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Bonus: Steve and Matt read your letters

Bonus: Steve and Matt read your letters

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About this episode

Steve Cropley and Matt Hellestine engage with listener letters covering topics like rodent damage to vehicles and creative prevention methods such as motion-activated lights and ultrasonic devices. They discuss the challenges rodents pose to UK motorists, including insurance implications. The hosts also debate the practicality of high-horsepower cars, weighing the thrill of driving near a car’s limits versus the excess power many vehicles offer. Alongside, they tease upcoming interviews with notable figures like Jeremy Clarkson and share anecdotes about cats helping control pests around garages and barns.

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Technical Too Afraid to Ask
Car

Land Rover Range Rover L322

"...a Ranger over L322, and he feels like it. And somehow still has the time to talk to us."

The Range Rover L322 is a fancy SUV that can drive off-road and is very comfortable inside. It was made between 2002 and 2012.

Car

Ford Ranger

"the Sun, a pub, a farm, a brewery. And a Ranger over L322, and he feels like it. And somehow sti..."

The Ford Ranger is a medium-sized truck that people use for things like farming, carrying stuff, and going off-road. It's smaller and easier to handle than big fancy SUVs, so some people like it better for everyday work and fun outside.

Term

insurance policy

"I would recommend that readers check the small print in their insurance policy. As my recent renewal with a well-known classic slash multi car insurer includes a new exception for damage caused to vehicles by vermin, insects, mildew or fungus."

An insurance policy is a deal you make with a company that helps pay for repairs or replacement if your car gets damaged or stolen.

Term

vermin damage

"As my recent renewal with a well-known classic slash multi car insurer includes a new exception for damage caused to vehicles by vermin, insects, mildew or fungus. Good to know."

Vermin damage means little animals like mice or rats can bite parts of your car, like wires, which can break things and cost money to fix.

Term

horsepower

"do you or your road testers have any opinions you can share on the crazy horsepower of some cars? Surely can't be used 99% of the time."

Horsepower is a way to measure how strong a car's engine is. More horsepower means the car can go faster or accelerate quicker.

Term

EV

"is that all the EVs that we're talking about with sort of effortlessly huge power outputs are also very heavy."

An EV is a car that runs on electricity instead of gas. They can be very powerful but usually weigh more because of their big batteries.

Car

Morgan Super 3

"when I was talking about that Morgan Super 3, which has 115 horsepower and sort of lower overall limits"

The Morgan Super 3 is a small, light car with three wheels. It doesn't have a very powerful engine but is fun to drive because it's simple and light.

Car

Porsche Cayman

"Yeah, or a Porsche Cayman or something like."

The Porsche Cayman is a sporty car designed to be fun and easy to control when driving. It has its engine placed in the middle, which helps it handle well.

Car

Kia Picanto

"I find it more enjoyable to be right up the limit of a P&A A10 or Kia Picanto than at 10% of a much more powerful car."

The Kia Picanto is a small and simple car that's easy to drive around town. Even though it's not very fast, pushing it to its limits can be fun.

Term

opposite lock

""...if it starts to slide, it starts to slide in a sweet way and you can, you can sort of tune how much opposite lock you want.""

Opposite lock means turning the steering wheel the other way when your car starts to slide, so you can keep driving safely without spinning out.

Car

Austin Seven

"I've raced a Lotus, a Lotus, an Austin seven special at Snetterton"

The Austin Seven Special is a small, old British car that people sometimes change to make it faster or better for racing.

Concept

750 Motor Club

"two years ago, three years ago with the 750 motor club, great motor club,"

The 750 Motor Club is a group that organizes car races for small and cheap cars, making it easy for new drivers to join and have fun.

Term

750 CC engine

"I reckon I had as much fun in that Austin seven with its tweaked 750 horsepower, 750 CC engine making, I don't know, 50 horsepower,"

A 750 CC engine is a small engine size, meaning it uses a small amount of fuel and is usually found in smaller cars.

Concept

Formula One

""Yeah. He, he, if you're unaware, listener, he was Formula One driver. And then later auto cars, technical editor or sports editor.""

Formula One is a type of car race where the fastest and most advanced cars compete all over the world. It's like the top level of car racing.

