zx, 17 years old, nissan micra very old as well and a kangoo. all french. We did not even bother to bring a car with us.
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And without! I come across these pulleys on most modern cars whereas a few years ago alternators did not have them & did not suffer unduly as a result. I cannot remember ever having to replace an alternator because the windings had come apart. (Iām a garagiste)
This from http://www.eurekamagazine.co.uk-
"The function of the overrunning alternator pulley is to decouple the generator from the rotational irregularity of the crankshaft of an internal combustion engine. The large mass of the generator cannot follow the high irregularities of the crankshaft at engine start and drive resonances. Therefore it comes to differences of rotation angle speeds of crankshaft to alternator. Contrary to a rigid wheel the overrunning alternator pulley opens in overhauling direction. The alternator mass and their influences are decoupled from the accessory drive. In addition, the overrunning alternator pulley decouples the alternatorās inertial torque during a significant engine speed deceleration such as changing gears."
This makes as much sense as this video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXW0bx_Ooq4
Ok Mark, didnāt know that, when my pulley failed on the previous car, I replaced it and Eurocarparts said they are on all aircon models.
As you say do we really need them? (former garagiste)
Tuk-tuk
Drove one in India, made the (taxi) driver sit in the back as he was pissed, great fun but not for the faint hearted.
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I got broken ribs in Peshawar in one of those. Alas the comfort of any non-tracked vehicle is only as good as the road it is onā¦
ouch, not good.
My tuk-tuk is a brand new Renault Captur with all the bells and whistles. Just put on winter tires on. Spec says tires are good for 200+ km/h. I might get to that speed going downhill.
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Very interesting thread, Mandy, lots of nerdily interesting responses 
We came over to settle here in a 1976 Series 3 Landrover which Iād bought ten years earlier, and I had doubts it would actually make it to the ferry, it was loaded to the roof, a four speed gear-box, no power steering, seats like a fair-ground dodgem-car, and 1/4 inch gaps round all the doors and windows.
Itās very scruffy but still runs around town, pulls up tree-stumps in our orchard, and transports bales of straw and bundles of firewood without worrying about the mess.
The engine always fires, ticks over like a sewing machine, and pulls like the Flying Scotsman.
When we bought the house there was a 1992 Volvo 940 estate at the bottom of the garden, covered in ivy and nettles, hunkered down to the wheel-rims in the soft earth. It had French plates but was RHD. The house vendor, a Brit, told me it hadnāt moved for a year, but was āa runnerā, and he had no papers for it. It took me six months to trace the āprevious ownerā, who was an elderly gent with advanced dementia, in whose name the Volvo was registered (another Brit).
Fortunately his kindly wife was mandataire judiciaire and we eventually managed to obtain legal title to the beautiful and comfortable old car, which was widely admired, and much sought after by passers-by. Driving it was like being on the bridge of HMS Queen Mary. It ran like a dream for almost two years, then the engine died suddenly and it went to scrap.
Now we drive a 2008 LHD Ford C-Max Ghia which we bought from a local garagiste, with 170,000 km on the clock, but in mint condition inside and out. It was very reassuring to read comments about the reliability of high-āmileageā vehicles, which are surprisingly common here in Normandy, and seem to be very well-kept. The Ford drives very well, and all the gadgets work. It sits alongside the Landy on our parking, sadly we have no garage that will fit it, Iām looking for one to rent.
Iāve had French cars in the past in UK and I like Renault very much, and Peugeot which was very popular in sub-Saharan Africa when we lived there, and deservedly so for staying power and easy maintenance. All police vehicles were Peugeot and most taxis, often held together with wire and prayers. 
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What a fantastic car history you have. Thanks for posting.
How soon before we are electric? Tesla model 3 looks good if only Elon would realise some of us like hatchbacks and estates. One Chap in the UK is doing conversions of model s to an Estate (available on YouTube).
Better battery technology on the horizon, I wonāt buy until they are 400miles range and affordable. I may consider converting the Scenic to electric in 2019 as I wonāt be able to drive around without a Ā£12 daily charge!
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First car was a Renault 16 back in the late 60s in Paris and I stuck with Renault for years ā R25, Safrane and even, briefly, an R5 Gordini. Then there was, again briefly, a Ford Capri 3 litre, a real monster. In Barbados I was saddled with a company Allegro ā the gear lever came away in my hand ā and I then had a Mini for some years followed by a Rover (company car) and then, in Kenya, a Land Rover 109 series 2 which took us all over the country and even into the Safari Rally as a support car, a Toyota which had been tuned by its previous boy racer owner and went far faster than it was supposed to, and a Mazda. But since retiring Iāve switched to VW because the door handle on my final Renault fell off after less than 24 hours!. Currently driving a Passat SW Alltrack, which is a brilliant machine, and an UP! for my wife to go shopping. Favourite out of that lot? The Land Rover which we loved and which took us to so many wonderful places in Kenya.
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Currently have a 5 year Renault Rag (aka Dacia Duster) which I got at 3 years old, previous owner was a Brit in Dept60. Only regret is the lack of space in the boot (Itās the 4WD version).
Before that it was a Honda CRV, Discovery, Opel Sintra, Opel Frontera and a R21 4x4 Estate. All company cars. The Opels were difficult to get spares for.
Living where I live, if I was buying new, it would have to be Peugeot, Renault or Citroen as getting anything else serviced would mean a long round trip.
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I bought an ex demo Skoda Yeti in 2016, which has so many accessories, that i haveānt found all of them, let alone used them. The hand book is like War and Peace, and thatās before you get to the second hand book for the media / GPS system. Before that i had a 15 year old Ford Focus estate LHD. I also have a Moto Guzzi Bellagio motorcycle.
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Know the feeling, Stephen. The Alltrack hand book is more than 500 pages thick and that, as you say, is not including the media/gps system manual. Discovered the other day when changing tyres for winter that I didnāt know how to stop the automatic hand brake from cutting in. Mechanics not amused by the time it took me to work that out:grinning:
Your mention of Africa sparked my interest. As a child i lived in Ghana and the Kenya. We had several cars when we there. Morris 1000 Traveller. āBeetle backā Standard Vanguard. Fiat Topolino, and 2 VW beetles which were bullet proof. I used to go and watch the East African Safari with my father, when Joginder Singh, āThe flying Sikhā, was starting to come to prominence. There were very few tarmac roads back then. Nairobi to Mombasa used to take about 12 hours with stops.
Funnily enough, when first driving in the UK I owned the following: Red Fiat 500 (crashed), Fiat 850, travelled through France from Dieppe and over the Jura mountains to Lake Geneva and the French Alps around Mont Blanc where my love affair with France began. Then when married had two old Renault 10s - one rusted away, the other had brake failure on Brighton seafront outside the Grand Hotel so glided into their drop-off area much to the disgust of the top-hatted doorman. After that, several years of company cars, several Peugeots (that French thing again!) then after my wife died and I made the decision to buy in France for second home use I bought a new RHD Fiat Panda because it was a good deal, low road tax, had four doors plus hatchback and was good to drive (Jeremy Clarkson I am not!). Now I am permanently in France and the car is three years old I am looking at changing it for a LHD. Anyone know a reliable seller of second hand cars in the Normandy area who would take my RHD Panda in part exchange?
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The Mombasa road was tarmacked when we were there. At least, it had been at
some point. Most of it was huge potholes and the drive took just about as
long.
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1994 FIAT UNO 60D, has now done 486,000 kms.
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Thatās impressive!
