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31 agosto View from: Renault Twingo Renaultsport launchcj hubbard writes: The hotel room balcony, around 8am, Portugal.
--- Links: It's all grey and red in Portugal
29 agosto It's all grey and red in Portugalcj hubbard writes from the Twingo Renaultsport launch:
A matched selection of hot hatches lurking in the dim florescent glow of an underground car park is possibly the best restorative tonic for the numbing fatigue of international air travel. The Renault Twingo Renaultsport looks good, no? Drives pretty well, too - but more on that in the full first drive early next week. Renault knows what journalists want. So, not only are all the cars in especially photogenic shades to please the snappers, they are all in fact identical - barring the division between the standard 'sports' chassis (above) and the £650 optional Cup settings. Telling the two apart made easy by the Cup's included and very tasty 17-inch alloys and the choice of bright red paint.
So, no bun fight here - we will all get the chance to drive both. I've got a Cup waiting for me this morning, having already spent yesterday driving the standard car. Notes from the roads in Portugal - random pedestrians, slow moving and overstuffed hatchbacks, and coach and tanker drivers who are obviously keen fans of The Italian Job... --- Links:
27 agosto Start of a dream garage...Tom Evans writes: Back to Umbria in central Italy for the second time this summer to stay at my friend Andy’s new castle, but this time with my family in tow – and for 10 days instead of 2. We arrived at Rome’s Ciampino airport via Ryan Air – a lovely little airport – a former air force base – and much better than Rome’s bigger ones. Rented a (new) Renault Laguna estate car which barrelled down the Autostrada like nobody’s business. I have been a critic of this car for the way it looks – and certainly its sales have suffered against more handsome competitors like the Mondeo – but I think in estate form it is the most successful:
There was a horrendous downpour during our 2 hour journey from Rome up to Umbria, which necessitated crawling along at 40 KM/H for some of the time. Even the traditionally suicidal Italian drivers slowed down a tad for it. The Laguna behaved well though, and I was very glad of our trusty Garmin sat-nav machine or otherwise we would have got totally lost – not least since the road signage is occasionally… quixotic. Observations of Italian driving: - Everyone drives very fast as a rule – far too fast in the case of narrow urban streets. Outside the centres speed limits are absurdly low however and are widely flouted by as much as 100% by most drivers. There are speed cameras starting to appear, but on a scale nothing like what we have to put up with. - Road surfaces are frightful. I thought UK roads were bad with their patchwork quilts of tarmac everywhere, but in Italy this is the case even on the motorways. The Italian government is totally broke – even more broke than our own – and it shows. - There is very little traffic compared to the UK. Even at the height of the tourist season we encountered very few jams – and none whatsoever on the autostradas – amazing and refreshing. The Italian govt and police clearly have a mandate to keep the country moving – unlike our health & safety obsessed officials who close motorways at the drop of a hat for hours on end. - There are Lancias everywhere. Long thought of over here as a dead brand – at least for now until it gets reborn here next year - they are very common in their home market But they mostly look rubbish – take a look at this horrid Lanciafied version of the Fiat 500 called the Ypsilon:
Compared to the gorgeous new 500 itself:
There are new 500s all over the place here – and it’s great to see, even if they are all made in Poland these days. There are many great cars knocking around this touristy part of Italy in August, but none more so than this marvellous rare Citroen DS convertible, spotted in a traffic jam endlessly looking for a parking space in the picturesque town of Gubbio:
Andy has the beginnings of a dream garage. For starters: a 1969 Mercedes SL – in white. Here he is at the wheel, and then me below. The car is not the greatest handling machine in the world and has a rare manual gearbox that is not quite as sharp as we might like. On one occasion I was so stuck trying to find reverse to do a 3-point turn I ended up having to find a hill to drive up, and then roll back down through gravity...
