More Cars! (and toilets...)
There's a lot of differences between here and Canada. Some are instantly noticable (like people driving on the left), and you get used to them very quickly. However, it's the little differences that really take ages to catch on to, and until you do, they can drive you insane.
Driving on the left is a huge, noticeable difference, but it makes for a few other small changes that take longer to get used to. For example, looking to the right first before crossing a road. I still don't have this one nailed. I've almost been smoked by several cars, since I naturally look left, don't see anyone, then prepare to start crossing, only to have a car fly by from the right on my side of the road. Also, you have to remember to walk to the left of people. I've pretty well caught on to this one now, but for the first while I was always nearly bumping into people, since they expect you to pass by them on the left...
There is one little difference, however, that is driving me absolutely bananas. The light switches here flick down, rather than up, to activate the light.
!
Every time there's a two-switch panel, with one light on that I want to turn off, I get it wrong EVERY time, and switch on the other light. Every time....
One difference that I absolutely love, however, is the toilets. I've come to the conclusion that the toilets here are completely uncloggable. First of all, the piping in the bottom of the loo is about 6 inches in diameter, rather than the measly 2 or so back home. Secondly, all toilets here have a near pressure-washer style flush action, seemingly powering several gallons a second through the bowl. Modern toilets have two different flush buttons on them, one for half-flush, and another for full-flush. Half-flush powers water down for an average of around 3 seconds, while Full-flush launches the full on bowl-typhoon for an average of 7 or 8 seconds. The toilet in my bathroom, however, is older and does not feature the half-flush function, and has a more potent than average full-flush. I've counted - it power-pressure-insano flushes for a full 11 seconds. Yeah, baby!
Just don't ask if the toilets here swirl in the opposite direction. I have no idea.
On Saturday (26.02.05), for lack of anything better to do, I walked into Parramatta to see what it was like, and also to check out yet more car dealers ;D The first dealer I came across was one that I had not found in CBD, Peugeot.
Peugeot 206 GTi180
Peugeot 607
Sharing a lot with the Peugeot dealer (and also the MGRover, Land Rover, Porsche, and Honda dealers) was the Parramatta Alfa Romeo dealer. The sales people here were also friendly but seemed less inclined to just chat, except for an old Italian guy who, from what I understood through his heavy accent, seemed to be talking about Toronto-based Italians sitting on bushels of figs. I politely wandered away from him at the first available opportunity...
Alfa Romeo GT
Alfa Romeo GT
Alfa Romeo GT
The Hondas here are mostly the same as the ones in Canada, with a few exceptions. Since minivans are not huge sellers here, they tend to be smaller and more luxurious, rather than utilitarian. The Honda Odyssey here continued along the path set by the original, staying small-ish with four regular doors, rather than being big-ish with sliding doors and other touches of Americana-Minivania. I didn't, however, feel it worthy of a picture, until I looked inside it - beautiful interior!
Honda Odyssey
Next up was the BMW dealer. Again, most of their cars are the same here as in Canada, but here they offer the new, small 1-series, the only available rear-wheel-drive small hatchback. Too bad it's underpowered even with the biggest engine...
BMW 120i
Also, they still have a Compact version of the 3 series, which was only offered in Canada on the previous model. Oh well, it's not very good looking anyways, has a miniscule engine, and is overpriced for what you get.
BMW 318 Compact
They did, though, have some exemplary BMWs in stock, including the new 6 series and several 7 series.
After BMW was Subaru, but there was nothing new, aside from a new shade of blue, so I proceeded through, the Volkswagen dealer to.
Volkswagen Golf R32
Volkswagen Golf
HSV Monaro GTO
I was quite shocked at the massive size of the Mercedes-Benz dealer - presumably they are doing quite well for themselves.
Mercedes-Benz dealer
Parramatta Kia, however, is apparently not.
Kia dealer
Before reaching the Mercedes dealer, however, I still had a few to go through on my current side of the street. Toyota? Nothing interesting. Mitsubishi? Nothing interesting. Daihatsu? Nothing interesting. Citroën? Nothi...hold on a second...what in God's green earth is that?!?
