Browsing Archive: September, 2011
Posted by Will Dracott on Friday, September 30, 2011,
Round the clock racing isn't always held at Le Mans,
indeed there are many other 24-hour races for car mad race-goers to
attend. None are more unhinged than the Nurburgring 24 hours, though,
where the racing is brutal and the camping is even tougher. It's held at the 'green hell' If
you'd interviewed veteran racing driver and professional Scot Sir
Jackie Stewart back in the days when his sideburns were extraordinary,
you'll have heard him refer to the Nurburgring as 'The Green Hell'. ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Friday, September 30, 2011,
Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, aka Lord March, happens to
have an enormous back yard in West Sussex called the Goodwood Estate.
It's bigger than your yard, probably, because as well as daffodils and
abandoned rakes it's also got an airport, a horse racing circuit, a
racetrack, a golf course and a cricket pitch in it, among other things. But
among car fan types, Goodwood is most famous for one thing: the
hillclimb. That hillclimb is the centrepiece of the annual Goodwood
Festival of Spe... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Thursday, September 29, 2011,
Rapidly becoming one of the must-go social events for
wealthy car enthusiasts, Salon Privé brings together some of the world's
most exotic cars on the lawns around Syon House in London. With
everything from vintage Ferraris for sale at the auction to the latest
experimental electric Rolls-Royce on display it's not quite London's
answer to Pebble Beach, but it's still the most interesting collection
of exclusive automotive exotica that you'll see inside the M25. The exclusive ticket p... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Thursday, September 29, 2011,
Believe it or not, Mercedes really did invite us into its
'torture chamber'. We don't know whether it was a slightly too literal
slip of the translator, but we definitely heard the phrase. Alas, the
torture chamber isn't where the company sends errant spy photographers
caught snapping future saloons. No, it's the place Mercedes tries to
break its cars. We're at Mercedes-Benz's Sindelfingen R&D
centre to get an in depth look at the freshly unveiled M-Class SUV. As
you know, off-roader... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Wednesday, September 28, 2011,
It's no secret that we Brits make do with some of Europe's
most pizza-faced roads. Pothole after pothole seems to spring up
everywhere you look, and the last couple of harsh winters have hardly
helped matters. Campaign site potholes.co.uk
knows this better than anyone. Alongside lobbying the Government to
pull its finger out and resurface our roads, the site's boffins have
carried out a survey to find the bumpiest roads in the UK. Not
surprisingly, rarely used back roads in rural are... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Wednesday, September 28, 2011,
Expert Rating:
What is it? A Range Rover 5.0-litre
Supercharged Autobiography re-thought by Kahn Designs and tuned by
Cosworth. The end result is a sharper, more individual Range Rover with
performance that puts it in the supercar league. Is it any good? The
edgier, more assertive looks won't appeal to all but there's no denying
the quality and attention to detail of Kahn Design's visual makeover.
The deeper front bumper with daytime running light recesses and dark
grilles toughen up t... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Tuesday, September 27, 2011,
Remember Herbie, KITT and the Batmobile? Apart from being
famous screen cars they all had one thing in common - they could drive
themselves. We've been fascinated by the idea of a car that
doesn't need a driver for years and now, BMW has built one. In fact,
it's built two - a pair of autonomous 5 Series that are capable of
driving independently on the motorway. BMW has been quietly developing them since 2005 and they work by using
12
sensors that read the road around the car. These se... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Tuesday, September 27, 2011,
Motorway speed limits could be raised to 80mph to shorten journey times and
boost the economy, it is reported.
The current 70mph restriction is rarely enforced, police often turning a blind
eye to anyone driving at up to 10mph faster than the limit.
Experts have argued that by having a higher speed limit that is enforced more
readily, drivers are more likely to have respect for the rules.
A report in the Daily Mail sugg... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Monday, September 26, 2011,
Swindon, BOC and Honda host the first commercial hydrogen filling station in
the UK, which was opened this week.
Britain finally joined the hydrogen age this week with the opening of the UK’s
first commercial hydrogen filling station in Swindon, Wiltshire, at the
Honda factory at South Marston.
Capable of filling fuel cell and other hydrogen fuelled vehicles with gaseous
hydrogen at 5,000psi and 10,000psi pressures, t... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Monday, September 26, 2011,
The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is going to be making more local news available by email alerts.
