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31 ottobre Mein Gott! And, the answer is: yes.cj hubbard writes:
Ok, so I'm not intentionally setting out to catalogue dubious German tuning decisions. But sharing the horror helps, right? And it is Halloween. The ABT Scirocco has nothing on this. Prepare to get thee behind thy sofa. That blur passing in the opposite direction? It's the devil himself running in fear. Ladies and gentlemen, I present the AC Schnitzer BMW X6 Falcon:
And you thought BMW's monstrous SUV-coupe couldn't get any more, well, monstrous?
What you're looking at here is a complete styling package (if styling is the right word), including new front and rear bumpers, spookily stepped sideskirts, and widebody wheel arches. The Falcon's wings - oh-ho-ho yes; I could go on all day with the bird puns (WAGs and all), but ACS seems to have covered most of them already in its press release - are a massive 70mm wider at the front, and 80mm wider at the back.
Even the bonnet hasn't escaped. The extra vents are hardly necessary, however, as although ACS can make the X6 faster, it does this via a noisy exhaust and changes to the diesel engines' ECU, upping the 3.0d from 232bhp to 268bhp, and the 3.5d from 282 to 306. No work on the twin-turbo 2.0i V8 petrol was deemed necessary or financially viable (that version will already drink your wallet dry).
The interior also appears to be suffering some cruel and unusual punishment. Is that a faux alloy wheel iDrive knob? It would certainly appear so. Obviously ACS couldn't leave the chassis alone, so the Falcon has 'ring honed springs and rolls on 22-inch alloy rims. These are 10-inches wide at the front, 11.5-inches wide at the rear. The wheel choice "perfectly compliments the challenging appearance", apparently.
Will your bum look big in this? --- Links: Scir-what? An ABT-solute styling disaster...
Anti-speeding message gets serious
Dan Trent writes: Dan *Robocop's mechanical nemesis, for those whose heads are filled with more important things than useless geek trivia. Which is pretty much everybody it transpires.
30 ottobre Enough of the financial news...
Dan Trent writes:
Based on those used on the ALMS championship winning RS Spyder racer, they'll be an option on the 911 Turbo from January and use a nifty race-style centre-lock mechanism. Blah blah blah, the really important thing is that they look dead cool:
If I have one quibble it's that such race-influenced tech would be more appropriate for the GT3, not the Turbo. I think an anthracite set would look very nice indeed on my white GT3*. Dan *My white GT3 on the 'configure your Porsche' page on the firm's website that is... Links: The Ka Club. Bring sunglasses.cj hubbard writes from the Ford Ka launch: My first line of notes from the Ford Ka press conference last night reads: "Enough with the dance music already!"
Ford has brought us to Ibiza to see its new baby, and the youthful image projection thing is in absolute full swing. The press conference took place on site in the hotel conference sweet [edit: cripes, that's what happens if you write a blog post at 5am. I imagine I meant 'suite'], which had been specially refitted to create the inevitable 'Ka Club' (we're in Ibiza, it's a car, etc, etc). Noisy is an understatement.
Ford shows off Ka chassis engineering. Anyways, perhaps most interesting about this (aside from the juicy marketing and technical details - on which more in a later post), is the decor. It had been done out to match the three "Individual" styling pack choices available to your prospective new Ka buyer, which include decals, interior trimmings and colour coded grill surrounds and mirror caps. They are:
Grand Prix. Relatively restrained, kind of mini Ford ST looking.
Tattoo. According to Ruth Pauli, Chief Designer for Colour and Trim (yes, really, Ford has a chief designer for that - it's important these days), tattoos are a big current trend, and "the ultimate expression of individuality".
Hmmm. That being the case, you'd have thought Ford would offer more than just this rather generic looking tribal design, then. But I'm no body art expert...
Which perhaps explains why this Digital Art styling pack left me going holy mother of God. The pictures don't quite do the green justice. It is thoroughly luminous - not so much of a problem if it was restricted to the exterior, but seriously in your face on the inside. Even the steering wheel and centre console (or "cluster", apparently) haven't escaped. Fortunately, Ford didn't make us drive this one.
