Archive for May, 2012
Events : Fords gather at the Heritage Motor Centre
Thousands of Ford enthusiasts will be gathering at the Heritage Motor Centre on Sunday 22 July when it hosts the Old Ford Rally. The show, which is in its fourth year, is now the biggest Rally of old Fords in the UK. All types of cars, commercial, agricultural and military vehicles built up to 1985 [...]
May 31, 2012
· 
Keith Adams · 
5 Comments
Parts and accessories : New Ring Apollo DRLs
Lighting the way to Safety and Style AROnline has long campaigned that being seen in variable lighting conditions is a fundamental part of avoiding accidents – and advises that drivers should have their lights on all the time, day or night. Standard fit DRLs are slowly addressing this issue, but as new cars take time [...]
May 31, 2012
· Keith Adams · 15 Comments
News : Young drivers paying fifth of wages on car insurance
It is a well-known fact that younger drivers, who are seen as the biggest risk on the roads, have to pay considerably higher insurance premiums than more experienced drivers. However, in recent years this situation has become considerably worse and many young drivers are now having to spend up to a fifth of their wages [...]
May 31, 2012
· Keith Adams · 4 Comments
Events : MGB50 celebrations at Silverstone
A record-breaking 58 FIA MGBs will compete in the Official MGB50 Celebration race at MGLive! on Saturday 23 June. The MG Car Club’s 62nd successive Silverstone meeting has attracted a mouth-watering grid of the world’s best MGBs and competitors will contest for honours on the full GP circuit. Supported by British Motor Heritage, the prestigious [...]
May 31, 2012
· Keith Adams · No Comments
News : JLR reports record sales and £1.5bn profit
Graham Ruddick The car maker, which has plants in the Midlands and Merseyside, sold 314,433 vehicles in the year to March 31, the most in the history of Jaguar and Land Rover. This meant revenues rose 37% to £13.5bn and pre-tax profits grew from £1.1bn last year, which was also a record, to £1.51bn. The [...]
May 30, 2012
· Keith Adams · 28 Comments
News : SAIC to invest more in the UK
Jon Griffin Chinese-owned MG Motor UK has benefited from £450 million worth of investment to steer Longbridge back on the road to success – and more funds are on the way. The figure was disclosed by MG Motor UK bosses who revealed the car firm was to hit the export trail to mainland Europe within [...]
May 30, 2012
· Keith Adams · 47 Comments
Blog : K-Series, one impressive engine
Keith Adams I’ve been pretty tough on the old K-Series engine in the past. Brilliant in theory and concept, disastrous in execution, its well-publicised weaknesses must have played a significant part in MG Rover’s demise in 2005. However, like all the elements in our story, things are never quite as simple as they first appear - when [...]
May 28, 2012
· Keith Adams · 52 Comments
News : Lotus – Bahar suspension, but company ‘not for sale’
Despite questions being raised about the future of Lotus in the days following Dany Bahar’s suspension from the company, Proton and parent company DRB-Hicom have confimed that the company is not for sale. Following an operational review, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus plc, Dany Bahar was temporarily suspended from his role to facilitate an [...]
May 28, 2012
· admin · 19 Comments
Events : Vauxhall Heritage open day
Vauxhall will again be opening its Heritage Centre to the public giving everyone the chance to see its private collection of historic cars from 1903 to the present day on 10 June. The Heritage Centre’s annual open day will coincide with the Luton Festival of Transport. A free bus will run throughout the day between [...]
May 28, 2012
· Keith Adams · 11 Comments
News : McLaren GT to expand in Woking
It’s a case of more expansion in UK manufacturing, with the news that McLaren GT plans to establish a dedicated engineering and vehicle assembly facility close to the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) in Woking, Southern England, one year after the stunning 12C GT3 made its racing debut as part of an intensive 2011 development programme. [...]
May 25, 2012
· Keith Adams · No Comments
News : MINI on the boil in China
MINI is finding its feet in China after a slow start following its introduction in 2005. Back then it recorded just 430 sales but last year it hit a record 15,500. The British brand is still growing, up 33 per cent to 7000 units in the first four months of this year compared to the [...]
May 24, 2012
· Keith Adams · 13 Comments
News : BCA reports rises in used car values
Data released in BCA’s Quarterly Pulse Report shows the average value of a used car in the first quarter of 2012 was £6114 – the highest ever recorded in the first quarter since Pulse began reporting in 2005. Year on year, Q1 12 was ahead by £215 (3.6%) and significantly ahead of the average values [...]
May 22, 2012
· Keith Adams · 2 Comments
News : Pre-1960 cars to be MoT exempt
John Slavin From November this year, cars registered before 1960 will be exempt from the MoT test – although owners will still be required to maintain their vehicles in a roadworthy condition. According to the announcement from the DfT, owners of classic and historic vehicles tend to maintain them to a high standard, and a [...]
May 21, 2012
· John Slavin · 112 Comments
Driven : Vauxhall Astra GTE (1984)
The Mk1 Vauxhall Astra GTE might be one of the underrated hot hatches of the 1980s, but that certainly doesn’t mean it’s not up there with the best. Keith Adams drives one along the Route Napoléon in the South of France and comes away smiling. Star in ascendency For those old enough to remember the hot [...]
May 20, 2012
· Keith Adams · 43 Comments
News : Range Rover L405 picture clears
Words: Keith Adams Photography: Julian Reynolds Range Rover management clearly took the decision last week to show just a little bit more of next year’s Range Rover, codenamed L405, to the public. The Midlands was flooded with test and development prototypes of its new flagship wearing far less disguise than before last week, and more [...]
May 19, 2012
· Keith Adams · 44 Comments
Our Cars : Are friends electric?
Just when you think you have created a reliable car, a small problem comes along to remind you otherwise, which thanks to some laziness, became a major headache. Friends and neighbours to the rescue! Words and Photography: Mike Humble Guilty and not charged It’s a well known fact that both Keith Adams and I along [...]
May 19, 2012
· Mike Humble · 10 Comments
eBay Find of the Week : Morris Ital time-capsule for sale
Keith Adams Never, ever underestimate the ability for our classic car market to turn up some amazing barn find cars. We recently told you about a Rover 200 with 12 miles on the clock which was up for sale and this Morris Ital will seem positively mileagey in comparison, having covered 300 miles – but, for those who [...]
May 19, 2012
· Keith Adams · 74 Comments
Sales Talk : The old ones are the best
Everybody likes a good deal on a new car, but sometimes a customer by their own fault can end up driving not quite the hard bargain they thought. Mike Humble Letting the customer do the legwork Buying a new car can be a stressful experience and even a sales person will vouch for that. Walking [...]
May 19, 2012
· Mike Humble · 17 Comments
News : Brits do well at Honest John awards…
The Swindon-made Honda CR-V and the recently facelifted Jaguar XF from Castle Bromwich have both picked up prizes in last night’s Honest John awards. The British-built pair both scored well with the site’s 1.4 million monthly readers – the prizes of Most Popular 4×4 and Most Popular large executive car are both packed with talented [...]
May 18, 2012
· admin · 12 Comments
News : Vauxhall production stays in the UK
Vauxhall car company staff have voted by 94% in favour of a new pay and conditions deal, clearing the way for investment in the Ellesmere Port plant. Owner General Motors will confirm this morning that a new Astra model will be built at the plant, securing about 2100 jobs. Many people had feared that the [...]
May 17, 2012
· admin · 53 Comments
