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30 gennaio Boxing not so clever in SicilyPeter Burgess writes:
A touch of winter sun is always welcome in January, so it was great to be heading for Sicily today to drive the new Boxsters. Or not so very new, as it turns out, for this is a rework of the car you can buy today with some dynamic tweaks and a new direct injection engine for the 3.4S. More interesting is the fact that the base Boxster now has 255hp, more than the original S, yet it still costs less that £34k. Annoying that Porsche left them all at home, just bringing the S with PDK transmission.
Still at least my co-driver – George Fowler from the esteemed Daily Star – and I were allocated a car in a subtle off-white colour. Just take a look at this green Boxster that will look so good in the magazine colour spreads but no one will ever buy. Or the silver car with the tasteful facing numbers and stripes.
But hey this is Italy where anything goes. George whips up to 225kph as soon as the autoroute clears and we both know this is another special Porsche experience. It gets odder by the hour though, as we wind down increasingly narrow roads to be met on three separate occasions by shepherds and their flocks.
Then we go off-roading, or it seems like it, for what’s left of the tarmac surface is broken and potholed. Neither of us are quite sure what Porsche was hoping to prove here. We now know the Boxster will wade through 20cm of water quite well, and the undertray bottoms out rather too readily.
Hopefully tomorrow will be drier to we can play a bit more with the new chassis settings. Peter --- Links: First Drive: 2009 Porsche Cayman ---
28 gennaio Minis on ice
Dan Trent writes: Tom's not the only member of the MSN Cars team to have been fooling about on snow and ice - I've been having a crack too, the Mini Convertible launch earlier this week including a chance to skid around on the snow on a little track marked out in a car park. To be fair they needn't have bothered - the road there having given us plenty of opportunity to test out the Mini's ability in the snow.
Either way, on hand to demonstrate how should be done properly was rally legend Rauno Aaltonen, winner of the Monte Carlo rally in a Mini Cooper back in 1967. He claimed to have come up with left foot braking after rallying front-wheel drive Saabs back home in Finland in the snow and finding he kept crashing. But by balancing throttle and brakes he came up with a way of getting front-wheel drive cars sideways, a technique he used to great effect in the Mini. Now 71 years old, he clearly still enjoys driving, chuckling 'I love it!' after giving me an amazing display of what 50 years of finely honed skill and a set of studded tyres can achieve. A crazy hat helps too it seems.
Inspired I set out to have a go myself. Frankly I was rubbish but, stubborn as ever, I plugged away, the bloke running the track rolling his eyes in despair every time I rocked up at the start line. 'Don't fight the car - drive smoothly!' he'd shout in vain as I'd roar off, snow spraying from spinning front wheels. For one brief moment I thought I had it as the Mini slid one way and then the other in what felt like a graceful arc. But my track manager chap had seen enough: 'You have had too many laps, you have to leave now,' he said, trudging off grumpily to replace the scattered cones I'd left in my wake. Dan --- Links: Mini Convertible chills in Austria --- Share It
27 gennaio Ice driving Skodas in LaplandTom Evans writes: Skoda is launching a bunch of new 4x4s this year, and I was lucky enough to join a select group of UK journos and accompanied Skoda and many European hacks to Kiruna in Northern Sweden for a couple of days of driving – and drifting - on icy roads and snow tracks. We went to drive the Octavia facelift in 4x4 form, and the mighty Superb 3.6 petrol V6 4x4 which won’t sell in big numbers in the UK but will definitely be of great interest to our readers if only for the novelty value. It wasn't here unfortunately, but the new Skoda Yeti 4x4 is also launching this year. After a 4am start it’s off to the (totally awesome) Heathrow Terminal 5. I love this place a lot, as much as I loathe Terminals 1 to 3. It seems very well designed, clean, airy – bravo. After a flight via Stockholm we arrive at the rather other worldly Kiruna airport which really does feel slightly on the edge of the world. I say airport but it really is something more like an airstrip really:
After a briefing – which involved among other things Swedish Skoda people talking English to Swedish journalists (we are soooooo lucky to be English on this front), and the usual Scandic warnings about the dire consequences of speeding, it’s off into the cars:
My journalist colleagues Dan Stevens (Autocar- left below ) and James Foxall (News of the World) take an Octavia each, while I drive a 3.6 Superb with Helen Bainbridge of the Skoda press office and Robert Hazelwood, who is the boss of the Skoda brand in the UK. A full first drive review of the car is to follow, but I can confirm that it was warm (lucky – it was -10 and worse outside) and felt planted on treacherous icy road surfaces:
We get off to a bad start and take an immediate wrong turning, and Dan and James immediately give up on us and storm ahead. Back on course, the three of us have a good chat about the joys of the economic climate in general, and the UK car market in particular. Robert confirms that sales of the new Superb, which only began in September, are ahead of target – an outcome nothing short of miraculous given that the UK car market fell off a cliff in the last 4 months of 2008. After a brief stop for coffee and chocolate at the entrance gate to EsRange – the centre of the Swedish space industry – it’s off to our snug hotel in Kiruna. My room has not only a Jacuzzi – but also its own sauna. The first I love and wallow in for as long as possible, the second I could live without; still, never had a personal sauna before....