Update your subscription preferences
To get local news for your area, you need to update you subscription preferences.
- Click this link to go to your subscriber preferences
- If prompted, enter your email address and password
- Click on the 'Questions' heading
- Tell us which areas you want local news for - you can tick as many as you want
- Click submit at the bottom of the page
Help us personalise your e... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Sunday, September 25, 2011,
A tired motorist who stopped in a service area in the early hours of the
morning to grab three hours rest has been hit with a £50 parking fine.
The penalty imposed on James Orr by Moto Services was condemned by motoring
and safety organisations as well as a former transport minister.
Mr Orr had been driving for several hours before deciding to break his journey
from London to Cornwall at Moto’s service area at Exeter sh... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Sunday, September 25, 2011,
A Forces Team, supported by Mazda, is gearing up to compete in September’s
Britcar 24 Hour race at Silverstone.
The Britcar series returns to Silverstone next weekend for its annual 24-hour
race.
Among those competing will be a Forces team, which is being supported by Mazda
and will run one of the company’s MX-5 sports cars. The Forces MX-5’s pit
crew will include soldiers from 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, includi... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Saturday, September 24, 2011,
A double decker bus carrying teenagers to sixth form college has crashed into
the underside of a bridge.
The incident happened on Neasham Road, Darlington, County Durham, near the
town's football ground just before 8.45am.
Up to 12 people including the driver were taken to Darlington Memorial
Hospital but none were thought to be seriously injured.
Durham Police said all the pupils were safely removed from the bus, which was
ferrying them to the Queen Elizabeth S... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Saturday, September 24, 2011,
The number of “blind spot” accidents on Britain’s roads has risen sharply over
the last two years, a study has found.
Changes in car design have led to more collisions as motorists change lanes.
An analysis of 50,000 crashes by Accident Exchange, a crash management
company, has uncovered a 48 per cent rise between 2009 and 2011.
In the majority of cases the collisions occur when drivers pull out unaware
that that there is a car in their blind ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Friday, September 23, 2011,
A new version of the Jensen Interceptor will be built at Browns Lane, the
previous home of Jaguar.
These are the first images of the all-new Jensen Interceptor, set to be
launched next year and built in Britain by CPP Global Holdings.
Like the original Interceptor, which was produced between 1966 and 1976, the
new version is a four-seater GT car with a long b... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Friday, September 23, 2011,
A university lecturer has been landed with a £4,000 legal bill and looks
likely to lose his driving licence after failing to prove Google is more
accurate than speed cameras.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Thursday, September 22, 2011,
At Goodwood on Saturday you could travel in anything from a Maserati to a milk
float, but the real idea was to travel back in time.
Back to a lost age of elegance and glamour, when rorty-snorty chaps in
burbling roadsters whooshed ruby-lipped ladies from dance halls to dinner
parties, and were always home by midnight.
Conceived as a tribute to the golden age of British motorsport, the annual
Revival festival has now bec... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Thursday, September 22, 2011,
Jaguar Land Rover is poised to deliver a major boost to the Government's plans
to boost growth by confirming this week that it will build a £400m engine
plant in the Midlands that will potentially create up to 2,000 jobs.
The Sunday Telegraph understands JLR could announce the engine plant as
early as Monday alongside Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, and that it
has secured financial support from the Government to brin...
Posted by Will Dracott on Wednesday, September 21, 2011,
New
official driving and riding theory books will be published this month
to help candidates revise in preparation for changes to the test in
January 2012.
Since
theory tests began in 1996, the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has
published the questions and answers from the question banks for all
categories of tests for cars, motorcycles, lorries and buses.
However,
DSA announced last November that it was to stop publishing the multiple
choice questions and answers, with unpublished... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Wednesday, September 21, 2011,
From where to sit to watch the racing, to the most suitable attire, Erin Baker
offers her top tips to ensure you have the most enjoyable day possible.
Dress up in period clothing (Forties, Fifties or Sixties) – you might well
loathe fancy-dr... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Tuesday, September 20, 2011,
Motorists are being denied benefit from the recent falls in crude oil prices
at the pumps because of the weakness of the pound and market speculators,
the AA has warned.
Drivers are paying about 7 pence more a litre than they should because
speculators are driving u...
Posted by Will Dracott on Tuesday, September 20, 2011,
The Pink Floyd drummer and classic car collector will be signing copies of his
book, Passion for Speed, at this weekend's Goodwood Revival.
