AROnline

News : Pre-1960 cars to be MoT exempt

jslavin — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:01:20 +0000

John Slavin From November this year, cars registered before 1960 will be exempt from the MoT test – although owners will still be required to maintain their vehicles in a roadworthy condition. According to the announcement from the DfT, owners of classic and historic vehicles tend to maintain them to a high standard, and a [...] Related posts:

XPart : MG Rover parc still totals over 920,000 cars Recent statistics from the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders)...
News : MINI recalls 235,000 cars A potential fire risk caused by faulty waterpumps is being...
News : Russian bikini models wash cars for Putin Light relief in Moscow As publicity stunts go, it’s hard...

Driven : Vauxhall Astra GTE (1984)

Keith Adams — Sun, 20 May 2012 20:58:03 +0000

The Mk1 Vauxhall Astra GTE might be one of the underrated hot hatches of the 1980s, but that certainly doesn’t mean it’s not up there with the best. Keith Adams drives one along the Route Napoléon in the South of France and comes away smiling. Star in ascendency For those old enough to remember the hot [...] Related posts:

Unsung heroes : Vauxhall Astra Mk1 Keith Adams continues AROnline‘s series devoted to celebrating the great...
News : Vauxhall production stays in the UK Vauxhall car company staff have voted by 94% in favour...
The Trucks : Leyland Roadrunner/Leyland-DAF 45 (1984-1993) Launched with a blaze of publicity on billboards, Trucking magazines...

News : Range Rover L405 picture clears

Keith Adams — Sat, 19 May 2012 22:00:46 +0000

Words: Keith Adams Photography: Julian Reynolds Range Rover management clearly took the decision last week to show just a little bit more of next year’s Range Rover, codenamed L405, to the public. The Midlands was flooded with test and development prototypes of its new flagship wearing far less disguise than before last week, and more [...] Related posts:

News : Range Rover L405 spotted testing Eagle-eyed AROnline reader, Stewart Weller, spotted the 2013 Range Rover...
News : Range Rover Westminster Keith Adams To celebrate the tenth anniverary of the launch...
Range Rover : Autobiography Ultimate Edition to debut in Geneva Clive Goldthorp Range Rover will unveil a new flagship model,...

Our cars : Are friends electric?

Mike Humble — Sat, 19 May 2012 21:33:54 +0000

Just when you think you have created a reliable car, a small problem comes along to remind you otherwise, which thanks to some laziness, became a major headache. Friends and neighbours to the rescue! Words and Photography: Mike Humble Guilty and not charged It’s a well known fact that both Keith Adams and I along [...] Related posts:

Press Report: Electric MINI lease pricing announced in USA Bettina Mayer, Automotive News Europe, 19th November, 2008 LOS...
Blog : my week with an electric car Keith Adams On Monday morning, I took delivery of a...
Press Report : Roll on the posh Electric Vehicles The Economist, 10 March 2011 The Rolls-Royce Phantom 102EX Concept...

News : Morris Ital time-capsule for sale

Keith Adams — Sat, 19 May 2012 15:57:36 +0000

Keith Adams Never, ever underestimate the ability for our classic car market to turn up some amazing barn find cars. We recently told you about a Rover 200 with 12 miles on the clock which was up for sale and this Morris Ital will seem positively mileagey in comparison, having covered 300 miles – but, for those who [...] Related posts:

Gallery : Morris Ital In 1980, the Marina was restyled for the new decade...
In Memoriam : Morris Ital 1.3L Automatic Mike Humble A look at some of the less likely...
Morris Marina/Ital : Huandu CAC6430 Outwardly, it looked like an Ital with a nicer looking...

Sales Talk : The old ones are the best

Mike Humble — Sat, 19 May 2012 07:53:52 +0000

Everybody likes a good deal on a new car, but sometimes a customer by their own fault can end up driving not quite the hard bargain they thought. Mike Humble Letting the customer do the legwork Buying a new car can be a stressful experience and even a sales person will vouch for that. Walking [...] Related posts:

Sales Talk : nobody walks (unless it’s for fuel) Mike Humble shares a story of working at the sharp end of...
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News : Brits do well at Honest John awards…

admin — Fri, 18 May 2012 09:45:53 +0000

The Swindon-made Honda CR-V and the recently facelifted Jaguar XF from Castle Bromwich have both picked up prizes in last night’s Honest John awards. The British-built pair both scored well with the site’s 1.4 million monthly readers – the prizes of Most Popular 4×4 and Most Popular large executive car are both packed with talented [...] Related posts:

News : EuroNCAP latest – 4 and 5-stars for the Brits Euro NCAP’s fifth and last launch of 2011 presents the...
News : Honest John’s winter driving guide All you need to know from winter tyres to snow...
News : Not for Brits, the latest MINI edition Keith Adams Just so you know, the latest special edition...

