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BMW M5

Post 1

DA ; Simply Vicky: Don't get pithy with me!

I have been asked to ask you if the BMW M5 would be an E34, an E39 or an E60.

You met an armadillo in a car park? smiley - cool


BMW M5

Post 2

oldaardvark

E 39 for Power and handling together with a reduced price.

But wow the E60 , what styling, what presence, What visual impact, What a price!!!

Yep, armadillo met in car park of the Holiday Inn Nicky Bird, Highway 192, Kissimee, Florida, June 2000

It was just going about its own business of being a nocturnal insectivore. Not alt all bothered by us Brits following it on its wonderings. I would quite like one in my garden at home, better make that 2, it could get lonesome.

We also would quite like a Capybara or two in the garden. There is something funny about having a rodent the size of a dwarf pony mooching around your back yard. It would really give the local Village association something to talk about.

Keep on enjoying your laundry tasks. My only input on this one is to put them back in the wardrobe after my good lady has ironed them all.

My wife also plans all the family meals one week in advance, not written, but in her head. These change with the seasons. In summer we have a lot of BBQ outside, which is my job

Cheers

Aardvarksmiley - smileysmiley - biggrin


BMW M5

Post 3

DA ; Simply Vicky: Don't get pithy with me!

Do you think the M division makes the Bangle styling acceptable, or do you like it anyway as it is (on the standard 5 series)? (You can probably tell that someone more knowledgeable about cars is asking me to ask..) The E39 M5 is also one of the all-time classic beauties.

Capybaras, wow, we went to the Zoo for a family birthday last month, and I had fun admiring them.


BMW M5

Post 4

oldaardvark

The E 60 is a grower, like an album that you listen to at least 5 times before it takes over a little piece of your soul. I love the styling but the M5 kit gives it even more presence.

I would even love the 530 diesel, one left me for dead the other week on a quite dual carriageway away from Hedghogs with hairdryers.smiley - wah I have a GM Vectra 2.2l Petrol which is no slow coach. You probably get the Holden equivelent but with a 5L V6.smiley - biggrin

We have just got the Holden Monaro here in the UK. Great muscle car that can carry a full family plus shopping and outrun a Porsche costing 3 times the price. We pay around £27000 for the Monaro here.

The earlier M5 are classics, but the chunky styling dates them very much to a time period. Some classic lines are timeless, ie NCC1701

The E type Jag, The Jensen FF Interceptor, The Jaguar MkII, the Original Merc SL Gullwing. The Rover SD1 The porsche speedster, like the one that James Dean drove off route 66 into history.

Your interogator is clearly of greater car knowledge than I so go easy on me.

Cheerssmiley - bubblysmiley - ale

Aardvark


BMW M5

Post 5

oldaardvark

On the Capybara front, remember to talk to them in Spanish as they are from South America.

We were all at a Zoo looking at them last year, they were all facing away from use and we were trying to get them to turn around so we could see their cute faces. They did not listen. I asked if anyone in the crowd watching then could speak Spanish.

One lady could and she asked them to turn around in Spanish, guess what?? one of them did look over its shoulder at us and we took a lovely photo, sadly not a digital one or I could add it to my page.

Bye smiley - cheers

Aardvark


BMW M5

Post 6

DA ; Simply Vicky: Don't get pithy with me!

My interrogator prefers the D type Jag to the E type, but his comment on the SL Gullwing is "Oooooh, that stirs the soul"...
The Monaro is brilliant value for money, and the best looking 911 is the 996. Pretty much any TVR in existence is up there in the soul-stirring stuff. He wants to know if the Vectra one of the "funny looking new ones?"
Jim asks if you've ever owned an Alfa Romeo?

I agree about the NCC1701, which is more where my own interests lie. smiley - ufo

Capybaras - I must go and have another look. We live quite close to the Zoo, but we seldom go, and the time we went on the 23rd December, it cost $60.00 for a family of four. (All adults, sadly, and no OAPs, or it ould have been cheaper.)


BMW M5

Post 7

oldaardvark

Sorry for the delay in the reply. I have been on a works conference to Rhodes, Greece. It was cold and very windy and at this time of year,most of it was closed. Food was great, I love good seafood and do not get much of it hear in the UK.smiley - sadface

Zooparks are incredibly expensive all over the world, but we have 2 family holidays per year. My Children no longer qualify for reduced entry. The UK ones are very poor in comparison to the ones in the USA. We are planning to visit the famous San Diego Zoo in California during our summer break to the USA.

