Jan 2021 – Driven To Write

The Disappointment Of Success

Andrew recalls a brief heyday for tin-tops.

Bias, a weakness akin to pride can lead one down avenues built of pavé. We all have our likes and dislikes which can be difficult to explain rationally, even for humble word-slaves. Such is my bias towards the tin-top racing car, the ones that at least (used to) resemble a vehicle we might actually go out and purchase. In particular the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) – last year concluding a rather protracted season. One should be thankful we had a season to watch at all – albeit on the television and not trackside.

Hooked by the close quarters, no holds barred, side view mirror smashing racing, driven by what looked like my neighbour’s dad saw me Continue reading “The Disappointment Of Success”

Everything to the Front

Fessia and Issigonis. Great minds?

In 1960, outside of a few shall we say, niche carmakers (and Citroën of course), front-wheel drive was still viewed as a somewhat unproven concept. Therefore, when Lancia introduced the front-driven Flavia that year, there was bound to have been some surprise amid observers, and maybe too, an element of scepticism, especially amongst Lancistas of a more traditionalist stripe.^[1]

It was after all, a significant technical pivot from Borgo san Paolo’s engineering orthodoxy, and one that was unlikely to have occurred had Lancia’s technical dial not shifted so dramatically by the appointment as engineering chief of Antonio Fessia. The good professor, technically gifted but single-minded in approach, was a staunch proponent of front-wheel drive and there can be little doubt that the Flavia was more attuned to his own ideals and orthodoxies than to Continue reading “Everything to the Front”

Would You ADAM and Eve It?

The testament of ADAM.

Choice, the holy grail of sales. Only sometimes too much is just that and those sales either fail to materialise or the product simply confuses potential purchasers. The story of the Vauxhall/ Opel ADAM bears witness to this.

In the early part of the twenty first century, the small urbane hatchback had quite the following, dominated by the Anglo-German MINI and Italy’s Fiat 500. Opel believed an opening in this hegemony could be prized, not only to take sales but also to revolutionise modes of customisation – targeting an increasingly younger (or maybe younger at heart) audience, employing capital letters to draw even more attention.

Michigan born designer Darren Luke, who had only just left college to join GM, was flown to Rüsselsheim to Continue reading “Would You ADAM and Eve It?”

Driven/Written: VW Golf 1.0 TSI (2020)

Covering over 2000 kilometres in a week should be sufficient to determine whether the new Golf is swansong to a past era or herald to a new dawn.

Covid-Christmas was bound to be special. Even without any cases among our relatives, my partner and I did our utmost to plan 2020’s challenging festive season diligently. As usual, we were willing to travel to (limited numbers of) relatives at the other end of the country, but only if all relevant parties felt safe about it.

My better half’s 99-year-old grandmother made it clear that she’d rather take the risk than remain by herself (a state that had caused her to lose her ability to speak for a period during the first lockdown). Other family members organised themselves in such a way that certain branches would be able to Continue reading “Driven/Written: VW Golf 1.0 TSI (2020)”

Born Survivor (Part Two)

DTW continues the story of AC Cars up to the present day.

In the early 1970’s AC began developing an ambitious new sports car, the 3000ME. This was a GRP bodied mid-engined two-seater. The initial design work had been undertaken by Peter Bohanna and Robin Staples. Their prototype, called Diablo, used the engine and transaxle from the Austin Maxi. Not having the resources to develop the prototype for production, they showed it to both AC and TVR. Derek Hurlock, who was then Chief Executive of AC, was sufficiently impressed to Continue reading “Born Survivor (Part Two)”

The Definition of Obsession? 10 Years With A Citroën C6. (Part 3)

In this episode, a catalogue of parts failures almost culminates in the final curtain for the our correspondent’s C6… that was now over five years ago.

Distinctive? Yes. Beautiful? Not really. (Source – Author’s photo).

The suspension has been the main area of issues with the C6. Drop-links at the rear, bearings at the front, lower wishbones at the front, stub-axles as well as the two struts have all been replaced. In addition, the car has had a total of four new ABS sensors over time, which, when they go on the blink, cause havoc with the electronic handbrake and the SatNav as well as the ABS system itself.