The SL is a perfect car to waft around this gorgeous part of the world. However, it also has some cracking largely empty roads (though still often with dodgy surfaces) – which is where his second car comes in – a 2002 Porsche Boxster S:
It was an absolute hoot throwing this wonderful B-road blaster around some gorgeous empty roads with the roof down; what a cracking car the Boxster S – much preferable to most 911s in my eyes at least – lost of delightful squirm from the back, but never so unruly to get totally out of hand. My daughter Isabelle loved it too – here she is on the lap of Andy’s lovely wife Liz:
Andy luckily has the roads and wherewithal to get some serious motors in, but a Boxster and a classic SL is a very good start to a dream garage. Shame that certain future practical considerations will ensure that his next car at least will be somewhat more down to earth... Andy and Liz have an amazing new home and were most gracious hosts and the castle - and especially its swimming pool - was a great place for us and the kids to spend some seriously good leisuretime. All in all a most enjoyable trip. Quick shout out for the nice people at Comstrad, who did our valet parking at Stansted. A very good service, and barely more than the cost of long term parking – highly recommended. Tom 23 agosto All in a spin at Oulton Park
Dan Trent writes: To be fair I don't think the tyres were to blame for this. Note instead general ham-fisted driving and a creative response to understeer involving flooring the throttle and hoping for the best. Note to self, this doesn't work in front wheel drive hot hatches...
Despite this display of driving ineptitude (or perhaps glad I'd got it out of my system and properly scared myself) my good friends at Renault were happy to chuck me the keys to the Clio V6 they'd brought along. A car with something of a reputation for evil handling in extremis, I was very circumspect but the chance to take it around Oulton was too good to miss. And though it's probably not any faster than the 'conventional' Clios boy is it about 200 times more dramatic. You sit behind the wheel and everything you see and touch says 'Clio' but everything you sense and hear shouts out that this is something very different. I still can't believe Renault actually built this thing. What were they thinking?! I'm glad they did though. Check out the video here: So that's it for the season of Renaultsport trackdays. Without hesitation I'd say they're the best I've ever done too. Clearly not much use to non-Renault drivers but the chilled out atmosphere, refreshing lack of attitude either on track or in the paddock and very beginner-friendly vibe were all very appealing. To anyone out there with a hot Renault you really have no excuse not to get involved! Dan Pics by zzzone.co.uk Links: Clio picture gallery
20 agosto Vantage Roadster for the wincj hubbard writes:
"So...can I have your number?"
"Ohh... Uh. I don't have a pen. Sorry."
"No problem. I do - it's in my car."
"Your car...? Oh! Ok - you can totally have my number! Hand it over!"
Aston Martin: ensuring its customers never struggle for a pick up line since 1914...
It is a horribly cheap pen, though.
And yeah, I'm fully aware that a better photographer probably wouldn't have been wearing a bright green t-shirt when taking these pictures. --- Links: On the road: of Astons and Accord
On the road: of Astons and Accordscj hubbard writes:
As you may have noticed given the Saab 9-3 Turbo X vid that appeared on the site last week, our new season of video road tests is now up and running. So here's a quick on-location report from the pair we completed yesterday. The thing about doing this is that I find myself a little concerned that at some point on some shoot I won't have anything interesting to talk about. And it was looking a little bit like that yesterday - damp, miserable weather, and otherwise everything was going pretty smoothly.
The Honda Accord wasn't exactly helping. It's a good car, very Honda, and it grows on you over time - so make sure you insist on an extended test drive if you're interested. But it doesn't exactly shout out any anecdotal idiosyncrasies to share with you all. Fortunately, the other car we were filming was an Aston Martin.
Finished in a beautiful shade of pale metallic blue, this V8 Vantage Roadster was enough to brighten everybody's day. Even before Peter started up the engine and bathed us all in its glorious sonorous noise.
Then, of course, the roof broke.
Actually - Aston, you can put down the phone - what really happened is that it got a bit confused. We'll blame Peter, since he stopped it halfway between open and closed, and somehow the mechanism arrived in a position where various parts of it couldn't move without moving other parts first, but this wasn't possible because other parts were already in the way.
