SMMT Test Day 2012: Speed dating, part one
Take 140 new cars. Add a number of closed roads and tracks. Throw in some free fuel and then sprinkle on some fine English weather. What have you got? The SMMT Test Day 2012.
If the fact that the SMMT invited me along last year was a surprise, the fact that they repeated the mistake for a second year was nothing short of a miracle. Arriving at the Millbrook Proving Ground and seeing 140 cars, each one with a set of keys in the ignition, you’ll forgive me for feeling a little like a kid in a sweet shop.
I’ve nicknamed the day ‘speed dating with cars’ and you can read last year’s report here. Here in 2012 I’ve attempted to sort the Mint Humbugs from the Lemon Bon Bons and the Werther’s Originals from the Sherbet Dib Dabs. Read more
PetrolBlog at the SMMT Test Day 2012
Is it that time of the year again? No, not Christmas, but the annual SMMT Test Day at the Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire. A chance to drive nearly 140 cars on a series of test tracks, including the famous Hill Route and High Speed Circuit. Doesn’t sound like a bad day, does it? So maybe it’s Christmas after all?
There’s also the small matter of having the opportunity to hobnob with 300 motoring journalists and bloggers, as well as chatting with the press and media teams of 33 different car manufacturers. Read more 
Win a VIP experience at the Goodwood Festival of Speed
PetrolBlog is off to the Goodwood Festival of Speed again this year. Sadly I can’t promise another ride up the hill in a priceless Swedish concept car, but I’ll undoubtedly spending far too much time taking photos for the Goodwood Festival of Parking.
My friends at Michelin will be sponsoring the Supercar Paddock, part of the festival that’s not going to be of great interest to readers of PetrolBlog. Why gawp at expensive supercars when there’s a host of Rover 800s, Citroën Xantias and MG Metros in the car park?!
What will be of interest is the fact that Michelin is offering the chance to win tickets to the 2012 event. Read more
Dawn Refuelling: Run to the Castle report
It appears that it isn’t just me who likes to get up at an ungodly hour to go for a drive across the countryside. Barely a week after the Volvo V60 Dawn Raid, I found myself waking up early once again. This time however, I would be joined by five other hardy fellows. This was Dawn Refuelling: Run to the Castle.
In preparation for a drive to the Pentillie Festival of Speed in August, I’d organised a small gathering of petrolheads at Pentillie Castle. For most people, the prospect of bacon sandwiches and coffee was enough to head straight for the castle. But the rest of us met at Sourton Down at 7am and drove the long way to the castle. Game on. Read more
Dawn Refuelling: Run to the Castle
A few weeks ago, PetrolBlog introduced the Pentillie Festival of Speed. It’s fair to say we’re getting quite excited about it. The prospect of a hillclimb, retro and classic cars, 4×4 driving and even a few supercars is enough to excite any petrolhead. But having spoken to the team behind the event this week, I know there’s going to be so much more. PetrolBlog is even planning one or two surprises of its own. Read more
PetrolBlog’s Geneva Unconventional: Part Three
Time for part three of PetrolBlog’s look at the good, the bad and the ugly of the Geneva Motor Show 2012.
This update features the best wheels at the show, a gloriously green concept from Suzuki, some bags, some helmets and a lovely surprise from Lancia.
Apologies in advance, this update contains no Ferrari, Lamborghini or Aston Martin images. Sorry. Read more
PetrolBlog’s Geneva Unconventional: Part Two
Time for part two of PetrolBlog’s Geneva Unconventional – searching out the good, the bad and the ugly of the Geneva Motor Show 2012.
If you missed part one, you can find it here. If not, read on for the next ten awards.
Warning, this update contains images of the Fiat 500L, which some readers may find distressing. Read more
FailCar’s Geneva trip: Lights fantastic
FailCar has been to Geneva and has been writing copy ever since. The seasoned pro that he is, FailCar flew in and out of Geneva in one day, therefore negating the need for tedious stuff such as trains and hotels. But in true PetrolBlog style, he has a different take on the motor show, choosing to focus on the array of lights on display. Follow FailCar on twitter @FailCar.
