Boris lets motorbikes in bus lanes

It wasn’t too difficult to make the choice between Ken and Boris in the last London Mayor elections. Ken had done much that got under the skin of the average Londoner, and it was time for a change. But, however affable Boris is, it always seemed likely he could easily cock everything up. But he seems to be doing a pretty good job.

Election promises soon become ‘Aims’ when politicians get elected, but Boris is doing better than that. He’s addressed the issue of extending the congestion charge zone, and he’s made progress on the bendy buses. But now comes some more sensible news for Londoners. Motorbikes are going to be allowed to use bus lanes.

It’s not earth shattering news, but anything that cause fewer prangs and makes life easier for London motorists has got to be applauded. Bus lanes stand empty for much of the time, and letting motorbikes use them instead of having them weave in and out of stationary traffic is a great move. Quicker journeys for bikers and fewer frayed car driver tempers will be the obvious benefit.

But there always has to be some organisation  or other putting the mockers on any change, and this time it’s the cyclists. They claim bikers will be a danger in the bus lanes. Why? They already have cabs and buses there, so I can’t see the objection. Perhaps they are just miffed that bikers get there quicker.

Good move, Boris.

U.S. Car Makers bailout fails

This is a really difficult one. Do you save the U.S. car makers from oblivion, or do you use taxpayers money to rescue them? The Democrats were clear - give them the money. But the Republicans, either for sound economic reasons or political spite, have blocked the bill to fund the car maker’s recovery. So could it be ‘Goodnight Vienna’, for at least two of the big three?

This is one of those ‘Rock and a hard place’ calls. In truth, the U.S. car industry has blundered on for so long doing much the same thing - building poor cars that drank like a rabid man. They didn’t seem able, or willing, to see the writing on the wall. The huge success of Japanese cars, and the popularity of European imports, seemed to have the most marginal of effects on their business plan. I guess they figured that there were always going to be enough dinosaurs and red-necks who only wanted what they’d always had - junk.

Of the three, Ford is best placed. It’s not about to run out of money, although it’s in a pretty precarious position. It has the benefit of not relying completely on its domestic market. It has a range of cars in Europe and beyond that can be made suitable for the domestic market. Indeed, it already has plans in place to make Ford worldwide ‘One Market’, with the successful, smaller, better made and more economical cars from Europe and beyond infiltrating the domestic market. But Chrysler and GM are hopelessly lost in a hugely outdated business model.

The final stumbling block for the bailout was the refusal of Unions to put members’ wages on a par with non-unionised wages in foreign-owned car plants in the U.S. Without that cost saving the chances of saving GM and Chrysler would probably be doomed anyway. But you can’t blame the Unions for the collapse - that is entirely due to the lack of foresight and investment by the management of Chrysler and GM. But it didn’t help.

The collapse of GM and Chrysler, which is imminent, will have massive implications not just for the domestic market, but also for economies worldwide. But maybe it’s for the best. Yes, governments are duty bound to help big employers through exceptional circumstances. But they should not be in the business of running non-competitive businesses just to save short term pain. Governments can’t run businesses.

Without the incentive of profits, and the fear of failure, capitalism doesn’t work. You only need to look at formerly state-owned U.K businesses for that - BT, BA, Jaguar et al - to see how hopeless a state run business can be. And look at the mess governments make of health, education and just about anything else they run. No, everything works better when the incentives of success are interwoven with the costs of failure. Take that away and we have a failure - guaranteed.

Better short term pain for long term gain.

Fred Watson Overend 1927-2008

Last night my Dad died.

I know this isn’t the appropriate place to write, and I know it’s an abuse of my ability to do so, but I need to tell the world what it has lost.

Fred was my Dad. He was a constant in my life. I thought he’d live forever.

We had our ups and downs, although they are decades past, but he always loved me and I always loved him. He was Freddie Frog when we were little (which he didn’t like!) and ‘him‘ when I was a recalcitrant teenager. For many years he was “Inspector Fred, said” to my friends, due to his regularly expressed opinions in the local papers when he was Inspector Fred Overend at Brentwood Police Station (where the regular cub reporter asking the questions was a very young Richard Madeley, later of Richard and Judy fame).

