The totally off-topic thread

[Cossie]

Skoda? It's still a fu...... Skoda.

It's cute - ignore him .

That's why I put the reference to VAG as being the parent company, these days Skoda are very far removed from the cars produced under communism. Look under the bonnet and you'll find many parts with Audi and VW symbols.

 

[Pushka]

That's why I put the reference to VAG as being the parent company, these days Skoda are very far removed from the cars produced under communism. Look under the bonnet and you'll find many parts with Audi and VW symbols.

Like I said, when I drove it on the test run it looked and drove like a mini version of the Tiguan. Just cuter. I was thinking of buying a car as a filler until I could justify the Guilletta which is not a car, but this one might just be a keeper. Demo cars are great value, with the manufacturers warranty until 2020, and just a couple of thousand k on the dial. Fully optioned as well. Plus car mats. Apparently car mats are a selling point. Go figure!

 

[Bindibuys]

Plus car mats. Apparently car mats are a selling point. Go figure!

Cup holders is my buying point.
I remember being in a car yard when the Polo came out, Salesman doing the spiel, "where are the cup holders?" Oh, none in this car.
Exit car, sorry, no cup holders - no sale.
He called me a few months later when the new A4 golf hit the lot - "would you like to come & look at this car - it has 4 cupholders?" Yep, purchased it that day.

 

[Pushka]

Cup holders is my buying point.
I remember being in a car yard when the Polo came out, Salesman doing the spiel, "where are the cup holders?" Oh, none in this car.
Exit car, sorry, no cup holders - no sale.
He called me a few months later when the new A4 golf hit the lot - "would you like to come & look at this car - it has 4 cupholders?" Yep, purchased it that day.

I get that! . MasterP who knows his cars wanted me to look at a Polo but it was more than I wanted to pay. This has cupholders and also two in the rear. And just to show the Skoda is a different beast to the original:

"This new Fabia is just that — new. Almost nothing is carried over from the old version, and much of the car is based on Volkswagen’s MQB modular matrix architecture, common with cars such as the Golf and Octavia among many others. The rest of the car’s bits come from the current VW Polo.
As such, the engines, electromechanical steering and a large part of the electrics (electrical architecture such as ECUs, the instrument cluster, infotainment and assistance systems) are all MQB. This is more than we thought before attending the car’s launch, we confess."

 

[Bindibuys]

I currently have a Polo. (diesel, turbo) and had a Golf prior to that.
Preferred the Golf for the handling, but the low road clearance occasionally was an issue on our country roads.
The Polo is much more " zippy-ier" and 1.9 Vs the 1.4 golf, but does not stick to the road as good as the Golf did.

So next car will have to be a Golf 2.0 for best of both worlds.

 

[JohnK]

Probably. But it is painful to see a share portfolio crash and burn because of actions of another country in managing its debt - or more relevant, its discretionary spend.

Any different to the issues the good old US of A has caused?

 

[Pushka]

Any different to the issues the good old US of A has caused?

The USA is one of the biggest global economies. So on that scale the impact of Greece suggests its punching above its weight. Unfortunately.

 

[RooFlyer]

Any different to the issues the good old US of A has caused?

Difference to me is that US was internal, with the US banks and some corporations being bailed out by US taxpayer. Freezing of credit then flowed outside the US and screwed us all (or nearly all).

Greece on the other hand is up over its head with debt owed to other countries due to profligacy in its pensions, lack of tax collection from the wealthy etc . Now it appears to be refusing to pay the debt back on the terms it borrowed and it wants to roll over the debt on laxer terms. Good luck with that.

I couldn't care less about Greece leaving the Eurozone but I worry about the direct flow-on effects to other economies if Greece defaults on its debts.

Edit: On the other hand, I heard on ABC radio the other day that the Greek economy is smaller than Queensland's. Not correct, surely?

 

[JohnM]

The USA is one of the biggest global economies. So on that scale the impact of Greece suggests its punching above its weight. Unfortunately.

Not so much to do with the piddling Greek economy itself, I would suggest - more to do with the uncertainty about knock-on effects in Europe more broadly overlaid on a pervasively twitchy feeling on global sharemarkets. Little things get amplified very easily nowadays.

 

[clazman]

quick way to restart the world economy, is for the World bank to reduce every countries debt by 25%

 

[amaroo]

The Greeks want others to cough up for their pensions and suntans ... pretty pathetic IMO!

Morrison will need to put more guards on the gate to ensure we don't get hit by the Greexit tsunami.

 

[cove]

I am seeing him tonight at a dinner tonight.

 

[amaroo]

Entertaining speaker...

 

[whatmeworry]

Much better than the Ford and Peugeot I drove the other day. And very similar to the Tiguan MrP drives. But much prettier. And a Monte Carlo badge on the side which is super important. They put the ad for the 3 demos on Monday morning and all three were sold by 2pm.

It's cute - ignore him .

Just reminded me of some Skoda jokes.

 

[JohnK]

The USA is one of the biggest global economies. So on that scale the impact of Greece suggests its punching above its weight. Unfortunately.

Greece alone won't cause the downfall but I understand your point.

By the way I am not defending Greece, far from it, but think what the good old US of A has done/is continuing to do is much worse. They are printing money and their currency is getting stronger.

Unfortunately Greece is a lost cause. Too much corruption. Too much political influence in the decision making process. The attitude of the people for a long time has been what's in it for me.

 

[cove]

I was told that the top two in Greece have Marxist ideas.
Brinkmanship is not necessarily going to be rewarded as Europe has made their best offer already and the Greeks may find they need to run a balanced budget starting from now.

 

[Pushka]

The Greeks want others to cough up for their pensions and suntans ... pretty pathetic IMO!

Morrison will need to put more guards on the gate to ensure we don't get hit by the Greexit tsunami.

Yep. Especially as all our Super Funds were plundered yesterday.

 

[Pushka]

Just reminded me of some Skoda jokes.

Ok. I get you have some kind of issue with skoda but maybe its time to move on? Coz really, skoda have.

 

[JohnM]

Ok. I get you have some kind of issue with skoda but maybe its time to move on? Coz really, skoda have.

It dates back to the communist era: Skoda Jokes

 

[whatmeworry]

Also applicable to the Yugo. You know someone is really poor in Europe, when they are driving a communist era made car.