The first car I fell in love with
I learned to drive, or at least did most of my practicing in my mother’s HA Viva, but the car that, fifty years on, really stays with me is the Triumph Herald. A light blue 1966 saloon was the car I did my six instructor lessons in and in which I passed my test. I...
BMW announces electric SUV (at last)
The big surprise about BMW’s press announcement last month was not its new iX, but that a battery-powered SUV had taken so long to emerge from Munich. It is easy to forget, but with the i3 launched in 2013, BMW was one of the first major manufacturers to produce an...
From the Chair: 1 December 2020
After a truly different year, the Western Group of Motoring Writers broke new ground with its first on-line AGM. It didn’t go as well as we wanted but certainly most members who wanted to were able to join in and generally it ran as a Real World round-table...
From the chair: 1 November 2020
Well Lockdown 2.0, or if you live in Wales Lockdown 2.5, is underway and highlights how differently the Coronavirus is being tackled. Strictly speaking, only essential travel is being permitted whether you live in Wales, England or Scotland and it’s been...
Western Group member becomes World Car of the Year judge
One of our members Maxine Ashford has joined the Women’s World Car of the Year 2020 as a judge. Amongst her already busy life as Motoring Journalist, Maxine has now taken on a new position for the Women’s World car of the Year. It is the only awards in the...
JLR moves engine production from Wales
Jaguar Land Rover is moving its petrol V8 engine line from the Ford Bridgend Engine Plant to its in-house power centre at Wolverhampton. Workers at the South Wales engine plant closing at the end of September, have been building buffer stocks of the V8 engines to...
Aston Martin Lagonda starts production of their luxury DBX SUV at St Athan, Wales
Aston Martin production of their luxury £154,000 DBX SUV started recently in Wales. The big four-door model was announced for St Athan, some 20 miles west of Cardiff, in 2016 and over the last four years the company has been converting three massive superhangers into...
Approaching a cliff
Tens of thousands of jobs are likely to disappear from the UK automotive sector before the end of the year. Some 11,349 jobs so far axed following lockdown will grow and despite this week’s 11% rise in new car registrations the outlook is bleak. That’s because the...
A once in a lifetime chance
Car enthusiasts are getting a once-in-a-lifetime chance to buy a unique one-off four-year-old British sports car, and it could cost them hundreds of thousands of pounds. The Bristol Bullet roadster is among items being disposed of by joint liquidators of Bristol Cars,...
Mitsubishi cars will stop being sold in the UK and Europe.
Long time Western Group of Motoring Writers’ supporter and Mitsubishi importer Colt Cars, of Cirencester has written to over 100 UK franchise dealers saying the news was unexpected from Japan and meant no new generation models would be coming through the system...
Ineos has suspended its plans to build its new 4×4 Grenadier in Wales.
In a blow to Welsh automotive manufacturing which promised up to 500 jobs it said today, “INEOS Automotive can confirm that it is reviewing its manufacturing strategy for the new Grenadier in light of the COVID-19 pandemic – which has led to some delays in our...
MOT Test extension and breaking the law
Coronavirus emergency brings MoT extensions for many vehicles, says Dave Moss –
Action plan promises improved safety on ‘Smart’ motorways
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps reacted to growing concern about safety on so called “smart” motorways and Dave Moss explains what’s going to happen
Newspress 2020 Awards Now Open
UK’s long established excellence awards close for nominations on 16 March –
Bamby’s Days out in West Country
Ilfracombe Round Table and Prostate Cancer UK to benefit from unusual charity drive –