On the Vectra front, The current Vectra is designated 'C' in Europe in order to distinguish it from the previous 'B' which we had in the UK. In the UK, the Vectra 'A' was called Cavalier, but in Europe they had switched from using their old name of Opal Ascona to Opal Vectra much earlier.

The Vectra 'C' is a larger car with chunky styling and can be spotted by looking at the raised ridge on the wheel arch edges. The lower spec models come with an anthracite plastic bolt on sill cover, the upspec models have a painted cover. In size , it is as large as the GM Omega, which was rear wheel drive. We also have a version with a longer wheelbase and vertical Tailgate. The model features a flexible rear seat which can be adjusted for legroom, designated Vauxhall Signum in the UK and Opel Signum in Europe. Identical to Vectra mechanicaly but with longer wheelbase and higher trim levels.
http://forum.vectra-sport.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=547

My Vectra has a 2.2l all alloy 16 valve 4 cylinder twin cam unit with direct injection. 160BHP and 0 to 60 MPH in under 9.0 seconds. Top spead of 136 MPH. The UK motoring press called it 'the most refined car this side of the BMW 5 series. I regulary do 250 miles per day and it just eats the tarmac, at non loss of licence speeds. It does suffer from a notchy gear shift, especially when cold, and understeers a bit on greasy roads. I call my car Vicky.

My wife has a 1.2 ltr GM Corsa with a chain driven twin cam 16v sequential fuel injection twin port engine. Great little engine with fantastic fuel economy and 80 BHP. This is a sub compact car but runs on 15 inch alloy rims with 196/55 Pirelli P6000. We call her car Zippy as the handling is very stiff and is similar to the new BMW Mini but costs half the price. Top speed is only 109 MPH, but as it is such a nippy little car on tight roads, it is a fun little car to drive.

I agree on the 911 front and the TVR speak. My mate has just bought a 1 year old TVR Tuscan. This is a beast. When you start her up, people in the next street think there has been a small earth quake,

My eldest son is a full Trek fan. He prefers Voyager whereas I grew up with TOS. It took me years to accept TNG but now feel a great bond with Piccard. This is probably because my hair has gone the same way as Patrick Stewart's

To me the excitement of the Dilithium Crystals becoming unstable at Warp 7.0 is greater the new fangled beasts that are capable of Warp 10 and above.

On the Alpha front, terrible reliability, crashing depreciation, horrendous cost of spare parts and a great sounding 4 pot engine. Great to look at, but I would not take the risk.

Aardvark


BMW M5

Post 8

DA ; Simply Vicky: Don't get pithy with me!

Rhodes, lucky thing! (Even if the weather wasn't so good.)

That's a nice picture of the Vectra... We get the Vectra here in NZ, but it is badged as a Holden - however, we don't get the Signum. We saw Jeremy Clarkson trying to drive a Vauxhall Signum from the back seat, on 'Top Gear'. We also heard on Top Gear that you can't be a true car enthusiast if you've never owned an Alfa Romeo. Richard Hammond said he coulkd buy one new, drive it straight to the Alfa approved used car yard, and thereby having owned an Alfa Romeo, but it would break down only 3 times under his ownership. smiley - laugh

Just imagine what GM would have done if they had managed to buy Jaguar as they tried to do. It doesn't bear thinking about. However, if Fiat do manage to force GM to buy them, it might inject some reliability in to the Alfa Romeo, but what would it do to Ferrari?

Your car is called Vicky? That's what I just changed my nickname to... smiley - laugh

Are you an F1 fan? I bought Jim a DVD of a tribute to Ayrton Senna for his 18th birthday, which is tomorrow (Feb 1st.)


BMW M5

Post 9

oldaardvark

Hippo Birdy Two Ewes
Hippo Birdy Two Ewes
Hippo Birdy Dear Jim
Hippo Birdy two Ewes

Yep, Vicky Vectra, my third car to have this name, two previous 2.0 Litre SRi Vectra 'B' were also called Vicky.

I hope Jim enjoys the F1 DVD.

