Fiat Chrysler Group sets out its plans for 2017… and we sample some of their cars... By David Miles (Miles Better News Agency). Italian Fiat and US Chrysler automotive brands have in the past had partners, divorced partners, fraternised with other partners but in 2014 they found each other and it appears a successful marriage is underway as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, now known as FCA. Global … [Read more...]
News & Views
Our take on what’s been happening in the world of motoring
We appreciate that these days there are vast quantities of motoring news items freely available to all, from huge numbers of global sources. It would be impossible to bring them all to you through these pages – so we are not even going to try!
Instead, we will include selected motoring-related stories which we feel will be of interest. Depending on the item, we hope that they will also inform, encourage, entertain and provoke further thought!
Each item will be dated, and as new stories arrive, older posts will be archived chronologically.
‘Made in Britain’ – Good News for the British motor industry…
Britain’s car industry is really motoring again. By Robin Roberts. Car production hit a 17-year high in 2016 with exports at record levels and 1.35M shipped worldwide. Half of those went to Europe while Americans took nearly 50% more than they did in 2015 and it became the UK’s biggest single consumer country. Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders covered the UK’s 15 … [Read more...]
Circuit of Wales Decision Time
Crunch Time for Circuit of Wales… By Robin Roberts (Miles Better News Agency). Circuit of Wales has been given two weeks to declare its major backers and show a revised business plan to Welsh Government. Economy Secretary Ken Skates yesterday told Welsh Assembly Members that the Heads of the Valleys Development Company should speed up the scheme overlooking Ebbw Vale. He said there was … [Read more...]
Toyota C-HR Hybrid SUV Road Test
David Miles (Miles Better News Agency) test drives Toyota’s C-HR, the firm’s latest Hybrid SUV. Toyota took their time getting into the very fashionable and high selling compact SUV market sector, leaving customers with just their hard-core RAV4 as the option. UK sales of what the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders call ‘Dual Purpose’ vehicles – what we know as 4x4s/SUVs and including … [Read more...]
‘Fost and Frog’? Take care on those wintry roads…
Frost and fog – either can be lethal; together they make a dreadfully dangerous combination. Kim Henson advises driving with extra special care when visibility is poor and temperatures are low at the same time, as is happening right now in Britain… Yesterday evening I was obliged to make a short car journey in town, to get home, and the road conditions were awful, with thick fog reducing … [Read more...]
Heading to France with your vehicle? Quelle surprise… Don’t fall foul of new emissions regulations…
The RAC is warning motorists driving to France about a new and controversial emissions sticker system... Drivers of vehicles caught without anti-pollution stickers risk fines of up to £117 Paris, Lyon and Grenoble operating schemes already The RAC is advising UK motorists driving to France to be aware of a new vehicle emissions sticker system which has been introduced in Paris, Lyon and … [Read more...]
How to impress with motoring-related Valentine’s Day gifts…
Put the ‘Vroom’ back into Valentine’s Day… says BOTB.com Kim Henson reports. Race-track experiences and private plates are the most romantic gestures you can give your partner this Valentine’s Day. But, with February 14 approaching, steer clear of air fresheners or cleaning sets. A survey of 20,000 customers by dream car competition firm BOTB.com has revealed the Dos and Don’ts of what to … [Read more...]
An ‘easy fit’ new Mazda-based transmission kit arrives to ‘up-gear’ your MGB
A new five speed conversion for MGBs can make the car even more enjoyable. Robin Roberts reports… Few would argue that the MGB remains Britain’s favourite classic sports car or that it is almost as at home in modern traffic as it was in that of the 1960s/70s. However, it can nevertheless be updated to advantage and British Motor Heritage (BMH) is now stocking the superb Vitesse Global five speed … [Read more...]
Around the World in 80 Cars…
Cars of the World! Kim Henson invites you to travel the globe with Wheels-Alive in search of some fascinating motor cars… Some cars have been designed to go fast, some have put safety at the top of their priorities and others have been built on a budget, designed to simply get you from A to B. People have been manufacturing cars for over 100 years, resulting in hundreds of different … [Read more...]
News of two new Firestone tyre ranges arriving in Britain
Firestone says that they are on the right road with two new products… Kim Henson reports… Firestone is aiming to shake up the mid-price tyre segment in the UK with the launch, in the space of a few days, of a top-performing new touring tyre and a van product, it has been revealed. Roadhawk, a tyre built to perform longer and offer drivers best-in-class wet grip and best in class dry braking, … [Read more...]
