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Blog : Rover 75 launch – where did the time go?

Keith Adams — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:23:44 +0000

Keith Adams Fourteen years ago today, Rover unveiled the production version of the 75 to the press in an expansive and ambitious event at Tower Bridge in London. It wasn’t the first time the car had been seen – it was officially unveiled at the previous year’s NEC Motor Show alongside the Jaguar S-Type. Yes, [...]

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Blog : Photoshop to MG6′s rescue?

Keith Adams — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:06:34 +0000

Philip Crewe fires up Photoshop to make a few cosmetic tweaks to the MG6 – and reckons it’s far from a lost cause in the UK car market. With the imminent UK launch of the MG3, I was thinking about what could be done with the unloved MG6. It’s unfortunate that it was the first [...]

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Blog : Carbodies FL2 spotted in the wild

Keith Adams — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:44:41 +0000

Andrew Elphick asks when is a black cab not a black cab? Outwardly resembling a regular FX4 taxi (as would be its discreet intention) however the eagle-eyed might spot the radiator grille-mounted badge: ‘CARBODIES’. This is the only indication of being a purchase tax paid private vehicle, and not a ‘hire’ car. This example (the [...]

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Blog : MG must learn from its mistakes

Keith Adams — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:35:02 +0000

Former MG6 owner Ant McGowan gives it both barrels… Regrettably, it would appear that MG Motor UK’s PR and Marketing team haven’t learned the basics. To rebuild confidence in the MG brand within these islands and the wider European market there needs to be serious investment in raising brand awareness through both traditional and more [...]

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Blog : Last of the BMC bloodline

Keith Adams — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 19:46:59 +0000

Steven Ward It is eight years ago this week (7 June 2005) that the last wholly-assembled and British-built car left Longbridge. You could also argue that it was the last desirable and contemporary car to leave the plant. The vehicle I am talking about was my somewhat special build MG TF. You could say it [...]

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Blog : Middle lane hogs – make them cry

Keith Adams — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 18:49:56 +0000

Steven Ward When the news hit this morning that the Feds who patrol Britain’s highways could stop and fine those selfish souls who ‘hog the middle lane’, a collective ‘about bloody time’ was heard in roadside Costa Coffees up and down the country. From here on in, Britain’s beleaguered economy will surge ahead and we’ll [...]

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Blog : Mini that might have been?

Keith Adams — Wed, 29 May 2013 23:09:40 +0000

Ian Nicholls More from the 2013 International Mini Meeting held at the Mugello circuit in Italy. Back in October 1967 the British Motor Corporation staged a great coup by poaching stylist and product planner Roy Haynes from Ford of Britain. Perhaps Roy Haynes’ best known work for British Leyland, as it became, was the Mini [...]

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Blog : Camping at car shows

Keith Adams — Wed, 29 May 2013 15:13:45 +0000

Ian Nicholls For the past dozen years I have camped in my tent at car shows. I have camped at the Norfolk Mini Owners Club show at Fakenham Racecourse, the BMC/BL day at Peterborough and the 2011 International Mini Meeting in Switzerland. Part of this experience invariably involves rain. The final straw was the 2013 [...]

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Blog : IMM – where Minis, people and nations come together

Keith Adams — Sun, 19 May 2013 14:35:47 +0000

Keith Adams I’m currently enjoying a bit of a break from work. It’s been an interesting few months, writing and launching Honest John Classics, running AROnline and working on www.honestjohn.co.uk. That’s why I reckoned that, for a birthday treat to myself, I deserved something of a screen break. Being (the partner of) a very satisfied MINI First owner, I [...]

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Blog : Leyland T45 publication – the story so far

Mike Humble — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:44:17 +0000

Mike Humble A little while back, you may recall I was approached by a publishing company which was looking to expand its portfolio of titles by branching out into other areas related to the Automotive Industry. A few ideas were pitched and, after a long think, the publisher were receptive to a germ of an idea [...]

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Technician’s Update: It doesn’t stop with cut-price cowboys

Mike Humble — Thu, 16 May 2013 23:00:05 +0000

Mike Humble When I used to put a price out for a job whilst working as a mobile mechanic, I would always ask if the potential customer had obtained a quote from elsewhere before giving a price. Pitch the opening gambit too high and you will get three beeps or a long tone to signify the caller has rung off, [...]

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Sales Talk : Treading carefully with over-inflated egos

Mike Humble — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:05:14 +0000

Mike Humble I used to work for one of the biggest dealer chains in the country, and before it was taken over by another equally huge group, it was a pleasant outfit to work for – providing you pulled your weight. I transferred over to a nearby Vauxhall site eventually, but at first, my role involved selling new [...]

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Blog : In The Doldrums – where they belong

Keith Adams — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:44:15 +0000

Sam Mace ‘Our’ cars seem to be having their 15 minutes of fame. The BBC News featured a Mr Steve Worsley, from the Maestro and Montego Owners’ Club standing next to his Montego, and some bloke called Keith, with a Cortina and Sierra. It was all a bit bizarre. The Owners’ Clubs, Cortinas and Sierras [...]

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Events : SMMT Test Day – 2013

Mike Humble — Thu, 09 May 2013 22:21:28 +0000

Mike Humble Each year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) holds its Test Day at the secluded Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire. UK-based motoring writers are invited to what is, in essence, a free for all to get to grips with the latest metal at the superb testing facility. AROnline was invited along to see what’s new, have some fun on [...]

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Blog : Time called for time-warp Ford dealer

Mike Humble — Mon, 06 May 2013 09:15:24 +0000

Mike Humble Anyone who has traversed the A509 trunk road between Wellingborough and Milton Keynes will surely agree that it’s a boring and busy road swamped with fun spoiling speed restrictions and traffic calming measures. When I lived in the County of spires and squires known as Northamptonshire, I used this road on thousands of occasions [...]

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Blog : Is the MG3 the new beginning?

Keith Adams — Sat, 04 May 2013 10:23:08 +0000

Keith Adams After months – nay, years – of waiting and speculating about every aspect of its make-up, the MG3 has been revealed in European market form. Well, we say Euro-market form, but really that means the UK, as currently we’re the only EU market that you can buy a new, British-engineered MG in (yes, [...]

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Blog : Mike puts the boot into garage chains

Mike Humble — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 17:50:53 +0000

Mike Humble I was wondering to myself just the other day what was I to do with three days off on the trot… However, no sooner had I returned home from my last day at work, than there was that knock on the door which signalled a favour might be called for. My neighbour’s Rover 25 Impression had failed its MoT and [...]

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Blog : Immigration

Keith Adams — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:39:08 +0000

Ian Nicholls With the recent death of Lady Thatcher and this week’s local elections, it has been a time of strong political debate. Recently, I watched a party political broadcast by the Labour Party, in which its leader Ed Milliband discussed his party’s policy on the thorny issue of immigration. Now I am not about [...]

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Blog : To MGB or not to MGB – that is the question!

Mike Humble — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 18:08:15 +0000

Mike Humble Ever said those fatal words “yeah, I can do that, no problem” and wished you hadn’t? It’s something we all say, all get burnt with and never ever seem to learn from. A very good friend of mine, who also supplied me with Project Partridge – aka the 800 Vitesse coupé, is a real Brit car [...]

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News : AROnline has a new sister site

Keith Adams — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:32:44 +0000

Keith Adams For those close to me, today’s a very good day. My self-imposed 18-hour working days are over. For a wee while at least, as the project I’ve been beavering away on has finally gone live. Yes, the Honest John family now has a purpose-built site for lovers of old cars, Honest John Classics. [...]

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