Real World Review: Fiat Panda 100HP
James Bond: Licence to park
PetrolBlog’s somewhat simple guide to Winter Tyres
Charlie Johnson’s Real World Dream Barn
Another Real World Dream Barn and I’m delighted to say that it’s the turn of none other than Charlie Johnson of Retro & Classic Cars fame. If you’re into old cars, I suggest you take a look at his site, but not before you’ve checked out the ten cars that will be fighting for space in his barn. It’s a rather eclectic mix. Nice one, Charlie.
It’s taken me a long time to gather these thoughts. And thoughts, even when published, may leave a certain amount of uncertainly in one’s mind once they’re live on PetrolBlog. The Real World Dream Barn involves a lot of thought, or so it would seem to me. Followers of my twitter feed will know that I have a habit of going through a number of cars throughout a day. Why? Well, once I’m distracted by something else that appeals, the first car mentioned is shoved to the back. Read more 
The Pentillie Festival of Speed 2012
It isn’t often that my day job overlaps with PetrolBlog. In fact, I’ve deliberately kept the two things separate. The day job is a means that allows PetrolBlog to function, with PetrolBlog itself delivering a nice distraction away from the real world.
But sometimes it’s impossible to draw a definite line between the two. So when I was asked to get involved with the initial planning and marketing of the inaugural Pentillie Festival of Speed, I knew it would be of interest to PetrolBlog readers too. So, obligatory notices of my indirect involvement with the event out of the way, let me tell you more about it. Read more
Nissan Micra: Have you driven one?
It was Craig that came up with the idea for the Real World Reviews, so it’s good to see some more words from him arriving in the PetrolBlog inbox. Here he presents a rather solid defence of the Nissan Micra. Good stuff, Craig.
Have you driven one?
This should, in my opinion, be the first question levelled at a critic of a car’s performance in order to work out if what follows has any substance. Anyone is entitled to comment on the aesthetics and those who’ve sat inside and twiddled all the knobs are justified in critiquing the ergonomics; however, those who would calmly place their pint on the table and state ‘of course, the 458 is a far better drive than the LP670-4′ had better have some miles under their belt in each. Read more
Real World Review: Fiat Panda 100HP
The Fiat 100HP is a car I’ve coveted for some time. I’ve even come close to buying one. Twice. Reading Antony Ingram’s review has done little to dampen my enthusiasm for this brilliant little pocket rocket. Antony’s is in the right colour too. If you’re thinking of buying one, buy his. Go ahead, do it. Do it.
I bought the 100HP somewhat on a whim.
By that I don’t mean that I had a big pile of cash lying about and dropped it all on a Fiat – more that I wasn’t really expecting to see it when I went car shopping back in late 2010, to replace my old Mazda MX5, that had met its maker thanks to the attentions of Mr Sneaky Thieving Bastard. Read more
PetrolBlog looks at: waterless car cleaning
It’s a measure of how far behind I am with fresh content on PetrolBlog that I used this car cleaning product way back in September 2011 when I still had the Honda Accord Type-Shed. It’s also a measure of how different my priorities are these days when I remember that the last time I actually washed one of my cars was back in November. Oh dear.