Note the gold "Bond Ka" in the background. Ford won't sell you that one. According to a sticker on the bonnet it's got a hydrogen fuel cell... Full first drive, and some more Ka blogging soon. --- Links: Audis don't usually do this... Daihatsu deserves more credit for trying The vehicles of Quantum of Solace
29 ottobre Stowaways found in BentleyIan reports...
French customs have thwarted an attempt by illegal immigrants to smuggle themselves into the UK. Only these canny dudes were doing it in style – hiding out in a Bentley. The immigrants had stowed away in a GT that was being transported on a lorry from the Nürburgring to the Bentley factory in Crewe. They were caught out by officers in Calais before the GT could board a ferry to Dover. Customs caught the four using carbon dioxide detectors, which spotted high readings of CO2 from the German-registered lorry, and opened it up to find them sitting in the Bentley. We can think of worse ways of travelling across the continent...
Porsche sticks it to the hedge funds
Dan Trent writes: Is this a manipulation of world financial markets in another step on the road to Porsche’s utter domination of the European car industry? Or is it a triumph for canny business acumen and a deserved kick in the nuts for the risk-obsessed financial gamblers who got us into this mess in the first place? According to the BBC’s Robert “Mr Credit Crunch” Peston on the radio this morning the whole system of hedge funds and short selling is ideologically opposed to the traditionally conservative Teutonic business mentality. And if he’s right the Germans have been holding out for an opportunity to stick it to the speculators described as ‘a plague of locusts’ by former finance minister Franz Münterfering. There isn’t space here (read: it makes my brain hurt just trying to figure out all the angles) to go into the labyrinthine world of VW, Porsche and the various family and business connections that tie them together. But it shows Porsche is as good as playing the financial market as is at building fabulous sports cars. Which must make rivals somewhat depressed. Of course, bankers and city bonuses are core business for Porsche and stabbing a good portion of your target audience in the back like this probably won’t go down well. Not that the likes of Ferdinand Piech and Wendelin Wiedeking are likely to lose much sleep over it… Dan STOP PRESS! “Porsche SE denies all responsibility for these market distortions and for the resulting risks to which the short sellers have exposed themselves. Porsche wishes to point out that the applicable capital markets law provisions have been complied with at all times. Porsche has not been active in the market during this share price movements. Allegations of price manipulation by Porsche are therefore without any foundation whatsoever. Porsche remains committed to its goal of increasing its stake in Volkswagen to up to 75% and thus intends to continue to acquire Volkswagen ordinary shares, on and off the stock exchange, at prices which are economically justifiable.” In other words, formal business speak for: “Tough **** - come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough.”
Big skids in a Chevy...Dan Trent writes:
…to this…
…is something of a shock to the system! Bear in mind this photo was shot at peak rush hour time and I had plenty of time to stop the car, get my camera out and take a few pics without causing a huge traffic jam. Try doing that on the M25. Oh, hang on, you can…
Dammit, country roads are dark at night too! On my previous commute comfy seats and a good stereo were of prime concern when testing a new car, given that the journey was long and involved lots of sitting about in queues. But my priorities have suddenly changed and you can expect to see a new emphasis on things like headlight power in my roadtests from now on! A big cheer for the little Chevvy Aveo I was in today too. Glamorous it ain’t but it’s a plucky little thing and coped just fine with the icy backlanes of Hertfordshire. Dan Links:
28 ottobre Aston DBS, one careful ownerPeter Burgess writes: Here are some pics from an event last night celebrating Aston Martin’s long relationship with the James Bond genre. MSN Cars editor Tom and I went along to Sketch restaurant in London and were confronted by two DBS parked out in the street. A case of the before and after effect, one complete, the second, on the same number plates, crashed, missing a door and riddled with bullet holes.
There were hundreds there at the event, a few journos, a few significant film people (Tom is exceptionally good at picking them out, like Michael Wilson, the co-producer of Quantum) and what seemed like a lot of Aston Martin owners.
