What kind of car you are driving with ?

Fjon · Post by **Fjon** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 3:33 pm

Aaron wrote:
Osku-82 wrote:
Fundamental wrote:We don't have Kia in Finland.. I wonder why? Maybe in the future...
They're really popular also in the US and most of the Kias I've seen in Finland have been in Russian plates. Good thing we now have Hyundai and Daewoo dealerships, couple of years ago we had no Korean car dealers.
Yes, it would be good to get more options in Finland too. Finland was full of different car makes during the past decades. We had everything - Cadillac, Trabant, Vauxhall, Opel, Moskvich, Rambler, Austin, Glas, Panhard, Chrysler, Volga, PMC, Plymouth etc., etc. Now we have less options than other EU countries.

Why is this? Import taxes?
I thought we were limited for choice in Ireland, but it seems you have less cars in Finland. The reason we are given that some car models never make it into Ireland (or the UK) is because the steering wheel has to be on the "wrong" side, and sometimes it is not worth making a UK/ Ireland model of a car if its sales in "mainland" Europe are only OK. Some popular cars found in the rest of Europe which we don't have are Fiat Ulysse, Renault Clio, and the 3 door Toyota Yaris.

In September all speed limits in Ireland will change from MPH to KMH. This means that every car produced for the Irish market from 2005 onwards will have to have a KMH speedo. This will mean that in future there will be one type of car produced *only* for the Irish market (Righthand drive with KMH Speedo). I really hope this does not affect the choice of cars we have!

Billy75 · Post by **Billy75** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 6:43 pm

Mitsubishi Lancer 1.5i GLX -92
and
Plymouth Valiant 318cid -68

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 10:12 am

fjon wrote:Why is this? Import taxes?

Probably yes... Car taxation is very high in Finland and many manufacturers sell their cars here cheaper to compensate it. Besides, this is a rather small market in Europe.

It used to be different in 1950's and 1960's. German car manufacturers sold their products first to finland as they wanted experience how do they work in extreme weather conditions. I know one guy who has Glas Goggomobil 350 '57 and that car is unique in the whole world.

It was some kind of a factory prototype and it was probably sent for tests in Finland.

fjon wrote:I thought we were limited for choice in Ireland, but it seems you have less cars in Finland. The reason we are given that some car models never make it into Ireland (or the UK) is because the steering wheel has to be on the "wrong" side, and sometimes it is not worth making a UK/ Ireland model of a car if its sales in "mainland" Europe are only OK. Some popular cars found in the rest of Europe which we don't have are Fiat Ulysse, Renault Clio, and the 3 door Toyota Yaris.

I wonder why Toyota Yaris is not imported as they have left side traffic in Japan as well.

fjon wrote:In September all speed limits in Ireland will change from MPH to KMH. This means that every car produced for the Irish market from 2005 onwards will have to have a KMH speedo. This will mean that in future there will be one type of car produced *only* for the Irish market (Righthand drive with KMH Speedo). I really hope this does not affect the choice of cars we have!

I had Morris Marina with a friend of mine for ten years ago and it had both kilometre and mile scales on the speedo. The clock was running kilometres though so it was customised for continental market anyway. Do you have the both scales in Irish cars nowadays?

Anyways, it should not be a problem to make speedos with two scales.

Fjon · Post by **Fjon** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 4:05 pm

The current speedometers are dual - KM and MPH:

However, as MPH is dominant, it is difficult to get an accurate KMH reading, which is why they are changing over to KMH...

There are quite a number of cars imported from Japan, but I think the taxes paid on those cars are quite high. (You need to pay 40% of the car's worth in Ireland to import it). Most of the time the japanese cars we get (Toyota, Nissan, etc.) are not the Japanese models, but the Europrean ones. Not quite sure why.

rufus50 · Post by **rufus50** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 4:09 pm

Seat Ibiza, 2000, 110PK, 1900cc
Color: Yellow
Pilot: Rufus50

Fjon · Post by **Fjon** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 4:35 pm

rufus50 wrote:Seat Ibiza, 2000, 110PK, 1900cc
Color: Yellow
Pilot: Rufus50

Wow - the 4th Ibiza on this thread. And I thought I would have been the only one...

Billy75 · Post by **Billy75** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 7:44 pm

I changed car.
Old car Mitsubishi Lancer -92 and new car VW Golf Variant 1.8 CL -96
and my hobby car Plymouth -68

Billy

hoppa · Post by **hoppa** » Tue Aug 03, 2004 11:06 pm

I drive several cars. Altough not all at the same time

Our own car is a Opel Astra 7 years old. But I use moreoften the cars from "PROMOVE" The firm I give driving lessons for. There we use allways Renault as we have a deal with them. So usually I have a Scenic 19TD that I use but often enough I switch to a Megane or clio. Sometimes I get to drive the Bosses car: a Velsatis 3L automatic Diesel. Then there is the Renault Master we use for transportation. And sometimes, if no one else is available I get to drive the Truck witch is a Magnum.