Cue a lot of serious head scratching. We even resorted to the manual - a work of art in itself - which simply said to take the key out (or rather, the "Emotional Control Unit" - this is an Aston, don't forget), let the hydraulics relax, and move it manually. Ok, done that, says Peter, why is it we still can't get it to move.
More instructions, off comes a panel behind the driver's seat, out comes a bunch of foam insulation, the battery is revealed (reassuringly enormous), levers are pulled, an allen key is located - still nothing.
We look at the manual again. Boy, it would be easier to concentrate if that roof malfunction alarm wasn't constantly binging... At which point Peter realises he hasn't taken the key out after all. Ah. As soon as the ECU is removed, the hydraulics go slack, we manoeuvre the roof into the correct position, and bingo, one fully functioning Aston Martin again.
Except, for some reason, the windscreen wipers are no longer working.
These are a little disappointing anyway, as they're the old school traditional design - it's amusing to see a £90k Aston out-classed by a £20k Honda in this regard; the Accord, of course, uses the new-fangled, increased efficiency flatblade wiper design.
As you can imagine, non-function wipers when the weather's like this is not especially helpful...
However, just as some of us are starting to get all cynical about British-made automobiles (ahem, that may or may not have been yours truly), it turns out to be something quite clever. The bonnet wasn't shut properly after the obligatory V8 money shot, and the wipers wouldn't work to prevent damage. It's not the only car to do this, but still, pretty cool. And all is right with the world. Except for the lack of sun - which, surprise surprise, arrives in all its brilliance as soon as the Aston gets back from its final filming run. Sigh.
UPDATE: Turns out the Vantage's roof broke down again last night - only this time while it was in its fully open position. The jokes we'd been making all day about endurance testing - we probably opened and closed the top more times in the space of a few hours than your average Aston owner would do in a year - may not have been that far from the truth. --- Links: Bogged down in barley in an XF First Drive: Honda Accord (2008 onwards model)
19 agosto Check yer nuts!Dan Trent writes: Spanners and jack in hand I then uttered the famous last words that herald many a DIY mechanic's downfall: 'It'll only take five minutes...' Five minutes of standing on the Clio's wheelbrace, trying to shift the overtightened wheelnuts - a present from the last airgun-toting gorilla who fitted the wheels. Another five minutes with a bigger wheelbrace, further enhanced with a length of pipe for extra leverage. Yet another five minutes of swearing, sweating and then - inevitably - a stripped bolt. In this case the locking wheelnut. Oh damn.
Fortunately the very kind people at Lookers Renault in Northwich managed to squeeze me in at the last minute and an even bigger airgun-toting gorilla managed to free the nut without drastic drilling or other painful adventures. All this highlights an important point though - if you were stranded at the side of the road with a flat tyre and some idiot had over-tightened your wheel nuts the way mine were you'd stand no chance of freeing them. Loose wheelnuts are obviously A Very Bad Thing. But overtightened ones are nearly as bad, placing undue stress on wheels, hubs and brake discs, not to mention being a proper PITA on that one occasion you really need to be able to undo them. When did you last check yours? Dan Links: Clio picture galleryTrading placesRichard Aucock writes: It was a real concern, you know. The thought of losing my Peugeot 308, with all its equipment, weighed heavily on my mind as I chose my next long-termer. You see, I’d been spoilt. The spec list didn’t fully underline the welter of kit thrown at our old SE-spec machine – particularly as gadgets such as climate control, auto lights, auto wipers and the multi-function remote stereo controls actually worked. You know, in all my time with it, I never once turned on the lights. And not a single person drove into me through not doing so.
It even turned them on when it was raining heavily – this really was clever stuff. So, how would I cope without these digital assistants? Particularly given that I was going for the full-on downtrade, into a SEAT Ibiza Ecomotive, whose spec level is, while hardly of the sack cloth shirt variety, not a patch on the 308?