Dr Ulrich Bez, CEO of Aston, was the star turn and gave an amusing speech that tried, it seemed, to drag in the name of every Bond film that had included an Aston. He didn’t seem that relaxed – its Moscow distributor may have sold its entire year’s allocation on the opening night of its new showroom, but the luxury sports car maker is finding times a bit tough in the UK.
Alas we didn’t see the promised Bond girls from a Quantum of Solace, though there was a peculiar smell of moth balls from a number of mature ladies who we could only assume had dragged out their old frocks from the days when they had had a fleeting part in From Russia with Love. Quantum of Solace, just in case you didn’t know, premiers this week all over the country. Peter Links:
27 ottobre Red hot Porsche out testing
Clearly the Porsche test drivers are on a bit of a mission to restore a reputation for Nordschliefe supremacy that has been under attack from all quarters, most notably from the Nissan GT-R. Indeed, an ongoing spat between Nissan and Porsche has been getting ugly of late, Nissan cheekily offering the Porsche test crew performance driver training after the Germans claimed the production GT-R they borrowed couldn’t get anywhere near the lap times claimed by Nissan.
This one is set to run and run but it looks like things are getting serious out there in the forests of the Eifel mountains… Dan Links:
22 ottobre Audis don't usually do this...
Dan Trent writes: I'm here on the S4 launch in Majorca and the weather is unusually wet. Which, for once, is a good thing, especially if you're looking to showcase the abilities of a new quattro Audi. We got a few laps of a test track today and before we were let loose followed an instructor round to learn the lines. Trouble is we also gained a chassis engineer in the passenger seat who was explaining the details of the fancy new sports differential while I was trying to concentrate on learning the track. Really, he meant well but it went in one ear and out the other - I'll have to try and corner him after the dinner later. The proof was in the driving out on the wet and very slippery track though. Turning into corners the traditional Audi understeer was present and correct. But maybe some of what Herr Engineer had said managed to sink because instead of backing off I kept my foot in. And then something surprising happened. Yes, as you can see from the picture the S4 likes going sideways. Loopy, grin inducing opposite lock skids followed on every turn from then on in. All this in an Audi. I'll be honest and say I wasn't expecting more than a pleasantly fast autobahn cruiser from the S4. But it seems I underestimated the Audi engineers and some of the R8's magic has filtered down into this hot new A4. One more thing - can I have a yellow one please! Dan 500bhp GT40 replica on video
21 ottobre Live at the at the Vauxhall Insignia launchTom Evans writes: To the wonders of Farnborough aerodrome this morning for a flight to Scotland for the launch of the new Vauxhall Insignia. Farnborough is something of a home from home for motoring journalists as many charter flights to various parts of Europe take off from here – and it’s much easier than a public airport – just pull up outside and park your car and, er, that’s it. But it is even more of a clubhouse than usual, because a flight to Portugal had just left with another gang, off for the Renault Laguna Coupe launch – as indeed it did, until half an hour or so in the flight when the pilot suspected mechanical problems and they had to turn back. So back it came, including Jamie Lipman, our regular photographer for twin tests:
Another surprise meeting: Nigel Swan of What Car? Magazine:
After an uneventful flight in our turbo prop,
We get to Edinburgh and enter a hangar full of Insignias, all with those telltale ‘VXL’ press fleet number plates. They look pretty good, especially in dark blue with big wheels.
We are near the back of the queue, and get a 160hp diesel automatic rather than the 130hp diesel manual that will be the big seller and thus of most interest to me for my first drive story. We follow everyone else out of the airport and across the Firth of Forth on the spectacular Forth bridge with the iconic Forth railway bridge next door.
We swap drivers next to the Gleneagles estate.
