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Try again..cold

-- Nokia E71 http://www.1simple.co.uk

New Z4

I like the look of this - but will there be a diesel?

Brodit Proclip

The Brodit Proclip is a custom made mobile phone holder, specifically designed for your model of car.

It's not like the crap you buy in Halfords which never stick and look tacky, this is a solid mount that clips somewhere on the dashboard.

Brodit mounts can then be used to hold a variety of mobile gadgets like phones, iPods and so on.

I bought one for my E71 but sadly it didn't quite fit in my BMW due to an updated dashboard on the Coupe - no problem, Brodit sent out a replacement quickly from Sweden which is now clipped onto an air vent.

A recommended buy along with a good handsfree kit.

See http://www.mountonus.com/?gclid=CPuT_Nea3JYCFQuY1Qod8k6L2w

330Ci Sport

I saw this photo on my PC and I reminded me how much I miss the old car...

I know I sold it for good reasons and I'm getting 80% more MPG but it's not quite the same...

1 series Alpine White

Saw one on the way home and it looked great - do I have the wrong colour...

Why I hate Top Gear

I have noticed recently that Dave (Sky 111) seems to show constant repeats of Top Gear, interspersed with programmes like "James May on Toys" or "Richard Hammond's Mad Stunts with Military Vehicles."

Top Gear used to be a motoring show, it used to be about cars. If you were thinking about your next car (as most of us petrolheads always are) then you could watch Top Gear and perhaps get an idea about what you might want to buy. Not any more. These days it is a lightweight, shallow magazine programme which reminds me of Magpie or Swap Shop. Jeremy Clarkson is the Noel Edmunds of modern motoring TV. No wonder Tiff Needell and co abandoned it years ago.

Let's write the script for the next Top Gear:

Item 1 - Talk about what cars are cool and what are not

Item 2 - Take a Hummer across the North Pole on Skis

Item 3 - Interview with TV celebrity and timed lap in cheap car

Item 4 - Take some overpriced sports car around Dunsfold - again

Item 5 - Drive a pick up truck off a roof

Item 6 - Race a Ferrari with an RAF jet

What really annoys me about the latter is that MOD aircraft are rather expensive to operate and run, so as well as the license fee I am paying for the bloody military equipment too. And I know they will say "it's a training flight" but that is complete bollocks.

This is a very tired format - abandon it now and bring back William Woolard.

1 series observations

• A start-stop button is not a satisfactory way to engage with your vehicle. There is a certain sense of achievement from turning a key and releasing it just at the right moment, and also a sense of closure when you turn the key in the opposite direction to switch the engine off. A start-stop button does not provide the same tactile or emotional feedback. Great for kettles, microwaves, computers, but not for cars.
• It's quite disturbing that I don't have a dipstick, I don't need to check tyre pressures and I don't have a temperature guage. What am I supposed to do?
• Providing an infinite combination of seat positions only serves to ensure that the driver will never find the optimum.
• The electric power steering is a bit too clinical IMHO. It's supposed to be light at low speeds and more resistive the faster you go. Too clever for its own good. Sometimes it feels like it's not connected to the wheels.
• The engine is great, torquey, flexible, economic, but when you wind the window down in a country lane, it still sounds like a Transit.
• Other than that, I loves it.

The fleet

The Best Cars I Never Owned – One – Honda Prelude

What I am talking about is the fourth generation Prelude release in 1992. Anything earlier is just too uncool.

The Bournemouth Brigade must have been a little confused when this came out, because it was sleek and sporty and modern, in a way previous Preludes had avoided. To me it was a mixture of Jaguar and Knight Rider, futuristic and classic at the same time. With a Maserati back end, in hindsight.

The 2.2i VTEC was the one I really wanted – there was a less exciting 2 litre as well, but remember this was 1992 and variable valve timing was in its infancy. Honda were right at the forefront with their VTEC engines that were as reliable as they were high-revving.

So why didn't I buy one?

I bought my first car in 1992 – a Rover 214SLi – that cost £1300 to insure. So you can imagine the premium on a Prelude. Plus they were just out and I couldn't afford one on NHS trainee wages (even though I was paid 50% more than the average nurse). So I said I would buy one on a few years.

Then I sold the Rover and bought the Uno Turbo, and the Prelude just escaped me. By the time the new square model came out in 1997 it was becoming a little uncool, being driven by retired bank managers who didn't know or care what VTEC stood for, and seldom revved their engines more than 50% of the maximum.

But it was a chance missed.

1 series coupe road test

Anyone recognise the tester?