I am not a big fan of F1, but I love Rally and Touring Cars as they look a lot like road cars and in terms of Rally, spend a lot of time going sideways down gravel tracks.

I like to ride my mountain bike down similiar tracks, but dont get anywhere near 100mph.

You said it was Jim's 18th??

Either you have got yourself a Toy Boy or I am way old enough to be your Dad. My eldest lad, Andrew is 14 next month.

GM own Lotus and Saab. There are quite a few joint developments going on. The 2.0l turbo unit which is fitted to Vectra and Signum is a Saab unit.

As you know the GM Vx 220 or Lightening is a Lotus design and is based on but a better car all round than the Lotus Elise. Have you seen the new Elise on Top Gear that can outrun an Appache Helicopter Gunship??

I would prefer for GM to stop buying out other manufacturers. I would prefer them to take more risks with the styling of saloon cars.

Greece is cool, but it has nothing to offer when it is less tham 10c and there are 40mph winds.

Cheers

Aardvarksmiley - cheers


BMW M5

Post 10

DA ; Simply Vicky: Don't get pithy with me!

Jim says thank you for the birthday greetings - I have to tell you he's not my toy boy (though I wish I had one smiley - blush) but he's my son! One of his friends just dropped by with a birthday prezzie for him.

He's been watching some of the DVD this morning. Uni doesn't start for a while yet, so he's pottering at home.

He says to tell you, that Lotus is no longer owned by GM but has been bought by Malaysia's Proton Corporation. They do still work on some GM cars, like Astra and Vectra VXRs. Although under GM's stewardship, they did create the Elan, which is supposedly the best handling front drive car ever.

The BTCC and WTCC are pretty cool, because the cars are actually road cars that have been modified, so they are basically the saloon car you can buy, but with more power and less weight. Rallying is practically the only international motorsport event we get in NZ, there's a WRC Rally of NZ, which is cool. You may have heard of Possom Bourne who was killed in an accident during the preparations a few years ago. The guy who was driving the Jeep which crashed into him has been convicted in court.




BMW M5

Post 11

oldaardvark

Hi again.

I had no idea that Lotus and GM had parted Company. In the UK, GM now market Daewoo which are built in Malaysia.smiley - sadface


IT is odd that there is a Link between Lotus and Proton as the first Proton cars to arrive in the UK were based on the GM Cavalier (Vectra A) and the GM Astra platforms. In the case of the Astra based car, it was only detail changes light light clusters and bumper mouldings.

WRC is the only motorsport that I have ever paid to attend. As a student in the North East I was a spectator at the Dolby Forrest Stage of the RAC Rally of Great Britain which was and still is a World Championship event. It has changed its name, but the Dolby Forrest stage was included until recently. I have not heard of Possom Bourne, but you have to admit he has a very Antipodean sounding first name.smiley - biggrin

I have never been to NZ and therefore have a romantic view of a country of emense beauty, unspoiled by man but bespoiled by the odd sheep or two.smiley - winkeye

I have seen National Geographic type TV progs where huge glaciers are calving into bright blue fjords on South Island. My other impressions are from the making of films such as Lord of the Rings and Babe. As a student I had to queue for 4 hours to get a place in one of only two showings of a cult road movie called 'Goodbye Pork Pie'. This was pretty much a top to bottom road movie of NZ but with a very sad ending.smiley - sadface

I listen a lot to Crowded House and still wish that the Finn Brothers had kept the band together. Memorable tunes with poignant lyrics.

I used to be a big fan of NZ Wine, my favourite was Cooks Hawks Bay Chenin. It has not been available in the UK for a few years. It is obviously so good, you keep it all for yourselves.

On the toy boy issue, you should give it a go if you get the chance. My former Manager who is 36 has ditched her hubby in favour of a very buffed 22 year old Leisure Centre Manager, and guess what?? He did all the running. She has even lost a load of weight and still eats like a horse. She puts it down to a major increase in excercise level.smiley - ok

Sorry about the confusion over the place of Jim in your life. I bet you both had a laugh though.

My neighbours have just spent the Xmas break touring NZ in a camper van. I must ask to look at their photos.

Your son sounds very techie. What is he reading at Uni?? My guess is a technical subject.