The car: nice interior, nice exterior, smooth handling. But the engine doesn’t have much poke – the Insignia is heavy – and is a bit agricultural compared to new class leaders like the new Volkswagen common rail unit. The autobox is OK, but could do with paddle shifts. We follow everyone else, but this as so often on car launches is a foolish move – the blind lead the blind, and we quickly get off track – despite precise instructions supplied by car companies, motoring journalists cannot follow basic instructions. U-turns and manoeuvrings follow, and the nice chap from Autocar who we are tailing hares off before we can give chase. Thank heaven for the car’s sat-nav, which doesn’t look nice but at least only costs £800 – compared to the 2-grand the likes of BMW and Audi will charge you. And indeed it works – we give up on the roadbook – it is now pitch dark – and just punch in our hotel instead.
This gets us back on track and we make good solid progress – the car has good enough punch to deliver confident overtaking which is handy – but it is wet so I slightly hold off on the speed front. We’re now at the Cameron House hotel on the shores of Loch Lomond – and very nice it seems too. Dinner soon – I am starving and it’s been a long day. Much more driving to come tomorrow, and my first drive from the event very shortly after that. Tom
Infiniti in Provence
Peter Burgess writes: Infiniti the brand is now 20 years old. It’s not available in Japan, but it’s huge in the US and now, after much consideration, it arrives in Europe. According to the guff, Infiniti has to “do the right thing at the right time in order to succeed”.
Except what we have here is a range of three to four cars that are so not at “the right time” it’s hard to imagine how things could be worse. Not that they aren’t good – I have had enormous fun blasting around the hills of Provence in them – it’s just that launching a complete range of cars where the smallest engine is a 3.7-litre petrol V6 is a tough call at the best of times. Good news for Infiniti, then, that Morrisons supermarket has cut the price of unleaded top 97.9p per litre today. And there will be a diesel in a year or so, but at three-litres it’s hardly going to topple the Germans in terms of efficiency.
Infiniti has done the launch thing well, though. A brand new swanky hotel that no car manufacturer has yet visited, lots of the right people to talk to and some great driving routes. The hotel has a converted chapel for use as the Infiniti lounge, and it’s extremely cool and on-the–message.
I always welcome a newcomer on the block, for the more choice us consumers get, the better it is. Deep down, though, I reckon the Infiniti concept is going to be an extremely tough nut to crack. Peter Links:
16 ottobre When satnav goes badcj hubbard writes from the Mercedes C 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Prime Edition launch: Satnav's aren't always brilliant. On the Nissan Murano launch, for example, it would have been helpful if the mapping was up to date. It's understandable that road layouts do change, and it's impossible to keep 100 percent on top of it; but when you're using the navigation instead of traditional maps for the launch route it isn't a particularly good advertisement for the top of the range system. But I digress.
Something odd happened to the nav in the Mercedes C 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Prime Edition (ain't that a mouthful?) on Tuesday. About 5km after an instruction saying we should follow the current road for 37km, or something, it suddenly diverted us off to the right. Odd, we thought. Didn't it just say...? Oh, well. So we - or rather my driving partner, who was in charge of the helm at the time - follow the instructions through a town for a bit. Then it told us to turn left passed what looked suspiciously like a No Through Road pictogram. This raise an eyebrow or two - but then we thought we saw something about heavy goods vehicles, so we carried on. Into a construction site.
Turns out the satnav in the Mercedes is so advanced it's trying to use roads that don't even exist yet.
It was pretty insistent about it, too. Pleading with us to u-turn back towards the road works even as we retraced our steps. To its credit, though, once we rejoined the main road it immediately switched to an alternate set of directions. No hanging about there. Full first drive of the long-winded (and surprisingly rapid) eco Merc soon. --- Links: First Drive: Nissan Murano (2008 onwards)
15 ottobre Project Gotham Racing 4-RealBy Nick Eaton, contributor Ian and I got talking about our Xbox 360s, and what we thought were the best driving games. Naturally Forza 2, Test Drive Unlimited, and Project Gotham were all featured in our musings. Then we recalled that one of the race tracks used in Project Gotham is a London circuit made up of various roads around Hyde Park corner, Marble Arch, and Park Lane. We also recalled that the Mazda MX-5 is one of the cars featured in Project Gotham, which just so happens to be Ian’s current long-termer.
