Andrew Clews

@crackedwindscreen

Half of the MotoringPodcast, "motoring's Hinge & Bracket". Told "you don't sound thick" by Roy Lanchester. UK Car of the Year judge. www.motoringpodcast.com

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Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· 27d

Don’t know why we bothered. Have we finally encountered jeopardy? You’ll have to listen to tomorrow to find out. #RechargingRoundBritain

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· 27d

You’ll have to trust us that there’s a fabulous view of the Orkneys beyond all the dead insects 😬 Day 5 of #RechargingRoundBritain is well underway.

The road into John O’Groats from the passenger seat of a car with a lot of dead bugs on the windscreen. In the distance is the start of the Orkneys.

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· 28d

M’collegue has treated me during this #RechargingRoundBritain with an I-Spy book! Many ticks have been made. (He hated me pointing out all the birds I spotted a decade ago, this is to shut me up).

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· 28d

Day 4 proper driving has begun. We make our way over the wall today. (Apologies for the rubbish photo)

A poor photograph of the Angel of the North, from the passenger seat of a car heading north on the A1.

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· 29d

Continuing to recreate a decade ago. Hello Humber Bridge! #RRB #RechargingRoundBritain

Passenger viewpoint, whilst travelling north over the Humber Bridge in actual sunshine, with a blue sky!

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Jul 13

Charge No.2 of the day! This time 10 years ago we’d charged 4 or 5 times, or attempted to anyway. This is a big improvement. #RRB #RechargingRoundBritain

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Jul 10

Remember everyone, keep hydrated and replace the salts and minerals you lose due to the heat. Cin cin.

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Jul 9

A screen grab of Autotrader (UK car marketplace website) that shows the number of Volvos available with less than 100 miles on the clock.

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Jul 8

Whoever designed this PSA diesel engine layout and did this to the power steering fluid positioning (behind a bracket that needs a special nut shape to get it off), I hope they spend the afterlife in hell standing on really sharp lego, barefoot.

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· May 19

Do you know who’s ace? @mrjalco.bsky.social is. Go check out his shop. He has so many great things to buy. mrjalco.myshopify.com

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Sep 30

I agree with 1. I agree with 2 but it also needs to be added to "Behaviour and Inexperience". 3 and 4 also need moving to "Behaviour and Inexperience". 5 makes it very clear it should be in "Behaviour and Inexperience" it even says it in the explanation, FFS. 6 is utterly irrelevant.

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Aug 29

Not only that, but anyone remember the David Bellamy I-Spy Cars book?

Cover of the 1980s David Bellamy I-Spy Cars book.

Order of Merit page if you completed the I-Spy book.

Two pages from inside the I-Spy Cars book. Lefthand page has a Lada and a Lancia. Right hand page has two Lotus.

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Aug 29

Cover of the 1980s Spotters Guide to Cars of Europe, Japan and Australia from Usborne Pocketbooks.

Two pages from within the Usborne Spotters Guide to Cars. First page shows a Rover car, a Land Rover Series 3 and a Range Rover. The second page shows a Saab 99, a Saab 900 and a Skoda Estelle.

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Aug 22

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Aug 13

I would love someone being able to explain how all these Ariya variants are eligible for the electric car grant, considering its built in Japan AND most cost over £37k which should make them ineligible. Just WTF is going on? The rules are the rules until the rules don't matter?

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Aug 11

Oh it gets better, by the way Nick. According to Nissan GB's own website the Ariya starts at £39,650. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, that is not, in fact, under £37,000.......

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Aug 11

This statement from the UK Government is a flat out lie. There are no campaigns about making homes safer. Check the data on serious injuries and deaths and it dwarfs roads ones - that’s not belittling road injuries just adding context.

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Aug 8

The attached screenshots are from Microsoft, talking about how they are implementing age verification on Xbox. My boiling rage at our politicians reaches a new height. Essentially, most are going to be cut off or lie about their age.

When restrictions to social features begin early next year, how will third-party services like discord be affected?

If you're based in the UK and 18 or older, you'll need to verify your age on Xbox by early next year to keep full access to social features. Without age verification:

You'll only be able to communicate with friends on Xbox.
You won't be able to use third-party services like Discord.
Features like Looking for Group and Custom Clubs will be unavailable.
Broadcasting gameplay to Discord or Twitch from your console will be turned off.

To avoid these limits, make sure your age is verified in your Xbox account settings.

What happens if I don't verify my age?

Players who don't verify their age between now and early 2026 can continue to play and enjoy Xbox. However, starting early next year, access to certain social features will be limited to friends only unless age verification is complete.
Until your account is age verified, you'll only be able to use the following features with Xbox friends:

Voice and text communication
Party functionality and game invites
User generated content (including Activity Feed)

You won't be able to use:

Looking for Group
Custom clubs

To unlock full access to social features, make sure your account is age verified.

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Jul 27

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Jul 23

That is lovely. I have something a little bit similar, that I took, that also gives me a calmness. Taken on iPhone, using a long exposure app to help with the water. It was a grey day and it all just felt serene.

A photograph of the sea, with three rocks poking out of the water on the right hand side of the shot, just below the horizon. With clouds in the sky.

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Jul 20

That was a rather excellent way to spend a Saturday evening! Had a blast watching the live @garethjonestv.bsky.social On Speed 20th anniversary show, with @sniffpetrol.com and Zog. Caught up with someone I haven’t seen in years. Also Sniff and Zog were very kind to chat to me too!

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Jul 12

As an update to the whole gravel and tar road “maintenance”, it’s so hot it’s not setting well and that a day after they did it. Plus, as expected and said by someone (sorry forgot who) they didn’t cover the drains.

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Jul 12

As @ajpbradley.bsky.social said as we covered the story of councils having to publicly state what road maintenance they’ve done, what constitutes “repair”, “maintenance” and to what quality. This is the sh*test thing my council could do. Not fixing underlying issues just cost it. Gaming systems.

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Jun 29

Does this help?

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Jun 5

There are no depths that the autonomous vehicle community will stoop to, in order to con people. Y'know how much AI data centres are hammering the environment, what do you think is happening with AV companies? And that's the tip of the iceberg.

A screenshot of a conference roundtable, that says "The role of autonomous vehicles in the green transition. @ Earthfest Stage".

This is, of course, not a real thing to suggest and shows how much the industry is prepared to lie to get people to try and accept a technology that does not and can never, as developed, work. Telling that so many shills for them have moved onto AI.

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· May 10

On the UK version, it says this in the Grant of License section of the Terms of Use. Had a quick peek this morning.

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· May 1

This! So, so much this, from Rory Sutherland.

A screenshot of a comment from Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman at Ogilvy UK, on LinkedIn regarding his discussion with Scott Galloway, where he writes "There’s something rather intoxicating — dare I say, sexy — about stumbling upon someone who understands that not everything valuable can be measured, and not everything measured is valuable. Absolute Joy. "

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Apr 4

Saw Instavolt proudly saying how they've upgraded these chargers, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, and this is not just an Instavolt issue, look at the parking spaces. Look at how small they are. Look at how difficult it would be for two side-by-side to charge. As a user, its maddening.

Andrew Clews@crackedwindscreen· Dec 7

More cliched sunsets, of a different type. Again all via my phone. #iphonephotography #sunset