The news are making abig thing of the issue, even though no problems have been reported int he UK, every issue has been in the USA. it also covers some Citroen C1’s which were made in the same factory, which suggests a factory or parts issue rather than a design fault.  To be honest of there were a make of car to have a fault you would hope it would be a Toyota, we have seen represenetatoves on TV assuring they will put the issue right, without passing blame to anyone else.

The media have suugested contacted your local dealer, but Toyota have set up a phone line and are probly better set up tpo deal with the issue, that will take only 30 minutes oer car to pout right. Toyota dealers will be rubbing their hands in glee, as all recalls will be cgargable back to Toyota.

Police cars, ambulances, fire engines all need to get to where they need to be and unfortunately, our inability to handle snow and grit the roads has once again had the world in stitches as they go to work as normal in with snowfalls twice the size as ours. The roadside assistance emergency services have reported record call outs with AA quoting 20,000 call outs in one day and long waits for those without their cars.
Certain other types of vehicles have been string through, like the mini excavator or mini diggers that have been used to clear snow throughout businesses across the UK. These vehicles are excellent for during on snow as their rubber tracks spread the weight across a larger surface area, so they do not get stuck, or rarely anyway. Many excavator parts suppliers have seen record sales over this cold period for that very reason, no wonder they use these in typical ski resorts.

The 4×4 owner has had some stick recently with CO2 emissions and taxation etc. But by did most of us wish we had one as they sped by us on the roads. Let’s be honest this winter was unique and we will always get stuck in the snow, because unlike other countries we never can guess when it will come. The roads are clear now, so make sure you have your antifreeze in the radiator, and hope the snow fall has ceased for another year.

Lets talk about the basics of anti freeze. This is a product that costs no more than a few pounds, but is one of the most essentia love products you can buy for your car. I know dealerships that are snapping up old cars because of cylinder head issues, just becuase of no antifreeze had been put in the radiator. When was the last time you got your alternator checked? This is mostly a free check by certain car parts suppliers, you may think you don’t want to be sold an alternator, but you probably will think differnt that night your car will not start after a night out in the middle of nowhere because your battery has failed ot charge.

As for those motorists that drive around in newer cars, not expecting anything nechaical to breakdown, there is also the consideration of distance versus time. For some unknown reason, some driver assume you can get from A to B in the same time as back in summer, light nights and no cars on the road. What does his equal? It equals frustration,, annoyance and car accidents that should have been avoided. What is more when you add a bit of Christmas to the mix, you end up with stress and more stress.

The motor car was invented ot make our lives easier, but expecting too much out of our cars and driving habits is becomming the norm. Oh I hate winter!!

Learning to drive will probably for most be one of the most significant things to happen to them, not only from a career pint of view but also from a social one too. The likelihood of all life’s dreams being on your doorstep is very rare and so owning and driving a car really does make one’s life different, to the point of it being an essential ingredient to modern life success.

Making sure you get the right driving tuition is essential, what you learn today will affect the driving in you tomorrow, so choose carefully based on experience and driving test pass rate. What is the point of saving a few pounds per  lesson if you find yourself having to buy more driving lessons after you fail your test?  Get an instructor that will teach you right first time and then it is up to you to how quickly you are safe to drive by yourself on the roads. Nothing within this blog has any significance until a driving test has been passed or at least the goal to do so. Everything based around the automotive world is based around people going through the same driving instruction and then the same driving test, before buying their own car and having the pleasure of maintaining it.

Anyway it is an enjoyable piece with 2 good racing drivers come presenters having the time of their lives and trying ot out-drive each other. in fact you could say, it was less about the cars and more about who was the best driver.

The Toyota now stands proud on the Top Gear wall, all beaten and down but stll alive if they were t choose to start it up again, although the body has been beaten up past recognition. here is the video with part 1 of the story.

It was a fantastic peice, even compared to the previous test of racing a light airplane over Europe in the Bugatti, becuase even though they did not mention it at the time, they needed to stick to tthe speed limits.

So the answer is, yes the car really can do 407kph, ven if it is for 12 minutes only as you may run out of fuel and the tyres can only last 50 minutes or so also.

Here is the Top Gear Clip.

The first impressions is from the back and it looks a bit too chucky of a traditional mini, and with its roof down it doesn’t really look that much different from a soft top mini, except the folding roof means it can only have 2 seats. This also means the boot section extends over where the rear seats were. It is difficult to decide if this car looks any better than a soft top mini, but with the usual UK winter there will be benefits.

When the roof is up, the coupe shape looks unusual on a mini, as it has never been seen before and would guess it would take time to get used or to like. This car is likely to be compared to marmite, you either like it or you don’t. The price should it be made will probably define its success.