Fahrtman Longstroke rants: Tax
It’s almost a year to the day since Fahrtman Longstroke last had a rant on PetrolBlog, so this blog has being brewing for a little while. Here he tackles a subject close to heart of British PetrolBlog readers – tax. Over to you, Longstroke.
Let’s be honest, the UK has some fantastic roads. Indeed, one of my most enduring memories is overtaking a surprised biker on the Cat & Fiddle run in a twin turbo Bentley. Happy days.
Now, I make a special point of driving these fine roads as much as possible, partly for the love of driving but also because of the huge personal financial contribution I have made to them.
And the chances are that if you are a UK motorist then you too have paid through the nose for these fine roads, plus a load of not so fine roads too. Read more 
Three: Darren’s Volkswagen Sharan
Taking a break from writing about his lovely Audi 80, Darren Leslie is back on PetrolBlog with some words on his Volkswagen Sharan. After the recent Ask MajorGav feature on 7-seaters, PetrolBlog will be getting a reputation for practicality and common sense. Blimey.
Three. It’s a harmless enough number in the general scheme of things. Defined as ‘the cardinal number between two and four’ by YourDictionary, it can generally be described as ‘not big’. In fact, I can, off the top of my head, think of many numbers that are bigger, and only two that are smaller. And apparently, three is the magic number. Well, it isn’t when you combine the word three with the word children. Especially where personal transportation is concerned. Read more
Rob writes: Jaguar XK-ARRRRRRR
When PetrolBlog sent Rob Griggs-Taylor out to test the overlooked Jaguar Land Rover products a little while ago, we knew he’d probably take advantage of the cakes and coffee provided. What we didn’t know was that he would take advantage of the hospitality by borrowing another Jaguar-provided product…
Zero to sixty in four point two seconds.
As people who are keen on, perhaps even passionate about, motorised cars, that statistic is important. When I was young(er) my friends and i would gather round the hallowed Top Trumps pack ready to guess which of the stats would be sufficiently good to win the other players cards. “Top speed 193mph” one would intone, and all the other players knew that he was holding that Mayfair of top speed cars, the Lamborghini Countach. Read more
Cheap thrills: Perodua Kelisa
There’s been far too much new metal and expensive on PetrolBlog in recent weeks, so to even things up, here are some words on what was once Britain’s cheapest new car – the Perodua Kelisa. Its a car that’s much maligned and seems to take a constant battering from petrolheads, but have a read of David Bicker’s affectionate and lighthearted review and see if it changes your mind.
The Perodua Kelisa. It’s what happens when Bacofoil and a Moulinex blender are left alone and unchaperoned. St Jeremy of the Clarkson, (some say he’s an arrogant man with all the charm of a yeast infection), once purchased one of these little gems and set about it with a sledgehammer, such was his antipathy to it. That, for me, is reason enough to purchase one today. Read more
Rob’s long term Insignia: the end
Resident guest blogger, Rob Griggs-Taylor is back on PetrolBlog with some final words on his now departed Vauxhall Insignia. Over to you, Rob.
The name Vectra became synonymous over its lifetime with the words ‘lame’ and ‘rubbish’. Despite being popular in terms of numbers sold it was universally panned by the motoring press both in written and audio visual mediums. Vauxhall apparently withdrew all their advertising from BBC publications after a critique par excellence by one well known motoring show, seemingly preferring to pretend that all was well instead of improving the product. Read more
FailCar’s top films for petrolheads
FailCar is undoubtedly at his best when he’s having a good rant. As Carly Simon once said, nobody does it better. But as you will have seen from his cleaning posts, he’s as equally engaging when his blood isn’t at the point of boiling. Here, we find him doing his best impression of Mark Kermode with his pick of the best films for petrolheads. So without further ado about nothing under siege, here’s Mr FailCar.
Much as I do love cars one of my other great loves is film, so it comes as no surprise that when you put the two together you should have a film that I would love. Sadly that’s not entirely true as most of the time when studios try to make a ‘petrolhead’ film they just get it all wrong and I end up getting furious, fast.
Avantime for a party
We’re big fans of the Renault Avantime here on PetrolBlog, so when Rob Griggs-Taylor was invited to the tenth anniversary of the car’s launch, we couldn’t resist popping along. Here’s Rob’s report from the day.
On an overcast and slightly damp day I ambled round the corner of Coventry Transport Museum and was faced with the sight of two rows of Renault Avantimes gathered in front of the building, facing the amazing Whittle Arches. Twenty eight cars along with their owners and friends had gathered to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the car’s launch. Read more
Jaguar Land Rover: The overlooked
PetrolBlog is usually your chosen repository for automotive waffle and bunk so we were slightly surprised to receive an invitation from the nice people at Jaguar Land Rover to experience its range.
Never ones to turn down the opportunity to try something new we sent Rob Griggs-Taylor to the National Motor Heritage Centre at Gaydon on a slightly overcast day, where a mouth-watering range of cars were lined up for his convenience. Makes a change from Skoda Favorits and Shatchbacks, eh?
Rob writes: No animals were harmed
Resident guest blogger extraordinaire, Rob Griggs-Taylor has bought a new car. And where better than PetrolBlog to tell the world all about it. Over to you, Rob.
Since the time of Adam man has been a hunter. To provide food for himself and his family the man would roam armed with spears, clubs and axes, searching for animals to kill and drag home. The more exotic the animal, the more admiration from the others in the tribe. A bear would be great, or a lion perhaps. Something exotic and cool. 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
In defence of Shatchbacks
Antony Ingram is clearly growing quite attached to Chez PetrolBlog. Only last week he was waxing lyrical about his Fiat Panda 100HP, which he just happens to be selling. A week later and he’s back, but this time he’s not writing about talented Italian pocket rockets. Oh no. Mr Ingram is here to do the unthinkable – defend the Shatchback. He’s been threatening it for a while now and, much as it pains me to admit it, he does make some valid points. Heck, I even find some of the cars he mentions quite desirable. I think I need to go for a lie down, so I’ll hand you over to Mr Ingram.
I have a terrible, terrible confession to make.
I’m no murderer. Nor do I secretly like Justin Bieber. And I’ve not been cheating on anyone.
No, my confession is that – much as it pains me to say it – I quite like Shatchbacks. Read more
So you want to drive in the snow?
In a welcome change for PetrolBlog, resident guest blogger, Rob Griggs-Taylor has provided some genuinely useful content. Here he draws on his time in the north of Scotland to offer some sensible advice for driving in snow. It’s good stuff. But if you miss the inane waffle and bunk, don’t worry, normal service will be resumed soon.
It snowed today and so lots of you are going to try and drive through the snow to accomplish journeys like you do every day. This is not always a great idea so I thought it was time to pass on some advice gleaned from years of driving in the north of Scotland.
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
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
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
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
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
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
FailCar on Winter Tyres
Looks like the arrival of winter has come at just the right time for @FailCar. Here are his early thoughts on winter tyres.
Like many other motoring journalists I have been to many a track testing set up to find out the difference first hand between summer and winter tyres. This usually results with plenty of articles from us lot moaning at Joe Public to go out and buy winter tyres OR DIE.
Thing is though, I have a confession. I have never previously bothered to take heed of all the advice. The major factors being that in my locality, I really don’t experience terrible weather, the main roads are mostly gritted and I’m just one of those people that ‘blags’ it and carries on with a bit of wheel spin and minor use of foul language. Read more