He might be best known as "the drummer from Pink Floyd", but Nick Mason is
also an avid collector of classic cars with a passion for historic motor
racing.
However, unlike many classic car collectors, Mason firmly believes that his
cars (which include a Ferrari 250 GTO, McLaren F1 an... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Monday, September 19, 2011,
MPs have suggested a number of methods to ease congestion including a tougher
driving test. But the Daily Telegraph's Transport Editor David Millward says
more drastic action is needed.
I received my first warning of the perils of congestion within a few days of
taking over responsibility for covering transport on this paper.
Alistair Darling, then the Transport Secretary, warned that unless action was
taken the country would face the sort of gr... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Monday, September 19, 2011,
Up to a million motorists with diabetes could be at risk of losing their
licences because of a tougher line being taken by the Driver and Vehicle
Licensing Agency.
According to Diabetes UK there has been a sharp rise in the number of drivers
having their licence revoked following the introduction of a new EU
directive last September.
It says that any driver suffering two “hypos” – a drop in blood sugar levels –
... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Sunday, September 18, 2011,
Motorists were obliged to take a driving test from June 1 1935.
However the test was suspended for the duration of the 1939-45 war before
being reintroduced on November 1 1946.
It was suspended again during the Suez crisis when learners were briefly
allowed to drive unaccompanied.
Up until 1975 learner drivers had to demonstrate their ability to use hand
signals.
Other manoeuvres included being able to perform a three-po... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Sunday, September 18, 2011,
The average cost of getting onto the road for the first time is now £4,459,
according to research from the Co-op.
This is the total cost of driving lessons, road tax, driving tests and
insurance, in addition to buying a first car, Co-operative Insurance found.
According to the research, the typical 18-year-old owns a Vauxhall Corsa worth
£1,450 and will have to pay an average of £2,294 for insurance. He or she
will als... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Saturday, September 17, 2011,
Congratulations to Sadie for passing first time yesterday at Southmead test centre. Dave taught her to drive, he's only been here two weeks and gets off to a flying start. Well done to the pair of you! Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Saturday, September 17, 2011,
Vauxhall/Opel used Frankfurt to display its RAKe electric concept car, a
vehicle that might be closer to production than its futuristic styling
suggests.
At last car makers are designing vehicles around the limitations of batteries
and the results are interesting concepts such as this tandem two-seater
named in homage to an experimental Opel rocket-powered car: the RAKe.
Powered by a lithium-ion battery pack resid... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Saturday, September 17, 2011,
A bride-to-be fulfilled her childhood dream of being taken to her wedding in a
classic Porsche after building one by converting a wrecked Volkswagen
Beetle.
Megan Ashton, 26, spent six years transforming the 40-year-old VW into a
Porsche 356 - the company's first production model.
She bought the wreck for just £200 before stripping it down to the chassis and
meticulously re-building it virtually from scr... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Friday, September 16, 2011,
The driving test should be made tougher to ease congestion, an all-party
committee of MPs has said.
Improving the skills of young motorists is among a package of measures
proposed by the Transport Select Committee.
According to the committee road congestion will cost the British economy an
extra £22 billion by 2025 if the problem is not tackled.
With the Coalition having ruled out “pay as you drive “road pric... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Friday, September 16, 2011,
Making it harder to get a driving licence could lead to more uninsured and
unlicensed people on the road.
For many of us, learning to drive is a rite of passage and an essential
component of our quality of life. At the heart of the process is the driving
test, which has become far harder to pass than it used to be. Over the past
decade or so, a theory test has been introduced with 50 multiple-choice
qu...
Posted by Will Dracott on Thursday, September 15, 2011,
Police across the country are cutting back on breath tests and the enforcement
of motoring laws, the Daily Telegraph can disclose.
Figures obtained under Freedom of Information legislation have revealed that
24 per cent fewer motorists were breathalysed in May 2011 than 12 months... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Thursday, September 15, 2011,
Carl-Peter Forster has resigned unexpectedly as chief executive of Indian
carmaker Tata Motors, the owner of Jaguar Land Rover.
Tata
Motors said his departure after 18 months in the job was due to "unavoidable
personal circumstances".
Mr Forster has helped to revitalise the luxury British car brands but it is
understood a member of his family is seriously ill and he can not continue
travelling to India, the home of T...
