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Dunno what you call bad weather in Britain anymore, but I doubt you're hitting -15°C and colder at the moment. Nor getting the snow which we've been having lately... But I read on Facebook in an X308 group, that people are abandoning their cars and walking because of the weather. And then you see a picture of a car parked on a road and about 1 cm of snow...
I bet the V12 is a great winter engine. Heats up quickly. Likes to rumble along. Enough low end torque to get you off of an icey patch of road without having to use the throttle pedal.
Once I am sometime done, I'll be using my XJ-S in winter as well. Not every day but every so often. Especially since an icey car park + lots of power from a V12 =
Here in the uk it’s currently minus 16 with8 and half foot snow drifts. Only kidding lads but come Monday temps rising and all willl be a memory. Spring will be sprung then we can look forward to driving our cars again.
Dunno what you call bad weather in Britain anymore, but I doubt you're hitting -15°C and colder at the moment. Nor getting the snow which we've been having lately... But I read on Facebook in an X308 group, that people are abandoning their cars and walking because of the weather. And then you see a picture of a car parked on a road and about 1 cm of snow...
The average Brit reporter, I am deeply ashamed to say, encourages all and sundry to behave as if the half inch of snow is a Siberian whiteout! When they start talking to the actual individuals, a semblance of the renown phlegm is always there - much to the dismay and disappointment of the media types.
The average Brit will NOT fit winter tyres, does not know about tyre socks and has no idea at all how to drive in icy conditions either. And I have yet to see anything on the Brit TV or other media suggesting these precautions should be taken. All very shameful - we are justifiably laughed at by the really cold-weather countries!
Meanwhile in sunny France the snow came in horizontally from the East and straight through between the tiles on my barn roof!
Last edited by Greg in France; 03-03-2018 at 04:40 AM.
I was very safety conscious and fitted anti-slip treads to our wellies for when we walk the dog.
Haven't driven anywhere for 4 days.
Our fast ferry has been cancelled out of Poole for days because passengers can't get to it.
Makes a change from it breaking down.
The average Brit reporter, I am deeply ashamed to say, encourages all and sundry to behave as if the half inch of snow is a Siberian whiteout! When they start talking to the actual individuals, a semblance of the renown phlegm is always there - much to the dismay and disappointment of the media types.
The average Brit will NOT fit winter tyres, does not know about tyre socks and has no idea at all how to drive in icy conditions either. And I have yet to see anything on the Brit TV or other media suggesting these precautions should be taken. All very shameful - we are justifiably laughed at by the really cold-weather countries!
Meanwhile in sunny France the snow came in horizontally from the East and straight through between the tiles on my barn roof!
Greg, exactly that is what I noticed after throwing Skynews on... End of the world...
2010 I picked my Grandparents up in the UK to spend an Xmas here in Germany. That was a really hard winter in terms of ice, as we were around -19°C for about 3 weeks. Loads of snow (north Germany isn't really a snow area, but we had a good 30 cm of snow). My car then was my trusty C30. Fitted with some cheap winter tires (not all seasons).
I left here with -21°C and headed off. My car was coated in salt by the time I got to the Dutch boarder, where the temperatures dropped another 7°C to -28°C and the snow and ice were not touched. I had NO problems.
On the ferry I allowed my car to defrost a little and was expecting a "warm" (compared to -28°C) 5° in Harwich. Sod it! The ferry docked and the captain announced, that it had started to snow about 30 mins earlier and he had never seen snow in Harwich... Well, I got the best of British snow driving. NOBODY was driving!
Basically off the ferry, to the first roundabout and there was a jam. The hill out of Harwich was blocked by a truck (from Britain) and cars were just spinning their wheels. I indicated to the right and overtook. And I was probably the only car on the road moving. NOT KIDDING. On the A12 heading towards Lowestoft I was cruising in the right lane (as the left was filled with cars all parked up!) at at least 100 kph. The car was handling like a Swedish car should. Braking was no problem. Heck, I had "the Beach radio" running. There was a message over the radio "on the A12 cars are being parked. Be careful and keep an eye out for a crazy German driving a Volvo at least 60 mph on snow!"
So I was personally mentioned in the radio. People were just parking their cars and leaving them on the side of the road.
At my Grandad's in St. Olaves (near Lowestoft/Somerlayton), there was no snow what so ever. But at -5°C it was unusually cold, as my Grandad would tell me. The media were calling this -5°C spell of winter with a bit of snow "the Big Freeze" and was warning everybody from going out. I headed to town (Lowestoft town center) and it was dead. Nobody was there.
Kind of like the New York blizzard days, where life comes to a halt under like 2m of snow. But there it was just a mere few degrees below freezing.
