Fifth Gear Returns

Fifth Gear is back on Ch5 tonight, 8pm. Miss it and miss out!

Lotus Exige S

We haven't had a picture on here in a while so here's a new one. Yes, it's the Lotus Exige S. I really, really want to drive one of these. Here's the stats:

1.8L Supercharged engine
218HP
0-60 in 4.1 seconds
148mph top speed

Shanghai Motor Show

Top Gear has some hiliarious coverage of the Shanghai Motor Show - it is genuinely funny to hear about razor sharp badges that will slice passers by, or almost complete knock-offs making an appearance. One of the things touched on though is the fact that there was a law which meant you couldn't have a private car in China -and this was only five years ago.

Suddenly, we've got one of the biggest emerging markets doing their own thing and creating a huge wave no doubt. Will it be imports or lots of 'Saggy' (a name of a limo) though? Time will tell but China waking up will no doubt have a huge effect on the automotive market. Maybe not a huge effect in terms of design until there is some history... but economically there are big things coming up in the near future.

A Bentley Continental GT - Behind Me!

I was driving into the town centre (something I don't do very often), when just off the sliproad came a car that looked pretty familiar. It was the awesomely powerful, 205mph Bentley Continental GT that came cruising along. The noise from it was amazing and the way it just cruised up with such grace was breathtaking. Truly, it is an amazing car. The exhaust note is music, the interior is plush - it's just a shame the thing is so damn expensive!

Max Chilton

Max Chilton is 16 years old. He just came 17th in F3. Woah. That's one kid who knows how to drive. More importantly though, should he have been allowed in in the first place? Well for sport, it seems that if you're good enough you're old enough. Certainly people would see it as worse that over in Thailand young kids aged only six are getting in the ring to fight Muay Thai.

Driving a potentially lethal motorcar is surely just the same. I guess I have mixed feelings on it, but a hell of a lot of jealousy. Good on you kid. I sure wish I'd had that opportunity at your age. If you prove that you can drive sensibly when you get your road license, then I think the country should stop whinging about it and give you the respect you deserve.

Quiet Drives

Do you ever drive with the radio off, the passenger quiet and only the road/wind noise to distract you? There's definitely a time and a place for it, especially when it's raining. Nothing beats the pitter-patter of the rain on the windshield and the pedal to the floor. Of course all of this would be better when driving a Lotus Exige or something but hey...

Where Would You Go?

Well, I have never really driven that far to be honest. If I was going to though it would be in one of the above, for comfort and style. It is of course a Bentley Continental GT. Very expensive, but very cool and quite rare on British roads.

Where to take it though? Well how about those country lanes up by the Lake District, the route up through Scotland, cutting near the Firth of Forth or through some muddy byways? Not on a motorway surely? There's a few routes I'd like to try and I'll give you more of a lowdown on them when I take a couple this weekend.

The Rolls Royce Motorcar

Rolls Royce has an illustrious history - which began all the way back in 1906. The Drophead and the Phantom are the two last cars - and arguably this brand has had its' day. Nonetheless, for classic collectors the RR will always have a rather special place in our memories.

Expensive Cars

This afternoon I had the pleasure of looking around a couple of showrooms with two of my cousins. I met a lovely older lady who had just made an order on a Porsche Boxster (not sure if it was the S or not, but if you read this do let me know) in red. A good choice. One interesting thing with car colours is that women seem to be a lot more open-minded whereas guys go for black, grey or silver if they're really pushing the boat out.

Regardless, this of course meant I was at a Porsche showroom. As well as Bentley, BMW, Aston Martin and many many others. Of course, the highlight was seeing a few DB9's. Unfortunately I didn't expect to make the visit so I haven't got any pics to show you - I promise I'll get some next time.

I will say though that top end motors on forecourts are bloody expensive. Take the DB9 in question. You're looking at only a few k off the magic £100,000 mark. Even better, the Bentley (might have been a flying spur or GT Continental but not sure) was actually closer to £150,000. This is the sort of place that, I'm sure, doesn't make many sales. But when it does, oh god are they rubbing their hands.