Posted by Will Dracott on Thursday, September 15, 2011,
Renowned motorsport journalist Bill 'WB' Boddy to be honoured in October at
the circuit about which he wrote the definitive history.
The unique influence that the late Bill Boddy MBE ("WB") had on
motoring and motorsport will be celebrated on October 1 with a special event
at Brooklands Museum near Weybridge, Surrey.
Boddy was the undisputed authority on "the Track", the world's first
purpose-built motor racing circuit a... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Wednesday, September 14, 2011,
Hamilton Bland's victory against Coventry council over pothole damage to his
car should spur local authorities to keep roads in good repair.
Many local authorities, as they juggle their budgets to cope with the spending
squeeze on the public sector, will have put repairing potholes in the roads
low on their list of priorities. But this is a false economy. Potholes,
certainly large ones, can be more than a nuisance; for cycl...
Posted by Will Dracott on Wednesday, September 14, 2011,
Find out how to claim compensation from your council if you have suffered
damange from a pothole.
The practical:
• Collect evidence – the more detailed the better. Take photographs, give an
exact location with descriptions of the surrounding area, and provide measurements.
• Report. For 90% of roads, report it to the local council. For private roads,
it is advisable to seek professional advice.
• Make a Freedom o...
Posted by Will Dracott on Tuesday, September 13, 2011,
The BBC's F1 commentator previews what is likely to be the world's biggest
race, featuring colleague David Coulthard in a real car against Gran Turismo
5 gamers.
Murray Walker’s will forever be the voice of Formula One on TV. But in less
than a month, on October 1, it will have been 10 years since he last
commentated on F1, at the 2001 US Grand Prix.
In that decade, Walker’s protégé Martin Brundle has confidently ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Tuesday, September 13, 2011,
Ford unveils its new design direction with an aggressive looking four-door
coupé that previews the design direction of the next Mondeo.
Five years on from the launch of the Ford Iosis concept in London’s Docklands,
the Blue Oval has unveiled the Evos concept in Berlin, ahead of its official
launch at the Frankfurt Show in a fortnight. The connection here? Think
Mondeo. Under then new design director, Martin Smith, Iosis...
Posted by Will Dracott on Monday, September 12, 2011,
Watch Ford's video on how inflatable rear seat belts will work.
The technology, which combines the traditional seatbelt with an airbag,
spreads the impact of a crash across five times the body area of a
conventional belt.
According to Ford, the belts will be fitted on all compatible cars, although
no date has be... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Monday, September 12, 2011,
Inflatable rear seat belts are to be fitted by Ford to cut the number of
passengers being killed and injured in a crash.
The technology, which combines the traditional seatbelt with an airbag,
spreads the impact of a crash across five times the body area of a
conventional belt.
Posted by Will Dracott on Sunday, September 11, 2011,
A cyclist has been fined for carrying his two year old son as a passenger on
his bike, triggering fears that other parents could risk prosecution under
road safety laws.
Ghulam Murtza, 26, was stopped by police while cycling through Burton,
Staffordshire and issued with a fixed penalty notice for carrying more than
one person on the bike.
Incensed by the penalty, he ripped the notice up and was also charged with
litte... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Sunday, September 11, 2011,
Jaguar Land Rover has released images of a new Land Rover Defender and plans
to launch a new version of the historic car in 2015.
The British-based luxury car maker will officially unveil the new Land Lover
DC100 concept car at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September and will use this
vehicle as the base to develop a model for sale around the world from 2015.
The Defender is often seen as the definitive Land Rover, given its... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Saturday, September 10, 2011,
Congratulations to Sally for passing yesterday first time over at Souhtmead with just 2 minors! Well done Sally, see you on the road. Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Saturday, September 10, 2011,
Expert Rating:
What is it? A more spacious, even more
economical, better equipped, higher quality Toyota Yaris. That's all
good, as is the Toyota's inclusion of some real big-car technology via
its Touch system - which adds a parking camera, Bluetooth connection and
usb mp3 audio to the specification. Upgrade that to Touch and Go - or
get it free if you're among the first Yaris customers - and you can add
sat nav with Google Maps and Facebook connection to that, too. All very
clever,... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Friday, September 9, 2011,
Drivers are facing the threat of more motorway gridlock because of plans to
overhaul planning laws, according to a new report.
