Government consultation under way on DVLA/DVSA rules for classic vehicles - by Dave Moss Speaking at a recent Historic and Classic Vehicles Alliance (HCVA) event, Secretary of State for Transport, Mark Harper, asked the classic car community and industry to help future-proof historic vehicles by responding to a current Government consultation into how best to support Britain’s classic car sector … [Read more...]
Features by Dave Moss
Dave has a lifetime connection with the world of motoring. His father was a timeserved engineer from an age when car repairs really meant repairs: he ran his own garage from the 1930s to the 60s, while Mum was the boss’s secretary at a big Austin distributor. Both worked their entire lives in the motor trade, so if motor oil’s not in Dave’s blood, it’s surely a very close thing.
Though qualified in Electronics, for Dave it seemed a natural step into restoring a succession of classic cars, culminating in a variety of Minis. Writing and broadcasting about these, and an ever widening range of motoring topics ancient and modern, gathered pace in the 1970’s, and has taken over since, embracing books, magazines, newspapers, radio programmes, phone-ins and guest appearances – not forgetting hard graft on the garage floor. Latest book: The Efficient Driver’s Handbook. Latest project: That 1968 Mk 1 Mini Cooper S will one day move again…
Bicycles, boats, V12 engines and the Hillman Imp – automotive connections that might surprise you
What links a 19th century Glasgow bicycle maker, a tiny Scottish island, the world's first V12 engine, the Hillman Imp, and the Internal Fire and Power Museum in west Wales? Dave Moss explains… Our story begins late in the nineteenth century, when one Alistair Edward Stuart Craig established a business called Craig Bicycles in Glasgow. It made modest numbers of machines, each emblazoned with … [Read more...]
A fascinating insight into the MG/Rover car that never was (well, almost)…
No longer languishing at Longbridge... a missing link between old and new - by Dave Moss. Anyone interested in preserving the history of Britain's once proud motor industry will surely have welcomed recent news that the British Motor Museum has secured the long-term loan of eight historic cars from MG Motor UK. All have been in storage since 2005, and all depict key moments in the MG and Rover … [Read more...]
“Plan for Drivers” – This is it!
New Government plan for drivers is officially launched - by Dave Moss. Early in October, Transport Secretary Mark Harper announced a "Plan for Drivers" - a bold and in places already controversial 30-point agenda, which Mr Harper headlined as a "plan to support people’s freedom to use their cars, and curb over-zealous enforcement measures." He went on to say: "We’re backing drivers, and our new … [Read more...]
The UK government aims to help hard-(op)pressed drivers…
Government announces new long-term plans to support drivers – and put the brakes on anti-car measures – by Dave Moss In a joint statement Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Transport Secretary Mark Harper have recently set out plans intended to help protect drivers from over-zealous traffic enforcement, which is said to be part of long-term government plans to "back drivers". With 50 million … [Read more...]
Lancia’s decline and fall from being a well-respected brand… and the firm is now rising again!
Better late than never... a sad story heading for a happy ending - by Dave Moss. It’s thirty years since Lancia cars disappeared from British showrooms, the start of a slippery slope for this much-loved Italian marque with a long, diverse history. Established to make cars in Turin in 1906, later adding commercial vehicles, buses, and, eventually, trolleybuses, the first half of its existence … [Read more...]
Stand by for MoT changes – but first make your views heard!
New Consultation on proposals to make MoT tests fit for the future - by Dave Moss. The Department for Transport has launched a detailed two-part consultation seeking views on various options aimed at updating the MoT testing regime for cars, vans and motorcycles. Its declared intention is to ensure roadworthiness checks continue balancing costs to motorists against the need to ensure road safety, … [Read more...]
Smart #1 model availability
Dave Moss reports… smart has now confirmed UK availability for its new #1 all-electric compact SUV model. (Dave advised on the imminent arrival of the new all-electric smart model in his Wheels-alive article on 27th April; to read this, please go here: smart-moves-ahead) UK Order books will open in December 2022 for first deliveries in mid-2023, though a run of 1000 special "Launch Edition" … [Read more...]
Reflections on a turning point in automotive history
Time for a (gear) change? Dave Moss discusses the possible/likely/inevitable (?) decline of the multi-ratio gearboxes that we have used since motoring began... Although cars have undergone remarkable changes in the 125 years they have been moving mankind around, continued use of internal combustion engines has ensured the survival of one particular heartache-inducing component. To the delight of … [Read more...]
