Liz Turner
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End of the love affair

5/30/2012

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Do women still love their cars?
Women don’t love their cars or give them names any more according to new research by Whipcar.com. 

   I only ever named one car, my Volvo 1800 S called The Little B’stard, but while I was writing a regular feature called Girls and cars for Street Machine, a lot gals had a pet name for their motor. 

   Whipcar’s survey showed fewer than one in five (19%) women bother to name their cars (the figure is 16% for men – I’m surprised that’s so high). More than a third can’t remember important details like the registration number - including me.

   It’s not just women who are falling out of love with their cars, either, the figures for both sexes showed that just 8% described their car as a prized possession and 67% said it was purely 'to get from A to B'.

   Of course WhipCar has an agenda (remember lies, damned lies and statistics) this website is all about renting cars from your neighbours.
Its nationwide survey of 2,000 people showed one quarter of respondents believed it’s less important to own a car today than it was 10 years ago. Therefore they are more likely to try an affordable, local car-sharing scheme. It is an interesting survey, however. As fuel costs, servicing, congestion charges and road fund licences all strip money out of our already depleted wallets, it's easy to start resenting the car. Some aren't even buying one in the first place - Government figures show the number of under 30 year olds obtaining licenses has fallen by 20% since 1992.
   Vinay Gupta, Co-founder of WhipCar says: “People used to love getting behind the wheel and just going for a drive. These days, trips are more carefully considered. Increasing costs have taken some of the pleasure out of driving and, as people combine trips to save on petrol, more and more cars sit unused for extended periods.”
   It's true, my husband and I would get rid of obe of our cars if the public transport was better. I'm going to give WhipCar a go.

Could you make money by renting out your car?
Beth rents out her Mini Cooper for £7/hour, £37/day, £185/week. She says:
“My experience with WhipCar has gone really well. When I first signed up I lived down in Brighton - but since I moved to London three months ago the number of requests I’ve been getting have gone through the roof. There’s just so many people in London who don’t have a car.
"I definitely think that renting my car out justifies keeping it now that I live in London – it’s nice to have whenever I need it but I don’t use it every day. It would just be sitting there, so if I can rent it out to someone else who needs a car it makes sense. It helps to offset the cost of motoring, too – I think it probably makes having a car cost-neutral, which is great.
“If people were hesitant about giving it a go, my tip would be that you’re in control throughout the process. You can decide who to give your car to, how long for, and when you want them to collect it. It’s great to have so much control over who you rent your car to.”
For more details see www.whipcar.com

If you love your car and give it a name, add a comment, or get in touch through my contact form. I'll put your photo on the blog!

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Two birds migrate to Monaco by Jag

5/29/2012

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Team 'Two mad birds' Sarah Adams-Diffey and Liz Wenman have raised nearly £10,000 for Breast Cancer Care and the Prostate Cancer Charity by driving a Jaguar C-type 1,000 miles from the UK down to the Grand Prix Historique de Monaco.
Beats walking about in your bra. See Classic & Sports Car magazine's website http://bit.ly/JyRPEJ



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Have a butcher's at the new Sweeney

5/29/2012

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Ray Winstone and Ben Drew as Regan and Carter - hang on, where's Gene Hunt?
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The way they were: Dennis Water in The Sweeney 1977
The new Sweeney film opens in September, starring everyone’s go-to gruff cockney Ray Winstone and rapper, actor and indy film maker Ben Drew (AKA Plan B) in the roles made famous by John Thaw as Regan and Dennis Waterman as Carter.
    The makers recognized that the appeal of the original series was great characters, gritty dialogue (“We’re the Sweeney and we haven’t had our dinner”) and some thumping good car chases - followed by some thumping. Expect plenty of the latter two, although it’s hard to find a warehouse empty, except for a pile of cardboard boxes, in London these days.
  
   Can the Sweeney still fly in the twenty-first century, driving a Focus ST? Or will they suddenly realise they've been dead for a while and need DCI Gene Hunt to take them to the pub?

Click here for my Top 10 Sweeney cars and the updated version of the excellent Sweeney! The Official Companion, by Robert Fairclough and Mike Kenwood, released August 31.
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SMMT Test Day: a new kind of hybrid

5/28/2012

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Passat 1.4 hybrid has performance close to the 1.8
Batteries: ask anyone who knows, these are the items stopping us from having affordable hybrid and electric cars. Everyone is scrambling to produce better lithium ion (li-on) or Metal hydride (NiMH) batteries to solve the problem, or maybe not everyone, because the lead-acid battery is fighting back.  I’ve just become one of the first journalists to drive a demonstrator called the LC Super hybrid, which uses low-cost (LC), proven technology to create a fuel efficient, but powerful family car.
Click here to read more


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SMMT Test Day

5/28/2012

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I knew I'd want to Evoque even before I drove it
Last week I was invited to the annual SMMT test day. This is a real kid-in-a candy-store day for motoring journalists. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders takes over the Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire, which is usually full of disguised cars being tested and journalists trying not to stare at them. Lots of manufacturers come along and lay out they wares, with the invitation: come and drive our stuff!
   It's so tempting to drive around all day in Porsche 911s and Bentleys, but I was very disciplined and drove vehicles I thought my lovely readers would want to know about.
   So I drove: Mitsubishi iMiev electric car, Mini Roadster S, Range Rover Evoque, Audi A1 1.6 TDi Sport, Citroen DS3, VW Beetle and the LC Super Hybrid Passat. I'll be posting the road tests over the next few days.

