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Driving theory test is officially harder now

admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:37:00 +0000

Filed under: Consumer The driving theory test is the first step to being allowed to drive a car on your own on the road. It’s a big thing to take and it’s just been made a little harder . The Driving Standards Agency used to make passing rather easy , as all the possible questions and answers were published in ‘revision’ books and DVDs.This has now changed. Help will still be available in the form of books and software, but rather than spoon feeding the answers to wannabe Vettels they’ll use case studies and examples to make candidates apply their knowledge to real world situations. So, rather than becoming short-term Rain Men of the Highway Code, participants will hopefully learn something that’ll stick with them for a while afterwards. Critics of the ‘old’ test were placated after an AA survey showed that 23 percent of drivers didn’t know who had priority when traffic lights weren’t working and that 46 percent didn’t know what flashing amber lights at pelican crossings meant. Mark Peacock, Head of AA Driving School said: “Learners should not unduly worry about the changes to the test. The new test calls for greater understanding, which can be gained from professional tuition and some time spent revising – both of which would have been needed to pass the theory test confidently before the changes.” Further improvements to the test will inevitably come, though we can’t help but think that candidates would be better off not learning the perilous ‘reverse around the corner’ technique. No one, apart from learner drivers, reverses around a corner quite as precisely.

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Driving theory test is officially harder now

Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4: First drive

admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Filed under: First Drive First came the electric car, then came the petrol hybrid. After this came the range-extender electric hybrid and now Peugeot has given us the latest hybrid car flavour – the world’s first diesel hybrid. Anyway, Peugeot’s rival to the Vauxhall Ampera and Chevrolet Volt is 3008-shaped and costs £26,279. On sale now, I headed to Birmingham for a first drive. So how does it work? Well, at the front there is the familiar 161bhp, 2.0-litre HDi turbo diesel mated to a six-speed semi-automatic transmission. However, this package gets really interesting at the back, where there’s a 36bhp AC electric motor for the rear wheels. On top of 200bhp, combined fuel consumption figures of 70.6mpg and 104g/km emissions (a 99g/km version will be available later), this 3008 offers the extra traction of four-wheel drive without all the extra parts of a mechanical system. However what is really clever about this drivetrain, is that it is easily interchangeable with other models and we will be getting an RXH version of the 508 , which is basically an upmarket all-wheel drive estate using the same technology, later this year. Outside, the Hybrid4 looks like any other 3008; look closer and there are now a set of LEDs inside the front headlights, plus the latest lion badge on the bonnet. Whilst at the back, there is a two-tone rear spoiler with a gloss black centre section. Inside, the interior is as unchanged as the exterior. Okay, there is two-tone leather for Limited Edition versions, the rev counter has now been replaced by a battery charge indicator, the sat-nav screen now shows what power source is driving the car and what was the circular dial to switch between two and four-wheel drive now controls the four drive modes. There’s only one compromise over the standard 3008′s practicality and that is 100 litres less rear load space. However, there’s still the same practical split tailgate and folding rear seats. So, what’s the Hybrid4 like to drive? Well, the 3008 starts in ZEV mode, which basically means it can run on electric power for as long as possible or until you go over 30mph. Then, over 30mph the car will shift into Auto mode which optimises the use of diesel and electric power for efficiency. There is also the four-wheel drive mode (4×4), which switches power to all four wheels giving more grip. Finally, a Sport mode sharpens up the acceleration and gives the driver full access to the 200bhp available. Personally, I found it quite fiddly to start the Hybrid4. It seemed to take ages between turning the key and the electric motor starting to whir away. If you don’t wait, this Peugeot will leave you with a box of neutrals. In ZEV electric mode, the Hybrid4 is very smooth and remains this way when it changes to Auto mode. The Hybrid4 might have more power and performance, (118mph top speed and 0-60mph acceleration in 9.1 seconds) but it isn’t really sporty. So Sport is probably the wrong title for this 3008′s most dynamic mode. One of the highlights of the 3008 is the keen drive, but even in Sport mode the Hybrid4 doesn’t feel as sharp as the standard car. The steering and handling are the most noticeable changes and I’m sure that the culprit is the extra 441lb of battery and electric motor. The plastic gear change paddles in particular, look and feel horrible and seem at odds with the Hybrid4′s green character. Peugeot prepared an off-road course to try the Hybrid4′s four-wheel drive mode. Don’t think of it as a serious off-roader, the 3008 doesn’t have enough ground clearance or a lockable differential to do that. However, if you look at it as useful extra traction over muddy or wet surfaces, it works well. Overall, the 3008 Hybrid4 is an impressive addition to the green car sector and a serious rival to the Vauxhall and Chevrolet. It is expensive, but this is a car that’s going to appeal to fleet rather family buyers (Peugeot believes 85% of sales will be to company car buyers). Personally, I feel this is a car that you need to spend time with to get the best out of it and hope to arrange a longer loan period soon.