News : Vauxhall production stays in the UK

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 08:36:21 +0000

Vauxhall car company staff have voted by 94% in favour of a new pay and conditions deal, clearing the way for investment in the Ellesmere Port plant. Owner General Motors will confirm this morning that a new Astra model will be built at the plant, securing about 2100 jobs. Many people had feared that the [...] Related posts:

Archive : MG Rover stays in the red Rover’s Longbridge plant: Edging towards profitability? Car maker MG Rover...
Archive : UK Production at a standstill With all the American-owned Chrysler Company’s car production in Britain...
Archive : Standard-Triumph news THE GUARDIAN One hundred maintenance engineers at the Standard –...

Blog : When you need to get there fast…

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 08:29:30 +0000

…reach for the SD1 keys! Ben Adams The eighth of May 1987, a pretty ordinary day for most of us, in fact anyone living outside London may not have even know what had happened. Remember this was before things like Twitter and Facebook and if you had seen it you wouldn’t have text messaged your [...] Related posts:

Blog : Video – The Liver Run Keith Adams I’ve seen this before on TV – the...
Archive : For a fat cat, he’s fast on his feet THE INDEPENDENT PROFILE George Simpson. GEC’s new boss makes things...
Archive : Jaguar XJ6 in new fast version The Jaguar XJ12 on sale from today. By Julian Mounter...

Blog : 75′s back and bouncing

Keith Adams — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:12:22 +0000

Keith Adams You’ve got to hand it to Direct Line. As insurance claims go, this one has been very painless indeed. Regular readers might recall a careless young lady ran into the AROnline Rover 75 and drove off without stopping. Slightly annoyed, I reported this and told my insurers. The next day, they took the [...] Related posts:

Blog : Go to another site… but please come back Keith Adams I hope I’m not shy in giving credit...
Blog : Operation drive back, day two Keith Adams Well, to say that day two was...
Blog : Bringing it back from Romania Keith Adams Banger rally Rover 216GTIs and I have history....

News : Jaguar Land Rover surges forward

Keith Adams — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:06:38 +0000

Jaguar Land Rover sales have surged forward in April, showing that its current range is hitting the spot in the sales charts. The Evoque and XF are both making a strong impression on the market, but JLR is confident for further gains, notably in growing export markets, such as China. The Tata Motors Group global [...] Related posts:

Jaguar Land Rover : Moving into India Jaguar Land Rover has just confirmed that the two marques...
Press Report : Jaguar Land Rover to assemble cars in China Jorn Madslien, Business Reporter, BBC News, 28th May, 2010 Carmaker...
Press Report : Jaguar Land Rover denies factory rumours Autocar, 19th April, 2010 Tata Motors Europe CEO Carl-Peter Forster...

Unsung heroes : Opel Manta GT/E

Mike Humble — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:21:21 +0000

Once again we fondly pay homage to the one time past masters of motoring in this popular section. This one offered a more restrained image over its arch rival Ford Capri but also went on to make a huge impact in motor sport. Words: Mike Humble Photography: Keith Adams More Old Boy… Less Del Boy [...] Related posts:

Unsung Heroes: Opel Monza GSE Back in the early-’80s, the big coupé market was sewn...
Unsung heroes : Rover 620ti We take yet another look at the cars which once...
Unsung Heroes : Rover 420 Tourer AROnline takes a another look at the decent metal which...

Blog : MG Motor UK – the US perspective

Keith Adams — Sat, 12 May 2012 18:48:29 +0000

Sometimes it’s good to get an alternative perspective about things we’re familiar with – and this Car & Driver blog makes rather uncomfortable reading for anyone feeling positive towards the MG6. We’ll let you make up your own minds. Inside the New Chinese-Owned MG Motor Co. In the town of Longbridge, just outside of Birmingham [...] Related posts:

China Watch : SAIC Motor to sell MGs through GM’s UK Dealers? Automotive News Europe/Reuters, 13th December, 2010 BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Chinese...
Blog : Three can still be the savour of MG Motor UK Keith Adams I know that I’ve been a little harsh...
Press Comment : SAIC Motor steps up ambitions with MG6 production David Bailey, Birmingham Post The first MG6 rolled off the...

