Jeremy and the 159

http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/art...101920,00.html

I think he likes it!

--
Paul Woodsford
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On Sun, 26 Mar 2006 15:54:48 GMT, "Paul Woodsford"
> wrote:

>http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/art...101920,00.html
>
>I think he likes it!

Just a little. :-) Nice to see ones impressions confirmed by someone
who has driven many more different types of car. Has anyone posted the
link to alt.autos.bmw?

Pretty odd comments on the cruise control though. Yes, it's not as
obvious as some. But if you want to switch it off in a hurry, the brake
pedal is exactly where it usually is. (Don't all cruise controls
disengage if you brake? Anyone who supplies one which doesn't should be
made to stand in the middle of the Top Gear track while Clarkson tests
something with lots of power and terrible handling.)

--
Stephen Poley

Stephen Poley > wrote:

> On Sun, 26 Mar 2006 15:54:48 GMT, "Paul Woodsford"
> > wrote:
>
> >http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/art...101920,00.html
> >
> >I think he likes it!
>
> Just a little. :-) Nice to see ones impressions confirmed by someone
> who has driven many more different types of car. Has anyone posted the
> link to alt.autos.bmw?
>
> Pretty odd comments on the cruise control though. Yes, it's not as
> obvious as some. But if you want to switch it off in a hurry, the brake
> pedal is exactly where it usually is. (Don't all cruise controls
> disengage if you brake? Anyone who supplies one which doesn't should be
> made to stand in the middle of the Top Gear track while Clarkson tests
> something with lots of power and terrible handling.)

I think the point about the cruise control is that good driving practice
is that you drive with sufficient gap to be able to lift off in most
situations rather than use the brakes. This is why the 'off' button
should be in an obvious position.
--
Steve H 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
http://www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - MZ ETZ300 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 2.0 TSpark Lusso - Fiat Marea 20v HLX - COSOC KOTL
BoTAFOT #87 - BoTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

Paul Woodsford wrote:

> http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/art...101920,00.html
>
> I think he likes it!
>

Nice
--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3 OMF#22
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 156 TS S2
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

>> Pretty odd comments on the cruise control though. Yes, it's not as
>> obvious as some. But if you want to switch it off in a hurry, the brake
>> pedal is exactly where it usually is. (Don't all cruise controls
>> disengage if you brake? Anyone who supplies one which doesn't should be
>> made to stand in the middle of the Top Gear track while Clarkson tests
>> something with lots of power and terrible handling.)
>
> I think the point about the cruise control is that good driving practice
> is that you drive with sufficient gap to be able to lift off in most
> situations rather than use the brakes. This is why the 'off' button
> should be in an obvious position.

i'm sorry but why engage the cruise control in the first place?

Alfa are for driving, and I mean proper driving... not for cruising along
being controlled by some machine...

Domestos > wrote:

> >> Pretty odd comments on the cruise control though. Yes, it's not as
> >> obvious as some. But if you want to switch it off in a hurry, the brake
> >> pedal is exactly where it usually is. (Don't all cruise controls
> >> disengage if you brake? Anyone who supplies one which doesn't should be
> >> made to stand in the middle of the Top Gear track while Clarkson tests
> >> something with lots of power and terrible handling.)
> >
> > I think the point about the cruise control is that good driving practice
> > is that you drive with sufficient gap to be able to lift off in most
> > situations rather than use the brakes. This is why the 'off' button
> > should be in an obvious position.
>
> i'm sorry but why engage the cruise control in the first place?
>
> Alfa are for driving, and I mean proper driving... not for cruising along
> being controlled by some machine...