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Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4: First drive

Video: Street sleeper Toyota will blow you away

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:16:00 +0000

Filed under: Comment This Toyota Corolla is not much to look at. In fact, the completely standard body is a bit rough around the edges and though it can be appreciated as a rare classic, most people wouldn’t take a second glance at it. Except this particular Corolla is hiding a chassis-twisting turbocharged Nissan V6 under the bonnet, allowing the little white beast to cover the quarter mile in just under 12 seconds. Okay, so there are faster cars available , but imagine the faces of those who think they can show up the little Toyota, only to be blown into next week by the mammoth Garrett ball-bearing turbo. The engine install fits perfectly and we love how the owner has managed to keep the car looking completely stock (bar the fat tyres). Check out the video below to enjoy this mean machine in action.

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Video: Street sleeper Toyota will blow you away

Ecovelocity announces new, larger venue for 2012

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:47:00 +0000

Filed under: Latest News Organisers have announced that the Ecovelocity motor show , the first show of its kind in the UK dedicated to eco vehicles will run for a second year. EcoVelocity will move from its inaugural location at Battersea Power Station to the ExCeL centre in London and will run at the earlier dates of 10-13 May. The new venue is substantially larger, offering more opportunities for people to test drive green cars compared to Battersea, where 7,000 test drives saw the event reach full capacity. The show has been put forward so as not to coincide with the start of the Olympics and organisers IGME Ltd will hope to build on the success of the 2008 British Motor Show held at ExCeL, where nearly half a million people visited. I was really impressed with the EcoVelocity show last year and the test drives are a great idea for anyone interested in making the move to an Electric or eco vehicle, or just wants to see what all the fuss is about. It’s well worth putting those dates in your diary to see what the show can offer you.

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Ecovelocity announces new, larger venue for 2012

Qatar Motor Show: Brand new Bentley Convertible uncloaked

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:27:00 +0000

Filed under: Latest News Bentley will be showing the all-new Continental GTC at the 2012 Qatar Motor Show. The drop-top sibling to last year’s hard top GT will be seen on January 25th when the show opens. Initially it’ll be powered by the brilliant 575bhp 6.0-litre W12 engine that’s propelled the range since the last decade, but it’s very likely that it’ll become a home for the brand’s all new turbocharged 500bhp 4.0-litre V8 as well. To keep you moving nice and briskly Bentley has popped a super slick QuickShift auto’ transmission in there as well. To match its under bonnet wallop there’s lots of luxury inside. Think soft leather, wood veneers, cool metal and deep, deep carpets. The GTC, like the GT did before , looks like a suitably modern update to the model it replaces. Lines are cleaner, vents are bigger and the price tag will be, like Stella Artois, reassuringly expensive. Aliasdair Stewart, Board Member for sales and marketing at Bentley, commented: “We are delighted to be here in Qatar with the new GTC. It has always been the most emotional model in the Continental range and a showcase for Bentley design. “With its tailored soft top, the GTC is a pure British convertible true to those classic Bentleys of the past. However, the technology, performance and overall design excellence invested in this model means that we are now writing a new chapter for the Bentley convertible driver.”

