[PregNut]

Quote:
TheZookie007 said:
Hey, if it were not for the NI, the world would not have had the reggae group named after the unemployment benefits forms that you have to fill out to collect it...of course, I refer to UB40

You mean the group that ruined the film Speed 2: Cruise Control ?

[Zealot]

Quote:
CyberGump2 said:

Quote:
BarnacleBill said:
the British girls are cuter, funnier, and have bigger boobs.

Yes but they are much harder to approach and chat up... we are becoming a nation of singletons

Quote:


Aston Martin, Jaguar, TVR , Nobel...shame we can no longer manufacture affordable cars!!
[

I wish to comment on these two comments:
1)Here in America women are getting hard to approach and chat up as well.I was beginning to think that I have the look of a rapist/psycho-killer,but now it seems the problem is far more widespread.A guy can't even introduce himself without risking a harassment lawsuit!
2)Not everyone can afford an Aston Martin or a Jaguar or the such,but the streets are full of traffic.Who is the UK's biggest supplier of domestic cars?

[Palomine]

  Leaving aside all of the gross generalizations about a variety of subjects (to be found in many of the above posts... as if ANY guy could have anything more than anecdotal evidence... NEVER enough to make some blanket statement about the approachability of "American women" or "British women" etc...)...

Now, regarding your question about contemporary British cars:

In fact, there's not really much of an ACTUAL British 'domestic' auto manufacturing base anymore. Jaguar has been owned/controlled by Ford for several years now (it's for sale cheap if you want it... Ford's lost tens of millions of dollars keeping it afloat and has too many of it's own financial woes to keep that up indefinitely. Rumor has it that Tata motors (Indian mfgr of budget cars as cheap as $US2.5K) is going to buy it soon. Aston Martin was also owned by Ford, though it was resold by them not too long ago to a consotium of foreign investors/entities (some may be British-based, but I think they're in the minority sharewise).

Bentley, Rolls, Land Rover and Mini all went to the Germans years ago. LR then went to Ford too... I think it's also for sale if you have some spare cash. In my neighborhood, Range Rovers are as common as BMW X5s... which is to say, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting at least 3 such gaudy status symbols... of course, outside of certain areas you probably don't see that many... buy a Range Rover Sport Supercharged and move to one of the smaller red states and you might never see another car like yours on the road for months at a time.

Numerically, I'd GUESS (not bothering to look it up) that the biggest 'domestic' British makes (at least what you'll see a lot of on the street... regular cars) would be Vauxhall and/or Opel. However (and again, my info may not be quite up to date) both of THOSE makes are actually European subsidiaries of GM (General Motors, an American-based multinational corporation... still the world's largest mfgr. of vehicles... though Toyota will displace them as the biggest in the U.S. probably some time in the next few quarters).

So, who's left insofar as Brit motoring is concerned? I'm not really sure... the only actual currently-active Brit made and owned builder that I can think of is Morgan: a (very tiny) niche manufacturer of specialty sportscars... they still use wood (ash, I believe) in the manufacture of some of their vehicles for STRUCTURAL purposes (or at least they did till not all that long ago). From what I've seen/heard/read Morgan's output is tiny: probably measured in hundreds of vehicles per year and surely surpassed by a single day's output in any modern/mainstream/mass-market factory... probably a few HOURS output.

So: you see a lot of Vauxhalls... think of them as the equivalent of Chevy if you like. Of course, there are plenty of Benzs, BMWs, VWs and various lesser-known (to Americans) small cars over there on the streets too.

I'm sure this is MUCH more info that you wanted... but hey... it's free and worth every penny!    

[Hiram]

Quote:
Palomine said:
  Numerically, I'd GUESS (not bothering to look it up) that the biggest 'domestic' British makes (at least what you'll see a lot of on the street... regular cars) would be Vauxhall and/or Opel.

Anecdotally, I think it may be Ford - but it would b close.

Opel's are mainly seen in continental Europe - same as Vauxhalls, but different badge.

[Palomine]

Quote:
Hiram said:

Quote:
Palomine said:
  Numerically, I'd GUESS (not bothering to look it up) that the biggest 'domestic' British makes (at least what you'll see a lot of on the street... regular cars) would be Vauxhall and/or Opel.

Anecdotally, I think it may be Ford - but it would b close.

Opel's are mainly seen in continental Europe - same as Vauxhalls, but different badge.

Since I no longer live there and you do, I consider myself better informed and thank you! From what I've seen Ford of Europe vehicles are generally much more desirable (to a motoring enthusiast) than are most of Ford's American/domestic offerings. We don't get the Ka, our Focus is always a generation behind the Euro-market model, etc...