One of my cousins pointed out a discrepancy though. If you can buy an Aston Martin DB9 new for about 100k to 130k (probably also more depending on your options, aftermarket stuff etc) why would you buy one off a forecourt when you can't have the customed kick plates etc? Frankly I'm not sure - beyond the fact that it would mean you wouldn't have to wait for one.

Either way, we were looking at, on the Bentley forecourt at least, more than a cool millions' worth of cars. By any stretch of the imagination that is pretty damn impressive. However, although these cars were great, they didn't steal the show for me. A car that did was available in two places.

This car was the Nissan 350Z. The more I have read about it, the more desperate I've become to have this crazy Japanese, 3.5 litre, V6, two seater, mad drifting beast. Okay, so it is far and away the least practical car I have ever owned, but just go near one. Look at the lines. Look at the stupidly big engine. See the (depending on the model) striped tyres.

Everything about it screams the classic line of - I WANNA GO FAST! More importantly, this car also drifts. Oh boy does it drift. Well anyway, it's still out of my price range for the time being. Next year though, a 350Z will be in the price range... whilst a DB9 still will not. Nonetheless, I'm sure I'll be looking at them again next week.

The Ariel Atom

My car of the moment is the Ariel Atom. It is totally flat and in the best incarnation (circa 29k) offers 300bhp, or 600bhp per ton as the car only weighs around 500kilos. It is brilliantly fast, with Top Gear rating it as just under the Enzo on their track. Quite impressive given that it costs less than a tenth of said uber-Ferrari. You can see the video of Clarkson's thoughts here. In a few days I might do some more coverage of the company behind the car.

What a Car!

I haven't had a great picture of a car on here for a couple of posts so here's a damn good one. It's the Peugeot 207 LW. Essentially a proper race car version of the 207. This is not of course the rather tasty RCup 'special' but an even hotter beast that will only find home on a track. And I want one. Well it's either that or an Ariel Atom.

Wheelspin... On a FWD Vehicle

As I've mentioned, my last car was an unruly little beast. An old Fiat Punto Sporting that was quite a hoot to drive and liked to be revved. So much so that on a favourite corner of mine you could stay well below the speed limit and still have the wheels smoking.

My new car doesn't do exactly the same. In fact it's very sensible. But, on the same corner going the opposite way you can wheel spin it. So out I was last night, making sure the wheels didn't get grip. Oh the joy! It did make me feel just a tad jealous of those with a rear wheel drive motor though.

For those of you who have never seen drift series racing or aren't familiar with the physics, lets go through how you do it (for rear wheel drift/spin):

• A limited slip differential is really needed
• Rear slip angle must be greater than front angle
• This amounts to wheels pointing one way, car turning into the other
• So basically, you put on the power, turn in to the turn then as the oversteer begins you can almost go into a correct but as the wheels haven't maintained traction you'll have drift

Of course, there are a huge number of ways in which to induce drift, some of which are covered over at Wikipedia. Remember, when the back end is going that's your oversteer - this can result in a spin out or a successful drive. The other end of this is understeer, when the nose keeps following a more straight-line trajectory than otherwise wanted. Or it can pull you in with the nose, making the slip angle of the front greater than the rear. Either way, you won't find many cars with a significant amount of understeer spinning out.

Don't Watch That, Watch This

This being Michael Vergers doing the Nurburgring Nordschleife in 6 minutes 55 seconds. I kid you not. Even more spectacular is that he does it in a production car. Okay, it's in the FEROCIOUS Radical SR8 but then who's counting. Not me that's for sure. Watch him wave to the Merc!

Where Should Top Gear Go?

Clarkson has written a post over at the Top Gear website, asking where Top Gear should go. Problem is, the last series go massive viewers rivalling most other TV but unfortunately was pretty far removed from what could be described as a 'car show'. So what's my take? Well I thought I'd write it here seeing as there's no guarantee my comment would show up there.

Fifth Gear is more appealing to me than the next series of Top Gear right now. The reason for that is whilst the challenges in TG's last series were fun, the celebrity appearances were pretty appalling (not to mention the attitude of some celebs), the challenges were stupid and the cars were... well barely a presence! That being the case, the show really does need a change.

