Dawn Raid! Skoda Fabia vRS
Automotive posters: why do we choose specific ones?
Charlie Johnson of Retro and Classic Cars fame has been writing again. This time he digs deep into the world of automotive posters to ask what’s behind the choice of cars we pin to our walls. What makes us choose between a Countach or a Testarossa. What will become clear is that much like many of the guest blogs on this site, the article might start with a question, but doesn’t necessarily finish with an answer. Read more
Beware the Car booters, Doggies and Tippers
Last Sunday I had to haul myself out of bed at the unsavoury time of 5am. This wasn’t a voluntary act of course, I had something to attend to. Something that required a drive of about 150 miles. Now normally the opportunity to drive between the hours of Silly o’clock and Stupid o’clock means clear roads and the opportunity to stretch the car’s legs and have a little fun. Within safe and legal limits of course. Read more
PetrolBlog goes green
PetrolBlog is delighted to announce the arrival of the very green Skoda Fabia vRS. I’ll be spending a week in the company of Skoda’s latest hot hatch, with regular updates via PetrolBlog and Twiter. This weekend will see a full road test and next week I’ll give the final verdict. Thank you to Skoda UK for making it happen. Read more
A Shatchback to prove GreenCarsRock
Regular readers of PetrolBlog will know that I have an irrational hatred of Shatchbacks. For the uninitiated, a Shatchback is the automotive equivalent of an afterthought – a hatchback which has simply had a cardboard box welded to the boot to turn it into a saloon car. There have been some horrors featured on PetrolBlog, but worse is to come I’m sure. Read more
10 green cars sitting on a blog
I was challenged by a ‘Prominent PR Person’ today who fervently disagreed with my suggestion that green is one of the best colours to grace a motor car. The look of horror on ‘Prominent PR Person’s’ face was such that I wondered if I’d been misheard and was in fact saying that the coffee shop was on fire and all the exits were blocked. But no, I’d merely suggested that if was to purchase a new Volkswagen Scirocco tomorrow, I’d be ticking the option box alongside the words ‘Viper’ and ‘Green’. Read more
I should hate cars, but twits make me feel better.
The still criminally under followed @FailCar has been busy again and I’m delighted to say he’s written some more words for PetrolBlog. This time around he’s asking a rather rhetorical question – just why are we obsessed with cars? Don’t be expecting answers by the way, but enjoy the brilliant @FailCar in all his glory. Follow him on twitter for much more of the same. Read more
Shatchbacks 3: The Rise of the Machines
When I first wrote of my irrational hatred of Shatchbacks, I fully expected to be singled out as a little strange. Some people choose to despise 4x4s. Some people chose to take a dislike of BMW X6s; and X5s; and X3s; and X1s. Quite right too. But for me, the biggest horror on our roads is the booted hatchback. A group of cars so hideous that they’re becoming known as Shatchbacks. Read more
The Classifieds Indulger: Fezzas, Astons, Fords & the avoidable
Ace automotive tweeter and blogger Charlie Johnson has been engaging in an activity that seems to come very naturally to us petrolheads. The art of whiling away many hours trawling the classifieds, dreaming of new metal and building a new fantasy garage in our head. Historically, the garage would be built via a copy of AutoTrader in the downstairs cloakroom, but today you’re just ask likely to be using your iPhone. He’s picked out four cars in particular, ranging from a prancing horse to a brown Princess. I’ll let Charlie take over from here. Read more
The Dawdler: a short story by @FailCar
Recently I engaged in a short but engaging Twitter conversation with the criminally under followed @FailCar. It followed a comment by me after I had the audacity and nerve to overtake a slow moving Golf on a straight bit of B-road near my home. Immediately following my criminal act of mirror, signal, overtake, I was greeted with the flashing of headlights and the shaking of fist. Seriously, I could have expected less of a reaction if I’d dropped her cat into next door’s wheelie bin. As pointed out by the excellent @IamSimonHarris, if the lady spent more time trying to locate her accelerator pedal and less time on the flashers, we’d all get along much better.