Another sensor which controlled the fore-aft levelling of the car also ceased to function, meaning that, when I returned to the parked car, the front was jacked up, the rear on its bump-stops – the nose pointing skywards at about 40°. Finally, an emergency replacement of a tyre led to a split hydraulic fluid tank as the technician did not Continue reading “The Definition of Obsession? 10 Years With A Citroën C6. (Part 3)”

Academic Revolution

A totally new kind of Lancia.

From a six-decade perspective, it is not easy to gain a definitive sense of where the carmaking firm of Automobili Lancia & Compagni was positioned in the marketplace, or indeed an accurate breakdown of a typical Lancia owner. Hailing from the fringes of nobility to the more recent emerging professional classes, they tended to be affluent, cultured individuals who prized the finer things, but were not inclined to make a statement of it.

Despite appreciating tradition and craftsmanship, they were not averse to bracing modernity either. But more to the point, they were prepared to Continue reading “Academic Revolution”

Best Indentations

Time to put down that chisel.

Parking knocks come as standard. Image: MOTOR1

It’s probably sentimentality, but despite decades of disappointment I still maintain a vague attachment to what is by now only a platonic ideal of Automobiles Citroën. At least that’s the only reasonable rationale for why my interest is invariably piqued by the announcement of any freshly minted car bearing the double chevron. Equally without variance however is what I feel about what is routinely presented.

The newly fashioned Citroen C4 is only the very latest of a long and wobbly line of underwhelming visions from Vélizy; a car which replaces without doubt one of the dreariest vehicles ever to bear that fabled emblem, although in the latter case, it was probably the other way round – the emblem (just about) bearing the car.

This being so, it was either a case of overcompensation on the part of Citroen’s design team, or more likely a misguided directive to Continue reading “Best Indentations”

Computer Says No

Technological breakdowns – there’s one Born every minute.

This cringeworthy yet humorous phrase uttered regularly by the character Carol Breer in the TV show, Little Britain reminds us of the fact that while computers may have given us countless advantages and convenience in every field you can imagine, when they malfunction or are not programmed correctly they can cause immense frustration. Computerisation in cars can be a source of aggravation too, as today’s subject shows, although an iffy digital onboard diagnostics system was not the only thing impeding the Volvo 480’s market chances.

The genesis of the 480 was 1978, when an internal Volvo project named Galaxy was initiated. By the early eighties the main stylistic direction was established and unexpectedly neither the design by Volvo chief stylist Jan Wilsgaard nor the proposal by Bertone was chosen to Continue reading “Computer Says No”

Born Survivor (Part One)

AC Cars is claimed to be the oldest motor manufacturer in Great Britain, having survived many near-death experiences over the past 120 years. DTW recounts its long and eventful history.

1903 Auto Carrier. Image: myntransportblog

The company now known as AC Cars was founded in West Norwood, South London in 1901 by engineer John Weller and his brothers, with the financial backing of John Portwine, a friend of the Wellers and a successful businessman who ran a chain of Butchers in London. The Weller brothers launched their first prototype car, a 20hp open tourer, at the 1903 London Motor Show at Crystal Palace.

Although well received, Portwine considered the car too expensive and instead encouraged development of a three-wheeled delivery vehicle, launched in 1904. This was called the Auto Carrier, from which the company’s name would henceforth be derived. It was a notable success, with customers including Boots the Chemist, Associated Newspapers and the Goodyear Tyre Company. A four-seater passenger version called the Sociable was also offered. It was even adapted by the British Army as a munitions carrier, with a machine-gun mounted up front.

Continue reading “Born Survivor (Part One)”

The Red Dot Adds Anxiety

Mazda jolts into electric life. We take a helicopter view.

Mazda think differently. They once took a rotary engine to Le Mans and won the race. They reinvented the small British sports car, firmly trouncing anything wearing an octagonal badge or hailing from Hethel. They made a sporting car, placing that high pitched, wailing engine into bodywork with funny rear doors – discussed almost as often as the rotary – and sold respectable amounts.

