Search the Community

Anyone experienced driving from one state to another in Europe? Do it needs to pass thru custom? Anything to take note or tips May plan to drive from Germany to Austria. Heard that a road with no speed limit in Germany?

Not unexpected since the original proposal is not practicable financially in short. Stricter emissions standards for trucks and buses but not for cars and vans Several automakers, including Stellantis, Volkswagen, Skoda, and others, have been very critical regarding the strict upcoming Euro 7 emissions regulations on the Old Continent. Some executives even described them as “useless” but it seems that there is some light at the end of the tunnel for the critics of the new standards. Just moments ago as of writing this article, European Union ministers agreed on new and watered-down rules. After facing opposition from automakers and member countries, including France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia, the ministers agreed not to implement significant changes to the existing Euro 6 standards for cars and vans. There will be stricter regulations for buses and heavy vehicles, though. However, the decision isn’t final yet. Spain, which holds the rotating EU presidency, presented the compromise text that gained the agreement of the Council of the European Union, composed of EU ministers. The final form of the law must be discussed and signed by the Council, the European Parliament, and the European Commission. "We believe that, with this proposal, we achieved broad support, a balance in the investment costs of the manufacturing brands and we improve the environmental benefits derived from this regulation," Spain's minister for industry, trade and tourism, Hector Gomez Hernandez, commented. “The member states’ position is an improvement on the European Commission’s Euro 7 proposal – which was entirely disproportionate, driving high costs for industry and customers, with limited environmental benefits,” the European Automobile Manufacturers Association director, Sigrid de Vries, added. “The Council’s aim to continue the effective Euro 6 tests is sensible. However, compared to what is in place today, Euro 7 is much broader for new cars, vans and, in particular, heavy-duty vehicles, requiring significant engineering and testing efforts.” As ironic as it may sound, the automakers in Europe have said that the initially proposed stricter emissions standards could lead to slower adoption of electric vehicles. The Euro 7 in its earlier form would distract the companies from investing in EVs, Renault CEO Luca de Meo said recently, while Skoda's head honcho Klaus Zellmer admitted that building small cars under the stricter emissions could be impossible.

Flew to Copenhagen in June and then went to Billund, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Cologne, Berlin and back to Copenhagen. Legoland First stop.

Since I left on 16th I had been to a town in Germany and then to Venice. Haven't got a chance to post much because these 2 places I went to the internet is horrendous both wifi in hotel and 3/4G. Now I really appreciate being in Bangkok and Singapore where the internet is easily available and fast too. I just arrived in Florence and is able to upload most of the stuff so I could post better. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5zcD2vzSjI Immediately after arriving in Munich Airport, was whisked off to a small city/town of 18,000 people at the Austrian border. Drove about 1.5 hours. Arriving in the town went to a Bavarian lunch here Nice quiet restaurant Soups Vegetarian meal Very non-vegetarian meal lol

https://mothership.sg/2019/08/singapore-couple-travel-europe-van/ Traveling to Europe in a van. I wonder if they are bringing spares, engine oil, spare parts etc etc etc. While a jap van is easy to service in this part of asia, it may not be common where they are going.

