Tag Archives: cars

Super Luxury at the London Motor Show

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IMG_0114When I got to the London Motor Show, I started rummaging around in my pockets. No, I couldn’t afford the £600,000 for the Speedback GT by David Brown or the £250,000 for the Noble supercar. I realised that I would have to go back home in exactly the same way as I’d arrived: by public transport.

The London Motor Show is a great opportunity to see some wonderful cars. It’s a relatively small event – not like the major shows at Geneva and Frankfurt where the display halls are filled with hundreds upon hundreds of cars and where all the major manufacturers are out in force.

IMG_0119The London show probably has only 150 cars, but it’s cheap to visit (£10) and it has some exciting new offerings and plenty of people desperate to talk to motoring aficionados (or petrol-heads as they’re often known) and discuss specifications, engine sizes and prices. If you like cars, it’s a good place to be.

There were relatively few small family cars – the show seems to be more about recreational driving and the luxury end of the market. However there were some nice offerings. Ford was unveiling its new luxury 4 wheel drive car – The Edge (top left). And MG, -now making cars in Shanghai, unveiled the new GS – another luxury 4 wheel drive. Both of these – aimed unashamedly at the luxury urban driver – attracted a lot of attention. Ford and MG have yet to set a price for these cars.

IMG_0117A couple of attractive smaller cars, were turning heads at the event. The Alfa Romeo Spyder (above) is a light sports car that in its various incarnations has been in production for around 50 years. The new Spyder C4 has a carbon fibre body and a top speed of 160mph. The top of the range model has a price tag of almost £70,000. It’s ideal for people who’ve just been through a messy divorce, sold the family house and want to recapture their youth.

Rather more interesting is the Fiat Abarth 695 (above right), which looks like an ordinary Fiat 500, except that its souped-up engine can go at 143mph and it has a price tag of £33,000. It’s a stylish piece of engineering.

The show has very little by way of catering facilities: you can’t get much more than a coffee. But it is in Battersea Park, which is very beautiful, has a great view of the river and is just a short walk from the Kings Road in Chelsea, which has no shortage of great places to eat. When I visited, the organisers believed that the show would be completely sold out, so do check before you go.

Should You Chip Tune Your Car?

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chip tuneFor those out there who know nothing about cars, race chips and chip tuning won’t mean anything other than a head scratch. But it could make a huge difference to your car and its performance. In fact, chip tuning will increase the power of your car and increase fuel efficiency. It will increase engine power without compromising vehicle components. It may sound difficult and expensive but you can get your car chip tuned without it costing a bomb, after getting the product, you can even install it yourself in a few minutes.

What is chip tuning?

When you chip tune you change or modify an erasable programmable read only memory chip in your vehicles electric control unit (ECU).

Why should you get it done?

If you chip tune your vehicle you will get superior performance, give it more power, cleaner emissions and improving fuel efficiency. If you have a poorly tuned electronic control unit it can result in decreased performance, affect drivability and may even cause engine damage. You don’t have to worry about it affecting your manufacturer’s software as it remains in place after the software update and leaves no evidence after it has been removed.

If you want to know more go to http://www.racechip.com/chiptuning/ A good company that will read data from the engine control unit in real time, and optimise many characteristics. These data include items such as injection timing, injection quantity, injection pressure, boost pressure and air mass. It has a great impact on the environment as it will help you save fuel. Less fuel = less damage to the environment.

 

 

Bond Actress Naomie Harris Introduces New Range Rover Evoque Convertible As It Premieres In USA

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Land Rover has unveiled its first luxury compact convertible SUV along the iconic coastline of Los Angeles in Santa Monica, California, USA.

SPECTRE actress Naomie Harris was one of the first to view the newest member of the Range Rover family, as it was revealed for the first time ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Following the recent global release of SPECTRE, the 24th James Bond adventure, which features vehicles produced by the Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations division, Harris joined the brand to receive an exclusive first look at the new Range Rover Evoque Convertible as it debuted in the US.

Marrying luxury with an elegant four-seat convertible design, versatile storage and unrivalled capability both on and off-road, the new Range Rover Evoque Convertible combines the bold design and refinement of the Range Rover Evoque with a sophisticated folding roof to create a versatile, all-season convertible SUV.

