WDB
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Post by WDB on Sept 13, 2021 22:04:11 GMT
…or you could find yourself out in the French countryside on a Sunday afternoon, eyeing an angry fuel light and wishing you’d paid the motorway premium an hour ago when you had the chance. No need for electric range anxiety after that. 😥
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Sept 13, 2021 22:49:52 GMT
If I was going to gamble on getting further on for cheaper fuel but the light was on I'd probably just put a bit in at the premium site to make sure I get to the cheaper one.
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Post by EspadaIII on Sept 14, 2021 8:55:13 GMT
I should probably carry a spare gallon in a can in the boot for my next trip...
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Post by bromptonaut on Sept 14, 2021 14:54:07 GMT
…or you could find yourself out in the French countryside on a Sunday afternoon, eyeing an angry fuel light and wishing you’d paid the motorway premium an hour ago when you had the chance. No need for electric range anxiety after that. 😥 Been there in days when acceptance of UK credit cards was not universal at French automatic pumps. |
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bpg
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Post by bpg on Sept 14, 2021 15:22:26 GMT
I should probably carry a spare gallon in a can in the boot for my next trip... What are you going to do with your new car ? A spare 12v battery won't get you very far. |
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Sept 14, 2021 15:50:54 GMT
Been there in days when acceptance of UK credit cards was not universal at French automatic pumps. As was I — 2006 in the case I’m thinking of, 15 years and three cars ago. |
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Post by EspadaIII on Sept 14, 2021 16:54:24 GMT
I should probably carry a spare gallon in a can in the boot for my next trip... What are you going to do with your new car ? A spare 12v battery won't get you very far. I could carry a nice little Honda generator in the boot and make it more like WDB's old i3... |
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bpg
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Post by bpg on Sept 14, 2021 17:44:25 GMT
Diesel generator I hope.
Think I mentioned it here before when there was an issue with the pickup from the oil tank of our central heating system, I took the EV to the petrol station and filled two 20l jerry cans in the boot with diesel. That got some confused looks.
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Post by Humph on Sept 14, 2021 20:54:52 GMT
Been there in days when acceptance of UK credit cards was not universal at French automatic pumps. As was I — 2006 in the case I’m thinking of, 15 years and three cars ago. It was even more fun before the € was introduced if you needed to drive into multiple countries in the days when credit cards were not widely accepted. Memories of glove boxes stuffed with envelopes full of various currencies. Emergency funds underneath the floor mats. |
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WDB
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Posts: 7,352
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Post by WDB on Sept 14, 2021 22:11:30 GMT
…but at least the man with the red flag was on hand to help.
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Post by Humph on Sept 15, 2021 8:12:11 GMT
Aye well, that always helped of course.
But, when I come to think about it, it was "only" the early 1980s when I first started to regularly drive across mainland Europe for work. Although I had done it before on skiing trips etc.
No sat navs, no mobile phones, no internet, no google translate, credit cards still not widely accepted, bundles of various currencies onboard backed up by travellers cheques. AA map of Europe on the passenger seat. No Internet cafes or whatever to to check in at. Pay phones only if you could get a line and had enough change.
Everything recorded in handwriting in notebooks, nary a spreadsheet to complete of course. Weekly fax to and from head office if the hotel had that facility, otherwise you were on your own, having to make decisions and agree contracts etc without reference.
But, like many businesses at that time, we were making huge profits despite all that, your salary more or less doubled every year for various reasons, some good, some bad, but it felt pretty good at the time.
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Post by EspadaIII on Sept 15, 2021 8:48:39 GMT
In 1976, 1979 and 1980 (aged 11, 14 and 15) I went to the USA with my parents and drove thousands of miles up and down the east coast, west coast and Rockies. No communication with family or friends for weeks until we got to a big city with an understanding of international calling; even then it was VERY expensive. Used Telex to contact the office a few times if you could find a hotel with a telex machine. Amex Travellers Cheques were vital. AAA maps and hotel guide book just as vital. Amazing times and gave me an education the envy of my friends and useful to this day.
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Post by Alanović on Sept 15, 2021 8:58:42 GMT
…or you could find yourself out in the French countryside on a Sunday afternoon, eyeing an angry fuel light and wishing you’d paid the motorway premium an hour ago when you had the chance. No need for electric range anxiety after that. 😥 Been there in days when acceptance of UK credit cards was not universal at French automatic pumps. Still the case in Italy. Had a minor panic in the middle of the night trying to refill a rental car at the airport before returning it in Feb 2020. I was staggered that an on-airport petrol station, which is obviously going to be used by people with foreign crecdit cards to refill rental cars hundreds of times a day, didn't accept them at automatic pumps *even when the kiosk was closed*, rendering it impossible to buy fuel, and forcing people to drive round in a panic looking for somewhere else, when they've got a plane to catch. Idiocy. I don't really like Italy. No idea why anyone would choose it over France. Feel the same about most of "tourist" Europe actually, inc Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Croatia etc. I like France. |
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Sept 15, 2021 9:16:30 GMT
I like France too. But I’ve loved our end-of-trip detours into Germany. A German bakery is a treat even after two weeks of the French kind.
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Post by Humph on Sept 15, 2021 9:21:09 GMT
I really want to make a long road trip again next summer. If we're spared etc...
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