MESmith

Flooding will only get worse in the future, as more & more rice fields are developed. Highway 1317 south of San Kamphaeng is being turned into a new "dam" for the Kuang River as more & more building plots are being built up above the flood plain level. Lack of culverts under this road, or drainage channels to take overflow from the Kuang River just typical of lack of planning here. This downstream of Sansai, I believe.

tmd radar is showing quite an intense storm to the west of Lamphun. Unfortunately, they only update every hour (halfpast the hour) at this time of year, so can't really track where its's heading.

Edit. If you run the "loop", it's heading this way

Chiang Mai doesn't need a mass transit system. What it does need is a proper bus network to try to get people out of their private motor vehicles & on to buses. For a decent bus network, you need roads that keep the traffic flowing. Also, on the arterial & ring roads, you need bus lanes. On a few roads the space is there for a bus lane. Unfortunately, it's used for parking. Hangdong road is 3 lanes each way. Authorities have to grow some balls, open the left, inside lane for buses only (but that requires policing), tell the businesses without off road parking that they're stuffed - not all businesses were so short sighted, tight fisted. Same on the ring roads. Some businesses seem to have some foresight, & provide off road parking, others don't. So it wont happen.

And you wont get people out of their own car, once they have it. Not worked in most cities worldwide, except for mega cities.

How about opening up some of the meridians so you don't have to drive a mile out of your way to make a u-turn?

How about closing more of the u-turns & make life on the roads safer.

Roundabouts (traffic circles?) at large intersections, with short cycle traffic lights for use at peak periods. Keep the through traffic moving.

They just don't understand how roundabouts work yet. There's a pretty good sized one in front of the Royal Flora. The police have blocked access on one side and are directing traffic on the other. I just don't get it. If there were no police presence at all, everyone would figure it out for themselves soon enough.

Look back to when the underpasses were under construction on the superhighway & ring road. What we had then were, in effect, roundabouts. Traffic flowed. Now we have the underpasses, traffic flows under, but going the other way, eg Chotana road to Mae Rim, we have gridlock.

Roundabouts (traffic circles?) at large intersections, with short cycle traffic lights for use at peak periods. Keep the through traffic moving.

My guess? Later this year we'll see a 3.2L doublecab 4x4 XLT with dual zone climate, cruise and steering wheel audio controls, and it'll be their (just) under-1M top-spec. Of the Thai poeple looking for a top-spec pickup, very, very few will want the rollbar, roof rails and escpecially the box rails on the Wildtrak (which make it completely useless for most use-cases) - The WT is just a good profit-maker for taking advantage of the early-adopters.

I also expect we'll see a single cab XL 3.2L 6MT (base-spec pickups with big engines have very good sales in TH so cannot be ignored), and at least a couple more grades with the 3.2L.

No sense in announcing them when they just can't be delivered yet though... And personally, if I was a Ford product planner, I'd keep the 3.2L XLT as the ace up my sleeve to help steal some thunder from the launch of the 190HP Hilux refresh

What do you think are the chances of a 2.2L XLT hi-rider with a few extra goodies being made available?

This looks interesting - an XLT 3.2 auto non wildtrak on red plates. I thought the 3.2 would be only in wildtrak form here, or is this car for export?

http://www.bt-50.com....php?q_id=27487 Can anyone read the Thai?

Look closer at them pics, showing an Auto and there is no such thing as an AT XLT with 3.2 in Thailand! The 3.2 is only going to be available in the Wildtrack according to Ranger brochure! SOmeone playing with plates as only has a front plate, so maybe in another country and just used for pics!

The plate says Rayong. This is possibly a factory test vehicle for the AU market.

From the first picture, it looks like the Thai Fire Service has just got a new truck.

not sure everybody knows this but the wife was at our tax office last week to claim tax back on interest paid on savings account,and they told her to claim a refund on car tax you have got to be registered.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is meant by "have to be registered"?

In Chiang Mai, I was allowed 60 day extension once after 1 yr multi non O expired. Left the country, returned with double entry tourist visa. 60 day extension was refused. Was advised if I applied for another non O out of country, it might be allowed, just the once again.

That's one ugly front grill. I'm trying to be polite & refrain from expletives...

Tempted to say, "NOYFB", but I wont

Sparkling Gold,Cool White & Gunsmoke Blue

Where are those colours on show?

Ford CM

Thanks, will have a look at that gunmetal blue tomorrow

That's where I had a test drive about 2 weeks ago. Still no phone call.....

Sparkling Gold,Cool White & Gunsmoke Blue

Where are those colours on show?