Our mission was clear: take out Ian’s MX-5 and drive the Project Gotham circuit for real. So that’s what we did. Sadly we couldn’t tear it up quite like in the game; it might not have been rush hour but if you’re going to drive through some of the busiest streets in the capital you have to be prepared to encounter some traffic.
Yet we persevered nonetheless, and the results (which we’ll hope you agree) were pretty good. The procedure was as follows: Ian dropped me off at our location and proceeded to drive round Hyde Park corner about 17 times while I got various different shots with the camera.
As you can see we’ve now placed the best pictures next to some screen grabs from the Xbox version to see how the two compare. The real-life version was certainly an adrenaline rush, but more because it meant dodging in-between angry cabbies and Ken Livingston’s bendy-buses, as opposed to screeching round bends and flooring the accelerator on Park Lane. Still, it was a good laugh.
14 ottobre Live from the Ferrari California launchPeter Burgess writes...
After months of waiting and increasing speculation, the time has finally arrived. The alarm sounded at 2.30am, and I was in my long-term Citroen C5 by 3am for Stansted and the 6am Ryanair flight to Palermo in Sicily. There are better ways to travel, but maybe Ferrari feels some affinity with Mr O’Leary, the world’s most profitable airline operator. Maybe. We are staying at the Kempinski in Giardino de Costanza, and there’s absolutely no feeling of being short-changed here. This is real 5-star Ferrari luxury. But there are no cars for us today, which is probably just as well because a few hours additional sleep is what’s really called for.
We’ve already caught sight of a California from the coach, a light blue example that howled past with its roof down. For a first sighting on the road I’m still not certain about the styling. We all saw the static reveal at the Paris show a couple of weeks ago and there’s another on display outside the hotel entrance. Kempinski must be thrilled to have the launch here. There are a couple of armed guards around too. But more mysterious is this tent tucked around the side of the hotel. Inside is a car under wraps; I managed to sneak a picture while backs were turned but I guess we’ll find out more tonight.
There’s not much more to tell at the moment, save for the fact that it will cost £143,320 in the UK and comes with powered heated seats as standard. How about that! More info very soon after I get behind the wheel on Wednesday.
Skoda's new Superb is... you guessed it!By Matt Ball, MSN UK editor-in-chief
To Cornwall for a week’s family holiday and a chance to try out the new Skoda Superb. The car’s official press launch was the day before I got my hands on it. Indeed, the 2.0 diesel model used at the launch was the one that duly turned up at my house. And very impressive it was too. And very long. Very, very long.
You don’t feel you’re driving a long car when the Superb is on the road; it’s a pleasure to cruise along the motorway in it but try fitting it in a small town’s car parking bays and you soon appreciate the (£350 optional extra) parking sensors. The Superb’s official dimensions suggest its length is little different from that of, say, a Ford Mondeo but it certainly felt like the longest car I have ever driven. Of course, a long car should have plenty of leg room. And the Superb does. My wife sat in the back with our 18-month old daughter and she appreciated all the space. And the boot easily accommodated all our luggage including the bulky baby buggy. So space-wise the new Superb offers what I would need from a family car. Other features I liked included the child safety lock on the door that was so simple to set up (stick a key in the slot, turn it, done) and the in-built sat-nav that automatically re-routed us away from traffic congestion although the female voice had a little less personality than I tend to prefer (perhaps the sat-nav in the Citroen C4 Grand I drove at Easter spoilt me in this regard). We easily reached Cornwall from our home in Hertfordhsire on one tank of diesel and I could find no major fault with anything about the Superb. My only gripe was that I spent far too long looking for the button or lever to get the back windscreen wiper going. Eventually, I realised that the car didn’t have a back windscreen wiper. You’ll love the boot thing, probably
Lastly, the Superb’s door lock/unlock function on the key works at a greater distance away from the vehicle than on any other car I’ve ever driven. Now I know that’s not of much use but I always like to test it out. Shame on my motoring journalist colleagues for failing to notice that, eh?