While I was at the show I noticed one of the top industry designers hastily snapping pictures of a couple of car lights. I won’t say who he is but he used to do Volvo stuff and has a funny beard. Read more
PetrolBlog’s Geneva Unconventional: Part One
By now, you’ll have read all there is to know about the Geneva Motor Show 2012. You’ll have seen the scoops, seen the girls and will probably be approaching what they call ‘Geneva Fatique’. Actually, nobody calls it that, I just made it up.
So what can PetrolBlog possibly add? Well hopefully a different perspective. A different spin. I didn’t attend the launches and the lavish unveilings. And I’m afraid I didn’t pay much attention to the supercars. Instead, I decided to go in search of the interesting, the obscure and the downright ugly. Read more
PetrolBlog goes to Geneva, via Montreux
At the time of writing this, I am sat on a train from Montreux heading for Geneva. It’s 6.02am and the temperature, according to the digital display on the factory outside is just three degress. I’ve been up since 4.33am and faced a mile long walk to the station. The reason? It’s day one of the two Geneva Motor Show press days. Read more
Fusing horror with pain: Bentley EXP 9 F
“Customer and public reaction will be analysed following the unveiling of EXP 9 F at Geneva 2012, with the aim of refining the concept further. Above all, Bentley will be listening carefully to the reaction of customers and potential customers throughout the world, prior to making any definitive commitment to production.”
This is the penultimate paragraph of the press release that accompanied the announcement that Bentley will be unveiling the EXP 9 F concept tomorrow morning at the Geneva Motor Show. And I’m very, very glad the paragraph was there, as before then I was just about to give up all hope. 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
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
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
FailCar visits the NEC Classic Motor Show
Last weekend, FailCar took a trip to the Classic Motor Show at the NEC. Here he does his best for marital harmony by putting together a list of cars that should be part of our eBay watch lists. I’m sure I once read that divorce rates went up in the winter and that Christmas is a big contributor to this fact. Personally, I think the Classic Motor Show is to blame. But whatever, here’s FailCar…
I do love the classic car show, but for me it’s always a dangerous time of year. The nights draw in and all of a sudden the idea of having another winter project starts to pop into my head. I never really get that excited by the ‘exotic’ stuff on display, but what does get me excited is all the stuff that’s within reach. You know the sort of classics that can be had for a couple of grand, tops.
And it hardly seems fair that I have to go through the punishing temptation, so I figured this time round I would focus on all the stuff that’s ‘attainable’. Read more
Guests may want to take sea sickness tablets
As a fledging automotive writer, I haven’t been to many car launches, but I suspect that advising invitees to take a sea sickness tablet doesn’t happen all that often. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for a car’s ride and handling, is it? But on the night before I crossed the Solent in a Volvo Ocean Race yacht, all became clear. Read more
PetrolBlog at the Michelin Pilot Performance Day, Estoril
Day one in Portugal was a rather gentile affair. A leisurely stroll around the streets of Lisbon, a quick stopover in a café for a taste of some Portuguese tarts and then a short coach trip along the coast to the hotel. All things considered, it was a rather pleasant way to spend an afternoon.
Day two in Portugal was an altogether different experience. Pleasant wouldn’t be an accurate way to describe it. Pick anything from exhilarating, momentous, awesome and mind blowing and you might be closer to the mark. Allow me to explain. Read more
A damp start for Dawn Refuelling
You have to be a pretty committed petrolhead to prize yourself out of bed in the early hours of a Sunday morning and head to a motorway services on the M5. When you awake to the sound of pouring rain, you’d be forgiven if you switched off the alarm clock, pulled the bed covers over your ahead and squeezed in a couple of hours extra sleep. Read more
Dawn Refuelling: an update
Just a week to go until the planned Dawn Refuelling event, so I thought it would be a good idea to confirm a few details. Read more
The Goodwood Festival of Parking 2011
This time last week, the exceptional Goodwood Festival of Speed weekend was drawing to a close. PetrolBlog was in attendance on the Friday and among other things, was treated to an adrenalin fuelled 60 seconds in the Volvo C30 Polestar. Nice. But although the supercars, organic food stalls and hill climb were obvious attractions, I found the greatest source of interest to be just outside the gates. In the car park.
Read more
