corsa

Hold on, those aren’t the words are they? Well maybe not but you have to admit that when you have supporters like this a bit of lyric changing is in order.

Now I bet the owners of these cars are the ambassadors the supporting of England football team brigade, but come one there is a two year gap between every major tournament. What are you going to look like parking one these cars in Sainsbury’s car park when making the Saturday trip for some cous cous and assorted meats??
You can’t exactly step out of Hugo Boss, laden with bags to then step into your 1997 Fiesta with a massive British Bulldog on the front. Mind you, that would make a great spectacle.
No, I am more of the fan of the more subtle approach, besides, that is the British way. Being as much of a footballer supporter as the next guy (this characterisation is based on the mutual love for Soccer AM, Sky sports news on all day on a Saturday, missing MOTD on Saturday night because you are out celebrating the day’s win but catching it Sunday morning, indulging in some Sunday MOTD for some good old Colin Murray banter not to mention the Champions League and domestic cup games in the week finished off with an insightful conversation with the lads on how much of a legend Becks is – Wow, no full stop. Grammar, schwammer!) I have grown to easily identify a fan despite his creed or profession. Guess what the giveaway is? Yes, it’s the car! I know what you are thinking, “No s*** Sherlock!” since the images in this article are more blatant than the two tubs of brylcreem used a minute on Chamakh’s hair! (I mean seriously have you seen it?? I hear BP want to use his hair if they ever run out of oil.)
No, I am referring to the more discreet fashion adopted by the British when adorning their car with assorted football material.

Let’s be honest, its hardly like the other half is going to let us go crazy with union jacks on the bonnet and God Save the Queen as the car horn (hmmm, interesting) so we have to be subtle. What can escape the radar? Well, here are some telling points for people looking to achieve just that within their motor.

Those 6 CD disc-changers in cars are lovely aren’t they? An assortment of CD’s including Ellie Gouding, Robbie Williams, can’t beat a bit of MJ – but wait a minute….what’s this? England football compilation CD including a remix of three lions by the Black Eyed Peas? Looks like a football fan.

That’s a lovely scarf. Very stylish to battle the English cold – but wait a minute…what’s this? A spare scarf in the backseat?? Is that in case it gets too cold and you suddenly need to double up on scarves…in the car? Plus the red and white stripes doesn’t really go with the jacket to be honest (Has Beckham not taught you anything?) I guess it must have come free with the Corsa you are driving. Nope, this looks like a football fan.

Wow, the glove compartment doesn’t seem to be able to close. What’s inside? Well what do you know….A pub/bar guide for every European country. As far as the other half is concerned, you haven’t even got a passport! Looks like a football fan

So taking the missus to Rome for a break. Very nice of you…and even bought a common phrase book to help communicate with the locals. Very impressive. So what phrases are underlined in the book then? “Who ate all the pies?”, “The referee’s a [bleep]” and “How much for a pint?”. Well well well, looks like a football fan.

Well there you have it, there are a million and one other things you can find but evolution will dictate the level sophistication we adopt to hide such things. So what is in your new car? Maybe have an entire album of football song classics on the ipod for your Corsa which is in a folder called UB40’s greatest hits…too much?

The winter can be very taxing on your car. You spend more gas because of heating, your engine becomes less efficient due to the cold weather, and the holiday trips/shopping can mean more fuel costs. So what can you do this winter to be more economical? Here are some simple driving tips that you can follow to save money and help the environment.
First, make sure that you get your car checked out. Things like replacing your exhaust filter and replacing your tires can add more mileage to your car. Problems in these areas can make your car consume more fuel. It’s also wise to change your tires for the winter if you don’t have the necessary tires to drive under slippery conditions.
Second, keep your top speed limit to 55 miles per hour. You consume more gas than intended by going over 55 miles per hour so you should make sure you don’t go too fast when you’re driving in highways. In most cases, you’ll find that you only get to your destination several minutes earlier by going past the 55 mph mark.
Third, make sure you plan all your shopping in one trip. Too many shoppers make multiple trips to the same store or mall because they forgot to buy something on the first trip or because they’re going with the flow. By planning everything in one trip, you can save a lot of time and also save a lot of money.
Fourth, get rid of any unnecessary luggage in your car. Many people tend to leave a lot of things that add to the weight in their car and hurt their fuel economy. It’s been shown that you can reduce efficiency 5-10% depending on how much of your belongings you are storing in your car when you are driving.
Finally, if you feel that it’s time for a new car, you should invest in an economical car. Cars such as the Vauxhall Corsa and the Vauxhall Meriva have great mileage and are affordable. The Vauxhall Corsa is a stylish mini that delivers over 48 mpg while the Vauxhall Meriva is a family friendly car that has a rating of 57 mpg. These cars are also very cheap compared to others in the market and perfect if you’re budget conscious.
So those are some of the things you can do to save money while driving this winter. All these things are very simple and cost little to no money. The best to save on your fuel costs is to invest in a car that has great mileage and Vauxhall is one of the few companies that are dedicated to designing their cars with that feature. Visit their website to see what kind of cars they are offering and how they can benefit you.