Whitehall proposals to make it easier to build business parks near motorway
junctions could make bank holiday style traffic jams commonplace, according
to the Campaign for Better Transport.
The influential environmental group has voiced fears that the proliferation of
out of town office developm... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Friday, September 9, 2011,
For decades Morgan cars have appealed to enthusiasts who yearned for a bygone
age of motoring.
While other models were sleek and streamlined, the Morgan looked and sounded
like sports cars were supposed to.
But its throaty roar could be a thing of the past, at least on one model, with
the 101-year-old company developing an electric low-carbon version of the
iconic vehicle.
The electric car will be made of aluminium and be powered buy a plug-in
ba... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Friday, September 9, 2011,
Popular former F1 stalwart takes over from Damon Hill as president
of the British Racing Drivers' Club, which operates the Silverstone
circuit.
Warwick, whose distinguished career includes 11
seasons and 147 starts in Formula One, wins in the Le Mans 24 Hours and
the World Sportscar Championship, and three seasons in the British
Touring Car Championship, has taken over the BRDC presidency from Damon
Hill. After his appointment was
c...
Posted by Will Dracott on Thursday, September 8, 2011,
Several sites miss potentially dangerous faults as mystery shoppers take cars for MoT tests.
Research carried out by What Car? magazine shows that the results of an MoT
roadworthiness check can vary wildly between test centres.
The results raise concerns about the proposal to make MoT tests compulsory
every two years rather then the current annual assessment.
Its mystery shoppers vi... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Thursday, September 8, 2011,
A study of more than 700,000 crashes in the UK has produced detailed evidence
on the causes of road traffic accidents.
It's enough to chill your blood on the warmest day. You're driving along a
familiar road on holiday or to wor...
Posted by Will Dracott on Wednesday, September 7, 2011,
Why the comparison? Ten years is a long time
at the top. In 2001 we knew that the MINI was good - it handled well,
looked unlike anything else (other than the original Mini) and trounced
other cars of similar size for quality. Little did we know how many
would leave the forecourts though. Within a decade, German MINI has
become an icon (a word thrown around a lot, but true in this case),
worthy of its British lower case namesake. The Fiat 500 and the
Citroen DS3 are both good, but nei... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Wednesday, September 7, 2011,
Expert Rating:
What is it? The clue's in the name, and it's
not very subtle. It's a Morgan, with three wheels. Evoking the famous
three-wheeled models from Morgan's long history, the new car (strictly
speaking it's not a car - it uses a front-mounted motorcycle engine to
power a single rear wheel) is light, powerful and the driving aids
consist of your hands, eyes and feet. In an age of electrically
controlled, hermetic motoring, the Morgan 3 Wheeler is a refreshingly
back-to-basics ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Tuesday, September 6, 2011,
'Auto Express' magazine has named the Jaguar XF its car of the decade. The
award comes after the Jag's exceptional performance in the magazine's
Driver Power satisfaction surveys over the last ten years. More
than 300,000 readers took part to air their views about hundreds of
cars, and the XF emerged as the model that buyers were most satisfied
with. Jaguar's CEO Dr Ralph Speth was presented with the award at
the firm's Castle Bromwich factory. He said: "We are humbled by Jaguar
owne... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Tuesday, September 6, 2011,
The Fiat Panda, arguably the most important small car for
the Italian company, has been revealed in pictures prior to its
unveiling at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. The third
generation Panda has suffered numerous setbacks during development, but
it's now just about done, and ready to hit UK showrooms in April next
year. Buyers will have to choose between three petrol engines and
one diesel. The petrol options include a conventional 69bhp 1.2-litre
unit and a pair of low-cap... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Monday, September 5, 2011,
Remember Herbie, KITT and the Batmobile? Apart from being
famous screen cars they all had one thing in common - they could drive
themselves. We've been fascinated by the idea of a car that
doesn't need a driver for years and now, BMW has built one. In fact,
it's built two - a pair of autonomous 5 Series that are capable of
driving independently on the motorway. BMW has been quietly developing them since 2005 and they work by using
12
sensors that read the road around the car. These se... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Monday, September 5, 2011,
Peugeot has revealed the first pictures of a striking new concept car called the HX1. Due
to be unveiled in the metal at next month's Frankfurt Motor Show, the
futuristic HX1 is a six-seater MPV with an amazing set of doors that
open upwards and outwards. Underneath the sleek exterior and
classy cabin lies an extremely efficient drivetrain. It's a plug-in
hybrid, which means you can charge it up from the mains but there's also
a diesel engine in the front. Peugeot's 2.2-litre HDi engi... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Sunday, September 4, 2011,
The star of Ford's stand at the Frankfurt Motor Show will
be the Evos concept car. At first glance you may think that it's a
swoopy coupé, perhaps hinting at a modern day interpretation of the
iconic Ford Capri. In fact, it previews the 2012 Ford Mondeo. Yahoo!
