L@@K, there’s a PetrolBlog Shed on eBay.
Time with the PetrolBlog Shed is coming to an end. After five months and 6,000 miles of togetherness, the Accord Type-Shed is on the way out and has this very evening been thrown to the mercy of eBay. How much it’ll fetch is anyone’s guess, but with a month left on the MOT and six weeks of tax, I hope it goes for a little more than the £8 starting price. But there’s no guarantee of this as the market for used cars is frankly rubbish at the moment. If your car happens to be a large, petrol-engined banger, than the market is even worse. Read more 
Extreme Bangernomics: Million mile Honda Accord
It is often said that the Honda Accord is one of, if not the most reliable car in the world. Warranty Direct’s survey in 2006 certainly came to that conclusion, as did a Which? Survey in 2009. There are others too, just do a Google search for ‘Honda Accord reliability’ and scroll through the resulting 7.5 million web pages. I can only hope that my very own Accord can deliver the same levels of reliability over the coming weeks and months. Read more
Honda Accord Type-Shed: an update
The electric aerial still works. The electric aerial. It still works. When I picked up the Honda Accord exactly two months ago, I somewhat irrationality established that the electric aerial would be used as some kind of barometer of reliability. As long as the electric aerial works, the Accord will remain reliable. OK, so in the great scheme of things, this is hardly up there with the ravens and the Tower of London, but it is my barometer, so I’m sticking with it. Read more
Real World Reviews: Honda S2000
Another Real World Review, this time from fellow blogger Rob Smith. Rob considers himself to be a ‘normal petrolhead’ and you can read his opinions and reviews over at Performance Car Blog. When he’s not blogging, Rob is probably driving his rather lovely Honda S2000, a car I’ve always held in high esteem. My interest in the S2000 resurfaced recently when I discovered that early examples can now be picked up for about £4k. With legendary Honda reliability, 50/50 weight distribution and rear wheel drive, surely this makes it a contender for performance car bargain of the decade? Whatever, here’s Rob giving us the lowdown on his own car. Over to you Rob. Read more
PetrolBlog buys a shed
PetrolBlog recently reviewed the Bangernomics Bible which, in short, is about buying and running a car for the cheapest possible outlay. I was so inspired by the book that I decided that I’d like to have a go at running a Banger for myself. So when the Audi and Citroen developed temporary faults, I was presented with the perfect excuse to look for a ‘PetrolBlog Shed’. More petrolhead logic perhaps, but like we need an excuse to buy another car. Besides, this is public service at work here.
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Close, but no cigar: Honda CR-Z
I really wanted to like the CR-Z, Honda’s new hybrid 2+2 coupé.
Being billed as a modern-day successor to the CR-X is always going to stir my imagination. But with the Type-R badge currently unemployed in the UK, the CR-Z is the only way to enjoy a hot Honda. Priced from £17,360, the CR-Z emits 117 g/km of CO2 and attracts zero road tax. Honda also claims that the car is capable of combined 56.5 mpg. So, a sporty coupé that’s cheap to run and doesn’t kill polar bears. Job done – surely we’ve found a contender for PetrolBlog Car of the Year 2011? 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
Last orders: Honda Civic Type-R
Unless you’ve been stuck in an Australian jungle or a Chilean mine, you will have heard that the Honda Civic Type-R is about to be killed off in the UK. When Big Ben rings in the new year the sublime VTEC engine will be no longer acceptable on our roads, falling foul of the new Euro V emissions regulations. Love or loathe the Type-R badge, it would take a cold hearted petrolhead not to mourn the passing of Honda’s racing arm, so rather than let it pass away quietly I decided to take one final hoorah on the highway to the VTEC zone. Read more
Time to say goodbye: Honda Civic Type-R
It’s last orders at the bar for the Honda Civic Type-R. Production for the UK market has ceased due to the Euro V emissions regulations, so you have until the end of December to officially order a Type-R car in the UK. Read more
Honda’s Jazzy Type-R
The Type-R badge is held in high esteem by petrolheads. Any Honda adorned with the simple five letters is guaranteed to set the pulse racing and provide a suitable amount of B-road thrills. A Type-R badge can indeed turn a humble and worthy Accord saloon into something of a road racer. There’s the Integra, which for many people is the ultimate FWD drivers’ car. The supercar Type-R comes in the form of the NSX and let’s not forget the most popular model, the Civic. Read more
Car ad land – Petrolblog’s top 10 car ads
The majority of car advertisements portray a world of perfect motoring. In car ad land, there are no speed cameras, no potholes, no queues, no middle lane hoggers with their fog light permanently on. You won’t find a white F-reg Ford Orion leaving behind a trail of blue smoke. There is no Vauxhall Agila sticking religiously to a speed of 28mph as it navigates along one of your favourite B-roads. Indeed, all the roads in car ad land are gloriously empty, snaking invitingly onto the horizon, with perfect tarmac and maximum visibility. The people are beautiful and the skies are always blue. Read more