Then a change into complicated cold-weather gear (there is a good reason for this), and much exchange of abuse about who looked more ridiculous. Here I am with Martin Lauer, head of Skoda PR:
So off we go on a bus to the famous Kiruna Ice Hotel. This is a hotel... made of ice. And it’s really quite... cool. Divided into about two dozen quirkily designed bedrooms, it is certainly different, but no place for claustrophobes:
After an explore, we retire to the bar for some vodka served from, suitably enough, glasses also made from ice:
Next stop, a sleigh ride towed by increasingly manic huskies. Or rather, they were manic until they realised they had 3 heavy motoring journos to haul around, together with the rather more svelte Helen and the Norwegian girl on the back. It was a hilarious journey through deep snow, deep darkness and a general lack of knowledge about where we were going:
Still, our Norwegian did which was good, and we exchanged industry gossip from Detroit interspersed with hard leans to left and right to try and avoid a general capsize. It was really cold now and I realised that my £5 gloves from Marks & Sparks were ill equipped for the Swedish winter and I start to worry my fingers are going to fall off from frostbite. Helen seemed to enjoy it: Finally after what seemed like a long ride we arrive at a hut in the middle of nowhere for a cup of gluewein in front of a brazier – an early 80s scene that I fear we may see more of in 2009 – and then a delicious meal involving moose and various other local grub, and rather unlocal but still very good wine:
(left to right: Helen Bainbridge, James Foxall, Tom Evans, Dan Stevens, Tom Evans, and Robert Hazelwood) Industry banter and gossip dominated the evening. Robert asked us who were the best speaking car company executives. Cue long silence; many don’t have English as a first language, and are automotive engineers – neither of which lend themselves to Peter Ustinov levels of raconteurship. I offer Jurgen Schrempp, ex head of Daimler; some vague agreement, but Dan points out that, as the author of DaimlerChrysler, his name would not necessarily go down in glory in the history books, although that factor wasn’t the question. John De Lorean had bags of charisma too, by all accounts... Out we go into -15, and skidoo-towed ride up to a nearby bus:
where a Swedish journo promptly asks me about the hot news of the day: the revealing of the identity of The Stig. Dan, Robert and James are brave and will share a room for the night in the Ice Hotel, where I will stay in the boring one, which I feel glad if cowardly about. I share a late night cigarette with Martin Lauer of Skoda; we all agree that something went very wrong in the car economy around September/October, and that 2009 would be an interesting year.... Up bright and early for a briefing at the airstrip. The Icehotel gang have mixed reports – they’re glad they did it, but not necessarily queuing up to do it again. Having to dress up in full-on snowkit when they wanted to go to the loo was a bind it seems.... Ice driving is next:
What a lot of fun this was – two icy tracks, and some powerful 4x4 cars and ESP traction control that was most certainly off. With it on the cars wouldn’t let you do much apart from stop. With it on, it allowed you to slip, slide, spin and generally do anything you liked, and the worst that could happen was that you would get stuck in a snowbank and suffer the ignominy of having a giant JCB come and tow you out. Then off to a drifting circuit, where the intention was to, well, drift the backside off a Superb V6:
Which took some doing for some of us, especially if the ESP had been left on by accident. Ultimately the nice man from Skoda had to show us how to do it: Finally the slalom, which was more or less impossible without ESP but a lot more fun.