Cars attended an event in Berlin two weeks ahead of the concept's
public debut to get up close and personal with Ford's new star. Contrary
to appearances, the Evos boasts four large doors. In true concept car
fashion they're o... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Sunday, September 4, 2011,
Peugeot has revealed the first pictures of a striking new concept car called the HX1. Due
to be unveiled in the metal at next month's Frankfurt Motor Show, the
futuristic HX1 is a six-seater MPV with an amazing set of doors that
open upwards and outwards. Underneath the sleek exterior and
classy cabin lies an extremely efficient drivetrain. It's a plug-in
hybrid, which means you can charge it up from the mains but there's also
a diesel engine in the front. Peugeot's 2.2-litre HDi engi... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Saturday, September 3, 2011,
It may be a computer-generated image at the moment, but
the finished version of Audi's amazing urban concept car will be
revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month. An open top,
outward wheels and hot rod looks render it one of the most striking
concepts of the moment. Audi claims it's a one-off project to explore
new styling ideas, lightweight cars and efficient drivetrains. The
suspension is derived from racing cars and the wheels measure a huge 21
inches in diameter. Numerous... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Saturday, September 3, 2011,
It's only a couple of weeks until the Frankfurt Motor Show
begins, which means we're knee deep in press releases concerning the
stuff that's coming up. And boy is there lots of good stuff. We've only
got space for five highlights here, which means we've been forced to
leave out the BMW M5, Land Rover Defender Concept, Aston Martin V12
Zagato, Bentley Continental GTC and, our particular favourite, the
Maserati GranCabrio Fendi Edition. Not to worry, here's the good stuff. Renault Frendz... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Friday, September 2, 2011,
Expert Rating:
What is it? The car R8 fans have been asking
for. Based on the already mightily rapid R8 V10 the GT turns up the
intensity level. A strict diet has shed 100kg from its weight, while
some engine tweaks have increased power to 552bhp. More focused
suspension settings, some aerodynamic revisions and the exclusivity of a
limited number build run add even more appeal - just 33 R8 GTs will
come to the UK. It's got bragging rights too, as it's Audi's fastest
ever road-going c... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Friday, September 2, 2011,
Some
of DSA's online systems won't be available from 6.00pm on Friday 2
September until 6.00am on Monday 5 September. This is due to essential
maintenance work.
It will affect access to:
- online instructor services on Buisness Link
- the online booking service for practical tests on Directgov
- all online Driver CPC services
- DSA's national speech recognition service for changing practical tests.
You'll still be able to use the online theory test servives by visiting direct.gov.uk/theorytest
DSA's... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Thursday, September 1, 2011,
Drivers in Venezuela can fill their cars for as little as
2p per litre. The South American country tops the charts when it comes
to cheap fuel. It means that the average European family car
could be filled in Venezuela for less than the price of a litre of fuel
in the UK. However, despite how it might feel, we don't pay the
highest prices at the pumps. Far from it, in fact. In the Norwegian
capital Oslo, drivers pay an average of 164p per litre, around 30p more
than us in the UK. The... Continue reading ...
Posted by Will Dracott on Thursday, September 1, 2011,
The number of cars on the road has hit the one-billion
mark for the first time ever. The landmark figure comes because of the
burgeoning market for cars in developing nations. More than 35
million new cars were sold last year - the same number as is on the UK's
roads now. China leads the growth trend, with a massive 14 million cars
sold in 2010 and ownership leaping by 27.5 per cent in a single year. China
now has more than twice as many cars on the road as the UK does, and
it's expand... Continue reading ...
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Will Dracott
| A-Class Driving School |
| Bristol |
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This blog is for those taking their driving test in and around Bristol. Keeping you in touch with any route changes, diversions on test routes, severe traffic delays, road works, severe weather warnings, cancellations and DSA updates regarding the UK driving test.
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