British automotive firms have spoken out about why remaining in Europe matters to their businesses in a series of case studies published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Entitled Voices on Europe, it features six companies from across a broad spectrum of the automotive sector, all driving technological innovation. They range from research and product testing houses to … [Read more...]
Features
Eight million motorists rarely take to motorways
Over eight million of Britain’s 38m drivers hardly ever venture onto motorways while 380,000 say they never do, says the RAC. Of the eight million, or one in five drivers (22%), who rarely take to the country’s fastest roads 6% admit they are just not keen to and 12% say they generally rely on someone else. The remainder (79%) claim never to have the need to use the motorway where they live and … [Read more...]
Welsh drivers are the … most forgetful
Welsh drivers are among the highest to admit memory loss behind the wheel. A startling number of drivers or 15% have very often or quite often experienced episodes where they can’t remember the last few moments, or longer, of their journeys, according to new research from the AA. The findings are based on an AA Populus poll of 27,662 drivers. Perhaps contrary to expectations the motoring … [Read more...]
Let there be light – please!
Too many drivers are in the dark with their lights, say the Institute of Advanced Motorists. IAM director of standards, Mark Lewis, says there are simple rules for driving with the correct lights under different circumstances on the road and you shouldn’t rely on dashboard displays to tell you if they are faulty. Lots of cars now have dashboard warning lights to let you know of a bulb … [Read more...]
Sophistication comes from the stone age
A touch of the Flintstones has been given bespoke treatment by one of Britain’s finest marques. Bentley Motors’ bespoke coach-building division, Mulliner, is introducing the next level of modern British automotive luxury – stone veneers. This innovative interior finish utilises state-of-the-art stone veneer technology to make a luxurious, contemporary feature of a natural product formed over … [Read more...]
Renault Kadjar Signature Nav 130 2WD
Before you scour the words in this new model test drive for what the word Kadjar means, it doesn’t seem to mean anything it’s just a name hatched up by those creative marketing types. You know - the people who came up with oddball names for other Renault new cars such as Twizy, Zoe Twingo and Clio. It was the question most asked of me during my test drive period, more than … [Read more...]
Vulcan Meets Vulcan
https://youtu.be/oQ1OI-PXZ7Q … [Read more...]
M-phobia hits half of drivers, says AA
Almost half of motorists know friends or family who avoid driving on motorways. More than one in 10 women say that they avoid driving on motorways due to nerves. One quarter of drivers are even nervous when they know that family or friends are making a journey on a motorway. New figures show that one in 50 people, 13,000 per day, planning a route on AA Route Planner are driving extra … [Read more...]
Diesels, VW and the road ahead
Diesel still has a real future, despite the tirade of criticism, says economist Prof Garel Rhys, who in four decades studying the automotive industry, has seen in all before. The current furore over the fuel has raised a number of issues not only about the fuel itself but the way Governments have supported it, how carmakers have embraced it and how society has accepted it. The reality today … [Read more...]
Volvo outline easy controls for self-driving cars
Volvo has revealed one of the industry’s most advanced and easy-to-use interfaces to oversee how drivers will transfer control to a car’s autonomous driving mode in its forthcoming cars. The advent of autonomous driving technology means that the relationship between a driver and a car’s user interface is of crucial significance. A safe and seamless handover of control is the cornerstone of any … [Read more...]