Citroën C3 Pluriel
Citroën C3 Pluriel
The Citroën C3 Pluriel. The fabric roof can slide back to the rear window as a full length sunroof, or you can remove it and the rear window altogether, lower all the windows, and have a very strange, open car. I like it. I'd never be caught dead driving one, mind you, but I like it.
Also on hand was this limited edition C3 XTR, apparently designed to look like an off-roader. Too bad it isn't.
Citroën C3 XTR
The facelifted C5...
Citroën C5
...and the awesome little C2 VTR.
Citroën C2 VTR
OK, time to cross the street. Remember to look right first...
Inside the Mercedes dealer, I find what I expected - not much different from Canada. They do, however, have the new smart forfour, smart roadster, and Mercedes-Benz A-Klasse.
smart forfour
smart roadster
Mercedes-Benz A160
Also, though all the other models are the same, they are often offered here with smaller engine options than in Canada, as exemplified by this E240 wagon, which presumably can barely make it up a hill.
Mercedes-Benz E240 Estate
Coming across the Nissan dealer, I was able to fulfil my first and so far only picture request, by Adrian, of an S15 model Silvia.
Nissan 200SX
Nissan 200SX
Next, after completely skipping past the Ssangyong dealer, I stumbled across Renault. The sales guys in there were extremely friendly, and I ended up chatting with them for over an hour. Renault sales still aren't extremely high since their return to the Australian market in 2001 (I think), so it's not like they had much better to do.
Renault Megane Hatch
Renault Clio
Renault Megane Hatch
Renault Megane Sedan and Cabrio
Renault Laguna Hatch
Renault Laguna Hatch
Finally, I got to the last dealer, Suzuki, where I took pictures of the new Swift, specifically for Adrian (though he didn't request them).
Suzuki Swift
Suzuki Swift
One thing I observed while in downtown Parramatta is the contrast in money levels between here and Sydney CBD. While most people in downtown Parramatta seem to be quite well off, the people in CBD seem to be downright rich. New Ferraris, Porsches, etc, are the norm in CBD, but in Parramatta, you tend to see modified older cars instead.
Nissan Skyline, Toyota Supra
Driving on the left is a huge, noticeable difference, but it makes for a few other small changes that take longer to get used to. For example, looking to the right first before crossing a road. I still don't have this one nailed. I've almost been smoked by several cars, since I naturally look left, don't see anyone, then prepare to start crossing, only to have a car fly by from the right on my side of the road. Also, you have to remember to walk to the left of people. I've pretty well caught on to this one now, but for the first while I was always nearly bumping into people, since they expect you to pass by them on the left...
There is one little difference, however, that is driving me absolutely bananas. The light switches here flick down, rather than up, to activate the light.
!
Every time there's a two-switch panel, with one light on that I want to turn off, I get it wrong EVERY time, and switch on the other light. Every time....
One difference that I absolutely love, however, is the toilets. I've come to the conclusion that the toilets here are completely uncloggable. First of all, the piping in the bottom of the loo is about 6 inches in diameter, rather than the measly 2 or so back home. Secondly, all toilets here have a near pressure-washer style flush action, seemingly powering several gallons a second through the bowl. Modern toilets have two different flush buttons on them, one for half-flush, and another for full-flush. Half-flush powers water down for an average of around 3 seconds, while Full-flush launches the full on bowl-typhoon for an average of 7 or 8 seconds. The toilet in my bathroom, however, is older and does not feature the half-flush function, and has a more potent than average full-flush. I've counted - it power-pressure-insano flushes for a full 11 seconds. Yeah, baby!
Just don't ask if the toilets here swirl in the opposite direction. I have no idea.
On Saturday (26.02.05), for lack of anything better to do, I walked into Parramatta to see what it was like, and also to check out yet more car dealers ;D The first dealer I came across was one that I had not found in CBD, Peugeot.
Peugeot 206 GTi180
Peugeot 607
Sharing a lot with the Peugeot dealer (and also the MGRover, Land Rover, Porsche, and Honda dealers) was the Parramatta Alfa Romeo dealer. The sales people here were also friendly but seemed less inclined to just chat, except for an old Italian guy who, from what I understood through his heavy accent, seemed to be talking about Toronto-based Italians sitting on bushels of figs. I politely wandered away from him at the first available opportunity...