Fundamental · Post by **Fundamental** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 8:24 am

Osku-82 wrote:
Fundamental wrote:We don't have Kia in Finland.. I wonder why? Maybe in the future...
They're really popular also in the US and most of the Kias I've seen in Finland have been in Russian plates. Good thing we now have Hyundai and Daewoo dealerships, couple of years ago we had no Korean car dealers.

I just read from the newspaper that Delta Auto starts to import Kia to finland in next Month

Schaza · Post by **Schaza** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 9:50 am

Oh, Aaron's cars are just classics, can't say anything else. I haven't seen any of those Skodas in traffic in my life... i'm not sure about Rapid 130, but those models S110R Coupé and 120L i haven't.

I hope i could see your 120L-project ready some day.

I'm just sad because i don't have money for anykind of projects in these days. These pictures are so

because i don't have any wrecks anymore. I had 3 pieces of Renault 4 before i moved to Helsinki, but no more. I was stupid and i sold them to metal recycling factory (Kuusakoski Oy). Now i have place for those, but no cars anymore.

tiura · Post by **tiura** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 11:05 am

Morris Mini Mk II 850 1969.

My grand father bough this car as new in july, 1969, three months before i was born. He died 1972, when my late grand mother, who is in this picture, went to driving school at the age of 57 and got a license. She drow the car until she got 70 years old, when in Finland you must go to a doctor every year to get your drivers license renewed. She didn't want to do that, so he gave the car to me. I was seventeen then, and the car was stored for a year, until i got my license. I drove the car few years, until engine broke down. Then the car was stored again, because i didn't have time and money to fix it. After ten years, year 2001, i took the car to local Mini repair shop and got it repainted, new engine and so on, it was made practically a new car.

This picture is from year 1977 and in the pram on the right síde of the picture is my then baby cousin.

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 1:58 pm

Schaza wrote:Oh, Aaron's cars are just classics, can't say anything else. I haven't seen any of those Skodas in traffic in my life... i'm not sure about Rapid 130, but those models S110R Coupé and 120L i haven't.

130 Rapid is actually quite common. You don't see them every day but time to time. S110R is much more rare. They were imported only 273 in Finland and only eight of them were in the Finnish vehicle register in the beginning of 2000 - mine was one of them. I have taken off the number plates as I don't have time to keep it in condition due to too many projects and various other reasons. The car is stored in my parents' neighbour's barn and it will stay there until I have more time.

Schaza wrote:I hope i could see your 120L-project ready some day.

I will finish that project too, for sure! I have never given up with any car project. Never.

And I can tell you, they have been plenty.

Schaza wrote:I'm just sad because i don't have money for anykind of projects in these days. These pictures are so because i don't have any wrecks anymore. I had 3 pieces of Renault 4 before i moved to Helsinki, but no more. I was stupid and i sold them to metal recycling factory (Kuusakoski Oy). Now i have place for those, but no cars anymore.

No problem, Finland is full of rusty wrecks.

Actually, I am getting a bit sick and tired with fixing my cars all the time. I am planning to sell my Rapid after my holiday. The MOT will expire at the end of September and then I will sell it for €200 or something. The car runs but it has many small, annoying faults. Everyone who has had an old car knows what I mean. I will buy some boooooring car instead - like a ten years old Toyota Corolla or Nissan or VW. I don't know yet.

Viperazzi · Post by **Viperazzi** » Fri Aug 20, 2004 5:57 am

Fundamental wrote:
Ganymede wrote:a 2003 Kia Rio RS sedan, willowgreen metallic
We don't have Kia in Finland.. I wonder why? Maybe in the future.. I think it's quite popular in Europe.. at least in Sweden you see those quite often..

http://www.tuulilasi.fi/valokeila/?suba ... cle=114665

Now We Have! (sorry in Finnish only)
Basically it just says that Kia is going to be introduced in the Finnish market in September '04 and it has the longest guarantee in Finland, five years.

Dakkus · Post by **Dakkus** » Fri Aug 20, 2004 11:14 am

The one I use most often looks quite a lot like this: http://marx.tky.hut.fi/photos/bussi/pic ... x501_1.jpg .

Sometimes I also use one like this: http://www.mystinenportaali.com/bussi/k ... _cnx01.jpg .

And then there's http://www.mystinenportaali.com/bussi/k ... _hkl14.jpg , which I use when I want to go to downtown Helsinki from my school.

And then I've got a few of these I use quite often in different places: http://www.mystinenportaali.com/bussi/k ... _sta01.jpg . They're made in Hungary.

groentje · Post by **groentje** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 1:24 am

Damn, I wanted to give buses as an example. OK, I mostly drive my bike (grey, 3 accelerations (very slow, slow, a bit faster), no backward) through the bustling traffic, and twice a week, I take this nice Bombardier. My parents have an Opel, but we also have a Mercedes, a Ferrari and a Goldoni. These last vehicles are a truck and two little tractors, I'm afraid...