Posts Tagged ‘ford’

One of the most striking things about Argentina, the country where VW makes the new Amarok, is the number of old trucks on the road.

Apart from a wealth of beautiful old Mercedes lorries, there seems to be a particular fondness for large, delapidated Ford and Chevy pick-ups.

VW Amarok first drive review

You'd think this would be an easy market to tap, but in one not so obvious way VW has really got its work cut out – and that's load capacity.

This old truck pictured above had four people sat on the front seat and, unusually, four head rests.

That means that one of the much rarer double cabs is potentially an eight-seater.

It's hard to see how you'd manage that in an Amarok.

I ran a Ford S-Max for a year and did nearly 30,000 miles in it. So I think I know the currrent car well enough to confidently say that I like it. A lot.

Its major failing was that the diesel manual required too much gear changing (because of the lowish red line) and the optional six-speed slusher, which obviously resolved the gear changing issue, dampened the driver involvement and control that a car with such a fine chassis deserves.

I'm off to Spain this morning to drive the new, facelifted S-Max. Ford has already revealed that most of the changes are underneath the bonnet, so I'm hoping that the new Ecoboost engines and Powershift (Ford's DSG) gearbox are going to go a long way to fixing the drivetrain issue.

Check back later for the first drive.

Sometimes it strikes me that the most significant progress is the kind that nobody really notices.

I spent my Christmas break in a VW Passat Bluemotion, complete with the new 104bhp 1.6-litre VW Group commonrail turbodiesel engine.

Volkswagen Passat S 1.6 TDI Bluemotion first drive

There is nothing headline-grabbing about this car.  It does not have a fuel cell, solar panels or an electric motor anywhere under its decidedly bland exterior, and it is not made entirely out of recycled potato and hemp.

It is a normal family saloon with a low-powered turbodiesel engine under the bonnet. But it took me and the other half to see family in Koburg, Germany for New Year in perfect comfort whilst easily achieving over 800 miles to each 70-litres of fuel.

That still means we fell short of the claimed 62.8mpg combined figure, but we did manage mid-50mpg for much of the trip and there was no compromise in the overall capability of the car. It was quiet, spacious and pleasant to be in. And it was cheaper and more convenient overall than catching a plane and picking up a rental special at the other end. 

Of course, the Passat Bluemotion is exactly as dull as it sounds, and clearly this is a way to make the most of what’s left of finite fossil fuels (and motorists’ over-stretched wallets) rather than the answer to all our renewable fuel needs.

But I think the car industry deserves more credit for making such a constant and rapid move towards better use of resources. That there are many similarly efficient models around, including excellent efforts from Mercedes, BMW, Ford, Kia and Audi among others only goes to prove that progress really is global.

So in the midst of all the frenzied efforts going into producing tomorrow’s planet-saving, blue-sky technologies, let’s take a moment and remember that we’re not doing so badly with the stuff that you can buy today. Well done, chaps. Now carry on.

Most of us probably won’t be too disposed to sympathising with Bugatti Veyron owners over the maintenance costs they’ll face when running one of these magnificent machines – you practically have to be a billionaire to afford one – but you can understand why anyone might wince at some of the bills that Volkswagen’s finest can run up.

A routine service, for instance, costs £12,866 or the price of a middling Polo, whereas an annual service for a Ferrari Enzo is £1680, which seems like a bargain by contrast.

Bugatti Veyron vs Bugatti EB110

Buying new rubber for the Veyron will produce similarly heart-freezing bills, a set of four tyres costing £23,500, in part because they have to be capable of 253mph, more than 100mph faster than Concorde’s landing speed.

Worse news still is that at every fourth tyre change the Veyron’s rims must be stress tested for cracks – a sensible precaution in a car this fast – and replaced if they are found wanting at a cost of £7050 per corner.

For all these reasons, it’s not surprising to learn that one owner has taken to having his Veyron trailered to his favourite roads and following it there by executive jet, an arrangement that works out cheaper than driving the Bugatti several hundred miles to reach the dream Tarmac.

All of which is guaranteed to keep the Veyron out of reach of 99.9 per cent-plus of all car buyers, even if it should depreciate colossally. And, despite these maintenance costs, even that looks unlikely.

A lot of people that using alternative sources of fuel is just fulfilling your environmental duties. Others use such fuel sources to assuage their own conscience. While using alternative fuel sources can definitely fulfil the above two roles, it is just plain good sense and planning to not depend on the rapidly depleting and environmentally degrading fossil fuels that form the backbone of our economy, and our transport system.

You can start off your use of alternative fuels in your daily commute. If you use your feet to commute, either through walking or cycling, you are at a great disadvantage with the rest of the American populace. Not only will you be healthier and fitter, you will also save thousands of dollars on ever increasing fuel costs, while cutting down on your carbon footprint.

Of course, you cannot depend on walking or cycles to take you everywhere. You will require a motorized mode of transport sooner or later. If you can afford one, a hybrid car would be a great investment. Not only are hybrid cars more economical, they are also low polluting. You will also be at a distinct advantage with the rest of the population as fuel prices keep on increasing, and as the country makes the inevitable switch to cars powered by alternative sources of fuel.

Try to use public means of transport as much as you can, especially the local metro which runs on electric power, and thus, gives off zero emissions. Not only is public transport a cost effective means of travel, it is also a great way to do your little bit for the environment and keep at least one car off the already congested roads and highways.

It makes sense to switch over the alternative fuel sources sooner than later. We will all have to switch to greener energy sources one day, so why not today rather than tomorrow?

About the Author

John has been writing online for several years. His late blog is about picture scanners, and how you should go about buying a picture scanner