Motoring

The Jeep just turned 75, first produced in 1941 by Willys-Overland, it has a history that dates back to the 1930s. The original design came from the American Bantam, a company formed from the bankrupt remains of the American Austin Car Company, who made British Austin cars under license. When …

The first Civic, launched in 1972, was an instant success becoming one of the most popular small cars in the world. In 2015 the 10th generation started to roll out around the world, and finally, in 2016 it is coming to New Zealand.   We get 4 models, the base …

What has 3 wheels, long travel suspension, is as comfortable on road as off road, and with the right power plant can out run most race cars? It’s the Ape Proto! These mental little things from Europe are purpose built racing trikes. They can be powered by any motor bike …

I could watch this for hours

Had a genuinely good time at Speed Show this year, a really good selection of cars, including some rare race cars with loads of pedigree and some cool vehicles on loan from Southwards Car Museum. Here is a few of the highlights:   V12 Toyota, 5.0L shares its basic design …

The car world is filled with brand loyal engine fan boys, people who love one engine over another for no sound or rational reason. There are people who will fight over Small Blocks Fords being better than Small Block Chevs, or cry when a VTEC Honda makes more power than a …

I wrote little piece on the often heated topic of cyclists and their place on our roads. It gathered the expected level of abuse and rhetoric, but also generated some really good discussion, including some important points that are relevant to all road users. This year the Road Toll looks …

Have you ever felt that a Mercedes G wagon just wasn’t enough? Or that the Hummer H1 was a bit of a wussy car. Do you wake up in the morning and feel that only way to assert yourself on upon the world is behind the wheel of a bullet …

About 10 years ago car advertising started to change, photographs stopped being of cars, and started to be backgrounds with CGI models laid over the top. This is now the standard way of doing car photography for advertising. The vast majority of still images you see of cars in car …

Land Rover recently used the new Discovery Sport to prove how easy it is to tow a train. Once you overcome the rolling resistance, moving anything on wheels becomes quite easy, even when it weighs 108 tons. With about 180hp and 317 lb-ft of torque the little Disco did a …