therefore we are now seeing overwhelming support for a measure which (unless adequately compensated) will make our roads more dangerous - all because of years of misuse of speed cameras by local councils. Obviously many camera sites are chosen due to hidden dangers but I for one can think of a few local to me where the fundraising aspect must also have played a part.
3. Are speed cameras really less cost-effective than other methods - or are they simply the most unpopular approach? The issue is not whether or not to employ road safety measures but how to decide which ones will be most effective given the budget of a council and the nature of a particular road.
Personally I believe that speed cameras are seeing so much criticism not out of a rational understanding of their cost-effectiveness (presumably measured in falling accident and road mortality rates) but because they are, simply, annoying.
I know many professional drivers for whom the cameras represent a niggling annoyance - they know the roads on which they drive (taxi drivers for example) and feel that at certain times it is safe to go faster than the speed limit. Rather than condoning this, I am merely raising the issue here because such people’s speeding is at least briefly curbed by cameras (the financial implications of which, as always, work better than any moral or ethical reasoning). Now if cameras are removed and other non financially-awkward measures are put into place, then I doubt such drivers will slow down even momentarily.
The question then becomes which of the two imperfect solutions we choose - it seems obvious to pick the one that speeding drivers don’t prefer (it’s not rocket science is it…)
After all - have you ever heard a non-driver, or a 100% conscientious and careful driver complain about speed cameras? That’s because it’s only bad/lazy/reckless drivers that don’t like them, and it shouldn’t take Sherlock Holmes to work out why.
How do I know this? Because I too, like the majority of drivers, have some bad driving habits and often don’t concentrate as much as I should (no, I’ve never had an accident or speeding ticket, but that’s not really the point). Though I have griped many times about speed cameras, in my heart of hearts I know that this is mainly because they forced me to take more effort and care with my driving - something local councils could do with bearing in mind in the coming discussions.
Dejan Levi
Axeon, Europe’s largest independent lithium-ion battery system supplier, is pleased to announce that its advanced propulsion battery technology is at the heart of the world’s first electrically-powered German sports car, a development unveiled on Friday by RUF Automobile GmbH to European investors. The high performance RUF Porsche features a prototype battery from Axeon and is based on the acclaimed 911 model.
The initial prototype battery has been evaluated for the last six months and will be followed by a second prototype, which is expected to lead to a production model in 10 – 12 months time. The battery has a capacity of 48kWh, with a peak capacity of 150kW. Target performance of the production vehicle is a top speed of 200kph, a range of 250 – 320 km on a single charge and an acceleration to match the conventionally-powered 911 Turbo.
The RUF model is only the latest vehicle in a highly successful product line-up from Axeon. The Dundee-based company already supplies its lithium-ion battery technology to the award winning Modec commercial vehicle range as well as taxis and other vehicles converted by Allied Vehicles.
For the full article, plus photos, see Easier.com
Ottawa, Ontario - The so-called “entry” level luxury segment is a very large and competitive class: the likes of BMW, Audi, Lexus, Infiniti and Mercedes are all fighting to gain market share with their entry-level vehicles, such as the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
Just like owners of non-luxury vehicles, buyers of entry-level luxury vehicles are expected to move up in the food chain as their net-worth grows over the years. It is no secret in the industry that if an automaker can capture an entry-level buyer today there is a good chance the buyer will purchase a mid-range model tomorrow, and possibly a top-of-the-line model in the future.
Article continues at Canadian Driver
PMW Ltd
Thank you for offering to collect my wife’s Mercedes and getting the MOT organised, plus a general check over prior to it’s next service.
Despite it’s low mileage the car is now a few years old and it is reassuring to know that PMW are keeping it mechanically sound.
We have been impressed by the service and courtesy afforded by your company.
I will contatc you in a few months to arrange the annual service.
Regards
Graham Harvey (Essex)
Hi Peter,
I posted the text below to the Porsche 928 UK mailing list.