A group of the world’s richest soccer clubs, including Manchester United and Real Madrid, announced plans for a European breakaway league starting in August, a project that could herald the sport’s biggest shakeup in decades and make elite teams even wealthier. The marquee names -- six from England, three from Italy and three from Spain have signed up so far -- would play each other midweek as an alternative to the prestigious UEFA Champions League, according to a statement early Monday. In addition to what will be 15 permanent teams, another five will qualify each year for the so-called Super League. Establishing a new elite tournament in Europe would effectively end the Champions League’s decades-long reign as the world’s premier club contest, and revolutionize the sport’s structure. It would also funnel billions of dollars into the game’s upper echelons, following a year in which revenue has dropped as matches take place in largely empty stadiums. The 15 founding teams would share an upfront payment of 3.5 billion euros ($4.2 billion). Real Madrid’s Florentino Perez will be chairman of the group with Juve’s Andrea Agnelli and Manchester United’s Joel Glazer as vice-chairs. “We will help football at every level and take it to its rightful place in the world,” Perez said in the statement. “Football is the only global sport in the world with more than four billion fans and our responsibility as big clubs is to respond to their desires.” By creating a system in which five places a year are available through a qualification process, the organizers are seeking to head off criticism that the competition is closed -- as with the National Football League in the U.S. and the National Basketball Association in North America. The group also pledged “solidarity payments” to European soccer of more than 10 billion euros. But even before the plans were announced, national leagues from England, Spain and Italy, plus the sport’s governing body in Europe, hit back at what they called a “cynical project” founded on self-interest. In addition to considering legal action, their joint statement raised the prospect of throwing teams out of their domestic leagues. Under the new project, any club would remain in its domestic league but pull out of the Champions League. FIFA, the global governing body and organizer of the World Cup, weighed in last week, saying it would ban players who took part in the breakaway. That could potentially throw next year’s World Cup in Qatar into chaos. Political heavyweights also chimed in, with leaders from U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson to former Italian Premier Enrico Letta voicing their concern. French President Emmanuel Macron praised French clubs for not signing up so far. The proposed league also comes as UEFA, the European ruling body, tries to push through a controversial program of its own this week. It wants to expand its tournament to 36 teams, giving each team 10 pre-knockout group matches compared to six now, an increase that irked some teams complaining the season already has too many games. The Super League’s plans: An August start with clubs in two groups of 10, playing home and away matches The top three in each group automatically qualify for the quarter finals. Teams finishing fourth and fifth will compete in a two-legged play-off for the remaining quarter-final positions. A two-leg knockout format will be used to reach the final at the end of May, which will be staged as a single fixture at a neutral venue. A women’s league will be also be launched “as soon as is practicable.” Proponents argue the new Super League would create a more exciting competition because the top teams would play each other more often. It would also be lucrative for them, with permanent membership removing the uncertainty of the Champions League, whose teams must qualify annually or risk losing broadcasting and sponsorship revenue. But the idea of creating a competition that removes the drama of a smaller team such as four-time champion Ajax winning the trophy or of a bigger club having to qualify in the first place, has angered supporter groups and former players. Fans of Chelsea, owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, highlighted what they regard as the greed within soccer. Gary Neville, who won eight Premier League titles as a Manchester United player and now works for Sky Sports, said he was “absolutely disgusted” with the move. The idea that teams could take part in a league and never be relegated from it was, he said, an “absolute disgrace.”

Going to Europe for a road trip? Then you might want to go into Northern Portugal for a drive as Ford thinks that it is the best driving road. With the help of senior journalist Steve Sutcliffe and the latest 276bhp Focus ST, Ford has presented to us ten of the best driving roads in Europe with the winning road called N304 that cuts into the Parque Natural do Alvao region It scores nearly full marks across multiple categories such as Thrill Factor, Hospitality, Scenery and Food and Drinks. “In three days of filming, we barely saw twenty other cars on it,” said Sutcliffe. “There are other roads that head north and south, so I guess the mad and somewhat twisty N304 is not everybody’s cup of tea… but for keen drivers it’s an unforgettable route.” Want to find out more about the N304 and the other roads? Click and the video below and see for yourself!

We have decided to fly back to paris after many years of not visiting western Europe. First country we visited though was Switzerland. Playing with snow outside our hotel

Just finished a three week vacation so starting to edit my pics.... The daylight time is so long that I am unable to catch any night shots or even golden hour shots....