Once upon a time, washing the car would be weekly chore. Actually no, it wasn’t a chore, it was something I actually enjoyed. Today though, there are too many other things to worry about, meaning the weekly car wash has turned into the quarterly scrub, wash and polish. I guess the days when I reviewed new cars for PetrolBlog have a small part to play in it. A car would arrive spotless and then leave a week later covered in dirt. Read more
Tom’s Real World Dream Barn
I’m delighted to say we’ve received another Real World Dream Barn. This time it’s the turn of Tom Cornish, aka @DrRectalExam on twitter. Don’t let his twitter name put you off, as is demonstrated by his dream list, he clearly knows a thing or two about cars and is well worth a follow. Over to Tom…
The Real World Dream barn is quite a challenge, but not one you’d moan about having. The £30k budget forces you neglect newer exotics, but the big upside is you won’t be hemorrhaging your money to depreciation. In fact it’s more than likely that you’ll find yourself making money on the cars here, not that you’d want to sell them. I’ve tried to approach this with logic, having cars I’d actually see myself using regularly. Read more
James Bond: Licence to park
Last week I was present at the launch of the new Bond in Motion exhibition at the Beaulieu National Motor Museum. It was a lavish affair, complete with champagne, celebrities and people who were generally dressed in much smarter clothes than I. Almost immediately I was greeted by the sight of Britt Ekland sprawled across the bonnet of an Aston Martin. Then, within a matter of minutes, I caught sight of Esther Rantzen, Colin Salmond and Eunice Gayson. I don’t recall Esther Rantzen ever being a Bond girl. Maybe she was in the concept film, Live and That’s Life?
Once the tour of the Bond vehicles was complete, I did my customary wander around the car park. You may remember that I spent a quite delightful couple of hours looking around the car park at the Goodwood Festival of Speed? Read more
Alan’s not converted
Recently, Mr Alan Liddell gave us the lowdown on his Real World Dream Barn. Clearly inspired by the positivity surrounding his top ten list, he’s now written some words on one of his motoring pet hates. I’ll leave the waffling to Alan now, but will say that you can follow him on twitter @aldoliddell.
I have loved following the Shatchback story here on PetrolBlog. It has struck a chord with many petrolheads and has inspired me to write about a type of car that I have a problem with, and that is a car with no roof…
Now, I don’t really mean cars that have been designed to be a roadster/convertible, although i don’t like too many of them either. No, the ones that get me are the everyday family cars that have had a tin opener taken to them. Read more
PetrolBlog looks at Bond in Motion
Yesterday I was invited to the press launch of Bond in Motion, a new exhibition that showcases 50 vehicles in 50 years of James Bond films.
The exhibition, which opens on the 17th January 2012, is the largest of its kind staged anywhere in the world. What’s more, all of the vehicles are the originals.
Now you may be thinking that James Bond and PetrolBlog wouldn’t be the best of bed fellows and to be fair, you’d probably have a point. Indeed, when I arrived at the launch and noticed guests arriving by helicopter and a number of genuine celebrities, I began to wonder what I was doing there. Fortunately the sight of Richard Gunn’s delightful Austin Allegro helped me to feel at ease! Read more
Ask MajorGav and then take a SEAT
Back in November 2011, PetrolBlog was contacted by drummer Sam Jones who was looking for a new car. He wanted some advice and so we helpfully put together a list of ten potential cars that suited his ‘fun for £1,500′ criteria. At PetrolBlog, we’re the last people to blow our own trumpets, but we must say we were rather pleased with the shortlist.
Well clearly Sam prefers the sound of drums to trumpets, as he promptly ignored the advice and bought a SEAT Leon! Sensible chap. Read more
Ton Dumans writes: Petrolheads, Porsche and Police
Ton Dumans is back, so that can only mean two things. First of all, this post is going to be about Porsches. Second of all, despite the previous claim, this post won’t be very much about cars at all. Remember, you can follow Ton on twitter @Tonsty.
Everyone who knows me even just a little bit, knows that I am into Porsches and that I have been for as long as they can remember. Most people accept this as a fact (hey, we all have our limitations, right?), whilst others tend to wonder why. Of all the cars in the world, why Porsche, and how come I already loved them when I was barely out of nappies? Read more
Alan’s Real World Dream Barn
Last year I had an email from a good chap called Alan. He’s a reader of PetrolBlog and does his bit to support the site on a couple of social media sites. He also took the time to drop me an email towards the end of last year, in which he neatly presented his ten cars for a Real World Dream Barn. How did I repay Alan’s loyalty? By not getting around to posting it, that’s how. I’ve offered an apology of course, but have stopped short of sending some Hobnobs up to Scotland.
