Nissan 370Z powers in

Just been for a spin in the Nissan 270Z - it goes like the wind. It looks the part with the roof down and the 3.7-litre engine offers awesome power. Road handling is also excellent.
The only downside is our weather in general, although to be fair, I've been very lucky during my week-long loan.
Review will be on www.carjourno.co.uk this week.

An eye on design

I think the interior of the Alfa Romeo MiTo can be summed up in one word - marmite.
You'll either love it or hate it.
It has an eye-catching carbon effect pattern that at times seems to be moving just like in old 60s films when the starlet gazed to the heavens as she thought back to previous events and happier days!

VW rolling on

The 100,000th third generation Scirocco rolled off the production line in Portugal on Friday - just two years after its market launch.
Now that's a lot of cars.

Well, well, well

My useless bit of information for today is..
In olden times, cars didn't have steering wheels and were controlled by a tiller.
You never know, it may come up in a quiz some day!

Is it me?

I can't believe it!
Someone actually asked me today what my website was all about.
Well, now let me think - it's called carjourno - would it be sci-fi films from the 1980s, or maybe historical disasters across Asia!
I'll let you be the judge.

Tanking it

Running out of fuel is certainly no laughing matter for Ecomedians Dan Adams and Christian Ancliff.
They will be tackling more than 500 miles of motorways, city-centre roads and rush hour traffic to make their debut at the Fringe Festival.
But most amazing of all - the comedy duo are aiming to drive all the way from London to Edinburgh on a single tank of fuel in their Citroën DS3, performing warm-up gigs each night along the way.
The tour kicks off in London on the August 1 and finishes in Edinburgh on August 6.

It's in Transit

So the white van man's favourite mode of transport is about to celebrate its 45th birthday.
That's right, the Ford Transit which made its debut the same year The Sound of Music was released, Tom and Jerry plus Thunderbirds arrived on our TV screens and Jim Clark won the Indianapolis 500 and F1 World Championship is about to reach the ripe old age of 45.

Land Cruiser problems

I see Toyota has made another precautionary recall - this time for 348 of the previous generation Land Cruiser Amazon models that have the potential to be affected by a rare steering related issue.
The vehicles possibly affected are the V8 petrol-engined Land Cruiser Amazon models built between July 2002 and September 2006.
According to Toyota, there have been just two reported incidents of the problem in Europe and no accidents have been reported.
It really seems the company is going through a spell of bad luck, although many other manufacturers have recalls with a fraction of the publicity afforded to Toyota.

On your bike

I have enjoyed watching stages from the Tour de France as those crazy cyclists tackle some incredible challenges.
Makes me think though - why not just drive!

cutting costs

My money-saving tip this week is...
Don't start the engine until you're ready to move off. How often do you get in the car, turn the ignition, then adjust the seat, look for a favourite track on the iPod, adjust the mirrors etc etc - the fuel costs are building every second.

What a decade for Prius

So Prius is celebtrating its 10th birthday by announcing that European sales have reached 200,000.
It certainly seems Toyota has put any problems long behind them and even claims that global sales are expected to exceed two million this autumn.

Now that's Porsche

Who said there's a recession - the new generation Porsche Cayenne went on sale at the end of May, and in the four weeks since more than 16,000 orders have been received worldwide.

End of an era for micra

It’s 18 years since the first Nissan Micra rolled off the production line and today marks the end of an era for the popular little city car.
After more than 2.3 million models and a slight remodelling, Micra production has finally come to an end in the UK with the final vehicle driving off the line later tonight.
But it’s not all doom and gloom as the Sunderland-based plant is already looking forward to the launch of the all-new Juke crossover car in mid-August.

SX4 review

Check out the latest review at www.carjourno.co.uk
It's the mini SUV from Suzuki - SX4.
It's perfect for families who enjoy the active lifestyle but keeps a watchful eye on the pennies.

Suzuki SX4 car review

After the recent luxuries of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta and Mitsubishi's ASX I now find myself driving the slightly smaller and cheaper Suzuki SX4. Last week's car review for www.carjourno.co.uk was the Mazda CX-7 which was a beautifully-crafted vehicle for all seasons.The Suzuki - which is outstanding value for money - will appear next week.