Also on this trip For reviews of these museums, click the links below Roadtest of the Skoda Superb 2.0 TDI 140 All our motoring museum guides The Bradworthy Transport Museum The Haynes International Motor Museum
13 ottobre Danger! It's autumn out there...Dan Trent writes: ‘FOG!’ bellowed the gantries on the M25 as I drove back from a bash on Saturday night in, er, thick fog. Really? Thank goodness the signs were there to tell me. Another example of do-gooding stating the bleedin’ obvious comes this week from the Institute of Advanced Motorists, who warn of earth shattering facts like: “The sun is also lower in the sky at sunrise and sunset at this time of year and motorists should be aware this can have a dangerous blinding effect, particularly around the time motorists are commuting to and from work.” Or how about: “Darker mornings and early evenings also mean that it is harder to spot surface water.” Lordy, it’s just as well we’ve got advice like this on hand or we’d all be crashing into each other all the time. Oh, hang on… CJ has scolded me for my cynicism and, to be fair, he’s got a point. Evidence on the daily commute suggests people are perfectly capable of driving into the back of each other when the conditions are light and dry so chuck in darkness and slippery surfaces and there are bound to be a few more fender benders. And the IAM release does include some genuinely useful pointers, such as: “Fallen leaves tend to accumulate near roadside gutters and, when combined with heavier seasonal rainfall, can block roadside drains causing localised deep water and wet leaves on the road surface increase the danger of skidding.” Reminders about inappropriate foglight usage can never come often enough either – any traffic enforcement types looking to bulk up their points tally for this month need only come down to my manor of south east London and spend an hour booking the hundreds of cars running round with the supposedly cool sidelights’n’fogs combo. Please – be my guest. I’ll bring out a cup of tea if you’re feeling the chill. So there you go, I started off being sarcastic and have come full circle to finger wagging lecturing in the space of 300 words. Stay safe out there, y’hear? Dan Links:
10 ottobre MPG a marathonRichard Aucock writes: Well, I made it to the end. After 411 miles of eco driving, I reached the finish. And, of course, I was scrabbling for the doorhandle, wasn’t I?
No, actually. That’s the funny thing about driving with an eco hat on. You sometimes find you’re getting into the swing of things. Like stepping into a hot bath, you feel it’s unbearable at first – but, as you ease yourself in, you gradually discover it’s, well, just right. Get used to a fully pre-planned, sedate pace, and as the miles pass, it becomes pretty normal. Mellow. Appealing, even.
Particularly as it doesn’t actually cost all that much time. After two days and those 400-odd miles. I was the tortoise behind the red hare Aveo… by but 20 minutes. Not a massive penalty, considering…
… the fact that, in my hands, the Aveo returned nearly 58mpg, instead of 42.5mpg. And don’t think that the other car was being unrepresentatively hammered, either. It simply being piloted in the way our man does every day. While mine was given the full-on green treatment behind the wheel. Point proven, case closed. Being green, we calculated, officially saves Chevy Aveo drivers 3p per mile. And needn’t send them mad in the process.
Chevrolet’s so pleased, it’s released the performance to the national media. Look out for it in your local newspaper, and know it was your MSN Cars man helping broaden Chevy’s value-led proposition!
Oh, and just so you know how seriously the event’s taken, did you see BBC 6 O’clock News last night? Post-bank bailout, pre-stock market doom and gloom, the MPG Marathon featured! In a two and a half minute slot, following transport editor Tom Symonds as he did just what I’d been doing. He works to a tight schedule, alright – the car was continually stopping for him to field calls, and the final part of the route for him took in BBC’s Bristol studio, to deliver the tapes.
