Wong!

I’ll stay away from the ford 3.2. Looks OK but fuel economy sucks and you will take a beating on the resale…

Some people buy a vehicle that they enjoy driving and some people buy a Dullota because of a bizarre belief that resale value is the prime purchse criteria.

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I juz love my Sorento...

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So does my boss, but a choice of colours would've been nice.

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Any autoparts shop will have a length of hose that will fit for a few shekels.

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I shall be enduring the misery of following England at home with my On-Demand UK TV service the following day. At least my beer will be a winner asit will be German.

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If the new 2014 Hilux looked anything like the Toyota Tundra in the US that would be sweet

Yep, but it's incredibly unlikely - the Tundra's styling is unique, and distinctly "Americanized" - the Hilux is a rest-of-the-world model that needs to appeal to some very un/anti American palettes.

'very anti- American?'... they selling 'em in North Korea then?

I think you should have just stuck with the local styling argument. Loads of Chevrolet's being driven all over SE Asia. Yes, I know, they look like Noddy cars to the average American and are not built in Detroit but I seriously doubt that any car buyers are NOT buying Chevys and Fords just because they are 'American.'

I think he meant that the blinged, crass American styling only appeals to Merkins, Aussies and others with little spohistication

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The car looks very nice. Just replace the V8 with an AM V12or a Porche flat 6, keep the Lotus traction control and you'd have a very fine car that would be actually driveable.

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I often wonder how these guys with Harley's get away with it

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I found the opposite to be true. Thai genious says one is to put the car into a higher gear when overtaking as 5th is faster than 4th.

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Kia Sorrento. Lovely car, superb engine, great to drive and makes the CRV redundant.

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Can't understand why they don't bring the Sportage to Thailand - smaller suv and would soak up a slightly different category of customer.

From what is available here from all the manufacterers, it appears Thais only like low spec, petrol engined cars in white or silver. I guess Kia's importer is just following the trend.

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I always make sure everyone is clear on the accessories and I have it in writing. No problem with Ford when doing things properly.

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Kia Sorrento. Lovely car, superb engine, great to drive and makes the CRV redundant.

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Hey! You've not even ridden it yet!

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Believe me, Toyota (Sumitomo) has very deep pockets. When I was working in the industry, it was rumored that the entire workforce of Toyota could take paid vacation for a year and they would still not even run out of petty cash. I worked in quality control for H Company, and if it has got to this stage (out in public) then you can bet its a safety issue, which they will never admit for liability reasons. Issue the recall, fix the issue to the minimum 'safe' standard (read people stop complaining level). Then farm the cost out to the subsidiary who made it, who Toyota owns anyway, they go broke, Toyota saves face, everything goes back to normal. Except for the people driving around...... Oh the stories I could tell..... Its actually good personally to see Toyota get a shot in the butt every now and then. Bet those cars weren't made in the Australian plant they just announced the closure of....

How you say in Thai....Som Nam NA------------!

Oz

That must be because of the bailouts from the Japanese government.

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Lots of talk about the corrupt, anti-democratic practice of lobbying.

Anyhoo, if there is any law they should look at changing with regard to the tollways, it should be to prevent 'eco cars' from using the tollway. Bluddy things do nothing but get in the way and are usually driven by some peanut brained idiot with a phone permanently attatched to her ear.

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The best thing about riding a bike in CM is you can get past all the brain dead feks doing 60kph in the outside lane easier than when driving the car.

I have to have the AC on, but only pulling air from inside the car to clear the windscreen.

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I'm getting a new Swift for the wife in a couple of months time. It'll be GL MT as we both prefer the extra drivability, economy, performance and control a manual gives.

We'll also keepan eye out for rust.

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The wobble on the 500 disappears with a fork brace.

Much stabler in the corners too.

Does anyone in Thailand sell them?

K speed has one for 1700 thb. Check their website. They can post to your address fast. Motive brand.

But it will not eliminate all the wobbling, keep in mind.

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I haven't noticed any wobbling on my 500, but I appreciate their usefulness. Thanks for the linkl

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The wobble on the 500 disappears with a fork brace.

Much stabler in the corners too.

Does anyone in Thailand sell them?

The Aussie market is virtually a niche market, so I looked at the UK market. 40k premium for a Focus diesel over its petrol counterpart. It makes no sense that Ford are pushing the new eco Fiesta at a huge premium and don't have diesels in their range here for a small premium. Same for all the other players here. There has to be more to this than simply saying the Thai market cannot handle a small premium for a more economical and efficient engine that uses current tech.

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Price definitely plays a part, but so does market acceptance... there's a general negative view of passenger cars with clattering diesel engines.. America is no different. I recall Honda's response to the question: "why don't you sell the CR-V diesel", their response: "because no-one would buy it".

For sure, in the US, customers are only just starting to see the benefits of diesel, but remember most Americans think pushrod V8s are high tech.

In Thailand, pickups are one of, if not the, largest vehicle segment and they're virtually all diesel and primarily used as passenger vehicles. No problems with Thais accepting diesel engines I think.

The Aussie market is virtually a niche market, so I looked at the UK market. 40k premium for a Focus diesel over its petrol counterpart. It makes no sense that Ford are pushing the new eco Fiesta at a huge premium and don't have diesels in their range here for a small premium. Same for all the other players here. There has to be more to this than simply saying the Thai market cannot handle a small premium for a more economical and efficient engine that uses current tech.

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Isn't the reason there are effectively no diesel cars in Thailand due to the subsidy on diesel fuel being for 'commercial' vehicles and not private cars, so I assume there is the usual horrendous tax on diesel powered passenger cars?

I believe your assumption is incorrect. Taxes in cars in LOS are mainly based on engine size and vehicle type, (car, pickup, ppv), at least until the future emissions based system comes in to force.

Diesel engines are more expensive to make than petrol engines so selling a cheap car with diesel engine would be tricky in the price sensitive local market. Diesels compare better with pickups which are in a lower tax category, lessening the impact of the diesel engine cost.

Mid price cars like the Captiva and CX-5 offer diesels at the high end of their range. Diesel versions from other mid range brands or models sold elsewhere would probably work but manufacturers probably reckon they would make less profit on these. Prestige brands like BMW and Mercedes are happy to sell diesel cars, for a few more baht than the base petrol versions. For these the difference in engine cost is probably not as significant compared to the car price.

I can't see the cost of diesel engines making them an uneconomical proposition, especially as the running costs are far less than a petrol engined car. Diesel tech is common here so servicing is no issue. The premium of a diesel over a petrol engined car in a proper country is negligable.

So, there is still no plausable reason why we don't have diesel passenger cars here in any meaningful numbers.

Bloody hot coming back from the cricket in CNX today, even with my highly armoured footy shorts on...

Isn't the reason there are effectively no diesel cars in Thailand due to the subsidy on diesel fuel being for 'commercial' vehicles and not private cars, so I assume there is the usual horrendous tax on diesel powered passenger cars?