Motors and Me

From one outsider (the Legnum) to another: the Clio V6. There’s something that attracts me to nutter cars. Legnum, BMW M Coupe, Clio V6. They’re all hooligans that care more about having a wild time than about their looks. And yet, those brutish looks still put a smile on your face. Actually, I love the way the V6 Clios are styled. As Rick Dagless would no doubt remark, they’re compact and muscular — like corned beef. In fact, they’re both of those things and aggressive with it. A great example of form reflecting function. And that function, of course, is to provide the driver with a lot of fun. I’ve read, however, that in the case of the Clio V6, one man’s fun is often another man’s fright. The original is said to be wild to the point of being uncontrollable, although the 2nd generation model apparently calmed things down a bit. If I were to go for a V6 then, it would have to be the 2nd generation. Unfortunately, this restricts my choice, as they’re not exactly cheap — £15k minim

Right, time for something of a wildcard. ;-) For those not familiar with the name, a Legnum is the estate version of a Mitsubishi Galant. And the VR4 is the meanest Legnum going; a bit of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. 0-100km/h? 6.0secs. Or better . Actually, there’s another video on there of a Legnum out-dragging a BMW M3. No mean feat. Blistering straight-line performance aside, what else can one of these beasts offer? Well, for starters, there’s its trump card: size. It is a massive estate car. Very B&Q friendly. In fact, it’s this combination of size, stealth and performance that gets it on the list of candidates in the first place. Throw in the fact that you can pick them up for between 4 and 6 grand, and we could be looking at a genuine contender. The thing even looks pretty good. On the downside, its size is likely to also work against it. On track, I would be worried that the back end would throw me about all over the place, but without trying it, it’s impossible to

So, the VX220 ticked all of the ’fun’ boxes, but neither of the sensible-shoes boxes. How will the 350Z fare? On the surface, the strongest card the 350Z holds is its kerb appeal. It’s subjective, but to me, the car is a work of art. Perfectly proportioned, and beautiful from every angle. Its attractiveness is not the only string to its bow, however. It’s pretty quick too, even if it is just shy of my ideal 6.0secs to 100km/h. It holds the road pretty nicely too, based on my 2 test-drives. And it’s a tin-top, which is definitely my preference; greater structural rigidity and no faffing with a leaky and/or awkard roof. Crucially, I can even get in the 350Z with a helmet on - a requirement that’s ruled out plenty of other contenders. When it comes to practicality, however, it’s another compromise. The boot is suitable for long weekends away, but that’s about it. Just as with the VX220, you can forget about trips to B&Q. But then, I’m pretty much resigned to having another impract

As promised, here’s the first of many cars to which I’m considering upgrading: the Vauxhall VX220. Or VX220 Turbo. I’m not fussy. In the Vauxhall’s favour are its most obvious attributes: it’s fast and light. Although I’ve yet to drive one, I suspect I could have a lot of fun in one of these, both on the open road and on trackdays. The light weight, in particular, is a great attraction. The closer I can get to a go-kart on trackdays, the better. One other attraction that’s a little more subjective is the car’s looks. I swear, if it didn’t have a Vauxhall badge on the front, it would get far more positive reviews for its looks. ‘Razor-sharp’ is the phrase that comes to mind for me; I love it. On the downside, the VX would cause me to be a little unnerved on trackdays, due to the fact I’d have to take the roof off. I simply can’t fit in one with a helmet on. Not only that, but with the helmet on and the roof off, my head would be the highest point on the car. While I don’t intend t

Another week goes by and I’m still a Mini owner. This isn’t how I planned it. This past week, I was off work. I hesitate to say on holiday. The first day was spent... at work. And the rest was spent either being ill or decorating the house. And to think I had plans for getting a new car instead. Despite this, at least I’m making progress toward the next purchase. The front bumper is looking great following its respray. The exhaust’s all sorted. I even think I found the source of a persistent rattle coming from the back of the car. On top of this, I’ve made the car a little more photogenic, sprucing up the wheels and taking the opportunity to even the tyre wear by swapping front to back. The photos I’ll take could well be called upon soon too. I’ve contacted 3 private sellers about doing a part-ex on their cars, although I’ve only heard back from one so far. And that was a negative. The cars, by the way, are a mixed bag: an S2 Elise 135; a Honda S2000; and a VX220. Frankly, any of t

You get a £500 bonus at work — how do you spend it? The big decision for half of my colleagues appears to have been XBox 360 or Playstation 3? Myself, I’ve opted for a front bumper respray. Of course, as soon as I said as much, I was told, quite earnestly, that I really need to stop thinking about cars so much. Hehe. Well, it made me laugh anyway. :) Yes, I might well be chucking money away — I doubt the work will add the equivalent value to the car come the day I sell it — but it won’t half improve my enjoyment of the car. As it stands, the polka-dot affair I’ve got at the moment (courtesy of Bill Heaney’s crap finishing) makes my heart sink every time I approach the thing. In just a week’s time, I’m going to be smiling again instead. It’s been at least 6 months since that last happened (the lack of blogging here in that time is no coincidence) and maybe it’ll reinvigorate me full-stop. Dammit, I love driving too much to feel depressed about my car. Roll on the good times. Oh, a

Earlier today, I started to get excited for no apparent reason. It suddenly dawned on me that the trackday season is approaching. Most petrolheads reading that would think I’m nuts. Au contraire. I’m simply tight and fearless. ;-) Yup, for me, winter is the best time of year for trackdays, not least because the costs plummet. But it’s not just the cheaper ticket prices that attract me. In winter, you’re more likely to get a damp track, making it much more of a challenge and much more fun in the process. Thanks to global warming, the UK’s winters are increasingly mild too, so the chance of getting an icy track is greatly diminished. Other benefits include: Fewer cars on track (most people are shy of booking wet trackdays) Reduced tyre wear (can’t corner as quickly on wet surfaces) Reduced brake wear (can’t brake as aggressively on wet surfaces) The car’s more powerful (thanks to the colder, denser air) All in all, it’s the perfect time of year, especially for FWD cars tha

The Mini’s just about to pass the 60k mile mark and, sadly, it seems it’s starting to show its age. The service I had it booked in for when I last blogged on here threw up so many problems that the dealer didn’t even perform the service. Instead, they gave me a list of problems and told me they’d be in touch with estimates. 4 or 5 weeks later and I’ve still not received anything. I hate having to chase idiots just to give them my money. Clearly, business is far too good for them to be hungry. Clearly, they don’t need my business. Wankers. So, for the time being, I’m driving around with every controllable appendage crossed, hoping to hell that my exhaust stays put. To be fair, mind, I’ve looked at a number of things they said were problems and they simply aren’t. The steering column doesn’t make a grinding noise. The headlamp height adjustment does work. The clutch isn’t poor. Well, not massively. ;) And the exhaust’s support bracket isn’t snapped — it’s just a bit rusty. Are they