Mazda CX-7

I've spent the last week testing out the Mazda CX-7 for www.carjourno.co.uk - and believe me, it's quite a vehicle.
Check out my car review of the CX-7 with a direct link at http://www.carjourno.co.uk/?page_id=1390

In a roundabout sort of way

There's something going wrong with driving today. When I learnt to drive many moons ago, approaches to roundabouts were pretty important and choosing the correct lane meant you didn't carve every other motorist up in the process of negotiating the roundabout. Right lane meant turning right, left lane turning left - you get my gist.
So why is it then that some stupid driver in a car far to big for him just turned right from the left feed lane causing chaos and leaving a trail of finger-wagging (to say the least) drivers in his wake.
Maybe a refresher course for those struggling with road sense would be a perfect father's day gift!

A bit of fluff

It's just typical! I have a lovely Lexus convertible being delivered next week for a week-long test drive and for some reason there seems to be an endless downpouring of fluff from our skies - where's it all coming from?

Watch out for cones!

I spotted an icecream van in the outside lane of the M4 yesterday and it must have been clocking 75mph - I never realised they could go so fast. Mind you, if he's caught it'll cost some lolly to pay that fine!

What a beauty

I spotted my first Peugeot RCZ out on the road today and despite having test driven it a fortnight ago, it still really caught my attention. If you haven't seen one yet, then check it out or read my review at http://www.carjourno.co.uk/?page_id=2172
It's one not to be missed.

From A to B for free

A Toyota dealer is so confident in his company and its quality of service that he is offering to match any price and deliver free anywhere in the UK.
If you don't believe me check out the Toyota section on www.carjourno.co.uk or call 0844 411 9275.

Boy, what a car

The big news this week was having the pleasure of test driving the new Peugeot RCZ - and wow - what a car.
It has the lot. Looks, performance, a tidy price tag and the thrill-factor that most cars fail to deliver these days.
I want one! Starting price £20k - bring on Saturday's lottery.
Read all about it at www.carjourno.co.uk

Why oh Why?

Can someone explain something to me please.
I'm off on a Ford driving day tomorrow so I can add a couple more car reviews to my website www.carjourno.co.uk but since booking the event, the sky has not changed from a very daunting black colour.
I think I may have upset someone in a previous life!

It could be my fault

I apologise OK!
Since booking convertibles to test drive, it hasn't stopped raining.

Open top, open heavens

Just booked some convertibles to test drive over the summer months so that should guarantee a couple of weeks of rain!
So my advice would be, if you're planning to go camping during the summer avoid the first two weeks in July!

As easy as ABC

For the life of me I don't get it!
These genius designers come up with brilliant cars that promise you the earth and then someone in the marketing department gives it a name that lacks even the slightest bit of inspiration.
Admittedly, some companies provide us with vehicles that carry pronunciation instructions because they are so complicated, but surely all cars these days deserve a name not a letter and a number.

Cop that!

I know traffic police have a place in our world but I'm just not quite sure where!
I was driving along the M5 at the weekend and saw thousands of tail-lights ahead of me - now that either spells crash or cop. On this occasion, it was the latter. As cars hammered on their brakes in front of me there was almost three pile-ups. Drivers veered from that “naughty” outside lane to the inside so the officer wouldn't spot them and all common sense and driving skills seemed to go wandering.
Admittedly, the traffic stayed at a sensible 70mph as the officer toyed with his followers - speeding up to 73mph and then slowing down again… more tail-lights.
The ironic thing was that after the traffic cop turned off the motorway, a Beamer went hammering passed me in the outside lane and must have been pushing the ton-up. By which time, the police were nowhere to be seen.

It's all a blur

I'm not sure if it's just me or not, but if you squint really hard do all small city cars morph into one nowadays?

Parking crisis

I was at a rather famous supermarket at the weekend and watched a young guy in a big people carrier trying somewhat unsuccessfully to reverse into a tight parking space.
After two failed attempts his wife swopped seats with him and reversed perfectly into the space.
The most amusing part of this yarn though came as a pensioner walked by and raised his eyebrows in horror at the young man - now where's the respect for the younger generation there then!

Golf buggy alert

Oh God, I've just realised I've got to find a space on my motoring website to review a golf buggy now. Seems they are very good on rough terrain - depending on how bad your golf is - and they are environmentally-friendly too. Shame about the lights and lack of doors though. Thanks Andy Powell!

Twilight cone

Imagine how the rich the bloke who invented traffic cones must be. They must be the most common reason for traffic jams worldwide than anything else.
How many are in existance do you reckon?

Why oh why do they give them a licence?

I saw a bloke shaving as he was driving on his way to work this morning.
Still, I guess that's ok as he wasn't using a mobile phone.