Why am I writing about convertible cars when there’s an inch of snow on the ground outside? Well partly because this is supposedly the best time to buy a convertible, when demand is low and prices are cheap(er). Partly because it’s almost New Year and therefore the promise of spring and warm weather is already …
The average car’s capacity for luggage/shopping/junk is 350 litres, which is enough for most people most of the time, and anyone needing to carry more stuff regularly can buy an estate with 500 litres or more. But rather than buying a huge car an affordable way to add capacity temporarily when needed, for that annual …
This year the amusingly inexact Exacta Weather has advised us via The Express (who love a good weather story, or indeed any weather story) that “a notable period of exceptional cold and significant snow should be taken seriously throughout the latter part of December and into January”. This is partly the result of sulphur being emitted …
Whether your car is cruising down the motorway at 70mph or bobbing about in town, the engine is generating heat – well it’s not called a combustion engine for nothing. In fact only about 28% of the thermal energy released by burning fuel in the engine is available for driving the car; 42% is lost …
According to recent Vehicle Operator and Standard Agency (VOSA) figures on average 9.7% of petrol cars fail to meet MOT emissions standards, compared to 3.9% of diesels. This is mainly because the MOT emissions test is far more stringent for petrol cars than diesels; petrol cars are checked for the levels of various gasses and …
What are shock absorbers? Well they’re a range of sports bra for a start, but that’s a different blog altogether. More accurately, for our purposes, they are the tubular metal devices filled with hydraulic fluid and fitted to each of your car’s wheels to help absorb the impact of bumps and holes in the road …
Last winter was extremely mild but just a few years before the winters of 2009/10 and 2010/11 subjected us to widespread snow and ice for weeks on end, and temperatures regularly dropping well below -10C. That year saw “the coldest December in the last 100 years and the coldest across central England since 1890” according …
The Ford Focus has been rightly at the top of the car sales charts since its introduction way back in 1998. It’s pretty much the perfect all-round car, especially for a young family – affordable, good to drive, well equipped, safe, practical and cheap to run. What’s not to like? Not much, but it has …
One of the more common problems encountered with automatic transmissions is “delayed engagement” which actually sounds like a polite way of describing a couple who’ve been together for years but aren’t married yet. Ah yes, they’re suffering from delayed engagement. In automatic gearbox terms, it’s when there is a long delay from the moment you …
Your car’s catalytic converter is located in the exhaust, right after the exhaust manifold. Its job is to chemically convert harmful exhaust emissions into harmless gases. These harmful compounds are: Hydrocarbons Carbon monoxide Nitrogen oxides Carbon monoxide is a poison for any air-breathing animal. Nitrogen oxides lead to smog and acid rain, and hydrocarbons produce …