Robin Roberts reports on the growing trend for loans to be taken out against classic car values. As widely reported, the values of classic cars have been increasing in dramatic fashion over the last few years and such vehicles are currently seen by lenders as good bets as assets against which to loan money. HNW Lending is one example; here are the headlines: HNW Lending has now … [Read more...]
Contributors
Volkswagen Amarok Aventura 3.0 V6 Double Cab Pick-up Road Test
VW’s Amarok Aventura 3.0 V6 Double Cab Pick-up… …assessed by Robin Roberts (and Miles Better News Agency) Big, bold and you can bet it’ll turn heads, the VW Amarok double cab pick-up is the alternative luxury SUV whether it’s for family, leisure or work use. Built with America squarely in its sight over one of the biggest bonnets you’ll ever see looming in your rear view mirror, the Amarok is … [Read more...]
Diesel dilemma for car buyers
Diesel car sales decline… with knock-on effects for secondhand models. Robin Roberts reports. The decline in diesel new car sales is forcing down used prices as well. There is a knock-on effect on financing plans increasingly being used by car makers to bolster income, report analysts to Reuters. Pollution concerns and the likelihood of city centre charging is also affecting the business … [Read more...]
Classic prices achieved at South Western Vehicle Auctions sale…
Some ‘modest’ classic commercials and cars, as well as more exclusively machinery, fetched far more than anticipated at the recent classic vehicle sale arranged by South Western Vehicle Auctions in Poole. Chris Adamson was there with his camera and notebook… (Words and photographs by Chris). A bid of £21,000 for a classic car is not normally the stuff of headlines – but it was at the recent … [Read more...]
Repair costs compared between different makes within the Volkswagen Group
Thinking of investing in a Volkswagen, an Audi, a Skoda or a SEAT? The comparative cost of repairs within the Volkswagen Group makes interesting reading... By Robin Roberts and Kim Henson Volkswagen has been in the news a lot lately, and not always for the right reasons. However, the German manufacturer still reigns supreme when it comes to car sales, with the company shifting 10.3 … [Read more...]
Air-free bicycle tyres on track for arrival in 2019…
Wot, no air for your bike tyres (and, possibly in the near future, tyres for other vehicles too...)? Kim Henson reports. In Tokyo the Bridgestone Corporation has announced that, together with the Bridgestone Cycle Co, Ltd, the company has developed a next-generation bicycle tyre in an effort to realise practical application of their “Air Free Concept”, a technology for creating tyres that do not … [Read more...]
Latest Volkswagen Beetle – Road Test
Nearly 80 years of ‘Beetling’ about… David Miles (Miles Better News Agency) test drives the 2017 VW Beetle. With more and more volume produced cars these days looking more and more alike, there are very few iconic core designs left to tempt those owners who do not want run-of-the mill designs. These buyers are independent minded, aloof to what is the latest must-have – me-too fashionable car, … [Read more...]
NEW SERIES! ‘Golden Oldies’; Kim’s Retrospective Road Test No. 1 – 1996 Vauxhall Astra 1.7 LS turbodiesel (Isuzu engine).
Astranomical! In the first of a new series on Wheels-Alive, Kim Henson assesses Vauxhall’s family hatchback of the 1990s, in the form of a 1996 Vauxhall Astra F (‘Mark 3’), powered by Isuzu’s fuel-sipping 1.7 litre turbodiesel engine. (All words and photographs by Kim). “Astra from Vauxhall. It’s every car you’ll ever need – or want.” So proclaimed Vauxhall when promoting their 1996 Astra … [Read more...]
Lexus GS 300h – Road Test
Hybrid Power – You Know it Makes Sense – Toyota and Lexus Know-how. Lexus GS 300h tested by David Miles (Miles Better News Agency). Toyota and Lexus have long been the stalwarts, you could say the pioneers, of using hybrid technology for some of their passenger car ranges to reduce CO2 emissions, improve fuel economy and boost performance. Where they led others now follow. The growth in … [Read more...]
Revised SEAT Leon range – First Impressions
SEAT updates their best-selling Leon line-up of hatchbacks and estates. By David Miles (Miles Better News Agency). In common with other brands in the Volkswagen Group that produce C-segment family cars based on their highly rated MQB platform, namely the VW Golf, Skoda Octavia and Audi A3, SEAT have now rolled out their ‘refreshed’ range of Leon SC three-door coupé, five-door hatchbacks and ST … [Read more...]