I went on a road trip to Germany, Austria and Switzerland last December and thought I would share some photos with you guys. I booked a full size manual (3 series or similar) with Hertz but when I went to collect the car it was an Opel Insignia Stationwagen diesel instead. To be fair to Hertz during the booking process I specified I wanted a diesel as I would be travelling long distances and diesel is cheaper. When I went to collect the car in Germany they said that there were no more diesels available except the Insignia (wonder if it's true?). I was anticipating to drive the 3 series or maybe the C class so I was slightly disappointed. But at least I got a diesel and they gave me a stationwagen (not like I needed the extra space anyway) to make up for the different group of car. Nonetheless the Insignia was a good car to drive and was rather stable at 200kph on the autobahn although it was slightly noisy at that speed. It had gd fuel consumption, however there was an issue with the car that I will explain later. Here are some photos for you guys... BMW museum in Munich more to come.....

Took a trip to eastern Europe in 2017. Below are some of my pics. Used some black and white processing. Does it look good? 1. Vienna 2. Budapest 3. Budapest Train station 4. Krakow 5. Krakow

Hei Hei! Greetings from the land of the never-ending sun! Just sharing some tips, info and photos of my current trip :) Some basic info first: Helsinki Helsinki; Swedish: Helsingfors, is the capital and largest city of Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. Helsinki has a population of 605,523, an urban population of 1,159,211 and a metropolitan population of 1,361,506. Some links to guides: http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/finland/helsinki https://www.lonelyplanet.com/finland/helsinki http://www.visithelsinki.fi/en/come/tourist-information The country of Finland is sandwiched between two larger powers, Sweden to the West and Russian to the right, and both nations have strong influences on this country. In fact the official second language here is Swedish, with signs showing both Finnish and Swedish. English is an optional third language, but many younger people are picking up this for commercial reasons. A basic summary of what’s good here: If you are here in winter, it’s a fabulous place to see the Northern Lights. The scenery is ok, but it’s best to combine it with other Scandinavian countries, as it is not the most exciting place to visit. Food is nice and it is not as expensive as Norway or Sweden (be prepared to spend $50 for two at Macs). If you like mountains, lakes and outdoors, it’s a nice place. It’s also a stepping stone to visit St Petersburg, Estonia and other Scandinavian places. Getting here involves a direct flight with Finnair, or you have to transit, eg from Frankfurt if you take SIA. Not the chpeatest place to visit, but it’s still cheaper than Norway by a large margin. Budget S$30-40 a meal if you do not want to eat Macs all the time. Or bring some cup noodles J Some basic travel tips: You can get a data only card for E7.9 or use roam planning from home. Food tends to be expensive but not as bad as the Scandinavian countries. The trams and buses are excellent and the people are very friendly. Most will speak some English . The city is not too big and a cab ride from the airport takes about 20 minutes and 40 Euros. Their public transportation system is superb, with trams, trains, and the metro. Add cabs and free bicycles in your hotel, it’s fantastic. The terrain is flat and easy to move around. One thing you will notice is how clean their trains are, with no rubbish, or graffiti. In fact you hardly notice any litter, unlike Singapore where despite the proliferation of rubbish bins every ten metres, you still see litter all over. Many hotels offer free bicycles for you to ride around: For such a small city, you have many travel options, and there are these toilets in the metro, where you press the flush system and it will not only flush but spray water out to wash your hands. But it requires some coordination otherwise you might do the wrong thing and end up washing your hands in the water used to flush the toilets! The trains also go out in to the region, and you buy a pass which covers the city or the regional pass, rather than a strictly by distance kind of system. Furthermore, you can get the Helsinki Card for unlimited travel and visits to the museums and other attractions. (https://www.helsinkicard.com/) The days are long here, and the skies never really get dark; this is what it looks like at 11pm: Of course when you visit a new place, you look out for the local food and it's not all fermented herring here.. This white perch is really awesome! The restaurant is floating on a lake: http://www.ravintolameripaviljonki.fi/ It also does nice desserts: And more food: For good oysters and seafood at the Kamppi Centre (which also has funky toilets): Fisken: http://www.fisken.fi/ This makes your regular fish and chip shop weep… and it wasn’t too expensive - < S$20 Plus great coffee too.