Smart moves ahead…
smart thinking on the way forward – by Dave Moss smart has come a long way since the early 1980s, when the idea of the compact car which came to carry the name first began to take hold, born of growing concerns over congestion and urban air pollution. Production versions of the model we now recognise as the fortwo eventually emerged – after a very lengthy and troubled gestation – through a … [Read more...]
Motoring taxation news – what will the future hold?
Electric vehicles ahead… where is the replacement for road tax monies going to come from? MPs urge action to avoid a motoring taxation "black hole" – by Dave Moss. (All words and photograph by, and copyright, Dave Moss). Zero emission vehicles shouldn’t mean zero tax revenue, says Transport Committee. Transport committee MPs began a wide ranging enquiry into road pricing just over 12 … [Read more...]
Fuel’s gold – but for how much longer?…
A detailed look at alternative synthetic ‘e-fuels’, what they are and how they may (or may not) fit into the future of transport, classic and otherwise. By Dave Moss. Kim says: “Here is Dave’s very comprehensive article, in its entirety and as written by him and representing his own views following his in-depth ‘free rein’ analysis of the subject. I should mention that this was written … [Read more...]
Taxing times for motorists – how will money be raised in the future?
MPs urge action to avoid a motoring taxation "black hole" – by Dave Moss... Zero emission vehicles shouldn’t mean zero tax revenue, says Transport Committee Transport committee MPs began a wide-ranging enquiry into road pricing just over 12 months ago, considering its implementation, the level of public support for it – and how the views of the public will need to be considered in developing … [Read more...]
Stonehenge tunnel – back to the drawing board
High Court judge rules Stonehenge road and tunnel decision unlawful – by Dave Moss. Campaigners are celebrating following a High Court decision in a judicial review brought by the Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site Ltd. (SSWHS). The group launched a legal challenge following Transport Secretary Grant Shapps’ recent decision to allow the building of a new eight-mile dual carriageway including a … [Read more...]
30 years of Vauxhall’s Frontera
Frontera still knows no boundaries 30 years on – by Dave Moss. (Images from Vauxhall Heritage). During the 1980s the so-called "world car" concept began to take hold. Vehicles were increasingly becoming truly international products, as technology, joint ventures and improving component supply allowed design, development, and manufacture in different places. This approach facilitated sales … [Read more...]
Higher doses of ethanol arriving – the reasons (we are told…), and the potential dangers
E10 petrol is coming soon – to filling stations near you... by Dave Moss. Why E10, and why now? The British government's ambition to drive down carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050 involves ever-tightening targets, which last December stood at a 68% reduction by 2030 compared to 1990... However, in April, days before the US climate summit, rumours began circulating that yet another emissions … [Read more...]
Stonehenge – Which way around it? That is the question for the A303
Stonehenge and the motorist: A 6,000 year old story... so far – by Dave Moss. (All images from Highways England). On November 12th 2020, permission was granted to join up existing dual carriageways on the A303 in Wiltshire via a new dual carriageway section, running via a twin-bore four-lane road tunnel just south of Stonehenge. The decision reignited controversy which has raged over roads … [Read more...]
Driving in Europe post-Brexit…
Dave Moss is your guide to what's now required when driving on the other side of the Channel... Britain's departure from the EU has prompted a flurry of information and advice from the Department for Transport, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and the DVLA on rule changes affecting Britons driving in Europe from January 1st 2021. Here we round up some important changes affecting British … [Read more...]
A look (in amazement, astonishment and wonder) at Lada, then and now… Part Two: The capable four wheel drive Niva
Niva say never... as little known best seller reaches 40 – by Dave Moss This story begins on April 5th 1977, when LHD Russian market sales of what was known there as the VAZ 2121 began. Right hand drive examples were badged "Lada Niva", with a list price just over £5000, at their 1980 British International Motor Show launch, where they were heavily overshadowed by the introduction of BL's Austin … [Read more...]
A look (in amazement, astonishment and wonder) at Lada, then and now… Part One: The story so far
Records set in a 21st century Russian Revolution – by Dave Moss. On September 24th 2020, the 30 millionth Lada rolled off a production line at one of the worlds biggest car factories – the Autovaz plant in Togliatti, on the Volga riverside almost 600 miles south east of Moscow. The plant also celebrated 50 years of production in 2020, adding up to a remarkable manufacturing performance – an … [Read more...]