ESP on: ESP off: The morning ended with strong coffee and good humour:
And thence back to the airstrip and, via Stockholm, home. An enjoyable trip and we met some great people, both journos from elsewhere and various folk from around the Skoda company who believe their range of sensible, good value cars will see them survive the current nightmare better than most. Tom 26 gennaio Mini Convertible chills in AustriaDan Trent writes: Greetings from a very chilly Austria where - bizarrely - Mini has chosen to launch its second generation cabrio version. Can you spot the difference? Nope, nor can I. There's more to it than that of course, of which more later, but I did get chatting after dinner with Mini designer Marcus Syring in an effort to find out why it looks so similar to the last one.
Marcus is a proper Mini fan too, his first being a Corgi toy before progressing to a real one - a 1992 Cooper - that rusted to dust on German winter roads. He now has another that stays tucked up for summer weekends only. Anyway, clearly adhering to the familiar Mini shape does somewhat limit his ability to break the mould design wise but he's clearly happy to be working with a shape he's loved since childhood. And points to lots of little details harking back to the 60s original, like the hexagon-shaped plastic grille pattern and Minilite-wheel inspired rear light reflectors. Nerdy detail perhaps but cool nonetheless. Clearly Mini is a fun place to work, perhaps more so than the more sober surroundings of parent company BMW. 'The customers there they choose a shade somewhere between silver and black!' he says with a wink, 'unless they are really adventurous and then perhaps they might have dark blue!' Unsurprisingly he's a fan of the bright colour of the test cars, the better to be seen against the icy Austrian landscape. Good thing I'm far too mature to make a crack about yellow snow ... oh. Dan --- Links: New Mini Convertible uncovered --- Share It
23 gennaio Insight into the Insight
Dan Trent writes: The great hybrid debate rumbles on with the launch of Honda's Insight, which I was driving earlier in the week. I remain to be convinced but in the spirit of fairness here's Honda's side of the story with a moodily shot promo for the car filmed in impressively bleak Snowdonian landscape... Dan Part 1:
Part 2:
--- Links --- Share It
All grown-up in 'my' VolvoBy Jason Christie, MSN UK Picking up the Volvo was a slightly daunting moment; was I grown up and responsible enough for such a powerful car, I wondered? The answer to this would come over the next ten days, and 1,700 miles. The V70 R Design is a gusty five-cylinder diesel, low to the ground, trimmed with q spoiler, touches of chrome, alloy and roof bars. It's sleeker looking, less boxed, has hips, slender shoulders and soft front end by comparison to the V70s of old. Dare I say, the V70 errs less on the corporate side of the fence. Yet still carries off a strong aura of authority.
On the M6 en route to Scotland it became interesting to look around and notice that there were very few cars on the motorway which could rival the Volvo for speed and style. Passengers were treated to the car's tricks: "automatic folding wing mirrors, traction aligning lights for night driving, dash contained pop up sat nav, automatic seat and mirror alignment, bluetooth phone connection, heated seats...oh and the possibility to install Freeview TVs in the head rests. Yes, you read correctly!) The road trips (London > Cardiff, London > Perth, London > Brighton) came some way to equalling my previous Volvo experience when I travelled along the Swedish coastline from Stockholm to Gothenburg (home of Volvo). Back then we slept in the boot of a V40! Thankfully I can now afford a hotel. The digression is that Volvo is that kind of car. It is complete enough to take on a long journey. All-round enough to go from city to long distance runner.
Our V70 hurled along and yet was easy on the fuel, not quite the diesel chomping monster you might expect with such a large engine up front. In fact it cost less than train tickets for similar journeys (1 x full tank cost circa £50.00 and gave 500 miles) over the course of 10 days. There's a Swedish ideal: jantelag. Ostensibly stating that one should never brag or think yourself more-than even if you are the best. Volvo does this perfectly. It is brilliant and doesn't make a noise about it. In lieu of this ideal, and the V70's roots in Torslanda near Gothenburg in Sweden, it seemed fitting to plug in my Microsoft Zune or 'iPod' if you will, and blast out an all-Gothenburg songlist. Cool artists for an equally cool car included: The Tough Alliance, The Embassy, Franke, Cat5, and Jonas Game.