https://www.ft.com/content/58a6be08-4560-33a9-a80e-7386fac5e807 GM in last stage talk sell Europe business to Peugeot

Just got back. I will share videos of my recent holiday here. Privileged and blessed to be able to travel and see the world with the family. Awesome trip. For this trip, the plan was to take a cruise out of Genoa, Italy. The problem was that Genoa was pretty hard to get to. So, to get there, we first flew to London, stayed one night, then flew from London Stansted to Genoa via Ryanair, stayed on night in Genoa, then boarded the ship for a 7N cruise covering ports like Civitavecchia (for Rome), Palermo, Malta, Marseilles, Barcelona (not in that order). On disembarkation day, we took British Airways flight back from Genoa to Gatwick, and spent some nights in London before heading home. That, in gist, was the plan. The rest of this thread, I will post videos (probably in random order). First day in London, arrived quite early, went for a walk. Here were some aggressive ducks in London Regent's Park. The Triton Fountain, also at London Regent's Park. Very bright and quite cool, around 11 deg. A boy feeding pigeons. Quite fun.

Hi bro and sis.. i know this is odd but any one of you guys travelling to Europe or UK this week and coming back in a week time? I was on outstation and had bought a few things for my wife. Unfortunately my luggage was delay and caused me to wait at the counter for nearly an hour. Due to that i could not go to the custom section to get my receipts stamp. If any of you could help do pm me and will gladly do my best to work out something for your kind gesture. Just need your help to get the receipts stamps before you leave any of the EU countries excluding Switzerland. Thank you and may your kind deeds be repaid. To moderator i am not sure if i can place my hp no here but if i can do so please advice. Thank you. Have a good day.

Posted in Switzerland 20:54 hrs from Zermatt Alpen Resort Hotel. Pic 1 : Checked-in at 23:00hrs via SQ346 Switzerland Zurich bound at Changi Airport T3 Row6 Pic 2 : Boarding SQ346 at 00:40 hrs through Gate 10 Pic 3 : Boeing Jumbo Jet A380-800 Air Bus Take-off at 01:45 hrs 15 minutes delayed schedule 01:30 due to busy flight traffics Pic 4 : SQ346 Bird eye view of Switzerland Zurich Swiss Cottage, SQ346 flight touch down at 07:15 hrs Zurich time ( Actual flight time 12hrs 30 minutes, Switzerland time is 7 hrs behind Singapore GMT+8 ) Pic 5/6/7 : Mercedes Benz ML350 SUV driving to W.Germany visiting Rhine Water Fall and Black Forest Pic 8/9 : Driving from Switzerland Zurich to W.Germany border crossing, immigration and custom clearance is swift and easy by just showing International Passport together with Air Tickets and custom declaration pre-signed form Pic 10 : W.Germany Nuclear Energy Plant Pic 11 : W.Germany Rhine water fall

While it is always better late than sorry, Europe has finally decided to join United States and Canada in making ESP (Electronic Stability Program) a mandatory feature in all cars that are on sale come 1st November. Any light goods vehicle that are under 3,500kg are to be sold with ESP as standard too. This is excellent news according to Bosch, who is the market leader for ESP systems in the automotive industry because the company claims to have saved an estimated 6,000 lives and 190,000 accidents since the ESP’s introduction. While the numbers might seem exaggerated, we should not doubt them since they have already installed more than 100 million such programs since 1995. Currently, around 59 percent of all vehicles under 3.5 tons sold around the world comes standard with ESP. Other than Europe, United States and Canada, all cars sold in Australia and Israel also comply with the need for ESP to be fitted as standard.

Any advice how to manage the dataroaming costs for the following scenario? 12 day Europe escorted tour involving Holland, Belgium, Paris. Family of 3 Iphones, Was thinking of using 1 Singtel card with Dataroam activated inside 1 mobile wifi router. 3 Iphones will connect to the mobile wifi. Therefore cost limited to $15 a day, but if morning in 1 country, and afternoon in another, then doubled. However, I have to make sure the SINGTEL NETWORK LOCK is activated at all times? Any cheaper or more efficient option?