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To make an appointment to view the current UK Range Rover Evoque range, visit:

http://www.harwoods.uk.com/landrover/new-offers/range-rover-evoque/

Luxury

corinne@frostmagazine.com

www.corinne-modelling.co.uk

@ladycdtt

About the Harwoods Group…

Harwoods are a privately owned Automotive Retail Group based in the South of England throughout Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex & Kent, providing the highest levels of service every time you visit one of their retailers, priding themselves in the way their staff are prepared to go ‘that extra mile’ to help make your experience as memorable as possible.  Based across the South of England, you can find Harwoods in Basingstoke, Bramshaw, Brighton, Crawley, Chichester, Croydon, Edenbridge, Five Oaks, Portsmouth, Pulborough, Southampton and Tonbridge.

www.harwoods.uk.com

5 of The Worst Cars Ever Made

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The history of car design is studded with iconic vehicles, from the luxurious – Jaguar E-Types, Rolls Royce Phantoms, to the family-friendly. The Fiesta is a good example with over four million sold, the most popular car in Britain of all time. Yet public opinion is not always so kind. There have been a slew of unmitigated catastrophes, cars that have come close to ruining their manufacturers or seriously disappointed their owners. Here are some of the worst cars ever to drive, or be pushed, off the forecourt.

Ford Edsel

During the second season of The Simpsons, just as the show hit its creative peak, the episode Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? was screened in which Homer is employed by his recently-discovered half-brother to design a car. Given free rein with his imagination, the car is a disaster, full of unnecessary extras, hideous in appearance, and vastly expensive to boot. The car flops, and Homer returns to Springfield a failure.

The episode was inspired in part by the Ford Edsel, brainchild of Edsel Ford, son of Henry, with whom he had a somewhat fractious relationship. Edsel was convinced by spurious market research that his car was going to a huge hit with the buying public, and would blow competition out of the water. Needless to say, it did not. The pre-launch marketing left car-buyers confused, as did the pricing, and the claims that this was a revolutionary model were undone by bodywork and engineering very similar to previous Fords. The Edsel eventually lost the company around $350 million, the equivalent in today’s money of almost $3 billion, making Edsel Ford a name synonymous with failure.

Yugo GV

The Yugo holds legendary status. It had a rear-window defroster, that many joked was to keep your hands warm while you pushed it. The electrics were notoriously patchy if not downright dangerous. Apocryphal stories circulated of parts falling off while driving, and engines giving up the ghost after only a few thousand miles. On the surface, it lived up to its name (GV stood for Good Value) – it could get up to 30mpg, and sold for a then astonishingly cheap price. In 1999, the factory making them for Zastava, in what was then Yugoslavia, was itself partially destroyed by NATA bombs, signalling the end for the GV, and not before time.

Ford Pinto

Another misstep for Ford came in 1971 when it introduced the Pinto to the marketplace. Infamously, there was an issue with the fuel tank, which was unusually mounted between the rear axle, and the rear bumper. Because of the tank’s design, there was a significant risk that even a low-speed rear-ender could result in either the bolts from the differential piercing the tank, or the filler neck coming away and spilling fuel under the car – ergo, this was not safe car.

Investigations, lawsuits, and sometime later a recall followed, irreparably tarnishing the Pinto’s reputation. Worst of all, it has been suggested that testing on the rear end had been too light during the design process as Ford worked to keep the price as low as possible. The company’s cost-benefit analysis of potential lawsuit payments compared to the cost of repairs was later revealed, and led to further bad press.

DeLorean DMC 12

One of the all-time cinematic icons, the DeLorean was the time-travel device of choice for Back to the Future, but in the harsh, unforgiving light of the real world, the car was a colossal flop. One of the biggest problems was that in order to take advantage of cheap labour, it was decided to manufacture the car in Northern Ireland, where many of the production team had little to no experience in this type of work. Frequent design changes caused the project schedule to overrun, while the car’s performance left a lot to be desired. Several celebrity investors including Sammy Davis Jr lost out when the company eventually folded, and John DeLorean’s career came to a sticky end with charges of drug trafficking.