He also had to leave before prizegiving, to file some more reports. But it was nevertheless a real winner to have him take part, said his driving partner. “It’s putting green motoring, and the advances the industry’s making, right into the minds of BBC high-ups.” Here’s hoping MSN Cars’ performance is duly noted… ---
Feedback from September 2008Dear All, Lots of feedback in September so thanks - What about the new zr1? The one that beat Nissan's GT-R‚ and Porsche's GT2‚ round the Nurburgring? surely that should be on a list of the greatest corvettes... Maybe, maybe not. It is a very new car and as such history has not had time to judge it as yet... - Hi you say “The mainstream production car that averages over 70mpg is now a reality” - erm 29 years ago the Peugeot 205 D came out (1979). In my handbook it said 77 mpg in my 1985 one and I got that even in the early 90s when I did 1,000 miles for £25 - proof is in the 80s what car said they got 95mpg from them at best. So all these modern cars are nothing better if fact worse and all the blaming people for o-zone isn’t fair - they had Peugeots from 1979 and Tomorrows World in 80S fitted batteries and got over 100 mpg - I say don’t blame people - blame car makers for not taking that design onward‚ and doubling diesel prices shows it’s a country we should emigrate from and shows what a mean world we live in. Eric Phew! A few things to deal with here. Perhaps the main one to note is that cars are very much better equipped and have to comply with modern crash protection regulations – both factors making them much heavier than older cars. Also, the 205D was something of a curio back then and not what one might call “mainstream”. As for emigration – perhaps – but fuel is expensive in most countries of the world, and those where it isn’t tend to have a whole set of other problems to make up for it...
- It would be nice to add some suitable comparisons‚ for example Honda CBF600SA vs. Suzuki GSX650F. That’s a good idea. I will pass this onto our supplier of motorcycle content. - Hello‚ I like Audi‚ but am sick of those robbing Germans with all their lies about their inventions. Imperia a Belgian car company came out with all these inventions before the First World War. The Belgian car industry got killed by the Germans during the war. It took them all this time to find out so‚ please stop praising them. Visit Imperia-auto.be if you wanna see some real technology !! Erm, OK... Top 10 most economical used cars under £5,000 - Richard Aucock's article is a little poor and misleading. It is a worthy cause in this time of increased costs in motoring to highlight opportunities for making savings. It started off well with the C1/107/Aygo then went into oblivion with the RAV4 & MG - If the title is TOP TEN GREEN cars there is no point in even including anything above 120g/km or below 50mpg . The Megane 1.5 Dci should have been included as the best value car for its age/size under 120g/km . I was however impressed with the link to Dan Trent's article that we are finally going to have the Smart Diesel 88g/km in the UK which I wrote about in my blog over a year ago before fuel prices hiked. Thanks – while I would accept the headline possibly misleading, the idea of the article was to give a sector-by-sector view, since clearly not everyone can buy a supermini, the type which would dominate any straight top 10. But thanks for your useful comment. First Drive: Arden Aj20 Wildcat - It seems the reviewer is basing his image of Jaguar on the chav circles he moves in. No doubt his idea of cool is an old 3 series BMW with smoked windows and a knock off Armani suit. Here in the Middle East and in South America Jaguar has no such image problems and is seen as being very British in a Saville Row way. Good – and as a lifelong big cat lover I am very pleased to hear it. MISCELLANEOUS - Not really sure if this is feedback or not‚ but I couldn't think of anyone else to ask. What do Vauxhall actually do apart from their racing team and marketing initiatives? Well Vauxhall is one of the UK’s best selling car brands and some of its models like the Corsa and Astra do very well indeed. The new Insignia looks quite clever too. It also employs a lot of people in car production here too. So, yes it does do a few things... - I would not have another Ford Motor Car if you gave me one. I think Ford are very over rated‚ and a real **** car‚ but better than a Vauxhall‚ which are very extra ****. You cannot beat a Japanese or Geman car they are just too good. You may think this is odd‚ but one of the best cars I have ever had and really enjoyed was a Lada Riva 1500 which for the money was a very good buy‚ so‚ why did they stop making them? My MGB Roadster with the wire wheels‚ was always a plesure to get into‚ and it pulled some very good looking women for me‚ those were the days. Jack Thanks Jack. Well, we think Ford and indeed Vauxhall build quite a lot of decent cars on the whole. I don’t know why the Lada Riva 1500 stopped being made, but I suspect the collapse of the Soviet Union may have had something to do with it. Finally, I am delighted to hear that the MGB Roadster produced some good results for you!
That’s all for this month – please keep your feedback coming.
Best wishes,
Tom
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