Loose Fasteners are Bad News... Advises Kim Henson. It may seem obvious, but whenever a vehicle – old or new – is being worked on, fasteners have to be released/removed in order to take off ailing components so that they can be repaired or renewed. Equally these fasteners have then to be refitted/retightened when re-assembly takes place. The thing is… It is always wise to re-check the … [Read more...]
Contributors
Ford to Reduce Investment at Bridgend Plant
Ford will cut its next stage of investment in Bridgend Engine Plant. Report by Robin Roberts (and Miles Better News Agency). It planned to spend £180 M to safeguard 750 new jobs when 250,000 Dragon petrol engines went down the lines from 2017. But a year after making the announcement, Ford said yesterday it would now put in £100 M to build 125,000 units and protect 550 jobs. The Welsh … [Read more...]
Bridgestone Helping to Keep an Iconic Jaguar Model on the Road
Bridgestone to develop new tyres for the XJ220... Thanks to a coming together of minds, Bridgestone has started working with Don Law XJ220 in the UK to develop a new generation of tyres for the legendary Jaguar XJ220. The original collaboration in the development of the tyres for the XJ220 is well documented. However, tyres of the size required for the car went out of production some … [Read more...]
MINI John Cooper Works Convertible Road Test
The MINI John Cooper Works Convertible – All Posh and ‘Pecs’. By David Miles (Miles Better News Agency). A lot of convertibles can be more Show than Go but not the top of the range MINI John Cooper Works (JCW) Convertible. This version is indeed Posh and well equipped and of a high quality, but this one also boasts lots of ‘Pecs’ with its muscular styling and high powered 2.0 litre, 231 hp … [Read more...]
Great Dorset Steam Fair Delights 2016
Steam power galore, vintage/classic cars and commercials, working horses plus an amazing World War I commemorative display – and much, much more… It all added up to the 2016 Great Dorset Steam Fair. Kim Henson was there with his cameras… With an event as vast in scope and size as the Great Dorset steam Fair, it’s a job to know where to start, when talking about it to people who have never yet … [Read more...]
Beaulieu Autojumble Celebrates 50 Glorious Golden Years
Beaulieu’s Magnificent Golden 50th Autojumble. All words and photos, except photos as noted below, by Kim Henson. (With further photographs, individually acknowledged with grateful thanks, provided by Chris Adamson, plus two courtesy of the National Motor Museum). Although at times the weather wasn’t kind, over 36,000 attendees strolled around the hallowed Autojumble fields at the National … [Read more...]
Road Test – Ford EcoSport Titanium 1.5 TDCi
Ford EcoSport Titanium 1.5 TDCi – A Compact MPV or SUV? By Robin Roberts (and Miles Better News Agency). The expression “needs must” is something that Ford assiduously adhere to in their model range. They simply cannot afford to not be represented in a model sector, particularly if it’s a growing sector. So the remodelled Ford EcoSport MPV (or is it a compact SUV? – Ford advertises it as … [Read more...]
Audi Customers in Poole Take Advantage of a New Registration, a New Centre and a New Event
NEW REGISTRATION, NEW CENTRE, NEW EVENT From 10pm on Wednesday 31st August customers were welcomed into the brand new Poole Audi Centre on Old Wareham Road in the Dorset town, in anticipation of collecting their new Audis, all boasting the September 2016 66-registration plate. (For more information on this amazing new Audi Centre, as recently fetured on Wheels-Alive, please click HERE). More … [Read more...]
New BMW M2 Coupé Road Test
BMW’s M2 Coupé – Driver Satisfaction Guaranteed. By David Miles (Miles Better News Agency). The new BMW M2 two door, four seater coupé has a 3.0 litre, straight-six, TwinPower, twin scroll single turbocharged 370 hp petrol engine. It is currently positioned between the M235i 326 hp plus the soon to arrive M240i 340 hp coupé and the larger, more comprehensively tuned and modified twin turbo 431 … [Read more...]
Suzuki Baleno Road Test – an Alternative View
Right Car at the Right Time – Suzuki’s Baleno Family Hatchback. By David Miles (Miles Better News Agency). (If you are interested in a different view of the Baleno, as test-driven by Kim, please click HERE). With the UK’s new car market showing signs of slowing down for sales, especially from retail customers worried about Brexit and its financial implications, the arrival of Suzuki’s new … [Read more...]
Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer Road Test
Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer... Assessed by Robin Roberts (via Miles Better News Agency). Built in Britain and voted the best sports tourer for the money, the Vauxhall Astra ST packs a hefty sales punch for the September new ‘66’ registration plate month and beyond. The car is made at Ellesmere Port and uses the familiar Astra Hatchback mechanicals and trim levels in an all new roomier body, … [Read more...]
Kia Optima (latest version) Road Test
Latest Kia Optima 4-Door Saloon test-driven by David Miles (Miles Better News Agency). Sales of D-Segment models in the UK are hard work even if you are classed as a premium brand manufacturer offering such models as the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and, from the UK, the Jaguar XE. Only the heavily advertised Merc C-Class is in the UK’s top ten new car sales chart thanks to its … [Read more...]
Volvo XC90 Road Test
Keith Ward assesses ‘The Safest Volvo Ever Built’… TOUTED as the “Safest Volvo ever built”, which is saying something, the all-new XC90 is a towering seven-seat SUV, almost five metres (16 ft 5in) long, to take on in the lux market such as the BMW X5, Audi Q7, Mercedes M-Class, new Jaguar F-Pace and Land-Rover Discovery. So just as well it oozes quality. Having replaced the original model … [Read more...]
Skoda Octavia Estate Scout 4×4 Road Test
Skoda Octavia Estate Scout 4 x 4 – Takes the Rough with the Smooth. By David Miles (Miles Better News Agency). Don’t fancy being one of the latest craze of ‘me-too’ buyers of small medium and large SUVs and Crossovers, but need a bit more security of 4x4 traction with winter just around the corner, then the new car market offers an increasing number of choices of all-wheel-drive cars and … [Read more...]
Audi TT – Range Starter 1.8 – Road Test
New Entry Level 1.8 litre Audi TT Coupé – Less Pressure on Your Pocket. By David Miles (Miles Better News Agency). Until the value of the British Pound stabilises following the Brexit divorce, less expensive entry level models might become a more sensible buy when it comes to choosing an imported new car for the new ‘66’ plate registration month of this coming September. By chance, or … [Read more...]
Happy Days in South Africa with an Austin 11-55
Glen Smale recalls his Austin 11-55 in South Africa… Glen operates Virtual Motorpix and his recollections about his own 11-55 first appeared on own his website blog: http://blog.virtualmotorpix.com (Kim says: “Just to set the scene, it may be helpful to explain a little about the Austin 11-55. This was a South African version of BMC’s 1100 (ADO 16) that was introduced in the UK in 1962, and in … [Read more...]
Danger ahead!! A must-read for all classic car owners! Increasing ethanol content in petrol threatens major difficulties for older vehicles…
Ethanol and Classic Cars... An Uneasy Mixture – by Dave Moss. Do you run a classic car and wish to continue driving it in the future? If so, our Wheels-Alive guide to ethanol in petrol is ESSENTIAL reading… Part 1 – The Background Ethanol is alcohol, which, but for the fact that it’s chemically modified, would be drinkable. In its original form, dating back into the mists of time, it was often … [Read more...]
Latest Nissan Navara Road Test
New Nissan Navara Double Cab Arrives in a Growing Market Sector. It’s assessed here by David Miles (Miles Better News Agency). In the mid 1990’s UK sales of Double Cab Pick-Ups were at their peak with registrations led by the Mitsubishi L200 range. Then the Government changed and upped the Benefit-in-Kind tax levels on these work and leisure vehicles, which dulled sales and then registrations of … [Read more...]
Volkswagen’s Latest Tiguan – Road Test
The New Vokswagen Tiguan Mid-size SUV – Classy but Costly. By David Miles (Miles Better News Agency). Originally launched in 2007, the first generation Tiguan five-door, mid-sized SUV sold in big numbers, 2.8 million worldwide and 100,000 units in the UK. It is VW’s third best selling model in this country after the Golf and Polo ranges. Now the second generation Tiguan range has just … [Read more...]
Audi Q7 Road Test
Keith Ward tries the largest of Audi’s SUVs, the Q7, in the north of England… THIS was the most enjoyable drive of my year so far. Two reasons: the transport and the territory. Four versions have until recently formed the Audi Q7 range, all with quattro permanent 4WD and offering three levels of trim and a lusty V6 turbo diesel tuned to either 218 or 272 PS, at prices dotted around … [Read more...]
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