Today, toeing the line is in order; bigger, taller vehicles from the Hiroshima based manufacturer (but styled in Germany) have taken a tangent by listening, studying and evaluating what (some) folk aspire to. One cannot see the competition breaking sweat over this Mazda eXperiment-30 but for those who switch on more, an opportunity to Continue reading “The Red Dot Adds Anxiety”

In Memoriam : Jürgen Hubbert

As another motor industry luminary takes a final bow, we look back at the career of the man dubbed, Mr. Mercedes.

Jürgen Hubbert and A-Klasse – 1997. (c) Automotive News

Jürgen Hubbert passed away last week at the age of 81. Best known for his tenure at the helm of Mercedes-Benz AG from 1997 to 2005, a period of considerable expansion and no small amount of tumult. Indeed, when one looks back at the Mercedes-Benz products of the time, one cannot but wonder what manner of legacy Hubbert leaves behind.

So let us Continue reading “In Memoriam : Jürgen Hubbert”

Big Cat Hunting (Part 3)

Chris Ward’s cat develops a limp.

Ponk-ponk-ponk-ponk-ponk-ponk. The electric glovebox release rapid-fired, a tiny machine gun waging war on my sanity. This time, instead of slamming it shut, I left the lid lolling open like a yokel’s mouth.

Yet the tiny machine gun in the dashboard kept firing. Ponk. Ponk-ponk-ponk-ponk-ponk-ponk.

The Jaguar XF had been in my ownership for all of two months when the fault first manifested. Initially the glovebox would refuse to Continue reading “Big Cat Hunting (Part 3)”

The Transalpine Formation

A closer look at the SM’s Maserati-sourced V6 engine.

Alfieri’s production SM unit. (c) citroen-sm.uk

Like most aspects of historical record, the story behind the development of Maserati’s 114-series 2760 cc V6 engine is dependent upon whose account one reads; the orthodoxy suggesting that the engine supplied to Citroën was a derivation of an existing Maserati V8 unit. However, its bespoke basis has been placed beyond doubt.

When the request from Paris came through, Maserati technical director, Giulio Alfieri took a pre-existing 4.2 litre 90° V8 unit from his workshops, and by effectively slicing two cylinders from the block, fashioned a 2.9 litre prototype engine. However, while the subsequent production engine may have shared the original unit’s included angle, it was in fact new from the ground-up and designed specifically to Continue reading “The Transalpine Formation”

A Car for Sunday: 1997 Toyota Camry

Not exactly ubiquitous in the UK when in production, this 1997 Toyota Camry was a welcome surprise.

I have mentioned previously that my rural backwater, while having charms aplenty to commend it, is not exactly a car spotter’s paradise. There are plenty of shiny and expensive new cars around, but few one might describe as interesting, esoteric or left field.

I have also mentioned my habit of heading for the remotest corner of public car parks in the hope of minimising the risk of picking up a parking dent or scrape. Pulling into my local supermarket car park this morning, my usual space was occupied by this Toyota Camry, an XV20 model manufactured between 1996 and 2001. Although a best seller in the US, the Camry barely made a dent in the UK sales charts, so it was an unusual and welcome sight.

In my opinion, this generation Camry was one of the very best in design terms, with a smooth, linear and unfussy style that might owe more than a little to Peugeot’s 605 and 406 models. There is not a single detail of the design I would change, and Toyota’s 1999 facelift merely altered but did not improve the front and rear ends. It stands as a quiet rebuff to the excessively fussy and overwrought fashion that currently prevails in automotive design. Continue reading “A Car for Sunday: 1997 Toyota Camry”

Anniversary Waltz 2010 – The Wrath of Eyjafjallajökull

We round out the waltz with a look back on a detonating landmass.

The 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland. (c) BBC

Given its situation in the midst of the North Atlantic, perched upon a massive faultline, it’s hardly surprising that Iceland is utterly defined by its landscape. The least densely populated country in Europe, it is perhaps best known for its geothermal and seismic activity, much of which falls into the category of visually dramatic but relatively harmless (from a safe distance). However, Iceland’s landmass is not to be trifled with. In 2010 the Nordic country made the front pages when the Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted, spewing massive quantities of volcanic ash thousands of miles into the atmosphere.