The BT50 has...

DSC Dynamic Stability Control

TSA Trailer Sway Mitigation

EBD Electronic Force Distribution

BOS Brake override system

ESS Emergency Stop Signal

Roll over Mitigation

Hill descend control

Hill launch assist

only Dual Air Bag....

less the 1 million, good for the first time Thai Buyer, who like the 5 cylinder...

Why is Ford Thailand stalling on the specs? The 2.2 sounds good enough, but even the Wildtrak doesn't have half the features the Aussies are getting. Surely, this is a great opportunity to beat the opposition here in Thailand, but they're not offering us everything they can

Check out the price the Aussies are paying, no wonder they get more! The 3.2 Wildtrack is loaded and the big stall is 4x4 models. They say parts commming from othe locations, but still haven't release pricing yet on 3.2. As for the Mazda, the 4X4 is still not available for a while, and since Ford and Mazda are sharing factoies and power plants for their trucks, no reason one should be ready and not other! I was also called by Mazda dealer from show, but when we ask about 4X4 got the runaround. Lines are better on Ford styling,and the 3.2 Wildtrack has a lot more standard items the Mazda, and I want the CHILI ORANGE!!!

I've seen the Aussie prices. I'm just a tad peeved about Ford's approach here in Thailand. For a start, why no USB input on the stereo for non Wildtrak? Surely they save by having one standard audio unit across all models. My 11 yr old strada has USB audio - a massive 3000bt cost to change the stereo ;-). I imagine trying to upgrade the stereo on the XLT post purchase is gonna cost an arm & a leg. A few other accessories thrown in as standard or even as an optional extra would be appreciated. If Mazda can offer the 3.2 with extra features NOW, why can't Ford?

The BT50 has...

DSC Dynamic Stability Control

TSA Trailer Sway Mitigation

EBD Electronic Force Distribution

BOS Brake override system

ESS Emergency Stop Signal

Roll over Mitigation

Hill descend control

Hill launch assist

only Dual Air Bag....

less the 1 million, good for the first time Thai Buyer, who like the 5 cylinder...

Why is Ford Thailand stalling on the specs? The 2.2 sounds good enough, but even the Wildtrak doesn't have half the features the Aussies are getting. Surely, this is a great opportunity to beat the opposition here in Thailand, but they're not offering us everything they can

One of the pilots onboard had a serious case of stomach cramps and needed a toilet.

Yep, need to lighten the load to rise up again

Which one was it? The red & orange checked one did make a rapid descent into the rice field, but was obscured by trees. Then after a couple of minutes they were airbourne again....

Had 4 of the balloons come close to our house this morning, out in the rice fields south of San Kamphaeng. Magical moment, around 8 am. Half expecting those awful paramotors to follow them, but thankfully those obnoxious a$$holes didn't turn up.

Whers's all the love?

Well, you did ask for a "good dealer". Maybe there aren't any

For those wanting the missing features in the 2.2L Wildtrak and the XLT's, just wait for the nano change at the end of the year. The lack of features in those models right now are just 'aces up sleeves'.

Unfortunately, the tax rebate offer for 1st time Thai buyers will be over by then, & I presume all those extras will come at extra cost

The Ford, Thailand website is now stating that the free insurance only applies to XLT models, if financed through them.

Did a visa run to Mae Sai a couple of days ago. The duty free shop is selling "boliarka dark" @ 60 baht for a 500ml can. Never heard of it before so only bought 6 cans, along with some Hoegaarden bottles. The boliarka dark reminds me of Murphy's Stout. Delicious. Probably sold out in 3 months when my next trip is scheduled, but just want to let real beer lovers know what's available

Mon Jam(?) it's way up on top of a mountain. If you're travelling anti clockwise, it's the first main turn off as you start descending after the Queen Sirikit Botanic Gardens. Terrific views, camping available. Thai food. Recommend the salad with passion fruit dressing.

I hope you mean paragliding & not those obnoxious paramotors that seem popular nowadays, flying very low & slow, with their very loud droning engines. Enjoying sitting out in the garden, early morning or sundown, there'll always be those a$$holes interupting the peace & quiet

I think you'll find your dealer is trying it on. As far as I know all models till Feb get free insurance, ALL the other freebies can be had but will be hardwork. The grey wildtrak is pictured above at the media day.

The picture of the metro grey isn't very clear, or maybe I'm looking at the wrong pics. Anyway, I found an Aussie site with some better pic, including Gunmetal blue, which is my favourite at the moment if I buy the XLT. If I buy the Wildtrak, it'll be the Chilli Orange....