The UK government’s scrappage scheme offers money off new cars in exchange for scrapping an old car that is over ten years old. Critics of the scheme said the discounts for scrapping an old car weren’t sufficient, but recent figures show that the scheme has been very successful.

According to recent figures, the scrappage scheme has been responsible for the sale of nearly 155,000 new cars since May, which is just 3 months. The sales of new cars means that over half of the budget the government set aside for the scrappage scheme has been spent rejuvenating the car industry. Originally the government set aside £300 million to fund the scrappage scheme.

July this year actually saw an increase in sales of new cars, which is the first time that new car sales have increased since April 2008. Sales of new cars in July this year hit 157,149, which is a rise of 2.4% on new car sales in July 2008. Of the sales of new cars, nearly a fifth of the sales were made in the South East.

New car sales are still down this year on last year’s figures, but now thanks to the scrappage scheme they are heading in the right direction.

Men think about sex every six seconds, so the legend goes.

But it could be more than that.

If you look at any car magazine or car manufacturer’s website these days, you’d be hard pressed to deny it. What is it with motoring journalists that they cannot be content with providing us with facts and figures about the cars they are trying to sell, but instead they have to resort to sexual innuendo to get their point across?

Stiff chassis you can easily throw around; good, strong grip; dynamic chassis; sleek, sexy body; nice curves, the list of double entendres is endless (perhaps just for those that have a dirty mind).

Is it just that providing information about car parts, engine capacity and fuel is so dull that motoring writers feel the need to spice things up a bit, or, is it rather because a man’s car is a status symbol and therefore needs to be sexy? Like the footballer who has a hot blonde on his arm, a man likes to feel that his car should be his ‘trophy bird’?

For as long as cars (and indeed other modes of transport) have existed, men have referred to their pride and joy in female terms and have used the pronoun ‘she’ when talking about their car’s performance- unlike their ‘other’ pride and joy, of course, which is always given a masculine name. And quite rightly so.

Many car manufacturers have clearly cottoned onto the idea that sex sells. Sensing a man’s tendency to ‘feminise’ his car, top car maker Vauxhall has wisely given its cars names that could be considered female, presumably in the hope that female names will get male consumers hot under the collar and eager to put their hands in their pocket… to get their wallet out and buy a car, I mean… (you, my friend, have a dirtier mind than me).

Vauxhall’s range of car names mostly end in the letter ‘a’ and for those of you who remember your schoolboy Latin, or indeed have studied romance languages, you will know that words ending in ‘a’ are usually feminine.

Agila, Vectra, Insignia, Corsa, Zafira, Meriva, Astra, Tigra…they all sound like female Goddesses who are about to give you… well, to coin a much-loved motoring journalistic expression… the ride of your life!

What are the other sexiest car names out there today?

SOURCE: Vauxhall.co.uk

Let the debate begin.

Today’s question in the ‘Desert Island’ series, we ask the age old question – if you could only choose one (1) – which reasonably priced car manufacturer would you take (imagine: on a desert island / to dinner with you / in a cage fight / wherever).

You know what we’re on about.

Just one. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Consideration has to be given to the entire line of cars within the manufacturer’s fleet. From the bottom feeders (ie. lower priced models) up through their very best. When you make your choice, remember, you get them all, good and bad. The idea of today’s debate is to find the one economy car manufacturer that shines across the entire range. Or, at least stays away from that one truly unsightly blemish, the one car in the entire line that looks like it’s been set on fire and put out with a chain. Or should do.

I’m looking at you, Picasso.

When you think about it, they all have ‘that ONE pig ugly car’, don’t they. Some, like Citroen, have plenty of mingers to choose from. Others are let down by that one model so very bad that the whole line is tainted. Pick Volkswagen and yes, you get the Golf, the new Beetle and the Passat. But you also get the new Rabbit. Are YOU going to drive the new Rabbit? Thought not. For purposes of THIS debate, consider Volkswagen ‘nicht gut’.

Toyota surely have some lovely cars in their fleet. They also have the Verso, the Yaris and across the board the worst set of car model names of any manufacturer in automotive history. Avensis, anyone? Sorry, Toyota.

Mitsubishi? Some of the best looking vehicles on the road, without doubt. And, a mini-van straight out of 1989 in the Grandis. What it lacks in Grand, it makes up for in Diss.

Sayanora.

Our American cousins from Ford excel at truck manufacturing and lay claim to many fine car models as well. With 2009 offerings like the Kuga (Cougar, spelled in American?) on the way, it looks like they’ve just given up now. The end is nigh. Ford, may you rest in peace.

Volvo. Volvo, yes! Decent looking cars. Maybe plain, but nothing horrendous. Wait, they make the V50 Tank/Wagon thing, don’t they? Scratch Volvo.