‘Pothole Day’ – 16 January 2017
Crash, bang, wallop – National Pothole Day has arrived with a bump, says Robin Roberts. For first time since 2013, the RAC has seen a rise the spread of potholes in the last quarter of 2016, and the worst of the winter weather is still around the corner for many. The number of pothole-related breakdowns attended by RAC patrols from October to December 2016 gave rise to the first fourth … [Read more...]
Fiesta time from Monaco to Maesteg…
Who owns the Ford Fiesta, and where are they? Robin Roberts tells all… Maesteg is motor-city for the Ford Fiesta, although in fact the car was launched in Monaco…. (Kim adds… "and a younger version of our Robin was there for the occasion of that very launch!"). You are most likely to see one of the 40-versions of the car launched since 1976 on the streets of the South Wales town. The … [Read more...]
KAM Servicing honoured with prestigious award
KAM Servicing wins prestigious award after fixing hundreds of cars… Kim Henson tells the story. After coming to the rescue of more than 450 stricken motorists in their hours of need, a First Stop network partner is being honoured with a prestigious award – while being praised for its attempts to revolutionise the fast-fit industry in the process. KAM Servicing, with 12 garages in the East … [Read more...]
Jaguar XJ220 on its way to having new purpose-developed Bridgestone tyres
Iconic Jaguar XJ220 undergoes extensive testing in the development of new Bridgestone tyres. Kim Henson reports... In recent months engineers from Bridgestone, working with Don Law and the legendary XJ220, chassis No. 004, have been developing all-new perfectly fitted tyres, taking full advantage of 25 years of technological progress at Bridgestone. During continuous testing, the car has been … [Read more...]
Wheels-Alive 2016 in the mirror… UK car sales figures for the year
New car registrations are booming but there are doubts over who is actually making sales... …explains Robin Roberts. The SMMT said yesterday that 2,685,724 new cars were registered last year, a 2.3% increase on the year beforehand and fifth year of growth. Fleet sales took 1.38M of the 2.6M registrations. The analysis of the UK figures as a whole also shows the continuing decline in private … [Read more...]
Planned Circuit of Wales to be home to the world’s largest action centre
Extreme Sports Company has confirmed it will open the world’s largest action centre at the proposed Circuit of Wales site near Ebbw Vale. Report by Robin Roberts (and Miles Better News Agency). While Welsh Government has yet to decide if it will back the Circuit of Wales motor sports complex, Extreme chairman and CEO Alistair Gosling, Chairman and Chief Executive of Extreme, said they have a … [Read more...]
VW Tiguan Road Test
Keith Ward assesses the latest version of VW’s compact SUV… Tiguan marked VW’s first venture, eight years ago, into the emerging and soon-to-explode compact SUV market. Since then some 2.8 million Tiguans have been sold globally – more than 100,000 of those in the United Kingdom, where it is now the company's best-seller after Golf and Polo. Summer 2016 saw an all-new version debut here, … [Read more...]
Motor Sport Insurance – Worrying News…
Motor sport warning due to new insurance requirements… By Robin Roberts (and Miles Better News Agency). The future of Wales Rally GB, the Circuit of Wales and other motorsport events are unexpectedly under threat from a controversial ruling by a European Court. In future, both might have to pay enormous comprehensive public protection insurance premiums and see any competitors’ accidents … [Read more...]
Latest Jaguar and Land Rover models – News and First Impressions
Two new SUVs drive Jaguar and Land Rover to record sales in 2016… A Festive Round-up by David Miles (Miles Better News Agency). Jaguar news At the annual Christmas Ride and Drive media event held at Eastnor Castle Herefordshire by Jaguar Land Rover, it was announced that the new Jaguar F-Pace SUV launched in April this year is not only Jaguar’s first ever SUV but it has become the … [Read more...]
Peugeot Traveller Road Test
Chris Adamson test drives a Peugeot MPV bearing a name many will remember from the days of Morris… I am of an age where the name Traveller, in the automotive context, is one I automatically associate with those wood-clad wonders that were the stretched versions of the Morris Minor and Mini back when Britain was among the world’s leading car producers. So it is a bit of a throwback … [Read more...]
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