Technician’s Update : Nightmare on Reid Street

Mike Humble — Sat, 12 May 2012 16:49:01 +0000

Once again, we delve into the toolbox of tales from the sharp end of the motor trade. We share a ramble about some sorry practices even the established garages will play on the motorist… Words and photography: Mike Humble Karmic Rover Only recently, I was rummaging through my trusty filing cabinet that protests with creaks and [...] Related posts:

Technician’s Update: Monte’s back from the dead! Even small but reputable garages can muck up even the...
Technician’s Update : The Mini with attitude! More mobile spannering tales in this popular new section. Mike...
Rail Projects : The BRE-Leyland Pacers – the dream becomes a nightmare Another development of the Leyland/British Rail partnership was the Rail bus. This time...

Blog : Rover 75 – dream or nightmare?

Keith Adams — Sat, 12 May 2012 14:56:36 +0000

Warren Loveridge, New Zealand What’s with the Rover 75? It has plagued my dreams for years. Those sweeping lines, that unparalleled interior, the element of tragedy about what must surely be one of the best saloons the British have ever built. I’ve gazed at them admiringly ever since they first appeared. I sat in them [...] Related posts:

Rail Projects : The BRE-Leyland Pacers – the dream becomes a nightmare Another development of the Leyland/British Rail partnership was the Rail bus. This time...
A Dream Realised Sam Skelton Polski-Rover at Pride of Longbridge My very first...
A childhood dream realised Keith Adams WHILE THE beautiful set were lording it up...

Unsung heroes : Triumph Acclaim

Keith Adams — Sat, 12 May 2012 11:04:56 +0000

Billed as the car that was totally equipped to Triumph, the Acclaim was really the marque’s last chance saloon. And in the end, the Acclaim failed to bolster Triumph enough after its launch in 1981 to save it from oblivion. And as Keith Adams explains, it was through no fault of its own. The end [...] Related posts:

Concepts and prototypes : Triumph Acclaim The Honda Ballade came to BL in the early months...
The cars : Triumph Acclaim development history It was a brave new world for BL – a...
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News : MINI Cooper Works GP II unveiled

Keith Adams — Sat, 12 May 2012 09:19:09 +0000

Keith Adams Just like in 2006, when the Cooper John Cooper Works GP was rolled out as the ultimate MINI towards the end of the R50′s life, history seems to be repeating itself with the unveiling of the Works GP II close to the end of the R56′s lifespan. Although the power and performance figures [...] Related posts:

MINI : John Cooper Works WRC to make UK debut this weekend Dani Sordo will drive the MINI John Cooper Works WRC...
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Tested : MINI Cooper S Works GP The next generation MINI might be with us now, but...

News : The good, bad and ugly MoT results

Keith Adams — Fri, 11 May 2012 05:30:18 +0000

Keith Adams In association with Honest John, AROnline has been given exclusive access to UK MoT test pass data, and we’ll be publishing some of the more interesting league table before going live with a full MoT app later in the year. We’ll be concentrating on pre-1990 UK manufactured and badged cars – the bread [...] Related posts:

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of 2009 Sam Skelton Skelton’s Car of The Year 2009: the Jaguar...
News : April UK sales are good and bad news Keith Adams April has shown some impressive growth in the...
Jaguar Land Rover : Strong global sales results posted in 2010 Clive Goldthorp Jaguar Land Rover posted a strong global sales...

First drive : Range Rover Evoque ED4 Pure Coupe

Keith Adams — Thu, 10 May 2012 23:02:11 +0000

The Evoque has been a massive hit for Land Rover – as soon as it was launched, demand for the stylish mini-SUV-crossover with concept car looks outstripped supply, and a waiting list has built up. But despite that, it seems that we’re seeing Evoques everywhere – and good British design on our roads is back [...] Related posts:

What the papers say : Range Rover Evoque Keith Adams The Range Rover Evoque has gone down a...
Range Rover : Evoque prototypes start “undercover” testing The all-new Range Rover Evoque has entered its final phase...
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For sale : SD3 with 12, yes 12 miles on the clock!

Keith Adams — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:06:06 +0000

Keith Adams If you’re in the market to re-live a prime slice of 1980s motoring (or indeed 1990s BBC sitcoms), then this Rover 213S, which has just popped up for sale on Car and Classic will be right up your street. Claimed by the seller to have a mere 12 miles on the clock, it’s [...] Related posts:

Delivery miles SD1 on sale in Europe KEITH ADAMS In the market for a Rover 2600, and...
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For sale : Alex Moulton’s 1997 Mini Keith Adams AROnline is offering readers the opportunity to buy...