Hi all,
I have had a very successful trip to have all four wheels aligned at PMW in Chelmsford, Essex…. http://www.pmwltd.co.uk
All four corners were all over the place, £100 + VAT later and after their ex Porsche technician had taken it for a test dive, I drove a differently feeling car home.
They have the latest equipment (no lifting the car), displayed excellent customer service skills, technical knowledge and spent several hours making sure everything was correct. I would highly recommend them so put them on your list……
Trevor ‘90 S4
Dear Pete,
I just wanted to write to say ‘thank you’ on behalf of Adrian and myself for your recent help with Adrian’s car. As a result of you checking the car over just before it’s warranty expiry, we were able to get it booked in to the main dealer in time, who are in the process of fitting an entirely new alarm system to the car - not something that we would have wanted to pay for!
Despite having to use the main dealer for this particular issue, due to the extended warranty, rest assured that we continue to use PMW for both of our cars in the future.
In our own business we pride ourselves on giving great service and trying to go the extra mile to help our clients and it is a pleasure to do business with a company like yours, who obviously have the same high standards.
Thanks again for all of your help.
Yours Sincerely
Diane Wilkins (Essex)
Peter,
I just wanted to say thank you to you and your team, as I would recommend you guys to anyone looking for an honest, reliable garage with a respectable labour rate.
Having lost the drive in my Boxster S I feared the worst. Whilst coasting to a halt all I could think about was that it would require a mortgage to pay for a new gearbox!!
I was recommended to go to PMW rather than my usual Porsche main dealer, and after an hour I recieved a phone call saying that the car was fixed; it was only a minor fault - How honest for a garage!
PMW even pointed out that my front discs had corroded on the inside and were flaking away - something Porsche failed to mention. After calling to explain I agreed to the work being carried out, and was even shown the old discs afterwards.
I certainly will not be using my Porsche main dealer for servicing or repairs anymore!
…….. And thanks for sorting out the MOT.
Stephen
Peter,
Just wanted to drop you a quick thank you note with regard to work undertaken on my E46 M3 SMG.
I was very impressed with the attention to detail and in depth explanation throughout the diagnosis and repair process. From experience with major dealers, it was a breath of fresh air to come across a comany that pride themselves on their integrity and assurance of satisfaction. Knowing I could have been facing a much higher bill elsewhere, I’d like to express my sincere thanks for your honest and pragmatic approach. You and your team will come highly recommended to other owners I know and I look forward to entrusting PMW with my future requirements.
All the Best
Martin
Last week George Bush announced a $25 bn bail-out loan for US car manufacturers to help them meet the costs of surviving a difficult time for the industry, and to help ease the transfer to producing greener models and technologies that meet new government guidelines on emissions and fuel economy. European firms are already pressing for a similar £30 bn loan over here to match the US’s action.
(For a full outline of the breakdown of the loan structure and the history of the automotive industry’s persistent failure to meet green targets see George Monbiot’s excellent piece at Guardian Online).
Amidst the current talk of $700 bn payouts to the US banking sector and similar proposals here in the EU these figures bizarrly seem quite modest due to the strange distortion of what constitutes ‘a lot’ (in terms of government assistance to failing business) these days.
It seems amid these ‘abnormal’ times its acceptable to rob the taxpayer blind under the excuse that we are experiencing a crisis in which everyone is a victim (including big business, and big finance) requiring the execution of some sort of political ‘executive power’ - which actually equates to throwing huge sums of taxpayers’ money at the problem in order to show how ‘committed we are to doing everything we can’ (Gordon Brown’s daily mantra).
As a public we don’t fully understand the economic problems currently being discussed on the news on a daily basis, but all we do know is that its ‘bad’ and something ‘big’ needs to be done to arrest the slide, hence our willingness to accept measures which otherwise would encounter far more resistance in a more rational climate.
