Driving south from central Birmingham to the M42 earlier this evening, I spotted a bright yellow MG TF with a '57' registration plate. I know there were quite a few unsold MGs and Rovers that were registered well after MG Rover went down, but my guess is that this car was something to do with the planned relaunch of small scale Longbridge production of the TF. I noticed that the TF badge was centrally located on the rear panel, which I don't think was the case with the pre-2005 examples, but apart from that, this car looked pretty much standard.
Personally, I've always thought the TF looks pretty good, especially the frontal styling, which I think gives the car a much better face than the original F's round headlamps. It's worth remembering that while the F was introduced over ten years ago, the TF update was a much heavier revamp than it appeared - for example, the main side panels are a single piece item, and the TF achieved good crash test ratings, especially for pedestrian safety. I think from the point of view of looks and the basic layout and mechanicals, the car has aged very well - it's the interior that needs most work if any relaunched TF is going to be a success.
Showing posts with label great spots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label great spots. Show all posts
Tuesday, 23 October 2007
Saturday, 15 September 2007
Great spots 9 - Porsche Panamera prototype/development car
Undergoing testing on the Stelvio pass - Porsche's forthcoming four-door saloon/coupe. The silhouette of the car appeared to be the real thing, but there were various bits of superficial disguise that were apparently designed to divert attention from the true window and shut lines, although these could, for the most part, still be made out. No photo, I'm afraid - just couldn't get my camera out in time. The Panamera was coming the other way and was gone in a flash, if you'll forgive the pun. Anyway, have a Google and you'll find that there are plenty of surreptitious pix of this thing out there already. I'm not sure it looked quite as nice as the Mercedes CLS or the photos I've seen of the Aston Martin Rapide - my impression was of something that was slightly dumpy at the rear, although that could have been a trick induced by the light disguise.
My guess would be that Porsche wasn't exploring or tuning the car's outright handling capabilities on the Stelvio because you can't really get up enough speed for that sort of thing on large sections of the pass. So it was probably stuff like brakes, transmission and cooling system that were being put to the test here - and how.
I also saw a Vectra on the pass that seemed to have one or two small pieces of superficial disguise at the front or rear and a deep, rumbly engine note - not sure what that was but again, it could have been a manufacturer's car undergoing testing of some minor mods, or something more exciting hiding under a plainish skin.
My guess would be that Porsche wasn't exploring or tuning the car's outright handling capabilities on the Stelvio because you can't really get up enough speed for that sort of thing on large sections of the pass. So it was probably stuff like brakes, transmission and cooling system that were being put to the test here - and how.
I also saw a Vectra on the pass that seemed to have one or two small pieces of superficial disguise at the front or rear and a deep, rumbly engine note - not sure what that was but again, it could have been a manufacturer's car undergoing testing of some minor mods, or something more exciting hiding under a plainish skin.
Tuesday, 4 September 2007
Great spots 8 - 'Porsche Design' sat nav at the IFA trade show in Berlin today
A quick snatched post at Schoenefeld airport on the way back from a brief visit to Berlin to take in the IFA broadcasting and consumer electronics trade fair. Excellent show, but extremely difficult to navigate given the mind-boggling complexity of Berlin's exhibition complex.
Not all of it was automotive stuff but today I came across Porsche Design's sat nav. I think it's from the branch of the family that designs sunglasses rather than sports cars but a highly stylish item nevertheless. No doubt it will command a hefty premium but I doubt it'll do a better job of getting you to where you want to go than the stuff that's already out there from Garmin and the rest.
Not all of it was automotive stuff but today I came across Porsche Design's sat nav. I think it's from the branch of the family that designs sunglasses rather than sports cars but a highly stylish item nevertheless. No doubt it will command a hefty premium but I doubt it'll do a better job of getting you to where you want to go than the stuff that's already out there from Garmin and the rest.
