The Car List Blog

Winter

2011-12-02T12:53:00.003Z

Well the frosts have finally arrived in my corner of the balmy south coast and I'm off to get the winter tyres fitted to the Golf.

I've been a user since last winter, when they enabled me to make a number of journeys I wouldn't have considered trying on summer rubber. I'm just amazed there is still any debate on the wisdom of changing rubber in the UK.

SS7

The New, New 911

2011-11-25T17:25:00.003Z

Here's Evo's Chris Harris spilling the beans on the new Porsche 911.

Its the first real 'new' 911 since 1997. So it had better be good, as we've got to live with the basic car for the next decade or more.

Luckily, first signs are good, even though there are the usual internet complaints about dumbing down/making it softer/being too conservative. Really, who'd be Porsche's chief designer?

My worry (electric steering system aside) is that while the new mostly-aluminium body is 40kg or so lighter that the 997, a good chunk more could have been saved by using the old 6 speed transmission. That was quoted as being 25kgs lighter than the PDK 'box, and its difficult to see the same saving now the manual gearbox uses the PDK's castings. Is a 7th ratio really needed when almost all of the world's roads are limited to 70-80mph?

Its also been interesting to read the comments about pricing. There is an oftly expressed view that a good £10k worth of options are 'essential' for re-sale, and that the only version worth bothering with is the £81,500, 3.8litre 'S'. So you very quickly end up with the grand total on the Porsche.com website's configurator heading towards £100,000.

I beg to differ.

A ‘vanilla’ 3.4 has 350bhp and does 180mph. It comes with leather, climate, sat nav, Bi-Xenons, start/stop, 7 speed ‘box, 19”s, 235watts of stereo (with 9 speakers and aux input), alcantara roof lining, and electric windows. That's pretty much what I have on my 5 year old Golf, and the previous owner ticked every box on the form when he ordered that one. The baby 911 doesn't get taxed at the highest rates for VED, and you now get 36 months worth of Porsche warranty.

I can see how its easy to get seduced by the options list; I might add £1100 of PASM, £400 of rear Park Assist and a £150 Sports steering wheel. But I wouldn’t be that bothered.

However a look at options prices quickly reveals why Porsche is still most profitable car maker on the planet - and my views on the subject haven't changed since I sat down and specified my Cayman back in 2006.

For example, to paint the bloody thing in a metallic colour is £800. Total cost to Porsche ~€50.

To take away the complex, expensive stainless steel exhaust system and replace it with a complex, expensive stainless steel exhaust system that’s a bit louder and has a valve, switch, bit of wiring and software tweaks costs you £1800. Cost to Porsche? Must be €75 tops. Black wheels are £950, electric sports seats are £3,800, a window in the roof is £1200, some bits of useless carbon trim £1100, and they want £3k for their top of the line stereo.

So while loading the car with complex (and expensive) options might give you bragging rights on the forum I really think the pauper's version will be enough for the UK's roads.

In fact on the smaller 18" wheels it might even be the sweetest driving of all the 991 variants .

SS7

Give Way - Biker

2011-11-21T15:32:00.002Z

You see a different side of car drivers on a bike.

Like any other road user, my daily encounters run through the whole spectrum from Redbull’d yoof in a slammed French hatchback, through to the octogenarian gently succumbing to old age at a ‘T’ junction behind the wheel of their Ford Fusion.

On a bike, when most other road users have the potential to do you serious injury, looking for little warning signs becomes both second nature and something you pay plenty of attention to. There’s usually something about the ‘body’ language of the car that indicates dangerous aggression or a distracted driver, and I can usually spot the signs telling me who to be wary of.

Does that car I’ve just encountered on a fast ‘A’ road see my fast approach as throwing down the gauntlet, or will they……..oh hang on a moment, they’ve just driven into the gutter to let me go past.

That’s another one.

Its a trend I've noticed more and more recently, in fact I've followed cars that have hit the kerb in their haste to let me slide past. At the weekend almost every car I approached clocked my presence and very clearly moved aside to let me pass. It didn’t seem to matter if it was on 'A' roads, through towns, or on heavily trafficked roads with double white lines. In fact the main problem was that if it's ok with you, I'd like to decide when I overtake or not, but thanks anyway.

And no, I don’t mono-wheel up to their rear bumper at 150mph on open pipes and putting the fear of God into the poor little mites. Nor does my bike have ‘Polite’ signs and dayglo stickers – although it is a physically big old thing.

Is it me, or has something happened?

The Importance of Wearing the Correct Rubber

2011-10-24T13:11:00.001Z

After meaning to for some years (and endingup accumulating half a garage full of spare rims), I finally got around tobuying and fitting a set of winter tyres last year. To allay any confusion youmay have, dear reader, I don't mean tyres with steel studs in for dealing withScandinavian ice, nor do I mean 'snow' tyres. I mean tyres of a 'rubber'compound designed to stay supple in cold and freezing temperatures, and with adeep tread pattern optimised for rain, snow and slush, and general UK winter beastliness.

Generally, high performance tyres availablein the UKare optimised for summer use, and once the temps drop to below ~7 degrees, thecompound becomes hard, and unable to key into the road surface. And large, flatcontact patches that give great grip on warm, dry tarmac are pretty useless ifthere's any snow on the ground. Which explains all that TV News footage ofexecutives sliding out of control down the main road once an inch of snow hitsthe south east's rush hour.

It’s long been common practise incontinental Europe to have two sets of tyresfor one's motor. A nice set of alloys with low profile tyres for summer, and aset of old steelies and winter tyres that get fitted once the colder weathersets in. I believe that now tyres marked with a snowflake are even mandated bylaw in alpine German states from November to March.

For many years, this habit was a funnyforeign one, and us Brits, protected from icy blasts by the benign warming seassurrounding our island, carried on regardless. Unscheduled trips into the ditchon winter's days were blamed on 'black ice', and we relied on the fitful andcorrosive efforts of the council to spread salt on the roads, therebypreventing water from freezing (at least until it got to quite a few degrees belowzero).

Several things have changed since thosecarefree days of yore. Firstly, we've all fallen victim to 'Ring fever - evenhumdrum hatchbacks have wide, low profile tyres, secondly a long string of mildwinters mean there's a generation of drivers unused to managing in snow andice, and thirdly, the changing climate has hit us with a series of coldwinters.

I remember arriving on the South Coastto live five years ago, and being told that it never snows here. It has everywinter so far. In fact here's a picture of Aldwick beach in January 2009.

I now work freelance; if I don't turn up forwork because it snowed, I don't get paid. So last November I bought a set ofskinny 16" steel wheels from my local VW garage and after a bit of hassle,got Kwik Fit to mount a set of Continental winter tyres to the Golf.

There was a noticeable difference. Thefatter sidewalls did take the edge off the Gti's harsh ride, and there was a dropin traction compared to the summer tyres. Full bore 2nd gear runs up a localhill produced more torque steer. High speed straight-line stability alsosuffered a little. It was quite a compromise.

Then about three weeks later it snowedheavily while I was at work up near Gatwick airport. The industrial park is onthe edge of town, and the ground falls away from it on three sides. I was oneof the last to leave work, and heading back to the coast on my usual back roadsroute. I joined the main road at a hilly junction to find it in a state ofcomplete chaos. Cars were all over the place, some trying to work their way upthe hill on the grass, others with several men pushing, engines screaming,others pointing at haphazard angles up the hill. Behind all this was a longqueue of stationary traffic. Lucking I was travelling against the flow. Iturned onto the road, covered in several inched of packed snow, and just drovedown the hill. It even felt quite normal; no spooky lightness through thesteering.

So I hit the brakes to see how much grip wasthere. The car just stopped dead, as you'd expect it to do if there was simplyrain on the surface. I drove happily home, running at 40-50mph on white roads,overtaking the odd hatchback crawling along, and a few 4x4s, whose driver'sassumed the £60k they'd spent on their Range Rover/X5/Q7/M Class meant the lawsof physics didn't apply to them. Until they found 2 or 3 tonnes of car slidingunder them as the little red Golf sped past.

The snow cleared after a few days, but itwas back again with a vengence over the Christmas break. In between Christmasand the New Year I had to travel up to the Thames Valleyfor a family lunch. With my two sons in the back happily occupied with PSP's Iheaded up the usual A and B road country route.

The roads that morning were deserted. Thesnow that had fallen a few days earlier was still on the ground, nights offrost had turned it into tracks of ice, with deep ruts of hard packed snow andslush where vehicle tyres had banked it up in-between lanes. The only othervehicles out were those same 4x4's, their drivers having now learnt that a 4x4equipped with summer rubber may accelerate better than normal cars, but onceyou start braking they still only have the same braked four wheels.

I drove 75 miles in perfect safety, the onlyexcitement caused by the flashing headlights of 4x4s I had the temerity toovertake.

In March I put the alloys back on for thesummer, and the winter rubber went back in the garage.

Again I noticed the back to back difference.I could feel the added unsprung weight, steering response was dulled, secondaryride deteriorated, and there was a significant amount more road noise. But the upside is massively increased response to initial turn-in,mid-corner grip and traction. Straight-line stability is also much improved. Inthis way i enjoyed my summer's motoring.

The nights are drawing in, the firstfrosts have arrived in the downs, and it won't be long before I spend aSaturday afternoon re-fitting my steelies again.

SS7

Car Porn

2011-10-23T09:51:00.004Z

I spent the morning idly leafing through Saturday's paper.

I noticed a puff piece on the fragrant and completely unobtainable Yasmin Le Bon, sadly still happily married to the Old Romantic, Simon. She's got a new website out on Monday. Its one of those supplement favourites where the object picks some favourite objects in their life - you know the sort.

Two words jumped out as I skimmed the piece; 'Classic cars'.

I read on: "I am obsessed with classic car magazines. They are like car porn and I just drool over them. Simon has started pinching them from me,which is fine so long as I've read them already. I used to own a 1974 Alfa Romeo Montreal, but Simon wrote it off.*"

Sound woman. I wonder if she has a sister?

SS7
* This didn't seem to prevent Bonhams auctioning it off as the ex-Le Bon Montreal recently

T25 News

2011-10-19T09:21:00.000Z

There’s been some more in the press recently on Gordon Murray’s T25 project. We’ve now moved from an engineering hack to pre-production prototypes (‘XP’ in McLaren parlance) and pictures of a very finished looking car. So far, so good, its supposed to be cheap to build, brilliantly packaged (for a Mum or Dad of two, a 1+2 layout is perfect) and crucially, good to drive - in spite of the diminutive 700cc motor.

Yet, I’m sure I’m not alone in finding this all terribly frustrating. While Murray has talked to many organisations about putting the project into production, along with its iStream low cost production system, there hasn’t been any news of any contracts signed. And until then, there’s no chance the T25 will be built, maddening for everyone who would head to a dealer with their deposit tomorrow.

The Best Year Ever?

2011-10-14T11:36:00.007Z

I know I haven't been sharing my thoughts with my reader recently (hello Pat!), but it doesn't mean that the internal lights have been entirely extinguished.

Something I keep coming back to is the idea that somehow and at some point in the recent past, the motor industry has lost sight of what makes a truly satisfying car - at least one that appeals to intelligent and thoughtful enthusiasts. Oh sure, all the moderns are quiet, safe, comfortable and generally amazingly more efficient than they were in the past, but at the same time, somehow the fun's been lost.

A lot of this is because cars are now massively heavy, and are equipped with numb steering, overservoed brakes and so many electronic gizmos that all that fingertip control and feedback that used to satisfy has disappeared. And while anything with performance credentials (think R Line or M Sport)now has a rock crushing ride that makes it positively painful to drive on the UK's crumbling roads, even manufacturers of humdrum stuff appear to have lost the knack of developing spring + damper combinations that deliver a mix of compliant ride with decent body control. Meanwhile, over in Germany, 20 years of performance wars have produced cars with over 500bhp and a potential for speed its next to impossible to enjoy on most of the world's roads.

So I found myself wondering when did it all start to go wrong? And therefore, when was the highwater mark of motorcar development - at least through my eyes?

I headed up to the loft.

Up there is about every issue of CAR magazine from 1978 to 2008 (when the new editor had a brainfart, decided it was all about celebs, and I finally cancelled my subscription). In fact, a complete history from when cars finally got good, to moderns. And I worked backward.

I found the answer: 1992. Around the month of May in fact, and from there it all went tits up.

In mid 1992, Porsche had launched the 964RS, their finest ever GT (928GTS)and were working on the 968 Clubsport, all now recognised as amongst the best of road going Porsches. The 993 was waiting in the wings for launch in September at the Frankfurt show.

VW had just finished building the mk2 Golf (oh for a nice clean 16V 3-door in Oak Green) and were about to lose the plot completely with the mk3. Mercedes still made cars from ingots -the 190s and E & S class had a build quality that's really never been bettered - but were about to follow these gems up with the gigantic mid-90's versions, and a range increasinglycomplex, poorly built and unreliable techno-fests. Audi still built the original aero-car, the 100, but again the newly launched S2 was a lame replacement for the ur-Quattro.

Over in Munich, the E30 M3 had just bowed out with the 2.5l Sport (I heard one recently sold for £85,000), and had perfected the sports car in a Savill Row suit with the M5. Their replacements, especially the 6 cylinder M3's, were 300kgs heavier, and frankly, rubbish.

In the UK, TVR announced the stunning Griffiths. Ok, it was built with Bostik and cable ties, but was again a highpoint in their troubled history. Bentley offered the handbuilt Turbo R and the Continental R, Jaguar finally produced a customer ready XJ12 and XJS (with lots of help from Ford), and a Range Rover may have fallen apart but still had the original David Bache shape (and didn't weigh 3 tonnes). Rover had also reversed one of the most idiotic decisions in their history and had a Mini Cooper in the range, and the simple, light and efficient K series engine was used in countless 200s. And Ford's glorious Sierra Cosworth just got all sensible with a 4wd system, before bowing out entirely, mainly because you had to be a 65 year old vicar living in Skye to be allowed to insure one.

At Peugeot, they were still building the best Gti of the lot, the 205 1.9 Gti, and the sublime (and so under-appreciated) 405, and still didn't rely on anyone else to build their dampers. Citroen were still selling the lightweight (and so much fun to drive) AX, BX and XM, and poor Saab hadn't yet become the unwanted ginger haired step-child of the car world, and were turning out rugged (and turbo'd) 900s.

The Japanese were also in a zone, you could buy one of Honda's finest ever (NSX), Lexus had arrived with the LX400, Mazda's little MX5 still didn't need more that 1600ccs to provide thrills although down the road Toyota had just screwed up the MR2 by listening the 'Merkins and producing the fat, twitchy mark2. Their rallying inspired Celica turbo 4 was an brilliant (and underated)road-car even without a very clever (and supremely dodgy) air-restrictor. Even Suburu had their DNA sorted, the 4wd Legacy was given a turbo and a whole new future on the special stages before heading off down chav street with the Impreza.

Gordon Murray's Rocket was out, and he was working on the F1 - Albert was running around with a V8 and F1 running gear.

See what I mean? Somehow the world of motoring reached its peak, then had a global crisis of confidence, and was about to head up the blind alley we now find ourselves in.

There is a flaw in my argument.

I don't know what was happening in Italy, but there had been a collective loss of nerve a few years before, the Alfasud, rear-drive Alfa's and Integrale were mostly history, Maserati hadn't built a decent car for a generation and Fiat had long forgotten what it was about. It took until the end of the decade before the Italians finally reached the same automotive peak the rest of the world climbed in 1992.

In 1992 Ferrari had lost its Pininfarina mojo, forgotten about the F40, and was building 348s, Mondials and a handful of lardarsed Monaco millionaires special 512TRs. Lamborghini had followed up the sublime Countach with the dumb Diablo, and apart from the Integrale, Lancia churned out sad Fiat Tipo derivatives.

So there you have it. Unless you live in Italy, we've been over the hill since 1992.

SS7

A very big Adventure

2011-10-07T15:35:00.002Z

A rare effort to put pen (finger) to paper (keyboard).

A lot of my summer one-up motoring recently has been on two wheels. The GS has been doing sterling service for trips from here on the Sussex coast to London and all points in the M25, as well as a recent daily back road commute from Horsham to East Grinstead.

Surprisingly, contrary to general expectation, it is not in its element sliding through inner London jams.

In fact, the capital’s traffic is so heavy – and usually comprises of wider commercial vehicles – that gaps are non-existent and even a thin bloke on a push bike couldn’t slip through. In the summer you end up sitting stationary in between lanes, sweltering in your riding gear, and waiting for the light to change along with all the smug air-conditioned cagers.

I know it’s a lardy and wide GS, but really most of the time you could be Dougie Lampkin and a giant tube of KY jelly and still have zero chance of squeezing through the jams. Even when there’s room to filter, it’s a high stress occupation. Riding down two lanes of traffic you’re always looking for signs of a lane changes, gaps in the queue just inviting someone to dive into, as well as those detached drivers that just wander along oblivious to any bikes filtering through the traffic.

Trust me, it may be quicker than a car, but relaxing it is not. And in the dark and/or in poor weather its plain exhausting.

No, the bike’s element is in moving single carriageway traffic where a car driver is condemned to sit in a line moving at the pace of the slowest vehicle. On a bike you can slip past without the need for a lot of space, and make reasonable A to B journey pace without needing to ride like your hair’s on fire.

However, if my GS has one downside, it’s the amount of buffeting and wind noise that spills off the short screen. Earlier in my ownership experience I did change my helmet to a Schuberth which was much quieter, but this didn’t really solve the problems.

So that’s how I ended up at Vines Motorrad a few weeks ago to try a GS Adventure, which has a bigger screen.

And yes, the taller screen did make a big difference, but BMW’s new for 2010 engine was more impressive still. Neither did I struggle with the seat height, in fact I’d have to say it fitted perfectly.

A bit of man maths later (a new ‘screen plus imminent service plus warranty renewal = price to change) and I was the owner of a full-fat ex-BMW management machine that was 6 months old and had done 2500 miles.

A perfect bit of kit for an slow old biker with bad knees.

SS7

More Golf

2010-12-31T18:40:00.003Z

Season's greetings to you, fair reader.

A few weeks ago I started a new contract. While the client site is in the same county as Shoestring Towers, getting there actually involves a 130mile daily round trip. Inevitably there is no sensible train option, and just as inevitably my existing personal transport options (Specialized Sirrus bicycle, a BMW GS motorbike and a 10 year old Golf Cabby) don’t tick the sensible box either. As least, not as far as doing 25,000 miles a year go.

I didn’t have a lot of time, nor much enthusiasm, for the search for commuting wheels, so after trying a couple of alternatives, plumped for a rather obvious answer for a chap looking for practical motoring combined with a decent level of performance; a Golf Gti.

In this case, a 5 year old 3 door, in red. Not only had the first, and only, prior owner kept meticulous service and fuel consumption records, but he’d somewhat pushed the boat out where it came to options, with the result that the list price in 2005 was over £27,000.

Oh, and its an ermmm, ahhrr. Eeeer….. Hum.

Well, ok, its an automatic.

In this case the clever (and heavy) DSG double clutch gearbox. I figured that I needed all the gentle wafting possible after a long day at work – or flogging up to London for meetings.

I’ve had it about 6 weeks now. So far it’s proved a decent place to be for a long commute, the supportive heated leather seats, Xenon lights, good music system and electric doodah’s have helped make the rush-hour drive as painless as possible, and the DSG box is pretty good.

Considering.

But last week I had the opportunity to benchmark the car on a familiar route.