Makes me really wonder how life will be in the future... To call a NORMAL winter a real problem is overhyped. People start to believe the brainwash in the media. Today is the warmest day of the week so far, at -3°C. The sun has been shining all week. Tonight it is supposed to rain. THAT is then chaos. Not as bad as in GB, but with frozen grounds, you can expect freezing rain. But thanks to winter tires you can still drive a good bit.
What people in the UK also don't understand: AWD/SUV/4x4 are NOT a replacement for winter tires. Winter tires aid in stability, traction AND stopping. AWD only aids traction... But heck, who am I to complain!? I only hold a British passport but have been able to experience proper winters on a yearly base... Apart from 2015. That was just a long autumn followed by a long spring
Greg, exactly that is what I noticed after throwing Skynews on... End of the world...
2010 I picked my Grandparents up in the UK to spend an Xmas here in Germany. That was a really hard winter in terms of ice, as we were around -19°C for about 3 weeks. Loads of snow (north Germany isn't really a snow area, but we had a good 30 cm of snow). My car then was my trusty C30. Fitted with some cheap winter tires (not all seasons).
I left here with -21°C and headed off. My car was coated in salt by the time I got to the Dutch boarder, where the temperatures dropped another 7°C to -28°C and the snow and ice were not touched. I had NO problems.
On the ferry I allowed my car to defrost a little and was expecting a "warm" (compared to -28°C) 5° in Harwich. Sod it! The ferry docked and the captain announced, that it had started to snow about 30 mins earlier and he had never seen snow in Harwich... Well, I got the best of British snow driving. NOBODY was driving!
Basically off the ferry, to the first roundabout and there was a jam. The hill out of Harwich was blocked by a truck (from Britain) and cars were just spinning their wheels. I indicated to the right and overtook. And I was probably the only car on the road moving. NOT KIDDING. On the A12 heading towards Lowestoft I was cruising in the right lane (as the left was filled with cars all parked up!) at at least 100 kph. The car was handling like a Swedish car should. Braking was no problem. Heck, I had "the Beach radio" running. There was a message over the radio "on the A12 cars are being parked. Be careful and keep an eye out for a crazy German driving a Volvo at least 60 mph on snow!"
So I was personally mentioned in the radio. People were just parking their cars and leaving them on the side of the road.
At my Grandad's in St. Olaves (near Lowestoft/Somerlayton), there was no snow what so ever. But at -5°C it was unusually cold, as my Grandad would tell me. The media were calling this -5°C spell of winter with a bit of snow "the Big Freeze" and was warning everybody from going out. I headed to town (Lowestoft town center) and it was dead. Nobody was there.
Kind of like the New York blizzard days, where life comes to a halt under like 2m of snow. But there it was just a mere few degrees below freezing.
Makes me really wonder how life will be in the future... To call a NORMAL winter a real problem is overhyped. People start to believe the brainwash in the media. Today is the warmest day of the week so far, at -3°C. The sun has been shining all week. Tonight it is supposed to rain. THAT is then chaos. Not as bad as in GB, but with frozen grounds, you can expect freezing rain. But thanks to winter tires you can still drive a good bit.
What people in the UK also don't understand: AWD/SUV/4x4 are NOT a replacement for winter tires. Winter tires aid in stability, traction AND stopping. AWD only aids traction... But heck, who am I to complain!? I only hold a British passport but have been able to experience proper winters on a yearly base... Apart from 2015. That was just a long autumn followed by a long spring
Must agree with you on most o& that dame. The hype is worse than ever. Now we are hearing warnings of flooding yet there’s a gentle thaw. Don’t forget the panic buying as well of food. No milk left in Tesco lol. Reckon trumps right about fake news.
Must agree with you on most o& that dame. The hype is worse than ever. Now we are hearing warnings of flooding yet there’s a gentle thaw. Don’t forget the panic buying as well of food. No milk left in Tesco lol. Reckon trumps right about fake news.
I've noticed that quite frequently, that the UK press seem to be very "hype based". I mean, sure, we get the odd hyped media coverage here. Currently the diesel bans being discussed... But when winter comes the standard phrase is mentioned:
Thousands of Germans surprised by sudden winter outbreak
And that is every year in mid November/December, when winter does normally come through. But I yet have to experience panic buying, apart from Christmas and Easter, when the shops are closed for a couple of days at once...
The funniest part at the moment is calling it a "Siberian Winter". Heck, the snow and temperatures aren't even worthy of being from Moscow, yet alone from Siberia It is like saying a couple of days of summer weather with 30°C is from the Gobi desert!
It's been a snowy winter here in Canada too. So far we are at 300% of our normal snowfall for February and we got another 25cm of snow yesterday.
However, with proper winter tires on my X Type I have had no trouble getting around. The photo was before the most recent snowfall, in places the snow was over the bumper of the car. if I went too fast, or there was a drift it came up and over the windshield. Rather fun actually!
03-01-2018, 06:46 AM
Especially since an icey car park + lots of power from a V12 = 
