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Some of us are car enthusiasts and some of us aren’t.

One of the United Kingdom’s top annual events for car enthusiasts – and has been since 1993 – is the Goodwood Festival of Speed, held in the grounds of Goodwood House, in West Sussex.

Many Welsh people make the pilgrimage, and in 2010 its status as one of the big events where the public can see cars for the first time generated renewed interest.
 
 
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For the last few days I’ve been driving to and from the office in an electric car.

They’ve been in the news a lot recently, especially since Nissan announced prices in May of its Leaf electric car due on sale in 2011.

I’ve been driving the Mitsubishi i-MiEV – an electric car based on the Mitsubishi i city car.

It uses a 63bhp electric motor driving the rear wheels, and has a maximum torque output of 133lb-ft – perhaps similar to a small turbodiesel engine.
 
 
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At some point during the 1990s, although I don’t exactly remember the precise moment, wood ceased to be fashionable as part of a car’s interior.

The premium German brands (BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi) were never very good at doing wood in a tasteful way back then, but perhaps it was their diversification into alternative finishes such as aluminium or lacquered carbon fibre that made wood seem firmly rooted in the 20th century.

Then perhaps Rover’s dogged persistence in having slices of tree adorning the dashboard and doors, when as a brand it was seen as past its sell-by date, that finally seemed to consign wood trim to the scrapyard.