Some observations: first off there’s actually not a massive difference in straight line performance between the Golf and my old 2.7l Cayman. In some flat-out sections the Golf was only 5 mph behind the terminals I’d get with the Porsche, and overtaking required similar gaps. The mid-range turbo boost helped, you’d need a fair few revs up on the Cayman to get the same level of shove.

The ‘Sport’ mode on the Golf's DSG box is very aggressive; it will hold gears until the red line + a bit more even when cruising. which is great for when you’re in maximum attack mode and planning an overtake, or when there’s no other traffic around, but its just too much when any other vehicles are in sight. A buzzing 6000rpm in 2nd in an suburban 40mph limit attracts a fair amount of unwanted attention . In fact, as a transmission map it’d work pretty well on track, but for road use there’s definitely room for an interim ‘Sport’ mode as well as a ‘Race’ one. Oh, and a ‘Snow’ map might help too. Perhaps you could select the modes via a knob on the steering wheel.

Oh wait...

But while similar journey times were achieved, the hours’ drive was simply nothing like as satisfying or as much fun as it was in my old, basic Cayman.

There’s nothing like the information coming through either the Golf's steering or the seat of the pants; by comparison to the Cayman it is numb and withdrawn, beyond a bare minimum of feedback. And of course full torque in the lower gears corrupts your chosen course; you can feel the steering stiffen under the load, and any road bumps produce tugs and thumps through the wheel. And of course the chassis is biased towards understeer, you tend to slither across the road coming out of slow and medium corners, and slither into the fast ones. Its’ ‘safe’ but just doesn’t light my candle.

And while the gearbox behaves itself up to about 60% effort, it stops co-operating after that. But I suppose its not fair to expect the ‘box to know the difference between slowing for bends, slower traffic (with or without an overtaking opportunity), the start of a 30mph zone, or a looming hill. You can use the paddles(small switches behind the spokes at 3 and 6 o'clock in reality), but the gear indicator isn’t big enough. Flip down one gear and you’re not sure if you’ve gone 6-5 or 5-4 for example. Also, a short while after manual intervention the ‘box reverts to its usual full-auto mode. It also thumps a full throttle down change in kick-down.

Even in my advancing years I can still work a gearbox better than Bosch and ZF.

There’s still a proper sports-car shaped hole in the garage, but the Gti will definitely do for now.

SS7

Back From the Brink?

2010-10-27T22:16:00.002Z

A good friend of mine often sings the praises of the decade taste forgot; the 70’s. He reckons the music was brilliant and the parties memorable (if he could remember them).

My impressions are of a dismal decade; constant industrial strife, terrorism, 1973’s oil crisis, 3 day weeks, the threat of nuclear Armageddon and lousy fashions. Most of the music was dire too.

I happened to read a book that brought all back, Michael Edwardes’ 1983 story of how he turned around the failing British car (and truck, tank, tractor, air-conditioning plants etc etc) giant that was British Leyland. Its called, rather ironically, ‘Back from the Brink’.

When Edwardes was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive by Callaghan’s Labour government in 1977, the company had experienced 300 strikes in the 6 months beforehand. He phoned up his opposite number at Ford; they’d also had 300 strikes in 6 months. Leyland lost 250,000 working days in all, a potential revenue of millions.

It was known throughout Europe as ‘The English Disease’. Leyland’s research showed that every time the words ‘Leyland’ and ‘strike’ appeared in the media, more would-be buyers turned away.

The mechanisms of the workforce agitation were interesting. Leyland’s workers were represented by a large number of different unions, all jealously guarding their members jobs and individually negotiated wages and conditions. The resulting demarcation meant it might take 4 different workers to change a simple component on a machine. Most of the strikes were unofficial; they were initiated without the agreement of the union leaders. All it took was the local union officials; conveners or shop stewards, to find some cause for offence and they led their member out. And if those workers were responsible for a key process, it would quickly lead to the shut-down of the plant, or to wider disruption.

Disputes weren’t only related to pay. In fact any attempt by plant management to make changes was met with resistance. In one case the Rover factory was shut down because the management tried to change the workers overalls, in another when a 5 minute discretionary rest break was stopped.

Edwardes was clear where the blame lay for allowing this culture of constant industrial action to reach the stage he faced: for years Leyland’s management had backed down in the face of union threats and industrial action. And the unions knew this, their whole strategy centred on this experience – that eventually the management would back down.

Until the ex-Chloride executive arrived, local factory managers trying to resist absurd union demands would be routinely overruled by senior Leyland directors.

It was no surprise that the result was industrial anarchy; it became accepted practise for workers on night shifts to sleep, agreements negotiated locally meant security staff couldn’t challenge or search workers, so expensive tools and components were taken out through the gates under their noses, workers who sabotaged parts couldn’t be punished, unions controlled the recruitment processes in many plants, and workers would leave shifts hours early having completed negotiated production quotas,

From 1977 on, the Leyland board determined to wrest control of the plants back from militant unions. But turning around a culture that had existed for decades proved to me a hardslog. Even in 1980, on the eve of the make or break launch of the Metro, there were a series of disputes as unions assumed that the management would roll-over to protect the launch schedule from disruption. Edwardes and his board didn’t back down, but they were forced to risk the whole critical product launch to make the point that those days were over.

On a more sinister note, some union officials were left-wing activists, dedicated to bringing about Leyland’s demise. Their thinking was that the business’s collapse, and the resultant unemployment of hundreds of thousands of workers, would ‘prove’ that capitalism had failed and this would be enough to bring about a socialist revolution. On the eve of the secret ballot of all employees on Edwardes’ key 1979-80 rescue plan a meeting was held at Longbridge between union leaders and the committee of the Communist Party of Great Britain, at which they planned their resistance. But the conspirator’s hubris helped bring them down; the misrepresentation of the results (overwhelmingly in favour)by some of the officials finally allowed Leyland to dismiss Derek Robinson, a key militant figure.

The sums of public money Leyland needed for survival were fantastic, even by today’s standards. Their 1980 rescue plan meant going to the government, cap in hand, and demanding for £990 million, at a time when the Mrs Thatcher salary as Prime Minister was £36,000 a year. And Edwardes wasn’t even sure that would be enough.

His strategy for saving Leyland wasn’t only about regaining control of the factories and increasing productivity. He also recognised that earlier product planning decisions were disastrous – models such as the Marina continued to be produced long after they became uncompetitive. He also know that quality of most of Leyland’s product was dismal, and that layers of centralised management structures were preventing effective decisions. In fact before a worker was laid off (in those days the process was called ‘de-manning’), 300 corporate managers lost their jobs.

The fantastic reception the Metro received, and the planned launch of the key mid-market Maestro/Montego in 1983 appeared to give Leyland a future in the automotive industry. Had the Conservative government been less dogmatic about to supporting strategic industries like Leyland in public ownership, like for example the French and Renault, we may have seen a large scale British motor manufacturer survive and flourish into the 21st Century.

As it was, the seeds of disaster were planted by weak, ineffective managers in the 60’s and 70’s and the sorry tale finally ended with the dismal sight in 2005 of suppliers stopping production of MG Rover’s 75, as their invoices hadn’t been paid.

The ‘cool’ 70’s? If you think that you were either not born, or on drugs.

Chav Tat Goodwood Breakfast Meet

2010-10-05T13:15:00.005Z

One of the joys of life down here at the margins of Great Britain is our proximity to Goodwood. Not just for the headline events, like the Revival or the Festivals, but also the other activities run almost every week of the year.

A brilliant innovation that started a few years ago was the monthly Breakfast Club. Usually held on the first Sunday of every month, initially during the summer but now pretty much all year, its an informal gathering of the motoring faithful to sample some of Lord M's organic pork product, enjoy the Sussex fresh air, and get a run out. As it starts early and is wrapped up by late morning, its also an excellent opportunity for the BBT* club to get some 'me' time.

Each Sunday has a theme; sometime a nationality (Japanese cars, French cars), or something more general (Anything but 4 wheels, 80's Icons). Its a risk, there's is little real organisation of attendees (although arrangements are made for some cars) and Goodwood really don't know who its going to turn up at each event. And the weather can be a factor; no garage queen Ferrari will be risked if there's a likelihood of rain!

Any complaints revolve around the price of the food (stop complaining, bring you own sandwiches & remember its free to get in), and the selection of vehicles for the favoured grid and paddock spots can sometime seem perverse'

Yet they've clearly struck a rich seam, most events have a great turnout of top quality vehicles, and the annual 'Supercar Sunday' attracts thousands of breakfasters, rubber neckers and City-bonus purchases each year.

So I was looking forward to last Sunday. The theme was 'Souped Up Sunday' and held the promise of Hot Rods, modded retro stuff, cool Euro-look VWs, and other examples of great quality, home built engineering.

How disappointed was I. Now I'll admit the weather forecast wasn't that encouraging (don't I know it; during Friday's ride home I felt like a 2 wheeled Jacques Cousteau), but there was no excuse for the humdrum, poorly or barely modded, pure factory or sheer crap that was presented last weekend.

An old Honda Civic with an ebay 'coilover' kit and a rattlecan black bonnet doesn't deserve space for its leaking sump on Goodwood's hallowed tarmac.

Its the exception, not the rule, but I suspect its time Goodwood put a little more effort into the running of the Breakfast Events.

SS7
*"Back by Twelve (or else)"

I = V/R*

2010-09-15T10:50:00.003Z

I wonder why General Motor's US version of their electric + range extended car is called the Volt, while GM Europe's version is called the Ampera?

Is it because US citizens don't know what an Ampere is? But I don't really think a high proportion of us Europeans do either, so why not 'Volt' across the globe?

SS7
* Ohm's law

Canon F1

2010-08-23T17:22:00.003Z

I've been using digital cameras for a few years now. They're so simple to use, and the ability to see the results instantly, and stick them on the PC/web etc. make them perfect for a casual snapper like me. Its no wonder that 35mm camera's are now like LP's; an almost forgotten technology with a dwindling (but vocal) band of users.

However, the other weekend I was at the Vintage at Goodwood festival, and to mark the occasion I dug out my old Canon F1 SLR from the bottom of its particular hiding place. After a bit of searching in my local High Street I even found a roll of 400asa film to use. The old Canon was one of the last all metal camera bodies - the brass is beginning to show through in places, and it weighs a ton (well, 1.45kg with its Tamron zoom lens).

Even the simple act of loading the film gave pleasure, the mechanical feel of the buttons to open the back, the precision of the film speed setting, the lovely 'double-click' as the mirror moved and the shutter worked, the soft click of the aperture ring on the lens, and seeing the settings change through the viewfinder as I decided on shutter and aperture settings. I even got a kick of carrying its reassuring weight around in the crook of my arm - straps are soooooo not on!

In fact, there was as much pleasure in using the machine as in any results I was going to get; it was like a mechanical watch. You just know its not as accurate as the quartz one, yet its somehow so much more satisfying to own.

I must do it more often.

SS7

TE Lawrence

2010-08-19T13:33:00.003Z

My middle name is Lawrence*. Perhaps that's why I've always been fascinated by the story of Thomas Edward Lawrence. Born on the wrong side of the blanket, he was neurotic long before it became a recognised state of mind. In his years at Oxford studying classics, he would force himself on long cross country night marches, or fast for days, denying himself even water. In the long holidays he traveled across on foot across France and then the Middle East, studying the Crusader castles . Lawrence also worked on archaeological digs in modern day Iraq, where he learned Arabic dialects, the history and cultures of the region. As a sideline he worked for British Intelligence mapping those areas of semi-desert.

So in many ways his whole life had been to prepare him for his role in the Arabs' revolt against the Ottoman empire, when the red-top press of the day created the 'Lawrence of Arabia' myth.

Lawrence's curse was the realpolitik of the day. He'd been allowed to promise the Arabs a homeland and Arab state in return for their support of Allenby's army. Alas, under French pressure a deal had already done, the allies parcelling up the middle east into various client states.

One of the extraordinary things about stories of Lawrence's life is how the names continue to echo through history: Beirut, Damascus, Iraq, Baghdad and Aquaba.

Lawrence didn't have a good peace. The betrayal of the Arab cause effected him deeply, and he tried lose his hated 'Lawrence of Arabia' identify by re-inlisting in first the Army and then the RAF under pseudonyms. It was under the name 'Shaw' that he published his masterpiece Seven Pillars of Wisdom, which related his story of the Arab revolt.

Lawrence tried to escape his troubles by riding fast bikes, and bought a series of Brough Superiors, the superbike of their day. He would use them for long, fast rides through the night, achieving average speeds that are impressive even by modern standards.

His life ended in May 1935, at the age of 46, when he crashed his bike avoiding a couple of bicycle riding youngsters in a local road. He died of the head injuries suffered in the accident - incidentally one of the surgeons involved in his treatment went on to produce the research that led to the first effective helmets.

Lawrence is buried in a quiet Dorset cemetery on the edge of the small village of Moreton. The other day I was passing on the way home from holiday in the area and visited his grave.

SS7
*Its a family name, no relation

Who uses more than 100bhp?

2010-08-19T13:07:00.004Z

My old fashioned, aircooled, ditch pump engined BMW GS is the Volvo estate of the bike world. It does about 130mph, and has 6 nicely spread gears. Just occasionally I will use wide open throttle and getting on for peak power revs (around 7000rpm) where the full 100 or so horsepower is available, and I can do that in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gear without hitting licence-losing speeds.

In car terms this Volvo-bike is not slow - its capable of 0-60mph in around 4 seconds (not with me riding it isn't...) so is quicker than pretty much everything on 4 wheels I'm likely to encounter.

You may be surprised to hear that the latest, baddest, fastest superbike is also made by BMW. The S1000RR produces an astounding 190bhp and does over 180mph. To help prevent it killing riders unused to controlling MotoGP levels of performance, it has a full set of electronic safety aids; including state of the art traction control, selectable power maps and ABS.

But I was thinking about that 190bhp. Typically for a modern superbike, the S1000 is geared for over 100mph at the red-line in 1st gear. To access full power, you will need to have the throttle on the stop, and the engine spinning at 13,000rpm. In rough terms that's going to be in the area of 120mph, 135mph, 150mph, 165mph in 2nd, 3rd 4th and 5th gears.

Even leaving the question of legality, even on the open A roads in my part of West Sussex, its difficult to see those sorts of speeds being a practical proposition, certainly not for the sane or sensible.

I wonder how many of those S1000 riders ever really see the 190bhp they've paid for?

T25 News

2010-07-30T15:38:00.002Z

There’s been some more in the press recently on Gordon Murray’s T25 project. We’ve now moved from an engineering hack to pre-production prototypes (‘XP’ in McLaren parlance) and pictures of a very finished looking car. So far, so good, its supposed to be cheap to build, brilliantly packaged (for a Mum or Dad of two, a 1+2 layout is perfect) and crucially, good to drive - in spite of the diminutive 700cc motor.

Yet, I’m sure I’m not alone in finding this all terribly frustrating. While Murray has talked to many organisations about putting the project into production, along with its iStream low cost production system, there hasn’t been any news of any contracts signed.

And until then, there’s no chance the T25 will be built, maddening for everyone who would head to a dealer with their deposit tomorrow.

Hubris Repeated

2010-07-30T14:36:00.003Z

It only took their first opportunity for a 1-2 in two seasons for Ferrari to put themselves in the mire.

Repeating the actions of Austria in 2002, they ordered the drivers to reverse their positions to give the favoured son the benefit of the extra points for first place, and the manoeuvre was carried out in a blatant fashion by the drivers. Ironically (or not) it was 2002’s actions in Austria, and the resultant furore, that caused the FIA to introduce the ‘no team orders’ rule in the first place.

Then, as in Hockenheim, they faced booing from the crowd, an embarrassing podium ceremony and critical questioning from the specialist press corps. Then, as now, the team management shrugged their shoulders, accused their many critics of not understanding motor racing, and pretended it was all part of anti-Ferrari bias in the ‘Anglo’ press.

Then, as now, we were faced with the unedifying site (and sound) of senior engineers’ and drivers’ bare-faced lies about missed gear changes and being all the drivers’ decisions - even though the telemetry shown on screen clearly showed Massa using only 50% throttle leaving the corner where the ‘pass’ took place.

What it did demonstrate once again, quite clearly, is that Ferrari feel they have no loyalty to any concept of ‘sport’ in Formula One, or to its many supporters, or those that turn up each fortnight having paid their hundreds of Euros or Dollars to see a race.

For them, Ferrari is bigger than F1, and what’s good for the team is good for the rest. That's the way the planets should be aligned, and the Scuderia can get on with winning in order to maintain the ‘brand’ that allows them to make money from the road car and T shirt business.

We saw that in during the triumphalism of the Schumacher years, at Indianapolis in 2005, in Austria in 2002, and in their shabby behaviour during Stepneygate. So perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised to see it again in 2010.

Talk about team orders long being a part of Grand Prix racing (so was sudden death on Sunday afternoon), and being implemented by other teams (none with the flagrant arrogance of the Scuderia) show a point being missed.

What F1 shares with other great sports is that it really isn’t just about winning, it about winning well.
It’s a shame that Ferrari’s hubris blinds them to this.

Billy Fiske: King of Speed.

2010-07-30T14:16:00.003Z

I took SS7 jnr and the F-in-L to the theatre last weekend. We went to see a new play by David Morris based on the life of Billy Fiske, who was killed at nearby Tangmere in the Battle of Britain. Two things made Fiske remarkable; his nationality – he was the first US citizen to volunteer for the RAF – and he was a truly gilded youth.

From a privileged background, he won two gold medals at Winter Olympics, drove a Supercharged 'WO' Bentley, set a time for the Cresta run that lasted decades, and wooed and won the wife of a British aristocrat. Not only that, he had the sheer front to be a thoroughly lovely bloke; modest, thoughtful, considerate, and with a standard of personal integrity many of the period could have benefitted from; in 1936 aged only 24 he refused to defend his title at the Berlin Olympics in 1936 in protest at the regime.

The play was a good effort, performed in front of a sadly ½ empty play house in Bognor, and fairly captured the humanity of the man and the strange existence the pilots led, facing death on every sortie, yet returning each day to a life of comfort and desperate fun. There was some anachronistic language (did 1940 RAF pilots really need to “focus” on shooting down the enemy?), but I enjoyed the evening.

There’s talk of a transfer to London and I wish the production well, but I did find myself wondering if it wouldn't make a great movie.

Billy asked to be buried near Tangmere in Boxgrove Priory. I’ve visited the well-tended grave in a quiet corner of a beautiful part of West Sussex , between the South Downs and the English Channel.

On Automatic Transmissions

2010-07-11T17:21:00.002Z

Dear reader, it will have not escaped your notice that there has been something of a revolution in the world of self-shifting transmissions recently. Starting in 2003, when VW launched their DSG system in the Golf R32, double clutch gearboxes (DCT) are now offered by every serious volume manufacturer. Even Porsche finally got their PDK transmission onto the market, only 25 years after using it first in the 956/962 sports racers.

Now I’m not disputing that DCT doesn’t offer some clear advantages over the old-style torque convertor gearboxes. There is little loss of power through the transmission (although interestingly I note that Porsche quote slightly lower top speeds for their PDK cars), the changes can be snappy as you like, and most systems offer a stack of closely arranged gears; at first 6, then 7 and now 8 speeds. DCT systems are also technically superior to the older generation automatic clutch transmissions, with their jerky changes, and the smell of burning clutch should you try and 3-point your Ferrari 360 F1 on a hill.

