 One of Volkswagen’s star cars at the recent Tokyo Motor Show was the 2012 Passat Alltrack. More than an all-wheel-drive Passat Estate, this, it says, has real off-road ability. Open to order in April, it arrives in July. At its heart is the Haldex 4x4 system – now much more sophisticated than a part-time 4x4 device.
The motor vehicle’s classic drivetrain evolved before the First World War. A front-mounted engine “face forward” (radiator ahead) and drive out of the back to a gearbox which transmitted power by way of a propeller shaft to the rear axle. Add Comment 80mph is never good for the economy 12/10/2011
"Increasing the speed limit on motorways from 70 to 80 miles per hour for cars, light vans and motorcycles could provide hundreds of millions of pounds of benefits for the economy," so said then Transport Secretary Philip Hammond on the plan to increase the national speed limit.
In saying so, he is either being naive or disingenuous, although to be fair, selling the plan at a Tory Party conference as 'greater harmonisation with our European neighbours' would have been rather more difficult. Polls show that many of us admit to breaking the speed limit on the motorway, and regard 80mph as a 'safe' and comfortable speed in the UK. Some other European countries have their speed limits set at around that limit. Are sales of pick-ups picking up? 10/04/2011
Mitsubishi’s L200 has reigned supreme over the Pick-Up pack here for a long time. Paying scant regard to the sensibilities of suburbia’s ‘Green Gospellers’ and ‘Khmer Vert’ militants, it set the pace in taking the working 4x4 light truck into (higher margin) retail and “lifestyle” territory.
Warrior and Animal initially, Warrior and Barbarian now, these take 80% of sales over the (increasingly differentiated) more workaday ‘4Work’ & ‘4Life’ models. Current series L200 dates from 1996 but the “go-for-it” styled version arrived in 2006 with a “re-fresh”, some useful revisions and up-grades last year. Road testing a 99-year-old Model T 07/29/2011
 What a total and utter thrill, after flying all over the world to test the best technology mankind has devised, to drive one in its 100th year that scores only 10 out of 100! Is this a Brit version? The picture gives it away immediately that it’s an early Model ‘T’ Ford which revolutionised early car manufacture when a production line started up in the States in 1907. My 1912 test car is from the Old Trafford plant in Manchester, built during its second year of operation. Can it still thrill? The model I was doing my best to keep in a staight line, will be 100 next year, but has seriously retained its skill to thrill. It might have been my worst total score, times seven, but was probably the most thrilling and scary drive of my life. Morgan: See, try, buy 07/25/2011
 Do you know which is the world’s oldest family owned motor car maker still in production and which, for decades has had customers queuing up, often for years? If your answer was Morgan, then it is pretty certain that you are a keen motoring enthusiast. When HFS Morgan (known as HFS) built his first three-wheeler machine way back in 1910 he hit on precisely the right formula, keep it light, simple and with adequate power; something that applies to this day with the firm headed very effectively by the founder’s grandson, Charles Morgan. Remembering what the future used to be like 04/13/2011
 Talk of CO2 emissions at just 80g/km and 83mpg on the combined cycle, would suggest I'd been driving the latest hi-tech economy model.
Other figures of note were 11 and 290,000: the former being the age of the car in years and the latter, its mileage. The figures belong to a Honda Insight I drove recently – not to be confused with the Honda Insight five-door hatchback launched in 2009. This is one of the original Insight coupés launched in 2000, and is being retained by Honda UK for promotional purposes to demonstrate the reliability and durability of hybrid technology. I drove the car recently to remind me what the future used to be like.  Earlier this month I represented Wales in a demonstration run of high-tech low- or zero-emission vehicles from Brighton to central London.
Toyota had organised a 'cup of nations' between journalists from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales driving Auris Hybrids. It was part of the RAC Future Car Challenge, which included more than 60 vehicles using conventional internal combustion engines, hybrids, battery electric or hydrogen fuel cells, and it would have been good to find out which of these power sources had the lowest environmental impact. Putting cold weather tyres to the test 10/23/2010
 The first frosts of this winter experienced by many of us this month has perhaps done enough to remind us if the disruption caused by last winter’s snow.
Switching to cold weather tyres (merely calling them winter tyres doesn’t do justice to their breadth of ability) is high on the agenda of the tyre companies and fast-fit giants, even if it’s appearing much lower in the list of priorities of motorists. I’ve decided to take the plunge on a car I’ve been running on long-term test since June for Fleet News, courtesy of ATS Euromaster.  Three new upper-medium cars made their debuts at the Paris Motor Show.
Highest profile, it being in France, was the Peugeot 508. Then, perhaps more important in terms of volume, was the so-called ‘new’ Volkswagen Passat. Finally, but arguably the most impressive of the three, was the Kia Optima. The Peugeot 508 was shown as a four-door and SW estate. Peugeot has said the 508 saloon will sell more units in China than saloon and SW combined in Europe Titanic Ghost of the past lives 100 years on 09/27/2010
 The change of registration letter means there will be more cars sold about now than at any other time of the year.
So often what make and model to choose exercises lots of thought and discussion. Two of the main attributes we look for are reliability and longevity. These days with mechanical warranties of five and seven years becoming almost the norm and a dozen years anti-corrosion warranties not uncommon, any car we buy is likely to last long enough for us to at least save towards its replacement. |
Welsh Motoring Writers
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