He was always firm but fair, but under that sometimes authoritarian skin lay the biggest heart you could ever know. He rescued me and friends from many a scrape, without comment or admonition when we had dug a hole for ourselves through the impetuosity of youth. In later years he loved to start a sentence with “Do you remember when…” every time the Shadow Chief Secretary To the Treasury, Philip Hammond, popped up on his television screen, and Dad recounted what we’d done in our teens (Phil was a close friend at school).

He knew right from wrong, and instilled that in us. But he always had a mind of his own. I remember some thirty-odd years ago he recovered the Queen’s personal bible that had been stolen from Sandringham. He found out where it was and did a deal with the man who could access it. He had a blind eye turned to some petty crimes of no significance in return for the Bible. What he did broke the rules. His superiors where not amused. But Dad was unmoved. He did what he knew was right, even if he broke rules to do it. That is possibly the greatest gift he gave me - always question; always be true to yourself.

Dad had a zest for life. At 80 he demolished his garden sheds and built a new patio. Drove from Essex to Lancashire to visit his sister on her 90th birthday. We had a wonderful family holiday in a massively over-the-top house in Javea. He loved every minute. He enjoyed his computer and his camera club; visiting his family and enjoying a good meal. He loved his life. And he loved my Mum - she was his world. Probably the last properly coherent words he said, the day before he died, and in response to Mum asking “Do you know who I am?”, were “Yes, you’re my wonderful wife, and I love you”. Fit and healthy (with the odd hiccup) for 80 years. More in love with Mum with every year that passed. Children and grandchildren who adored him. He was blessed. But not as blessed as we were to have had him.

But he got ill last year and despite a huge fight, and a 6 month respite, it was finally one battle too far. His passing has left a great big Dad-shaped hole in my world which will never be filled. He made the world a better place, not just for us, his family, but for the countless people whose lives he touched, professionally and personally.

Fred was my Dad. Fred was my friend. Fred was my hero.

BMW announces 2009 7 Series Diesel

BMW has announced that it will, as expected, be launching the diesel version of the 2009 7 Series next year. This is in addition to the two petrol engined models already scheduled.

Even at this luxury end of the market, the diesel engine has become a must-have for car makers. Despite the fact that there is almost always a price-premium attached to diesel cars (compared to a similar engined petrol car) and diesel is no longer cheaper than petrol, the headline economies of the diesel, and its reputation as the ‘Green’ alternative, make the diesel a must-have model.

The 2009 BMW 7 series 730d will start to hit car showrooms in the UK in the Spring, and offers sector beating performance and economy. Headline fuel economy is a frankly startling 39mpg from the 245bhp turbo-charged straight 6, with a 0-60 time of around 7 seconds and a top speed of 155mph.

The new 7 series also offers a whole raft of technological advances, as you would expect from the flagship model. These include active brake regeneration, night vision, BMW’s version of lane-assist, active steering (with rear-wheel steering) and active cruise.

This version of the 7 series is a big styling improvement on the last one. Its lines are much more cohesive; less jarring. I’m sure it will go down really well in what is quickly becoming the 7-series’ most important market - China - where the 7 series is more popular than its nemesis, the Mercedes S Class.

In the real world the 7 series diesel will probably use a third less fuel than its petrol-engined siblings, whilst still offering performance that equals the V8 740 of a few years ago.

Hard to argue against it.

2009 Audi Q5 Review

Cars UK Rating:

As with the Q7, Audi is a little late to the party with its new mid-size 4×4 SUV, the Audi Q5.

The Q5 is aimed in the sights of the BMW X3, although it is arguable that it will take sales from not just the mid range 4×4s, but also a number of the full-size ones; even its own Q7 is probably fair game.

It would be wrong to think that the Q5 is, in essence, a re-badged Tiguan (the VW mid-size SUV offering). It’s not. This is a much more sophisticated car and is in every way that matters a smaller Q7.