But inspite of various internet warriors claims to the contrary, they are undoubtedly automatic transmissions; they all lack a clutch pedal, they all have a fully automatic mode, and I’ve yet to find any manufacturer offering a PDK ‘manual’ as standard with a torque converter automatic option.

The manufacturers like to market these systems with all sorts of motorsport associations, emphasising the flappy paddles that can be used to select ratios in semi-manual mode, and of course playing on the fact that the F1 teams having been using something like it for years.

But road use is nothing like racing. In racing, there is only one objective – to reach the flag first, and everything else finds itself subservient to that goal. Add all those fractions of a second gained by gear changes measured in hundredths, and they mean the difference between a podium and nowhere. And unlike racing drivers, modern transmission CPU’s don’t miss gears, buzz engines, break gearlevers, or generally do very much else to wreck expensive and highly stressed racing transmissions.

Of course, that’s the real reason why manufacturers have introduced DCT transmissions in road cars. Its because we all use the gearboxes ‘wrong’ too. All the time. We insist in lugging along in top when we should use intermediates to gain performance, we rev the thing like blazes for no reason, we slip clutches, jolt gear changes, change up too early or too late, insist on sequentially down changing all the way through the gears when we come to a stop, and a hundred other abuses committed by the lazy, ignorant or overly enthusiastic drivers.

So DCT’s offer a much ‘better’ solution, they are more efficient, reduce emissions, are controlled by algorithms smart enough to enhance any driver, and can be overridden if desired. Just how good they have got can been seen when Audi report that 95% of DCT owners stick it in ‘D’ and let the CPU change gear, and Ferrari’s latest 458 supercar will be almost 100% DCT transmissions.

DCT is the new manual, and anyone who disagrees is a bearded old Luddite.

That’s me then. I’ve detested automatic gearboxes with a passion since I could drive, and no amount of marketing twaddle will convince me that the new tech. ‘boxes are anything better than a slightly less bad automatic.

Within a few miles, my usual happy interaction with the controls of my mode of transport turns into a one sided shouting match, as the wretched thing drops two gears to scream off down the motorway for 200 metres when all I wanted was a smooth torquey surge to ease past a truck, or changes up two gears as I ease off around the roundabout’s apex in preparation for a nippy exit. How can any algorithm, no matter how well conceived, decide if I am going to approach slow moving traffic with a view to overtake at the first opportunity, or cruise along behind because I’m turning off soon anyway? Or understand that I’ve just entered a 30mph limited village after 5 miles of flat-out hooning, so I just want to quietly potter through in 5th, not hold onto 1st until the 7500rpm red line, or a thousand other scenarios I encounter in my daily driving?

And while the DCTs might make gearchanging ‘better’ for most of us, for me there will always be the satisfaction of a perfectly timed, toed blip on the throttle as I brake and come down through the manual box, judging the amount of that blip on how many revs, how fast, and how heavily I’m braking.

I appreciate a lot of drivers won’t know what I’m on about, for them a car is simply another white good, maintained and fuelled under sufferance, and whose only function is to get them from A to B in comfort and with a suitable amount of prestige. Which brings me nicely back to Hong Kong, where almost every car you see has an automatic transmission, and the passage of every Ferrari is marked by the computerised blip of the throttle as the driver slows for another set of lights.

Perhaps it was put best in BIKE magazine recently, when the writer considered the new Honda VFR1200, which he was testing in DCT form; “So this is an option that broadens motorcycling and allows customers who haven’t got as much experience to forget about changing gear and to concentrate on the pleasure of the ride instead. Some customers won’t want this – that’s fine, that’s a choice. What we’re offering is an alternative way to enjoy riding. It’s not the future, it’s a future.

Hello Again, I'm back.

2010-07-06T10:40:00.003Z

After 6 months in Hong Kong I find myself back in West Sussex, enjoying the closest we've had to a summer for years. I have a friend, originally from California, who when asked "So how long have you lived here for?" typically answers: "Around 3 summers now - that's about 12 years.....".

Well Lynn, its 4 summers now!

Anyway, I do digress. Hong Kong may have its good points, but a petrolhead nirvana it is not. The interweb kept me abreast of what was happening in the world of cars and bikes, and monthly, eye-wateringly expensive, copies of CAR magazine were a regular treat.

But reading and watching video was no substitute for hands-on experience. It was like living in some post oil-age world, where motoring only takes place in virtual reality.

Perhaps that's why I found my creative juices drying up; buses and a tube system (albeit a highly efficient one) just don't do it for me, and even the odd Sunday morning bark of a Ferrari accelerating hard between the endless sets of traffic lights wasn't muse enough.

But after a month enjoying warm dry tarmac on two wheels and four, the sap is rising once again. Welcome back to the Car List Blog, sorry its been so long.

Shoestring7

The 2010 F1 Season

2010-01-11T14:13:00.002Z

I'm finding next years' season a somewhat intriguing prospect. In fact, for the first time in a while I'm looking forward to what may well turn out to be a classic season.

There's (ex-World Champ) Alonso & Massa at Ferrari - how will the cheating Spaniard find his feet and how will Massa handle his return from injury? Then there are the two Brits; young (ex-World Champ) charger fighting for primacy at MacLaren with the current World Champ.

Then there are the teams with something to prove, back from the brink Renault and BMW/Sauber. And Red Bull & Force India continue to be offer a real challenge ?

Then there are the new minnows, plus some welcome old names like Lotus trying to get in amongst the mid-field runners.

Then there are the changes to the sporting regulations; no-refuelling and changes in the points system.

And oh yes, some old German bloke seems to have landed a drive in a Silver Arrow.

I have also noted that next 's Chinese GP is just up the road...

SS7

A Small Island in the South China Seas

2009-12-13T14:43:00.002Z

I find myself in Hong Kong for 6 months. It was an unexpected business opportunity, which arrived(as these things tend to do) all of 5 days after I collected the GS, which now sits in a Sussex garage.

So there will be little to report on the buying/driving/riding front, not helped by the fact that Blogger has decided that I must now be capable of reading Chinese, as the log-in page is now in Han characters and the 'log-in' button's whereabouts a total mystery.

However, I shall endeavour to share my thoughts of the place over the coming weeks.

After 4 weeks here I'm missing my two sons, the rolling downs and beaches of West Sussex, and driving - in that order. Its a crowded island, and parking is at an expensive premium, so there is little point in buying a car so six months. Public transport, and taxis are also cheap, and drinking something of a way of life.

However, so is conspicuous consumption. Hong Kongers like the latest and greatest in up-market Western branded merchandise - designer stores are on every street corner, and the roads are full of expensive imported motors. I've seen, plenty of premium saloons and SUV's; Maserati is big here, Cayennes are two a penny, and the Panamera is clearly selling well.

I've also seen lots of great 911s on the road, often in groups - clubs are another big local thing. I've spotted a few early IB's, a smattering of 964s, and 993's are more frequently sighted. There are lots and lots of 996/997s, and of those Cabs are probably the most common variant. Most cars here, including sportscars are have auto transmissions, either because of the traffic conditions, or because driving standards are poor.

Speed limits are low (50 - 80kph mostly), and speed camera's frequent, but pretty regularly I hear the bark of a Ferrari engine echoing between the buildings at weekends.

SS7

Rider Tek

2009-11-13T14:46:00.007Z

Although the guys at BMW Bahnstormer did their best to sell me the brand's matching clothing, I found myself with an aversion to looking like catalogue man (or even Charlie and Ewan).

So last weekend I went to see my good friends at Grand Prix Legends to sort out some riding gear for the bike.

My requirements were pretty simple, I was looking for a 2 piece textile suit that would keep me both warm & dry but would also give good protection should I find myself sliding down the road.

In the 'old' days, leathers were the the only choice for safety, but at the cost of letting the water in. Soggy crotches weren't my fondest biking memory! Textile suits were around and would keep the weather out, but generally weren't as good as decent cowhide for protection, especially against the road surfaces. Abrasive tarmac vs sliding rider only ends one way, and as an instructor once reminded me "In hospital they clean gravel rash with a scrubbing brush".

In the 15 years or so since I last bought any gear, there have been a lot of development in this area. The best textile suits now combine the best in water, wind and cold proofing, with protection from impact and abrasion better than traditional leather. Armour is part of the equation, and protective back armour is de rigour.

Rukka make some of the best gear out there, although you do have to pay Rolls-Royce prices, up to £1500 for their top of the range suits. I was prepared to pay the cost of some of their more democratic equipment, until the GPL team pointed me at Halvarsson's range.

Made in Finland by people who know a thing or two about the cold, its lovely stuff, with a bunch of high technology fabrics and linings, and each one seems to come with its own tag. Its getting a good reputation even though there's not a whole lot of distribution in the UK. Better still, its much cheaper than Rukka's gear, so much so that the GPL people told me they're happy to have it in Rukka stockist as it makes it look great value!

I ended up snaffling up a 'Phanter' jackey and 'Zen' trousers (both having lost something in translation), to accompany the beautiful Racer gloves I bought the week before.

Alas, events overtook me, and I now find myself 6,000 miles from the bike and the English weather. More posts to come, it will be 6 months before I get back to the GS, but there's plenty to blog on about here in Hong Kong!

SS7

Old CAR

2009-11-06T11:54:00.007Z

Sitting around SS7 towers are boxes containing every issue of CAR magazine from about 1978, when I at last had the funds to indulge regularly, to 2006, when I decided enough was enough and started chucking the latest issues away.

I picked one out more or less at random this morning as I was waiting for a call, and spent a couple of minutes flicking through it.

The 70's and 80's were CAR magazines' heyday. Nothing else on the market offered its combination of high quality (and honest!) writing, innovative photography & design, industry insight and access to the best and fastest motors in the world. CAR became the standard by which all others were measured, and I would always look forward to the monthly publication day.

April 1988 featured yet another fast but chronically underdeveloped de Tomaso era Maserati, the 'new' BMW E34 5-series, vs it's rivals, the Lancia Integrale & Ford Sierra Cosworth ('Europe's Great Supercar Bargains'), and the latest Suzuki bikes amongst others.

Two things struck me looking through the old mag.

First was that the quality of the journalistic line-up was epic; great writers all. Yet sadly I couldn't help being saddened by how few of them are still around.

Since 1988 we've lost the great George Bishop, the irrepressible old car guy Ronald Barker, the inimitable LJK Setright, Phil Llewellin and the so talented Russell Bulgin.

Of the rest, Gavin Green, then editor, is still involved with CAR 21 years on, Georg Kacher will last for ever, and Steve Cropley & Andrew Frankl still write columns.

The second thing that I noticed was how damned expensive cars were 21 years ago! The 'bargain' Sierra Sapphire Cosworth was £19,000, had 200bhp and ran to 143 mph. By contrast, the current Focus RS costs only £6.5k more and pushes out a storming 300bhp and 165mph.

The 'new' 5 series in 525i form was also £19,000 and offered 170bhp, compared to its nearest current equivalent, the £29,000, 190bhp 523i.

In 1988 a basic Porsche 911(Carrera 3.2) was £37k, the same as a 944 turbo. That compares pretty well to the current 911 at just over £60k, although £37k can still buy you an entry level Boxster.

However, should you have wanted to buy a Sport Edition 911 turbo with your city bonus , it would set you back £99,000. List price of a 2009 997 turbo? £99,000.......

By way of contrast I took at look at house prices. The average price of a UK house in 1988 was £45,000, or a quarter of current values.

Perhaps we don't have it so bad!

SS7

Karter

2009-10-29T20:24:00.003Z

Its half term this week, and I'm spending time with the two boys, SS7 jnr (aged 11) and SS3.5 (aged 6). On Monday we spent the day at the tank museum in Bovingdon, on Wednesday we travelled the Salterns Way on bikes, and today I took them on the 200 mile round trip to Buckmore Park for a day's karting.

Buckmore run arrive and drive days for youngsters during the school holidays and at half terms. Its well organised and run professionally, with quality safety gear, slick management, and offers children the chance to drive real karts on an outdoor track.

SS3.5 got his first chance to try a kart today; a mixed success. A generally sensible and coordinated 6 year old, he found the karts to be no more than electric buggies limited to a brisk walking pace, and probably more suitable to 4 year olds. In fact, after 15 minutes of slow speed circulation of a simple oval circuit, he announced it was "Really boring Daddy".

No such worries for his elder brother, who was with the 8-11's in 120cc, 20mph petrol engined karts on a more extensive circuit. I've taken him before, and his experience showed - he was smooth, committed and fast. In fact amongst the rather variable dodgem standards of the other youngsters in his group it was like watching a shark swimming with minnows. He gets a real buzz out of it, and next year he'll run with the 12-16 year old in some pretty serious 40mph machines.

Naturally he'd like to be the next Louis Button, but as I keep telling him; there are 16,000 UK competition licence holders, and less than 20 full time professional British racing driver's.

Enjoy it by all means, but realise that motorsport is an expensive hobby, not a career path.

SS7

Two wheels good

2009-10-27T17:16:00.002Z

I can finally confirm my long awaited return to biking, when I collected a 2 year old, low mileage BMW R1200GS from those nice people at Bahnstormer in Alton today.

I tried a big BWW earlier in the year, and fell for the combination of practicality, performance and clever engineering, so was really just looking for the right bike to come along (and approval from the FD). Its s shame its the end, not the beginning of the summer, but carpe diem and all that...

One big change since the last time I owned a bike (1996) is the amount of tech. involved. The BWM has shaft drive, ABS, fuel injection, catalytic converters, alarm and immobiliser, traction control, trip computer, and aftermarket music and comms system and a tyre pressure monitoring system.

I've probably left something off the list - but thankfully as an approved dealer bike it also comes with a warranty should any of the tech. decide not to cooperate.

The weather was incredible; nearly 19 degrees at the dealer, so by the time the admin, customer briefing etc etc. was finished, I was surrounded by miles of warm, dry Hampshire tarmac.

Determined to take it easy, I did for the first oh, 2 miles. After that a loping 70mph seemed a natural pace, overtaking slower traffic as if I’d never been away from bikes, and leaning comfortably through the bends. The only rusty bit was slow speed riding but later on I even was able to get a little filtering practise as the A27 jammed up.

The route from Alton is a peachy combination of lightly trafficked A and B road, and apart from a section under trees along the downs, was all open and fast. A great way to get back to biking.

After a bite to eat, I later dropped in at Goodwood who were running an Octane track day. They get a better class of boy racer at their events, I counted 4 race XK’s, a real looking Jaguar C type, Cut 7 (the famous racing E-type), a very genuine looking D, and the Ford France GT40 and a rapid little Datsun 120Y.....

Great day.

SS7

Goofback

2009-10-16T08:30:00.002Z

I've a soft spot for the mk3 Golf (and modded VW's generally but we all have our quirks) so I wanted to share this with you here .

Its a mk3 Golf with a rear mounted aircooled engine, brought to you by those funny blokes at Type 3 Detectives.

SS7

Honda's dead-end sportsters

2009-10-09T13:42:00.004Z

I noticed that during the summer there was coverage of the Honda S2000’s demise after 10 years of production.

I tried one at the Chobham test track a year or so ago; if any car ever came within a sliver of greatness this was it; lovely low scuttle, sublime great change and that paradigm of an engine red-lined at 9000rpm.

But at the same time you couldn’t help noticing the dated interior design, with mid 90’s UJM switchgear, a non-adjustable steering wheel and marginal cockpit room.

I found myself wondering why Honda hadn’t developed the car from launch, beyond a little fiddling with the suspension settings and a long-stroke motor for the ‘Merkins.

But this isn’t unusual for Honda, their history is littered with sportsters that were allowed to wither on the vine bereft of investment, before being quietly escorted from the premises without so much as a ‘Thanks for the memories”.

Looking at the sportsters, there’s clearly little in the way of product strategy, or even a consensus underpinining the nature of the sporty side of the range – odd in a company very like Ferrari or Porsche, created by a charismatic enthusiast for all things fast and fun.

You’ve got front engined sportsers with and without hard tops, front wheel drive two seaters, middies with either 600cc or 3000cc, coupes and roadsters, all sorely lacking a place in any long term view.

Its not as if Honda don’t know how to do it; the motorcycle division’s Fireblade has now run in 7 generations for 17 years, each one true to the light/manoeuvrable philosophy, yet each an improvement on the predecessor.

The Civic is another example; now in its 8th iteration in 35 years.

There was some mutterings about a ‘new’ NSX last year, but the concept hawked around the shows turned out to be a front engined behemoth, powered by a V10 engine, as far way from the jewel like original as it was possible to get.

Such a lost opportunity.

SS7

Unresolved?

2009-10-07T13:17:00.001Z

Unresolved?
Originally uploaded by shoestring7

Spotted at last weekend's Goodwood breakfast this early Triumph GT6 is a rare survivor. A friend (who probably should know better) suggests the rear 3/4 window and styling line is a more resolved effort than Scaglietti's Ferrari 250GT SWB/GTO.

Hmm, not sure about that, perhaps I can't see past the general awfulness of swing axle independent suspension and 30's era chassis!

SS7

Evora

2009-10-06T10:42:00.003Z

The usual hyperbole surrounding the launch of a new British (albeit foreign owned) sportscar has subsided a little, and its possible to get a more sensible perspective on the new Lotus' merits.

I think the styling is superb; it clearly retains Lotus DNA but moves the game on, looking fresh and contemporary. Its perhaps a lesson Porsche, constantly re-inventing the 911, should take on board.

Seeing the Evora in the flesh as it were, and its clear how big the new car is; dwarfing the Elise and looking everyone of its surprisingly porky (ho ho!) 1300kgs. While the addition of occasional rear seats will definitely open up the market for Elise-owners with children/a golf habit, it does land the car uncomfortably in between the market defined by the Boxster/Cayman and the 911's. The pricing reflects this; the fully optioned launch cars were £60k, well above the £44k of a Cayman, and even Lotus' basic cars will be near £50k.

Some initial road tests appeared to laud the chassis as some sort of physics defying combination of ground effect grip, Rolls-Royce ride and Lotus 7 steering feel. However more reasoned journalists look to have placed it as class leading drive; with more driver feedback than the Cayman, but with a little less refinement.

The use of the Toyota Camry engine/transaxle, something you might have expected to be a weakspot, isn't felt to be so at all. Loosing several hundred kilo's of Toyota avoir dupois reveals a smooth responsive peach of a motor; a sign of just how good mainstream Japanese production engine design currently is. You can certainly expect it to behave in service without any of Porsche's well known but unacknowledged 996 & 997 design weaknesses.

Talking of 911's brings me to my point; take a look at that Evora cross section. That big Toyota engine sits way up high, above not in front of the rear axle line. It reveals how Lotus squeezed in rear perches without a unwieldy long wheelbase; the thing owes a lot more to rear engined sportsters like the Renault Alpines than you'd expect. The cross section also reveals just how limited rear seat space is; note the poor (female?) passenger in the back has their knees by their ears, and that the driver is sitting in an invisible seat......

I read a piece by Mark Hales in a recent copy of Octane in which he analysed the handing of the similarly rear engined Elise on track. He pointed out the effect the high engine position had on the limit, especially in the wet, causing the cars to spin with little warning at high speed. In fact he likened it to the characteristics of old 911's. He did point out that most of the problem could be designed out with the use of modern suspension bush and tyre technology, and that 99% of the time 99% drivers would simply be unaware of the issue.

It'll be interesting to read track tests of the Evora, particularly if a high powered version is launched next year.

SS7

Wasted Opportunity..

2009-09-29T11:29:00.001Z

..or high level irony?

