Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder

Oh. My. Word. Have you ever seen anything that oozes more class, sophistication and power? I can't see much not to like on that picture, and the Lamborghini Gallardo (Gai-ar-do) Spyder has the performance to match.

• 5L V10 engine
• Mid-engine 4WD
• 0-60 in 4 seconds
• Massive sounding engine
• Looks that make every woman (and man's) head turn in the area

The car costs about £130,000. Yes, that's a lot of money. On the other hand, as usual, if you have to ask it's probably too expensive. Personally, if I had that amount of money for a car I'd pick this over an Aston Martin DB9 - the other favourite. On the other hand, maybe I'd pick a Ferrari F430 before this...

Industrial Estates

A friend of a friend drove to an industrial estate the other night. It was huge and completely empty. It was the ideal thrashing space for his new car, a 2.0 litre sports version. This estate had no people around (so no-one was in danger) and a good few windy routes to hit. He said it was a lot of fun and he'd have to take me there sometime.

Before you get the wrong idea, I'd never endorse dangerous driving. However, people drive on motorways well above the speed limit all the time. So, doing 40 in an industrial estate is very much less likely to injure anyone, and preferable to the enthusiasts who meet at an 'unknown location' to roar their engines.

Either way, this style of driving (urban exploration if you will) makes me think that I need to get a Subaru Impreza or something. I'd imagine that the new WRX would be a lot of fun to take on some country roads. Now, I just need to drive a bit further out of the suburbs...

Morning Drives

Ah, there's nothing better worse than the humdrum driving experience of the morning. I'm talking about the 'still-half-asleep' mode that we're all in. You see people jump into their cars and drive off, neither fast nor slow, but certainly not giving the engine oil a chance to warm (thus giving it just a little bit more wear). More importantly, they all look thoroughly miserable.

I guess that is down to the fact that few of us have a delightful passable experience on the roads. I'm a little lucky with my current assignment - I head away from the busy roads. This means I have the relative luxury of rarely being stuck in a traffic jam, barring on one occasion that I can recall. How about you though? I know I'm in the minority here with my morning drive. It's still hardly stress free but I know it could be a lot worse.

I did read about one guy in Evo Magazine who had a pretty good car and very quiet backroads in which to give it a sound thrashing in the morning. Now to me, that sounds ideal. Get the adrenaline pumping, no-one to hit and a little excitement to start the day. Now, to just get everyone else off the road, or move to the country...

Oi, Sort Your Lights!

No, not a complaint about being blinded by Xenons or foglights (though aren't those piercing rear ones annoying when used unnecessarily?) but rather normal headlights. Why, oh why, Mr Driver, can't you get them adjusted? I am driving along. For your sake, I have a direct control in the car. So I can lower or raise them.

Granted, you might not have such a feature. Fair enough. However, continue shining them into my eyes and I'll have to report you. Your vehicle, as currently set up, WILL cause a crash for someone else. It'll probably be a tenner at a garage to fix, or you could do it yourself. Either way, you need to have them set so that your lights are actually shining where you're going, rather than up into the darkened sky. That is all.

Fast? Why?

I'm quite often annoyed by specs that I see for cars, or indeed cars that I see when I am out and about. If something booms past me, inevitably it'll be going in excess of the speed limit. Now emergency aside, why?

Let's look at this from another angle. Plenty of cars that go quite fast have a limiter set at 155mph. Why? That is more than double the legal speed on any UK road. Frankly, you'll probably never even use that speed on a track (they tend to have corners too y'see). You could go to an aerodrome and fly away. Would you though?

That leaves fast acceleration. Now, that can and is used by lots of people. Races at the lights for instance. I don't go in for that anymore and a lot of people don't once they've been driving a while. If you're in that much of a hurry, then be my guest.

This brings us to why people REALLY buy fast cars. Status. Plain and simple. It's the 'mine's faster than yours' that does it. More to the point, it's a truism. It probably is faster. But you know what, it's only you that's bothered, because on a track I could probably beat you anyway.

You know how to press the 'loud' pedal hard but you DON'T know where an apex of a turn is, what your max torque and power outputs or or probably even how to change your oil and check your pressures without using your in-car gauge. So, sod off. Whilst you're at it, go get caught doing 110mph down the A1.

Morgan Motors

Morgan Motors has been making cars since 1910. By anyone's imagination this is a long, long time. They're based in Worcestershire and they make cars that really hark back to better days. They look classy, sleek and above all stylish in a way that no other cars do any more. The car in the picture is a Morgan Aero 8. Stats include:

4.4L engine
0-60 in less than 5 seconds
Top speed in excess of 160mph

To be fair though, a car like the Morgan Aero 8 is not about stats, it's about style. And I for one would love to be seen driving one.

Five Annoying Things (on the way to work)

A quick one this, but a good one. A few things have annoyed me this week, so let's have them, but in no particular order:

1. If you are driving on a dual carriageway, please do not drive at 40mph when there's nothing wrong with your car and there is no traffic in front of you. I don't care if you're only 17 or 75 - do that every day and I'll report you!
2. There's a sliproad coming on to the carriageway that I drive along most mornings. Please don't just try to smash into other cars to get on there. It's far safer waiting for a gap.
3. If you're in a fast car and your turn-off is coming up, please don't speed up to 100mph and then cross all lanes. This will, in turn, make everyone else cross.
4. People, in general, seem to be safer drivers than the stuff I see on the way home. However, there is still the odd guy who will drive and block the shaded box-junction. Don't do this - you will cause an accident.
5. The box junction as previously mentioned sometimes gets pretty hectic - with traffic really wanting to be all over the place. Please, please, be considerate. If waiting a few more seconds means the car in front gets safely clear, then do so.