As the giant ash cloud migrated across the Atlantic, air traffic across Europe became paralysed, with thousands of travellers stranded over the Easter period, when huge numbers of people would normally Continue reading “Anniversary Waltz 2010 – The Wrath of Eyjafjallajökull”

Car of the Year 2021. A Bleak Reflection

Another year, another car of the year contest. Try to care.

Who would be be a European Car of the Year Juror? This time round there was not even the customary Danish beach jamboree last October to reward their earnest efforts. There will however be the usual accusations of national partisanism, bias towards those manufacturers who Continue reading “Car of the Year 2021. A Bleak Reflection”

Objects you Cannot Polish

The 2001 Citroën C5 was a spacious, comfortable and practical large car. It was also unforgivably frumpy looking. DTW tries to muster some enthusiasm to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of its birth.

The early 21^st Century was a lean time for Citroën design. The company’s glory days of the DS, SM and GS were a distant memory. The sensible men in grey suits at Peugeot, which had owned Citroën since 1975, had repositioned the company as a purveyor of automotive white goods; sensible value-for-money appliances like the 1996 Saxo and 1997 Xsara, whose most attractive features were the deep discounts and cheap finance deals used to Continue reading “Objects you Cannot Polish”

Rockstar Meets Dolphin

Two forms of US retro from the far East.

Both the Japanese and the Chinese car industry have on several occasions been accused of copying successful examples of their established colleagues in the west. The former never really produced an exact facsimile (cars built under licence such as the Hino Renault 4cv excepted) but rather an amalgam of those styling and engineering details of the competition deemed most worthy to emulate; this practice endured into the eighties but since those times the Japanese have clearly found their own way and are in some cases even leading it.

Having embarked upon mass production of passenger cars much later, the Chinese have taken a much more unscrupulous approach almost from the start; China’s first passenger car, the DongFeng CA71 of 1958 was a virtual, and unauthorised, copy of the Simca Vedette. Several Chinese upstarts continued the practice from there, mostly undeterred by threats from the carmakers in question to Continue reading “Rockstar Meets Dolphin”

The Definition of Obsession? 10 years with a Citroën C6 (part 2)

In this episode of one man’s near life-sentence with a large Citroën, he describes some of the more stressful experiences of C6 ownership.

OK, from this photo, I can see why people think it might be a shade of black, not brown (source: the author)

The day I collected the C6 probably should have scared me off… but it didn’t, somehow. I picked it up on a Saturday morning, very early as agreed so that I would not be in the way of the sales guys getting stuck into the punters on their peak sales day. I stopped off on the way home to collect my son from football training. Naturally, he was curious to experience the C6’s trick suspension, so, whilst still in the car park, I started the engine, let it settle and then pressed the button to raise the suspension.

No cigars for guessing what happened next. The car rose to its top setting… and there it stuck. It being new to me, and having heard and read so much about the complexity/ potential unreliability of the oleopneumatic system, all confidence in the car fled from my body and soul, like a bad bout of psychological diarrhoea.

I limped the car to my nearest dealer (yes – the one which also sold and serviced my previous Legacy) and left it with them to Continue reading “The Definition of Obsession? 10 years with a Citroën C6 (part 2)”

Anniversary Waltz 2000 – New Millennial MINI.

Sputnik Falls, MINI rises.

“What do you mean ‘what dome’? And you call yourself a location scout?” The 2000 Mini range. (c) thelastminis

It seemed for a time that it would simply go on indefinitely, but in 2000, after 41 years, time’s irresistible march finally caught up and Sputnik came home. The last years of Mini production saw it become something of a tribute act, with a bewildering array of special editions being offered, (mainly for Japanese consumption) culminating in the wide-tracked Cooper Sport 500, an example of which being the very last Mini built, leaving the Longbridge tracks on October 4th that year.

The advent of the new millennium was greeted with lurid fireworks along the Thames and thousands queuing to be underwhelmed by Mr. Mandelson’s Millennium Experience in Greenwich, but it wasn’t just Mini that sputtered and popped that year, so too the unhappy BMW-Rover alliance. Unravelling for some time, the Vierzylinder officially announced plans to Continue reading “Anniversary Waltz 2000 – New Millennial MINI. “

A Pillock In Charge

Andrew remembers a giant of the special stages.