Spotted on the road yesterday, a car with the registration 'V8 JON'.

It was on a Toyota Prius.

SS7

Unresolved?

2009-09-22T19:12:00.008Z

The Ferrari 250GTO; commonly accepted to be the ultimate roadable sports racer, the most beautiful of all Ferrari's line up, and should you want one of the 30 or so original cars in your garage you'll need north of £7m.

Except this beauty has a very obvious flaw; check out the area around the rear of the door, where the line of the front wing, that of the rear arch, and the door frame meet. Its little more than a nasty collision, and a long way from perfection. What's more, that other paragon of Ferrari's early 60's road racers, the 250 GT SWB, suffered in exactly the same fashion.

Check out the same area on a Zagato bodied DB4GT or even Bill Lyon's E-type to see a much neater treatment.

Perfection? Not in my book....

SS7

How guilty

2009-09-22T19:10:00.002Z

So the FIA have come to a decision over the Renault team’s Singapore Grand Prix heist. Its difficult to find anyone who does not agree with the WMSC’s summation: "The World Motor Sport Council considers Renault F1’s breaches relating to the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to be of unparalleled severity."

After all, lives were put at risk.

But ‘Unparalleled’? Well if the ‘breach’ is so much worse than, say, Schumacher’s attempt to take the world title by driving his opponent of the road, or even ,dare I say, McLaren’s ‘economy with the actualite’ in Melbourne, then you’d expect the FIA to be down on Renault like a tonne of bricks, a long ban, and huge fine.

Didn’t happen did it. Renault blamed their guys on the ground and get a slapped wrist, and the world’s press reports “Renault escape with suspended sentence” and looks for the nasty political truth.

Its not hard to find. On the face of it F1 needed Renault; both entrant and supplier to engines, so some sort of deal was worked out which involved Pat Symonds and the colourful Flavio Briatore being the fall-guys.

Compare this to 2007’s 'spygate’ saga, which enabled the FIA (aka Max Mosley) to drive Ron Dennis out of F1. At worst McLaren were passive recipients of Ferrari information provided by a disgruntled Ferrari team member. No one’s life was endangered and in spite of the FIA trawling though terrabytes of data they were unable to prove any benefit to the team whatsoever. Only the Spanish drivers (De la Rosa and Alonso) and a couple of team members knew of the information source, they even kept it from Hamilton.

Now I and most of the F1 world are happy to believe Dennis was kept in the dark and only heard about it when the petulant Alonso tried to use the information to blackmail Ron into favouring him over Hamilton.

However, in this case Max Mosley's judgement contained the view that 'On balance' he 'suspected' McLaren management knew about this, and that the team owners were going to carry the can. To the tune of $100m, and all their points.

Of course it wasn’t that at all, it was simply the endgame in the despicable pervert Mosley’s destruction of anyone who dares ridicule him. Well someone spilt the beans to the News of the World allowing them to set up the sting.

To recap: Piquet Jnr, initiates and then takes part in the cheat. He says nothing until months later and then only as a revenge on Briatore for being sacked. But the FIA were told in October last year; the chief steward Charlie Whiting in particular but did or said nothing and Max bided his time. Its also pretty difficult to believe that other Renault team members didn’t know by that stage either; Flav and Symonds managed to blindside the FIA and snatched a race out of thin-air, I’msure they would have smugly told a few favoured teamates once they thought they were getting away with it. Certainly Piquet senior knew and kept quiet and at the time there were eyebrows raised over the serendipitous timing of Junior’s accident.

Against a background of dark threats from Flavio last year about Mosley’s dark secrets, he (Flav) makes the mistake of firing the underperforming and mentally shattered Piquet Jnr. The war of words is pretty unpleasant and growing in vindictiveness. Spanky spots his opportunity to put Briatore to the sword and that exactly what happens.

In reality it was a vendetta by the old pervert against Briatore, just as 'spygate' was a campaign to destroy Dennis. Don't underestimate Mosley's hubris - that is the real reason why F1's condemnation of Renault has been so muted.

Waftastic

2009-09-09T19:24:00.003Z

I've been thinking again of looking for a set of wheels for the winter. I know this is deja-vu all over again but there you have it. the usual criteria are involved; a decent ownership proposition, respectable performance, practical and something that will be easy to sell on.

What's different this time is that I have a bit of an old Mercedes itch.

Earlier this week I’d arrange to meet a nearby dealer with a green Benz 280E estate, one of the classic mid-80's to 90's W124 models with the square headlights.

Like many small independent dealers, this chap used to work at a dealers, in his case Mercedes . He has obviously become the guy the local main dealers call when they need a trade-in price on an older model - he reckons he gets offered 3 or 4 W124’s a week and buys 2 a month.

Certainly this one was a peach; clean body work and an interior without a mark on it. Even the drivers seat still had crisp cloth, not worn smooth by a million miles of trouser seat. It was almost as if it had been clocked the other way, and had actually been run for only ½ of the 145k indicated miles. The only sign of age on the interior was a slight old plastic smell, that’s it, even the load bay looked like new.

Closer up, other than a little bubbling around the B pillar (alloy trim corrosion?) I could see very few bodywork faults. There were signs of kerbing on the wheel trims, and the big fat 65% profile rear tyres were on the wear markers. I couldn’t see the discs through the wheels, but the body panels all seemed to be the same colour, the gaps were all consistent and the side of the car was straight. The front screen was a little milky around the lower corners and the radio aerial on the C pillar was also U/S, but the under bonnet was clean, as was the oil (even though I spotted 2008’s stamp was missing from the service book).

The thing started with a rattle-free purr, although it had clearly been run earlier that day – the engine was a little warm – and drive in the 4 speed autobox engaged without a clunk or a thump. The dash structure is a bit dated as you’d expect; but its all there. This one had 2-zone climate, electric front seat, sunroof, electric windows and mirrors, and it all worked except the (original) radio-cassette – probably due to the lack of an aerial.

The first hundred metres also demonstrated the a/c didn’t work either, its surprising how much you miss it on a rare 24 degree day!

It took me a mile or so to figure out the exact location of the pedals; the ‘go’ one was way over to the right and had a strong return spring. And after a half-hearted attempt to use my right foot for both ‘go’ and ‘stop’ I reverted to my favoured 2 footed driving style. The car did that little trick well sorted ones do, shrinking around me as I drove. It certainly didn’t feel as wide or as long as initial impressions, the big steering wheel with its narrow leather rim proved an honest steer, and we wafted down the suburban roads with just the odd thump through the suspension to disturb progress. Certainly there was not the slightest squeak, rattle, clonk, moan or groan from anywhere in the structure. Remarkable.

I fiddled with the seat controls a little more and got a comfy position near the floor with the wheel an easy stretch away. The only ergonomic oddity was the single stalk on the right which controlled indicators, wipers, screen wash and headlight main beam. Its on the ‘wrong’ side and it took a while before I stopped looking for indicators on the left.

We reached the main road and as the limit change from 40 to 70 I squeezed the throttle to the stop. The old girl dropped a gear or two, and with a lovely smooth cultured howl from the engine it picked up its skirts and, if not exactly dashed, certainly hustled for the distant horizon. It has around 190bhp from the ‘new’ 24v motor, and with a relatively lightweight 16o0kgs to haul, it isn’t underpowered even by modern standards. A 70mph cruise was easy peasy, and after a couple of miles I took an exit for the trip back to the dealer’s. There was some rumbling from the brakes as it slowed, and the steering was slightly slow to respond.

Around the 180 degree slip road loop there was some roll, but no wallow. By the return leg along the busy coastal road I felt quite at home, and wafted along happily with the OAP traffic. I even had time to check out the switchable gearbox, the dealer put me right when I asked about the ‘Sport’ mode; its ‘Standard’ with E for economy. In ‘E’ gearchanges were gentler and I actually felt it suited the car better.

Back at the office I checked the paperwork. It had stamps for every year from 1995 to 2007 with a Mercedes dealerships. I’m told parts prices, especially for consumables are reasonable, and that Mercedes main dealers usually have staff experienced in these older cars and offer reduced labour rates, so most stay in the network.

All in all, a lovely old thing that supports those who say that Mercedes have never since been able to reach the quality levels of their 80's range. Certainly, if you were a buyer for a W124 estate, this is exactly the sort of thing you would be looking for.

Thinking about it since, it seems there are two ways to look at this;

Either £3.5 is a simply astounding bargain for a smooth, relaxed family carrier with an image that meant you could happily park outside your Holland Park gaff or weekend at the Quatre Saison, build quality most objects outside a crusader castle could only dream of, and with a similar life expectancy. In fact, you’re all completely mad not to have one.

Alternatively it’s a 15 year old barge with nearly 150k miles up, 20 year old safety standards and a load of potential rusty trouble to come.

Me? I'm going to sleep on it a bit more.

Racing lines...

2009-09-09T12:41:00.001Z

Does anyone else walk on the racing line around the house?

No?

Must just be me then.

SS7
At least I had stopped making engine noises by my late 20's

Porsche under VW

2009-09-02T13:13:00.003Z

The dust has settled, and the old independent Porsche has gone, they are now one of 10 brands under the VW umbrella.

While its easy to be sentimental about this, I'm not so worried. Just over a year ago I blogged on Porsche's 2008 Le Mans effort; a decent enough barometer of the organisation's spiritual health here. If anything, 2009 was worse. All of the 997GT3RSR's failed, their best effort was 10th in class. Of the only other two Porsche entries (there were none in LMP1 or GT2), one broke, and one came first in the LMP2 class, again against essentially amateur competition.

All in all, the company's worst performance since the 50's.

Meanwhile, they launched the Pamamera, which whilst it is a stupendous piece of technology, you really have to wonder at the relevance (in Northern Europe at least) of two tonne, 500bhp cars.

Now Ferdinand Piech's VW broom is sweeping through Zuffenhausen and Weissach. According to CAR magazine's sources, this is the new direction:

- Development of Porsche as a pure sports only marque; VAG has enough SUV's and large saloons
- As a result 2014 will see the end of Cayenne an Panamera production and just one generation
- A flat 8 engined supercar above the 997/911
- A flat 4 engined '356' replacement under the Boxster/Cayman, using VAG floorpans
- The pursuit of lightweight chassis architecture, including twin-turbo versions of the four
- Introduction of Clubsport versions of the 997/987
- Development of a proper motorsport programme

A younger Piech had enormous influence in Porsche's development in the 60's; he was behind the classic prototypes, from the 906 to the 917, an huge effort for the small company at the time. Don't let us forget he's also Dr Ferdinand Porsche grandson.

If the 74 year old has still the energy and drive needed, and even if only half of CAR's predictions are correct, in 5 years time Porsche is going to be in much better shape than it was as the end of the Wiedekind era.

SS7

The Murray T25

2009-09-02T11:10:00.004Z

CAR magazine has published more details of Gordon Murray’s radical new project, the T25 city car.

The designer has focused on two main issues, traffic congestion and real environmental impact. His view on congestion is that cars are too large, and often have a single occupant, as a result the T25 is tiny; 30cm smaller than a Smart car.

Murray has also taken a realistic approach to reducing life-time environmental impact. There are no window dressing much fanfared hybrid drives, but a ruthless focus on designed-in lightness, and the simplification of the production process. It appears to have paid off; the basic version will weigh only 550kgs, with a more realistic equipment level (inc music, a/c, ) adding around 50kgs.

The engine will be a small 660cc normally aspirated or turbo 4, mounted in the rear, and with an estimated 75bhp and 600kgs that’s a similar power to weight ratio as something like a MINI Cooper. Crucially, the interior will allow three seats, like the Toyota iQ, making it practical for a typical 1 parent + 2 rugrats using it as the second family car.

The icing on the cake is that Gordon promises to make it fun to drive; “bike-like driver involvement” as well as low priced. That is great to hear; with his track record this could be really special.

He’d have a letter of intent from me tomorrow, if it weren’t for one point; Murray will not build this car. It is intended to be sold as a full design plus production package to a major corporation, who will then make the T25, plus some planned successors, reality.

Murray is on of the most influential designers working today. In some ways he reminds me of Alec Issigonis; he is an iconoclast with a very clear vision, only works with a small team, and has little time for corporations and the marketing reality in which they operate.

I hope there are enough money men who share Murray’s view of the world to make it happen.

SS7

Breakfast

2009-08-30T21:24:00.004Z

I cycled the 8 or so miles to the Goodwood breakfast meeting today. I bumped into a friend who runs a business related to motorsport and who has over the years built up a very nice collection of classic cars and bikes. He had brought along the Mrs’ Mercedes, a sweet restored 280SL, which shares garage space with a ’73 911 2.7RS and a 246GT Dino amongst others.

His daily drive is a mk1 Golf convertible, and we shared views of the detached driving experience moderns provide, although for a winters motorway jaunt to the other end of the country we both admitted a large comfy SUV would do the job nicely.

The vehicles on offer were the usual eclectic mix, with many regulars as the day's theme was very general. In fact many missed the 1966 age cut-off by decades!

My particular favourite was a late 50’s Ferrari 250 Tour de France tucked away at the back of the gravel paddock.

I took along the camera, there are some more pics on my Flickr page here

Roll on the Revival in two weeks time!

Old Skool

2009-08-28T14:40:00.005Z

I was going through some old family photographs recently and found these shots of some of the first cars I owned. The pictures were taken around 1979.

The Morris 1800 was purchased to replace a Jaguar(!) as it had a boot big enough for a school trunk and a tuck box. My brother’s equipment then went on the roof rack for the run to school at the beginning and end of each term. The ‘S’ version of the 1800 mkII had big 2-pot brakes and an MGB spec. ‘B’ series engine offering all of 98bhp.

I remember acres of interior space, a floppy gear lever, a strip speedo and a handbrake that you pulled out from under the dashboard. No tacho was provided, you just changed up when it the power stopped increasing or it hit valve bounce, although I suspect the result was more noise than anything else. Shortly after purchasing it, my father replaced the bus-sized steering wheel with something sporty from Motolita.

I learned to drive in this car, building miles and experience on the 45 miles drives to school - probably to the horror of the other occupants! After the family had finished with it, it became my car, I think probably after the Lancia Fulvia coupe (that didn’t move off the driveway) and before the first MGB. The Morris was a big solid old thing, and I distinctly remember displaying to a girlfriend its ability to understeer across a wet road, over a verge and into a tree! It eventually went as a result, not because of the bodywork damage, which was minor, but the bodyshop's failure to re-attach an earth strap, which lead to engine damage when it earthed through the throttle cable causing it to stick open.

By contrast the E3 BMW was a sublime thing with 150bhp from its creamy small bore ‘six’, and capable of a comfortable 100mph motorway cruise. The BMW also became mine once it finished with family duty – my dad replaced it with the white Porsche 924.

It did have the old style BMW swing axles though, it would spin the rears under acceleration in a straight line, as a result the back would start to slide down the camber, somewhat alarming for the overtakee, let alone the driver. It would also exhibit roll-oversteer after turn-in on faster corners. I thought that was perfectly normal at the time, but in hindsight the damper were worn out.

You can also just see the front corner of a dark red Jaguar XJ6 series III. It belonged to a neighbour (and father of aforementioned girlfriend), and I used to chauffeur him up to London and back every day in exchange for a lift.

SS7

On the continuing theme....

2009-08-27T10:02:00.002Z

A Ferrari owning friend has just emailed me. After a succession of modern Maranello products in bright red with cream coloured interiors he’s just picked up a black 348 for a decent sum and has been enjoying the analogue experience:

"Really pleased with it. What a lot of car. On the road it looks great. Black is a good colour for it. However one thing is really bothering me. All the time I am thinking you would really like this car. Its got that pre electronic feel. The steering wheel is pure Momo, no bag, no paddles, no packets of sweets plastered on. Its a good old fashioned three spoke Momo just as God intended. Three pedals is very retro but they work, its pure driving.

Visibility is also pure Ferrari, later cars actually allow you to see where you are going, this is guesswork. but that's some of its charm. It relies on some driving skill and judgement.

However much I hate to admit it and it really is hard to admit, the black interior is just how it should be. No gimmicks, just old fashioned Fiat. :-)

Your recent rantings just keep playing on my mind with this car. Its a good old fashioned
sports car. Yes things have moved on a long way but this brings back the days of simple driving. You could argue it is not 328 pure but for me this is a happy middle ground. I want A/C that works and it does, in fact its excellent. You cannot find a 328 that has strong A/C.

The car has done 48K miles and it has worn it well. I was concerned that 10 owners is high but as Terry Hoyle said last night, it means 10 people thought it was the best that they could find. It really does look nice and correct for the mileage.

So its not perfect, its not concours, but it was priced as such. I won’t worry about the amount of money tied up and hopefully I wont try to make it perfect as that would be wasted.

There is the chance of a big bill and that is always a risk. That's the price to play. If I only had £20K for a toy then this would be a top contender for keepsies."

Have we latched onto a trend?

SS7

Carrera

2009-08-21T11:03:00.004Z

I’ve set up some Autotrader searches for 911’s and this one popped up within 15 miles of SS7 Towers. As I was looking to kill a couple of hours on Saturday morning while SS7 Jnr was sailing, I thought I’d arrange to pop up to Fernhurst TVR in the cabby with SS3.5 and try out my first torsion barred 911.

Or it might be the first - I do remember frightening myself in what was probably an SC running wide onto a Windsor Great Park verge at huge speed when I was younger, but it was many moons ago and I’m (somewhat) saner and (much) older now.

On first sight it was like being in the Kings Road 25 years ago. Bright red paint, big rear wing, black pin stripe interior and a shiny Panasonic stereo were all present and correct. Rear seat belts were noticeable by their complete absence however.

The car had been owned by a polisher. He’d even got to the oil pipes in the front wheel arch, which gleamed a dull brass against the (no doubt polished) red under arches. No rust to be seen anywhere, the rear N spec Pirellis were new and the fronts had plenty of tread to go with the age related sidewall cracks. Hmmm.

Although it was Saturday morning, and there was a fair amount of traffic around, the sales guy was happy to let me take it out alone. Or at least, he would have been had it been taxed. So he had to come along with us with the younger SS7 unsecured in the back cuddling the trade plates. The targa top stayed in the boot, even though it was dull and threatening rain, and we headed south to Midhurst with the sales guy driving.

First impressions were of the small size of the car, particularly the anorexic width, but the inhabitants had ample room. The dash showed its age with hard plastics, tired looking switchgear and the classic shot-gun blast 911 ergonomics. Every hing seemed present and working though.

The ride was great, nice and compliant but without wallowing, with only a suggestion of scuttle shake over larger bumps. Certainly its nothing like as bad as the floppy cabby we’d arrived in. The sakes guy and I chatted about our shared dislike of the remote experience driving moderns gives, and he told me about his early Griffiths 500 and the woes of TVR's later straight 6 engines.

At Midhurst I took the (unassisted) wheel for the 10 min drive back up. The seating position with the power seats was high, and the steering wheel, an un-delightful 4 spoke Porsche job from the mid-80s, was a slight stretch away.

The over-centre pedal action and skewed position was also pure old skool Porsche, but within 30 seconds it didn't register. My first impression of the ride was correct; this is what we’ve all been missing in the recent pursuit of huge rims, pencil thin tyrewalls and granite suspension; the ability to float along the road at speed, not beat it into submission. If Porsche could do it in 1985 (and who knows what state this one was really in after 24 years with no major bills in evidence), what have they been doing since? Add pin sharp steering with real feel and feedback, the sound of the sky and wind rushing past the targa top, and you have a really great driving experience. At no point in the admittedly gentle 5 miles back did it feel like we were going to go through a hedge backwards, just great turn-in and traction allied with uncanny body control.

