Catching Up

It has been busy lately hence the blog has not been as updated as often as I would like. Not that I’m complaining, I like the constant stream of activity, writing helps me to keep up with the news and there is the never-ending pleasure of seeing the finished result on the (web) page.

To be really thorough would mean going back to the SMMT Test Day in May. Two cars proved to be unexpectedly pleasing; the Fiat Grande Punto 1.4 T-jet and the Audi A4 3.2 quattro. One shared characteristic was that both cars seemed generally good without offering any singularly defining characteristic or area or excellence. Of the two the Audi was perhaps understandably the more impressive, feeling impressively sure-footed but – surprisingly - slightly less well assembled than the Citroen C5.

SMMT Test Day 2008

Last year I wanted to go to the annual Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) test day but I was too slow in applying. This year I was better informed and got my name on the list in plenty of time. As well as providing the opportunity to drive lots of different cars it is a superb opportunity to meet the press officers and press fleet managers and other journalists. I’m sure I could have made more of the opportunities to make contacts but I’m quite pleased that I have made some new contacts.



My day’s driving started with a Jaguar XK8, it was supposed to be an XKR but I wasn’t about to complain. Without a doubt this is a magnificent car, smooth, refined and surefooted. It was a fine way to learn the curves of the Millbrook hill test route and to get a feel for driving round the high-speed bowl. Those test tracks do a good job of replicating country road and motorway driving respectively. There was also a “City Course”, which didn’t feel much like a city but is laid out in a series of tight curves with a couple of speed humps for good measure. I had great fun whizzing round in a couple of Fiat 500s – I fear I may have upset the man from Fiat by saying that I preferred the cheaper more basic model. More than any other car I tested I could see myself actually buying a 500 for my own transport.



The other interesting pastime of the day was to see what was in demand. Bentley, for example, had 4 cars and by lunchtime all the time slots were fully booked. Nissan was taken aback by the popularity of the fuel-cell concept vehicle and so was Audi for the R8 and RS6 Avant. According to the list of vehicles there were 2 RS6s but only one actually appeared to be in use. The Nissan and Audis were the only cars I felt I missed out by not trying – maybe next year.

Picture of the Week: A quartet of Quattros

The last time I featured an Audi Quattro it was a rather sad and rundown example. To see a collection of cherished Quattros was therefore a heart warming sight. I took this photo at the Oulton Park Gold Cup meeting. Catching a Quattro on the road is an altogether more difficult proposition. There have only been 2 occasions where I have encountered a Quattro on the road but both of those were opportunities to marvel. Once was on a tightly curving exit ramp from the Coventry ring road. The ramps are concrete with expansion joints running across the carriageway and those joints seem perfectly designed to jolt a car off the road. The Quattro shot down the ramp and the last I saw, following at a more sedate pace, was the tail lights disappearing off into the night. The second encounter was a simple display of speed as a Quattro hurried past on the wide, single carriageway section of the A46 from Alcester to Red Hill.

Sad Audi

I was out and about in Leamington Spa today and I saw a sad sight; a neglected Audi Quattro. It was parked on someone’s drive so it wasn’t just abandoned and it appeared to be completely standard, with no naff alloy wheels or silly spoilers. It looks like it hasn’t moved for a while, judging by the fallen leaves around it, the flat tyres and the thick layer of dirt covering it. I also noticed a large patch of rust on the sill, below the driver’s door.

You have to wonder how the Quattro came to be in this state. Had it been damaged in an accident or some other mishap I could understand To leave it, half forgotten, on a suburban street is no way for such a car to end its days. At some point it must have been someone’s pride and joy and one of the fastest cars on the road. I can only wonder how this one ended up neglecting and slowly rotting.