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The Graham Hill review of a new car focuses on the new Mr T, of A Team fame, of the car world. No we’re not talking about a car full of bling or a muscle bound design, we’re talking Mohican style. The new Ford, Focus based, Kuga seems to have taken its styling from Mr T’s head as it has what looks like a Mohican style sunroof running from front to back and of course looking dopey. The style might suit Mr T but not a car. The new lines, like many new designs, look more like the designs film makers Read more »

With new car deliveries stretching out all the time and 4 month delivery becoming the norm rather than the exception, many are tempted to go the used car route, often paying over the odds for a car less than 12 months old simply to get a fairly new car. I’ve mentioned the dangers in the past but with so many people being forced to take a used car because their current leased car cannot be extended, it’s worth mentioning the dangers again. I explained that servicing costs increase with age but Read more »

DEKRA, Germany’s equivalent to our AA or RAC, has voted the Vauxhall Insignia as Europe’s most reliable car. The findings came about following 15 million inspections of 230 different models so a pretty significant survey. DEKRA is highly regarded for its independent inspections and testing. The Insignia came out on top with more than 96% failure free. Good news for GM as their Corsa topped the chart last year. In second and third place came the Ford Fiesta (95.8%) and the Toyota Prius (95.6%). So surprise surprise we have made the Insignia our deal of the week. Do you run an Insignia, has it been reliable for you? By Graham Hill

As you know, I try to report some of the most dopey things that happen in the motor industry. This week insurance companies come under fire. As I have reported on several occasions there is a strong move towards having two sets of tyres, one set for the summer and another set for the harsher winters we seem to be experiencing. For some it seems to make sense and I must say in the last dumping of the white stuff I’m sure that if I had winter tyres fitted I would have been able to drive my care Read more »

The latest re-call of cars has come out of VW both of which have involved fuel pipe faults that could cause fires. The recall includes 370,000 cars consisting of Jettas, Jetta estates and Golf models sold between 2007 and 2009. A small plastic tab could cause a fuel pipe leak. The second fault is on the 2.5 litre Beetle. A clamp in the power steering system could pierce the fuel supply line. I was starting to wonder who on the planet would own a 2.5 litre Beetle and it was then announced that all Read more »

This year has been a bit of a struggle for many industry sectors but not so much for the motor industry. Following the scrappage scheme it was expected that the motor industry would contract and dealerships close, something I personally didn’t think would happen. In anticipation of a potential downturn the manufacturers started to scale down production in 2008/9, some would say too far, as virtually every new car drifted out to long delivery lead times as demand remained relatively high. This Read more »

Auto Express recently carried a story, explaining how Stephen Larkin from Newcastle ordered a Skoda in March and was told that delivery would be delivered by early July at the latest. After passing this date he decided to cancel the order and wrote to the dealer saying he wanted to cancel the order as they hadn’t delivered the car and asked for his £1,000 deposit back. He sent numerous letters and calls to the dealer without joy along with no help from Skoda, all they said was that it was down to Read more »

Insurance and fuel duty increases have been blamed for the inflation busting increase of 6.3% announced by the RAC in their Cost of Motoring Index. The average cost has increased by £346 over last year’s cost taking it up to £6,000. Depreciation has also had an effect although some costs such as Vehicle Excise Duty (car tax) and car finance have dropped. The annual study assesses the running costs of 17 new cars from the Toyota Yaris to the Land Rover Discovery. Each model’s bills are weighted Read more »

Nissan ad execs must have been chuckling to themselves when they came up with the theme for their sports cars, the 370Z and the GT-R. They decided to take on the Germans, poking fun at their acceleration speeds, pointing out that the Z was faster than Audi, BMW and Porsche rivals. The posters read ‘Deutschland Deutschland Uber Rated’ while a blurred Read more »

I know it’s a subject I talk about a lot but as we run up to Christmas I’m onto drink driving. It was shocking reading for the Government, about to launch their Christmas campaign, that one in four drivers admit to drink driving recently. The survey was carried out on behalf of insurer Quinn Direct but the real shock was that nearly 80% of under 24’s said they had never driven under the influence of alcohol whilst 25% of the over 55’s admitted to driving whilst over the limit. 31% of men admitted to Read more »