On the negatives, the 915 gearbox is the fly in the ointment; vague and slow no matter how you dress this up as 'character'. The car didn’t really feel fast either, not much cam effect, or 'bissen' as Porsche call it, at 4000 rpm when I did push, plus the interior was not a great place to be. The lack of rear belts would be a complete showstopper as far as Mrs SS7 goes.

Since the little drive my head’s been spinning. I’ve practically already spec’d a G50 3.2 coupe (I’m prepared to give up the targa for something more solid) duck tailed and chromed of window frame fitted with a late (plastic inlet manifold) 3.6 motor, a fresh interior and Tuthill suspension and brakes. All in a shade of seal grey with and trad. polished Fuchs and the best of 2009 tyre technology.

Someone talk me out of it.

SS7

Luddite?

2009-08-20T10:07:00.002Z

I had something of a Damascean moment the other day.

Or maybe its (another) middle aged crisis.

In any event, my recent experiences driving modern cars have brought it into sharp focus, but the more I think on it, the more I'm convinced. Here it is: for driving pleasure, car design peaked a few years ago.

That's it folks, things aren't getting better, they are getting worse, so enjoy things now, while you can.

Influence of the health & safety and the eco lobbies, the massive addition of electronics, plus financial pressures mean cheap, dumbed down solutions are now the norm. For the last 15 or 20 years, mainstream manufacturers have been headed up a development blind alley. Purity and integrity of response ("It does what you want it to") and anability to reward effort and skill have gone, and been replaced by, in no particular order:

- Massive weight gain, to the point where a small car weighs 1400kgs and a 'luxury' off roader 2600kgs
- Built in ‘flywheel’ lag for emission and usability reasons
- Drive by wire throttles engineered with artificial engine response and initial lag
- Brake+gas cut-offs to make left foot braking impossible
- Over-servoed brakes which make heel and toing almost impossible
- Over-assisted, lifeless electronic steering systems, utterly lacking in feel
- Massive ‘A’ pillars producing equaly massive blindspots
- Huge road wheels and ultra low profile tyres tuned for ultimate grip (and cosmetics) over steering delicacy and a compliant ride
- Granite hard suspensions tuned for the Nurburging Ring that make the rutted B2141 to Petersfield a nightmare
- ASC systems which cut power immediately at the slightest hint of wheelspin
- Automatic transmission systems that change gear better than a numpty, but worse than anyone who cares about their driving

So the next SS7 addition to the fleet will be built no later than 2001.

SS7

Abarth Time?

2009-08-19T13:05:00.003Z

As part of my infrequent series of test drives I tried a Fiat 500 Abarth last week.

Although I'd booked by phone in advance, I'd not had great Fiat customer service experiences in the past so I was somewhat taken aback when I turned up at the dealer in Slough to find an enthusiastic salesman actually ready to answer my questions and take me out on a decent test drive.

In brief, it’s a nice little package. The ride (on £175 option non-RFT 17”’s) was firm but not harsh like the previous weeks' MINI. The driving position was high, the seat was short and the wheel adjusted for rake only – not as good as the MINI for sure. Some very neat lower c/f seats are a £2k option !!! The steering was better than the MINI (tyres again?) with more feel, yet feel and feedback are still not even as good as old fashioned hydraulic systems - even the one in my old Golf(what are manufacturers playing at???).

On the grunt front, there was plenty to keep you smiling, my seat-of-the-pants accelerometer suggested its not as quick as a MCS, but it is within striking range. As in the MINI, style over substance dictated the interior, the button quality on the FIAT is lower, and the rev-counter within the speedo is just as silly as the MINI’s ‘solution’.

The ‘up’ change indicator on the dash pod is just daft (black tape?) and it makes the turbo boost gauge almost impossible to see. I can’t really recall any great difference in gear change; both had that slightly remote cable feel (what are manufacturers playing at #2 ???), and the 500 only had 5 gears, but the ratios's seemed well chosen.

The numpties who represent the core market for these fashion-led sportsters have also been at the Drive by Wire throttle; in ‘Sport’ setting (I had to laugh – the salesman said this made it possible to rev the engine higher, bless!) the map ramped faster and the steering effort was reduced. Of course, the least sh+te solution (normal throttle/heavy steering) was not possible to achieve. (what are manufacturers playing at #3???)

Also in its favour, the Abarth didn’t rattle like the MCS over the poor surfaces of the roads 'round the back of Slough we tried, and everyone else on the road seemed to love it. Its also definitely got more rear legroom; enough to make it quite comfy my two youngsters behind me – to achieve this in the MINI would mean me moving my seat comfortably close to the wheel.

All in all, a neat little package and at £14.5k, a useful £4k or so less than a MINI.

And yet neither really snagged my wanna-wanna button. Hmmm.

SS7

A disappointing MINI adventure

2009-08-19T11:48:00.004Z

Summer's proving to be pretty quiet on the business front as you'd expect.

So picking a morning without any meetings scheduled, I arranged a test drive in a Mini Cooper S. I'll be adding a daily driver to the fleet in the Autumn, and the Mini's ('MINI's') combination of quality, performance and low running costs makes it appear an attractive package. I've tried the old supercharged versions in the past, and loved the chassis BMW's engineers had bestowed on their little fwd speedster.

The dealer pulled a used car off his forecourt for me to take a spin in, a current model, 18 months old and showed 15k miles on the odometer.

I'm afraid I was disappointed.

The MINI has a great driving position and demonstrated a decent level of straightline performance, but the drive-by-wire throttle map was very non-linear, giving lots of throttle early on then flattening out. I imagine this is to give an impression of large reserves of performance, but in reality it shoots its bolt early.

Additionally, the brakes are the usual modern over-servoed mess, ruling out heel&toe down changes on the road. The steering was light and lacked feel, and the interior and position of the instruments was nuts; a giant useless central speedo and a tiny digital readout in the tachometer that disappeared if you used the drivers information system.

This car had the ubiquitous Chilli pack fitted and as I expected on the ride on its 17" runflats was harsh over broken tarmac, but what I didn't expect was a cacophony of squeaks and rattles around the interior.

And in my natural driving position rear leg room was non-existent, removing much of the point of the two rear seats. Its also expensive, a Clubman 's' in the showroom was stickered at £24.5k

I was hoping for a car that was practical and stylish, but with real depths of ability under the bling. But I’m afraid for me the compromises needed to appeal to its natural fashion-led non-enthusiast market ruin any claims it has of being a performance car.

A faint glimmer of hope emerged when I contact MINI customer services later in the week. I understand that non-runflats might become a factory option from September's build. Its a faint hope, I'll try some of the competition in the meantime, and try to get a longer drive on normal tyres. disappointing

SS7

Every cloud...

2009-06-26T09:26:00.003Z

According to the Daily Telegraph, the government's proposals for road charging have been credit crunched.

In a rare outbreak of common sense, the Transport Minister said "I don't believe as Britain is coming out of recession and motorists are feeling under pressure, that this is the time to put road charging on the agenda."

Of course, the suggestion that an unpopular government is worried that the 1.8m people who signed the anti-road pricing petition last year might vote for opposition parties at the next election is just too cynical.

SS7

Old Spanky pt2

2009-06-26T08:49:00.002Z

The FIA vs FOTA saga heads off into a wilderness that is beyond bizarre.

You'll remember that the sexual deviant and failed racing driver Mosley managed to retain his position as head of the FIA last year, it seems primarily by appealing to the special interests of representatives of small countries. What might be described as the 'major' motorsport nations all wanted him to go, as well it seems, as most of the F1 grid, sponsorship and manufacturers representatives, and the short Bernie Ecclestone.

But like some deluded 3rd world demagogue, Max hung on, convinced that the world of motor-racing needed him.

Roll forward to post-Credit Crunch F1 season, and the withdrawal of Honda from F1 gives Max the excuse he needs to start dictating the future of F1. Needless to say the F1 teams don't like it, reform their own body, FOTA, and produce an entirely different view of how F1 should be run. This view has a much smaller role for the FIA's 'governance', and went so far to suggest that the teams should get a larger slice of F1's pot of gold...

Various sub-plots grind on; Max wins a pyrrhic victory over the News of the World, so now we know that his well publicised sex-romp with paid help wasn't Nazi. So that's ok then (although Mrs Mosely might have a different view). In addition, the Max vs Ron battle that has been going on for years ends in the FIA forcing Ron Dennis' resignation from F1 over the porkies his driver and team manager told after the pace car incident in last year's Australian GP.

Most of this season has been spent in a growing escalation of hostilities between the teams and the FIA; threats made, insults slung (Max referred to the team managers as "loonies") , and the world watched and shook its head at the hubris and stupidity of powerful men.

It wasn't business, it was personal.

Finally, this week it seemed peace had broken out; the FIA and FOTA have agreed a framework for the next two years, and the 'rebel' teams have called off their threat to form a breakaway championship. Max will stand down in October, and we can all focus on watching the underdogs, Brawn, thrash the grandee teams on their way to a maiden world title.

You'd have to say, FOTO's announcement was a little triumphalist, and was portrayed as Ferrari's Montezemola beats the 'dictator' (oh, the resonances...) Mosley.

Now, bizarly it appears that was just a little too premature. Today Max announces that he didn't like the fact that the teams briefed journalists that his departure was part of the peace deal, and he's now reconsidering his decision to stand down. Like a spolied child, he's also demanding apologies from the teams, and will "thcream and thcream" until they show him a little more respect.

Clearly the man's pride has been injured, and now we're all going to suffer for it.

SS7

CAR magazine...

2009-06-10T17:53:00.002Z

….has got its mojo back! I've been taking it through thick (the glorious 80's) and thin (some grusome 'celeb' moments provided by misguided editors recently) since 1979, so I'm pleased to see a return to form.

The last few issues have been great, so much so that I’ve cancelled my Evo sub. CAR has all the sexy kit, but also great in-depth coverage, a sensible attitude to eco/’lectric motors, as well as a good team of writers. Evo really has just been a bit too breathlessly Maxpower since Chris Harris at al left.

This month there’s the usual hyperpole about the new hot Lambo, as well as scoop’s on the possible 4-pot entry Porsche and a Box/Cayman vs competition piece.

Octane’s just arrived too, plus Performance VW is waiting to be digested.

Mmmmmm.

SS7

The Quiet Champion

2009-06-10T17:40:00.008Z

I watched an excellent hour-long documentary about Jim Clark on BBC4 recently. Its well worth finding on iplayer if you can.

Jim was a childhood hero of mine, and as a seven year old I slaved over an early Tamiya model of his Lotus in green with its distinctive yellow stripe. Even today I can remember my father gently breaking the news to me of his death in a minor F2 race. It was Easter 1968.

I watched the TV documentary with SS7 Jnr. He was touched to see footage of the man he was named after (don’t tell the current Mrs SS7, right?), and also moved by the difference in attitudes to disaster in F1 in those days. The programme included footage of the aftermath of von Trip's accident at Monza in ‘61 which involved Clark.

Von Trips' body was clearly visibly lying by the track, while the the race continued….

SS7

Heroes

2009-06-10T17:10:00.003Z

A couple of weeks ago I ended took up an invitation to try out a Gen2 Cayman at Porsche's new driving centre in SIlverstone. It meant an early start but I was well past the Chi jams by 8, and after stopping for a Little Chef heart-attack on a plate I was at Silverstone before 11. It’s a good long run from SS7 Towers, getting on for 140 miles each way.

The Porsche driving centre is very similar to Merc World. Its on a smaller scale but still impressive, and judging from the reaction of punters there I spoke to looks to be a be a very effective way of spending Wiedeking's marketing budget.

The track includes a number of different driving environments: two wet areas, a very tight ‘slippery’ circuit, and a slightly less tight ‘B’ road circuit. After a bit of a briefing we were ushered out to the cars. I’d heard that Richard Attwood was on the driving staff that day but alas he wasn’t with my group. The track stuff was the usual high thrill, low risk stuff for the moderately skilled. We started on the kickplates, which you’ve probably heard of. The plate is a computer controlled device that moves laterally as the car's rear wheels pass over it, putting it into "involuntary oversteer". The surface as as slippery as ice, so if you drop the catch you’ll still spin like a top; ESC or no! A heady 28mph sounds slow, but its still challenging on ice -as I discovered spinning at my second run over the traps.

Then it was onto the braking area, a similar slippery surface but on an incline, and the instructor altered the ESC modes after each run through from Sport to Sport+ to Off to show the effects on the car. Actually the surface was slippery enough to just mess around on!

At this point I changed cars from the 2.9 to a PDK ‘S’. It was difficult to form firm impressions without more road miles, but the regular car drove almost identically to my first generation car, although the extra torque was noticeable.

The ‘S’ I used on the ‘B’ road was a hoot; serving up some serious performance. The PDK+ active suspension + sport Chrono systems also made it a tight little racer. I was very impressed at how well the S on 19" wheels resisted understeer, and at the levels of traction, but the 'track' was tight and twisty so little chance to really let it rip through the bigger gears, although there was the space to give the thing 95% full berries in 2nd and 3rd! Additionally the surface was very smooth so there was no no real indication of how the big wheels would affect ride on a sh*te British 'B' road.

PDK was technically impressive; the range of settings might be useful and it let me focus on steering and braking (driving with two feet like a kart), but I kept getting involuntary up changes when I hit the buttons with the heel of my hand when putting some lock on. I know internet jockey's have already given Porsche grief over the wheel mounted buttons, but they really are nuts. .

I was in the cars for nearly an hour, and then enjoyed a very nice lunch and a chat with a couple of Lancashire lads (one of whom I’d beasted in the ‘S’ - but I kept schtum ). I did get the opportunity to introduce myself to Richard Attwood. He seems like a nice bloke, and clearly enjoys his ‘job’. We talked about his Goodwood Revival plans; he’s not sure as his BRM single seater is broke! I wonder how many of his pupils realise the nice old boy encouraging them from the passenger seat won Porsche’s first Le Mans in 1970 in a 245mph 917?

I know it’s a bit crass, but Attwood is one of my heros, so I decided to try and get an autograph – when I actually spoke to him I didn’t have a nything to write with, so once I’d found a pen I set off, unsuccessfully, to track him down. As I left, I spoke to one of the organisers on the off chance that she might be able to do something.

The following Saturday I had to sign for a parcel from Porsche in Reading. In it was a bundle of bits of branded merchandise, including a Porsche Driving Experience brochure, enscribed with the words "Shoestring7, Looking forward to meeting you again at Goodwood, Richard Attwood”.

How cool is that? Almost worth buying a 911 for...

SS7

Rusty Rider

2009-06-10T16:57:00.004Z

I’ve been thinking of getting back into bikes for a while - although I have to say I get the itch every spring. However, this season the absence of an ‘interesting’ car in the garage makes it a lot more possible, particularly as I can make a case for needing transport into London (the business is taking off but any work is very likely to be within the M25).

As its been a while since I slung my leg over anything with two wheels and an engine, I thought I’d better get some practise in. A quick bit of internet research and I signed up for a ½ day’s refresher course with a local bike training outfit. The ride followed the usual format; the instructor had the radio mike and I had an earphone, he then followed on his own machine issuing instructions and advice, while I did as I was told. My bike was a Honda CB500 with 50k miles up, but the day was dry and after an hour or so it slowly started to come back. We’re blessed with some great roads over the downs, and after a while I was able to start to make some progress - although I have to say it was still pianissimo through the corners.

With those few miles (plus some nice positive feedback) under my belt I felt more confident about test riding some bikes, and the following week I headed up to the BMW bike dealership in Alton, with the intention of trying one of the 800cc parallel twins. I’d read good test reports, and it seemed to tick the boxes as a ‘sensible’ machine (alas I'm far too old for power-ranger suits and 180bhp hyperbikes) that could be used for everyday transport. My impressions were probably muddied by my lack of miles and the fact that I’d forgotten earplugs, but it was a nice little bike- quick enough, comfortable and confidence inspiring.

One thing the experience brought back from my early biking days was how just big and intimidating big bikes can be to a novice, so when the sales guy asked if I’d like a quick spin on a nice clean R1200R that had just arrived I was in two minds – the thing looked as big as a bungalow! But within 100m of setting off it had shrunk under me; the ride (which as a concept doesn’t seem to figure at all in bike journalism) was great with good tight ‘body’ control and little wallow and float. I’ve read that the parralever suspension can make the steering feel detached, but after years of cars it felt pretty good to me.

Thinking about it, the lack of pitch and dive, that slight lack of feedback, and the feeling of solidity was pretty car-like. Perhaps why I loved it so much. In fact enough to turn around after only a couple of miles, head back to the dealership and risk asking the current Mrs SS7 (who was waiting impatiently for me to finish) if I could buy it. At just over £6k for a 2 1/2 year old 9k miles example it seemed like good value.

Needless to say, her reaction was as if I’d suggested selling the kids, but it at least put the idea on the battlefield!

Dear Marj....

2009-06-10T16:55:00.000Z

From: Porkerr
Sent: 10 May 2009 11:49
To: shoestring7@thecarlistblog.com
Subject: 968 CS

Hi Shoestring,

I'm looking to buy a 968, preferably a CS if within budget (max 9k£).

Would you say a Sport makes a good drivers' car too or is the CS really a must? (the car will be tracked)

I assume the cars without M030 are beyond reach with my budget, is the 968 still worthwile without this option?

Is the car reasonably bulletproof? I'm still a student and could not afford huge bills on a regular basis.

I'm sorry to bother you with this, but you seemed to know a lot about the subject..

All the best,

Frank

Hi Frank,

Thanks for the email. Not sure about being an expert, but I've had a couple of 968's as well as other Porsches.

The 968 is a proper old skool Porsche, without many complex electronics, and of a quality and solidity most brick out-houses would struggle to match. There are some well known weaknesses (pinions, cam transfer chain, brake callipers), but nothing really too serious.

They are also old skool in the way they drive, the controls are heavy, the gearchange feels like it has real metal at the end of it, levels of NVH are high, and the ergonomics aren't that great. I had a BMW E30 M3 at the same time as my 968CS. The BMW was delicate - and you drove it with finger tips. The 968 felt twice as heavy, and you drove that with your shoulders.

But the 968 was still quick enough to mix it with most moderns, both on road and track, the balance and handling (on new suspension and top quality tyres) was as good as anything, and it was so, so rewarding to drive fast and hard. And in my humble opinion, it’s looks have worn better than anything else of the period - the 968 has really earned its reputation.

But the problem facing all 968's is that they are now at least 15 years old, and susceptible to old car woes. In addition, although they are £8k - £12k cars now, they were £30k - £40k new and still have that appetite for expensive routine maintenance. So standard maintenance items such as belts+rollers, brakes, clutch, servicing, can easily run to £1,000p.a. over a few years without anything serious going wrong. And I suspect under those shiny bodies, a few are now beginning to suffer from corrosion around the crucial sill area. TO give you some idea, I spent £8k on mine in 18 months, which included a replacement gearbox, fresh suspension, and a brake upgrade.

So if you are thinking of one of these you have to feel comfortable about the likely running costs, and focus on finding a good car, not chasing colours or specifications. The fabled M030 spec. is great on paper, but its now 15year old technology. Standard brakes are fine on the road and for light track use (the alloy 4 pot callipers and vented discs are way better than any contemporary BMW), £500 Koni sport dampers are a good value upgrade, or a £2k KW set-up way better than anything that came out of the factory in 1993.