Reliant Robin

Another cultural touchstone, the Reliant Robin is actually one of the bestselling fiberglass cars of all times, and the manufacturer, Reliant, was for a spell one of the UK’s biggest. Nowadays it has become a bit of a joke, the three-wheeled design roundly mocked. Many of the myths surrounding the Reliant Robin have been debunked (one persists, that Delboy drove one in Only Fools and Horses – it was actually a Reliant Regal), but the fact remains that this is a car, if you can really call it a car, that felt profoundly unstable when taking corners at speed, or during windy conditions. A report found that Robin Reliant drivers were statistically the safest on UK roads, but then, that was because they needed to be!

 

 

Top Picks From Dream Magazine | What To Read

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I couldn’t be a writer if I wasn’t a reader. I am a complete magazine junkie. Online, print, iPad: it doesn’t matter. All that does matter is good content. But there are a million blogs, sites and magazines out there. It can be hard to find something good, to know what to read. My latest favourite is Dream Magazine. It ‘explores the stories of the people, places and races that bring life to Honda’s world-leading innovation and engineering’ so it has lots of great stuff on cars and transport, something that can be sorely lacking in general women’s magazines. We like cars and adventure too.

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On my bucket list is an LA road trip so I loved this piece about the Gold Wing’s LA adventure. They also had another great piece on Los Angeles being the city of the car, which just fuels my obsession. They have this great picture of LA’s Petersen Automotive Museum.

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I love reading about innovation so this piece was great. Their back catalogue is also full of awesome stuff and you can subscribe to Dream Magazine.

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Separated into sections of Innovation, Adventure, Life, Adrenaline, Videos and Offers, it is hours of fun and interesting reading for anyone who loves life, traveling, cars, motorbikes and a sense of adventure. The only bad point is how envious I get of all of the amazing trips I see people going on. I just add them to my bucket list. Well, the ones I am brave enough for anyway. Mission extraordinary: motorcycling across Afghanistan sees former Royal Marine, Chris Short, talk to Dream about his epic motorcycle journey from Afghanistan to Goodwood. I would love to do this but I reckon I am too much of a wimp. Maybe one day….

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Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Brings Touch of Glamour to Paris Motor Show

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Rosie Huntington – Whiteley brings touch of glamour to Paris Motor Show.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley brings touch of glamour to Paris Motor Show

DATE: Wednesday 1st October, 2014

  • British supermodel and actress showcases new premium compact SUV on River Seine
  • Giant barge with 4.5 metre Wellington boots brings uniquely British sense of fun to French capital


Rosie Huntington-Whiteley today swapped the catwalks of Paris Fashion Week for the River Seine as she showcased the Land Rover Discovery Sport in its uniquely British public debut.
 
The 27 year-old supermodel and actress brought her inimitable style to the French capital as she was seen stepping from one of a pair of Discovery Sports aboard a giant barge moored in the centre of the city.
 
The former Victoria’s Secret model, also known for her role in Transformers: Dark of the Moon and the upcoming Mad Max: Fury Road, was stood flanked by seven pairs of brightly coloured, giant-sized Wellington boots – some as tall as 4.5 metres. The boots, a creative reference to both the Discovery’s versatile seating layout and Land Rover’s unique take on outdoor life, brought a sense of quintessential British heritage and humour to the Rive Gauche.
 
After revealing Discovery Sport to the world’s media for the first time, the 80-metre long barge continued to turn heads on its attention-grabbing journey down the River Seine, cruising past Parisian landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and Notre-Dame Cathedral.
 
The Paris debut of the new Discovery Sport follows the digital reveal of the vehicle last month, which included Land Rover’s Galactic Discovery competition – giving four friends the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip to space with Land Rover’s global partner, Virgin Galactic. 

 


 

Sexism And Sexual Harassment: The Rise of Everyday Sexism

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This is an article I never wanted to write. But something compelled me. A sense of injustice, perhaps. I wanted to write about my own experience of everyday sexism. More importantly, I wanted to write about what happened to me a couple of weeks ago.