These big decisive actions are increasingly turning out to be little more than taking advantage of the succesful erosion of public resistance to wasting huge quantities of taxpayers’ money to further enrich multinational corporations; the car makers of both Europe and the US being the latest beneficiaries.
The point is that car manufacturers are suffering the economic consequences of irresposible and short-sighted profiteering in recent years.
They gambled on selling big cars with big engines while petrol was cheap with no regard for the environment or for scientific advice on climate change. Why now are we to pay for their greed and recklessness by helping them ease the financial hangover of such a binge? Why should we pay to help them meet the demands of the new marketplace (where most consumers cite economy as the major factor in car choice)?
That is the job of a successful business surely - to judge what consumers want or need and to provide it - not to mis-judge it so badly that they face going under, and then to hold government to ransom for handouts to right their errors.
If I launch an internet start-up selling ice cubes on eBay and then consequently go bankrupt for my stupidity I will be left alone to suffer the consequences of bad business - in what totally upside-down system of values should this not also apply to multinational corporate behemoths?
The point is that (as George Monbiot rightly points out) the automotive industry has stalled and obstructed every single green initiative and research for nearly two decades but, now that public money seems available (everyone else is at it - why not get some for ourselves too?), the opportunist vultures that run these conglomerates have decided that all they really want is go green after all.
As I write this I hope that the EU will somehow resist the urge to be bribed yet again by big business and actually protect taxpayers interests and the really vulnerable victims of this economic mess; the low-level wage workers which do all the actual work for these companies. Why not instead use just a fraction of this $25 bn sum to safeguard an additional redundancy package for economically exposed workers who potentially face (if they haven’t already suffered from) lay-offs?
In other words; protect the actual victims (a much cheaper measure) and let the greedy and hopelessly mismanaged corporations go under. Surely the same economic consequences for messing up should apply to those running global corporations (and pulling in seven-figure salaries) as those simply trying to make ends meet with small scale local business… but then small scale local businesses do not have a multi-billion dollar lobby group in every political centre in the world.
The fact of the matter is that those companies who have set themselves up to face these challenges will suffer least and easily survive the economic downturn. Companies like Honda and BMW had the foresight to put in place strategies for the marketplace of today sometime in the past, and are hence better equipped to deal with the situation. The question is - why let the other inefficient, inept and greed(ier) companies also survive?
After all, the point is that the market is finally working to kill off the most environmentally irresponsible and calous manufacturers - why on earth would we want to pay to subsidise the survival of such damaging organisations?
Let’s hope that our government here in the UK and the EU as a whole sees sense on this matter and resists the pressure to give in to spoiled and greedy demands of big business… we’ll keep you updated as the situation develops.
Dejan Levi
bmw, car industry bail out, car manufacturers, economic crisis, green motoring, Honda
The BMW X6 range is to get a new flagship with the launch of the BMW X6 xDrive50i. Powered by a unique twin-turbocharged V8 engine, the vehicle’s 408hp powerplant is capable of propelling the vehicle from zero to 62mph in 5.4 seconds before going on to an electronically-limited top speed of 155mph.
The 4,395cc engine features the novel design of two turbochargers and catalysts within the vee of the engine. Such a configuration aids packaging requirements while also boosting responsiveness courtesy of the shortened exhaust pipes. To highlight the competitive advantage this arrangement yields the BMW X6 xDrive50i is 1.8 seconds quicker from zero to 62mph than the flagship Range Rover Sport.
The BMW’s CO2 emissions figure of 299g/km is 75g/km cleaner than the Range Rover and, in recording a combined 22.6mpg figure, it is also 4.8mpg more fuel efficient. It is a similar story when comparing the same BMW X6 to the Porsche Cayenne GTS. The Porsche is 1.4 seconds slower from zero to 62mph, 2.3mpg less efficient and, at 332g/km, it is 33g/km more polluting.
The BMW X6 xDrive50i goes on sale in November priced at £53,930 OTR.
Read the full article at Easier.com
