JustBritish

It is, for some of us, getting to be that time of year when we think about Spring, long drive with our favorite car, and car shows. But, before you head out it would benefit you and your classic if you would take a few minutes to do a checkup on the car. This will not only help the car run better, but could keep you off the side of the road.

Fuel System
We think one of the best car insurance policies is a sound fuel system. This means examining every hose, line and fitting from the fuel filler to the tank and carburetor. Depending on how long the car has been stored, stale fuel can also be an issue. It has a much different smell from fresh fuel, and if it’s really stagnant, we pump the tank out and start with fresh fuel.

Cooling system
Check the radiator hoses, along with smaller ancillary hoses for catch tanks and the heater core, for overall integrity. “For a spring start-up, we always check the coolant level, age and condition,” advises Wittwer. “We normally change the coolant every two years or if it is contaminated and has turned a rusty color.”

Chassis
Bringing tire air pressure up to spec is obvious, but also take the opportunity to examine tire wear. Uneven wear can indicate an alignment problem that needs correcting. “On a car with knock-off wheels, make sure the knock-offs are correctly tightened,” notes Scott Young, a longtime vintage-car owner in California. “Particularly if you haven’t driven the car in a long time, it’s also important to do a nut-and-bolt check.

Hydraulics
Next to fuel systems, there’s probably nothing on an old car as prone to failure as a hydraulic clutch or brakes. You should make a point to work the brakes several times over the winter to keep the pistons free. Before hitting the road again, bleed the brake lines. Changing to synthetic fluid also will help reduce future moisture-related damage.

Drivetrain
Check fluid levels in the engine, transmission and differential. If oil has leaked during storage, replace the offending seals–you’ll keep both your car and the road cleaner. It’s a good idea to crank the engine a couple of times during the winter, to keep the pistons from settling in one position where the cylinders could develop rust rings.

Battery
Keeping your battery on a battery tender over winter can dramatically increase its useful life. A good idea is to store the battery in a place away from the car. Before reinstalling it, clean the posts with baking soda and water.

Remember, by taking care of some simple maintenance issues, you can keep your care rolling better, your blood pressure down, and really enjoy the day.

By John L. Stein – AutoWeek

Jaguar Cars Ltd. has taken 10,000 customer deposits globally for the upcoming XF sedan, including about 3,000 in the United States. That’s a promising start. Jaguar executives say they released the figures to show the impact of the XF even without advertising or cars available to test drive.

Instead, Jaguar has combined dealer training with posh customer-only events. The company put together a 21-city road show with a few demo XFs in tow, training entire dealerships at once. Dealerships then conducted events for loyal customers and luxury intenders.

Ken Gorin, owner of The Collection in Miami, has 80 sold orders from holding two events, one at the dealership and another in the Miami Design District.

“I sold 30 XFs the first night,” Gorin says. “I haven’t seen a reaction like that since the (Porsche) Boxster came out. When people hear that it’s $49,900 with a standard V8, they say, ‘Sign me up.’ ”

Irma Elder, who owns four Jaguar stores in the Detroit area, hosted an owner-only event at the Fox Theatre and didn’t invite the media. She has about 50 sold orders in hand.

The United Kingdom, Europe and North America will all begin selling the XF on March 10. The simultaneous launch is a first for Jaguar. It used to do regional rollouts, with the United States getting cars up to six months after Europe. But Jaguar has proved equal to the task, says Mike O’Driscoll, managing director of Jaguar Cars Ltd.

Marketing also is different. TV commercials will continue in the vein of past “Gorgeous” ads. But Jaguar is returning to a more masculine stance with its print message. That includes running in magazines such as GQ, Rolling Stone, Esquire and Vanity Fair.

Source: Autoweek

Concerns over the quality of the cars being built by Shanghai Automotive (SAIC) at the Birmingham-based Longbridge factory have caused further delays.

The MG TF is due to be the first model launched by the Chinese firm in the UK and production began back in May 2007, but it was stopped not long after.