From the neighbour’s kid (aged 7) to the great aunt (aged 78), there was a high demand for carriage. And whether collecting friends from the airport, ferrying family members to Christmas lunch, showing off to big brother or impressing a date (yes I really did all this); the R Design got praise…oh and everyone also had lots of questions about it. Perhaps most tellingly for me was the “separation angst” I experienced on the final day of the road test when I found myself on Auto Trader looking at V40s and V70s to buy – of course, with some research there are really great deals out there, but admittedly I didn’t nearly concede to a rebound purchase!
Volvo V70 http://specials.uk.msn.com/CARS/volvo-v70.aspx Volvo V70 Interior http://specials.uk.msn.com/CARS/volvo-v70-interior.aspx My Christmas route http://specials.uk.msn.com/CARS/volvo-v70-route.aspx My trip to Wales
New Mercedes in UKRichard Aucock writes: Well, blow me, if I didn’t go and see Mercedes’ new E-Class coupe on the M1 last night. No pictures, alas (below, they're spyshots); weather was atrocious. Oh, and I was driving. And yes, OK, it was disguised – but there was no missing those oddly dumpy rear wheelarches. Nor the unusual headlight treatment, which even rolls of black tape couldn’t conceal.
What was it doing here, though? Believe the rumours, and it goes on sale at the end of the year. What’s this, then – Mercedes carrying out final development in the UK, helping it best cope with our uniquely hideous roads? If that’s the case (and here’s hoping it is), expect something very fine-riding indeed. The current C-Class has already proven that there are some very savvy chassis engineers working at Benz. The bigger E will be even better still.
Effectively a CLK replacement, the new model is lower and more lithe than the E-Class saloon. But as that already has a stunning drag Cd of just 0.25, does this mean the car I saw on the M1 last night could, just, be one of the world’s most aerodynamic production models?
Well, no. It was covered in black tape and cladding. But when the production version is unveiled, probably at Frankfurt, who knows…
--- Share It
22 gennaio Renault man gets dirty
Dan Trent writes: There’s something really cool about seeing a quick car absolutely covered in road grime. The polar opposite of the OCD ‘detailing’ mentality many owners of flash cars seem to lose themselves in, nothing broadcasts the fact you’ve got your priorities straight than a fast motor covered in filth.
So step up Renault man Jeremy Townsend, who’s been making use of a pre-production Megane R26.R and, by the looks of it, spending more time driving the nuts off it than he has cleaning it. Good chap! In fact, when I saw him at the weekend he’d just driven across country from Bristol to London and going by the state of the car and the size of his grin had enjoyed himself a great deal. Amen to that. Dan --- --- Share It
Wind causes economy to plunge!Richard Aucock writes: Today, my fuel economy plunged by 15 per cent. Odd. I wasn’t doing anything different – and we all know how obsessive I am about fuel economy. What was going on? I realised as soon as I opened the door of the car. Or, rather, tried to.
Relatively calm weather at home had turned into rain – that much I knew – but also fierce gales. Modern cars deal with this pretty well (particularly my new long termer – more on that soon…), so I hadn’t been too aware of it. Boy, was I now, though. My poor German motor had been battling against this all the way down the M1. Hence, the plummeting economy.