With a good range of engines at launch (a 2.0 litre petrol and a 2.0 litre and 3.0 litre diesel), and more to come - perhaps even the big 4.2 diesel - the Q5 is out for any 4×4 scalp it can get. And proper, full-time 4WD instead of VWs 4-Motion, makes this a very different car to the Tiguan.

The Q5 will be a winner. Its snob-appeal badge, on-road ability and clever styling and packaging, will quickly make this the default buy in the ‘Classy’ SUV / 4×4 sector.

But is it as good as others in the sector, in particular the Land Rover Freelander?

Quality and Comfort

You’d have to be on another planet not to realise that Quality and Audi have become synonymous in recent years. Build quality is as good as it gets, and the styling, although in the cabin it can sometimes look a but funereal, is understated and thoughtful. The Q5 is no different in this respect.

Based largely on the already proven A4/A5 platform, we know the Q5 will be reliable and robust. And even though the S-Tronic gearbox has never been in a car without a transverse engine before, we can be certain it will prove as durable and reliable as it has in other models.

The cabin is a real revelation, particularly if you were expecting a ‘tight’ cabin. After all, this isn’t a full-size SUV. But you’re in for a surprise. The cabin is just as big as the one you find on the Porsche Cayenne - a ‘Full-Size’ SUV - and head and leg room is in ample supply. The optional glass roof bathes the cabin in light, and makes it a very nice place to be.

Every sort of noise, from tyre to wind, is well suppressed in the classy cabin. And, a real revelation for more recent Audis, the ride is comfortable, even with the big wheel spec. Not something you can say about many Audis. Admittedly, the Q5 is only available initially in SE spec. The sportier S-Line has not been announced yet (although it will be - S-Lines are Audis most successful option), and the ride will no doubt be firmer there. But it does look like Audi has managed to offer a comfortable ride without sacrificing the handling.

On the Road

On road, the Q5 feels like an A4 with a high-ride setting. It takes whatever the road, or driver, throws at it with aplomb and response. It turns-in tightly and there is very little, if any, body-roll. This honestly seems more like a Porsche Cayenne than any of its obvious targets - it is that good.

If you opt for the Drive-Select System (you should) it very cleverly controls not just the suspension firmness, but also the steering and throttle response and, if you opt for the S-Tronic, the gearshift response. It means you can make the Q5 a car for all reasons - whatever your mood.

The proper, grown-up, Quattro system on the Q5 give a default split 0f 60:40 in favour of the rear under normal circumstances, but when things get a bit slippy it can channel up to 85% to the back or 65% to the front. This makes the car extremely good to drive on-road and on light off-roading, but its not an off-roader in the true sense. Even though the off-road mode does have a hill-descent control, it is no Freelander. But let’s be honest - when was the last time your posh off-roader ever did any real mud-plugging?

This is the perfect Urban 4×4 (if that’s not considered an oxymoron these days). It’s big enough for most uses (unless you have 4 or more children), but not too big. It’s quiet, comfortable and easy to drive. The MMI is way better than iDrive, and it’s well equipped, even without options.

Running Costs

To a degree, these are going to depend on which model you choose. But certainly, of the 3 available at launch, all are going to have class-leading residuals. And, whatever it may feel like, it’s the residuals that are the biggest cost element in any car.

Doubtless the big seller will be the 2.0 TDI. This will give you over 42mpg and 175g/km, and insurance group of 14 and VED in band E. And in truth, you will probably find this almost as responsive as the 3.0 TDI Q7. Which could be a worry for Audi. But considering everyone is currently looking to cut their expenses wherever they can, the Q5 offers a cheaper to run 4×4 with very little compromise.

And although full-size 4×4 values have been decimated of late, the same isn’t true of the mid-size / compact 4×4s. In fact, London used to be a big 4×4 marketplace until Ken announced his ‘Squeeze the rich ’til they bleed’ plans for London motorists, but now that Boris has dumped that madness the sale of 4×4s in the capital will pick up again. And I’m pretty sure they’ll pick up in the Q5s corner.