Since then, NAC (the Chinese firm that bought the MG brand following the collapse of MG Rover) has been bought out by rival Shanghai Automotive and the delays have been further extended.

NAC originally claimed that it would have the MG TF on sale in early 2007 and provide more than 1000 jobs. So far, the car’s launch is more than a year overdue and only 140 jobs have been created.

President of SAIC, Chen Hong, claimed that “if we launch the product on the UK market and don’t have sufficient quality to meet customers’ expectations, we damage the brand. We believe more time is needed to achieve that quality.”

Source: Autocar

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd. unveiled the Phantom Coupe at a press preview in California, its third model from a common platform since parent company BMW AG relaunched the brand in 2003.

Under the skin, the Phantom Coupe is closely related to the softtop Phantom Drophead Coupe and the longer Phantom sedan. The Phantom Coupe is expected to have sportier handling than the convertible, thanks to stiffer springs and dampers, anti-roll bars, modified brakes and an automatic gearbox with an electronic “Sport” program.

Besides the roof, other differences between the coupe and the convertible include a posh, fully carpeted interior for the Phantom Coupe. The convertible model has woven fiber floor mats that are rot-resistant if they get wet and an optional teak tonneau cover for the fabric top when it’s down.

Read the rest of this entry »

Morgan Motor Co., the tiny British automaker so old-fashioned it still uses wood frames, is stepping well into the future with LifeCar, a hydrogen fuel cell hybrid it says will prove “a zero-emission vehicle can be fun to drive.”

Morgan will unveil the hand-built aluminum-bodied coupe next month at the Geneva Auto Show, and although there’s no word on whether LifeCar will ever be more than a one-off concept, the company hopes to show hydrogen is a viable – if distant – alternative to fossil fuels. Morgan has spent more than two years working with a British defense firm, two universities and a hydrogen supplier to develop a car it promises will “minimize the fuel cell cost and provide the fuel economy for a 200 mile range.”

As impressive as the LifeCar is, what makes it truly remarkable is a company so small as Morgan built it. The company, founded in 1912, employs 156 people who built 650 cars last year – all of them by hand in a small factory in rural England. Yet it is standing alongside Honda, General Motors and BMW with a hydrogen-fueled vehicle that works.

Morgan’s cars look like they were designed in the 1930s, and LifeCar draws on that decade’s streamlined art deco aesthetic. LifeCar is based on Morgan’s Aero Eight and uses a fuel cell built by British defense contractor QuentiQ. Charles Morgan, the founder’s grandson, said the challenge was to build “a proper sports car,” and meeting it required a novel approach.

“The use of ultracapacitors to store the surplus energy and then use this for acceleration and braking does promise a dynamic ride, especially when combined with our ultra light chassis,” Morgan told Business Week. “The paring of weight to a minimum is our strength and allows a much smaller fuel cell than conventionally though necessary. This gives energy and yet more weight savings.”

Britain’s Department for Trade and Industry helped finance the project, which reportedly cost 1.9 million British pounds (about $3.7 million at today’s exchange rate). The collaborative effort included Cranfield University, which developed the on-board computer and control systems, and Oxford University’s work on the regenerative electric motors.

We called Morgan and were told quite politely the company had nothing to say about LifeCar right now but will provide more information next week. Meanwhile, here are some conceptual renderings of the car and pictures of it under construction.

Source: Wired

He won 66 grands prix and was runner-up for the world championship four times in his brief racing career. Sir Stirling Moss is a motor sport legend — so who better to narrate a British TV series on car racing?

Roary the Racing Car may not be the type of story Moss is used to telling, but the 78-year-old says he has had a lot of fun being the voice-over man for the new children’s show.

“My agent called me, about two years ago, I think it was, and asked if I wanted to narrate a kids’ show,” he says.

“At first I thought they (the kids) won’t even know who I am, they don’t know my name as the show is aimed at kids who are two to six years old. But he said their grandparents would hear (my) name and think, ‘Oh my gosh, I remember him’, and they would tell their grandkids who you are and you’ll get another batch of fans.”

Read the rest of this entry »