Increasingly beginning to feel that HJ is massively out of touch when reading the Motoring section in the Telegraph.
His loathing of diesel engines, European cars, DSG gearboxes etc is beginning to get ̶o̶n̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶t̶i̶t̶s̶ a bit tiring, and one does wonder whether he's being paid by the manufacturer of small eastern cars to promote their models. Nothing more annoying than seeing a car recommended because it's got a "proper" gearbox, when in fact it'll be sluggish, unpleasant to drive, and drink fuel.
Seems to rely on a technique some on here will be very familiar with - state the wrong info in an authoritative way and assume that people will believe you.
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he does have his little pet hates doesn't he?
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He has individual views, isn't impressed by the latest must haves until proved useful/useable/durable and doesn't read from the current hymn sheet of the day, fine by me.
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I tend to agree GB. I don't necessarily need to agree with a viewpoint to want to read it. The counterpoints of a discussion are the elements which cause one to question one's own views and prejudices.
At least he takes a stance. Any thinking reader can decide whether to agree or not but in doing so at least has been encouraged to think about it if they are interested in the subject matter.
Even the most skilled of journalists can find it almost impossible to be totally impartial, we all look at life through our own eyes and if we are savvy can recognise when others have an agenda.
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HJ sees it (website & media in general) as a business, which it is.
He's driven his website from nowhere to successful, and he's been responsible for a fair amount of Telegraph space over the years.
He isn't trying to be in tune with all the latest developments, he's trying to be in tune with the people who will read him.
Good luck to him, he's to be admired.
Although not neccessarily agreed with.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Thu 1 Nov 12 at 12:18
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Better to have opinions based on 30 yrs experience than the average motoring hack that prints what the PR dept of tyre, car, oil companies state.
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>>>Seems to rely on a technique some on here will be very familiar with - state the wrong info in an authoritative way and assume that people will believe you.
Very close to the reality of the "brand".
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Gordonbennett has it right I think. Everyone has their prejudices but that isn't a problem once you know what they are. The point about HJ is that his stuff is written from the motorist's point of view. He doesn't just act as a publicity flack for car manufacturers, as many motoring hacks do.
I sympathise in particular with his efforts to deter his generally ignorant readers from being dazzled by unnecessary, troublesome, inadequately developed modern devices on cars, and bling features that make them unpleasant or uncomfortable (big rims and low profile tyres for example).
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I have read HJ for as long as he has been in the DT. I read him not because I agree 100% with him - that would be boring -but because his views are based n some justification and a lot of knowledge.
Unlike the BBC2 programme on the safety of UK roads last night with a journalist whose car had 1 bald tyre and he had never checked his tyre pressures.. nor indeed know what they should be.
HJ is a breath of fresh air amongst a bunch of ignorant hacks.
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Like others I don't always agree with him. Indeed his views on some subjects, varifocals is the one that impinges on me, are utterly illogical.
But at least he's reciting his own thoughts and not those of the PR puff that came with vehicle or product.
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What are his view on varifocals. In my brief acquaintance with them I found them downright dangerous for driving.
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>> What are his view on varifocals. In my brief acquaintance with them I found them
>> downright dangerous for driving.
>>
I am OK with the varifocals - now left foot braking in an Auto is a No No!
Although HJ likes it!
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>> What are his view on varifocals. In my brief acquaintance with them I found them
>> downright dangerous for driving.
His dogmatic and unshiftable view was that they are dangerous. So far as I could tell his argument was justified by a few folks who blamed image shift in their glasses for shunts.
However he seemed confuddled between bifocals and varifocals and unwilling to acknowledge views of those whose experience/prescription was different.
I've found mine fine for driving in but I've deliberately sought out aviator style frames and ignored the fashion to view the world through letterboxes.
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Never had any problem with varifocals in about 10 years
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Nor have I - when I needed them.
I don't now need glasses at all when driving, following two cataract operations,. (Except sunglasses with polarising lenses, to avoid damage by UV to my eye's plastic bits!)
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>> he seemed confuddled between bifocals and varifocals >>
+1
>> I've found mine fine for driving in but I've deliberately sought out aviator style frames
>> and ignored the fashion to view the world through letterboxes.
>>
Me too. I paid for the top spec (pun intended) Varilux lenses, and chose a huge 1980s style frame (a la Bernie f1.imgci.com/PICTURES/CMS/16600/16645.jpg ).
