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 [...]

Once again we fondly pay homage to the one time past masters of motoring in this popular section. This one offered a more restrained image over its arch rival Ford Capri but also went on to make a huge impact in motor sport. Words: Mike Humble Photography: Keith Adams More Old Boy… Less Del Boy [...]

Once again, we delve into the toolbox of tales from the sharp end of the motor trade. We share a ramble about some sorry practices even the established garages will play on the motorist… Words and photography: Mike Humble Karmic Rover Only recently, I was rummaging through my trusty filing cabinet that protests with creaks and [...]

Billed as the car that was totally equipped to Triumph, the Acclaim was really the marque’s last chance saloon. And in the end, the Acclaim failed to bolster Triumph enough after its launch in 1981 to save it from oblivion. And as Keith Adams explains, it was through no fault of its own. The end [...]

If it’s body filler filler in the sills or exposed stereo wiring insulated with sellotape, most of us at some point have enjoyed a good old fashioned bodge up. Especially if it actually works too… Mike Humble Working in around the motor trade ever since leaving school, I have met all kinds of fitters, mechanics, grease monkeys, technicians [...]

Part exchange clunkers from a dealer’s point of view, are mainly moved on to the scrapyards, auction halls or low end traders. But now and again something nice comes along that just might be able to flip a tidy profit. One thing is for certain, the cheaper the car the bigger the headache or more awkward the [...]

Even small but reputable garages can muck up even the simple and routine tasks, but this one caused much head scratching for all involved… Words & Pictures Mike Humble / MMOC  A great car just dying to get out? In the past, I may have made the odd pithy remark about the Maestro and Montego, [...]

Once upon a time, there was a car for every pocket and Eastern Bloc cars reigned supreme right through the 1970s  and ’80s. Skoda and Lada at one point held an impressive share of the market, but some Iron Curtain cars seemed to have no redeeming features what so ever… rather like this one! Words: [...]

More mobile spannering tales in this popular new section. Mike Humble shares a tale of how customers sometimes always come back, even if deep down you don’t want them to! ‘Boing’ went the Mini driver… A tale of one City For those readers who have never worked in the public sector or with the general [...]

Sometimes, trying to make a difference creates more hassle than its worth. The Maestro that ended up being anything but music to the owner’s ears will haunt me for years to come… Words: Mike Humble Photographs: Maestro and Montego Owners Club Sometimes you just can’t do enough Not top of the list for style and desire, but the [...]

Just to prove that we don’t just drive Rovers, Saabs and supercars – we offer you another tale of motoring misdemeanours. Staying with the Communist theme, we take a peek behind Mike Humble’s Iron Curtain with the Lada Riva – the boxiest of Russian bangers! Keeping the red flag flying Often, I have stated that [...]

In a driving career spanning 25 years and over 150 cars, Keith Adams highlights some of the highs… and lows. In the first of the series, it’s time to recall a couple of months in 1989 behind the wheel of a Škoda Estelle 120L, a car that did its best to put its owner off [...]

Mike Humble ponders once again over another car which once seemed commonplace but now languishes in penny numbers. This time we applaud the executive saloon which defied the ‘class without kudos’ tag… The Vauxhall Senator B. Chip-cutter magic Being a true petrolhead, you get to understand that cars are not all simply thrash, power on understeer [...]

Mike Humble goes all nostalgic once again and pays tribute to that dying breed of automotive audio – The radio cassette player. They say that as you get older time passes by so quickly, and how true that is. Think back to when you were a nipper, those lazy summer school holidays in the summer [...]

Another view through rose tinted spectacles at some once common automotive sights here in the UK. This time, our very own Austin Rover features here with their own slant on the ‘Hot Hatch’  The MG Maestro EFi, but the car hardly made a flying start as Mike Humble explains. Gone but not forgotten Whatever people say [...]

Mike Humble We kick off  this new section of workshop related tricks and tales with a story many mechanics will empathise with, the incompetent DIY motorist who ends up being bailed out by a professional… at considerable cost! Ask any professional tradesman be it a builder, plumber, gas fitter or decorator about the people they [...]

Its only taken five months of ownership, but Mike Humble finally puts the last of the project 75 running faults to bed and is highly receptive of the improvements! Having just spent a moment thumbing through the paperwork for my mobile drawing room – the project 75, some very interesting facts have come to light. Firstly [...]

Keith Adams continues AROnline’s series devoted to celebrating the great and the good that used to be familiar UK street furniture. Who remembers the Astra Mk1, a blisteringly capable, fun-to-drive small car that redefined Vauxhall’s standing in the small car field? We do, and we love ‘em! A quantum leap The Astra was a landmark [...]

Mike Humble recounts a strange and troubled soul he once worked with. While promising to make no reference to the fact that creating an essay… is rather like making love to a beautiful woman! One of my all time favourite TV shows since reaching adulthood was The Fast Show. Readers of a younger generation may [...]

Mark Mastrototaro casts a fond eye over one of the UK’s favourite imports during the 1970s, the Datsun 120Y. Why was it so popular? Striking British factories, waiting lists for Morrises, and an increasing disillusionment with home-made products meant the Sunny’s success in the UK was something of a home goal for the Brits. But [...]