Car

Ford Capri

"And he had a famous Ford Capri that he, that he modified great. He became more and more expert on dynamics, didn't he?"

The Ford Capri is a sporty car made by Ford a long time ago. People liked to change it to make it faster or look cooler.

Car

Austin 7

"And I did, after trying a fairly ordinary Austin 7, one of John Miles ones that I think somebody said was the fourth one he built in retirement."

The Austin 7 is an old, small car from Britain that was easy to drive and very popular a long time ago. Many people liked it because it was simple and cheap.

Brand

Lotus

""He'll be raced against Colin Chapman and others, you know, and says, we didn't expect to beat the Lotus Austin anyway. Goes to, this was in the days when Chapman was modifying Austins a lot...""

Lotus is a company that makes small, fast sports cars. The man who started it, Colin Chapman, was very good at making cars go faster.

Concept

hill climbs

"which was a little mid-engined car, single seater, run them in hill climbs. And God, it was a good thing."

Hill climbs are races where drivers try to go up a steep hill as fast as possible, one at a time. It's a way to see how good a car and driver are at going uphill and around turns.

Concept

world record breaker

"The story of a 140-mile-an-hour mini-engined world record breaker and how to build it."

A world record breaker is something that goes faster or farther than anything else before it. Here, it means a small car that went really fast, faster than anyone else with that kind of engine.

Car

Hillman Imp

"Because I think there's a few hillman-imp based mid-engined specials, and people like to keep the"

The Hillman Imp is a small old British car with the engine in the back. It was made to be tiny and different from other cars.

Term

mid-engine

"in the imp, the gearbox is in front of the engine, but ideally on a single seat at mid-engine, single seat, you would have the gearbox behind, because you want it mid-engine, not rear-engine,"

Mid-engine means the car's engine is placed in the middle of the car, usually behind the seats but before the back wheels. This helps the car drive better and handle turns more easily.

Term

front-wheel drive

"I remember, I'm sure I remember an imp, but I got really, I think I may have got as keen at you on this stuff, that I can remember somebody at least proposing it, and possibly building an imp special, which had, which was front-wheel drive, which had a combination of mini and imp bits,"

Front-wheel drive means the engine makes the front wheels of the car turn. This helps the car grip the road better, especially in rain or snow.

Brand

BMW

"I'm looking forward to your BM though, the BMW donkey going into your car,"

BMW is a car company from Germany that makes fancy and powerful cars that many people like to drive.

Car

Peugeot 205

"Yeah, I think the 205. Oh, that's right. Yeah, your Porsche 205. Actually, funnily enough, when we were talking about that going around Castle Coombe, there's a bit of concern. My son and I were talking about the 205. We're going to do a track day in it when it comes to us soon."

The Peugeot 205 is a small car made by a French company. It is famous because it handles well and some versions are sporty and fun to drive.

Concept

rev limiter

"But I think by the time we, we'll only spend a couple of seconds against the rev limiter and top gear..."

A rev limiter stops your car's engine from spinning too fast so it doesn't get broken.

Term

regeneration

"Steve and Matt were debating the most efficient level of regeneration on throttle lift-off to use, and yes, thank you, Nick."

Regeneration is when a car recovers energy when you slow down or lift off the gas, using it to recharge the battery instead of wasting it as heat.

Term

regen mode

"...when acting as a generator, then in regen mode, as soon as you lift off and start artificially slowing down..."

Regen mode helps electric cars save energy by turning the car's slowing down into electricity that charges the battery instead of wasting it as heat.

Car

Porsche Taycan

"...which is why in a Porsche Taycan and Hyundai Kona I usually drive, I always set the regen to zero..."

The Porsche Taycan is a fast electric car that can recharge its battery a little when you slow down, helping it go farther.

Car

Hyundai Kona

"...le, which is why in a Porsche Taycan and Hyundai Kona I usually drive, I always set the regen to zero a..."

The Hyundai Kona is a small SUV that can run on gas or electricity. People like it because it's easy to drive, has good features, and helps save fuel or electricity. Some drivers change how the car slows down to get more battery power back when they stop.

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