I hear that Carl Zeiss Vision GT2 can achieve the same in a narrow modern frame.
www.onlineglassesdirect.co.uk/zeiss-varifocal-glasses
www.specsavers.co.uk/glasses/varifocals/
I have absolutely no issues using the Varilux for driving. However, I have a cheaper spare pair which I would only use in an emergency - the difference in quality is quite marked.
Last edited by: John H on Thu 1 Nov 12 at 15:32
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Me too John, they are the dogs doodahs.
Pat
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Well I only had a couple of weeks experience with the things and I found the restriction in the field of clear vision when driving compared with simple distance lenses alarming and for me dangerous
Other opinions are available.
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>> alarming and for me dangerous
>>
>> Other opinions are available.
>>
Absolutely, but it is a fairly well established piece of optical technology, my dad had them in the 90s when he was still driving. You may be one whose eyes are not suited to them but I would be inclined to check the optometrist & maybe try again if it were me
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"I would be inclined to check the optometrist & maybe try again if it were me"
Did that. Had new pair made up, still didn't like them. The fundamental problem for driving is that even the best varifocals do not give the same correction at the edge of the lens as they do at the centre (the optomerist explained this to me). In consequence if you move your eye and are looking through the edge of the lense your vision will not be as clear as through the centre. This is why they tell you to move your head and not your eyes when wearing varifocals. I found the soft vision through the edge of the spectacles unsatisfactory for driving.
They were ok for general use but since I don't need specs to read I would have ended up with varifocals for general use, distance lenses for driving and taking the things off for reading.
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>> Well I only had a couple of weeks experience with the things and I found
>> the restriction in the field of clear vision when driving compared with simple distance lenses
>> alarming and for me dangerous
>>
>> Other opinions are available.
>>
Should have gone to a better optician.
As in all professions, some are good, some are excellent, but you seem to have found a bad one.
Or your eyes are a special case.
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>> I have read HJ for as long as he has been in the DT. I
>> read him not because I agree 100% with him - that would be boring -but
>> because his views are based n some justification and a lot of knowledge.
>>
>> Unlike the BBC2 programme on the safety of UK roads last night with a journalist
>> whose car had 1 bald tyre and he had never checked his tyre pressures.. nor
>> indeed know what they should be.
>>
>> HJ is a breath of fresh air amongst a bunch of ignorant hacks.
>>
I saw that journo. I wanted to wring his neck. Complete imbecile!
At least that twit from Cheshire East got a good roasting. Cheshire roads are an utter disgrace. That junction could be sorted out with some white paint - a roundabout. Dead easy!
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>> His loathing of diesel engines, >>
Diesels are passe.
Economics killed by rising diesel costs, plus DPF and the EU.
As others have said, HJ knows his audience.
Clearly FF will not be one of them.
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For someone who loathes diesels, he wasn't half raving about his F30 320d ED long termer until very recently.
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I didn't think he loathed diesels, just those in the wrong application. But like any salesman turned journalist, he'll change his tune from time to time. With the weather.
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he allows his little foibles and prejudices to impinge on his objectivity at times (left foot braking, Varifocals etc), and is easily swayed by and cow tows to his sponsors and paymasters. Seems to me at one time he was convinced that his web page and column was only read by people in Thailand. But if you separate the wheat from the chaff, there is some car specific inside knowledge on show.
Last edited by: Zero on Thu 1 Nov 12 at 17:13
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I think he makes some interesting points and gets some debate going on the forum. I can't say I look or post on the forum anymore, infact I'd forgotten about it. Like Zero says he does have some useful informatioin on buying a car. Although I was never sure why he reviewed so many cars that were only sold in the Far East, maybe he has a big following in the far east?
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He lives in Thailand doesn't he? That may explain it...
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A large following out there then?
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HJ spends some time here, some in Thailand. His advantage over most motoring journalists is that he's older than they are and doesn't think that handling on twisty B-roads is the virtue to be prized over all.
He doesn't hate diesels but is prepared to deal firmly with readers who have wrongly bought a diesel or are thinking about it despite doing a low, town-based mileage. I suspect that the Telegraph has quite a high proportion of low-mileage motorists among its readership.
Some people think him rude - but readers have come to expect plain speaking and this helps to sell copies. Although I'm a Times reader, I stll think the Telegraph motoring supplement is a lot better than even the new Sunday Times 'Driving'. The ST has repleced the excellent Andrew Frankel with Giles Smith, who gets all his information out of brochures and doesn't appear to drive the cars he reviews. Whatever you say about Clarkson, he has at least tested the cars properly.
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HJ has his own opinions.
Obviously some I agree with, some I don't.
I can remember two particular times with HJ.
