Ford has commissioned custom tyres that can leave key water safety messages imprinted on stretches of sand as part of a new initiative with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The custom tyres have been designed to leave 3 key water safety messages in the sand, including ‘float to live’, ‘no inflatables’, and ‘emergency? call 999’. Each year Brits spend over five and a half million hours … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Skoda Scala Monte Carlo 1.5 TSI Hatchback
The five door family sized C-segment Scala hatchback was launched towards the end of last year but it’s only now the range-topping Monte Carlo sports spec level is introduced, writes David Miles. The Scala was effectively a replacement for Skoda’s underwhelming Rapid range and sits between the Czech brand’s Fabia supermini sized hatchback and estate models and the highly rated … [Read more...]
Newslines 4 June
Volkswagen has resurrected the name ‘shooting brake’ for an estate version of its heavily revised Arteon model, alongside a new four-door coupe which will both be unveiled on 24 June. VW say they will have new high-technology powertrains and intelligent comfort and driver assistance systems. A new-look KIA Picanato is in Britain later this year. Refreshed GT-Line and X-Line petrol models … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: On the road & in the news 30 May
Although the lockdown measures are easing it will take time for the wheels of society to return to something like normal life, writes David Miles. But from tomorrow, after the bank holiday week, English schools for certain age groups will open where they can and more employees should be returning to work and that includes the motoring industry. So hopefully it won’t be too long before we get back … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: On the road and in the news 24 May
With the continued absence of new cars to evaluate or product launches to attend I’m still sifting through newspapers and the dwindling supply of worthwhile press releases to keep readers in the picture as to what might be of interest in the motoring world, writes David Miles. It seems as though getting the country back close to normal life, if it ever will be, has given opponents of the … [Read more...]
Newslines 22 May
Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations division sold more than 9,500 high-performance models last year, up 64% on the year before, despite the virus pandemic impacting sales. Extremely strong demand for all seven SV vehicles has driven this growth along with an expansion to 100 SV specialist dealers around the world. Shadow Transport Minister for Wales has questioned how Welsh … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: On the road and in the news 17 May
Another week has gone by and here I am still keeping calm and carrying on despite very mixed messages from our Government about what we can or should do during now it appears slightly relaxed semi lock-down period, says David Miles. But no longer is it the same rules in each of our four domestic countries, so that's really clear. With no sign of new models to road test or press launch events … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: On the road and in the news 26 April
As the COVID-19 lock-down continues for another three weeks at least the motoring world needs to carry on, as does our service to supply interesting news items you may have overlooked. Here are a few I have selected for this week’s news briefing. Still ‘Moving the Metal’ via on-line virtual showrooms Numerous car brands are now operating virtual on-line tours and dialogues with potential … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: On the road and in the news
With the motoring media world in lockdown, the supply of new models and new model test driving events are all cancelled so instead of road test reviews we are keeping the wheels turning by covering some news items you might just have missed, says David Miles. Adversity is driving innovation at Skoda Virtual showrooms in the car sales industry is not a new thing, its click and view, tick a few … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Skoda Superb SE L 1.5 5dr
When a car-maker gives a model a name it risks being memorable, forgettable, laughable, unpronounceable or ultimately it means little, but in the case of the Skoda Superb, it actually means a lot, writes Robin Roberts. It’s the 125thanniversary of Skoda in 2020 and for 85 years it has been making models with the name Superb. There’s probably a strange truth in the fact that many people will … [Read more...]