Verdict

It really is hard to fault the Q5. It does everything so well, and without any real compromise in any area, it’s hard to find an argument against it.

True, the Eco-Mentalists will still decry it as a Planet-Killing 4×4. But let’s get real here. Its emissions are the same as a Suzuki GLX 1.6 or Nissan Micra 1.6, and I can’t see a ‘Green’ protest targeting either of those cars. So it offers all the benefits of a high-driving 4×4, with none of the drawbacks.

Its build quality is as good as it gets. It’s got a roomy, comfortable, well-equipped cabin. It handles well, rides well and has great road-holding. Its stylish and compact.

It’s as close to perfect as any 4×4 can be.

Cars UK Rating: - When it comes to road-based 4×4s, this is the best 4×4 by far.

Audi Q5 Road Test Video

UK Motorways hit the big 50

It’s hard to imagine travelling round the UK, or any other country for that matter, without Motorways. Circumventing London on the M25, much as we complain, is infinitely better than using the North and South Circular roads used to be. London to Leeds is just a few hours and, despite the huge traffic problems on the M5 in the summer months, the West Country is accessible in an acceptable length of time.

But it wasn’t always so. As a young child in the 60s, I can remember going to Bournemouth for a holiday from our then home in Lancashire. It was a major operation. Food for the journey; endless stops and a 12 hour trip in the Austin 1100. I’ve done London to Barcelona in much less time, and with a car full of people!

So we’ve come to rely on the much maligned Motorway, and this weekend marks the 50th anniversary of the very first UK Motorway, the Preston bypass in Lancashire, which was the first section of the M6 to be built.

It must have been fun to play with the early Motorways, if a little less safe than we’ve become used to. No central reservation barriers (U-turns were not uncommon!), no speed limit (the national speed limit didn’t come in until 1967 - thank you Barbara Castle) and cars just weren’t built to hit any sort of speed and maintain it, so breakdowns were a regular feature, with steaming cars littering the sides of the carriageway.

Motorways in the early days were also a ‘Day Out’ for families. Cars used to stream on at the weekends for a day out with the family. Not, you understand, on the way to a day out. Oh, no. The Motorway was the day out.

And away from the weekend day trippers the Motorways were a drivers delight. car reliability permitting. I remember my Dad, a Policeman, driving the Chief Constable of Rochdale down to London for a meeting in the 60s. 100mph+ all the way, he claimed, in his Ford Zephyr 4 with the Police spec Zodiac engine. All without the aid of blues and twos. Try doing that now, even with headlights and sirens blazing.

But it didn’t take long for the powers that be to decide we couldn’t be trusted to drive at whatever speed we wanted on the Motorways. A temporary 70mph limit was introduced in late 1965 after a spate of accidents in fog, a limit that was made permanent in 1967. But it’s said that the real reason was down to AC Cars testing its Cobra on the M1 at speeds over 180mph, which at a time when most cars struggled to even hit 70mph, and a good 0-60 was in the low 20s, must have been a sight to behold.

So, love ‘em or hate ‘em. we can’t live without the Motorway. Happy Birthday.

Honda to leave F1

The rumour mill is working overtime on everything cars at the moment. But this story seems to be for real. Honda is set to announce that its Formula 1 Team is to be put up for sale with immediate effect, and if no buyer materialises then it intends pulling out of the new Formula 1 season due to start in March 2009.

The F1 Team costs Honda some £200 million a year to run. In normal times this is considered money well spent, as the kudos from the team, the high-profile it lends the brand and the technical breakthroughs which filter down in to Honda road cars justify it. But these aren’t normal times.

Honda has recently announced a 50 day shutdown of UK Car production in Swindon, which is just the tip of the iceberg for Honda, with worldwide car sales in free fall. It obviously feels it just cannot justify the commitment to F1.

In truth, this will have more impact on the UK than anywhere else. The UK is the world centre for F1, and it is probably fair to say that the Honda withdrawal from F1 will threaten thousands of jobs in the UK, the most high-profile of which would be Jenson Button.

