Castrol to harrass drivers
MOTOR OIL COMPANY and BP subsidiary Castrol is about to start drive-by-badgering drivers about what kind of lubricant they should be using in their cars.
Thanks to some blue-sky, 'lets run it up the flagpole and see who salutes', 'push-the-envelope' thinking from ad agency Ogilvy Advertising, the firm will position cameras and blinking billboards by the side of the road and use them to flash oil suggestions at car drivers. The 'service' is so far only on trial and that will run for two weeks - or until some distracted driver loses control and smashes into one of the signs in question.
Thanks to a privacy-tickling arrangement with the DVLA, Castrol apparently is in a position to search for vehicle details based on licence plates, specifically the make and model of car, and use that to put up a display that tells drivers to change their oil to the most applicable formula.
Cameras will be placed in parts of London with slow moving traffic, which shouldn't be too hard to find, and will flash at drivers before telling them what type of Castrol oil they should be using. A bit like a backseat mother-in-law who works for Castrol.
No registration plate data will be stored, so no one will be able to tell what kind of car you drive unless, of course, they actually see you driving it.
There are five areas of London that drivers might want to avoid for a while and they are: Stamford Street in Blackfriars, Vauxhall Cross in Lambeth, Fulham Palace Road in Hammersmith, the Chiswick roundabout in Hounslow and Warwick Road in Kensington and Chelsea. µ
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another shining example of a government agency in bed with a private profit-making corporation
they make further profits at the expense of the privacy of citizens - you and me.
but it will give some dishonest politician a nice directorship to retire into
what a heartwarming thought...
And when did µ become an auto mag?
when stuck in slow moving traffic, one will have enough time to...
1) Leave Car
2) Smash Sign
3) Enter Car
4) Drive off really, really slowly.
NOTE TO SELF: Remember to put sledge hammer in car boot.
That should sort the stupid bastards.
Like most mortals, I take my car to the garage and have it serviced. I really do not care what brand of oil the mechanic uses, either - as long as it isn't sawdust or something similar.
Got a problem with that? Talk to my garage.
In many cases, using a fancy oil with built-in detergents in an engine that has only had "traditional" oils used in it, is a very good way to bugger up your engine. So, leave well enough alone.
...of why we don't want govs having databases on us. Function creep.
Dread to think what they can, and will, do with our full ID, children's birth details, online and phone information, medical details, and many others.
They already sell the compulsory Electoral Roll to credit agencies and banks. £1000 fine if you don't sign up.
Since they'll pimp your data for 2.50 a pop it feel they're fit for purpose.
I dont really see everyones problem with this. You can go on the DVLA website put in any reg number in and get them make and model of car at no cost already !
So its not like the government is selling off secret information to another corperation its all there to be seen by anyone who cares to look.
I'm pretty sure that any form of blinking lights, or similar such distractions were illegal on advertising boards - at least up until the DVLA sold their spine to Castrol for tuppence.
What has England become, but a testing ground for manipulation of the masses. How much will they bend over for and as Oliver said" Please Sir may I have some more.
BP/Castrol for wrong information when their engine dies?
BP/Castrol keep telling me to use 0W-30 fully synth Edge when I know I should use 10w-40 semi-synth because thats what the handbook states.
Besides stopped using Castrol when their marketing department kept on reducing the size of their packs from 5l to 4.5l now to 4l and used the excuse that people were using the larger packs for topping up purposes only.
Me VW rabbit's gone tits down on swilling pints of inner slippery bits.
No mother. You'll only find me sauntéring al a carte behind four well-heeled pig's trotters trouncing trough the foie gras, or dancing the pistachio shoufflé.
I'm sure there must be other car-cases to eshew and sod off gnawing all about mine.
Greasemonkey and snippets! Everywhere a sign that signs don't know Ilchester from Limburger when they cut the cheese.
"vehicle details based on licence plates"
We usually call them "number plates" down our way.