[CyberGump2]

Quote:
Palomine said:
  Leaving aside all of the gross generalizations about a variety of subjects (to be found in many of the above posts... as if ANY guy could have anything more than anecdotal evidence... NEVER enough to make some blanket statement about the approachability of "American women" or "British women" etc...)...

Now, regarding your question about contemporary British cars:

In fact, there's not really much of an ACTUAL British 'domestic' auto manufacturing base anymore. Jaguar has been owned/controlled by Ford for several years now (it's for sale cheap if you want it... Ford's lost tens of millions of dollars keeping it afloat and has too many of it's own financial woes to keep that up indefinitely. Rumor has it that Tata motors (Indian mfgr of budget cars as cheap as $US2.5K) is going to buy it soon. Aston Martin was also owned by Ford, though it was resold by them not too long ago to a consotium of foreign investors/entities (some may be British-based, but I think they're in the minority sharewise).

Bentley, Rolls, Land Rover and Mini all went to the Germans years ago. LR then went to Ford too... I think it's also for sale if you have some spare cash. In my neighborhood, Range Rovers are as common as BMW X5s... which is to say, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting at least 3 such gaudy status symbols... of course, outside of certain areas you probably don't see that many... buy a Range Rover Sport Supercharged and move to one of the smaller red states and you might never see another car like yours on the road for months at a time.

Numerically, I'd GUESS (not bothering to look it up) that the biggest 'domestic' British makes (at least what you'll see a lot of on the street... regular cars) would be Vauxhall and/or Opel. However (and again, my info may not be quite up to date) both of THOSE makes are actually European subsidiaries of GM (General Motors, an American-based multinational corporation... still the world's largest mfgr. of vehicles... though Toyota will displace them as the biggest in the U.S. probably some time in the next few quarters).

So, who's left insofar as Brit motoring is concerned? I'm not really sure... the only actual currently-active Brit made and owned builder that I can think of is Morgan: a (very tiny) niche manufacturer of specialty sportscars... they still use wood (ash, I believe) in the manufacture of some of their vehicles for STRUCTURAL purposes (or at least they did till not all that long ago). From what I've seen/heard/read Morgan's output is tiny: probably measured in hundreds of vehicles per year and surely surpassed by a single day's output in any modern/mainstream/mass-market factory... probably a few HOURS output.

So: you see a lot of Vauxhalls... think of them as the equivalent of Chevy if you like. Of course, there are plenty of Benzs, BMWs, VWs and various lesser-known (to Americans) small cars over there on the streets too.

I'm sure this is MUCH more info that you wanted... but hey... it's free and worth every penny!    

OK Aston Martin / Jaguar may be owned by ford but the parent company has not messed with the type / design or product so we can still think of them as home grown...

There is a Nissan plant in Sunderland where cars are manufactured for the UK market.. but we still think of these cars as Japanese. (i.e the origin of the company)

[Blax12]

  For a couple of years I drove a Ford Fiesta 1.4 diesel. Not a great car, but very affordable. You can forget about refueling.

[Hiram]

Quote:
Palomine said:
 From what I've seen Ford of Europe vehicles are generally much more desirable (to a motoring enthusiast) than are most of Ford's American/domestic offerings.

Not sure I'd put quite that way.

The EU is such a different market for Ford than it is in the US, they're probably going to be designing cars with that in mind.  As Gas is $10 a gallon here, fuel efficiency is a pretty important selling point.  Smaller higher revving engines are more fun to drive.

Albeit with my limited experience of US cars, it does seem they have softer suspension than Europeans cars, which is useless for corner speed.
 
We have a Ford commercial vehicle plant in my town - the vans are designed in-house as far as I know.   The Ford Transit is probably the most common van you'll see on UK roads.

 

[Palomine]

@CyberGump2:  

Quote:


OK Aston Martin / Jaguar may be owned by ford but the parent company has not messed with the type / design or product so we can still think of them as home grown...

There is a Nissan plant in Sunderland where cars are manufactured for the UK market.. but we still think of these cars as Japanese. (i.e the origin of the company)

I don't follow... you consider one foreign-owned but domestically-produced line (Nissan in the UK) to still be foreign whereas the exact same situation (Jaguar, Aston) you consider differently... just because the sign on the dealer/badge on the car remains 'British?'

Aston has done well during it's time under Ford's control, whereas Jaguar has not. To be sure some of the blame/credit for BOTH situations can be placed at Ford's door... but with iconoclastic brands like these, there was at least an effort to allow both Jag and Aston to chart their own ways and sink or swim in the process.