Colin McRae’s Subaru 555 gets some air. (c) dukevideo

Time flies: A quarter century has passed since Colin McRae famously clutched the winning trophy for not only the event but the main prize, that of 1995 World Rally Champion. Hoisting the trophy aloft, navigator, Derek Ringer had to inform Colin he’d dropped the trophy lid, the pillock.

Whilst far from the Cheshire finishing line that particular day, McRae’s, co-driver, along with the other protagonists’ results and welfare were prominent in this rally enthusiast’s mind. For the more cynical, this was also the championship where Toyota were subsequently banned; it having come to light that they were using illegal turbo restrictors, but that as they say, is another story.

During the mid-’90s, regardless of the day’s itinerary, my search for rally information would be avid; the BBC’s Teletext service (wot no Internet?), next morning’s newspaper (rarely anything), the eternal wait for the highlights television show the following weekend and that week’s Autosport magazine, which I might Continue reading “A Pillock In Charge”

Disappointing Sequel (Part Two)

Concluding our latterday examination of DS Automobiles, we draw some conclusions.

Image: auto55

The 2015 relaunch of DS Automobiles as a separate stand-alone marque necessitated a facelift for the existing DS3, DS4 and DS5 models. The Citroën badging and logo was replaced with a new, stylised DS badge, while the distinctive Double-Chevron front grille was replaced by a rather generic hexagonal item. The stylised DS initials appeared twice on the front end of the facelifted cars, in large size within the grille and on a smaller square badge on the painted panel above. At the rear, DS also appeared twice; stylised in the centre of the tailgate and offset to the right in a plain script suffixed with the model number.

Did the abundance of badges indicate a degree of unease about DS’s name recognition, and its prospects as a stand-alone marque? This badging led to a certain confusion as to the names of the relaunched models; for example, was it DS DS3 or simply DS 3? The official DS website indicates that the latter is correct.

In any event, the relaunch had no apparent impact on DS sales, which continued to Continue reading “Disappointing Sequel (Part Two)”

(Electric) Fleet Of Foot

Andrew Miles enters another world.

Individuals buy cars but fleets prop up the market by some distance. Manufacturers providing those fleets, even by small percentages, maintain an active (if not necessarily profitable) factory. Having no insider information other than the latest issue of Fleetworld (a Stag publication) to guide my curiosity, my lunchtime reading thus became electrified.

The cover revealed a new (to me) tagline. “Driven by something different” having ousted the previous “Simply Clever” from Škoda, shows a shiny new Octavia, parked waterside with father and daughter enjoying the view (of the water, not the Lower-medium sector, 26% BIK, one litre TSI from £20,795,) with the tagline(s) Work. Life. Balanced.

Inside, the review proffers four out of five stars, praising space alongside standard equipment with additional points accrued for notching up overall quality, criticising the infotainment as “difficult to use,” and that the hybrid version can only Continue reading “(Electric) Fleet Of Foot”

Anniversary Waltz 1990 – Rubbin’ is Racin’

High concept. Low expectations.

Cole Trickle aka Tom Cruise from 1990’s Days of Thunder. (c) Radio Times

There is believed to be a document secreted in a vault somewhere in the Hollywood hills that states the actual reason why it’s impossible to make a wholly credible motion picture about motor racing. Clearly, this parchment has never come to light. This of course has not prevented certain ambitious producers from making the attempt, and indeed some efforts have been rather better than others – not however, today’s featured celluloid gem.

Days of Thunder was created by the same executive producer and directing team (Don Simpson/ Jerry Brookheimer/ Tony Scott) that had brought Top Gun to the silver screens in 1986, reimagining both storyline and exposition to Continue reading “Anniversary Waltz 1990 – Rubbin’ is Racin’”

Disappointing Sequel (Part One)

DTW assesses the progress and current state of DS Automobiles after a decade on the market.

