Points: Letters of the week, April 19
What got you talking this week
Denied closure
Although my Mazda MX-5 is fitted with a space-saver spare — well done, Mazda — I have found that when a road wheel is in the boot, the lid will not close (“Like driving on a wing and a sprayer”, last week). So your passenger may have to put up with a dirty wheel on his or her lap.
Mike Moyle, Romsey, Hampshire
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Wire transfer
The electric Nissan Leaf comes with a tyre sealant and compressor in Britain, but the version sold in Australia has a space-saver wheel suspended in a wire frame between therear wheels. I assume these cars are made in Japan and can’t see why Nissan Sunderland does not offer them in the UK.
Michael Charlton, Jarrow, Tyne & Wear
The roads less travelled
An Audi Q7 is unnecessary for Namibian roads (“Put your foot down, Waitrose closes soon”, last week). We’ve had two wonderful holidays there, covering 4,000 miles, mostly on dirt roads, in hired VW Golfs. The trick is to maintain Namibia as a well-kept secret. The population of just 2m people, more than 300,000 of whom live in the capital, Windhoek, means empty roads, leaving you to enjoy the landscape, wildlife and people. Just don’t tell anyone else.
Glyn Edmunds, Hayling Island, Hampshire
Dust devil
Having just returned from a great holiday in Namibia, I was saddened to read that Gavin Conway had kept to a steady 75mph-80mph on dirt roads. The result would have been that traffic going in the opposite direction or being overtaken would have had to contend with dust plumes, creating near-zero visibility, and thrown-up stones spattering bodywork and windscreens.
Jolyon Maclaine, Staffordshire
Number’s up
While Ken Morris may have made a good investment with his numberplate KEN 925 (“Just the job”, Points, last week), I would suggest he sell it before the bottom falls out of his niche of the market. (“Vic”, “Les” and “Rod” may also wish to take heed.)
Matt Thorpe, Truro, Cornwall
What a Guy
Oh what hair-raising fun in the Aston Martin Vanquish Carbon Edition (“Take off two wheels and I could set a TT record in it”, April 5). It was as if I were in the passenger seat with Guy Martin on the TT Isle of Man lap. Please do it again. I am a 66-year-old pensioner and it made my day.
Lynne Wilson, Penzance, Cornwall
Circuit breaker
The Nürburgring is, as was stated, a “racing” circuit (“Nürburgring slams brakes on racers with speed limit”, News, last week). To impose speed limits is to make it a nonsense. I believe both competitors and, to an extent, spectators accept a personal risk when they attend a venue. In fact, spectators often station themselves at locations on racing circuits where incidents are likely.
Stuart McNair, Arkona, London, Ontario, Canada
Hancock and bull story?
Further to Neil Waller’s letter (“Light relief”, Points, last week) advocating waiting over mastic lines a few car lengths before traffic lights at quiet periods, is he not confusing the advice with that of a TV sketch by Tony Hancock some 50 years ago? His idea was to park, walk back to the rubber coving over a wire and jump on it until the lights turned to green, only to find that by the time he got in the car they had turned to red.
Peter Murphy, Wellingborough
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