New tech to woo the buyers
15/02/12 14:36
It used to be that garages boasted when the cars on their used car lot had a heated rear window (HRW) or power assisted steering (PAS). But, now that almost every car has these, and much more, as standard the race is on to find technology to tease potential buyers.
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Read More...WRC takes a backward step on UK TV
15/02/11 18:51
What a disappointment! The DriveBlog household had become avid viewers of the WRC coverage on Dave, the TV channel. Now, as we start what could be one of the most interesting World Rally Championships for years, where do we turn?
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Read More...Audi press on with quattro for A1
14/01/11 17:24
Speaking with a motortrade insider about the benefits of four-wheel-drive in winter weather, like we have experienced in this country with a vengeance over the last couple of months.
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A Ford Focus, but not as we know it
13/01/11 15:05
When we headed out to the parking garage at the airport in Florida, we thought we knew what we were getting as our hire car. It was, after all, a Ford Focus – one of the most common cars on European roads.
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Read More...Roads still a transport priority in the USA
30/09/10 11:51
I’ve just returned from a two-week driving trip in the USA. Although faced by the same financial stringencies we face here in the UK – it was notable that investment in transport, and roads in particular, seems to be continuing apace.
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Read More...Panamera: Can it really be a four seater?
18/04/10 17:40
Ever since I first saw a Porsche Panamera lurking in San Francisco street, before the launch, I’ve been intrigued as to how practical the rear seats actually are.
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Read More...No, I did not crash the Pagani Zonda
25/03/10 16:37
For the umpteenth time, it was not me! I did not crash the Pagani Zonda. Yes, I know it crashed very near to where I live. Yes, I have been known to write road tests for magazines.
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Read More...Hidden danger of 'keyless entry'
22/03/10 15:45
At a convivial lunch last week, with fellow motoring writer friends, I was reminded of the occasion when we found that the downside of keyless entry systems. Read More...
Speed limiters proposed in Scotland
16/06/09 16:27
Scotland’s Transport Minister has launched a new ten-year road safety framework, which sets what are claimed to be the ‘toughest’ targets in the UK for for reduction of injuries and fatalities. Read More...
The future is electric
22/05/09 08:55
The future is electric. That’s the message I got from speaking to industry experts at the All Energy exhibition in Aberdeen this week. Exhibitors and visitors from around the world were showcasing their renewable energy technologies. Read More...
50 limit moves up agenda
21/04/09 08:48
Increasing political chatter suggests that we are moving closer and closer to a 50 mph blanket speed limit on single carriageway roads. But is this really fired by any evidence that it will actually improve road safety? Read More...
Talk of 50 mph limit avoids the issue
28/03/09 13:46
UK Government ministers are said to be considering a default 50 mph speed limit for all single-carriageway roads. Read More...
Battle rages over Forth Bridge
05/01/09 15:04
Congestion charges stall
06/12/08 11:33
It has been a bad couple of weeks for those determined to tax us twice for using the roads we have already paid for. Read More...
Boosting the economy with a roads programme
05/12/08 10:52
The opening of the new motorway that closes the Cumberland Gap in the UK motorway system, on the 50th anniversary of the opening of the first motorway, is a cause for celebration. But it also highlights the chronic under-investment in Britain’s primary transport network.
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Read More...America's motor giants face uncertain future
30/11/08 10:38
Leaders of America’s big three motor giants – GM, Chrysler and Ford – headed to Washington seeking a rescue package from the US government.
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Are hybrids really good for the environment?
04/07/08 19:48
The BBC's 'Top Gear' programme isn't always the most thought-provoking programme on television. Normally it is pure entertainment. However, the recent item about the Toyota Prius did suggest that we think more deeply than many of the Hollywood elite about our evironmentally-friendly motoring solutions. Read More...
So fuel price increase is nothing to do with tax?
29/05/08 12:26
When the Prime Minister and the Chancellor flew to Aberdeen to meet with the bosses of the UK oil industry, Gordon Brown tried to deflect attention from high fuel taxes as the cause for the current fuel price crisis. Instead, he tried to focus attention on fuel supply as the real cause. Read More...
Biofuels - vision or mirage?
09/04/08 15:54
Everywhere you go these days – particularly in the United States – the talk is of biofuels. People seem to have latched onto the idea that we can grow our own fuel as being the panacea for all our fossil fuel ills.
But, have the supporters of biofuels stopped to think things through? Read More...
But, have the supporters of biofuels stopped to think things through? Read More...
Claim that potholes endanger lives
31/01/08 16:53
Britain used to be known for the quality of its road surfaces. No, don't laugh, it really did. Manufacturers from this country went to France to give their suspension a serious test, now the continental manufacturers are coming here for testing because our road surfaces are notorious. Read More...
I do not like being lied to
14/09/07 13:32
I do not like being lied to. But almost every day, governments, transport authorities and environmentalists come out with statements that are quite simply untrue. Read More...