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Qatar Motor Show: Brand new Bentley Convertible uncloaked

£16m auction sees Ferrari ‘batmobile’ fetch a fortune

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:07:00 +0000

Filed under: Classic cars An auction in Arizona has seen a stunning 1957 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Scaglietti Coupé sell for $1,815,000 (£1.1m). The Ferrari, whose stunning rear ‘wings’ make it look like it was created for Batman himself , is one of only 34 410 Superamericas ever made, imagined and built by Italian coachbuilder and designer Carrozzeria Scaglietti. The Modena based company is famous for designing and building some of Ferrari’s most famous cars, including the legendary 250 GTO . Scaglietti designed the 410 Superamerica in a way unheard of today. Eponymous company Owner Sergio didn’t draw his designs on paper, instead imagining them in his head then setting about making them using steel tubes as frames on which to set and beat the aluminium body panels by hand. Therefore, no two cars were ever identical, and each of the 34 410 models was commissioned by a wealthy enthusiast. This particular one was ordered by Dottore Enrico Wax, an Italian whose business ventures included importing and selling Johnny Walker whiskey in the ’50s. According to the RM Auctions catalogue listing for the car, when Wax asked Enzo Ferrari himself about ordering a one-off Ferrari, Enzo suggested that Scaglietti could make him a truly unique 410. And so this car, model s/n 0671, was born. Aside from the distinctive fins, it has a bespoke interior (below) featuring unusual British Smiths instruments, and houses two 50-litre fuel tanks. Power is from a 340bhp 4.9-litre V12 engine driving the rear wheels through a four-speed manual transmission. Amazingly though, Wax sold it after about a year, and it was passed between a few owners before being stolen and stripped in the ’70s, with the thief selling the body-less chassis and drivetrain to a farmer in Oregon, USA. It was then that Hollywood TV director and Ferrari collector Greg Garrison (most famous for producing the JFK-Richard Nixon presidential debates in 1960) decided to track the car down and restore it. Upon discovering the chassis was in Oregon, during the ’80s, Garrison put out advertisements offering cash for it. He succeeded, and went to Enzo Ferrari with a plan… Incredibly, after Enzo authenticated the chassis as original (by looking at a picture that Garrison had taken), he got Sergio Scaglietti involved. Sergio pulled out the original plans and photographs of the 410 and, determined to restore the car to authentic past glory, arranged for four of the original workers that had bult the car in the ’50s – now retired – to come back and set about re-crafting it. Two years later, in 1990, the car was complete, and it stayed with Garrison until he died in 2005. It’s no wonder, then, that over the weekend it sold for almost $2m, starring in a sale that saw over $25m (£16m) of cars sold. The second and third most expensive cars of the day were a 1959 BMW 507 Roadster (above) and a Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spyder, both fetching $990,000 (£640,000), while a Ferrari GT Lusso Berlinetta sold for $979,000 and a 1966 Shelby 427 Cobra (below) went for $880,000. Other cars sold included a 1958 Porsche 356A 1600 Speedster (below), a 1955 Mercedes-Benz SL 300 Gullwing, a 1968 Aston Martin DB6 and a 1993 Jaguar XJ220S.

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£16m auction sees Ferrari ‘batmobile’ fetch a fortune

How bad will 2012 be for the car industry?