Sport, ClubSport or Coupe; look for a cherished car, with a comprehensive history, get a recognised specialist to check it over, and set aside a couple of thousand for any problems.

If this sounds a risk too far, in your shoes I'd be looking for a 944S2 (85% of the car, 60% of the money, or a ’89 2.7l 944Lux (70% of the car, 40% of the money), focussing on driving and enjoying the peace of mind.

I hope this helps.

SS7

Foggo and Thomas

2009-06-10T16:35:00.003Z

Until 2007 we lived in one of the three Foggo & Thomas houses built in Holyport, near Maidenhead in Berkshire. Its a rare example of a mid-20th century modernist house built in England, and once modernised was a wonderful family home.

I noticed recently that another is currently on the market:

http://www.themodernhouse.net/tmh/sales/162/intro/0/0/12

From what I know of it, it hasn't been refreshed as sympathetically as the other two, and and I doubt if it’ll sell for the £700k asked in the current market.

The three Holyport houses were an early project for the pair of young architects who went on to become directors at Arup Associates, and later to establish their own successful practices.

Peter Foggo and David Thomas met whilst studying architecture in Liverpool in the 1950s. The pair of them came together over a passion for the work of Mies van der Rohe, (indeed they even once persuaded the legendary architect to travel to Merseyside to give a talk to students).

Its also very easy to see influences from the 'Case Study' houses built in the US in the 1940's and and early 50's. Foggo and Thomas designed the Holyport houses in their spare time as both were then working in other architectural offices. It is said that they came home from their day jobs and spent between 8pm and midnight working on other architectural projects for themselves, such as this one. Another house designed by Foggo & Thomas at around this time, 'Sorrel House' near us in Bosham Hoe, nr. Chichester, is now Grade II* listed.

Foggo & Thomas both went on to work with Ove Arup at Arup Associates. Foggo, who died in 1993, was largely responsible for the design of the Broadgate complex in the City of London. Foggo's colleagues at Arup Associates – Philip Dowson, Ronald Hobbs and Derek Sugden – wrote the following about Foggo in a 1994 edition of Building Design:

"His work is marked by its clarity and directness, which was also the nature of his character. The plans and the sections of his buildings were always ordered and structured, both in concept as well as practical reality. Rigour in analysis and rationalism in practice invested all that he did and is perhaps the hallmark of his work".

The Holyport houses are three of a number of ‘H-houses’ (so named because of the shape of their plans) designed by Foggo and Thomas. Another example is the well known 'Space House' in East Grinstead, which also recently changed hands after a major refurbishment.

In a 1994 edition of the Architects Journal, Barrie Evans wrote the following about the houses:

‘[The houses] comprise a series of braced steel trusses supported from eight stanchion columns, with timber-frame walls, floors and roof slung between. This is supplemented with large areas of plate glass. The 'H'-shaped plan is made up of a central service core, opening onto front and rear terraces, with living and bedroom wings flanking on either side. “

SS7

Edmund

2009-05-21T13:00:00.003Z

Last Sunday, the SS7 clan went carbooting.

Our chosen venue was the Beaulieu autojumble, one of the biggest events of its type, and the main mission was too offload some of the motoring books I've accumulated over the years.

We also sold some pewter tankards and cups that we found in a run down old wooden bungalow we bought a few years ago. It was in a lovely location next the the river Thames near Windsor, and we planned to demolish it to build our first house. The bungalow had been owned by an old widow, Mrs Dimond, who had recently died, and was being sold by her estate.

We had been intrigued by some old trophies and a portrait we found amongst the other stuff that had been left once the family had picked through them. When we asked the relatives about them this is the story we were told;-

Mrs Dimond had made a good match to the heir to a hotel owning family in the early 30's. The couple lived comfortably, owning the little holiday bungalow in Windsor amongst other houses. They were able to travel extensively, we also found in the house a number of souvenirs bought home after trips to Africa and the middle east.

Edmund Dimund, was also something of a sportsman and a car enthusiast. In the mid-30's he entered several of the long-distant trials then fashionable. They were in some ways predecessors to modern rallies, but were altogether more gentle affairs, with transit sections that crossed the country between stages, usually a muddy climb up a steep hill.

Evidently, Edmund had been quite successful, and collected a dozen or so tankards, cups and awards, most engraved. Several have an 'MG' badge on then, and I still have a few, one, a small tray with some shot glasses, is engraved "To E.H Dimond, as a token of appreciation, from Lord Nuffield, October 1934".

However, Edmund had a gambling habit, and over the years he lost the hotels and most of his fortune. Eventually he and his wife were reduced to living in the bungalow in Windsor. Clearly a lost cause, he started taking his wife's possessions to pawn for money for his habit. One day after taking the last of her jewelry he put everything he had on a complicated horse racing accumulator. It failed on the last race, and Edmund facing disgrace and utter ruin, suffered a fatal heart attack. They found his body still in his car, outside the bookies where he placed his last bet.

His rather gloomy portrait still hangs in the hallway at Shoestring Towers. The family don't like it, but it reminds me how fate can tempt all of us.

SS7

Let it Shine..

2009-05-21T11:11:00.003Z

Its probably fair to say the jury is still out on the contribution that hybrids are able make to CO2 savings, especially as the best only match the fuel economy figures of a modern European turbo diesel. And that's likely to remain the case until an affordable plug-in is market-ready.

On the petrol hybrid's side, there is a case to be made around the provision of diesel-like economy without the nasty particle and NOX levels produced by compression ignition engines. And frankly I'm tiring of the rumbly vibes that a tdi generates; there really is nothing like a good petrol engine for raising the hairs on the back of your neck.

Having said that I've always had a soft spot for Honda. Even post Soichiro they appear to have retained engineering integrity, and have developed a great track record for commercials (even though their actual track record has been frankly a bit of a disaster recently). After breaking the market with their pre-CDDti Insight - a 2 seater coupe - Honda went pretty quiet and the current RoW based Civic hybrid misses the mark by a long way.

The new model looks to be much more successful, its a a lower price-point compared to Toyota, and is clearly defined seperate model, not a modified Civic. At least, until the next one!

Here's the commercial for the new Honda Insight* - enjoy.

SS7
*PS Wonder if I can borrow one for a weekend?

Goodbye boy Golf, hello...

2009-05-18T09:20:00.003Z

.... lady-boy Golf?

Its been all-change in the SS7 garage recently. The VR6 has gone to a discerning buyer, as has the Cayman. Each buyer had a bit of a profile; that of the VR6 was the MD of a Porsche specialist dealer and expensive-wax importer. He was looking for an excellent VR6 to use as a show-car to advertise their wares. Mine met his requirements precisely, and what's more, inspite of the pesimism of the naysayers on the VR6OC website, he paid good money.

The Cayman went to the engine builder at a well know British sportscar manufacturer (think 4 wheeled motorbikes.....) within 3 days of me putting it on the market. And the agreed price was around 60% of what I paid - a pretty good result in today's market; I'd had the car for 30 months and 16k miles.

So that reduced the fleet to 1. I believe there are some families who can manage with one; ours can't, so the search was on for a replacement.

Now the SS7 forecast for summer '09, is Long, Hot & Sunny. The nippers (SS7 jnr and SS3 1/2) have also now reached the stage where they can be trusted not to launch themselves out of a roofless vehicle, and Mrs E-H and I have fond memories of driving a soft-top in the South of France.

With that in mind it made sense to look for a convertible - one with 4 seats. Once Mrs SS7 and I had rejected several offerings on the grounds of image(her) running and purchase costs(me) the usual suspects remained; BMW 3series, Saab 9-3, Audi, and Golf.

The search took a couple of weeks, and included the usual experiences of dodgy private buyers, and dealer cars described as 'mint' when in reality they were worn out and shabby. Then one evening ebay turned up a low mileage 2 owner Golf Cabriolet within 10 miles of us. This was in black (not my no. 1 choice I'll admit) and was a 2.0l Avantage with rare aircon and electric everything.

I did get a chance for a quick look-over even though the car wasn't taxed. Compared to the other cars I'd looked at this was nice and clean and obviously had been cherished and garaged for most of its life. The sellers, (about to drop sprog #1) were genuine, albeit not car people.

That evening we 'won' the ebay auction, and although we were the highest bidder, the optimistic reserve wasn't reached. However a deal was reached by phone afterwards, and next day the car was ours.

So far, after an over-due service and the addition of 6 months Brown tax, its been a lot of fun!

SS7

Brawn vs Brains

2009-05-12T16:57:00.004Z

So after 5 GP’s, Jensen Button has scored 40 out of a possible 45 points.

And crucially, the Spanish GP at the weekend signalled the start of the main European season, when we expected the big teams to catch up.

But they didn’t.

And what’s more, current limits on testing time mean it’s a lot more difficult to throw dollars are any problems- the big boys look stuck with underperforming cars..

On that basis, Ross Brawn has got to have moved from thinking that his team got a lucky jump start on the others, to thinking they can actually win both the 2009 driver’s and constructors titles.

And if I think that, the other teams are going to be thinking the same - and the gloves will be coming off fast.

Its going to be an interesting season,

Coming to a website near you....

2009-02-25T19:23:00.001Z

So the company I’ve slaved long and hard for through thick, thin, 6 years, and 11 changes of manager decided they could do without my services for the duration of the recession.

Lovely people, but at least they assuaged their corporate consciences by sending me a fat cheque. Of course, this will require a rationalisation of the fleet.

The regular reader may remember I've got a late model (1998) Golf VR6 Highline with like-new purple leather (those crazy Germans....), aircon, and only 34k miles.

The VR6 was never really intended to be a back-roads hero in the mk 2 Gti mould. Its a great A road and M'Way (autobahn?) q-car that's deceptively fast, has a lovely smooth 6-pot motor, weighs only 1250kgs, and is sensible money to buy and run.

It has very long gearing (>100mph in 3rd and geared for 160mph in top), and the engine only comes good at 3500rpm,. As a result mid-range isn't as grunty as you might expect, but I get 30-35mpg with reasonably fortissimo usage - although admittedly I don't do a lot of town driving. Brakes are fine for road use (inc ABS), the front discs taking up all the space inside a 15" wheel.

Mine came with utterly shagged dampers, even with the low miles – 30k at that point. They were ineffective to the point of making me feel seasick, let alone the effect on braking as the wheels flapped in the air after hitting any bump. I replaced these with std spec Bilstein dampers and the only thing that came into focus were those luke-warm contemporary road tests. The ride was still horrible– it gave an impression of uncontrolled weight over the front wheels, float, wallow and poor body control and it crashed against the bumpstops on lateral ridges.

So I bit the bullet and had £700 worth of Bilstein B12 suspension and bushes fitted by those wonderful people at G-Werks in Littlehampton. It transformed the car. It'll never be a one of the great chassis, but the urgent howl of the narrow angle V6 at 6000rpm is plenty of compensation.

However, two cars aren’t going to wash right now, so sadly the Golf is going to have to go. A couple of minor tweaks this week and expect to see it in the For Sale boards of Pistonheads, Edition38 and VR6OC. Look for the most expensive vr6 there…..

Right now the Cayman stays, but there is an overwhelming argument for having a car with at least +2 rear seats. Do I have a 993 itch to scratch?

SS7
PS Classic and Sports Car tipped the vr6 as a future classic last month

Two Tribes

2009-02-25T19:19:00.000Z

Goodwood breakfasts start this Sunday, a pleasant harbinger of the summer to come. The theme, apparently, is ‘Mini Mayhem’. Power to the people and all that, certainly it has the potential to attract a different sort of clientele from ‘Ferrari 250 Competition cars’ or ‘Bentley – The WO years’.

I predict lots of modded Polo’s and Jap stuffs stuff bringing it with it the sniff of egalitarianism and the welcome sight of a tweeded old boy chatting to a youth clad in JB Sport’s finest next to the open bonnet of a superbly modified VW.

SS7

My Greatest Motoring Moments

2009-02-25T19:11:00.001Z

1/ Driving a girlfriend's Alfasud. All of 1200cc, but a pure driving experience that a series of MGB's had never provided

3/ Taking my Escort RS turbo company car to Austria skiing, and hooning up and down some valley roads just for the hell of it. Until the native's complained. Oh, and winding the speedo past 140 and off the clock on the way home!

3/Borrowing the old man's Porsche 924 and emptying 2 tanks of fuel driving sideways around Oxfordshire in the pouring rain. Brought up on fwd, I hadn't really known what steering feel meant until then.

4/Hungover and knackered when I collect my 911/964 from the dealer in Hamburg. Twenty minutes later I was doing 165mph on the autobahn, hangover a distance memory and feeling more alive than I had done for months. I laughed all the way through Belgium.

Its Official

2009-02-25T19:01:00.002Z

Reading [a major UK based internet car forum, lets call it Petrolheads] you’d not been blamed for forming the impression that every Official Porsche dealer was exclusively staffed by crooks solely employed for the purpose of swindling any idiot fool enough to enter the premises. Not only that, but their products are over-priced tat that self-combust and disintegrate no sooner than the stingy warranty expires.

I beg to differ. Before Christmas I took my Cayman for its first service at AFN Guildford. They invited me to drink their coffee and were happy for me to use their showroom as an office for a couple of hours while I waited for a lift. The staff were friendly and courteous, and in some cases very easy on the eye.

They cleaned the car's interior (I asked them not to do the bodywork) and threw in a bottle of screen-wash. Once the service was completed, I was advised that brakes had 6-8k miles in, and so did the tyres but that was perfectly normal and didn't need changing now. They noticed that one horn wasn't working, and removed the front PU to fix it under warranty. While the PU was off, they cleared out the leaves from the radiators and warned me to keep an eye on them. I paid the fixed amount.

After filling up with Shell SUL, I took the long way the 60 miles home, south through Surrey into West Sussex. The roads were deserted, the car was superb, with plenty of performance for the high speed downland roads, and the drive was utterly memorable.

I drive an old Golf during the week, and every time I get back into the Cayman its like getting into a GT3. It also does an easy 30mpg, hasn't cost me a penny in repairs, and I still turn around and look at it every time I get out and walk away.

Its easily the best car I've ever owned The List and I've thoroughly enjoyed every one of the 16k miles so far. Right now I'm planning a raid for next summer to the new museum in Stuttgart.

Porsche have produced a great ownership proposition, internet knockers can't ruin that experience for me.

SS7

Old Spanky

2009-02-25T18:52:00.003Z

Incredibly, Max Mosley is making noises about staying on for a further term as head of the FIA. Apparently, the job is too big for any other mere mortal.

This, of course, is the man who:

- Insisted that Indy '05 be run as a total farce, when it so easily could have been remedied. This caused the world's biggest car market to drop out of Formula One.

- Raised the costs of F1 by imposing a mandatory switch to V8s. Did he really believe that the great expense of Formula One was because they were using too many pistons?

- Chased away one of the sport's most committed and competitive sponsors: Michelin

- Has not said one word to try to keep the sport in its traditional venues, which are still amongst its biggest markets: France, US, Canada, Italy, Germany, and instead has smiled away as races were taken to such mass-car-buying hotspots as Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, and Singapore.

- Allowed his pal Bernie to cash out and put the commercial rights in the hands of marginal operators with no motor sport experience or commitment. Then, when they went bust, he allowed that to happen a second time! This may, or may not have something to do with the multi-million dollar payment Max received from Bernie a few years ago.

- Brought the sport into disrepute through a despicable personal attack on Jackie Stewart, one of the sports greatest ambassadors, a survivor of an age when 300 drivers died, and a 3 times world champion.

- And last - but not least - disgraced himself and brought deep embarrassment to the sport through his personal debauchery. And when he was found out, instead of quietly stepping aside, he undertook a totally selfish, highly visible campaign to cling to his job - despite many calls for him to resign, including one from HONDA - which induced all of the sport's investors to ask whether they wanted to be associated with an organisation headed by such a dubious, tainted character.

What a great guy.

SS7

Skin

2009-02-25T18:50:00.002Z

Why is it that today's cars, which bear almost no relation to those built a century ago in dawn of motoring, still share one single component; a seat covered in dead animal?

Don’t get me wrong, dead animals have their place; its just that covering car seats isn’t one of them.

The stuff is freezing cold in the winter, likely to give you 1st degree burns on a hot day, and is slippery all the year around. It was originally used because cars usually didn’t have roofs, and needed a seat covering that would stand up to the elements. By the time cars had roofs, we’d all moved on. Take a look in the back seats (where the owners sat) of an upmarket saloon from the 20’s and you’ll find rich fabrics; the skin was reserved for the paid help who did the driving.

I appreciate that previous attempts to find a replacements for the stuff haven’t been all that successful; the 50s gave us vinyl, and the 60’s leatherette. Those efforts simply recreated the weak points of cow skin, and removed the one good point; the nice smell. A 70’s velour in beige might not have been very much better, but at least you didn’t skid across it before hitting the (vinyl) door trim when engage in any enthusiastic cornering.

The motor industry is capable of building vehicles with complex hybrid drive trains and with carbon chassis. My nearest branch of Millets is crammed with high tech fabric clothing, surely, a seat fabric that cools or heats as required, feels good to the touch, and grips you comfortably is not beyond their ability?

SS7

Dubbin'

2008-10-05T19:12:00.009Z

I'm pleased to report that the search for winter wheels has proved fruitful, and after a mixed track record in this area I even seem to have come up trumps. So here is the Golf. Its a 1997 VR6 Highline, which is the one with airconditioning and leather - in this instance a purple to match the 'Mulberry' paintwork.

Better than that, this is a one owner from new, 30,600 miles examples, that came complete with a 2inch stack of history including the original invoice and brochure...!

The owner looked after car really well, althought he wasn't a polisher it was filthy in and out! However, my once over showed that everything worked, and that apart from a dent in one door, the bodywork was excellent - and even the interior plastics were perfect, saved from the usual u/v ravages by storage in a garage from new. It sailed happily through the MOT, but the rear tyres (fitted in 1998!) need replacing.

I collected it from the owner in Leicestershire, a good 200 mile drive from home. The run home along the M1, A43, A34 and M27 was uneventful, although the continuous rain varied only between drizzle and torrential. The car hummed along showing 32mpg on the 'puter, the ancient VW branded Sony cassette radio worked fine and the a/c pumped out cold, dry air. The only weakpoint was the dampers, which have given up the ghost. On slightly lower springs, even on the short test ride it crached into bumps and lurched on low frequency bumps, but after 3 hours on the motorway it really was all over the place.

Young SS3.5 and I spent a couple of hours cleaning it today; and its all good. Under the dirty rubber mats are the original over-mats, hardly used, and the leather responded to a bit of cleaning. We even got most of the grass out of the boot floor.

In fact, its almost too good to use.....

SS7

Binned

2008-09-16T15:30:00.003Z

Here's an advert from Pistonheads. Just to remind you, this is the language of Shakespeare, Milton, Shelley, Churchill, Lennon and Beckham. God help us all:

"For Sale: 1994 VW GOLF VR6

Here im selling this golf vr6 for a friend its not my car, its bin a good car and only selling due to not being able to insure on my own policy so it must go as im stil 17.
The car itself isnt standard it has bin lowered and a set of deep dish alloys have bin fitted, also has duel exhaust system and flushed bootlid, kamei grill with mk4 headlights. car is moted til next year but no tax. im awaiting v5 to return but wil supply full reciept. any questions just call me. cheers"

I've got a stiffy....