Poor old Jenson. Probably the best driver of his generation, he’s never really had the car to showcase his talent. He had high hopes for Honda in the next 2 years, but it looks unlikely the team will survive. Along with Jenson will fall Ross Brawn, arguably the greatest F1 race mastermind there is (responsible for much of Michael Shumacher’s success). At this stage it looks extremely unlikely that Button will be able to find a drive for 2009, although Brawn’s talents will probably have other teams queueing for his services. Assuming of course that Formula 1 itself manages to survive.

With Honda already dropping its Super Aguri team, and Prodrive deciding not to race next year, this could leave the F1 grid with only 9 teams.

Times is tough.

Mercedes C Class sales top 500,000

It’s nice to hear a bit of good news for a change.

Mercedes has just passed a big landmark with sales of the current C Class, passing the 500,000 mark since the car’s launch in March of 2007.

The C Class is the modern version of the 190 - the car everyone said would be the downfall of Mercedes. Too low rent they said. It’ll devalue the marque, they cried. Well, in a sense the words were prophetic, but the 190 itself was a big success.

It is said that in the early nineties Ford tried to buy Mercedes. Their number crunchers looked at the books and concluded Mercedes could never be a successful high-volume car maker - because its cars were built to a specification, not a budget. Meaning that the price was dictated by the cost of build, and not by a pre-determined marketing headline price. This, after the Ford buyout failed, is said to be the reason Mercedes chose to change their winning formula of making bullet-proof cars, instead opting for a high-volume, market-lead plan. Oh dear, what a disaster.

The period from the mid-nineties brought about a massive decline in Mercedes’ reputation. Its build quality declined sharply, and its core market started to desert It. The cars become unreliable (something that could never have happened to a Mercedes in the past) and build quality was, in many cases woeful. Probably the last bullet-proof car they made before this decline started was the old W140 S Class.

But Mercedes has managed to turn things round. They committed to cut profits and invest in build quality. And they have. The C Class epitomises that turnaround. It is well made, well-conceived and cleverly marketed. It has taken the fight to the BMW 3-Series with a passion, and many of the C Class range is considered to be a match and more for the 3 Series (the C63 is a good case in point).

Well done Mercedes.

EU cuts Co2 Targets to help Euro car makers

In an astonishing outbreak of common sense, EU negotiators last night agreed a deal to ease the draconian Co2 targets for EU car manufacturers. Originally, EU car makers had to meet the new regulations by 2012, but have now won a concession to hit 65% of target by 2012, 75% by 2013, 80% by 2014 and 100% by 2015.

This scaling back of the targets was achieved after Germany objected to the original proposals. As Europe’s biggest car maker, and the maker of some of the highest emission cars made in the EU, the likes of Mercedes and Porsche objected to the regulations, citing their difficulty in achieving the unrealistic, and some would say unnecessary, targets. In particular they objected to the huge mountain they had to climb in comparison to Peugeot/Citroen and Fiat who already make smaller, and therefore cleaner, cars.

The EU is committed under the Kyote Treaty to reducing Co2 levels by 8% by 2012, but is aiming for a 20% cut by 2020. These targets would mean German makers reducing the Co2 output of their cars by nearly 50% in comparison to the 15% cut needed by Fiat and Peugeot/Citroen. The regulations affect all EU car makers.

I’m all for making cars cleaner. City pollution has been an issue for decades, and anything sensible that can be done to reduce the pollution emitting from cars is eminently sensible. But this isn’t about pollution. Its about the obsession with reducing Co2 output, which is far from proven to have a detrimental effect on the planet. After all, even though cars are estimated to be responsible for 10% of man-made greenhouse gasses, the total of man-made greenhouse gases is less than 3% of all greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Which means that even if we made all vehicles zero emissions, we would reduce the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by 0.3%. And by reducing the Co2 output of cars made in the EU by 2020, we will see a reduction so small as to be practically unmeasurable.

Is it worth the cost?