Monday, 30 July 2007
Great spots 7 - hybrid Ikea company car
A month or two back, Ikea made a bit of a splash in the national press when it announced that it was switching its fleet of company cars from diesels to hybrids.
I spotted one of these recently in the car park at Ikea's store near Leeds - interestingly enough, it's a Honda, rather than the more common Toyota Prius.
I heard a whisper that IKEA's fleet only contains about a dozen cars, so perhaps the impact of this move is going to be limited. However, I did notice that IKEA has switched almost all of the light bulbs on sale in its stores over to the long-life energy-saving type, so perhaps this is more than just corporate greenwash.
I spotted one of these recently in the car park at Ikea's store near Leeds - interestingly enough, it's a Honda, rather than the more common Toyota Prius.
I heard a whisper that IKEA's fleet only contains about a dozen cars, so perhaps the impact of this move is going to be limited. However, I did notice that IKEA has switched almost all of the light bulbs on sale in its stores over to the long-life energy-saving type, so perhaps this is more than just corporate greenwash.
Monday, 2 July 2007
Great spots 6 - Ssangyong Rodius
A couple of years ago there was a survey, I think carried out by an insurance company, that found the Ssangyong Rodius to be the ugliest car on sale in the UK. I spotted this one in my local Tesco car park, and I'd have to admit it's not a great looker, but on the other hand I don't think it's much worse than, say, the Mercedes R-class or the forthcoming Peugeot 308.
When we had the Rodius on the Verdict back in 2005, one of the readers who tried it rather memorably said that it looked as though someone had stuck a dormer window on the back, and this second shot shows precisely what he meant.
I'm one of the few people who's ever said anything remotely nice about the Rodius in print. It does have a fairly agreeable Mercedes-derived diesel engine and automatic gearbox, after all - and it's utterly enormous inside. I can imagine the Rodius being rather fun as a holiday vehicle for a big family carrying a lot of stuff. Our Verdict test car, like the Rodius shown here, had black paintwork and heavily tinted glass, a combination that tended to minimise the impact of the bodywork's awkward creases.
When we had the Rodius on the Verdict back in 2005, one of the readers who tried it rather memorably said that it looked as though someone had stuck a dormer window on the back, and this second shot shows precisely what he meant.
I'm one of the few people who's ever said anything remotely nice about the Rodius in print. It does have a fairly agreeable Mercedes-derived diesel engine and automatic gearbox, after all - and it's utterly enormous inside. I can imagine the Rodius being rather fun as a holiday vehicle for a big family carrying a lot of stuff. Our Verdict test car, like the Rodius shown here, had black paintwork and heavily tinted glass, a combination that tended to minimise the impact of the bodywork's awkward creases.
Sunday, 20 May 2007
Great spots 4 - Proton Gen-2
Spotted this one today in a McDonalds car park near Manchester.
You don't see many of these around but this example provides a reminder that the Gen-2 is a handsome car. Many of the fundamentals are pretty sound as well - there was a certain amount of input from Proton-owned Lotus after all.
Unfortunately, this model was let down at launch by its cabin trim, which was rather flimsy and a bit too beige for most tastes, although Proton has recently changed the Gen-2's interior colour scheme by introducing the sorts of dark grey shades that European buyers prefer - and is offering free leather upholstery at the same time. I haven't seen the revised Gen-2 cabin up close, an omission I am hoping to rectify at this year's SMMT test day on Tuesday, but Proton's recent work on the interiors of the Savvy and Satria Neo does provide a certain amount of encouragement.
While UK Gen-2 sightings are, and are likely to remain, fairly rare events, things could have been very different. It was widely reported a few years back that MG-Rover was considering a deal to use the Proton as the basis of a Rover 45 replacement. I think this might just about have worked if Rover had carried out a thorough revamp of the interior while preserving the Gen-2's basic strengths such as its smart exterior styling, eager (if rather noisy) engine and keen handling.
Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that such a happy outcome would have been unlikely. MG-Rover had already taken the approach of borrowing and then adapting another manufacturer's model to fill a gap in its own range by using the Tata Indica as the basis for a Rover 100/Metro replacement, the City Rover. It is now widely agreed, I think, that not enough was done to adapt the Indica to European standards; I suspect that MG-Rover would have been tempted - or forced for reasons of financial necessity - to take similar short-cuts with any adaptation of the Gen-2, with similarly disappointing results.
Anyway, I have to confess to having something of a soft spot for Proton and its quirky ways, so more on the cars and the company another time, I'm sure.
You don't see many of these around but this example provides a reminder that the Gen-2 is a handsome car. Many of the fundamentals are pretty sound as well - there was a certain amount of input from Proton-owned Lotus after all.
Unfortunately, this model was let down at launch by its cabin trim, which was rather flimsy and a bit too beige for most tastes, although Proton has recently changed the Gen-2's interior colour scheme by introducing the sorts of dark grey shades that European buyers prefer - and is offering free leather upholstery at the same time. I haven't seen the revised Gen-2 cabin up close, an omission I am hoping to rectify at this year's SMMT test day on Tuesday, but Proton's recent work on the interiors of the Savvy and Satria Neo does provide a certain amount of encouragement.
While UK Gen-2 sightings are, and are likely to remain, fairly rare events, things could have been very different. It was widely reported a few years back that MG-Rover was considering a deal to use the Proton as the basis of a Rover 45 replacement. I think this might just about have worked if Rover had carried out a thorough revamp of the interior while preserving the Gen-2's basic strengths such as its smart exterior styling, eager (if rather noisy) engine and keen handling.
Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that such a happy outcome would have been unlikely. MG-Rover had already taken the approach of borrowing and then adapting another manufacturer's model to fill a gap in its own range by using the Tata Indica as the basis for a Rover 100/Metro replacement, the City Rover. It is now widely agreed, I think, that not enough was done to adapt the Indica to European standards; I suspect that MG-Rover would have been tempted - or forced for reasons of financial necessity - to take similar short-cuts with any adaptation of the Gen-2, with similarly disappointing results.
Anyway, I have to confess to having something of a soft spot for Proton and its quirky ways, so more on the cars and the company another time, I'm sure.
Tuesday, 8 May 2007
Great spots 2 - Land Rover 101 Forward Control
While everyone else was swarming around Joanna Lumley at Solihull today, I spotted this gem tucked away behind a fence on the other side of the road. This is the comparatively rare Land Rover 101 Forward Control, built in the seventies to tow light guns for the Army. It shared its transmission and 3.5 litre V8 with the original Range Rover and '101' refers to its wheelbase measured in inches. Looks brilliant. Now replaced by the Pinzgauer, at least in British Army service.
Thursday, 19 April 2007
Great spots 1 - VW Phaeton taxi
More on the Phaeton; everyone who drives it - this includes me - says it's great, but it's been a sales flop because it's difficult to persuade people to buy an expensive luxury car with a VW badge. This one, which I spotted at Munich airport this afternoon, has been put to good use as a taxi. I'm not sure this is the sort of thing its makers had in mind but I'm fairly certain it will stand up to hundreds of thousands of kilometres of hard use without any problems.
That creamy off-white paintwork, by the way, is the standard colour for German taxis, which all used to be black until the late sixties. The switch to the lighter colour scheme was justified on the grounds that it would keep taxis' interiors cooler in summer. Not sure how that looks now air-con is so widespread. Some areas of Germany have started to relax the strict colour requirements which means taxi ranks will look a lot less tidy and uniform - which is to say, a lot less German - than they used to.
That creamy off-white paintwork, by the way, is the standard colour for German taxis, which all used to be black until the late sixties. The switch to the lighter colour scheme was justified on the grounds that it would keep taxis' interiors cooler in summer. Not sure how that looks now air-con is so widespread. Some areas of Germany have started to relax the strict colour requirements which means taxi ranks will look a lot less tidy and uniform - which is to say, a lot less German - than they used to.
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