Spinney

I’m a massive fan of their Scuffmaster dye. I bought some to refinish the light mushroom colour side bolster on my old classic Merc SL, which was worn right through to the bare leather in an area about the size of my hand. The finished result was astonishing and you really couldn’t see where it had been worn. I sold that car 6 years on and the seats still looked as good as new. There aren’t many DIY car finishes you can get which are that good.

Oh I know only too well just how totally unreasonable some customers can be. I’ve met enough of them in my time. There are some you can’t please no matter what you do, though, and fortunately we had very few of that type over the years. Usually such people had problems of their own and used their aggressive demands to mask those shortcomings. We would occasionally distance ourselves from that type of customer and often found they would eventually disappear from the marketplace anyway. Yes, I’m all too aware it’s not ‘just’ endemic in the tyre fitting trade. I guess because few people need to visit them very often, a bit like needing a dentist, (😁) you simply drive away afterwards thinking how lucky you don’t need to see them again for a long time. Tyre fitting depots are a necessary evil I’m afraid but it just irks me they can be so unpleasant to deal with.

Whilst I see what you mean, that’s really just like saying “it’s good enough.” But in my view, the ‘that’ll do’ approach, particularly when it comes to car safety, just isn’t good enough. After nearly 30 years of successfully running my own company, customer satisfaction is a real hobby horse of mine and I don’t think it’s too unreasonable to expect the same from others. Realistically, I know that isn’t going to be the case but the reason for posting this in the first place was because this sloppiness seems endemic in the tyre fitting trade.

We do have cats but they’re not allowed in the garage and I’d be very surprised if a mouse could get in. The garage is well sealed and there’s no evidence of the little buggers. Anyhow, crisis over I think as took the car out today and, phew, all appears to be well with the aircon. I must have imagined it. Sorry chaps, as you were.

Can’t entirely agree with you there Andy. Yes, I don’t doubt they are probably on little more than minimum wages but that shouldn’t be an excuse for shoddy work. I don’t blame the fitters either, it is entirely down to management, poor/non existent training and a poor awareness of customer service. How often do you hear advice to keep your tyres correctly inflated at all times? But if you can’t even rely on a tyre fitting shop to do the job properly in the first place, then I’m pretty certain at least 90% of the general driving public sure as hell won’t or probably can’t check them either. It’s not beyond the wit of man for a foreman to issue a simple job sheet to his fitter telling him what tyres to fit, what the correct pressures are and the torque of the wheelnuts for the specific car. It would even be possible to design a software package where all you need do is type in the reg and up comes the relevant information. As for the greasy paw prints, how about a clean pair of latex gloves for every new job started? A quick wipe around the wheel rim with a cloth to remove the lube gunk after fitting the tyre and job done. I’d definitely use again and recommend to others, tyre fitters that go that extra mile, even if they aren’t necessarily the cheapest. When I was running my company, we always trained the employees properly and drummed into them the importance for all our jobs, in having a happy customer. We weren’t the cheapest but made sure we were the best and you know what? Customers came back time and time again because they knew they could rely on us to treat them properly and give a good service. Some of my factory employees were on little more than minimum wages to start with but treat them with respect, train them well and you can instil a good work ethic and the pride that comes from a job well done. I just can’t abide piss poor work with no effort to please.

Probably wouldn't be so bad had they been properly trained. It's just plain sloppy customer service really.🤬

Took the wife’s SLK to get some new tyres today and the entire experience just reminded me why I detest all tyre fitting emporiums. For starters I have never, ever had new tyres fitted where they clean off the muck and greasy marks they put on the wheel whilst fitting the tyre. The wheels on the car were all spotlessly clean beforehand but now are greasy and covered in the lube used to fit the tyre. Next thing, I checked the pressures and bolt torque when I got home and both were out by a huge margin. Tyre pressures were all 8psi too high and the bolts far too tight. As usual, I had to adjust both to manufacturers spec at home. How bloody hard can it be to 1) clean the wheels before fitting back to the car, 2) inflate to the correct pressures and 3) torque the bolts to the correct tightness? I hate it when people can’t get the very simplest of tasks right, especially when some folk rely on them to get it right. I know tyre fitters aren’t necessarily the brightest of individuals but FFS, how hard can it be? 🤬 And breathe………😃

Stop it, just stop it! I tried the Macca 570S before getting the Evora and it was a close run thing. You’re not making it any easier! 😁 The game changer was costs of the Macca inspections before and after track days.

Just been out to the garage again and can’t smell it now so it’s either dispersed or I was imagining it. 🤷‍♂️ I’m using the car tomorrow so will check if the aircon is still working then.

Think it’s just everywhere in the garage. I did try a sniff test around the front of the car but didn’t seem any stronger there.

Just been out into my garage where the Evora is kept and swear I got a whiff of an ammonia type smell. Anybody know if the current spec of refrigerant used in cars is ammonia based? Theres nowt else in the garage such a smell could come from. I’m just wondering as although it was fine when I used the car last week, the warranty runs out in a fortnight, so might need to get it checked.