Top 3 guesses
IT
Physics
Mathematics

My eldest, Andrew, is a computer nerd. He has set up his own little on line business. He is a fan of Vauhall cars and has a poster of the BTCC Astra on his wall. He wants me to get a Vectra GSI V6 next time. I will probably get another 2.2L but with better handling, badged as SRi here in the UK.

smiley - cheers
For now
Aardvark


BMW M5

Post 12

DA ; Simply Vicky: Don't get pithy with me!

Daewoo are being totally re-badged as Chevrolets in the UK, you will be able to buy a Chevrolet Matiz! My brother had a Daewoo as a company car, and we met him one day in the shopping mall. He told us that the previous day, his Daewoo had exploded while he was on the Southern Motorway. He got out of it just in time! He searched for days, but couldn't find a dealership that would admit to handling Daewoos. To add insult etc, his bosses replaced the engine with a GM 2.2, and gave it back to him. So, beware of Chevrolets smaller than a Corvette...

<< I have not heard of Possom Bourne, but you have to admit he has a very Antipodean sounding first name>>

Did I mention he was killed? I must have. He was a very nice guy, I believe...

<>

I did have a toy boy once, or two of them, (not at the same time..) I was 27 and 28, they were 21. Lots of fun!

Jim will be doing nursing, if all goes well, but physics is his second choice. He is also a keen amateur web designer. He also has a cousin called Andrew (!) who is *not* (unlike your son) a computer nerd. Good on your Andrew, I hope his business is going well.


BMW M5

Post 13

oldaardvark

Good on your Jim for doing Nursing. I Tried to get into Med School 7 times but failed. I did a degree in Biochmem and Physiology. There are now degrees in nursing in the UK. Nurses now do a similar Job to Drs here. At one of my local hospitals, the post MI protocol was not written by the cardiologist but by the cardiology nurse specialist.

My Andrew is only 14 and so his on line IT business is small potatoes but it keeps him occupied and gives him a sense of identity and purpose.

My second son is called James, which could be shortened to Jim , but we call him Jamesie. He is a fan of James Bond, Jimi Hendrix and Jimi Page. He wants to be a rock star and is taking electric guitar lessons in his spare time. His favourite band is The Red Hot Chili Peppers. I have to admit to being a big fan as well. I used to write CD reviews for our local weekend newspaper on an amateur basis. I had about 30 reviews published.

On the subject of Chevies the size of a Matiz, all I can say is, no no no. I am sure that even GM do not think the UK public are so stupid as to swallow that load of old Bull. I am sorry that you Kiwis have had to witness the fall of such a great car name. From what you have written, this is going to happen. I can't wait to hear what Jeremy Clarkson has to say about this nonsense. I am also a Yokshireman like Jeremy and I really admire his outspoken nature and good humour. We all pile on the same couch on a Sunday evening at 8.00pm to watch Top Gear which is broadcast here on BBC2. Jeremy Clarkson is just a schoolboy who never grew up. Great!!

Bye for now

Aardvark

I just realised that this is getting a bit like having a pen pal again. Are you sure you are OK with this.
Are there any other conversations you think I should join in with. Thanks


BMW M5

Post 14

DA ; Simply Vicky: Don't get pithy with me!

Hello, old aardvark.. Yes, I am fine with this penpal type thing - I'll alert you to any good convos, cos there's heaps around! I can't remember now what convo I encountered you in, one of the language ones, I think.

Jim wants me to say he's just got (on Saturday) the TOCA 2 Touring Cars game on Playstation and is the "official game of the British Touring Car Championship". So he's been playing it hard out since Saturday, and he was caught out by a wet track at Donington Park. He's been using a Vauxhall Vectra.

We've just seen the Top Gear episode (last night) where Jeremy Clarkson used an Aston Martin DB9 to race the Eurostar train to Monte Carlo. He won! It was also the ep where they tricked a Rover dealer into letting them road-test a City Rover and James May declared that it was the worst car he had ever driven for Top Gear.

Your son is learning electric guitar? Cool! Andrew is doing well to have a business at 14... My other son works in IT., at a Polytechnic about 400 km away from here.

Jim will start his course by February 28th, and I look forward to a touch of hypochondria, it's par for the course, apparently.


BMW M5

Post 15

oldaardvark

Hi Vicky

The main thing is that Jim does not start to smoke. The highest rate of smoking that I have encountered is in nurses of all ages. Smoking is very high amongst student nurses. It may be OK for the girls, but men have much higher Vascular disease mortality. Will he earn money as a student or will he have to get a loan or just rely on mum??