Well, a month in, I’m still here. I’m sane. I’ve discovered that I can still turn knobs and press buttons. It was a flurry at first – in the morning, for example, I now have to turn on lights, adjust three heater knobs, press the a/c button and reach over to readjust the manual door mirrors. Then, as the car warms up, turn more knobs, remember to turn the lights off as it brightens – and that’s without the brain overload that is adjusting to varying rain conditions with the wiper stalk. Oh, poor old me.
But really, it’s no pain at all. A bit of manual labour never hurt
Particularly as I’m feeling a strange sensation of satisfaction about being in a smaller car. It’s the ‘just enough’ feel; not only am I consuming far less fuel, I’m also using no more metal than I need to, taking up any more space than I have to (given that I can still get 2m-tall wardrobes in…). This all really chimes with my eco mindset – and it’s not smugness. Just satisfaction, at being able to do my bit…
… without having to suffer for it. Right now, green is very good indeed.
It's not an estate!Richard Aucock writes: Whatever you do, don’t call the Volvo V50 an estate. I did, and the product man corrected me in a flash. Goodness, you’re thinking. Bit touchy, aren’t they? That’s just what I thought, at first. He clocked the slightly puzzled expression, though, and explained. “To us, we sell the archetypal estate already – the Volvo V70. It’s a type of car that people know us for, that defines us. It’s not just an estate – it’s a Volvo estate.” “Therefore, how can we call the V50 an estate? Can you get a washing machine in? No – therefore, it’s not a Volvo estate. And thus, to us, not an estate.”
Instead, it’s a Sportwagon, or a more practical hatch version of the S40 saloon. Now, this may sound like marketing hype to you, but as he went on, we actually found the words of our man quite admirable. The idea of a Volvo estate is clearly something they hold onto dearly; yet, instead of diluting the concept by shrinking a V70 and trying to trade on its image and brand association, they’re instead shying away from the association. It would be far easier to market the V50 as a smaller estate, but Volvo realises customers who have an idea of what the Swedish load-lugger should be would see this as a fraud. So, they don’t do it. We respect that. Even if we did have to look up ‘Sportwagon’ to see what the official name for the V50 actually was… ---
18 agosto Time for some homework... Dan Trent writes:
Oulton looks like a great track though and I think it'll suit the Clio down to the ground. Peter and I called in there on our whirlwind tour of British race tracks in the M3 last year and although the light was fading and we were only shooting static pictures I was really taken with the place. Peter's raced here too and rates it as one of his favourite UK tracks so I'm sure it's going to be lots of fun.
Thing is, I've got no idea how to drive the track. But thankfully the latest Renaultsport newsletter has a corner by corner guide by one of the I'll let you know how I get on! Dan Links:
Ta ra Tinsley towers!
The pair of giant cooling towers looming over the M1 as you pass Sheffield certainly signify your arrival in what I consider The Proper North. But my drive past them on the way back home yesterday will have been my last sight of them, because on Sunday they're getting blown up. Or is it down? Anyway, the ghost of Fred Dibnah will be looking on approvingly as the two cooling towers - relics of a long demolished power station - are destroyed in controlled explosions in the small hours of Sunday night. So I couldn't resist grabbing a farewell photograph as we passed by for the last time. The M1 will be closed from midnight on Sunday - and for much of the following day - as a result. And when it does reopen regular drivers will be greeted with a very different vista as they swoop down and past the Meadowhall shopping centre. Farewell then, Tinsley towers! Dan Yorkshire Post (Yorkshire's national newspaper!) on Tinsley Towers
16 agosto Holding on for dear life!
Dan Trent writes:
Well, the fruits of their labour has been condensed into a cool little film, including a supporting role by yours truly. That’s me, looking a little scared and windswept in the Benz about two minutes through the video, just after a little piece to camera by Jochen Mass.
