Continuing our (by now) traditional Wednesday classic car auction, we visited the Herefordshire Vintage Auction, held in the delightful grounds of How Caple Court just outside Hereford. Automobilia predominated, with just 14 cars on offer, the majority of which were vintage. Those attending were well-versed in identifying oily bits in isolation and their knowledge was astounding; I overheard several conversations in which they debated not the model that a part…

A bit of a misnomer, this, as it wasn’t a day out at all, but an evening at Glyndwr University, Wrexham. No matter, semantics can be conveniently ignored in the interests of neat taxonomy, because it was a fascinating couple of hours in the company of legendary speed king, Sir Richard Noble, there to talk about Bloodhound SSC. As a motoring journalist I’d heard a bit about Bloodhound (can we…

The Insignia VXR Unlimited boasts a 325PS engine, a 170mph top speed, and a sophisticated chassis that drives all four wheels; it’s a quick car then, but is it a good one? Let’s get the impressive technical specification out of the way first. The chassis has a manual six-speed gearbox that drives all four wheels. The front suspension features HiPerStrut (High Performance Strut) a nifty design that minimises torque steer…

The Guild of Motoring Writers (GOMW) has produced a new booklet So You Want To Be A Motoring Writer. Written by Guild committee member and Coventry University Automotive Journalism MA lecturer Andrew Noakes it’s the perfect introduction for anyone who is wants to be a motoring journalist. The free 16-page booklet includes advice from seasoned motoring writers including Autocar Editor in Chief Steve Cropley, GoMW Chairman Charlotte Blight, and CAR…

Bonhams’ November auction of Collectors’ Motorcars, Motorcycles & Automobilia was held at the Yorkshire Event Centre, in the spa town of Harrogate, and attracted an eclectic mix of wealthy car collectors, autojumblers and impoverished classic car buffs. As such I felt right at home falling very firmly in the latter category and it won’t come as a surprise to hear that I drove away in a new (to me) car……

Alain de Cadenet is an old-school racing driver, international playboy and gentleman; a man to be admired and emulated whenever possible. You might not want to leave ‘The Cad’ alone with your wife but you’ve got to admire anyone who says that he’s only in racing for ‘the glory’ – and freely admits that he only has a weeny willy. But. Sharp braking on a loose surface is never a…

Closing the tailgate of your pickup is no big deal, is it? You take it in both hands, slam it closed and maybe fasten some clips. Job done. So why are we featuring a video of someone closing the tailgate on a pickup? Well, rather than explain we might as well just let you watch the film, which features a Russian motorcyclist with sublime bike-handling skills.. Definitely Blu-ray.

We’ve just returned from the Footman James Classic Motor Show, held again at the NEC in Birmingham, tired but happy. The format – filling five vast halls with classic cars, motorbikes and assorted goodies – is a tried and trusted one and despite fewer first-day visitors than last year the atmosphere and quality of displays remain first-rate. We arrived via Hall 4 and were immediately seduced by an SL R107…

Sometimes you come across an infographic that is so cool that it needs no further introduction. Other than to tell you that it came to us courtesy of Kars 4 Kids, which looks like a great way to get rid of your unwanted cars while donating to charity. It’s only available in selected US cities, I’m afraid, but you can donate cash online… @kars4kids Infographic produced by the Kars4Kids car…

The Office of Fair Trading has taken enforcement action against Carcraft over concerns about its business practices when selling cars, finance and after-sale guarantees. Following its investigation, which was undertaken with the assistance of a number of local authority Trading Standards Services, the OFT believed that Carcraft: was not always properly carrying out the comprehensive pre-sale vehicle inspections it advertised, with customers complaining about vehicles suffering significant problems shortly after…