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MX-Alfa for 2015

5/23/2012

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In the days before Boden
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Dustin Hoffman races to stop that wedding in The Graduate 1967
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My beloved MX-5, now being raced by Project Merlot (See My Cars)
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Fiat Barchetta looked great, but drove like a hatchback
Has my fairy godmother waved her magic wand? Are we really going to get a new Alfa Spider – but with working electrics and no rust? Frankly it’s about time.
   I whooped as I read the press release announcing that Mazda Motor Corporation (Mazda) and Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. (Fiat) have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a new twin roadsters for Mazda and Alfa Romeo  based on Mazda's next-generation MX-5 rear-wheel-drive architecture.
   The release says: 'The study calls for both Mazda and Fiat to develop two differentiated, distinctly styled, iconic and brand-specific light weight, roadsters featuring rear-wheel drive. The Mazda and Alfa Romeo variants will each be powered by specific proprietary engines unique to each brand.'  (So they'll be the same underneath, but will look different and have their own engines.)
   The plan is for both vehicles will be manufactured at Mazda's Hiroshima, Japan, plant with production for Alfa Romeo starting in 2015.
   Quotes from top suits: Takashi Yamanouchi, Mazda's Representative Director and Chairman of the Board, President and CEO said "It is especially exciting to be collaborating with such a prestigious marque as Alfa Romeo on a new roadster based on the next-generation MX-5, which is such an iconic vehicle for Mazda and recognised as the best-selling roadster of all time."
   Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne "We will be co-operating with the recognised leader in compact rear-drive vehicle architectures in order to deliver an exciting and stylish roadster in the Alfa Romeo tradition."
   Quote from me: Whoo-hoo!
   It's ironic that the Alfa was one of the only roadsters on sale when the MX-5 brought affordable fun back to the road in 1989, but by that time it was covered in plastic spoilers, and looked decided dated. (Others being the TVR S and Morgan Plus 4 and Plus 8.)
   I always felt sad that the Fiat Barchetta (1995 to 2005) didn’t drive like a roadster, being essentially a Punto in a party dress (and left-hand drive only). The Alfa GTV Spider (1995 to 2006) looked sharp, but wriggled and rattled, and I felt very enclosed deep down inside it.
   I love Alfas and Fiats, so I can’t wait for this one.

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Lost in the supermarket

5/22/2012

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If I was a lab rat, I’d starve. While negotiating the maze to get the cheese, I’d be muttering, that must be the way. Hang on a minute; he’s going there, I’ll follow him. Bloody hell, he works here and that’s the staff car park.
   Am I the only one who is so rubbish at finding my way in and out of car parks?
   This weekend my hubby and I went on a road trip that involved about four service station stops and a long sojourn in a mini-mall visiting all the recycling bins and delivery bays before finally our way out.
   Somehow I always find myself driving the wrong way up the lane and meeting some smug, self-righteous person waving a finger as they go the right way.
   In service stations, I find the more signs there are, the more lost I get, because I don’t have time to read them all. Having said that, a big sign in the mall saying 'OUT' or 'FREEDOM THIS WAY' in the mall would have helped.
   It would also help, if the designers hadn't always included a victory lap of the car park before letting you out.


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Driving the new Mazda CX-5

5/18/2012

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Mazda's new compact crossover, the CX-5 is not, and will not be a hybrid.
   Click here to find out why and to learn about Mazda's SKYACTIV technology, plus:
* why the Lorax lifted his eyebrows at ad campaign
* a great place for tea in Wester Ross
* the best porridge topping ever
* the name of the cabin boy in Captain Pugwash
Opinions on the questions raised over dinner are welcome.
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101 years young

5/15/2012

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101-year-old Margaret with her 1930 Packard
I enjoyed watching the video of 101-year-old Margaret Dunning from Plymouth Michigan driving and chatting about her 1930 Packard 740 Roadster. She’s as sharp as a tack, and complains that you can’t tell one exhaust note from another these days.
    Margaret’s car will be one of around 200-plus vehicles at the 2012 EyesOn Design Automotive Design Exhibition June 17 (by which time she’ll be 102). I went to Eyeson Design several times while I lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and it’s always a fascinating mix of amazing cars and bikes  lined up on the lawn of the Ford Estate beside the Detroit river.
   EyesOn Design is a major fundraiser for the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology. It’s a clever idea - a show about beauty to raise money for those with visual problems. The annual Father's Day event showcases the best in vehicle design, and this year will exhibit more than 200 automobiles, plus vintage hydroplanes and motorcycles.
   Margaret, a retired businesswoman who belongs to several car clubs, has been a major benefactor of the historical museum in Plymouth, Michigan, where she lives. Her beloved Packard was the very first car to be awarded a perfect 100 points by the Classic Car Club of America - back in 1949.
   Best of all, she still drives her Detroit-built, stick shift, rumble-seated roadster several times a year. She is scheduled to exhibit her car and participate in the awards ceremony during the annual EyesOn Design event. She says 'People ask me, 'have you lived in Plymouth all your life?' I say 'Not yet.' The lady has style.
  See Margaret's YouTube interview

EyesOn Design June 17 at the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House, 1100 Lake Shore Road, Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. The event raises money for the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology (DIO) in Grosse Pointe Park. The DIO is a charitable organization whose mission is to assist and educate the visually impaired, help preserve vision by public and professional education and support research related to the eye. For more information, visit www.eyeson.org






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Rent the car next door

5/15/2012

1 Comment

 
I like the idea of renting your neighbour's car, highlighted by Guardian Money (5 May) - or renting out my own as I work from home so much. The car could be out earning me money while I put my feet up.
   The only thing that worries me is that Will Bancroft who hires his Mondeo out through WhipCar mentions that someone scratched his car. They agreed on a figure, he buffed it out, all very civilised. I'm not sure that would always be the situation. Are you old enough to remember the friendships ruined by a scratch on a borrowed vinyl record. "It was there already!' was the usual reply. It could be fists at dawn over a car.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/may/04/hire-a-car-use-neighbours
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