 

everyday sexism a personal experienceTwo weeks ago I was walking home from a party in East London when a car kept beeping. I ignored it. I usually do when I am in a part of London where I don’t know people. I finally turned around and a man gestured with his hand for me to come over to his car which had stopped at a red light. I obviously ignored it because I am not an idiot. Do they really think that a women being summoned by a stranger in a car is going to make her go over there? Insane. He was in a car with three friends. He didn’t like being ignored. In fact, he turned his car around so he and his friends could go past me and yell obscenities that I would never write down, never mind say out loud. To say I was terrified was an understatement. It doesn’t take a lot of courage to yell at a women who is 5.5 and a half inches tall and 130 pounds. If they wanted to get out of the car to hurt me, kill me, rape me, I would have stood no chance. I am an emotionally strong person, I even think that after martial arts training that I can generally look after myself, but, sadly, when it comes to physical strength: men and women are not born equal. I was badly shaken. My fiancé was off at a business conference. I didn’t leave the house the next. Nor the day after that.

 

I wish I could say this was a one-off. Sadly it wasn’t.  About a week later I was coming back from the post office near where I live and I was about to step onto the road and then I pulled back as a car was approaching very fast. I could have crossed and made it, but I decided to be extra safe. The car beeped at me aggressively. I waved the aggression away with my hand in an almost subconscious gesture. Turns out it was a man driving. He slammed on the brakes and got out of the car. A muscular man of average height and too-high testosterone. I had crossed behind him at this point. ‘What?, What?” He yelled at me with aggressive body language and an incredibly angry tone. I pretended he wasn’t there and walked in the opposite direction. Thankfully, he didn’t follow.

 

In fact the intimidate-a-women-in-your-car thing isn’t rare at all. It has happened to me four times now and many friends have had the same experience. But I doubt their mothers are proud of them. it doesn’t take a lot of courage to abuse a women who is alone, whilst sitting in a hunk of metal, surrounded by your friends. When I was growing up I wasn’t allowed in certain areas and places unless one of my brothers was with me. I always hated this, thought it was sexist and unfair, but, actually, my parents were smart and knew far more about the brutality and unfairness of the world than I did.

 

This doesn’t mean that all men are lovely and polite when not in cars. I have been asked ‘How much?’ whilst walking through Leicester Square. I have been followed a number of times, had my bottom groped, had men leer at me, been called everything from a slut, to a whore to a c**t (no, I can’t even write it down properly) I have walked down the street in a knee-length skirt and been treated like I was walking down the street topless. My crime? Just walking down the street, minding my own business. Oh, and having breasts and a vagina. Apparently that means it is open season. I never reply, I just ignore it. Usually I can brush it off but not always. Women should not have to put up with this level of abuse. It is time we took a stand. It is time that women and men unite and say no to everyday sexism.

 

There is a wonderful project called the Every Day Sexism Project (and I hope they don’t mind me using their name) you can add your experiences of Every Day Sexism.  They can also be tweeted at @EverydaySexism.

 

Please also comment and add your own experiences below. The more we expose sexism and show how common harassment is, the more we can do to stop it and raise awareness. My one hope is that some of these men don’t realise how their actions affect the women they treat so badly and that when they do, maybe they will think twice.

 

UK’s Top 10 driving songs

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· 60 per cent of Brits say “golden oldies” and “cheesy classics” make the best driving playlist

· Three quarters of UK drivers indulge in ‘car-eoke’ – belting out tunes behind the wheel

· Holly Willoughby and David Beckham are the UK’s dream road trip companions

· Katie Hopkins is the UK’s nightmare car companion!

topdrivingsongsFrost is not adverse to singing in the car and it seems we are not the only ones. In an age of digital addiction – where everyone is keen to be connected, informed and upgraded – it seems our music taste hasn’t changed with the times. Despite a thoroughly modern lifestyle, Brits prefer to listen to classic bands like Queen in the car, a survey of 1,000 UK drivers revealed.

While one in three Brits use a smartphone or iPod to listen to music when driving, the majority of people prefer songs that were hits long before these devices were invented. Nine of the ten songs revealed as the best driving songs were released in the 1970s and 1980s. Brit rockers Queen topped the poll, stealing the first and second spots.

To mark the arrival of the New Original MINI, 55 years after the original Mini was launched in 1959, MINI has delved into the past to find the greatest driving tracks of all time.