The severity of the dent in economy, though, amazed me. Solution? Go green – don’t drive when it’s windy. Or, if you do, make sure it’s a following wind… --- 21 gennaio Lexus IS 220d: now with lower emissions and less taste.cj hubbard writes:
Here in the motor industry we’re getting used to opening up our email everyday, and finding yet another news release about how some poor manufacturer or other is being forced to cut car production in a desperate ploy to save jobs. And so today I happened to be glancing through the latest round of industry emails, when one from Lexus caught my eye. It’s entitled: “Lexus announces a welcome cut in production”. If that sounds a bit funny it’s because the ‘twist’ is Lexus isn’t announcing a reduction in factory output. No. It’s announcing a reduction in the amount of CO2 produced by the 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine in the IS 220d. While any improvement in efficiency is commendable – and the IS 220d has impressively dropped its CO2 output from 163g/km to 148g/km, and gained 4.1mpg over the combined cycle with no loss of performance – making a joke at the expense of the difficult economic circumstances faced by the majority of the car industry strikes me as being a little bit harsh. Still, all publicity is good publicity - right, Lexus? --- Links: Honda launch shows real Insight Porsche sticks it to the hedge funds 2,323lb ft: Volvo announces world’s most powerful truck ---
Mini One ClubmanAlex Goy writes:
Usually manufacturers wait a year or two before unleashing their high performance model. Audi waited years before the RS4 was finally allowed into our lives. BMW waited a similar time to throw the new (and brilliant) M3 our way. However, Mini doesn’t share their German counterparts’ way of thinking. Oh no. They’re launching a new variant of the Mini Clubman at the Geneva show. It promises to boost their sales and change the roadscape (is that a word? It is now). Oh yes – the Mini One Clubman is on its way. Powered by a devastating 1.4-litre engine, pushing out a planet bending 95bhp and an earth shattering 103lb ft of twist, this is a serious proposition. To make the package sweeter, it’ll get you from 0-62 in 11.4 seconds all the way to 114mph. Ok, I jest… But it is an exciting little car. It’ll allegedly do over 50mpg on the motorway and only squirts out 130g/km of carbon dioxide. So it’ll be cheap to tax and run. To make the package even sweeter the MOC (oh yes, acronym time) has the same steering and suspension set up as the Cooper model. So it’ll be fun in the twisties. All in all – it may seem underpowered and a bit rubbish, but it could fit the definition of huge fun on a budget. We’ll let you know when they let us drive it. --- Links: Adrian Flux confirms UFO insurance Boris Johnson drives the Tesla ---
20 gennaio Honda launch shows real insight
Dan Trent writes: So I'm here on the Honda Insight launch and I've just been driving ... a Toyota Prius. How does that work? Well, I know I had a bit of a crack at Toyota and Honda's hybrids last week, accusing them of looking identical. And I stand by that. But the technology underpinning them and the way they drive is very different, and to highlight that Honda has thoughtfully provided a Prius for hacks to take round the block to compare with the new Insight - Honda's 'affordable hybrid'.
I'd never actually driven a Prius before so it was dead handy to be able to do this back to back. And for this Honda deserves a big cheer. It did a similar thing on the Accord launch I did last year, offering up a Passat, 3 Series, outgoing Accord and a couple of other rival cars for comparison purposes. Really useful and a brave move by Honda, especially considering I actually preferred the way the 3 Series drove. Ahem. Makes a change from some launches, where press conferences deliberately skirt round naming direct rivals as if they didn't exist - note to Mercedes execs, we all know who you're talking about when you talk about 'our Bavarian rival' so why not just say it?! Dan --- Links: Prius and Insight: resistance is futile ---
Lost in Spain Dan Trent writes: Getting lost on car launches is nothing unusual. In fact, it'd be odd if it didn't happen and here on the Honda Insight launch sure enough navigating through central Valencia with a sleepy sat-nav ('Turn. Left. 200 metres ago.') resulted in plenty of route finding mishaps. Hell, we struggled even leaving the airport and found ourselves on the taxi rank.
But getting lost in the hotel elevates this navigational ineptitude to a whole new level. Like many carmakers, Honda has chosen one of these utterly vast out of season Spanish resort hotels, the endless empty corridors eerily quiet and like something out of The Shining. And so I found myself, wandering about last night, key card in my hand and absolutely no idea where my room was - even what number it was - and resorting to trying the card in every door on the floor to see if it was mine. And no, before you ask, I hadn't over indulged at the bar. Which brings to mind another story ... that will have to wait for another occasion! Dan
19 gennaio This one didn't try to kill me ... so I bought it! Dan Trent writes: If you were reading the blog last week you'll recall my first attempt at buying myself a Clio Cup didn't go so well. Indeed, it very nearly resulted in a huge accident. I should have guessed as much - I didn't need to drive that car to know it was rotten to the core. I had much higher hopes for the one I was booked in to see on Saturday - a private sale, 37K on the clock and in the pics it looked like a minter.
