Archive for September, 2012
Essays : A tale of two Leyland P76s
Alan Firth tells how he acquired two of these large Ozzie saloons For those that do not know me, I undertook a Rover Staff Apprenticeship from August 1959 ’til 1963, when I moved to the Pengam, Cardiff plant as a Quality Control Engineer. At Pengam we made P6 suspension and transmission units, including gearbox and [...]
September 28, 2012
· 
Keith Adams · 
26 Comments
News : Vauxhall ADAM underpins GM’s UK strength
The UK is a shining light in an otherwise bleak European car market, according to Vauxhall Chairman and Managing Director, Duncan Aldred. Speaking after the unveiling of the new ADAM city car on the eve of the Paris Motor Show, Mr. Aldred said manufacturers in Continental Europe are looking with envy at the UK market [...]
September 28, 2012
· Keith Adams · 8 Comments
Blog : Throwing down the ‘Swiss’ gauntlet… Updated
Mike Humble Well, there I was wandering out of Sainsburys* in Godalming when I spotted something rarer than a four-leaf clover – an MG6 was swinging into the car park, looking pristine in metallic Union Blue. Wandering over to the owner in a nonchalant kind of way, I remarked how bonny the car looked and innocently asked [...]
September 28, 2012
· Mike Humble · 72 Comments
Essays : The bitter sting in the TF tail
Simon Brown tells the unfortunate story of his fault-prone, badly-built TF and MG’s resolute inability to honour its warranty. My MG TF was number 790 built 20 May 2009. I had seen it sitting in the Dealers for about a year before I bought it (they registered it 14 May 2010). In Racing Green Metalic [...]
September 28, 2012
· admin · 53 Comments
News : Our friends Electric – Nemesis’ new record
Andrew Elphick As you may have noticed on AROnline, were proud of Britain and British engineering. Staunch supporters of the underdog too. So when a British team of engineers breaks a LSR (land speed record) we get excited! Sustainable energy firm Ecotricity usual stock in trade is as a supplier of renewable energy, however boss [...]
September 28, 2012
· admin · No Comments
Paris 2012 : The Brits on show
Keith Adams The Paris motor show has been a bi-annual affair for some time, so it’s a very special event on the calendar for the major manufacturers, even if the major industry growth is now out East in China and India. For 2012, there was the usual positive motor show buzz, with both manufacturers and [...]
September 27, 2012
· Keith Adams · 3 Comments
Paris 2012 : The girls
Keith Adams AROnline’s motor show coverage isn’t complete without its traditional gallery of the girls who unstintingly and tirelessly modelled alongside the shiny new metal. Given that Paris is the home of Haute Couture it’s no surprise that the ladies doing their bit were incredibly well turned out, with the full spectrum of the world’s [...]
September 27, 2012
· Keith Adams · 14 Comments
News : Jaguar F-type breaks cover
The much-previewed Jaguar F-type has finally been unveiled, and it’s hoped it will bring a new and younger customer into the fold. The gorgeous styling was previewed by last year’s C-X16 concept are carried over almost unchanged, and there are three engine options: a 3-litre supercharged V6 (with two power outputs), and the supercharged 5-litre [...]
September 26, 2012
· Keith Adams · 29 Comments
News : Plato’s podium hat-trick at Rockingham
Words: Clive Goldthorp Photographs: BTCC Media Office A 20-car Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) grid rolled into Northamptonshire’s Rockingham Motor Speedway last weekend for Rounds 22, 23 and 24 of the Championship with points leader, Matt Neal, suffering from a fractured metacarpal, dislocated thumb and forefinger injuries sustained in a recent motorcycle accident and [...]
September 26, 2012
· Clive Goldthorp · One Comment
Video : Jaguar F-type goes testing
Keith Adams Although the F-type isn’t revealed officially until the Paris Motor Show, it already feels as though we know all there is to know about Jaguar’s exciting new two-seater. The supercharged open-topped two-seater enters uncharted territory for its maker, and although we don’t know the official line about pricing, it’s a good bet that [...]