Instead, without further ado, here’s Alan’s Real World Dream Barn. Once again, sorry for the delay, Alan. Read more
Happy New PetrolBlog Score
PetrolBlog is thundering headlong into 2012 and is fast approaching its second birthday. Of the 243 posts that have been written, there have been a number of reviews, at the end of which I try to reach a conclusive verdict on the car ‘what I’ve driven’. It’s a personal opinion of course, but I believe a conclusion should be drawn.
In 2010, I gave the Suzuki Swift Sport the title of PetrolBlog Car of the Year. This wasn’t based on a scoring system or any kind of scientific measurement, more an emotional attachment to a car that I fell head over heels in love with.
But as I started preparing the shortlist for PetrolBlog Car of the Year 2011, I realised that I perhaps needed something a little more scientific than my gut instinct. It ties in nicely with a piece I’m writing on what exactly is a ‘PetrolBlog car’? Some kind of scoring system would help matters tremendously. Read more
Practical magic: Renaultsport Twingo, Clio & Mégane
I must be the only person in the civilised world not to have seen one of the Harry Potter films. I haven’t even read any of the books.
Until now, this has never caused me any real problems. In fact, it’s only dinner parties where my lack of Potter knowledge has caused any real concern. As the subject invariably comes around to the latest ‘soopa-doopa’ Harry Potter and the Deathly Half-Pint movie, I’m forced to either miss 20 minutes of riveting conversation or nod my head gormlessly in a manner that would do John Redwood proud at a Welsh National Assembly meeting. Read more
Driven: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X FQ-300
It might be hard to believe, but the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution was born in 1992, so next year it will celebrate its 20th Birthday. Does that make you feel old? It does me, not least because 1992 was also the year that a mad fool gave me a driving licence and presented me with the freedom of British roads. I can’t remember the name of the chap who uttered the delightful words “you’ve passed”, which is a shame really, because he’s probably one of the most significant people I’ve ever come into contact with. Thank you Mr unknown chap at the Bournemouth test centre. Read more
FailCar is driving home for Christmas
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a message from FailCar. So without further ado…
I was just going to regurgitate last year’s Christmas message and then send round a lovely e-card with pictures of snow, fairies and loveliness. But seeing as I didn’t want to let you down I figured I would send a lovely cheery Christmas message out. Read more
Merry Christmas from PetrolBlog
So here it is, Merry Christmas. Everybody’s having fun. Time to look to the future now, it’s only just begun.
Huge thanks to a certain Mr Holder for making the opening words for our traditional PetrolBlog Christmas message so much easier. We salute you, Noddy, even if we are growing just a little bit tired of your festive ditty now. Read more
And the Shatchback of the Year 2011 is…
Drum roll please. After a frantic few days of voting, the readers of PetrolBlog have voted with their feet and really stuck the boot in. I’m therefore pleased to announce that the winner of the Golden Boot and therefore Shatchback of the Year 2011 is… Read more
Winter warmer: Peugeot 308 CC GT THP 200
It’s often reported that here in Britain, we buy more convertible cars than our friends on the continent. Despite having what can best be described as a changeable climate, we like nothing more than the thought of ‘wind-in-the-hair’, topless motoring. Indeed, research earlier in the year by LV= suggested that the number of convertibles on the road has risen by 599% since 1993, making them the fast growing car type in Britain. The total figure is just under one million, which must be music to the ears of hairdressers up and down the country who are tasked with fixing bad cases of ‘convertible hair’. Read more
The Golden Boot: Vote for your Shatchback of the Year 2011
It’s the most anticipated and highly sought after award of the year. Forget the Oscars. Forget the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Even forget the Best Pork Sausage of the Year. The one that everyone has been waiting for is the prestigious Shatchback of the Year award. Which automotive afterthought is best deserving of the Golden Boot? Read more