You can see more of this kind of stuff on Mercedes’ web-based TV channel here, it’s all very corporate but there’s some great stuff from the various classic car events, motorsport meets and product launches on there, making it well worth a look if you’ve got a bit of a thing for Mercs. Which, it’s fair to say, I have. Dan Links: The coolest camera car in the world Video: 100 years of Grand Prix racing!
14 agosto Northern Ireland wedding jauntIan writes... It was my brother's wedding and, naturally, the responsibility of arranging the cars fell to me. A Mercedes S-Class was the obvious choice for bridal car - full road test coming soon - and ours was the lengthened Limousine version which gets an extra 130mm on the floor. Huge leather chairs, near-silent operating speeds and a powerful 3-2-litre V6 diesel engine meant it was the perfect cruiser to tackle the 450 miles to Northern Ireland. Indeed, so large was the fuel tank and frugal the turbodiesel engine that we were able to make it back with a quarter of a tank still showing. And when it was called into action, bride and father relaxed themselves in the reclining rear seats while my girlfriend Kelly eased them to the venue, the stunning Mussenden Temple perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Atlantic ocean. To drive my brother to the ceremony I also borrowed a BMW M3 Convertible - which I thought was going to ruin me financially. Two and a half tanks were needed for the same distance, although to be fair, I imagined it to be much worse. Set at a steady speed, the cruise control fixed somewhere between 70mph and 80mph, I was ecstatic with 24.3mpg, although on the busier stretches I eased it back to 65mph and amazingly witnessed - on a seeing-Elvis-in-your-barber's kind of way - 42.8mpg.
The BMW press pack claims 30.1mpg extra urban and 23 combined. This is the advantage of using cruise control for long journeys as it keeps you at a constant speed. The M3's V8 is helped out by BMW's Efficient Dynamics system, standard on most new BMWs, which collects the energy normally lost through braking and sends this to the alternator, taking undue strain off the engine and making it more economical. Even so, looking at my bank balance shows that this is still a very expensive motor to run. Is it worth it? Absolutely. The car's performance does feel ever so slightly more subdued than the coupe (4.8 secs to 60mph versus 5.1), but it is still ferociously quick. The double-clutch semi-automatic gearbox, in its highest shift setting, wallops gears through so aggressively that it literally does rock the car, and you can play around with a whole heap of settings that tune the steering, stiffen the suspension and heighten the throttle response. It would take a lot longer than the week I spent with it to fully get the hang of it. And I'll fill you in when I write a road test on this model, too. I know it's a cliche to say I nearly missed the return ferry, but I really did, what with the farewells to do and cars to pack. Putting even more pressure on our time, one of the main dual carriageways leaving my hometown, Ballymena, was closed so we had to take a long and slow detour out to the M2 that would carry us to Belfast. I tried to make up time - of course I did, I was in an M3 - but the traffic was too heavy.
Thankfully travelling by boat isn't as regimented as flying; we drove straight through the security checkpoint, straight up to the ticket booth and within 10 minutes we had boarded the boat. And never, not in about five years of doing this Stena route to Stranraer, have I ever experienced a delay. You don't get that flying from [insert airport of choice]. The M3 has now gone back - sob, sob - and the Mercedes goes back home tomorrow. And I'm absolutely exhausted. I'm off now to get some sleep.