I believe owning a Lamborghini is surely a proud thing for pretty much everyone in the world. When you drive a car like the Aventador, for example, passers-by will most likely think that you're one hell of a successful person - besides the natural jealousy that follows after. It seems not everyone can contain their 'feelings' when they come across such successful people. The cyclist in the video is perhaps a good example. While the driver of the black Lamborghini Aventador is trying to pass the road, this cyclist simply stops right in front of the car. Even worse, the cyclist stares down on the owner and even scolds him. I can't seem to figure out if it's because the elderly cyclist thinks that others should respect him instead of him respecting others or that he thinks car drivers should always prioritise cyclists. Or, perhaps this cyclist just doesn't really like cars after all, which is why he is riding a bicycle in the first place?

Chevrolet has confirmed it will stop selling cars across Europe at the end of 2015. The announcement came days after GM CEO Dan Akerson expressed his wish to put more distance between Germany-based Opel and the Bowtie brand. When the brand was launched in Europe in 2005, it focused on selling low-cost cars that were a little more than just rebadged, South Korean-built Daewoos. The business model was not popular and the company was hit hard by the economic crisis in Europe few years ago. Chevrolet tried to move upmarket and woo European buyers by focusing on its American heritage, but customers were not convinced by the company's new image and sales have been lingering at under 200,000 units with no signs of improvement. The final nail in Chevrolet's coffin came from Opel, GM's main European division. Most of the two companies' products are aimed at the same target audience and GM believes that shuttering Chevrolet will help Opel to return to profitability in its home market after years of crippling losses. Iconic Chevrolet models like the Corvette and the Camaro will continue to be imported with a Bowtie emblem but they will likely be distributed through Opel dealerships. Similarly, Opel dealerships will honor Chevrolet warranties and provide owners with parts and service. It is unsure how many jobs will be lost once Chevy's European arm shuts down.

Hi guys, i'm planning to visit Europe this October. Thinking of self driving. Plan to visit Swiztland, Germany, italy and France. 1) Anything to pay special attention to when driving is these countries? 2) International Drivers licence required? 3) Can i drive a rental car from country to country (example Germany to Swizertland) Any penalty? 4) What are the most recommended senic route in these countries? Tkx for all input.

Renault has unveiled their new 1.6-litre F1 engine at the 2013 Paris Air Show. The direct-injected V6 unit is equipped with an exhaust-driven turbocharger, two motor generator units (MGUs) with an Energy Recovery System (ERS). For reader's information, come 2014, the current 2.4-litre V8 engines which rev to a maximum of 18,000rpm will be replaced by 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged power units revving to a maximum of 15,000rpm. The MGUs are capable of producing 160bhp while the turbocharged 1.6-litre V6 churns out approximately 600bhp, bringing the combined output to roughly 760bhp. Although the output is higher than the current V8, fuel efficiency is claimed to improve vastly by about 35 percent. On the new engine, Renault's Deputy Managing Director (Technical), Rob White, explained, "The engines remain high-revving, ultra-high output competition engines. Fundamentally the engine noise will still be loud. The engine noise is just a turbocharged noise rather than a normally-aspirated noise: you can just hear the turbo when the driver lifts off the throttle and the engine speed drops. The sound of the new generation power units is just different (from the preceding V8)". Renault has released a video alongside with the launch and interestingly, it seemed like a video promoting Adidas products at certain points.

