Sinclair C5

Posted on 18/01/2010 by Sam Skelton

This used to be the future... I got to considering my motoring career thus far today. And it struck me; whilst I've alluded to most cars I've driven in past blogs, I've never actually written a proper road test. During the course of my life so far, I've driven some 6 different models, and I think it would be a fair and reasonable aim for me to chronicle them chronologically, over the next few days. So, here goes. The first car I drove, some years ago, wasn't really a car as such. It's fairer Read more [...]

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of 2009

Posted on 26/12/2009 by Sam Skelton

Right, time to be serious for a moment. 2009 is drawing to a close, and I think it's an appropriate time to list the year's good, bad, and ugly from the world of motoring. I'll start with the things I've liked the look of, and want to explore further. And the biggest story here is the new Jaguar XJ. It's incoherent from some angles in some colours, it's big, and the back end is a tad bland. But it works overall in the right colour, it's modern, chic, and sure to be a hit. The interior is a Read more [...]

Baby Aston Revealed

Posted on 18/12/2009 by Sam Skelton

Aston Martin's Cygnet concept , announced in June 2009, has been revealed in what seems to be production-ready form. When first revealed, Aston accompanied its press release with images of a part-completed clay model, based clearly upon Toyota's tiny iQ city car. Marek Reichman's team at Gaydon seem to have created a shape which not only draws from current Aston Martins, but retains the basic structure and underpinnings of the Toyota. Aston design cues are liberally scattered upon it, from the Read more [...]

Modern classics

Posted on 05/12/2009 by Sam Skelton

There seems to have been a craze in recent years for upgrading and modernising classic cars. Off the top of my head, I can think of a number of cars which could be revamped either by the factory or an outside company: all Bristols, the Jensen Interceptor, and a good few Jaguars (XJ S3, XJ-S, MK2 and XK150). That said, I suppose KWE would upgrade any of the 'Series' XJs, and that JD Classics would turn their hand to any 'MK2 family' saloon or any XK. I also seem to recall, although I'm not 100% Read more [...]

The way forwards for the Rover brand

Posted on 26/11/2009 by Sam Skelton

As regular readers of this site will know, I'm a BL lover. I really should join BL-coholics Anonymous, but that's beside the point. The car that first sparked my love of old motors was a Rover SD1 V8 my father owned from my birth until when I was 5. This is, I'm sure, the car that also helped focus my love of cars mainly upon BL. Back when the SD1 was current, Rover were seen as a premium brand still. Since the P4, Rover had been innovative, unusual, and forward thinking. However, from 1991 (The Read more [...]