13 agosto Hell is a Defender SVX
Peter Burgess writes: The SVX is a convertible. Or rather it has a fabric roof which you’d need a week to remove, probably a month to replace. The much vaunted stereo is one of those dreadful Clarion units that defy logic and can’t be operated without a magnifying glass. But the worst thing is the ride. The suspension seems to do very little suspending but it does delight at jarring your vertebrae at every possible opportunity. It’s the worst in living memory. This Defender makes the same statement as walking around with a pit bull on a lead. Except instead of a bloody leg, you’ll end up with a dislocated spine. Peter
12 agosto Let's off-road! Dan Trent writes:
And in celebration of the fact I headed out into the wilds for a spot of off-roading on the way home yesterday. And here I am, dust plume in my wake as I roar across the rugged plains of the
This is more a reflection of my ham-fisted driving skills than the off-road ability of the Landie, I should point out. We got out in the end, thankfully. But I had to laugh at the fact my previous off-road escapades in various Mercedes ‘Chelsea Tractors’ had never seen me stranded in such a way before. But then these cars are blessed with all sorts of electronic trickery designed to flatter your (lack of) skill. And the Landie? Real Men only it would seem. Men who don’t go off-roading in office attire and whinge when they get their poncey shoes muddy. Dan Land Rover Defender first drive
11 agosto And now for something completely different... Dan Trent writes: Boohoo, a man just took away the Lotus. But look what I've got to drive home in instead! Is it possible to find two such contrasting vehicles?! I'll be betting my journey home will be at a rather more sedate pace than the ride in. But the Land Rover is certainly easier to get in and out of. And I may well seek out the road less travelled in an attempt to use it in the way its makers intended. More on this tomorrow. Hopefully. Anyway, I couldn't waste the opportunity to get a shot of these two quintessentially British - and yet completely disparate - vehicles together in one place. Dan
Men are from Mars, women are from Venus, part 101Dan Trent writes:You’re going to a summer wedding out in the countryside. You need to arrange a car. Being a bloke I prioritised the following: pose value, performance, an open top and sharp handling. Clearly I needed a Lotus Elise SC. Feeling pretty pleased with myself I proudly brought the Lotus home the night before we were due to depart. “Where do I put my bags?” asked my long suffering other half. Ah. “And how am I going to get out of that when we get to the wedding?” Um, well it’s a lot easier when the roof is off. “Yes, but that will mess my hair up and I wanted to arrive looking glamorous” Hm. I tried countering that arriving with (slightly) dishevelled hair in an open top sports car was considerably more glamorous but this was apparently the wrong answer. Honestly, I don’t know what all the fuss was about. There was worse to come though, the blushing bride requesting a ride in the Elise after the ceremony. I was only too happy to oblige but whisking somebody else’s new wife away from her own wedding reception in a flash sportscar appears not to be the done thing. Ditto returning a few minutes later with her ashen-faced, teetering about on her heels, reaching for a stiff drink and repeating ‘oh my god, oh my god…’ Oh dear, I’m guessing she expected something a little more sedate. Suffice to say the Elise is, quite frankly, rubbish as a wedding car. But it’s wonderful in pretty much every other respect! Dan
08 agosto Bring back Can-Amcj hubbard writes:
Do YOU find Formula 1 a little...boring? Do you long for the days when men were real men, women were real women, and the cars involved couldn't decide whether to spit themselves sideways off the track or, simply, explode under the strain? Then you need to click HERE and view the trailer (small banner, mid-way down the page, opens in new window) for Can-Am: The Speed Odyssey. I mean seriously, you really do. The world desperately needs an unlimited racing formula again - motorsport is supposed to be dangerous and expensive, after all. Turn the speakers up! Want to make motorsport interesting and ecologically sound? Here's my suggestion (all for free - just give me access to the racing and we're fine): scrap all the rules aside from basic structural crash safety, and systematically reduce the amount of fuel competitors are allowed to use each season. That way we might start getting some on track innovation that's actually useful in the real world again. (And don't get me started on F1's supposedly cutting-edge and planet friendly Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), due to be introduced next year - assuming it stops shocking the mechanics and randomly exploding. Toyota has more advanced systems on its road cars, let alone the hybrid Supra HR-V that won the Tokachi 24hrs last year, and is refusing to set a date for its KERS introduction.) --- Links: Can-Am: The Speed Odyssey @ The Motorsport Collector BMW suspends testing after KERS scare @ Crash.net KERS failure caused Red Bull fire scare @ Autosport.com Top 10 green racing cars @ MSN Cars