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:36:00 +0000

Filed under: Comment Just how bad will 2012 be for the UK car industry? And will the UK slip back into recession? They’re two big questions on everyone’s lips – but getting definitive answers is tough. The car industry plays a vital part in UK PLC so its fortunes in 2012 are worth following. So what do the people at the very top of the automotive game think the year ahead holds? Here, Autoblog asks some of the biggest names in the industry for their thoughts. Mark Ovenden Who? Ford of Britain MD Cars sold in 2011: 265,894 We tend not to dwell on where the economy is going – over the last few years, volatility has shown just how fruitless this can be. We broadly assume that today’s position will carry on for the foreseeable future and with low interest rates helping to balance the lack of consumer confidence and nervousness around large-ticket purchases. Duncan Aldred Who? Vauxhall MD & chairman Cars sold in 2011: 234,710 A combination of turmoil in Euroland and weakness in the UK economy could result in a recession. Whether we get there or not is debatable, but it will certainly come close. Against this background, I predict a fragile economy and weak consumer confidence and therefore little growth over the next few years. Tim Zimmerman Who? Peugeot UK MD Cars sold in 2011: 94,989 I’m not an economist and cannot forecast whether the technical requirement to declare a recession, (negative growth), will be experienced in the UK this year. It is clear growth will be limited at best, and whether the economy grows by one per cent or contracts by one per cent does not make a material difference to the average person in the street. The buying choice revolves around confidence. Jon Williams Who? Toyota president & MD Cars sold in 2011: 73,589 Despite the deficit reduction plan implemented by the government, we are still highly influenced by what happens in Europe. Assuming the Euro doesn’t collapse, we foresee a stable but still very challenging UK economy this year with a flat, or slightly declining, new car market. Linda Jackson Who? Citroen UK MD Cars sold in 2011: 68,464 Well, I don’t have a crystal ball, and I am not in the prediction business – I will leave that to the politicians. But I think it’s really important we don’t all talk ourselves into recession. Buying a new car is a big commitment and the public have to feel confident. As Roosevelt said in the great depression ‘we have nothing to fear but fear itself’, so we can learn a lesson from history. Tony Whitehorn Who? Hyundai UK president and CEO Cars sold in 2011: 62,900 If we look at the economic prospects for 2012, it is unlikely that the UK economy will slip back into a recession, however, the year is likely to be characterised by restricted growth. The principal reasons for this will be the government’s austerity measures and unemployment, which is expected to reach 10 per cent. I think although it will be a tough year, it will still make modest gains. Michael Cole Who? Kia UK MD Cars sold in 2011: 53,615 I don’t think we will slip back into recession, but we need to be realistic about the pace of recovery. The risk of a ‘double-dip’ remains as long as uncertainty exists in the Euro Zone, and despite several ‘summits’ there appears to be no credible plan to restore confidence in the currency. So there’s a real danger to growth. We need a stable Euro for the UK economy to regain true stability. Mark Terry Who? Chevrolet UK MD Cars sold in 2011: 12,524 The key to getting the economy going again is improving consumer confidence. Customers on the whole are confused. The media message is one of doom and gloom but apart from rising fuel and energy costs, consumer buying power is in many ways better than ever. Trevor Finn Who? Pendragon chief executive (UK’s biggest dealer group) Franchises in UK: 245 dealer locations No. Mainly because the recovery hadn’t picked up enough momentum and so doesn’t have far to fall back before it will bounce into positive territory again. This time, unlike in 2008, businesses are much better prepared. What do you think? Let us know your thoughts by posting your comments below.

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How bad will 2012 be for the car industry?

Toyota launches iQ custom programme

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:33:00 +0000

Filed under: Latest News Toyota has launched a customisation programme for its itty bitty iQ city car. The distinctive city car looks pretty cool as it is, but Toyota is now offering a number of options to spruce up your ride. The idea isn’t new – MINI’s been doing it for over a decade now , and you can have a Citroen DS3 Racing with or without bright stickers.A number of decals are available to make your iQ stand out even more, though the more colourful of them to look a little… 90′s graffiti chic. Dubbed Swirl (a multi colour swirl, funnily enough), Box (lots of boxes), Bloom (flowers…), Pulse (grey swooshes) and Aqua (bubbles), each will make your motor look a bit brighter. Toyota’s got a few options for the inside as well. There are now six fresh leather choices to pick. Breathe in, it’s a long (ish) list. You can have: black leather with platinum fillets and stitching, platinum leather with black fillets and stitching, red leather with platinum fillets and stitching, black leather with Electric Blue fillets and stitching with an iQ logo on the headrest, black and Burnt Orange fillets and stitching with an iQ logo or a Lady Whiplash inspired black leather with red fillets and stitching with an iQ logo on your headrests. Now, all of this isn’t free. Unless you’re a handy haggler you’ll have to set aside some extra penga on top of the iQ’s £10,655 entry fee. Roof decals will set you back £180, while side stickers are £200. Want some jazzy leather? That’s £775 of your heard earned. Thankfully it’s all covered by Toyota’s 5-year, 100,000 mile warranty. If you’ve already got an iQ and want to get your sticker on you’ll be left wanting as the scheme is only available for new car purchases.