2008-09-16T15:25:00.001Z

From press coverage in Road and Track at the time of the Cayman S’s launch:

“Compared with the Boxster, the big difference of course is that the Cayman is a closed car. Porsche engineers have retained the Boxster’s strong floor-pan without modification, with the result that the close car is only 11lb lighter that the comparable Boxster.

On the other hand the Caymans S's torsional stiffness is 2.5 times higher that the Boxster S (which ranks as one of the structurally stiffest contemporary open cars) and only 5% lower that the 997 series Carrera. The beam stiffness is also doubled compared with the roadster’s.”

Keyed Up

2008-09-16T15:18:00.002Z

When I decided to take KNoB to the office for one last run the other day, I also took the Cayman keys to the garage with me. This was a bit of a fall-back, just in case the poor old thing didn’t start/wouldn’t go/exploded in a ball of flames etc.

At some point, while messing around with KNoB’s keys, the garage door opener, my PC case, phone and waterproof jacket, I put the Cayman key (in its little leather ‘Porsche Zentrum Hamburg’ pouch) on the 924’s rear spoiler.

Later in the day, after returning from work and enjoying one of the dowager Mrs SS7 chillies con-carnes (certificate U), I went out to the garage to wash months of accumulated dust and crud off KNoB.

I’d parked it outside the garage for this purpose.

The first thing I noticed when I approached the car was the Cayman key, still sitting on the rear spoiler…… It had remained there for the whole of the 12 mile journey to work, and the whole of the 12 mile journey back again, as well as 8 hours in the office car-park, and an hour in the drizzle outside the garage.

Sometimes we are blessed by the Gods.

The King is dead, long live the King

2008-09-16T15:11:00.004Z

So, the saga of KNoB (the Carlist trackday Porsche 924S) is over. The first serious buyer spent 20 minute looking the car over, and then took it away leaving a small pile of cash.

An expensive lesson for all.

Now looking for a late, low miles Golf Mk3 Gti 16v with leather and air. Interested applications to the usual address.

SS7

Wiper Fetish

2008-09-16T14:55:00.004Z

Now I know this sounds a bit anorakish, but I’ve always had a bit of a thing about the way 911’s windscreen wipers move. There’s a beauty and purpose and precision about the way they slash from side to side, especially on the fast speed, that is unique to the brand.

It always reminds me of the big Porsche 935’s racing in the rain at Le Mans in the 80’s.

SS7

Knife Crime, then and now

2008-09-16T14:36:00.002Z

I was reading an Enid Blyton tale to young SS2.0 at the weekend. It was called 'Treasure Island', and was about those bad boys the Famous Five. I suppose Enid wrote this in the 30's.

Anyway the four homies (aged I guess between 11 and 15) and the dog are given parental permission to spend a night on an island.

In their possession, they had pocket knives, a sheaf knife, an axe and matches (amongst other things), but no Mack 10 as far as I can tell. Even in my youth in the late 60's, a pocket knife was something that I used to carry around. However I used it for whittling, cutting string and general boy scout stuff. At no point did I think of sticking it into someone for offending my fragile sense of self-worth.

One cannot help noting that our attitudes to kids and knives have changed. Or at least the perception; total number of knife deaths in my county in 2006 was zero.

SS7

A Modern Morality tale

2008-09-16T14:30:00.003Z

A bloke posts on a well known forum complaining about his (female) flatmate, who works in bar and brings home different bloke every night for horizontal folk dancing that keeps him awake. She also has other annoying habits to do with possessions.

Other posters tell him to get rid of the flatmate. The bloke posts pics of his easy-on-the-eye flatmate, taken from her website and adds suitable epithets. Lots of posters lech after the female. The female then appears on the thread with threats of violence. Bloke not looking forward to going back to his flat. There follows a fracas at home, and the bloke moves out.

Another modern morality tale brought to you by Pistonheads.

Gratuitous 968 Pics

2008-09-05T19:55:00.004Z

Collection Day...

A Silverstone track day

PS: Chasing clones at the Nurburgring

Oversteer hero! (Or how to drive when the rears have gone off...)

Sunnies

2008-08-01T13:31:00.003Z

A few years ago I had to travel to Australia on business. Leaving the UK in a grey, cold, wet November, it was difficult to remember what decent weather felt like, so as I emerge squinting like a new-born kitten into the bright Sydney sunshine I realised I had not brought sunglasses with me.

The first opportunity I had, and it was off to the local sunglasses ("sunnies" in the local vernacular) emporium for some cheap jobs to last the 10 days or so I was there. Blame the glorious southern hemisphere's summers day, the jetlag, or the charming company I was enjoying, but rather bewilderingly I walked out with the most expensive pair on the shop.

Four years later, I'm convinced I had actually chosen the best sunglasses know to man, made with love by a company I'd not heard of until then. They were effortlessly comfortable, had superb optics, wieighed 11 grammes and even suited the SS7 facial features.

So imagine how I felt when last weekend, 4 years later, I lost them while messing about off 'our' beach in the kayak. Young SS3.5 managed to tip me out, and as I clutched the paddle I felft the glasses slide off my face and into 6 feet of water.

Attempts to find them proved futile, especially with the tide coming in, and although I returned a couple of times to search the foreshore later in the evening, I returned to work the next day knowing they were lost for good, and wondering where I was going to find £160 for a replacement pair.

I got a phone call from SS3.5 at around lunchtime. The family had gone down to the beach at low tide "just to see", and within 2 minutes he had found my Maui Jims, apparently none the worse for 20 hours immersion in the English channel!

Hurrah!

Tyre Kickers Welcome

2008-08-01T13:27:00.001Z

Old Smokey's for Sale

Alas that time has come when we must be parted. One careful owner* and literally never raced or rallied.

SS7
*I don't know about all the others

Chucker

2008-07-29T13:57:00.002Z

I took SS2.0 along to collect his big brother from cricket practice the other evening. We had taken his bat (size 1) and a ball along to play with while we were waiting for the older boys to finish.

The truth of it is that SS2.0 is showing signs of having more talent than his dad ever did.I especially enjoyed the moment of stunned silence from the practising adult crickets as SS2.0(aged 4 ¾) picked up a stray ball and hurled it accurately 30 yards in return - “Oi Gary, ‘e’s got a better arm than you!”.

Its his party trick, honed by hours of pebble chucking on the beach.

SS7

Gay and non-Gay

2008-07-24T15:54:00.004Z

So, my mate Little Nomad, young SS3.5(aged 10) and I were driving into Le Mans for the Classic 24hr race. Its a huge petrolhead festival and the roads were crammed with classics and enthusiast's car of all types, many with passengers. Alas we already felt like spectators, as due to the unfortunate skill/ friction co-efficient failings of Mr Nomad ( whoops... ) we had been reduced to taking the trip on the family Honda.

I don't quite remember who started it, but we fell into a light hearted conversation about the image issues of blokes in sports cars, specifically 2 seater cabriolets.

Over the next two days we developed 'rules' which I thought I'd share. BTW I was very surprised how nuanced young SS3.5's contributions were!

Cabriolets: The Rules:

Two blokes in a Ferrari 328 Gts: Gay
Two blokes in a Ferrari Daytona Spider: non-Gay*

Two blokes in a Ferrari 360 Berlinetta: Gay
Two blokes in a Ferrari 599 Berlinetta: non-Gay

Two blokes in a Mid-engined Ferrari: Gay
Two blokes in a Front engine Ferrari: non-Gay

Two blokes in a F40: Non- gay
Two blokes in a F50: Gay

Arnie Schwarzenegger and Chuck Norris in a Mazda MX5: Gay
Two gay blokes in a 1930 4½ Litre Bentley Le Mans Rep: non-Gay

* with a pastel linen suit exception

SS7

Please Note: The CarlistBlog is a non-homophobic Blog. In fact, some of my best friends are gay (probably). For further information on this cultural touch-point please read U and non-U and the SS7 humour dictionary

New motor..

2008-07-23T17:38:00.002Z

I picked up the new wheels the other day.

I was a bit irritated as I’d told the dealer I was going to be there at 9am, but when I did arrive the thing wasn’t complete. So I had to wait while the final set up was finished, which was annoying.

Anyway, once ready it looked great, sitting in the brief sunshine, deep Seal grey paint gleaming and carbon trim looking very tech. Once on road, it became clear this was a very different ride from the last one. Its much more track-orientated; the ride is hard and you can literally feel every slight ridge or ripple in the road through the stiffer chassis. It’s a fair bit faster than the old one, especially on the straight and level where I’m running about 20% faster. The turn-in is also good and you can feel the benefits of the weight loss over the more touring spec. models. The gears (none of this auto-box nonsense here) are quick and slick, the change levers falling easily to hand.

So far the only fly in the ointment is the brakes, there’s a distinct vibration coming up from the front brakes somewhere, I need to get some miles on to see if it will settle down before going back to the dealer.

SS7

Taking a bath

2008-07-23T17:25:00.003Z

From a contact 'in the trade': a year old Porsche C4S cabriolet with a list price of £90,000 and less than 2,000 miles was bid to £62k last week.

The original buyer has lost nearly £30,000, or £20 for each mile travelled.

SS7
PS Now advised that the bid is only £55k........

Taking Abarth

2008-07-23T17:23:00.002Z

I spotted these tucked away at the last Goodwood Breakfast; the new Fiat 500 Abarth.

Its good to see Fiat stop sodding about with the Abarth ‘brand’ (how I am beginning to detest this term, speaking as it does so often of the distortion of reality to fit some 25 year old marketeer’s short term sales objective), but once they had seen how successful BMW are with the MINI Coopers it really was a no-brainer.

SS7

Compromised Position

2008-07-23T14:37:00.004Z

I took SS3.5 to see the F1 cars testing at Silverstone last month.

I'd arranged a '24hr' test drive for the day; a Carrera C4S Cabriolet.

My first drive-down-the-road impressions were of the obvious weight of the thing felt through the controls and the bump crushing ride, but 30seconds of electric roof lowering later and we were cruising north towards the M40 in the sunshine, while SS3.5 fiddled with the SatNav and stereo controls. I’m not sure what Porsche’s ergonomics experts think, but being 10 years old clearly helps with the more complex system interfaces.

‘Our’ car had a delete badge option, and it took me a while to be convinced the full 350bhp were present and correct. I guess that’s the effect of 1600kgs on 3.8 of Stuttgart’s finest litres. But what it lacked in grunt it made up for in noise - the baritone howl from the engine at 7000rpm was glorious and the lack of a soundproofed metal roof meant you really were in the front row of the auditorium. However it only took the first bit of good old English tarmac to reveal that chopping the roof off had noticeably reduced the strength of the body shell - the tremors could be easily felt through the wheel as well as the seat.

At least on the motorway the site of a fast moving Carrera in rear view mirrors was persuasive, so we made good progress up the M40 and along the dual carriageway A43 towards Silverstone, enjoying the acoustics of a quick 3^rd gear blast after each roundabout. A further compromise became quickly apparent on the motorway; the (very effective) wind blocker sits immediately behind the front seats but makes the rears unusable. So that’s 2 seats only then (much like a Boxster…)...

We could hear the sound of screaming race engines long before parking up, and headed towards the nearest section of track from the parking area. It was the turn in point for Bridge corner and the first cars past were Hamilton, then Raikkonen, flying through the right hander without a lift, the aero grip available manifest even to a casual trackside spectator. In fact its now a flat corner in any old F1 car (at least in the dry) as the preceding high speed Abbey curve I remember from old is now a slow fiddly chicane called Farm.

The next 4 hours we spent walking around the section of circuit open to us from Club to Luffield, watching the different lines the drivers used. Apart from Bridge and the fast section on the far side of the circuit, the corners are mostly slow, so dragster-like acceleration out of one is followed by the staccato rip of downchanges, then a slow apex before dragging off to the next. It can’t be a great drive in a F1 car; it wasn’t that brilliant on my old 968CS either.

The Ferraris and McLarens were visually faster that the others but we also saw Williams, Force India, Red Bull, BMW and Torro Rosso - pretty much the whole field then!

It’s clearly an opportunity to see the F1 heroes without the expense and hassle of the GP so was a real family affair. SS3.5 and I weren’t the only father and son combo bunking off a day’s work/school, but unlike some I’d draw the line at bringing the wife and baby.

The noise of the current cars is like a physical force, that threatens long-term damage to tender ears – and leaves old ones temporarily ringing. But it is curiously non-mechanical, somewhere between the shriek of an electric motor and the scream of a fast jet’s engine. SS3.5 reported the ear 'fenders I’d got for him (pukka Peltor, Screwfix:£9.95) worked well, while I relied on some old ear plugs left over from my biking days. He also spent some time behind the view finder of his video camera at each viewing spot so we have a recording of the day for posterity.

And the pride of old age was upheld when I whupped the over-confident youngster on the giant slot car circuit, setting FTD in the process!

We left at around 4 in the afternoon. At first it was roof up for the dualed trunk-road sections, revealing another downside of the soft top; wind and road noise at speed is considerably increased even at sensible UK motorway speeds. Then it was roof back down for the last section, heading home across the south downs in the late afternoon mid-summer sun, a stretch and which included a section of one the last great driving roads in the South. And there our fat, flexible friend really did its thang, blasting past slower traffic in third with a switch of throttle and a blare of exhaust.

We did nip out with SS2.0 in the back when we got home; he fitted in the rear seat behind SS3.5 without problems; and would probably do so for another 2 or 3 years. In fact SS2.0 thought it was "awesome", but he's 4.....

Next day it rained. The run up the A3 back to Guildford was uneventful, a shiney, tightening, on-slip showed the car would understeer before the ASC gathered it all up again.

So, very nice, but just not my bag I’m afraid. As a sports-coupe, the Cab’s compromises, weight, noise and lack of strength, move it too far from Porsche’s sweet spot and squarely into the Mercedes’ SL’s. And it was really difficult to see any value over a £40k Boxster 'S'.

Talking of price; I asked the list price of ‘our’ C4S cabriolet. The answer? Eighty four big ones; or 2x Boxster S's or 1x GT3. At that price it made no sense at all; maybe a £25k 996 cab for weekend cruising would find a place in the SS7 garage but not as a Daily Driver; its a Porsche for Californians.

But a quick look around the showroom and read of the launch material of the '09 cars, and it seems a white 997/2 coupe, with the ‘little’ 325bhp 3.6l engine, small wheels and PASM/S_C would be interesting; and my salesman friend’s going to call me when he gets one in….

SS7

Box Box Box!

2008-07-22T13:55:00.005Z

The last time we took ‘KNoB’ out on the road (its MOT test earlier in the year), the passenger side electric window stopped working. Needless to say this was in a down position, and has hampered use of the car ever since.

Suspecting the motor, I checked out new prices (“It must be some cheap generic Bosch part, right?”) to find it was a whopping £160- even from GSF.

A week or so later I had a go at stripping down the 924’s door and window. Things came apart pretty easily thanks to good quality 70’s plastic and screws, and within an hour I’d fiddled the old motor out of the door, along with the glass, the mechanism, and a boot’s worth of screws, clips, fixings and door trim, including the flimsy (and falling apart) anti-drip skin. Sure enough the motor looked sad, neglected and seized.

Ebay came to the rescue, a bloke not far from me was breaking a 924 and would sell the correct side’s motor for £30. Much more like it. After another 10 days of two and fro I picked it up, the friendly seller even demonstrated it worked on his Ford Ka battery!

Two weeks later (spot a pattern?) I had a go a re-assembling it. As I rather suspected it needed a knack and four hands, so although I thought I’d got the knack sorted, I was a pair of hands short. Annoyingly I’d put some clamps aside that would have been just the ticket, but didn’t bring them up from home.

So last night (two weeks later…..) I finally managed a couple more hours garage time. With the help of a couple of clamps purchased last week from Homebase, I pieced together the window winder mechanism and all the door trim. The good news is that the glass now goes up and down by elastrickery, the bad news is the door doesn't unlock. This would be because I knocked the locking button down putting the trim back on, and now it must all be removed again to fix it. Bah! But at least I'm cutting the time needed down on each repetition, and soon will be the speediest 924 door stripper in the Northern hemisphere.

That's a point. I wonder if McLaren F1 need a speedy door trim fitter, as well as a Director of Common Sense? I can hear myself on the radio; "Guys, its still p*ssing down and the Boy Wonder’s tyres are worn to the canvass, better bring him in. I'll do the doors while you're at it", or "Guys, everyone else is pitting under safety car, shouldn't we be bringing TBW in for tyres, fuel and a quick check of the armrest?" and "Louis baby, the red light’s on, don’t forget to stop at the end of the pitlane - and I've put a Snickers in the door bin ".

SS7

PS sure enough, last night I had the door trim off, the locking t*t unjammed and the trim replace in the time it takes for Max Mosley to read the front page of the News of the World and phone his lawyer

Sith Lord in Search of an Author

2008-07-17T16:18:00.003Z

A couple of weeks ago, Mrs SS7 and I undertook one of our regular trips to the Chichester Festival Theatre. The production was and adaptation of Pirandello's "Six Characters in search of an Author" and starred Ian McDiarmid amongst others.

There followed one of the most intriguing and fascinating theatrical experiences of my life. I'm not going to attempt a plot summary (this is why wikipedia was invented) but it was one of those expereinces that leaves you wondering for days afterwards.

The critics loved it too; The Telegraph said

"Like Goold's Macbeth, which went on to triumph in the West End and on Broadway, I suspect this brilliantly inventive show has a long dramatic life ahead of it."

Go see it.

SS7

Increased Congestion?

2008-07-17T16:12:00.003Z

Last February, Tony Blair wrote to me (and 1.7m other folks) explaining that action on congestion was necessary as

"Congestion is predicted to increase by 25% by 2015. This is being driven by economic prosperity. There are 6 million more vehicles on the road now than in 1997, and predictions are that this trend will continue."

Meanwhile, the Department For Transport published figures stating that traffic for the first quarter of 2008 had fallen 2% based on the same period last year in response to large increases in the price of fuel.........

Somehow I can't see the price of fuel coming down significantly, has this altered the Govt's planning assumptions around road charging I wonder?

SS7

Heritage

2008-06-16T17:34:00.002Z

Porsche should hang it's head in shame. At this year's Le Mans 24hours race, scene of many race victories since 1970, Porsche were beaten by Ferrari (who were placed 1-2-3-4) in the GT2 category, and only won the 'small' prototype class (LMP2) against fragile garagistes and essentially amateur teams. The best LMP2 Porsche, run by a customer team, just made it into the top 10.

Its probably their worst Le Mans since the 50's; I wonder how many of their new customers in the East realise Porsche once had a glorious racing heritage?

Meanwhile, in city news, Porsche's CEO, Wendy Weidekind, is having to scape by on a total 2007 package of $89m.

SS7

"But Father's day is different..."

2008-06-16T17:29:00.002Z

Last Sunday morning dawned. After the previous evening's festivities I was betwixt hangover and headache, but I dragged myself up to make the drinks, get the boys dressed and fed, get an update from the Le Mans 24hr race on the PC, feed the cat, and sort out four lots of two wheeled transport for Kirk.

At this point (10.15am) a voice piped up; “Isn’t it father’s day?”, at which point a card was hurriedly produced along with a small slab of chocolate.

Compare and contrast with Mother’s day, which involved, for Mrs SS7, multiple cards, breakfast in bed, flowers, expensive handmade choccy’s and lunch provided. When challenged on this point Mrs SS7 made the comment above.

Bloody Hallmark.

