VW Scandal

[Yorkie]

My Skoda Fabia has rear radar, which has a dashboard display as well as an audible warning.  When I engage reverse gear, it mutes the radio (if on), shows a sort of bar-graph display and beeps with increasing rapidity. When I get one continuous beep, I'm 2 feet away from whatever is behind - car, bollard, tree wall etc - time to stop! It's proved very useful. The sale of satnavs has rapidly declined as more and more people just use smartphones. I use a Garmin with lifetime updates, a 5" screen and pictures of major junctions as I approach them. Unless a built-in satnav had free updates, it wouldn't be a feature I'd want. Dash-cams and rear cams are now so cheap, (under £50) and with such good clarity that I'm surprised they haven't been added as a fairly standard item.

Why do they make such a big deal about the many styles of alloy wheels? All I'm interested in is how easy they are to clean - the plainer the better.
 
I went to a Vauxhall dealer for a brochure for the New Astra yesterday, and was advised by the salesman that as a retired employee of BG and a member of the Centrica pension scheme, I can get a Vauxhall at cost price - the same price as the salesman could get a new car at. Don't know if it's because BG vehicle fleet is Vauxhall or whatever. Interesting to see how widely the insurance groups vary from one model to another in a range.  

I feel a bit sorry for car salesmen - it's evident that few have had any sales training on the steps they need to take to secure a sale - they just seem to pick it up as they go along. They just leap straight in, and tell you what the deal is if you buy now, because the offer end in March or whatever and you won't want to miss out.  I went with my wife and they didn't ask if we both drive, how many miles a year we do, what features and benefits particularly appeal to us. Didn't get us to sit in a car or outline the key features, didn't explain the warranty terms or other possible benefits such as free RAC/AA cover.

We're both tall, so want a car with plenty of headroom and a high seating position. Not underpowered as we do lots of motorway driving, but not too large either, for ease of parking. Not interested in leather steering wheels, top speed or how long it takes to get from 0-60MPH. Not interested in gimmicks like rain sensors or automatic lights and don't want electric rear windows.  Want cruise control, air-con, rear radar, (front would be good too), 60/40 rear seats, and a proper spare wheel - not a get-you-home puncture outfit. Happy with or without keyless start and stop/start.  

Not interested whether it's zero RFL or £170 if it ticks all the boxes, but probably wont go for another diesel due to major cities talking of imposing 'pollution zone' charges. Not interested in MPG figures which are fiction anyway. The salesman doesn't know any of this - we came away with a glossy brochure full of blurb pandering to the vanity of potential buyers on page after page, talking about the sleek lines of the vehicle, but not giving any dimensions.  Is it wider, taller, longer than our present car? Haven't a clue.  

Oh, and one last thing - heated steering wheel and heated front seats - what's that all about? I live in Hull - not Helsinki!

Ho hum...