Stop-Start Freelander on the way

Land Rover has announced that it will be introducing stop-start technology on its Freelander range from May 2009, thus saving around 8% on the Co2 emissions, and taking the Freelander down a group on VED, which should help move a few more Freelanders off forecourts next year.

The technology for the stop-start was developed in-house, with a new engine management system coming from Bosch and an uprated starter from Denso. The stop-start option will be available on the 2.2 TD4, which accounts for nearly half of UK sales.

A spokesman for Land Rover said that this was Land Rover’s first step in creating a Land Rover that will eventually offer 60mpg and under 120g/km. Stop-start will only be available on manual cars initially, but will be rolled out across the range, including automatics, by 2011.

Phil Wiffin , who is Manager of stop-start at  Land Rover, said:

“We’re saying this is the world’s first intelligent stop-start SUV. Fuel consumption in these conditions is improved by 12% which is a saving of GBP13 (about US$20) on a tank of diesel at today’s prices on a typical London test route.”

He went on to say that in London, the average vehicle is stationary for more than 50% of its journey, making stop-start an extremely cost-effective addition.

This sort of technology, which is now widely proven, is the perfect way to cut costs and pollution in our cities. At no cost to the driver in terms of performance, the car becomes not just more economical, but less polluting in to the bargain.

Good move, Land Rover.

Aston Martin Slash 1/3rd of jobs

It’s getting silly out there.

Aston Martin has this afternoon announced that it is to cut around a third of jobs at its Gaydon facility. That’s 300 full time and 300 part time.

Aston Martin is the most iconic of British Car Brands. To be in this much trouble is really rather worrying. But there are very, very few car makers who aren’t suffering at the moment. Rolls Royce seems to be a bit of an exception, but they are exclusively at the top end. Aston Martin has, in recent years with the introduction of the V8 Vantage, gone a bit more mainstream. High-end mainstream, admittedly, but mainstream nonetheless. And this market is being hit hard.

Of course, AM has been here before. In fact, until Ford took over, they were almost permanently in trouble. But the last decade has seen a complete change in the fortunes of AM. Deservedly so. It now has world-class cars which are properly sorted and properly built, something it could never really boast in the past. But it’s now in private hands and, unlike Bentley which has VW behind it, it doesn’t have the luxury of being the Halo brand for a massive manufacturer.

The worrying think about job cuts is the loss of expertise. As things recover, will that expertise still be available? Who knows. Maybe this is just AM being cautious and making deep cuts early to stem the haemoraging. Let’s hope so.

Lotus Evora’s high profile waiting list

Lotus has certainly had its ups & downs over the years. Started and run by the legendary Colin Chapman, Lotus has always done its own thing - not always successfully, it has to be said.

But the last few years has been something of a renaissance for Lotus, with the extremely able and agile Elise and its siblings selling well. And quite rightly - they are true to the Elan heritage of the ’60s, and provide exciting performance for a sensible budget.

Back in the Summer, Lotus announced a new model - The Evora. A mid-engined 2+2 with a heavily sorted Toyota V6, promising sub 5 seconds 0-60 and a top speed of 160mph+, the Evora looked spectacular, and promised huge performance at a relatively modest cost, in both financial terms and in terms of emissions. And it seems that promise has translated in to a spectacular list of ‘Star’ orders for the Hethel based Company.

A pretty good indication of the car’s likely ability is the inclusion on the waiting list of TG presenters Hammond & May. But the list doesn’t stop there - oh, no! A brace of Bonds (Messrs Daniel & Brosnan); a trio of modern songbirds (J-Lo, Beyonce Knowles & Kelly Rowland); a smattering of Hollywood Royalty (George Clooney & Kevin Spacey) plus the obvious petrol-heads like JK and Jodie Kidd. And lets not forget the King of Cool(!) Boris the Mayor.

So it looks pretty certain that the Evora is going to be the car of next year.

I’d have one.

