Archive for December, 2012
Blog : 2012 – Goodbye to all that!
Mike Humble Well, as ‘er indoors braves the gale force winds and driving rain on a step ladder removing those outside illuminated decorations from the front bay window – bless her – I thought I would take time out from the XBox and formally wish all readers old and new from all of us at [...]
December 31, 2012
· 
Mike Humble · 
11 Comments
Blog : Happy New Year! And anniversaries galore
Keith Adams The beginning of a New Year represents the opportunity to look forwards, and make resolutions. I’ve made a few, but am likely not to keep to any of them… plus ça change and all that. But the passing of years also gives us chance to think about anniversaries, birthdays and deaths. And time [...]
December 31, 2012
· Keith Adams · 14 Comments
Concepts and prototypes : Wolfrace Sonic
Keith Adams The Sonic was the brainchild of the alloy wheel manufacturer, Wolfrace. The company wanted to create an eye-catching concept car to showcase its new range of Sonic alloys – you might recognise the ‘pepper pot’ style, which was used in the Ford Fiesta XR2, Capri 2.8 Injection, and MG Metro 1300. It approached [...]
December 31, 2012
· Keith Adams · 10 Comments
Concepts and prototypes : Vauxhall Equus
Keith Adams IN 1977, Vauxhall-Bedford’s hugely talented design director, Wayne Cherry, penned his idea of how a new generation sports car for the masses should look. The car incorporated a considerable amount of his then-current thinking – so it received the famous Vauxhall droop-snoot, a long, low bonnet, and stubby high tail. It was seemingly [...]
December 31, 2012
· Keith Adams · 27 Comments
Concepts and prototypes : Bertone Jaguar Ascot
Keith Adams For the 1977 Turin Show, Bertone unveiled the sensationally wedgy Jaguar XJ-S based Ascot. Choosing to create a Jaguar-based concept has always been fraught with difficulties for the Italians – not least because Jaguars have such strong DNA that whenever they stray too far away from what’s come before, that essential ‘Jaguarness’ is [...]
December 30, 2012
· Keith Adams · 13 Comments
Concepts and prototypes : Ghia Ford Corrida
Keith Adams Twenty years before the brilliant Puma emerged, Ford’s talented Ghia styling studios had a crack at at building a sports coupe based on the brand new Fiesta. Although these pint-sized sports cars were all the rage with the Italians (look at the Fiat 850 Coupe or 128 3P for a couple of great [...]
December 29, 2012
· Keith Adams · 9 Comments
Blog : Is the Lion an endangered species?
Mike Humble Only yesterday as I was trudging round the shops in that post Christmas bargain search, another sign of the ‘motoring times’ came to remind me about the critically parlous state of the car game. Recently, I posted a feature about our local Vauxhall agent hitting the skids, but within a few depressing months, [...]
December 28, 2012
· Mike Humble · 116 Comments
Blog : The 10 most popular blogs of 2012
Keith Adams During 2012, a fair number of new contributors joined the small band of bloggers on AROnline. It was nice to see some new names appear, many of whom I’m sure we’ll see all over the place for years to come. Blogs are all about opinion and feeling, and in many cases don’t reflect [...]
December 27, 2012
· Keith Adams · No Comments
News : The 10 most popular news stories of 2012
Keith Adams It’s been the site’s busiest year so far – with more pages added, and more visitors coming to read them than ever before. If nothing else, it proves that there’s as much interest in the British car industry now as there’s ever been… and rightly so. There’s certainly been plenty going on – [...]
December 27, 2012
· Keith Adams · 2 Comments
News : Delivery miles Rover 75 V8 for sale
Keith Adams It’s good to see that the ‘delivery miles’ cars from MG Rover’s past are still being unearthed, and offered for sale. This Rover 75 V8, currently on offer by the British Car Centre in Holland ticks that box – it is unregistered, with just six miles on the clock, and it can be [...]
December 27, 2012
· Keith Adams · 44 Comments
Technician’s Update : Clutching the money…
Mike Humble Around this time of year, my hat goes off to the army of breakdown folk and mobile mechanics who sit in a lonely cab. Radio 2′s warbling in the background and they’re awaiting the dread of the mobile ‘phone ringing for desperate assistance from another hapless motorist who’s car is in need of [...]
December 25, 2012
· Mike Humble · 12 Comments
Merry Christmas everyone!
Keith Adams It’s that time of the year again. Most people are settling down at home, presents are bought and wrapped, and the mulled wine is warming up on the stove, sending lovely aromas through the house. The car’s parked outside, and for a day or two, thoughts are elsewhere. Christmas can be a magical [...]
December 23, 2012
· Keith Adams · 21 Comments
Gallery : AROnline Special Tuning 1 of 3
For your Christmas viewing pleasure. Andrew Elphick’s been busy with his scanner to bring you some quirky advertising taken from car magazines over the years. It’s a major trip down memory lane for those of a certain age; and for the rest of you, they’ll raise a smile or two. Click on the images to [...]
December 23, 2012
· Keith Adams · 7 Comments
Gallery : AROnline Special Tuning 2 of 3
For your Christmas viewing pleasure. Andrew Elphick’s been busy with his scanner to bring you some quirky advertising taken from car magazines over the years. It’s a major trip down memory lane for those of a certain age; and for the rest of you, they’ll raise a smile or two. Click on the images to [...]
December 23, 2012
· Keith Adams · One Comment
Gallery : AROnline Special Tuning 3 of 3
For your Christmas viewing pleasure. Andrew Elphick’s been busy with his scanner to bring you some quirky advertising taken from car magazines over the years. It’s a major trip down memory lane for those of a certain age; and for the rest of you, they’ll raise a smile or two. Click on the images to [...]
December 23, 2012
· Keith Adams · No Comments
News : ‘Cogs’ voted the best car advert
Keith Adams Auto Express magazine recently held a poll on its website to find what its readers think is the best-ever car advert. The eponymous Cogs advert came out top in the vote, although it was run close by Ford’s brilliant Ford Puma advert, starring Steve McQueen. The 2003 ad for the Honda Accord took [...]
December 22, 2012
· Keith Adams · 29 Comments
Blog : Okay MINI, please stop!
Keith Adams I like to think that AROnline is about as supportive as it comes when it comes to MINI, and its model development. The 2001 R50 generation MINI emerged as a Rover-feeling product that most of us could get on with (those who hated then still hate today) – it proved a success, and [...]
December 21, 2012
· Keith Adams · 60 Comments
Blog : Jaguar’s identity
Sam Frank The news that Jaguar decided to axe production of the C-X75 is hardly surprising, if still a little sad. A modern day XJ220 is a tantalizing prospect, if a slightly cookoo one given the current state the world’s economy. The attention that Jaguar would have generated for itself in introducing a new member [...]
December 21, 2012
· Keith Adams · 45 Comments
Blog : Steven Ward’s AROnline Car of the Year…
Steven Ward, AROnline’s some-time man in the trade jumps the gun and awards Car of The Year to what was his own Fiat Coupé – honorable veteran of two European capers in 2012… That’s his view – what other cars would you consider worthy of the title? With great fanfare, I’d like to declare my [...]
December 20, 2012
· Keith Adams · 28 Comments
News : Optare doubles revenue and reduces losses
Optare sales revenue doubled in the six months to 30 September from £22.7m last year to £46.7m this year. In the six months the company reduced its pre-tax losses from £4.4m to £3.3m. In the last three months of the period it produced an EBITDA profit of £146,000. Export revenues reached a record £10.5m. [...]
December 20, 2012
· Mike Humble · 22 Comments
