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This week Graham Hill’s famed car review is on the Aston Martin DBS special edition, known as Carbon Black. Surprisingly it is black, which I think is gorgeous, even though I think that black makes any car look smaller than it is! And of course the purist Aston fans that like to listen to Elton John and the Beatles in the rather expensive stereo sound system will kick up a fuss over the fact that Aston have dared to fit loads Read more »

I saw recently in Auto Express a report on the way insurance premiums are spent on claims. Whilst I talk regularly about insurance, and how to reduce premiums etc., I thought it made interesting reading and felt I should share it with you. The average premium has risen from £354 annually 15 years ago to £616 annually, even worse if you have loyally stuck with the same insurer which they suggest would now have Read more »

I am often asked about small autos and what CVT auto is? CVT stands for Continuously Variable Transmission and tends to only be fitted to small autos. Such as the Micra. Unlike a traditional auto which operates in a similar way to a manual, automatically changing between gears the CVT system consists of a belt that slides up and down two cones, effectively providing an infinite number of gear ratios. Unfortunately Read more »

For years we’ve been very strange in this country, we like to stop our cars by the side of the road, get out a flask of tea, pack of sandwiches and Kit Kats and have a little picnic. Some will even have a gas burner and have a bit of a fry up! All of this whilst CO2 emitting trucks and cars zoom by! As creators of the picnic area in the UK the RAC has slammed UK facilities for running behind those provided in Europe. New Read more »

In October last year the old dopey Government introduced a law that was aimed at reducing the legal aid bill by saying that if you challenged a motoring charge, such as speeding, and you won your case, you could only claim costs based on the legal aid rate. So if you had paid for a solicitor to prepare the case and represent you, and you won your case, you could only recover through the court the legal aid rate which Read more »

I attended the Buckingham Automotive Forum on Thursday at the University of Buckingham, the quarterly meeting at which the good and the great of the industry give us an indication as to what is likely to happen in the future and if the future is looking good or bad for the industry. In fact I was a guest speaker at the event, speaking alongside Professor Peter Cooke, Professor at the University and government Read more »

One leasing company has finally taken the initiative and decided to make inspections of vehicles at the end of a lease a little more comfortable for the drivers by arranging for a joint inspection in order to alleviate refurbishment costs. A joint inspection is carried out by a qualified and independent vehicle inspector along with the driver. Will it improve the situation? We will see. If you have had a nightmare experience why not share it with me? We can only address the problem if we know how bad it is. By Graham Hill

What would your choice be – sex or a car? Yep the question has actually been asked of  Canadians. They were actually asked if they would prefer driving to having sex? Amazingly only 1 percent said they would give up driving over a range of pleasures including sex although more were prepared to give up junk food and coffee there were still a few that would give up sex as reported by the Toronto Star. Would I give up sex in place of my car? Don’t be daft – but would you? By Graham Hill

A survey by Fuelcard Company found that 21% of 2,000 commercial vehicle drivers leave their engines running while making deliveries leaving themselves open to vehicle theft. I would suggest that they may need to check their insurance policies to see if the drivers void their policies by being irresponsible. Not least of which there is a substantial amount of fuel being used unnecessarily. By Graham Hill

It seems that the manufacturers are not going to fight a price war but outdo each other by providing more for free as part of the purchase package. The latest has been the extended warranty. Toyota had to react to the drop in sales following their recall problems by extending their standard warranty from 3 years to 5 years. In the meantime Kia/Hyundai have reacted following their massive growth during the Read more »