The UK now has the lowest number of petrol stations since 1912
22/08/07 15:00
At 9,500 petrol station forecourts, the UK now has the lowest number of petrol stations in its history since 1912 according to figures just released. This year to date 150 filling stations have closed, on top of the large number in recent years. Read More...
London congestion charge will hit some hard
09/08/07 09:35
Transport for London (TfL) is proposing radical changes to the road tolls to link them to carbon dioxide emissions. If the proposals go ahead there will be a lot of hefty losers and a few winners. Read More...
Tribeca opens new market for Subaru
04/08/07 11:24
When Subaru first appeared in the UK they were seen as workhorse vehicles for rural types. Pick ups and estate cars with some go-anywhere ability thanks to their four wheel drive system. Then, along came Colin McRae spearheading their high-profile world rally championship successes, Subaru suddenly became the sporty.
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You face a long drive in future to fill up
11/04/07 16:21
Remember when getting a loaf of bread or a pint of milk meant just a short walk (or a short drive in the country) to the local corner shop? Now you probably make a family excursion to your local Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury's or Morrisons. Now think about refuelling your car. Remember when refuelling the car was something you did when the fuel light came on? Oh, fuel light on, there's a station... fill up. Read More...
Anti-car brigade are stuck in the past
07/04/07 16:18
When are our politicians going to waken up to the fact that emissions from cars are something that simply won't be a problem in ten to twenty years time. Given that most "planning horizons" are ten years or more, our politicians are accelerating global warming by spouting a lot of hot air over a problem which will simply disappear.
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XK8 air intake icon meets resistance in USA
26/03/07 16:08
The delicious XK8 has been facing some unusual resistance in the US market. Speaking with Ian Callum, Jaguar's design director he tells how there is some resistance to the XK8's air intake which harks back to the E-type original. Read More...
Now Scotland does a U-turn on tolls
12/03/07 16:06
The Scottish Transport Minister, Tavish Scott, has announced that plans to introduce nationwide tolls on Scotland's roads have been shelved for at least four years.
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Government getting cold feet on road tolls
14/02/07 16:04
With 1.7 million names reportedly on the anti road toll petition on the Downing Street website it appears that the Government may be getting cold feet over the idea. Tony Blair is emailing all participants to try to persuade them that the government is only looking at the idea... honest! Read More...
African experience shows how much progress we have made on emissions
07/02/07 16:03
Time spent in heavy traffic in Nairobi was a graphic reminder of how much the air quality in this country has improved, thanks to improvements in vehicle emissions.
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Congestion charges could cost thousands for commuters
03/01/07 15:59
As more insight is gained into the Eddington Review, which proposes a system or road charging for England (similar charges are proposed in the National Transport Strategy for Scotland), it is becoming clear that motoring in the future could be very expensive. Read More...
Nanny state gone mad?
02/01/07 15:58
I had to check the date when I heard that the Crown Prosecution service has floated the idea that talking to a passenger while driving could be made an offence.
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Tightening up on traffic law
15/12/06 15:57
There have been suggestions that the Government will toughen up on traffic law, increasing the potential penalties for various offences. Is this finally a recognition that the focus on enforcing speed limits is entirely out of proportion with its effect on road safety? (Only 5% of accidents in 2005 were caused by exceeding the speed limit according to Government figures.)
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Chancellor avoids temptation to hammer road users... for the moment
08/12/06 15:56
Putting 1.25p on a litre of fuel could be seen as road users getting off lightly and, certainly, all the green campaigners who have been baying for motorists to be squeezed till their pips squeaked, have been clamouring to get on the media to tell us so. Read More...
Where are all the extra cars to come from?
01/12/06 15:55
In advance on the Eddington Review which will propose a tax per mile for roads used, Professor David Begg said that the alternative was to build five times as many roads as are currently proposed. Where are all these extra cars, suggested in this horror-story scenario, supposed to come from?
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Rong Wei for Rover
19/10/06 15:52
With Ford having bought the Rover name to protect their own Land Rover brand, SAIC - who bought the rights to the Rover models - have had to reconsider their plans to start producing the cars with the Rover badge.
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LUNI
18/10/06 15:51
Many years ago one of our motoring magazines started a campaign which they named LUNI - light up now idiot! As the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is upon us, it is is as important a campaign now as it was then. Read More...
Why do Japanese cars beep so much?
13/10/06 15:49
I've been driving a Nissan Note for the last week. Why does it have to beep so much? This constant nagging of differing tones of beep gets a bit wearing after a while. Read More...
Why change our switchgear?
07/10/06 15:50
I'm driving a Vauxhall Astra Twintop at the moment and very good it is too. But it has reminded me... why are manufacturers changing our switchgear to the type where the lever moves, but returns to its off position? Read More...
Unclogging Britain's motorways
10/09/06 15:42
I recently drove along the M42 just as they were preparing to allow traffic to use a fourth lane, during peak periods, in a bid to beat congestion. The fourth lane is the hard shoulder. Read More...