Lotus Evora Photo Image Gallery

Rolls Royce bucks the downturn

All we seem to have written about recently is the doom and gloom in the car industry. Bail-outs begged for, production shut-downs, low sales and lay-offs. But one manufacturer seems to be defying the odds, and has just posted record sales figures for the year.

Rolls Royce sales, in the year to the end of October, rose by 38% from the previous year, to a total of 945 cars. Now that may seem small beer (there were more Minis sold than that in August this year alone, which was reckoned to be the worst August on record for car sales), but at a starting price of £250k, that represents a pretty significant amount of change.

So are Rolls Royce immune to the economic gloom around us? Well no, of course not, but in such a rarefied world the economies are very different. Rolls Royce buyers, on the whole, are not trying to work out if they can afford the repayments. They are typically going to own several properties, a boat and perhaps even a plane or two, so a paltry £250k+ on a car is not a real financial worry.

But Rolls Royce is being cautious, and has just laid off a bunch of temps, to be on the safe side. Rolls Royce Chief Tom Purves said:

“We’ve had a good year.. These are challenging economic times, but we have wealthy customers who know we can supply hand-built, high-quality cars customised to their specifications. No business is immune to downturns, but we have a degree of insulation.”

And I have to say, BMW deserve to be in this position with Rolls Royce. They have taken a car company in dire straights, with no focus, and turned it in to what it once was; the maker of the Best Car in the World. They’ve even managed to make it feel like a Rolls Royce should. Something the company itself managed to forget a generation ago.

Well done Rolls Royce (and thank you, BMW).

Audi TT RS to launch at Geneva

Audi has really brought the new TT a country mile from the original, cutesy, Audi TT, beloved by hairdressers the length and breadth of the country. And now the news that all Audi TT fans have been waiting for. The super-hot version of the TT - The Audi TT-RS - is to launch at Geneva in the Spring.

The TT-RS will take Audi back to its roots, with the first 5 cylinder engine in an Audi for a decade. The 5-pot was the engine that brought Audi from the old Auto Union days in to the world of quality cars in the ’80s, and on to the high quality car manufacturer it is today.

The engine in the new TT-RS gets sequential Turbos, meaning a little one to get things going with a big one kicking in once things get going, giving a linear power curve similar to a normally aspirated engine, without any turbo-lag.  Throw in permanent four wheel drive as standard and a huge 350bhp, giving 0-60 in less than 5 seconds, and this is as close as you can get to an R8, but at half the price.

Audi has had to fight had to make this car, at least with the RS monicker. That is owned by Porsche (who, by default, are now Audi’s parent company) and they weren’ for letting Audi use the RS in connection with the TT. But Audi has won, which probably says more about Porsches pragmatism in a difficult market than Audis actual clout.

But it does look like this TT will deserve the RS tag.

Boris Dumps the Congestion Charge

Well, not completely - that would be too much to hope for. But London Mayor Boris Johnson has scrapped the recent extension of the Congestion Charging Zone, which took in most of Chelsea, Kensington and Westminster, and was hugely unpopular.

The £8 per day charge was the subject of a public consultation, which found that 86% of businesses wanted the congestion charge lifted. Well, there’s a surprise.

Boris must now sort out the legal implications of the abolition, which will probably take at least 18 months, which does seem an awfully long time. But at least it’s been done, and Boris has actually done something that real Londoners wanted.

As you would expect, Labour had something to say on the subject. Their London Transport Spokesperson, Val Shawcross said:

‘It will lose Transport for London (TfL) £70m a year that could have been spent on improving our public transport system, and will increase traffic and air pollution in one of the dirtiest and noisiest areas of central London.’

Which is a valid point, if only they took in to account the huge negative impact the charge has on local businesses. But what’s better? A vibrant local economy bringing money in to the area (and the Council), or a few bob more, which probably wouldn’t get spent on transport anyway, whilst local businesses and jobs whither? I know which I’d choose, and the local businesses obviously felt the same.

It will be interesting to see if any of the other councils around the UK, such as Manchester Council, which is  planning to introduce Congestion Charge Zones, thinks again. But then again, that seems highly unlikely. More’s the pity.

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