It was! Better still it didn't share the previous car's apparent desire to hurl itself through the nearest hedge. And little things like the fact the owner had programmed in Radio 1, 2, 3, and 4 on the respective preset buttons on the radio indicated he was a man after my own heart and perhaps just a teeny bit OCD. Which is a promising character trait in someone you're looking to buy a car off. Anyway, I'm delighted with it. I remember reading about the 172 Cup when it came out in 2002 and thinking 'that's my kind of car' and it's always been in my top 10 fantasy garage cars. Suffice to say, you'll be hearing more about it over the coming months... Dan --- Links: So that's why they call it a test drive ---
16 gennaio Adrian Flux confirms UFO insurancecj hubbard writes:
It’s from Adrian Flux, a specialist car insurance provider (it gives you the full spiel on who it is at the bottom). Anyways, given the trouble someone has taken to try and amuse us on a Friday afternoon, I figured it deserved the attention. We have no affiliation with Adrian Flux, and have no idea what sort of service levels they provide – the press release is just quite funny. And it even came with a photo… Read on: --- A UFO Trashed My Car… 16 Jan 09 Flux moves to quell alien insurance fears… Following recent news stories about a UFO allegedly wrecking a wind turbine specialist car insurance broker Adrian Flux had a call from a curious customer asking what would happen if a UFO crashed into his car. Which got the Flux boffins thinking about what bizarre accidents were or weren't covered. Amongst the potential disasters that are covered by normal car insurance schemes, assuming the driver has a comprehensive policy, are:
However, if the UFO causes an accident by attacking the car, with, say, a photon torpedo, then that would be considered an act of war, and thus would not be covered. Similarly, if an intergalactic war led to Armageddon and resulted in the car being damaged, it would not be covered. "It gets more complicated if a UFO hits a wind turbine, causing a rotor blade to shear off which then crashes into the car," says Gerry Bucke of Adrian Flux Insurance Services. "In that case, the car driver's best hope is that the UFO pilot's policy is completely up to date, as it would be simplest to make a claim on the alien's insurance. Otherwise there may be arguments as to who is responsible for the damage to the car…. In the worst case scenario, though, the car would be covered by our policy – it's just that a claim on it would affect the driver's No Claims Bonus." Adrian Flux aims to offer cheaper car insurance and has a huge range of policies for the motoring enthusiast. For details contact the Adrian Flux quote line on 0800 505 3000, email the company at quotes@adrianflux.co.ukwww.adrianflux.co.uk, or see the Flux homepage on - ends - --- Well, it made me laugh, anyway… Have a good weekend. --- Links: UFO claim over wind farm damage Boris Johnson drives the Tesla ---
So THAT’S why they call it a test drive Dan Trent writes: Anyone reading my gushing long termer reports on my dearly departed Clio 197 Cup will have seen this coming but I’m now in the process of seeing through my threat of laying my own cash down on something fast and Clio shaped. I don’t quite have the funds for a new one but I’ve always liked the previous shape 172s and 182s and the hardcore appeal of the 172 Cup has always been strong. So here I am, out of my press car comfort zone and on the brink of actually spending some money on a car. And it’s a scary business, especially when said car tries to kill you on the test drive.  Testing the brakes on a Clio I tried yesterday revealed a pull to the kerb so strong the car nearly spat me off the road. I pointed this out to salesman when I got back from the test drive and he promised it would be MOT’d and serviced before being sold but the fact it was on his forecourt at all in this condition is a bit frightening. Still, that’s why they call it a test drive!  So I won’t be buying that one then. But I’m looking at a couple over the weekend that look more promising and it’s given me a chance to try out the Autocheck service you can find on the MSN Cars homepage. You simply put the registration details of the car you’re hoping to buy into it and it comes back with an instant report to clarify its identity and warn you of any outstanding finance or whether it’s been crashed or stolen. £25 lets you check five cars and is well worth it for the peace of mind. The car I’m looking at has come up clean so looks promising. Fingers crossed it doesn’t try to kill me either! Dan --- Links: Clio Cup farewell report Clio 172 Cup road test Autocheck --- Share It
14 gennaio Hair raising MercedesRichard Aucock writes: Looking at the shots of the interior on Mercedes’ new E-Class (glad to see they’ve kept the retro analogue clock)…
… I couldn’t help notice what funny hair this lady has:
Now, if ever she mused that she’d love a Cornetto at the hairdresser’s, then fell asleep… Official: New Mercedes E-Class E-Class styling direction...