Wasn’t Guy Martin was it? He always repeats a spoken phrase twice! 😉

Yeah, I guess that’s probably where I am too. I’ve always avoided the first generation early releases of any cars, Lotus or otherwise, preferring them to be a bit more sorted before throwing my hat into the ring. Given the relative rarity of Evora, if early interest in the Emira translates to actual sales, I can see them pretty quickly overtaking the older car in terms of sales figures. So that would give me yet another dilemma, will my current car maintain or even increase in value due to its rarity, which might suggest I keep it? 🤔 On the other hand, I do love the look of the Emira and, after all, it is supposedly the last ICE car they will ever produce. Erm, err, erm, help, what do I do????? Got it, keep mine and still buy an Emira - problem solved!!😉😁

I wouldn’t be at all surprised to hear from Jamie at B & C when he returns from holiday, to ask me the same. I did have contact with him a few weeks before the release of the Emira and again during the week of the unveiling, to express my interest. I was genuinely keen to swap to an Emira until rationality kicked in and I realised it probably wouldn’t give me any increased driving pleasure over my Evora. Still keep wondering if I should though. Decisions, decisions, a real first world problem eh!🤔😆

Lando, normally a honey/red colour, went out yesterday morning, returning an hour later looking like this! His entire face, chin and front legs looked as though he’d been up a chimney. 😆 Tried to clean him up but was never going to be easy with an 8kg bundle of muscle, teeth and needle sharp claws. I’ll probably bear the scars forever more. 🤦 Goodness knows how he got like this.🤷‍♂️ This is how he normally looks.

Looking online yesterday, Bell & Colvill don’t appear to have any Lotus stock at all. Wonder how much my Evora is worth to them right now?🤔

He wouldn’t by any chance be wanting an additional ‘brother’ would he? If you don't ask, you don’t get! 🤔😁

Discovered a new (to me) Marmite delicacy yesterday, among the pantheon of Marmite greats. Gentlemen I give you, the Dinky Cheese Marmite pinwheel! Available in all good M&S Foodstores and are absolutely delicious. You get 8 in a box and, as can be seen from the pic, you can have 3 boxes for a mere 7 quid - bargain of the century in my book. Think of them as a small 'Pain au Marmite'

Had that twice on my V6 Exige. Both times B & C said they just carried out a reset, however that works when it’s a sensor. 🤷‍♂️ Anyhow, it never happened again after the second ‘reset’. I suspect it simply needed a good old fashioned ‘Italian tune-up’ as with a bit more aggression in my driving, it was ok.

The last time I camped was at the LeMans 24hr about 20 years ago and never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, would I do it again! Four nights of utter misery!!! Racing was good though. 😁 Erm, did I mention I wouldn’t do it again?🤔

Our Maine Coon, Lando, proving he doesn’t fit on the sofa. And his sister, Livia, proving she does. My wife figured the leopard print rug would encourage them to sit in that rather than the sofa itself. Amazingly, it seems to work too. Probably think it’s their mother!😆

Very sorry to see them withdrawing from the U.K. I’ve never owned a Honda myself, well apart from the engine in my lawn mower😂, but my company did get an awful lot of work from the Swindon plant over the years.

Another hot one today. Phew what a scorcher! The wife stayed indoors with the aircon on whilst I made things outside even hotter by firing up the pizza oven. Mozzarella, chorizo and birds eye chilli pizza - bloody lovely it was too!

When my son was working in F1, he got to know Jenson and some of the other drivers quite well. Not well enough to be regularly invited on their superyachts, 😟 but quite well from a working perspective. He thought Jenson was far and away the nicest and most approachable of all the drivers he met. Maybe one day I’ll let on the identity of who was/is apparently regarded as a complete arse by the rest of the paddock!😉 Anyhow, he had a couple of lunches with JB and, naturally, the talk got around to road cars. My lad mentioned I had been a Lotus fan since the year dot and apparently Jenson said how he has always loved the Lotus/Chapman ethos and wished he’d been driving back in the days of the 72. He said Lotus of that era was the one team he’d have wanted to drive for above all others. I’ve always liked Jenson anyway and did get to have a beer with his dad at Spa back when he was driving for Renault or Benetton or whatever it was called back then. After my son told me about his chat, though, JB’s stock went even higher in this household!👌 Oh and my Mrs wants him as her toyboy!😂

My thoughts on the Emira for what they're worth. I watched the unveiling on Tuesday evening with great excitement, prior to going down to Goodwood yesterday and my plan had always been to place my order early on for my build slot. So what have we got with this new car? Stunning looks - Check Beautiful interior - Check Affordable - Check Great engine options - Check Superb build quality - Check Easy entrance/exit from cockpit - Check I'm an MB fanboy, so go for the AMG - Check Will obviously handle and steer well - It is a Lotus after all - Check But then I started to wonder just how much better is it than my GT410 Sport Evora? The interior is nicer but mine really isn't that bad a place to be. The external styling is better and more resolved, but I can't see much of the outside from the drivers seat anyhow. Entry and exit from the cockpit of my car is perfectly acceptable. Build quality of mine seems perfectly good to my eyes and certainly hasn't given me any major problems. Handling and steering probably not a lot different and, in any case, my car is already far more capable than me. Ok, my car has the Toyota engine, but I can live very happily with that and it is a pretty bombproof motor. I realise that not yet having placed a deposit, I will have to wait a good while for a new Emira but I understand the AMG version won't be available at first anyhow. So what to do???? Well, unusually for me, I have decided to stick with the Evora for now, review my thoughts once the initial furore and excitement have abated and I can get the opportunity to actually drive one. I applaud and completely understand the decision of all those who have already taken the plunge. I'll catch you up later!