Things people say

I love that name, just rolls off the tongue...

Ah, the ABS badge. I remember those on ‘90s Vectras, presumably for service-station bragging rights. Pity the CX isn’t an automatic or there’d probably be a badge for that too.

Was the square number plate a regular CX thing? It’s ugly, and there’s room (among the badges) for a proper one.

I’ve always slightly suspected serial dickwad tendencies in those who deliberately remove badges from the back of their cars (that suspicion double confirmed by having a “private “ plate too of course) but I’d be severely tempted to remove at least some of that badging to save weight!
😉

Ford have taken an odd approach with the current Focus and badges, all models bar the ST have F O C U S lettered across the rear under the window. For the ST they've added ST on the right side further down the boot lid which looks odd to my eye, it's also a different shade of red to the rest of my car.

I've taken the ST badge off leaving the Ford badge.

I think by then Hydropneumatic suspension, having been there throughout the DS era, was fairly well developed. I'd be more bothered about the complexity of having the steering on the same circuit. Thye CX is a complex beast though.

The BX by contrast was pretty similar under the bonnet to the Pug 405. Come to think of my diesel 205 had plenty of parts interchangeable with the BX which was it's big brother until I traded the Pug for a Xantia. The BX hydropneumatics were limited to the suspension and brakes and, once you understood how it worked and what the bits like the height correctors did, it really wasn't that complicated.   

BP Pulse’s subscriber email this month links to this advice page on the principle of limiting regular charge to 80 percent. There’s some reasonable stuff about the greater heat and stress as a battery nears full charge — and then there’s this bit of Trying Too Hard.

You might remember from school that energy cannot be destroyed, it can only be converted. In other words, energy always goes somewhere. Most EVs have turned that to their advantage by having regenerative braking systems. This converts the kinetic energy caused [sic] when you brake into stored energy in your battery. Now, if you allow your battery to remain a little empty at 80%, it has the space to take in this energy from braking. Depending on your make and model, this may improve the overall efficiency of your EV and could extend the lifespan of your braking system too.

It starts by correctly stating the principle of conservation of energy, then spoils it all. Perhaps if you charge at the Pyrenean ski station I once visited in the E (whose mpg counter maxed out at 99.9 on the way down) you’ll have kinetic energy that didn’t come out of the battery in the first place. Otherwise…