It's quite relaxing being able to set cruise to a 'safe' (from cameras)
speed when on a motorway. Not all journeys in an Alfa are for fun.
--
Steve H 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
http://www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - MZ ETZ300 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 2.0 TSpark Lusso - Fiat Marea 20v HLX - COSOC KOTL
BoTAFOT #87 - BoTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

On Sun, 26 Mar 2006 20:20:27 +0100, (SteveH)
wrote:

>Stephen Poley > wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 26 Mar 2006 15:54:48 GMT, "Paul Woodsford"
>> > wrote:
>>
>> >http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/art...101920,00.html
>> >
>> >I think he likes it!
>>
>> Just a little. :-) Nice to see ones impressions confirmed by someone
>> who has driven many more different types of car. Has anyone posted the
>> link to alt.autos.bmw?
>>
>> Pretty odd comments on the cruise control though. Yes, it's not as
>> obvious as some. But if you want to switch it off in a hurry, the brake
>> pedal is exactly where it usually is. (Don't all cruise controls
>> disengage if you brake? Anyone who supplies one which doesn't should be
>> made to stand in the middle of the Top Gear track while Clarkson tests
>> something with lots of power and terrible handling.)
>
>I think the point about the cruise control is that good driving practice
>is that you drive with sufficient gap to be able to lift off in most
>situations rather than use the brakes.

Agreed.

>This is why the 'off' button should be in an obvious position.

Well, it should be in a position where you can easily *reach* it. And it
is. Once you've got used to it, it's very easy to use - in fact it's
easier to use without taking your eyes off the road than any I've
previously met. Far from being a weak point of the car, it's well
thought out.

But if you can't find it in a hurry on the first couple of outings, then
using the brake or clutch a couple of times is not exactly a major
issue.

Having said that, my experiments with it have largely confirmed my
previous suspicion that cruise controls are not often useful in the
Netherlands. The traffic density is just too great and the traffic speed
too variable.

--
Stephen Poley

Stephen Poley > wrote:
>
[... cruise control controls...]
>
>Well, it should be in a position where you can easily *reach* it. And it
>is. Once you've got used to it, it's very easy to use - in fact it's
>easier to use without taking your eyes off the road than any I've
>previously met. Far from being a weak point of the car, it's well
>thought out.
>

Indeed, I guess from the description that it's the same as the 147. It
couldn't be simpler; it's an on/off toggle switch, like the sidelight
switch. Most cars seem to have at least four buttons with cryptic
symbols on; for on/off/resume/faster/slower...

>But if you can't find it in a hurry on the first couple of outings, then
>using the brake or clutch a couple of times is not exactly a major
>issue.
>
>Having said that, my experiments with it have largely confirmed my
>previous suspicion that cruise controls are not often useful in the
>Netherlands. The traffic density is just too great and the traffic speed
>too variable.

Ha, try it in the UK! Well, in the South anyway. Actually, I do tend
to use it a lot, often in 30mph speed limits. Oddly, I don't recall
ever being overtaken in a 30mph limit (doing 30mph) in the 147.
Used to happen regularly when I did 30mph (in a 30 limit) in my
previous car (Fiat Cinq...).

dom.

On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 22:06:26 +0000 (UTC), Dominic
> wrote:

>Stephen Poley > wrote:
>>
>[... cruise control controls...]
>>
>>Well, it should be in a position where you can easily *reach* it. And it
>>is. Once you've got used to it, it's very easy to use - in fact it's
>>easier to use without taking your eyes off the road than any I've
>>previously met. Far from being a weak point of the car, it's well
>>thought out.
>>
>
>Indeed, I guess from the description that it's the same as the 147. It
>couldn't be simpler; it's an on/off toggle switch, like the sidelight
>switch.

The 159 version is a bit more complex, but can easily be done on feel.
It has a stalk with an up/down switch for on/off, a button on the end of
the stalk for resume, and you can push the whole stalk up/down to tweak
the speed up/down.

The only problem I had was that when I tried to indicate on leaving a
roundabout (i.e. while already turning the wheel) I kept catching the
cruise-control stalk instead of the indicator stalk. But after the first
dozen roundabouts it was no longer a problem.

>Most cars seem to have at least four buttons with cryptic
>symbols on; for on/off/resume/faster/slower...

Indeed.

--
Stephen Poley