Saturday, 21. August 2010
According to the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) around half of vans on UK roads fail spot safety checks suggesting that van fleets are wilfully disregarding mechanical defects and ignoring the need for regular maintenance checks. Their findings show that van fleet offences now exceed those of HGV’s and PSV’s. More than half of the 21,000 vans checked last year uncovered mechanical defects compared Read more »
Saturday, 21. August 2010
This week’s gadget of the week is for those that rely on their mobile phones but have a habit of dashing out without it and realising half way to their destination that they are without their precious phone. The device called a Bringrr links in with the phone through a Bluetooth connection whilst connected to the car’s lighter socket. When you turn on the ignition the Bringrr searches for the phone, if it finds it the Read more »
Friday, 20. August 2010
Auto Express have announced their New Car awards for 2010. Over 47 pages they have listed all their major award winners. The overall car was a bit of a shock as it was the Skoda Yeti. Some of the more interesting best cars were as follows: Read more »
Thursday, 19. August 2010
Volvo are about to move the breathalyzer onto another level. They currently have a system called the Alcoguard breathalyser whereby you have to blow into it and be below the legal limit before you are able to start the car. The new system relies upon the driver’s sweat to monitor the level of alcohol in the system. The newly developed system is still at an early stage but Chris Wailes of Volvo said that the new technology Read more »
Thursday, 19. August 2010
The Graham Hill in depth car review this week is of a new Peugeot. Many years ago a certain car outsold its direct competitor, the VW Golf, through its looks and performance whilst making me a lot of money at the same time. The car was the Peugeot 205 GTi. It was a hugely popular car so when it disappeared it was a sad day but it looks like it’s back in the guise of an updated 208 with the old GTi badge attached. Read more »
Wednesday, 18. August 2010
I’m confused! It happens when you get older I’m told. Why am I confused? Well just as I started to get used to cars getting bigger, and not as a result of changing my glasses, manufacturers have started bringing out cars as big as a large shoe! Look at a new Clio – it’s about the same size as an old Megane. The VW Polo is easily as big as an early Golf and a Corsa has the size these days of an old Astra. As for Mini if, as I saw Read more »
Wednesday, 18. August 2010
Driving is becoming a more ‘comfy’ experience as more cars are fitted with increasing numbers of creature comforts, including ambient lighting, air conditioning, lumbar seat adjustment and so on. In some cases it’s a little like driving around in your lounge often with a better quality music system than you have at home as well as an onboard DVD player. But Nissan are about to surpass them all with its new ‘health Read more »
Tuesday, 17. August 2010
It seems that every week I have something to say about tyres – and this week isn’t going to be any different. It would seem that there has been a growing trend towards the removal of a spare wheels from new cars, first of all replacing a full spare with a skinny emergency wheel and more recently with a puncture repair kit consisting of either a can of foam that you squirt into the tyre inflating it and sealing the Read more »
Tuesday, 17. August 2010
The car and car finance industry is full of opinionated people who haven’t a clue as to what they are talking about. So called experts guess and make assumptions without any real knowledge on the subject. About now you will see national newspapers, radio and TV reporters telling you to shop around for finance before the launch of the new 60 registration, ignore dealer HP and find yourself a cheap personal loan, Read more »
Monday, 16. August 2010
Before I explain how UK roads are the safest in Europe I read a piece by Graham Hope, deputy editor of Auto Express, referring to the same report, in which he referred to a famous joke making the point that the further south you go the worse the driving: ‘What do traffic lights mean in Italy? In Milan they’re instructions. In Rome they’re suggestions. And in Naples? They’re Christmas decorations!’ Hilarious or what? Read more »