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Toyota launches iQ custom programme

In-car mobile phone blocker on sale

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:28:00 +0000

Filed under: Accessories Dialing and driving is both illegal and rather stupid. Making a quick call involves taking your eyes off the road and fiddling with your phone – not a good idea if you’re, say, doing 70mph on a rainy M11. Scosche, an American company, has released a solution to said misdemeanor – the cellCONTROL phone blocker. After registering online and downloading a special app linking your phone with the device, cellCONTROL will activate whenever the car is moving.In a smart move it’ll not only block incoming calls, but emails, texts and those oh so tempting apps like the camera and internet access. There is a work around, though – it’ll allow incoming calls if a handsfree headset is detected in the vehicle because, over here at least, it’s the only legal way to chat while you’re steering. Some of you may be thinking that popping it in your newly qualified offsprings’ wheels. A good idea indeed – especially since the device will let you know if anyone tries to deactivate, remove or generally fiddle with it. It’ll work with over 1,200 models of phone, though not the Apple iPhone . Currently it’s only available in the US though it may make its way over here if there’s enough interest. That said, it costs $129.95 which works out at £83.56 (using today’s exchange rates) and it’s available on the internet which means you can easily acquire one. The company says it’ll work in any vehicle sold in the US from 1996 onwards, which covers a fair chunk of the cars sold in the EU. We can’t help thinking that you might be better placed to simply turn your phone off when you get behind the wheel, then you’d have an extra £80 to spend on apps, scones and texting for when you’re not driving. That said, it’ll lower your risk of crashing and keep your mind on the road , where it should be. For more information head over to Scosche’s website . If you need more convincing it’s a good idea, have a quick look at the video below.

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In-car mobile phone blocker on sale

Hiriko folding car could be coming to a city near you

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:22:00 +0000

Filed under: Latest News Tomorrow (January 24) will be a rather special day for the European Commission as President Jose Manuel Barroso launches the Hiriko electric car. The Hiriko is being promoted as a model of European social innovation and is expected to revolutionise city transport. How? By providing a mode of transport that can be used by anyone and anywhere, as well as creating new jobs in deprived areas. The vehicles will be used just like the French Velib bikes , or Boris bikes in London, allowing people to jump in and drive off for a small charge. The car’s engines are located in the wheels giving it 4WD. It folds up to approximately half its length to make parking easier, and it can be located instantly by smartphone. It is fully electric, seats two people and has a 75-mile range. A long list of countries has already signed up to demo the Hiriko, including Berlin, Barcelona, San Francisco and the Galapagos Islands. Talks are also being held to make the little pod car the preferred choice of transport for Brussels. Some of the first models will be built in Malmoe, Sweden, where around 30 jobs will initially be given to Iraqi refugees. The project has encouraged businesses to work together in its design and manufacturing. Originally the brainchild of MIT, private companies have invested heavily in different processes of the build to make it a reality. Individuals will also be able to buy the car at a cost of 12,500 euros and it could be a part of the traffic as early as next year. A similar concept to the EN-V Jiao we showed you last year, EU officials hope that these cars will be commonplace in urban areas in little more than three years. But what do you think? Can it work and would you use a Hiriko for city driving?