New Clio is top Golden Steering Wheel small car

Thu, Dec 20, 2012

Just weeks after claiming the RTL/ Auto Plus Best Production Car prize at the October Paris Motor Show, the new Renault Clio has scooped the 2012 Golden Steering Wheel - an international award.

It is safety and not sexy that is selling cars these days

Thu, Dec 13, 2012

As we all know by now there will be new reg plates next year. The trade fervently hopes that the ‘131’ and ‘132’ plates will mean they start selling cars in numbers again. Drop into a car showroom anywhere and they will be only too pleased to tell you all about it.

But while they are vaulting over each other to pour you coffee, take a thumb through the pristine brochures and look at how cars are being sold these days.

Honda Civic celebrates 40th anniversary

Thu, Dec 13, 2012

After nine generations and more then 20 million sales globally, the Honda Civic is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

New Mini Clubvan delivers on many levels

Thu, Dec 13, 2012

The new Mini Clubvan with five doors has just gone on sale - the first new Mini to be classed as a commercial vehicle.

Maintaining old roads as important as building new ones

Thu, Dec 06, 2012

Ireland has lots of lovely new roads. Nice to have got something out of the boom while it lasted. But while we might be delighted with the shiny new motorways it is easy to lose sight of the fact that as well as some good roads we have an awful lot of bad ones.

And I mean a lot. Ireland has an incredible length of road network for the size of country that we are. We have about 98,000 kilometres of roads of all sorts to serve a population of 4.5 million. When you absorb the data you begin to see the problem with looking after it all.

Ford Transit Custom - Continental Irish Van of the Year

Thu, Dec 06, 2012

The Ford Transit Custom has been voted Continental Irish Van of the Year 2013 by the Irish Motoring Writers’ Association.

Latest Opel Astra range arrives in style

Thu, Dec 06, 2012

The latest Astra range has arrived and Opel Ireland says it comes with a host of advanced driver technology, safety related systems, and sharp German engineering and design.

World’s first diesel plug-in hybrid car from Volvo

Thu, Dec 06, 2012

Making history with world’s first diesel plug-in hybrid, Volvo Car is now ramping up production of the new V60 plug-in hybrid ahead of first customer deliveries in early 2013.

What makes cars stop?

Thu, Nov 29, 2012

Cars are marvellous technologies. Given that they basically run by controlled explosions it is a wonder that they work at all. In fact they are incredibly reliable but they will still let you down from time to time.

Car industry hopes changed plate will change their luck

Thu, Nov 22, 2012

You may recall that a few months ago we were talking about possible changes to the Irish registration plate system. Those rumours look a bit more solid now and if the signals that the AA are getting are accurate next year’s registration plates will see the first change in format since 1987.

Win a Toyota GT86 or the new Auris at Tony Burke Motors

Thu, Nov 22, 2012

Local Toyota dealership, Tony Burke Motors, is inviting motorists to its Win it Weekend promotion taking place this weekend (Friday November 23 to Sunday 25) in its Toyota showroom at Ballybrit, Galway.

We’re ready for snow, but drizzle is more likely to kill us

Thu, Nov 15, 2012

I was asked on the radio this week what sort of weather the AA was expecting this winter. Quite how I was supposed to know is beyond me. The AA’s crystal ball is no better than anyone else’s.

Volvo’s sportierV40 R-Design and Cross Country

Thu, Nov 15, 2012

Volvo Car Ireland has announced prices of the new Volvo V40 R-Sesign and Volvo V40 Cross Country.

Western Motors offers three years of worry-free Seat motoring

Thu, Nov 15, 2012

Western Motors, newly appointed Seat dealers in Galway, and Seat Ireland have unveiled a quintet of special offers to take the stress out of buying a new car in 2013.

Driving on the left – we’re right and everyone else is wrong

Thu, Nov 08, 2012

That fellow Napoleon has an awful lot to answer for. Not satisfied with conquering the whole of Europe he has left a legacy that divides us from the Continent and indeed from most of the world.

Stylish new Honda CR-V with a new tough edge

Thu, Nov 08, 2012

The new fourth generation CR-V has gone on sale with a lower entry level price of €37,785 ex-works.

New Renault Clio offers style and substance

Thu, Nov 08, 2012

Back in 1990 Renault launched the first Clio. Do you remember the hugely successful and compelling 'Nicole and Papa' Clio series of television advertisements in the nineties?

Dark days mean danger for cyclists, so light up please

Thu, Nov 01, 2012

It has become dark all of a sudden: very dark. Since the clock went back on Sunday the great bulk of commuters are now returning home in darkness. Sunset in Dublin is 16:45, and you get five or ten minutes more on the west coast. But driving home in darkness is the norm for the next few months. This makes life dangerous for pedestrians, bikers and especially cyclists.

On a wet winter’s evening in city traffic the car’s glass will be covered with beads of rain, all reflecting the lights of cars and streetlamps. The windows mist up on the inside and bead up on the outside and you can’t see a thing apart from the space cleared by your wipers. Peripheral vision is gone, and if there is an unlit cyclist on your inside it would be a miracle if you saw him.

Fiesta wins MPG Marathon with 108.78 mpg

Thu, Nov 01, 2012

The Ford Fiesta Econetic 1.6 TDCi has won the 2012 ALD Automotive MPG Marathon, clocking up 108.78mpg over a 370-mile route involving tough, real-world driving in challenging weather conditions.

Galway man heads up new Peugeot design lab

Thu, Nov 01, 2012

Galway man, Cathal Loughnane, has been appointed manager of the new Peugeot Design Laboratory in Paris.

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