The change should take the programme full circle. A car show once again (gasp!). It is really what it needs. I know it's a flagship for BBC2 but come on, it's become so stupid as to be almost avoidable. BBC Director General, do what you must. Make a decision. Either revert the show and have a lower audience but a much more vocal one, or split the show in two. Develop a new programme which has serious discussion and news on cars (maybe presented by James May) whilst the other can complete twaddle pandering to the masses.

RUF Supercayman

As some might say - oh my car. This is the new RUF supertuned Porsche alike. This is a German tuning factory/manufacturer who takes a Porsche body and does mental things with it. Get the skinny on this dream beast of over 235mph here.

The New Maserati GT

I'm really keen on seeing the new Maser GT in person. More importantly I'd love to own one - and for a simple reason - exclusivity. I've seen anything from race modded Carerras to Bentley Continentals yet I've never seen a Maserati on the road.

It even makes the Aston Martin DB9 I drive past most days seem fairly ordinary. Why is that? The brand of course. Whilst Fiat and Alfa Romeo have more central a stage, Masterati is serving a very specific consumer. This consumer is very rich, discerning and aware of the marque. Marques are funny things you see, meaning different things to different people.

Yet at the top end, the differences are less noticeable. After all, the types of cars that command price tags of 60k plus are either not driven that much (and so just a show item, a symbol of conspicuous consumption) or the mark of a true connoiseur and collector.

The type of person who could name the test driver (Guerino Bertocchi) would probably own a car like this. As such, all of the high end vehicles command respect and not just because of their price tags. The stats too make them the pinnacle of driving, whether it be through experience, technology or luxury.

Whilst Maserati is competing in a very competitive marketplace it still speaks volumes of passion, power and the pleasure of the open road. All of these things and the rare relationship Maserati has with the UK consumer is exactly why I want one.

Newcastle to Alnwick

Duration: 45mins
Main Route: A19, A1

This is quite a nice drive if you go the scenic route or some motorway if you don't. Alnwick is a lovely part of Northumberland with a vibrant town, a treehouse and a huge second hand bookstore - Barter Books. Depending on your approach and route you may find the 50mph single carriageway a bit dull but it is reasonably scenic.

Bear in mind that this route can lead to Berwick/Scotland so it can get a bit busy. Heading on motorway watch the very sharp left in to Alnwick town centre - it can take some by surprise. When in Alnwick, make sure to stay in one of the fantastic b&b's as well as enjoying some local real ales. Top destination!

Eating Food In MY Car

Before you ask, no you may not. To some, a car is merely a way of getting somewhere. Somewhere they already aren't - hence the car. To others, it is a source of pride and joy to which they spend cash and time. My interest lies somewhere in the middle. I really like my car but moreover I am very aware it is a functional device. As it is something I can occupy up to an hour a day or even a few hours at the weekend I need the environment to be comfortable.

This means no food wrappers or crumbs about the place. I used to eat breakfast in my last car and it was tip because of that. I've learnt my lesson (as well as changing jobs). To the gents out there: if a lady sees your car is a complete dive inside (regardless of what it is on the outside) she may think your place, manners and bed are the same. Not exactly the impression you want to give is it?

If you're a girl then sweets and perfume is fine but teddy bears lining the back seat might seem a little odd to a male passenger. Even still I wouldn't mind that provided I wasn't sitting in a sea of crisp packets and standing on empty plastic bottles.

I guess the name of the game here is propriety, as well as what makes you personally most happy. As I've invested a lot in my car then I want to respect the money I put in to get it. So you should too. So if you're ever in it, once again, before you ask, no you may not! Try here for more info. In fact as I haven't found a really good article about it I'll write myself. Watch this space.

Top Gear in the US

Apparently, there's a chance that Clarkson et al will be going Stateside for a series. This annoys me for a number of reasons. One, it will have almost exclusively American vehicles (not that great really) and two some American 'celeb' is bound to reveal the name of THE STIG. Worst of all, what will be left with? Vroom Vroom? The superior Fifth Gear is expected back soon, but who knows when. Come on BBC, do a bit better than this eh and keep the three on UK tv.

