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It's on topic. All these things with Toyotas happened in one local government region or another.

It's getting that way that if there's no thread drift, it must mean that no one is reading the post!

Bit of thread drift here, chaps. Nev

There's practically NO servicing. Tyres and wiper blades.. A lot of people I know are looking at them right now. Trump doesn't want them so they MUST be OK. Nev

I had an old petrol three speed back in the early 70's, had the transfer shift lever on the dash if my memory is correct. They were very leggy in first gear high range, probably a bit too highly geared in first. That high ratio first gear made them very popular with bull catchers in the NT back in the day. A good sprinter. In 1988 we did a contract on Roper Station and we came across a lot of parts off old three speed Toyotas lying around in the bush from where the bull catchers had been diong running repairs. They used to bust a lot of transfer cases.

Where I live and Hobart are normally about the same temp. 3 degrees colder than Melbourne. 40 years ago we got regular snow in winter and ice on roads and the dam. Not Now. Nev

I have just passed 50,000km in my 2023 MG4 Essence 64. Maintenance so far nil except new windscreen after it was hit with a stone. Faults, drivers window stopped working & electric motor under tray bulging. Both fixed under warranty. Service, one at 40,000 km. Just required checks to all components & new pollen filter. Tyres still have 10-15,000 km tread left. Cost to run about $150.00 spent at fast chargers when on long trips. At home charged from solar exclusively from a 32 Amp charger purchased at the same time as the car. That cost $530.00 but energy cost zero. I reckon I have saved between $8-10,000.00 over an equivalent petrol vehicle.

Chinese startup Windrose was only founded in 2022 and planned to compete with the Tesla Semi but like most other Chines EV technologies has already surpassed Tesla. Their latest Generation 2 offering has a 700km range fully loaded & the next Gen 3 model will have a 1000 km range due out in 2028. They have their HQ in Antwerp & plan to sell worldwide. https://www.windrose.ai/ In China though heavy Electric trucks have just surpassed Diesel in sales. There are over 500,000 heavy electric trucks on Chinese roads already.

Saw it on the internet so it must be true. The pic alleged it was true at Mt Wellington. Of course the standard answer is.... Of course you didn't think it was cold. You ARE a Tasmanian, aren't you?

There was? It was cool but we didn't get any snow where we are.

I see there was snow in Hobart yesterday. Today is a nice balmy 12 degrees and sunny here in Portland.

One positive about nomadding during the off season.... we are not paying tourist season prices. And the caravan parks are not crowded. We got a couple of nights in a nice (warm n dry) cabin at Mt Gambier - for $55 a night.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/4383802965171334

This was the head office of the Commercial Bank of Australia Ltd. It is where I attended my recruiting interview in 1961. I got hired, and after 6 months in a suburban branch, I was transferred there to a department on the 2nd floor. I worked in that office for about 6 months before being transferred back to suburban branches. 50 odd years later, long after the bank no longer existed, (it had become part of Westpac), I worked for another company that moved into the building, and that is where I retired from in 2010. https://www.facebook.com/reel/2888786451478072

But I still wouldn't want to drive one. The first one I drove was 3 speed and it was great for following a herd of cattle across rough paddocks. Latrr models hsd a 4th gear & theh went faster. But every one of those ŵere bigoted. On rough roads they had a bias - loved turning corners one side but couldn't bring themselves to turn the other way.

He’s the world’s most powerful loser.

Yes, I certainly don't miss the old HJ-45's. They were a good workhorse in the bush, but a pain out on the bitumen. They were a bit giggly headed on some of those rougher bitumen roads. From memory I think they used to put wedge kits on the springs to improve the way they tracked, but I don't know if it was legal or not. In the early days we used to drive to work a lot and it was about a sixteen hour drive from Toowoomba to Moomba, so the later five speed Toyotas were much appreciated when we got them. Later on in time, flying Brisbane - Adelaide - Moomba was even better. We used to go Qantas or Virgin to Adelaide, then the National Jet/Cobham BAe-146 up to Moomba. Much more luxurious. We didn't always work out of Moomba, but over all the years, we worked around there more than any other place. The old HJ-45's are collector's items now. It costs an arm and a leg to buy a decent one.

Then again, I could never get a HJ45 to go faster. It wasn't in their DNA.

Ya weren't drivin fast enuf. Had ya been goin fasta, those roos woulda just jumped inta tha dust behind ya.

I heard a tale about one hitting the side of a vehicle and ending up in the back seat, badly injured but still alive and kicking. A similar thing happened to a mate of mine. He was driving a HJ-45 on a property, so not going fast. He turned his head toward his mate in the passenger seat as they were talking, just as a big roo smashed into the driver's side door. On hearing the crash, he instinctively turned his head back and the roo's head and shoulders were protruding into the window and he was face to face with the roo with only couple of inches separating them. It was only for a split second till the roo's head and shoulders recoiled back out of the vehicle. It traumatised him a bit I think. A bit of a coincidence but some time after that, the same mate that had the roo come in his window was in the pasenger seat and I was driving. Very similar story, I was talking to him and unfortunately had my mouth open when a long, springy mulga root flicked up off the front wheel, hit the door with a loud bang and threw about half a shovelful of red dirt in my face. Because I was talking at the time, the mouth was full of red dirt as well. The mate thought it was funny but I wasn't overly amused. At least it wasn't a roo.

Peter, I don't know if you get the same Trevago ads we get up here, but ours have that bloke with the foreign accent and the really big, white plastic eBay teeth. I really don't know what they were thinking there; a missed attempt at comedy perhaps. Another one that gets me reaching for the mute button is the Best Sheds ad. The young pro surfer lady that does the ads is a very nice, bubbly person but the voice grates. That combines with the rapid delivery of the ad to make it even worse. I figure the rapid fire tempo of the ad is custom made for the football (NRL) broadcasts. With the ad being fast and short, they can squeeze it in after a try when play comes to a halt while the kicker is attempting a conversion, then flip back to the footy in time to catch the action.

My biggest gripe at the moment is TV commercials. Foxtel are the worst. You get a commercial so flick a channel or two to see what else is on, and you get another commercial, anything up to a dozen or so at the one time, particularly that damned Trevago ad with those idiots buried up to their neck. Not deep enough.

WE ARE changing the Climate for the worse The seas are warming up. Yes it IS a Pretty gloomy Message. Place More emphasis on stopping conflict and More on co-operation. Nev

That's a pretty gloomy message, what do you propose should be done about it? We can't stop the weather, or change it much, just cloud seed to make some rain, that's about all. If there are any clouds.

Spot on Nev.