September 25, 2012
· Keith Adams · 11 Comments
News : Cortina’s 50th celebrated on the Beeb
The Ford Cortina celebrated its launch 50 years ago on prime-time TV with a feature on the BBC’s One Show. Presented by comedian and actor Alexei Sayle (above), the feature recalled an hour-long documentary hosted by him on the BBC arts show Arena in 1982 called The Private Life of the Ford Cortina. The Ford [...]
September 25, 2012
· Keith Adams · 17 Comments
Blog : That photograph…
Ian Elliott Seeing that photograph on the new ‘cycle-heading’ that you have on the AROnline Home page of the four luminaries associated with SD1 is a bit poignant now, because the sole remaining survivor of the four, Mike Lewis, died earlier in the summer. Mike was a Rover man through and through, having started at [...]
September 23, 2012
· Keith Adams · 8 Comments
Our Cars : Is the MG6 honeymoon over?
Ant McGowan’s MG6 is piling on the miles, and it’s still going strong. However, one or two niggles are eroding his confidence in the car. Is the honeymoon over? MG6 collywobbles Bought: July 2012 Miles: 7034 Fuel consumption: 36.7mpg Well, it wouldn’t be an MG if there weren’t some niggling issues. And my ‘6 is [...]
September 23, 2012
· Keith Adams · 89 Comments
Blog : Driving in the UK – we’re all still learners
Keith Adams Mike Humble’s recent rant about his brush with incompetent drivers, and attitudes on the roads in the UK, was certainly food for thought – and it asks more questions than it answers. Personally speaking, and after many, many years on the road, during a long and sometimes painful driving career, I have been [...]
September 21, 2012
· Keith Adams · 51 Comments
News : New MG styling chief breezes in from Nissan
Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) said it has appointed former Nissan designer Martin Uhlarik as head of its European design centre. SAIC also said it is investing £1.5m ($2.42m, €1.9m) to double the size of the studio in Longbridge. Canadian-born Uhlarik, 41, replaces British designer Tony Williams-Kenny, who was appointed global design director at SAIC’s [...]
September 20, 2012
· Keith Adams · 24 Comments
Video : Morris Marina advert (1971)
Beauty with brains behind it… The Morris Marina was to be the bright white Knight of the recently created British Leyland Motor Corporation when it hit the market in 1971 – this advert did a great job of making it seem sexy enough to entice Britain’s hard-working sales reps. Would you think any manufacturer would [...]
September 20, 2012
· Keith Adams · 14 Comments
Events : Paris – the punter’s view…
Steven Ward and Andrew Elphick cordially invite you to join them at the 2012 Paris Motor Show… Bonjour Paris! Bursting with confidence following the success of Andrew Elphick’s and my jaunt to Geneva to bring you the 2012 Salon, AROnline’s two intrepid reporters were keen to try their luck once again. The venue for our [...]
September 20, 2012
· Keith Adams · 3 Comments
Best of British : Sir Herbert ‘Nigel’ Gresley CBE DSc
Mike Humble The terminology of ‘legend’ is often thrown around ‘willy nilly’, as ‘twer, with little thought towards the true meaning of he word. Family and friends, who know me really well, would describe me as being an old man – something I too agree with and rarely complain about. Maybe in a past life, [...]
September 20, 2012
· Mike Humble · 6 Comments
News : F-type – pre-Paris leak season in full swing
Nigel Garton Of course, this ‘leaked’ image of the Jaguar F-type is probably not leaked at all – and the nearer we get to the Paris Motor Show, the more ‘scoops’ like this we’re going to get as embargo after embargo is flagrantly ignored by website editors across the world. But this indiscretion is great [...]
September 20, 2012
· Mike Humble · 19 Comments
Blog : Compulsory tests? Please, please, please!
Mike Humble My daily commute to work should, in theory, be a stress free and enjoyable trek and to be fair, most of the time it is. Residing in leafy West Sussex, we are far away from London to avoid all the hubbub and trauma that comes with the Metropolis, yet close enough to it [...]
September 19, 2012
· Mike Humble · 56 Comments