Once was at Blackbushe Car Auctions, or whatever they're called. HJ, and some of the guys he chatted with, were quite clearly traders of some years standing who know the market and car trading very well. They know how to turn a buck out of a car, and they know all the tricks to buying one.
Another time we were sat in a pub near where he lives. We were discussing his website and his idea, and some of mine. He told me then what his idea was, and reckoned he could do it. And he has.
So, he's a bloke who knows everybody in the trade, he knows the tricks and games, and is a determined man who can and does deliver what he says he will deliver.
Now, that doesn't make him a technical expert and doesn't mean he knows how to fix aa particular problem with your car. It doesn't make him an expert on every new technology.
It doesn't even mean he will neccessarily be right.
But its a hell of a better foundation and background than most of the idiot journalists and experts we listen to.
And I know who I'd call if I wanted help on buying or selling a car.
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>> And I know who I'd call if I wanted help on buying or selling a car.
I did twice, and in both occasions had excellent advice.
Our old Honda shuttle failed to hit reserve at Blackbushe. HJ saw it and said this would be a good buy and very reliable. He was right.
When buying our focus he advised model, colour, diesel/petrol. Again invaluable advice.
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"Our old Honda shuttle"
Didn't I come round and service the A/C on that, after the Espace conveniently 'went'?
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HJ usually makes sense to me and his comments and advice are practical on the whole.
His opinions are not unlike those of my brother, who is a proper mechanic who spent 20 years in the trade in the workshop including running a small independent one. He still buys, sells and maintains cars for his current employer.
Most motoring reviews are more like fashion pages than practical advice. I think there's more value in HJs, and my bother's, opinions even if both have some prejudices and blind spots - Citroen has a long way to go to rehabilitate itself in my brother's view!
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HJ is more of the "William Woolard school of motoring" - practical and slightly luddite.
More contemporary journos are usually trying to ape Clarkson and far more focussed on driving dynamics and luxuries/toy-count.
A car IS a white good, whether you like them or love them, or find then a necessary evil - sometimes all you want to know are the practicalities because fitting 3 kids in the back may be more important to you than 'steering feel' (which, let's face it, despite what the glossies tell you is pretty much absent unless you drive a car without PAS).
Last edited by: Lygonos on Fri 2 Nov 12 at 08:49
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I take the Telegraph and always make a point of reading HJ's pages in the Motoring section.
I find his advice usually interesting and sometimes thought provoking.
However....
I find his left foot braking crusade illogical and tiresome.
His views on Shell fuel and British Car Auctions Sure-Sell are, I think suspect.
His constant wittering about winter tyres is boring - so what if I can get up the snow covered hill on winter tyres - if the driver in front of me can't, then the chances are, I can't get past them.
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Don't forget supermarket petrol !
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HJ is good in my opinion - excepting left foot braking. I agree with his opinion on the worth of Shell V-Power and BP Ultimate.
There is another columnist on the DT
www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/columnists/James-Foxall/9643326/James-Foxall-Cover-all-your-insurance-bases.html
Now that is poor motoring advice article - there have been 3 in total, the 4th is due tomorrow and is eagerly anticipated!
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>> HJ is good in my opinion - excepting left foot braking. I agree with his
>> opinion on the worth of Shell V-Power and BP Ultimate.
And what is the worth of either?
a: does it save you money?
b: has it prolonged your engine life that you can justify?
c: Does it make using the car worth investing the extra price per litre?
With 4 different cars over the period its been availble I have found that
a: No
b: No
c: Sometimes but not enough to justify the investment.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 2 Nov 12 at 09:53
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>>And what is the worth of either?
a: does it save you money?
b: has it prolonged your engine life that you can justify?
c: Does it make using the car worth investing the extra price per litre?
Save money - it costs more per gallon - a few ££s per month
All cars owned from new or 2,000 miles in the case of the Mazda.
My Honda 2001 sold 2007, did 93K and sailed through MoTs
My1998 Xedos, which I still have after 13.5 yrs, sails through emissions part of MoT test
My 2007 sold 2012 X-trail was a noisy beggar (diesel) but a lot quieter and more responsive
My new CRV has been fed on Ultimate and will continue to do so.
Say £3.00 difference on 60 litres is more palatable than big bills getting a car through an MoT
All 3 x older cars mentioned above are / were 100% reliable and never incurred any engine repair bills.
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So the answer is
a: No
b: No Not proven.
c: maybe depends on cars and circumstances.
Exactly the same as my experience. So thats a resounding "they are a waste of money"
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 2 Nov 12 at 10:31
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10,000 miles might = £75 per year
No engine issues, no MoT emissions issues in 12 years = success to me!