In this debate – one weak link lets down the entire family. Maybe your parents were right after all.
It’s hard to argue with Jeremy Clarkson and the UK Top Gear team. In an episode last season they gave some serious, intelligent, well thought out discussion to the issue (1 minute, 30 seconds to be exact).

And who did they pick?

They came up with Vauxhall.

Vauxhall?

TOP GEAR UK VAUXHALL REVIEW

Don’t sound so surprised (to our North American friends, visit – Vauxhall.co.uk). Vauxhall has come a long, long way in their design recently. In fact, they now have to be considered across the board the best looking car manufacturer. And if Jeremy Clarkson says so, it has to be right doesn’t it? Are YOU going to take issue with the biggest petrol-head in Europe, a man revered, a man with such gravitas he was put forward by 475,000 Facebook members to become Prime Minister of England?

Maybe we’ve gone too far, but take a look at each model in the Vauxhall range individually and you’ll see Clarkson has a point. The entire 2009 Vauxhall line is solid, top to bottom. Let’s take a closer look…

We’ll start with what’s bound to be the most contentious pick first. The Meriva. While admittedly not possessing the Hollywood good looks of some of its stable mates – let’s face it, it’s no Berlingo.

The Corsa is, well, the Corsa. Like most of the girls you used to date – not SUPER attractive, but small and light enough that you can get away with it. Maybe a bit more popular than your girlfriends tended to be though.

The Vauxhall Antara. If not the best looking SUV in its price range, we welcome your opinion to what you think might be. Pretty.

The Corsavan? Automobile review website WhatVan.co.uk just awarded the Vauxhall Corsavan “Small Van of the Year”. Small vans have never been so popular and according to ‘What Van?’, Corsavan is the best of the lot. Nice going, Corsavan.

The design of the Agila and Astra easily hold their own against the competition, and the Tigra, VXR and New Insignia are undeniably some of the best looking cars in the world, at any price.

All in all, the author sees no reason to veer from PM (to be) Clarkson’s view that Vauxhall has ‘no mingers’ in the range. And you? What’s your input… agree? Disagree?

Digg?

Who’s on the desert island with YOU?

Let the debate begin. We’ve stated our case. State yours below!

1970 Vauxhall SRV

The Vauxhall SRV (Styling Research Vehicle) was a 1970 concept vehicle designed by Vauxhall Motors. Never intended for production, the car was an attempt to raise Vauxhall’s profile and image, while providing a platform for researching some unusual design concepts.

1970 Nissan 270x

The 270x concept was introduced at the Tokyo Motorshow in 1970. The aggressive style was not matched with its performance – the base mechanicals were from the Nissan E10 Cherry. The Cherry’s 1171cc motor was slope mounted into a FWD design in which the exhaust system exited the back in order to conform to the sloping design.

1973 Chevrolet Aerovette

The interior was more fully engineered than the typical concept car, another indication that the Aerovette was indeed a serious production prospect. The Aerovette displayed a strongly triangulated “mound” shape, balanced proportions, and artful surface detailing. “Gullwing” doors harked back to the original Mercedes 300SL coupe but were articulated for easier operation in tight parking spots.

1970 Ferrari 512 S Modulo

The Ferrari 512 S Modulo is a concept car designed by coach maker Pininfarina, unveiled at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show. The Modulo was the last in a series of studies. The concept car has an extremely low body with a Canopy-style roof that slides forward to permit entry to the cabin. All four wheels are partly covered. Another special feature of the design consists of twenty-four holes in the engine cover that reveal the Ferrari V12 engine.

1970 Porsche Tapiro

The Porsche Tapiro was designed legendary designer Giorgetto Giugiaro in 1970. It was based on the Porsche 914/6 platform and featured a mid mounted 2.4 litre flat 6 cylinder Porsche engine, giving 220 bhp and 7200 rpm. Like so many concept cars of the time, it had gullwing doors and the profile of the windscreen was almost the same angle as the bonnet. In recognition of his talent, Giurgiaro was awarded the Car Designer of the Century by the Global Automotive Elections Foundation.

1972 E25 BMW Turbo

The E25 BMW TURBO prototype was built as a celebration for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The car had a Turbo fitted 1,990cc BMW 4 cylinder engine. The car weighed just 980kg and featured gullwing doors and an ergonomically considered interior. Safety was another consideration in its design, with an integrated passenger roll-cage, crash safe deformable structures front and rear of the car and a collapsible steering column, thanks to 3 universal joints. Only 2 E25 cars were ever built.

1978 Vauxhall Equus

The Equus was the last concept car designed for Vauxhall under the guidance of Wayne Cherry, who was at the time head of European design for General Motors. After the Equus, Vauxhall did not resume producing show cars again until 2003. The Equus was an elegant but simple two-passenger roadster design based on the Panther Lima chassis – a typical, hand-built British roadster, featuring a Vauxhall drive train.

SOURCE: Conceptcarz.com | Vauxhall.co.uk