After a record low in the year preceding it, 2011 saw an increase in accident fatalities involving a driver with too much alcohol in his / her blood. The Institute of Advanced Motorists says we should be worried. According to […]
Tag Archives: Netherlands
Car Hacking
Alfa Mito or Giulietta? Bentley Continental? BMW 1, 5, 6 or 7-Series? Vauxhall Astra, Vectra or Zafira? Porsche Cayenne? Any Peugeot that ends with a ‘7’? Honda CR-V or Civic? Fiat 500 or Bravo? Chrysler 300C perhaps? If your car […]
The Bank Job
The French automotive industry is on its ass. The economic crisis, as we all know caused by banks, has hit particularly hard in France with those manufacturers that haven’t got seriously big operations in emerging markets: PSA Peugeot-Citroen and Renault, […]
Chinese DS Success
The original Citroen DS might just be the most beautiful Citroen ever made – though it will feel the garlicky breath of the Traction Avant in its neck. From 1955 to 1975, the Frenchies sold almost 1.5 million of them. […]
The Fiat 500: Let’s Milk It!
It’s spiritual ancestor, the Multipla, ranked somewhere in between a warthog and a sea cow in terms of aesthetic qualities. The only people to buy it were car-haters. Still, it sold quite well in my country – though I’m not […]
Big American
£58,995. There are cheaper ways to get to 160 mph, but few of them will offer so much space. There are also cheaper way to get as much space, but few will be so fast. Jeep has announced the UK […]
S(peedy) 60
If you wanted a car capable of achieving bullet speeds in the compact executive segment, you used to have a very limited choice. That hasn’t actually changed. Most people in the market for a fast executive car would probably think […]
Wet and Wild
“Where is the drain system?” my colleague asked. “It’s underwater!” That’s what happens to the roads when it rains more than a few drops in the rural-industrial area we drove through today, just outside the small Chinese city I’ve been […]
We Prefer Headlights
When comparing to any of its previous generation models, it seems Vauxhall (Opel in the rest of Europe) must have hired a new designer some years ago. And guess what? The man knows what he’s doing! Any new Vauxhall coming […]
The GTI Superlative
I used to drive a VW Polo for a while. It was a corporate lease and, consequently, it had to be the Bluemotion. You know, that’s the one with a coffee grinder for an engine. I never quite fancied that […]
Saab Reincarnated
It’s a while ago and it may have been bigger news in the Netherlands, due to the fact that it was a Dutch company that played cavalry to the company’s rescue – unfortunately they ran into a General Custer-inspired bloodbath […]
EV Sales Not Electrifying
Carmakers globally are all showing their all-new, all-snazzy electric vehicles. But recent figures are showing they’re not selling very well. What a surprise! Electric cars aren’t particularly suffering from a lack of attention in the global car press and their […]
A History of Moving Contractors and Hippies Around
It is exactly 65 years ago when the roots of VW Nutzfahrzeuge – the charming German term for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles – settled in the ground. The start of what would become a separate company within VW AG? A toddler’s […]
The Viaggio is a Long Way from Home
I’m not sure why, but I tend to like car news that is completely irrelevant for the European market. Maybe the fact that a car isn’t the so-manieth facelift of a small hatchback of which you already see about 85,000 […]