Funny Girl

2008-05-05T20:02:00.004Z

I got dragged along to a production of Funny Girl at the CFT on Saturday. Generally musicals are all rather too metrosexual for this old petrolhead, but this was captivating, largely due to a simply magnetic performance from Samantha Spiro (even though one kept expecting La Streisand to appear at any moment).

http://www.cft.org.uk/cft-productions_details.asp?pid=173

SS7
PS The Telepgraph loved it too: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/05/10/btfunnygirl110.xml

Decked

2008-05-05T19:30:00.002Z

After a long weekend the deck is mostly finish, and we celebrated (that and the arrival of decent weather) by having the first barby of the year!

Black & White II

2008-05-05T19:22:00.003Z

Some pics taken at the Bay Estate after washing the car. The dias on the beach in the back-ground is the estate's millenium memorial> Its a sun-dial, with distances to various cities - Le Havre is 88 miles to the south west. The house is one of the few modernist houses in the area. Unhappily, the current owners have ruined it when they 'restored' it, the curved Crittal windows have been replaced by God-awful cheap UVPC rubbish.

An hour later, at low water, we picked up two WW2 era bullets, probably Lee Enfield .303 rounds left by the Canadians who trained in the area in 1944.

SS7

Black and White

2008-04-28T17:44:00.005Z

Had the wheels powder coated black last week, now just needed to figure out what to do about the centres; keep them silver or paint them black?

SS7
PS Another photo here

Deck Part Deux

2008-04-28T17:20:00.004Z

After another weekend of toil, I've finally finished the joists (simple once I'd figured out the best way to do it), fixed fascia boards (which will probably be stained later) and have started laying the decking (in between showers of rain).

The latter task is taking a while, I estimate I will have used near 600 screws once it is complete.

SS7

Want to Buy.....

2008-04-18T17:12:00.002Z

….a winter hack while the SORN’d Cayman takes a rest from the salt, rain, ice, dark and general sh*teness of winter motoring in the UK. In its stead, I plan to run another car from November to March/April, something cheap to buy and run, practical, but still offering a decent level of reliability and performance.

By ‘Cheap’ I mean less than £3k, and ‘cheap to run’ means can be fixed with parts from GSF by a local garage, and is capable of achieving 30mpg or more on a decent run. By ‘Practical’ I mean it should be a hatch or estate (so I can bung children and bikes in), which offers decent comfort and has working a/c to help demist in winter rain.

And by ‘decent performance’ I mean enough grunt for ‘A’ road overtaking.

And nothing later than March ’01 because I already contribute enough road tax to our miserable and ineffective government’s coffers thanks.

Plus points will be awarded for greasy road friendly 4wheel drive, stability control, Xenon headlights, and the possibility of finding a cheap spare set of wheels with winter tyres.

My current short (but ever expanding) list in possible order of preference contains:

- Volkswagon Golf Mk3 VR6/2.0 16v
- Subaru Impreza GX estate (the 2.0 n/a one with bug eyes)
- MG ZS 180 (the Civic bodied V6 one)
- Audi A4 1.8T Quattro (hmm, maybe I should push this up the list)
- BMW (E36) 325i (but difficult to find one that hasn’t been ‘improved’ by some chav)
- Saab 9-3 turbo (although I don’t understand the ever-changing turbo range line-up)
- Ford Mondeo ST200 (not the very first series)

Regretfully rejected for cost reasons are:
- Civic Type R (the flying iron one)
- Audi A2tdi 90 (I know, it misses some of the points above, but I like ‘em)
- Fiat Panda 100hp (still £7k for an early one)
- Audi A8

Regretfully rejected for other arbitrary reasons are:
- Subaru Legacy (just too much like some Toyota minicab)
- Vauxhall Vectra V6 (God no, and do they still put the brake pedal 3” above the gas to prevent the hard of thinking pressing both at once?)
- BMW 5/7 series barges (barges)
- Mercedes 190e 2.3/2.5l 16v (I’d love it way too much)

So, if anyone in Blogland has any suggestions I’d be up for it.

SS7

Old Banger

2008-04-18T17:06:00.003Z

The sun was shining when I left the house, and the car’s temperature gauge showed 8 degrees, so I was hoping for dry grippy tarmac for the run north.

On leaving the A27 I spotted an old 50’s sports racer in the mirrors–– cream with black race roundels. It was C type Jag-ish at the back with a cut-away Aston DB3S style front; and just a low aero-screen to protect the driver.

The speed rose as I climbed over the downs; the old racer showing it wanted to keep pace as we passed slower traffic. Its driver was taking it easy on the corners, but was more than able to keep pace on the straights, in fact on one full noise overtake up on the weald he clearly demonstrated his old banger had the legs of the Cayman, at least up to the screaming top of my 3rd gear…..

I pulled away again through more fast sweepers and was heading down into a valley when I looked up to see the surrounding fields still full of frost.. Under braking for the 2nd gear left hander at the bottom of the hill, the Cayman wriggled and the ABS cut in – at which point I did feel very lucky I wasn’t in some ancient 911 heading straight towards the scene of the accident with the front wheels locked.

Shortly after I stopped, waiting a few moments for the old car to catch up, and then pulled in pulled in behind for a closer look; exchanging waves as we did. It was obviously Jag powered, and had an aged patina, but the ‘Q’ plate it was running on jarred somewhat.

After that we caught traffic, passed another accident, and he turned off with another wave just after Petworth.

Nice way to start the week.

SS7

Facebook Etiquette

2008-04-18T17:00:00.002Z

So what’s the ‘U’ thing to do when some cutie you’re sure you’ve never ever met (at least definitely not when you were sober) wants to be your Facebook buddie?

There’s not a “You look cute, and I’m damned if I know you, but hey, lets be friends anyway” option I can see.

Oh wait; “Cute”…

I guess I know the answer to this one….

SS7

World Car

2008-04-18T16:53:00.003Z

The booted Focus Hertz gave me on the last trip is comedically awful, basic US spec, which excludes remote locking, T/C and, I suspect, ABS…*

The thing wallows above 65mph, spins its inside wheel at every junction, and it's only saving grace is that the bright blue paint makes it easy to spot in a car-park. Amazing to think that this is the same vehicle as the brilliant chassised Euro spec car.

SS7

*Proven by a smokey stop in the hotel's car park.

Hate Something, Change Something

2008-04-18T16:43:00.003Z

Here’s a thing: I wrote this weeks ago, decided I was being a bit harsh and parked it. Then I decided perhaps I wasn’t being so harsh so here we are:

So after a false start, the Civic was finally delivered a few weeks ago and has immediately been pressed into service as family taxi, due for a life of hundreds of suburban middle-class family-life type trips.

First impressions were that the ‘revolutionary’ Euro Civic design isn’t as revolutionary as it seemed to be at launch two years ago, and that it really isn’t far removed from other current mainstream hatches. Ok, front light/trim strip is striking, and the multi-level dash is unusual, and the way it sweeps around either side of the wheel does put the varied minor controls close to hand, even if you have to make sure it doesn’t kneecap you on entry. The start button also works better than you might think: put key in, turn one click, push button (handily close to the key) and away you go. The wheel, unusually for an entry level spec. mid-size hatch, adjusts for reach and rake. And its just as well it does; the flip side to putting the fuel tank under the front seats to give the spacious rear compartment a usefully low, flat floor is that the driver’s seat is higher than you really want.

Although there does seem to be a modern trend of adjusting one’s seat height to the top most position available (judging by the number of folks you see around with their scalps pressed against the roof lining) I’m more of a sit-on-the-floor-wheel-in your-chest-like-in-the-DTM sort of bloke. I'm sure Ralph the Shoemaker isn't going to have to sit on the fuel tank of his Merc.....

The Civic is another modern that suffers from an intrusive ‘A’ pillar, and moving the seat around doesn’t make much difference to the view out, so you develop a head wobble at junctions to allow you to spot on-coming 40-tonne artics that would otherwise spoil your day. The rear view is also problematic; a combination of large C pillars, a split rear screen and rear head restraints reduce visibility to that of an early KdF-Wagen. Oh well; retro-fit beepers are available.

A longer cross country run to a children’s activity zoo presented an opportunity to get acquainted with the chassis. In 16” wheeled SE form, it’s on a par with peers – competent, but not much more. The ride, however, is mercifully compliant in comparison with peers equipped with ‘Sport’ suspension, and body roll is not going to produce sea sickness in the children.

And yet the overall Civic driving experience is overwhelmingly dominated by two features, one excellent, the other excruciatingly what-were-they-thinking-of? bad.

The Good
Sing it Like you Hate it - that damn motor is tremendous. For a 4-pot diesel, its also very quiet – from cold there’s no clatter like two Navies banging in an iron spike with their spades, and at any kind of speed the whisper of turbulence around the A pillar has a far higher decibel count than the engine. The thrum-free power deliver is also much more linear that the VAG oil burners I’ve experienced; torque builds steadily from 800rpm through to 3000 rpm, without that nothing-nothing-WHAM! big bloody thump its so difficult to drive around in the VAG cars. At less than 400 miles, its still very tight, so I’d expect to see the 44mpg improve as it loosens, and the slight reluctance to run a much less than 40mph in 5th also improve.

Sometimes its good to hate something.

The Very Bad
Like I hate this. It was Honda’s stated aim that the ’06 Civic was to reduce the average age of their buyers from the 70’s. Funky non-fogey friendly design appears to have achieved that objective, so why on earth does the steering has so much assistance that a withered 90 year old spinster could happily turn it with her little finger?

And not only that, but so feel-free is the thing in use that the family’s Logitech PS2 wheel (ok, it has 'Force Feedback') gives you a better idea of what’s happening at the front wheels. So you drive around trying not to constantly overcorrect, holding the anesthetised wheel between finger tips, and forcing yourself not to lean on the rim for the remotest of support in corners, lest you spear off into the verge.

I know that even the Type R version suffers a little of the inevitable electric-assisted numbness, and that the diesel lump will add to the nose weight, but never has my experience of any car been so dominated by such a misguided dynamic feature. So much so that I really do think Honda needs to get a dealer retro-fit fix out.

Anyone listening in over there in Datchet?

SS7

PS Be very careful searching for 'Camel' on ebay images......

Nail Therapy

2008-04-18T16:32:00.003Z

I had last week off work. After the past month or so at the office I decided I really had to bang something hard with a hammer, so rather than assualt one of the local coffin dodgers I bought £500 of timber and have started to build a deck.

Highly satisfying.....

SS7

Dimensions

2008-01-31T00:02:00.000Z

Notwithstanding its ‘Wrong Wheel Drive”; layout, the SS7 family car dilemma has finally been resolved in the form of a new Honda Civic 2.2 cdti. The Civic is a small-medium 5-door hatch-back, but appears to be big enough for family duties.

I was intrigued, therefore, to compared its dimension with those of a 1967 Ford Cortina 1.6 Delux - as it happens the first new family car my father owned. I was 6, my brother 4, and as a family we toured the length and breadth of the Malay peninsular in it for nearly 5 years.

Cortina: Length: 4267mm, Width: 1648mm
Civic: Length: 4245mm, Width: 1765mm

Or in old money, the modern hatchback is an insignificant 7/8 inch shorter, but 4 ¾ inches wider than the 60’s family car.

So perhaps the Civic’s front-wheel drive architecture gives it a longer wheelbase?

Honda Wheelbase: 2330mm
Ford Wheelbase: 2489mm

Hmm, interesting, contrary to expectation, the Ford has a longer wheelbase. My guess is that the lack of fwd and crash zones means Ford could stick the front wheels right in the corners.

But Honda must have found some more interior room, inspite of the lack of room between the wheels?

The site: http://www.carsplusplus.com/ quotes something called ‘Passenger space’ for both.

The Cortina is given as 4,280litres, but the Civic is 5,260l, or an additional 23%. It explains the room in the modern car….

But in many ways, most revealing is the weight figures:

Ford Weight: 857kgs
Honda Weight: 1400kgs

Now the Ford figure is probably dry and sans everything, and the Honda will be a DIN number (plus ½ tank fuel, 80kg driver), but you really have to wonder what they built those things of, Walkers crisp packets?

SS7

My Bugatti

2008-01-30T23:56:00.000Z

At the recent Autosport show at the NEC, I got the chance to sit in a Pur Sang T35 and make tearing calico noises*. The Pur Sang is an Argentine built tool-room copy of a Bugatti T35, and is where I’d put £125,000 of my lottery-win pounds without hesitation.

As it happens, I have a Bugatti copy sitting in the hallway at home.

Ettore Bugatti applied a magical combination of artistry and technology in the design and construction of his cars. Some of them, such as the T35, were amongst the most lovely of all car shapes, and arguably amongst of the most perfect forms industrial man has ever produced.

His company didn’t survive the 1939-45 hostilities and the death of his beloved son, Jean, but such is the legendary power of the name it has since been resurrected, in the 50’s, again in the 80’s, and now once more by VW.

In some ways the current Veyron is a travesty of the Bugatti tradition; most of the original cars were pure-bred lightweight sports cars using the same designs and technology as the then current GP cars. In fact it was Ettore Bugatti who referred to the rapid, but big and heavy Bentleys, as "Fast truck’s". It seems odd, then that the fastest truck of them all is the current €1M, 2000kg, 1000bhp, Veyron 16.4.

On the other hand, Bugattis always were cars for the very, very rich, so maybe not much has changed.

Ettore’s artistry ran in the family. His brother, Rembrandt, produced superb sculpture, and his father, Carlo, was a furniture maker. It is even said that the trademark horse-shoe Bugatti radiator’s shape was inspired by one of Carlo’s chair designs. Such was the reputation of the creativity and quality of work produced by the family, that in 1979, there was a successful exhibition held at the Design Council in London entitled ‘The Amazing Bugattis’.

Carlo’s work was heavily influenced by Levantine and North African native artwork. The exotic Art Nouveau furniture he produced at the end of the 19th Century was decorated with ivory inlays, silk tassels, beads, copper, and often upholstered with skins or parchment. One piece in the exhibition really caught my eye, a sculptural chair known as the cobra. More simple than his other work, it was a beautifully elegant shape, with a seat that seemed to float on a curve that ran from the legs to the high seat back.

Some years later, I noticed that the Conran Shop in London’s Old Brompton Road had a reproduction of this chair. However the price was huge, much more than an impecunious young database marketeer could afford, so I regretfully had to pass. However, it was still there the next time I walked past the window, and the next, and by this time ownership of this object was becoming something of an obsession. Could it possibly be included in the shop’s January sale?

I arrived outside the store on the day of sale early, and was delighted to see ‘my’ chair in amongst the discounted sample sofa’s and other remnants. A hour later it was in my Clapham flat, and it has been a prized possession ever since.

Several house moves later I discovered what the material used for the drumskin-like upholstery was. A visiting relative decided to try the chair out; a second later he was dumped on the floor – the material on the seat had split completely.

Many furniture restoration specialists later I eventually discovered someone who identified what it was; a vellum made from goat-skin. Fully restored, the chair is again in place, and this time no-one dares to actually sit on it!

SS7
*The straight eight supercharged T35 engine note is reckoned by fabric-rippers to sound like this

White House

2008-01-30T23:11:00.002Z

This the house Mrs SS7 and I built in 1998.

It was a candidate for the first Grand Design Channel 4 TV series, but they chose a water tower conversion to feature instead. I'd like to point out that, unlike the water tower, ours came in under budget and on schedule so probably wouldn't have made great TV....

However both schemes planned to use a form of building technology known as ‘permanent polystyrene formwork’. This is more commonly known by the name of the most well established manufacturer; Beco, and resembles giant hollow white Lego blocks.

Once in place – and the ground floor walls of a modest home might only take a morning to construct – concrete is poured into the hollow centre of the wall. When it has set, you end up with an insulated concrete structural wall.

Builders are notoriously conservative when it comes to new ideas and materials, so using Beco did narrow the field somewhat. We eventually found a contractor more used to putting up agricultural buildings; where apparently Beco is used for pig-sheds all the time. He did ok, although his people skills were a bit, well, agricultural....

In use, the house was very warm and quiet (important as it was built under Heathrow's flight path), which wasn’t surprising as each wall is a single piece of steel re-inforced concrete.

Practical considerations include the placement of windows, which ideally need to match the Beco dimensions (anyone who has ever used Lego will understand), and we had also to be a bit careful mounting heavy items like kitchen units on the walls as some wall sections were pure polystyrene. The exterior was finished in self-colouring epoxy render whilst the interior was dry lined and plaster skimmed. I built the deck and a 35m2 double garage myself.

We sold the house when the arrival of SS7 Jnr #2 esulted in a serious shortage of bedrooms (as well as 6 months without sleep, the little sod) . We had over 30 viewings the first weekend it was on the market and it sold for the full asking price.

We then moved to one of the few mid-20th century modernist private houses in the UK, but that's another story...

BTW, Here’s a plug for the lovely Tim, our architect. A more decent bloke and skilled practitioner it would be hard to find. You can reach him at www.counterandking.co.uk

SS7

Wrong Wheel Drive

2008-01-30T22:41:00.000Z

In these days of the almost universal use of front wheel drive there’s a lot to be said for proper wheel drive. Packaging and cost considerations aside, the linearity of response and steering clarity is something you notice even just driving down to the shops. Trust me, I’ve been driving rear wheel drive vehicles exclusively for more than a year.

But I also remember my past experience of the downside of the combination of turbo-diesel muscle and front wheel drive.

Imagine you’re on the way to work, and are in a queue at a busy roundabout.

And its raining.

The sequence of events goes like this: :

Spot gap in busy roundabout

1.Endeavour to accelerate briskly off line into gap
2. Turbo lag means nothing happens
3. Lots of throttle then applied; gap disappearing fast
4. Turbo spools-up; 200+ lb/ft of torque heads for front wheels
5. Head snaps back; steering goes oddly stiff
6. A nano-second later, the front wheels give up the traction battle, and the inside wheel spins, compliant suspension bushes allow spinning wheel to flail around in wheel arch
7. The Bosch ‘Traction Control system spots the spinning wheel, and cuts throttle
8. Head snaps forward, the turbo spools down. Now 20 lb/ft at front wheels.

Progress so far: 6 ft.

9. Gap almost gone, and disaster looming fast.
10. Throttle pedal now mashed to floor; turbo spools again, front tyres vapourise under the onslaught
11. Repeat steps 3 to 10 until field of view completely taken up by Seddon Atkinson badge

And breath...

….for 14 milliseconds until engine reaches end of 1200rpm power ‘band’ then frantically search for 2nd gear

SS7

Spotted

2008-01-30T22:35:00.000Z

So the other night after work I headed for the coast, leaving the office at 7.30. I was tired and wasn’t in a hurry, but the roads were very quiet and on the open rural section after Northchapel the pace inevitable quickened. Just before Petworth I overtook a couple of cars in what I recall was the approved IAM fashion, one of which was an early Golf cabriolet driven rather gently by what I took to be an old boy. I must have been ½ mile or so ahead before slowing for the 30mph limit through the town.

The road south of Petworth was also quiet, so I made good progress and arrived home around 8.40.

As I walked in Mrs SS7 announces “Sarah says you overtook Chris and her in the Golf doing at least 120mph driving like a lunatic.!!” and then proceeded to accuse me of planning to deprive the children on their father in a fiery death crash, and generally raged on in a similar vein for most of the rest of the evening.

Now I happen to know our friend Sarah (whose partner Chris drives a Mk1 Golf Cabriolet) has never reprogrammed her phone with my new mobile number after I swopped my old one with Mrs SS7.

So she was probably trying to call me, ended up speaking to Mrs SS7 and couldn’t resist a little embellishment of the truth……

Sheeesh