While cars and automobiles can be considered a hobby turned obsession, films have always been a more passion-driven interest for me. I wanted to become a cinematographer but decided against it due to personal reasons, and somehow ended up with a job within the automotive industry. I'm not complaining though. Occasionally a movie blends the best of both worlds - like Fast and the Furious or Death Race. And then there is the movie Rush, where it is a cocktail of three of my favourite interests cinema, cars and Formula One. Seldom have you walked out of a movie theatre where you get disturbed, enlightened or inspired. Rush added a high dose of high octane fuel to my already burning interest for cars and the sport and despite watching it three times, I'm still craving for more. The plot should be familiar by now. It tells the classic tale of rivalry between two men, two exceptional men in this case. Niki Lauda - a triple world champion, a perfectionist and a no nonsense guy vs James Hunt - a man with no fear, a playboy and a rockstar. While the main focus is on the 1976 Formula One Season, we do get a little back story for both characters portrayed by Daniel Bruhl, a Spanish born German actor and Chris 'Thor' Hemsworth. I have to applaud the production crew efforts for bringing 1976 back in 2013. The cars looked ancient, they sounded monstrous, and F1 looked so fragile. No high-tech machinery, radio or computer systems. No flamboyance, safety and the persistent threat of death loomed around the drivers. I'm not sure how true this is but Hunt apparently broke his gear shifter at the Japanese GP. The portrayal of Niki Lauda seemed near perfect while I couldn't really see Hemsworth as Hunt. I guess they just needed someone familiar to get the crowds coming in. There were some really good dialogues - especially between Lauda and Hunt. It was a love-hate relationship from the start - according to the movie at least. At times the movie felt like a free advertising campaign for Ferrari, with the score and camera angles seem to glorify an already holy team in the sport. But sadly the cars looked slower than they should be, even slower than the television telecast. Of course the highlight is the infamous crash at the Nurburgring, which personally seemed to be a spot on re-enactment of the actual event. The prosthetic burnt make-up makes you empathise with Lauda although he passes of as an arrogant, talented prick in the first half of the movie. The problem I had with the movie was it was struggling to tell a balanced story. I feel like I've learnt more about Hunt than I learnt about Lauda. But after watching it the third time, I can probably understand why. Lauda is a teetotaller in comparison to the wreck and damaged persona of Hunt but honestly who wants to watch a boring monotonous strict guy when we have Hunt who parties late into the night, has character issues and is a rebel in a car (and apparently a god in bed)? But as soon as the accident occurs, the movie is all about Lauda. It has to be, I mean that man got back to racing just 40 days after blowing half himself to hell. A classic tale of rivalry between two of the finest men, the world of Formula One has ever seen directed by a credible Ron Howard. Why should you miss it? If you like movies, you should watch it. If you like F1 cars and racing, you should watch it. And ladies, if you adore Chris Hemsworth, there is a particular scene early in the movie you might just appreciate. Rush is to F1 what Top Gun was for the Navy or Act of Valor, Special Forces, is to the Army. F1 is a dangerous sport and the movie addresses it but the rewards are endless. So long as you stay at the top, of course.

Toyota has released more details on the all new Corolla destined for the European market. Not only does the car look more sophisticated than the current model, it grew in all dimensions with a measurement of 4,620mm by 1,775mm by 1,465mm (L x W x H). The car is longer than the all new Mazda 3 sedan. The Euro-spec Corolla will be available with one diesel and four petrol engines. The 1.4-litre turbo diesel develops 89bhp with a peak torque of 205Nm. Transmission option for the oil-burner include a six-speed manual gearbox or a six-speed Multi-Mode transmission. The entry-level gasoline engine is a 1.33-litre Dual-VVT-I which generates 98bhp and 128Nm of torque. The engine is mated to a six-speed manual transmission. There are two 1.6-litre engines available for the Europe market – a Dual VVT-I unit with 120bhp and 154Nm of torque as well as a Valvematic version with 130bhp and 160Nm of torque. The lower-powered 1.6-litre comes with a six-speed manual transmission or an optional Multidrive S (CVT) transmission. The range-topper is a 1.8-litre Dual VVT-I unit with 138bhp and 173Nm of torque. The engine is mated exclusively to the Multidrive S transmission. Should we be concerned about the European Corolla? Yes we should, as sources indicate that the Australian and Asean Corolla share the same version as Europe.