Motor shows past, present & future
Reader Matthew Bodycombe writes: Motorfair Earls Court 1987 is still firmly etched in my memory as event that first triggered my obsession with cars. Sure like most 10 year olds I had the Matchbox cars (probably worth a fortune now but smashed to bits replicating the exploits of Bodie and Doyle: oh the folly of youth) and the posters on the wall but I had limited experience of proper cars other than the Vauxhall Cavalier SRI 130 my dad ran at the time (close ratio box and as fast from 50-70 in fourth as BMW 635i so there!). That exhibition changed all that for good. Not only was I allowed to sit and practice mock gear changes in every car but I came home with plastic bag literally groaning with car literature and freebies which I perused with the intensity of a Ph D student as soon as I got home. A proper enthusiast was born and many a playground argument was won (see comment above). Does this sound familiar? I bet if you are a thirty something bloke who visited one of these exhibitions as a kid it does. Ferrari The star of the show was the Ferrari F40. I remember finding the Ferrari stand blocked off to hoi polloi but I got talking with one of the stand guys over the barrier. I introduced myself as a future customer. After a few minutes he said the magic words “I’ll have a word” and I was told to present myself at the gate. I was ushered in and then the next line: “I have a guest who is a future customer. He wants to sit in the F40”. I still remember that car: I couldn’t even press the clutch down but I was enthralled and felt like a film star watching the other kids behind the barrier, without my gift of the gab, wondering how I had swung it. What also sticks in my mind was the kindness of that Ferrari representative and most of the other reps there. It led me back in 1989, 1991 and 1993. I haven’t placed my order at Egham yet but there’s still time and if that guy is still there it will be his desk that I sign the cheque on. I was delighted when the Motor Show came to London and on the whole have enjoyed the last two events even though some high profile manufacturers like BMW, V.A.G, Ferrari and Mitsubishi have failed to exhibit at one or the other of the shows. The waterside venue is great and the opportunity to test drive cars on site inspired as is the outdoor events and parallel evening entertainment. Today Would I have enjoyed the event as much as a ten year old? I don’t know. For a start I witnessed a lot of young lads climbing into cars only to be rebuked or given the evil eye by some miserable sod in a manufacturers’ shirt brandishing a polishing cloth. This wasn’t true in every case and the Lotus and Morgan boys especially were patient and understanding with the youngsters. There was none of encouragement and gentle humouring that I experienced back in 1987. Shell had a science exhibition and Peugeot had some electric cars for the younger kids but if you were a real child enthusiast you could have been disappointed. Firstly there was no literature available at all even for the adults. Instead there were countless pretty girls with palm pilots ready to pounce if an adult showed signs of interest. A treat for the guys but there were no excited young lads coming away with carrier bags full of brochures. A girl on one of the stands told me she had lost count of the number of times she had been asked and reckoned that it would have been good if there had been some posters that she could have given out at the very least. It makes good PR sense in my opinion to look after the kids as the market is getting ever more competitive and, sooner than those manufacturers might realise, those kids are going to be working and be in a position to buy cars and if you can inspire them at a young age at events like these, you are more likely to get a sale from them later on. I remember having long discussions in 1987 on the Peugeot stand on how the 205 GTI was much better than the Golf and how most Peugeot cars had the best handling in their class. I went home, did my research and found the motoring magazines said he was right. 13 years later I had a 106 on the drive and found out for myself. So when I come back in 2010 I hope to see the young petrol heads treated better. Anyway is that the postman? Looks like the literature has arrived and it’s time to go and see what I can replace the current car with in a year or two. While I am thinking about it maybe I should get those 1987 brochures out of the attic as well. If you have a guest blog you'd like to submit for publication on MSN Cars, please drop me, Tom Evans, a line on tomev@microsoft.com Our new video newsThe sharp eyed among you may have noticed our new video news channel, which we're very pleased to welcome in.
This will be a weekly video news update of all the latest goings on in the car world and is designed to complement our existing text-based news. We hope you like it!
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