I can't speak for whatever Jag/Aston products are available only in the UK, but of those buyable here in the states, there definitely IS a "Fordishness" about some current (and woefully unsuccessful) recent Jaguar offerings: the X-type and S-Type both, despite traditional Jaguar styling cues basically scream 'upscale attempt from Ford' when you sit inside them. They share platforms with Ford products, as well as not insignificant quantities of componentry (which is NOT a good thing when you're trying to pass off a mass-produced product like a Jag via it's heritage of bespoke craftsmanship) ...after all, who wants to pay US$50K for a "British" sedan when the switchgear and plastic bits on the dash are identical to the US$20K "Ford" sedan sold to rental car fleets?

Jag's new all-aluminum bodied high-end cars are nice, though the sedan isn't selling well despite all the technology (it's a good car actually... though Audi did their high-end luxury/sport sedan with an aluminum spaceframe over a decade ago: the A8). And I've really not read a single bad word about any recent Aston at all (excepting the price of course ).

@Hiram:

Yes, of course Ford sells vehicles in Europe which conform better to European needs/tastes/expecatations. I just happen to share those needs/tastes/expectations more than the average American auto buyer I think... hence my wistful sigh about Ford/GM products I can't buy here.
Time for some steak & kidney pie with a side of mushy peas. Ta!  

[Hiram]

Quote:
Palomine said:
 Time for some steak & kidney pie with a side of mushy peas. Ta!    

When I was in the US last year, I actually saw fish n chip shops on my travels - to my great surprise.

Nowadays - you'd would probably find a POM would rather have a chicken tikka biryani

[MasterDragonfly]

I learned from a co-worker (he's based out of the UK) that in fact the Indian dishes in the UK seem to have spawned a new variance of Indian food, unique to the UK.

He and an Indian co-worker were dining somewhere in California.  His co-worker exclaimed how the food was "just like mom used to make", which was apparently quite distinct from what my co-worker is used to in the UK.

As luck would have it, we ended up at a Southern style Indian restaurant whilst in the San Jose area.  We both tried some new stuff.  It was fab.    But I'm always a huge fan of it.

This does beg the question as to what Indian food will be like in Australia.  I'm hopeful, although cautious.  

As an aside, both cherri and I have wondered why the USA and Canada are seemingly more popular destinations than Australia for Indian nationals.

[Hiram]

Quote:
MasterDragonfly said:
I learned from a co-worker (he's based out of the UK) that in fact the Indian dishes in the UK seem to have spawned a new variance of Indian food, unique to the UK.

It could be Balti he was on about.

//
Balti is the name for a style of food probably first devised and served in Birmingham, England. The first written record of the term dates to 1984. [1] A number of restaurants in Birmingham have laid claim to inventing the Balti, but the true story of its origins is difficult to discover. The term was certainly in use in the late-1970s in South Birmingham.

The name Balti food has nothing to do with an ethnic group living in India and Pakistan who are also called Balti. These Balti people are Tibetan Muslims. The food 'Balti' is named after the pot in which it is cooked. Balti food is a Punjabi recipe and prepared mainly in the Punjabi way.

The food is a hot curry-style dish, most likely taking its name from the thick flat-bottomed steel or iron pot in which it is both cooked and served. Normally the balti is served with large naan bread; pieces of which are torn off by hand and used to scoop up the hot curry sauce from the pot. Side dishes and starters usually include onion bhajis, samosas, poppadums and creamy dips.

Balti combines the spices and ingredients of North Indian cuisine with the economics and efficiencies of Chinese cooking.
//

These are typical British curry's

//
# Korma/Kurma - mild, yellow in colour, with almond and coconut powder
# Curry - medium, brown, gravy-like sauce
# Dupiaza/Dopiaza - medium curry the word means "double onion" referring to the boiled and fried onions used as its primary ingredient.
# Pasanda - a mild curry sauce made with cream, coconut milk, and almonds.
# Roghan Josh (from "Roghan" (fat) and "Josh" (energy/heat - which as in English may refer to either 'spiciness' or temperature)) - medium, with tomatoes
# Bhuna - medium, thick sauce, some vegetables
# Dhansak - medium/hot, sweet and sour sauce with lentils (originally a Parsi dish). This dish often also contains pineapple.
# Madras - fairly hot curry, red in colour and with heavy use of chili powder
# Pathia - generally similar to a Madras with lemon juice and tomato purée
# Jalfrezi - onion, green chili and a thick sauce
# Vindaloo - this is generally regarded as the classic "hot" restaurant curry, although a true Vindaloo does not specify any particular level of spiciness. The name has European origins, derived from the Portuguese "vinho" (wine) and "alho" (garlic)
# Phaal - extremely hot.
# Tindaloo - Extremely hot in a similar vein to Phaal. Generally only found around Bradford and the north in general.
//
   

[Zealot]

I love the chocolate and fizzy pop,and I love how many cop shows they have that don't have massive shootouts.