DS Automobiles latest opus. Image: dailyrevs

The launch of the Citroën DS 19 in 1955 was unarguably one of the seminal events in the history of the automobile. In its conception, design and engineering, the DS was at least a decade ahead of any competitor and left observers slack-jawed in amazement at Citroën’s audacity in bringing such a revolutionary car to market.

The DS 19 was first and foremost an engineering-led design. Its hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension gave it a peerless combination of superb ride quality and sharp handling. Its dramatically streamlined and aerodynamic body was highly functional, allowing it to Continue reading “Disappointing Sequel (Part One)”

Anniversary Waltz 1980 – Born Under Punches

The name of this band is Talking Heads.

In 1980, the Art Rock grouping of frontman David Byrne, Bassist Tina Weymouth, drummer Chris Frantz and guitarist Jerry Harrison released what would become their defining album. The four-piece, which played its first gig as Talking Heads in 1975 at New York’s CBGB venue had forged a reputation, first in the post-punk new-wave scene, but after they began to Continue reading “Anniversary Waltz 1980 – Born Under Punches”

The Definition of Obsession? 10 years with a Citroën C6 (part 1)

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…

In case you were thinking … the ‘plate was a Christmas present from my family (source – author’s photo)

On deciding that I would put something on record to mark a decade of C6 ownership via this most informative and thoughtful of automotive websites, the above quote involuntarily entered my mind and won’t now take its leave.

Maybe it’s because it reflects the roller-coaster ride of the experience? Maybe it’s because the quote also relates to the French Revolution in as much as the C6 was Citroën’s final attempt to Continue reading “The Definition of Obsession? 10 years with a Citroën C6 (part 1)”

The DTW Bumper Holiday Quiz – Answers (Part Two)

Here are the answers to the New Year’s Day edition of the DTW Bumper Holiday Quiz:

Not a clue, by the way. Image: speeddoctor

Continue reading “The DTW Bumper Holiday Quiz – Answers (Part Two)”

A Leaf Short of Lucky

DTW recalls a well-intentioned but misguided and ultimately doomed attempt to establish a motor manufacturer in the Republic of Ireland.

1959 Shamrock Advertisement (c) independent.ie

Ireland in the 1950’s was still an impoverished agricultural economy with little industry and systemically high unemployment. The country had fought a guerrilla war of independence against British forces between 1919 and 1921. This was brought to an end by the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921, which partitioned the country and enabled the establishment of the 26 county Irish Free State a year later.

However, the country then became embroiled in a year-long bitter and bloody civil war between the provisional government that supported the treaty and those who regarded it as a betrayal of the principal of nationhood declared in the 1916 Easter Rising.

The bulk of Ireland’s former heavy industry had been located around Belfast and was lost in partition. Subsidies and protective tariffs had limited success in establishing new industries during the 1920’s and 1930’s and the economy’s growth was poor. Although officially neutral in the Second World War, Ireland suffered from the ongoing privations the war caused throughout Europe. Waves of migration to Britain and the US in search of work left the country further weakened with an ageing population. Continue reading “A Leaf Short of Lucky”

New Year Teaser

One final festive quiz to round out 2020.

Question 1:

Who are we looking for, and what happened to him in France in 1968? Continue reading “New Year Teaser”

Adieu 2020

A year in microcosm.

A visual metaphor. Image: Freedom of Creation

There it goes. The year that wasn’t. Worst year ever. One which has at times felt something more akin to a grim combination of Groundhog Day and Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman. A painful year for most, a life changing one for many others. But still as they’d say round these parts, mad for road. But at this brief period of reflection before we wend further onward, there remains as much to Continue reading “Adieu 2020”

New Year’s Greetings

And about flippin’ time as well…

There have been times this year where I have questioned the relevance of continuing what at times appeared rather a frivolous and indulgent platform amid something as urgent and potentially lethal as the C-19 pandemic’s indifferent swathe through lives and livelihoods. In the end however, I think the correct decision was to Continue reading “New Year’s Greetings”

The DTW Bumper Holiday Quiz (Part Two)

DTW wishes you all a very Happy New Year and offers you another opportunity to test out your knowledge of all things automotive. Good luck and no Googling!