Archive for August, 2009
Adventures in the marvellous Mini of doom!
Dave Smart Part 10: Poznan to Prague I was up early at 7.30am to replace the fan belt, which took about 25 minutes, on completing it I noticed a couple of small bolts on the ground after I replaced the grille. they were from the radiator top bracket which I undid to remove and replace [...]
August 31, 2009
· 
Keith Adams · 
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Adventures in the marvellous Mini of doom!
Dave Smart Part nine: Gdansk to Poznan Another late start saw me pushed for time for the day, my only real plan was to get to Prague by late Monday afternoon to meet some friends at the end of the CzechWrecks rally (see www.streetsafari.com) The trip from Gdansk to Prague some 470 miles would seem [...]
August 30, 2009
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Adventures in the marvellous Mini of doom!
Dave Smart Part eight: Mini and a shipyard Had a bit of a lie in then after a pleasant breakfast, Jagoda and I jumped in the Mini for a sight seeing and photo opportunity tour. We headed for the gates of the shipyard, the scene of many Solidarity protests that I remember from TV when [...]
August 29, 2009
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Adventures in the marvellous Mini of doom!
Dave Smart Part seven: Berlin to Gdansk – what a day! Before I left Berlin, there were a few things I wanted to do, get pictures of the car at Checkpoint Charlie, The Wall and a BMW MINI dealer around the corner from the hostel. As I reversed on to the pavement outside the BMW [...]
August 29, 2009
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Blog : Bangering in reverse
Keith Adams I must admit that I’m suffering from banger rally withdrawal symptoms. Yes, I know I am not going to get any sympathy from you because, since landing my dream job at Octane magazine, 2009 has been a continuous box ticking exercise for me as, week after week, I’ve found myself going to great places [...]
August 29, 2009
· Keith Adams · 11 Comments
China Watch : SAIC Motor profit falls as write-off erodes China GM sales
Gasgoo.com, 27th August, 2009 SAIC Motor Corp., China’s largest domestic automaker, said first-half profit fell 26 percent after 1.18 billion yuan ($173 million) of write-offs eroded gains from surging sales of General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG cars. Net income declined to 1.45 billion yuan from 1.97 billion yuan, the Shanghai-based automaker said in a [...]
August 28, 2009
· Clive Goldthorp · No Comments
MINI : Coupe Concept to star at Frankfurt Motor Show
Clive Goldthorp Mini fans the world over will already know that last Wednesday was the 50th Anniversary of the original BMC-built model’s launch. MINI UK chose to mark the occasion by releasing details and images of the MINI Coupe Concept which will be revealed in the metal for the first time at the Frankfurt Motor Show [...]
August 28, 2009
· Clive Goldthorp · No Comments
Adventures in the marvellous Mini of doom!
Dave Smart Part six: Berlin – a tale of two cities After stupidly falling asleep last night I got up early to see as much of the city as I could in the limited time available. Far from being a city of former East and West, I found Berlin had many other contrasts during the [...]
August 27, 2009
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Press Report : MG UK to suspend production at Longbridge until 2010?
John Cranage, Birmingham Post, 27th August, 2009 MG UK was non-committal yesterday over a claim that it was preparing to suspend production at its Longbridge factory in Birmingham until next year. The BBC said the MG sports car line – all that remains of the once-mighty Austin car plant – would cease when production of [...]
August 27, 2009
· Clive Goldthorp · No Comments
Press Comment : Big questions for SAIC Motor on Longbridge’s future
David Bailey, Birmingham Post, 25th August, 2009 With only limited MG TF production to date, and soft-top sales set to fall off as Autumn and Winter fast approach, concern is growing that TF production will be halted later this year in order to stop a stockpile of unsold cars building up. In a statement released [...]
August 27, 2009
· Clive Goldthorp · No Comments
Adventures in the marvellous Mini of doom!
Dave Smart Part five: And so to the East… I set off from Osnabruck at about 11, with the GPS set to ‘avoid highways’ and had a lovely morning travelling the A roads, culminating in an enjoyable frickadellan and strawberry tart for lunch. I found from the locals, that the old East/West border was to [...]
August 26, 2009
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Happy birthday Mini!
Ian Nicholls From The Times 26th August, 1959 B.M.C. BABY CARS SET UP A NEW STANDARD IN CHEAP MOTORING PERFORMANCE AND COMFORT RETAINED FROM OUR MOTORING CORRESPONDENT The British Motor Corporation officially announce today the entirely new small cars that - unofficially – have been described, illustrated and discussed for many months past. Although there are two cars, [...]
August 25, 2009
· Keith Adams · 10 Comments
Adventures in the marvellous Mini of doom!
Dave Smart Part four: Salsa dancing already I left Erwin’s place mid morning and headed for Osnabruck in Germany, weather was dull, but good at first, however as I crossed the border, the Germans decided to make me feel at home as the skies slowly lowered and it started to rain, quite heavily in places. [...]
August 25, 2009
· Keith Adams · One Comment
Press Report : Soured Tata remains fully committed to JLR
Alun Thorne, Birmingham Post, 25th August, 2009 After months of prevarication, Tata Motors finally secured the finance it needed to keep Jaguar Land Rover afloat during the downturn. Now the dust has settled, Alun Thorne looks at the fall-out from an inglorious episode. Indian group Tata says it was amazed at the Government’s behaviour given [...]
August 25, 2009
· Clive Goldthorp · No Comments
Grr…
Keith Adams I’ve been driving around in a Metro diesel (see below) this week (it’s cheaper than walking and rides better than your 5-series thank you very much) but am increasingly running out of humour when it comes to bully-boy prats tailgating me… Why do little men in their leased cars feel the need to [...]
August 24, 2009
· Keith Adams · 28 Comments
Adventures in the marvellous Mini of doom!
Dave Smart Part three: Working for my keep As it was good to see Erwin again, I decided to stay for an extra night in Meijel, but Erwin had to work today, so I went along with him and we removed the carpet from a large office in about 2 1/2 hours which left the [...]
August 24, 2009
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Adventures in the marvellous Mini of doom!
Dave Smart Part two: The first day Well today I left my friend’s house at about 9.40am (I should have really left at 9.00) so things were always gonna be a little pressed for catching the ferry at Dover. Headed up the M5, down the A358 and then onto the A303 towards the M3, when [...]
August 23, 2009
· Keith Adams · No Comments
MINI and MG : Back on stage and track?
Clive Goldthorp Autocar’s website and sister title Motorsport News have this week reported that two of the former BMC marques most closely associated with Motor Sport are set to return to competition in the next couple of years. MINI’s forthcoming new crossover model, which will, if current rumours are correct, be badged the Countryman and will reach [...]
August 21, 2009
· Clive Goldthorp · 3 Comments
Adventures in the marvellous Mini of doom!
Dave Smart is about to take his ex-S2N Mini for an adventure across Europe. And we’ll be keeping track of his progress. For more information, visit http://getjealous.com/marvelousminiofdoom
August 21, 2009
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Press Report : Green van plan could revive LDV factory
Jon Griffin, Birmingham Post, 21st August, 2009 A new generation of green vans could rise from the ashes of the mothballed LDV factory in Washwood Heath, Birmingham if backers can be found for a Welsh-based venture. Low-carbon technology specialist Connaught Engineering, based near Llanelli, has issued a public appeal for financial backers to help turn the [...]
August 21, 2009
· Clive Goldthorp · No Comments