Audi TT

Of course the new Audi TT has been out for a while - but I've wanted one for a long time. Years before I could drive and years before the new design in fact. Anyway, enjoy the Roadster above. If you're wanting more info then go to Audi here. Oh, and for the record I'd have the coupe just for the better body rigidity. Check out the awesome magnetic damper system though... Oh my.

Carbage!

This is one of the most famous sections of the Top Gear website - and it's bloody awful. Yet brilliant. People who have crazily modded motors (or those simply with the right to send them to the site) take a snap and then it is uploaded for all to see. Now, I can see why some mod their cars. Better performance for instance.

However, most of these cars here look to have been changed for one reason only - catching the eye. This is in itself not a bad thing, but you've got to wonder why someone would buy a car (looking perfectly ok in the first place) only to change the look completely. Why not just buy something else?

Generally speaking I haven't seen too many dodgy modded motors when out and about, though an park not too far away from here is a regular hunting ground. I'll give you a clue - it's got a cinema and is based at North Shields/Wallsend.

If cars are your passion - then great. Chances are you wouldn't be here reading otherwise. But do you really need spoilers on the back that make your motor look like the VW Polo of Satan? Perhaps not. Look with the mind as well as the heart young padowan and the truth will be revealed! Or, just save up more and get the Impreza you really want...

GM Motors Small Concept

In what has got to be a first, GM Motors has actually opened up their concept cars to the public. There are all small cars designed for the US market (though I could see the Beat on the far left being quite popular here in the UK) and so far it shows - the very American Groove is in the lead. I actually quite like the Trax, the final concept on the far right. It looks a bit like a mini MPV or Jeep and frankly unless you are made of money those Chelsea tractors aren't going to be very appealing for much longer due to new government regulations... Regardless, make sure you vote, it might actually make a difference!

The New Ford Flex (SportHearse)

Yes, the title is a bit of a pun, but only a bit. This is a new seven-seater monster from the biggest of all US car manufacturers - Ford. They have named it the Flex. And to me, it looks like a SportHearse. As in a car for the dead, but blinged up. Strange but true, just look at that thing. Either that, or it is a grotesquely modified Mini. Just drag the wheels closer with your minds eye and reduce the roof. Tell me that isn't the case!

My Current Car

There is my current car - a Vauxhall Astra SXI 1.8 16V. It is sadly missing a mud guard from one side, but never mind. Not a bad amount of BHP for a hatchback (about 125) but not a huge amount of torque as it's quite smooth unless you rev it. No idea of the 0-60 time but I doubt it's spectacular. On the other hand, it is very nice to drive and handles pretty sharply. Not quite the Nissan 350Z that I want though:


Like most cars that look and perfom like this, I have a special place in my heart for the Nissan 350Z - particularly the coupe version. The stats are a bit special:

• 3.5 litre V6
• 155mph (limited)
• 16.9mpg urban fuel consumption (now that I don't like so much ha ha)
• Available with GT pack and with leather seating

Anyway, the next task is to save up enough to afford the insurance for one of these before even contemplating looking at one in 'real life' (too late...).

Bike Speed Limiters

The government is interested in introducing a speed limiter to bikes, as they believe this will lower the accident rate and curb the use of those dastardly mini-motos that are being driven around illegally. Well, lets break this down.

Only 5pc of accidents are caused by excessive speed. That being the case, isn't it a bit stupid to then limit bikes? Bikes are, by their nature, more dangerous than cars. What next though, limit all cars to 70mph as well?

The best advice that can be given is that all road users should have much better education. Teach it in schools, whether people grow up to be a driver/rider or not (statistically at least 2/3 will) and make sure that EVERYONE is aware of the dangers of the road.

For me, this is clearly a government with nothing better to do than annoy yet another group of road users. Why don't they go back to the House and think about issues that really affect us, like why we're taxed twice on Petrol and in such crazily excessive amounts, why alcohol is considered more dangerous than a lot of other drugs and it is freely available, why cigarettes continue to be sold - the list is endless.