Hypochondria is fine until it becomes terminal. On that subject, if flying is so safe, why do they call it a terminal??

He could go the other way and pretend that symptoms are all in his mind. I had a friend that turned up to lectures with miningitis!!

I suffered from Graves disease, an autoimmune disorder of the thyroid gland, for over a year and just put it down to exam nerves. One afternoon. I was finishing off some practical work and an Egyptian DR who was doing part of his MD thesis with us was talking with me. He asked in passing if was OK and I told him some of my symtoms. He took me a lot more seriously than I expected and went to get a syringe to take a blood sample. The rest is history, but 6 months later, the day before Xmas eve, miles from home, and on my own, I went down to theatre for my thyroid removing. My family made the journey to be with me on Boxing day. And this is in people studying physiology!! Another friend turned out to have schizophrenia. Maybe we were just jinxed.

The Top gear edition with the DB9 and Eurostar is from around Novemnber last. Look out for the race at the Cresta run between a Bob Sleigh and Lancer Evo rally car.

James likes his PS2 and his driver game is WRC World Rally Championships. Both my lads also like Need for Speed, Underground 2 where you buy and mod cars prior to street racing. There are some ebsites that post the shortcuts and cheats. Try Cheatplanet.

Best of luck to Jim. Give him money for beer but no smokes.


BMW M5

Post 16

DA ; Simply Vicky: Don't get pithy with me!

Yeah, that shows you how far behind we are in Top Gear. And it only just started again after a long hiatus.

A race between a bob sleigh and a rally car? Weird! Two totally mismatched things...

I am sorry to hear about your Graves disease... Did the surgery cure it, or do you need to continue to take medication? The student who went to lectures with meningitis was very lucky to survive! We've had an unique variant of it at just-sub-epidemic level in NZ for the last 12 or 14 years, and it is one thing I am really scared of!

I don't know if Jim will become a hypochondriac, but my Mum (who worked as the secretary of the Medical Chief of Staff at our local hospital for many years) said that most medical students do. I am not sure about nursing students...
Jim doesn't like beer (yet...) and he doesn't like smokes either, so we're safe so far. He's a bit of a nerd as yet, and for his sake, I hope that changes - student life should be at least 30% fun!


BMW M5

Post 17

oldaardvark

I agree with student life being fun. I had a great time but with very little money. I met people from walks of life that I had no understanding of.

As a pleasant secular Humanitarian Atheist, I was every Christian groups favourite person. I got the feeling that my friends gained some kind of points for taking a non believer along to their meetings. They were of course interested in my soul. Being severely thyrotoxic, I was interested in keeping body and soul together as one. Nearly every Christian society put on food or supper. I was consuming in excess of 5000 K Cals per day and still losing weight. I am 6FT and currently weigh in at 14 st. My weight was under 10 st at that time.

I was drunk on only 3 occasions that I can recall in the 3 years. I got drunk very quickly, but sobered up even faster.

ITs 25 years since the Op and I have been A1 ever since. I take L thyroxine replacement as my thyroid function dropped to zero after the Op.

Back to Jim. Get him to join some social groups, if he is a nerd, safe ones are to do with Sci Fi shows or Folk and Country music. Does he have his own car yet??

My Eldest, Andy, has just brought home his selections for study to GCE level. He has chosen all science and engineering but has to take English as a core subject. He is keen to work with computers. We now wait to see if he gets his first choice selections. He should do as he has the support of the SENCO or special educational needs co ordinator. Because he has been a difficult pupil in certain classes, including all sports, they have given him a preliminary label of ASD or Autistic Spectrum Disorder. They feel he has a mild form of Aspergers Syndrome. This has not upset Andy as he is aware that Bill Gates had a similar diagnosis as a boy. We love him and cope with his ways better than the school can. Once he gets away from School, the label will be meaningless as adults select which other adults to be around. ' People like us, like people like us'

My colleague has just ordered a new toy car to play with. He has ordered the SMART roadster which has a 700cc turbo 3 cylinder engine and a clutchless manual transmission. Cost is a whopping £14000. He could have got a serious used car for that kind of money.

Cheers for now

Aardvark


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