Boris Johnson drives the Teslacj hubbard writes:
Exactly what says on the tin. Or, rather, in the title. Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has had a go in a Tesla Roadster. (That isn’t him driving, above.) It happened as part of a promotional event for something called the Intelligence Squared Green Festival on Climate Change, which is taking place at the Royal Geographical Society in London on Saturday 25 January. I’ll just quote a section from the press release, then we can move on to the picture:
Hmmm. Anyways, you can read about our very own Richard’s experiences in the Tesla here. But what I really want to know is, how on earth is Mr Johnson holding this pose?
--- Links: Intelligence Squared Green Festival on Climate Change ---
13 gennaio Prius and Insight: resistance is futileDan Trent writes: Two of the world’s biggest, most advanced carmakers. The promised next step away from dependence on the internal combustion engine. Millions spent on development. Endless hard work by some of the cleverest engineers in the industry. And two of the most boring looking cars ever made. Hang on, make that one, seeing as Honda and Toyota seem to have inadvertently ordered the same styling package from the mail order catalogue for dull hybrid hatchbacks. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the new third-generation Toyota Prius:  And this is the all-new Honda Insight. Or is it the Toyota? Hang on…  C’mon guys, I mean, really! If the car industry is trying to convince us hybrids and fuel cells are the way forward why do they insist on making the cars using this technology so, well, dorky. Toyota reckons the Prius needs to look the way it does to ensure world-beating aerodynamics and a drag coefficient of 0.25. But Mercedes has managed the same figure with the new E-Class, which while admittedly controversial at least has something to say for itself design-wise and proves there’s life in the old three-box saloon yet. There’s no reason why alternative fuel cars can’t be as sexy as their internal combustion equivalents. And until they are, making us give up our V8s is going to be an uphill struggle. Some of Honda’s concepts look like a step in the right direction – let’s just hope they turn out more inspiring than the Insight. Dan --- Links: Insight into Honda Insight Honda’s affordable hybrid revealed --- Share It
12 gennaio Another E-Class, another ‘interesting’ styling direction for Mercedes By Dan Trent As is often the way, Mercedes had put an embargo on official images of the all-new E-Class preventing publication until late last night. Being obedient types we followed this to the letter but, typically, the pictures have been ‘out there’ for some time. Anyway, now we can officially show you pics of the new E-Class. So what’s the verdict: dog’s dinner or dog’s danglies? Hm. The E-Class’s distinctive headlight design (apparently influenced by cubist art, according to the press release) was alluded to on the SL facelift last year and then again on the Concept Fascination at the Paris show. And while it works better on the E-Class than the SL I’ll wait til I’ve seen it in the flesh before I make a final judgement. Ditto the sculpted sides that attempt to be both hard edged AND curvy, those rear arches apparently inspired by the 50s era ‘Ponton’ saloons – see below.  For me the classic E-Class is the 90s ‘W124’ era car, with its square edged but surprisingly aerodynamic styling. What, that thing, aerodynamic? You’d better believe it, the W124’s drag coefficient of 0.28 comparing very well with the brand new E-Class’s 0.25.  Still, for all its oddities the new E is at least a much better effort than the goggle-eyed W210 version that succeeded the W124.  Uh-oh, looks like the barely suppressed Merc geekery instilled in my previous life on a Mercedes magazine is revealing itself again. Nurse! Dan --- Links New E-Class unveiled at Detroit - kind of Facelifted SL roadtest Mercedes Concept Fascination --- Share It
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