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themotor.net
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Brooklands Austin Morris Day - March 2010 |
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Written by Colin Rear
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Monday, 08 March 2010 20:38 |
  Just in case one (excellent) event on a sunny day was not quite enough for the motoring enthusiast, in the interests of entertaining myself and the readers of this website, I attended a second! The Brooklands Austin-Morris day marks the start of a series of themed events at the historic home of British motor racing. It represents a chance for the lovers of what used to be Britain's biggest selling marques to show off their prides and joy, and is an event I have now attended for three years. In the past, it followed a return from Geneva, but this year it fitted into the diary as I needed to be at the London end of the M4 ready for a client meeting early on Monday morning. As the Goodwood Breakfast Club meeting lasted into the early afternoon, it was about 13:45 when I reached Brooklands, and whilst few of the display cars had departed, they were being re-assembled for a parade around the grounds and a massed photo on the banking.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 09 March 2010 17:22 |
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Goodwood Breakfast club - March 2010 |
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Written by Colin Rear
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Sunday, 07 March 2010 19:01 |
  This is the third year for the Goodwood Breakfast meetings, and all the evidence from today's event, the first of 2010, suggests that the event is getting ever more popular. Doubtless encouraged by a forecast (and a reality!) of a cloudless blue sky, far more people turned out with their cars than at any of the previous Breakfast meetings I have attended. There were also far more people milling around, looking at the incredible variety of machinery and enjoying what has to be one of the first outdoor events of the year. It was well gone mid-day before the majority had gone, which is also testament to just how much there was to see. Granted it was extremely cold initially, with a biting wind challenging the photographer's fingers almost more than the double hazard of throngs of people and the lengthy shadows that you still get in March. Theme for the day was "Tax Free", in other words for cars registered before 1973, and the majority of cars were indeed from this era, but there were some truly splendid supercars as well. What follows is but a relatively small sub-set of the cars in attendance, as there was too much to see, and the photographic challenges were also non-trivial. So, apologies now for the absence of pictures of the Muira that was there, and the Ford GT and countless other splendid devices.
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Last Updated on Sunday, 07 March 2010 22:30 |
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2009 Audi A4 2.0TDi 143 SE Exec (GB) |
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Written by Colin Rear
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Friday, 26 February 2010 20:16 |
 
It is not many years since the outer lane of Britain's motorways underwent a change, with the latest Fords and Vauxhalls that used to dominate this roadspace replaced, so it seemed, by too many aggressively driven Audi A4s, almost all of which, on closer inspection turned out to be the TDi S-Line models. Seemingly overnight, Audi's mid-sized saloon went from being a "cut above the average" to being a common car, and one cursed by the poor standards of driving from many of its users. Although the British press were never more than moderately enthusiastic about the A4, preferring the rear wheel drive German rivals, sales volumes rocketed and it seemed the car could do no wrong. But then, the company car taxation system changed, and as so many of these vehicles were indeed fleet cars, when it became clear just how much more efficient the BMW Efficient Dynamics technology and thus what significant savings could be derived by driving the Munich WunderKind instead, the Audi appeared to lose some sales momentum. It did not help that many of its buyers have been convinced of the perceived superiority of rear wheel drive (though the recent snow and ice proved that whether this statement is true or not, there are times when it is a positive liability!), leaving Audi with something of a challenge.
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Last Updated on Friday, 26 February 2010 20:59 |
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2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS (USA) |
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Written by Colin Rear
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Saturday, 27 February 2010 19:25 |
 
It was at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2006 when Chevrolet first showed a concept car representing a modern recreation of the much loved 1967 Camaro. For the next three years, this concept coupe, later joined by a convertible version as well, appeared at major auto shows not just in the US, but in Europe as well. All the time, the clamour from the public was for Chevrolet to build it. After what seemed like an interminable wait, it was announced that the car would indeed go into production, and that it would become available in February 2009. When GM appeared to be sliding into oblivion and the only way out was to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it was feared that the car - by now fully developed - would never actually make it on sale. Thankfully, it did, and as promised, in February 2009, the first cars were available for people to drive and to buy. By this time, Dodge had launched their modern interpretation of their former muscle car, the Challenger, and the retro-styled Mustang was long established, having been on sale since 2005, so it was clear that the Camaro would have to be good if it was to succeed. Press enthusiasm for the car was considerable, with many opining that it was better than the Ford and that both had the measure of the Dodge.
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Last Updated on Sunday, 28 February 2010 00:14 |
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2010 Mercedes GLK350 4matic (USA) |
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Written by Colin Rear
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Sunday, 21 February 2010 17:20 |
 
With the Jeep taking an early bath, thanks to the warning that it needed an oil change, I was back at Hertz' LAX facility for one last time during this trip. I ended up talking to the same Gold Service counter rep. who told me to go and choose what I wanted (it was only going to be for 24 hours), and he would offer it to me at no additional charge. As it was a Holiday weekend, there was a bit of an eclectic mix of vehicles parked up, but I had a good look around, and found the same Jeep I had just handed back already ready to be rented, and with the oil change warning still showing (!). In the end, my eye was caught by a bright red Mercedes GLK, so that's what I ended up taking.
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Last Updated on Sunday, 21 February 2010 17:58 |
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