Long live the Queen

The band Queen is the nation’s favourite artist overall to play in the car (16 per cent of votes), having beaten the likes of Michael Jackson (9 per cent), Fleetwood Mac (8 per cent) and Meatloaf (6 per cent) in the national poll. Their 1978 hit ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ was voted best driving song with a quarter of the votes, and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ claimed number two with 21 per cent of the votes. Londoners favoured Michael Jackson while Scottish respondents voted for Fleetwood Mac and Geordies preferred to play Meatloaf.

UK drivers love ‘car-aoke’

Three quarters of Brits admitted they like to belt out a tune when behind the wheel. In fact, 28 per cent of respondents said they sing “loud and proud” no matter who is listening. However, almost half of the UK (46 per cent) will only sing when they are in the car on their own. ‘Dancing Queen’ by ABBA is the nation’s favourite guilty pleasure to croon along to.

Fantasy road trip: Holly Willoughby or David Beckham on Route 66

When it comes to choosing the dream trip to accompany a soundtrack, Brits opt for Route 66, with one in three of us saying that would be our fantasy drive. ITV’s Holly Willoughby topped the poll for the person we want most in the passenger seat – chosen over royalty, sporting heroes and film stars including Kate Middleton, David Beckham and Daniel Craig. David Beckham did however top the poll for women. Holly’s TV nemesis, Katie Hopkins, claimed top of the list for the ultimate nightmare car companion. Others on the nightmare list included Bruce Forsyth, Boris Johnson (who topped the poll for Londoners!) and UKIP party leader Nigel Farage.

Robbie helps us to relax

When it comes to tunes that calm us on the road, the song to choose is Angels by Robbie Williams. The hit topped the list of songs that soothe road rage, with a quarter of respondents selecting the popular 90s ballad. Conversely, Angels by indie band The XX had just four per cent of the vote for their 2012 single. Once again the more classic tracks, including Dionne Warwick’s Walk on By and U2’s With or Without You, were chosen over current chart favourites such as Strong by London Grammar (2 per cent) for relaxation.

MINI has recently launched the newest addition to its fleet, The New Original MINI, which combines over half a century of heritage with state-of-the-art technology and design. The stunning new Hatch – packing twin power turbo engines, in-car technology with ‘MINI connected’, and cutting-edge safety features – answers the nation’s need for a car that meets their modern requirements while satisfying their classic tastes.


TOP TEN DRIVING SONGS

1. Don’t stop me now – Queen

2. Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen

3. Bat out of hell – Meatloaf

4. Don’t stop Believin’ – Journey

5. Dancing Queen – Abba

6. Hotel California – The Eagles

7. Sex on Fire – Kings of Leon

8. Walking on Sunshine – Katrina and the Waves

9. Driving Home for Christmas – Chris Rea

10. I’m Gonna Be (500 miles) – The Proclaimers

THE TOP TEN GUILTY PLEASURE SONGS TO SING ALONG TO IN THE CAR

1. Dancing Queen – Abba

2. Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey

3. Come on Eileen – Dexy’s Midnight Runners

4. Call Me Maybe – Carly Rae Jepsen

5. Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond

6. Baby One More Time – Britney Spears

7. I’m Gonna Be (500 miles) – The Proclaimers

8. Black Velvet – Allanah Myles

9. All Out of Love – Air Supply

10. Relight my Fire – Take That

THE BEST SONGS TO SOOTHE ROAD RAGE

1. Angels – Robbie Williams

2. With or Without You – U2

3. Walk on By – Dionne Warwick

4. Always – Bon Jovi

5. Yellow – Coldplay

OUR IDEAL ROAD TRIPS

1. Route 66, USA

2. Amalfi Coast, Italy

3. Land’s End to John O’Groats, UK

4. East Coast, Australia

5. Auckland to Queensland, New Zealand

OUR TOP FANTASY CELEBRITY ROAD TRIP COMPANIONS

1. Holly Willoughby

2. David Beckham

3. Daniel Craig

4. Kate Middleton

5. Boris Johnson

OUR NIGHTMARE PASSENGER SEAT COMPANIONS

1. Katie Hopkins

2. Bruce Forsyth

3. Boris Johnson

4. Nigel Farage

5. Harry Styles