Interesting site:

So many bad cars, so little time. We take you through 10 of the most painful in motoring history


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I have just covered about 2000km of driving in Germany in a new BMW 1-series 'pool car'. What a disappointment!

I am a pretty big guy (nearly 18st and 6'4") and found the 1-series very uncomfortable. The A-post is wide and sweeps back which made entry and exit difficult for me without banging my head. When driving the car I felt very cramped; my left elbow kept hitting the door trim and visibility felt very poor with a claustraphobic feel to the interior of the car. Anything over a 60km drive was a bit of a trial. Any considering one of these vehicles needs to take a LONG test drive before committing..I would say a Focus is a better car.


On the positive side it was another opportunity to practise my iDrive skills! One thing that puzzles me about BMW's is why they do two versions of their SatNav; the 'Professional' version (with map overview) and the 'Business' (no map, just an arrow). I had the Business version and was glad I took my TomTom along with me - its much easier to navigate when you can see a map. Also the BMW system kept throwing up odd 'random' instructions - e.g. coming up to a left turn it would show a left turn arrow but say 'Bitte rechts biegen' (please turn right) before, a few yards later, giving the correct 'Bitte links biegen' instruction. Very confusing. At least it better than the dreadful system in GM Vectra though!! Read more

I did a sorn earlier this year on my car and I have now decided its time for it to go. Obviously its not taxed or insured and the mot ran out last month. I know someone who wants to take it but I don't know what to do. Does it haved to be towed and how do I go on about the paperwork?
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A press release from The Assocation of British Drivers:

Speed Humps Dumped in South Gloucestershire

Speed humps in the town of Yate in South Gloucestershire are to be removed after a successful campaign by local residents.

In 2003 South Gloucestershire Council installed speed humps on Shireway in the town after just 38 people responded favourably to a consultation. About 4500 people live in the immediate area.

Following intensive campaigning by residents fed up with the humps, a second consultation received 435 responses of which only around 60 were in favour of the speed humps remaining. Over 200 people attended a public meeting organised by the council.

Cllr. Pat Hockey (Lib Dem), the Committee Member responsible for Planning, Transportation & Strategic Environment has been forced to execute a 'U' turn and order the removal of the humps as a matter of priority. The council will instead install a pedestrian crossing and vehicle-activated speed limit warning signs.

ABD Local co-ordinator for South Gloucestershire, Paul Hanmore said: "This just goes to show what can be achieved when all the local people seeking a sensible solution work in concert."

ABD Policy Director Mark McArthur-Christie added: "All over the country we have seen examples of speed humps and traffic calming being imposed, justified by consultations that have failed to consult all those affected.

We welcome South Gloucestershire's decision to move away from stone-age traffic calming and towards better, more effective and modern solutions.

We're delighted that the Council has now listened to residents. This is a real result for road safety."
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My mate bought a 1.6 Fiat Stilo Dynamic yesterday and I must say, for what it is, I'm very impressed.

The kit on them puts Fords and Vauxhalls to shame. I think it's only the one up from base spec and has;

Adjustable rear seats, computer, air con, reverse parking sensors, central locking, alarm, auto lights, traction control, ABS and more to boot. All on a 1.6!

Car seemed solid enough and was quite cool in the gadget department. Whenever a door was open, instead of a boring light to warn you (yawn!) it came up on the screen "Front right door OPEN". The computer was actually controlled by a button keypad on the right too instead of messing around with buttons on the stalk.

The drive was very quiet and quite comfortable but never went on any motorways. (I'm assured that it is very quiet on these too). City steering mode was a gimmick but handy to have in tight spots I guess. Comfy seats too!

Not the best review in the world but I never knew they had all this kit on! The 2.4 Abarths have Sat nav and more stuff apparently! Definitely a massive improvement on the Brava. My other mate has a Y reg 1.6 and I've been in it hundreds of times and it's like a completely different car rather than a mildly updated one. I was telling my mate (with the Brava) about the other (with the Stilo) and he's so impressed, he's actually hopefully going to look at a 2.4 Schumaker at the weekend. Purely on my review and the kit on the "normal" Stilos.

Look out for the next installment of "Stilo Review" chaps. I think I could get into this journalism lark.
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