Circuit of Wales latest news update…
Robin Roberts (and Miles Better News Agency) reports on the current situation regarding the proposed Circuit of Wales... Wales Audit Office said there were "significant shortcomings" in the way £9.3 Million of taxpayers' money was spent on plans for Circuit of Wales at Ebbw Vale. Funding was based on a "flawed" appraisal by Welsh Government, said the public finance watchdog. Welsh … [Read more...]
Volvo V90 D4 AWD Cross Country – Kim’s (brief) First Impressions
Kim Henson briefly samples Volvo’s state-of-the-art V90 D4 AWD Cross Country estate. In line with developments in engineering and computer systems generally, the rapid pace of change in terms of automotive technological innovation is clear when driving any vehicle produced in the last year or two, and especially so in the case of so-called ‘premium’ brands. This generalisation is certainly … [Read more...]
Firestone Music Tour 2017 takes to the road
Keep calm and festival on! Kim Henson tells more... With so many different languages actively used across the continent, music is the one language that has the power to bring together people from different countries and cultures. The Firestone Music Tour gives Firestone the opportunity to connect with music-lovers from across Europe via authentic music experiences. Firestone will be … [Read more...]
Latest Honda Civic – Kim’s First Impressions
Kim Henson samples contrasting examples of the latest (10th generation) Honda Civic… (All words and photos by Kim). Ask any Honda Civic owner, or anyone in the motor trade, or any diagnostic specialist, who has had anything to do with the model, or Hondas in general, and I am convinced that nearly all (if not 100 per cent) of these people will tell you that the Civic is an excellent motor car … [Read more...]
First Stop fast fit network boosted by Hickleys partnership
The First Stop fast fit network is continuing to evolve and expand, courtesy of an innovative approach to new member recruitment… Kim Henson reports. After increasing to a total of 72 centres by the end of 2016, the First Stop network has attracted another new outlet in the form of Hickleys in Taunton, who will now be boasting a tyre offering for motorists to benefit from, for the first … [Read more...]
Latest Hyundai i30 Hatchback – Road Test
The new Hyundai i30 mid-sized hatchback – Bland but not basic, says David Miles (Miles Better News Agency). The all-new third generation Hyundai i30 five door hatchback range went on sale in the UK from 1 March this year and it will be followed by Tourer estate versions due this summer. The two ranges will be similar in terms of engine and specification choices, but a little more expensive – and … [Read more...]
Dave Randle goes ‘Back to Basics’ with his trusty Xantia…
BIT OF A BLOW. Dave Randle explains how it pays NOT to think the worst if an unusual breakdown occurs... So we made space in the schedule and booked up the first caravan holiday of Spring. Not an epic; just far enough away to be off the intermittent communication lines of Romney Marsh and sequestered among the Surrey Hills several times as far above sea level. We’re just getting back into … [Read more...]
Latest Honda Civic – History and First Impressions, plus Honda news
New 10th Generation Honda Civic British-built for global markets. David Miles (Miles Better News Agency) reports… News The new 10th generation Honda Civic five door family hatchback is now in production for global markets and it is only being built in the UK at the company’s Swindon factory. Production at the same location will also include the ‘hot’ Civic Type-R, but not a Civic Tourer estate, … [Read more...]
Kia Niro Hybrid – Road Test
Keith Ward test drives Kia’s first hybrid, in the form of the Niro… While accelerating sales of alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFVs) in the UK have eased with the gearing down of Government support grants, reaching 89,000 last year out of a record total of nearly 2.7m cars, they were still up by more than 20 per cent, according to official SMMT trade figures. They include petrol-electric … [Read more...]
New Ford Mondeo – Road Test
Latest Ford Mondeo Vignale 2.0 Powershift auto 4WD... Assessed by Robin Roberts (Miles Better News Agency). When a giant moves it may not be often but everyone takes notice. Ford held onto the Vignale coach-building name for 42 years before applying it to a hand-finished Mondeo which appeared in 2016, and now it’s picking up momentum and will be appearing on more bespoke cars. Ford … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 58
- 59
- 60
- 61
- 62
- …
- 81
- Next Page »