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>> a: No
>> b: No
>> c: Sometimes but not enough to justify the investment.
>>
>>
>>
Wot he sed.
If anything, my fuel economy on so called premium fuels goes down.
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>>may be more important to you than 'steering feel'
>> (which, let's face it, despite what the glossies tell you is pretty much absent unless
>> you drive a car without PAS).
I do agree, for ordinary everyday motoring in an ordinary everyday car, steering feel is not important to me.
In fact, using The Shopping Trolley (FIAT Panda) I actually prefer the "City" setting for 95% of the time.
If I still had my 970cc Cooper S, in race trim, that would be different!
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Does anyone else have the same trouble as me with the backroom?
It always locks up IE.
So from being a daily visitor, I now only look infrequently?
(Don't miss it much, actually)
Last edited by: neiltoo on Fri 2 Nov 12 at 10:30
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I also have problems on the HJ site. As well as locking up on IE i seem to get other problems, i think the site is overloaded with ads' and pop ups and my system can't cope but i'm not "computer clever "so i don't want to change settings, it's easier to visit less often.
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>> I also have problems on the HJ site.
The site suffered from a lot of problems with adverts, but was generally cleaned up a few weeks ago.
Our current problem may be related, but frankly, the content isn't worth the trouble just now.
Last edited by: neiltoo on Fri 2 Nov 12 at 11:12
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Chrome
No problems ever.
Active cookies and nasties sweep daily.
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Steering feel is very important to me, still drive by seat of pants as i expect many older hands do, keeping vehicles we used to drive on the road depended on such feel for the surface and it still applies with newer stuff, laws of physics haven't changed and arguably modern vehicles with superior grip and handling are going much faster when things go wrong (except ice and snow when maybe the reverse is true) so more feel is needed IMO.
Dislike electric power steering intently as almost no real road feel is transmitted, i can feel precisely what is happening underneath my old MB with its thankfully belt driven pump and the correct wheels driven..;)
''It always locks up IE''
Firefox no problems.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Fri 2 Nov 12 at 10:34
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Steering feel? *
What's that?
I last had it in a 1929 Riley 9 - and it felt very heavy. I have six biceps to prove it :-)
* I never drove with Jimmy Saville.
Last edited by: madf on Fri 2 Nov 12 at 12:23
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Heaviest car to park I've had was a Mk2 Cavalier SRi. "A" reg whatever that was? Early 1980s I want to think. It was one of the first "normal" cars to have low profile wide-ish tyres on it but being FWD and with no power steering it was a bit of a pig to heave about at parking speeds. Alright once it was rolling along.
It was quite a nice car until my ex-wife crashed it while it was full of Black Forest Gateaux ( yes plural and multiple ) She was taking them to a lacrosse dinner as I recall. When the vehicle was recovered it looked like there had been a violent axe-murder in it.
Never did get the residual smell of sour ( whatever BFGs are made of ) out of it.
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The heaviest I've experienced were a Volvo 360 and Maestro diesel, neither had PAS.
The Volvo was on 155 tyres, totally insufficient for braking, but I assume were fitted in an attempt to reduce the steering weight.
The Maestro had a Perkins, cast iron lump. SWMBO found it near impossible to park, but it lightened up beautifully at anything above walking pace.
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The heaviest I.ve experienced was my Ford 1600E especially when the tyres were worn.
What a great idea of Ford to put fat wheels on a standard Cortina.
My efforts caused a common problem with that model. The steering box securing bolts ripped out ot the chassis ( no NOT rust ). I also had to have a new steering box later on. No servo brakes either.
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Mrs B had a Rover 114 GSi (or Metro to most of us) it was a blinged up model so had daft big and low profile alloys which looked nice but meant it was a pig to park. Even at higher speeds it didn't really lighten up.
The irony was that her dad bought it for her from Motorpoint and it was an ex AA driving school car. I pitty the poor sod having to do a three point turn in "exam" conditions
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Heavy steering car, one of the heaviest was my ex MiL's Golf mk2 Diesel, a superb car really but the unassisted steering was too much for a small lady, pumping the front tyres up to about 38psi helped a lot without affecting wet braking to a noticeable degree.
Changed the tyres for another make too which again helped.
Made enquiries about putting power on it, but without a suitable donor, and Diesels were rare in those days and the few that had power steering option like rocking horse manure, it would have been cheaper to replace the car.
One positive thing about unassisted steering, whatever vehicle you drive the heavier it is the sharper your manoeuvering becomes.
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Time for HJ to hang up his hat? - nyx2k