Alfa Romeo GT
Alfa Romeo GT
Alfa Romeo GT
The Hondas here are mostly the same as the ones in Canada, with a few exceptions. Since minivans are not huge sellers here, they tend to be smaller and more luxurious, rather than utilitarian. The Honda Odyssey here continued along the path set by the original, staying small-ish with four regular doors, rather than being big-ish with sliding doors and other touches of Americana-Minivania. I didn't, however, feel it worthy of a picture, until I looked inside it - beautiful interior!
Honda Odyssey
Next up was the BMW dealer. Again, most of their cars are the same here as in Canada, but here they offer the new, small 1-series, the only available rear-wheel-drive small hatchback. Too bad it's underpowered even with the biggest engine...
BMW 120i
Also, they still have a Compact version of the 3 series, which was only offered in Canada on the previous model. Oh well, it's not very good looking anyways, has a miniscule engine, and is overpriced for what you get.
BMW 318 Compact
They did, though, have some exemplary BMWs in stock, including the new 6 series and several 7 series.
After BMW was Subaru, but there was nothing new, aside from a new shade of blue, so I proceeded through, the Volkswagen dealer to.
Volkswagen Golf R32
Volkswagen Golf
HSV Monaro GTO
I was quite shocked at the massive size of the Mercedes-Benz dealer - presumably they are doing quite well for themselves.
Mercedes-Benz dealer
Parramatta Kia, however, is apparently not.
Kia dealer
Before reaching the Mercedes dealer, however, I still had a few to go through on my current side of the street. Toyota? Nothing interesting. Mitsubishi? Nothing interesting. Daihatsu? Nothing interesting. Citroën? Nothi...hold on a second...what in God's green earth is that?!?
Citroën C3 Pluriel
Citroën C3 Pluriel
The Citroën C3 Pluriel. The fabric roof can slide back to the rear window as a full length sunroof, or you can remove it and the rear window altogether, lower all the windows, and have a very strange, open car. I like it. I'd never be caught dead driving one, mind you, but I like it.
Also on hand was this limited edition C3 XTR, apparently designed to look like an off-roader. Too bad it isn't.
Citroën C3 XTR
The facelifted C5...
Citroën C5
...and the awesome little C2 VTR.
Citroën C2 VTR
OK, time to cross the street. Remember to look right first...
Inside the Mercedes dealer, I find what I expected - not much different from Canada. They do, however, have the new smart forfour, smart roadster, and Mercedes-Benz A-Klasse.
smart forfour
smart roadster
Mercedes-Benz A160
Also, though all the other models are the same, they are often offered here with smaller engine options than in Canada, as exemplified by this E240 wagon, which presumably can barely make it up a hill.
Mercedes-Benz E240 Estate
Coming across the Nissan dealer, I was able to fulfil my first and so far only picture request, by Adrian, of an S15 model Silvia.
Nissan 200SX
Nissan 200SX
Next, after completely skipping past the Ssangyong dealer, I stumbled across Renault. The sales guys in there were extremely friendly, and I ended up chatting with them for over an hour. Renault sales still aren't extremely high since their return to the Australian market in 2001 (I think), so it's not like they had much better to do.
Renault Megane Hatch
Renault Clio
Renault Megane Hatch
Renault Megane Sedan and Cabrio
Renault Laguna Hatch
Renault Laguna Hatch
Finally, I got to the last dealer, Suzuki, where I took pictures of the new Swift, specifically for Adrian (though he didn't request them).
Suzuki Swift
Suzuki Swift
One thing I observed while in downtown Parramatta is the contrast in money levels between here and Sydney CBD. While most people in downtown Parramatta seem to be quite well off, the people in CBD seem to be downright rich. New Ferraris, Porsches, etc, are the norm in CBD, but in Parramatta, you tend to see modified older cars instead.
Nissan Skyline, Toyota Supra
posted by Mark Brown at 7:05 pm
2 Comments:
Wow i stumbled on your page though google pics of Silvia s15. The pictures you have taken are amazing. Such great quality. And the way you descibe each picture is more then great.
-gino ivtecc@msn.com
Thanks! Your comment means a lot to me as I just started to take up the hobby of photography within the past couple years, and have been working on constantly improving my photographing abilities.
Glad you found and liked the site! :)
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