PetrolBlog Fleet update: March 2012
I’ve been planning a PetrolBlog Fleet update for a little while, but for some reason I never seem to get around to doing it. But following quite a busy month for the Fleet, I figured there’s no time like the present to kick things off. So, pinch and a punch, first day of the month… Read more 
Old Gold Top Gear: Citroën ZX
Sorry, sorry, sorry. The trip to Geneva has completely thrown me off course and Thursday has rolled around quicker than I’d expected. This means you’ve been forced to read two updates from PetrolBlog today, with the first Geneva Unconventional appearing earlier and now this, the regular Old Gold Top Gear slot.
The Final Car
On the Beach is a post-apocalyptic novel by Nevil Shute. In it, Shute charts the final days of folk living in Melbourne, Australia – one of the last places on earth to remain free of radiation poisoning. Life in the northern hemisphere has been all but obliterated and it’s only a matter of time before the entire southern hemisphere suffers the same fate. It’s an immensely terrifying and heartbreaking book to read as Shute delves deep into the personal lives of the last few people on earth who witness the end of civilisation. Read more
Ton’s Real World Dream Barn
PetrolBlog’s Dutch correspondent flies over with details of his Real World Dream Barn. He’s clearly not afraid to bend the rules a little!
As you may or may not have not have read in my bio, for as long as I can remember, I’m not really much of petrol head, but all the more a Porsche head. So when thinking about a Real World Dream Barn, I could easily fill the whole list with ten Porsches and be perfectly happy. Or just buy a 959 and be done. Read more
Shatchbacks VI: Hatchbacks Under Siege
Can it really be five months since the last Shatchback update? OK, there was an impromptu spotting frenzy in Lisbon back in the summer, but PetrolBlog has been lax in getting more booted horrors on to the hall of fame. So without further ado, I give you Shatchbacks VI: Hatchbacks Under Siege. With grateful thanks to @jeckythump for the inspired title. Read more
PetrolBlog’s Real World Dream Barn
You may have arrived here following my potentially shocking confession about supercars. If you didn’t, can I politely suggest you have a read of it first?
My super cars aren’t supercars
But having confessed that a lottery win wouldn’t see me searching for a copy of What Supercar? magazine, I thought it only fair to name and shame the contents of my own Real World Dream Barn. Remember, ten cars and a maximum budget of £30k for each. Anything left over can be used for fuel or the inevitable ongoing maintenance and breakdown cover. Read more
On days like these
It had been too long. The frozen winter hadn’t helped, but the responsibilities attached with being a grown-up dictated that I hadn’t been for a drive for the sheer thrill of it since last autumn. You know the drives I mean. Those that tempt you into an unfathomably early start and see you hit the sack the night before with a sense of anticipation and delight. Those snatched moments of driving pleasure that only us petrolheads seem to understand. For us, driving isn’t a means to an end, it is one of life’s gifts. The pleasure isn’t in arriving, it is in getting there.
Read more
Shatchbacks V: The Final Frontier?
I’ll start the fifth update of Shatchbacks with a sobering point. I’ve received enough content suggestions to ensure that Shatchbacks will continue until at least the seventh episode, so not quite the final frontier – yet. Who would have thought that there was so much misery on our roads? On a lighter note, I’m delighted to report that manufacturers are clearly seeing the marketing potential of Shatchbacks. A quick Google search reveals that Hyundai, Peugeot and Vauxhall have all bought Shatchbacks as a Pay-Per-Click AdWord. Nice. But for your information Google, no I didn’t mean to search for hatchbacks! Read more
PetrolBlog Car of the Year 2010
Let’s get one thing out of the way first. I’m under no illusion that car manufacturers and enthusiasts are laying awake at night waiting for the announcement of the PetrolBlog Car of the Year 2010. I’m equally certain that in 100 years time, motoring historians won’t be searching the interweb to find out who scooped the award. But I wanted to mark the end of PetrolBlog’s first year with a look back at the cars I’ve owned and driven in 2010 and attempt to pick an overall winner. The only criteria is that I’ve either had to own or borrow the car for at least a week. So this rules out hire cars, track day cars and the times I’ve been asked to move a friend’s car off their driveway. Read more
Citroën AX GT: La boîte de grenouilles
The Box of Frogs is dead. Long live La Boîte de Grenouilles. The manic and crazy Avanazto has only been gone two weeks and already a new toy has springed into the vacant space left in the garage. With the cash made from the sale of the Avanazto, the brief was simple. Maximum budget would be £2k, ideally the car should be German and rear wheel drive would be a bonus. It will therefore come as no surprise that the car now occupying space in the garage cost less than half the available budget, is as French as the Eiffel Tower and is very much front wheel drive. But hey, when you’re a petrolhead any sense of rationalism goes out of the window. Read more
Whatever happened to…the Citroën GS
When I remember the cars my Dad drove when I was growing up, the cars that immediately spring to mind are the P6 Rover V8, the Lancia 2000, the Triumph Herald and the various Saab 900s. This is strange when considering we had one particular car for a lot longer than any of the aforementioned. Undoubtedly, it also took me on more trips to the seaside or Welsh mountains than any other. As a result of this, I probably associate Simon Bates and ‘Our tune’ with this car, listening as we did at the time, to Radio 1. Read more
Citroen CX shows its Grace
Grace Jones. Famous, as far as Petrolblog goes, for three things.
One, her starring role in the 1985 James Bond film, a View to a Kill. Remember this one? Eiffel Tower, chopped roof Renault 11, Patrick Macnee in a sunken Rolls, a rather large airship, Golden Gate bridge and an exploding mine. Yep, that’s the one. Grace comes to a rather explosive end and in doing so, saves the world. Read more
Whatever happened to…the Citroen Visa
The Citroen Visa. In the eighties, they seemed to be everywhere. Today, you’re much more likely to see the diesel van with 200k miles on the clock than the little hatchback.
Launched at the Paris Motor Show in 1978 as a replacement to the Ami, the car enjoyed a decade of success, finally bowing out in 1988 after a massive production run of 1,254,390. In the 10 years, the Visa spawned various petrol and diesel versions, including a GTi and a monster Group B racer, the Trophee. Sales started slowly, but a subtle redesign in 1981 helped Visa sales to take off. The interior design, in particular the dashboard, was typically Citroen and suitably unique. Read more
