We left on Friday evening, driving down to Dover to get the 2am ferry to Dunkirk. Aidan always does the driving (as I can’t) so we have to carefully time everything to allow him an hour’s sleep before we get onto the ferry, as well as two more hours during the crossing. Almost a perfect outward trip this time and before we knew it, we were in Deutschland and filling up tiny Tina:

The first repack!

A big part of the German road tripping is ‘The Repack’. This is necessary at least once a day to ensure that all space in the Ford KA has been used to its maximum. Entailing pots being carefully newspaper-wrapped and then placed inside other pots, ‘The Repack’ is usually done in freezing temperatures and causes fingers and other extremities to become purple and inky.

Another essential part of the German roadtripping is the soundtrack. As we are using a thirteen year old Ford KA, we don’t have the luxury of a CD player. Instead we are limited to cassette tapes and the radio. Our band of choice this time were: Fleetwood Mac (as always), Talking Heads, Brakes, Haven, The Supernaturals and – bought from a German flea market – EMF. Fantastich.

We were struck this time by how amazing much of the architecture is in Germany. Many of the buildings look incredibly brutalist; others more 1950s. One of my favourite features is the fashion for putting murals on the ends of buildings:

Now, I’m not suggesting anything here about Germans (and there’s undoubtedly something lost in translation), but lets have a closer look at that sign:

Cakes and crack?

Cakes and crack? Surely not? Actually, in the Midlands, your ‘keks’ are your trousers. So perhaps it’s actually ‘trousers and crack’? That makes much more sense…

Church - can't remember where we were!

Upside down trains!

Well, they weren’t really upside down trains. They dangled from the tracks at the top! Again, I can’t remember for the life of me which town/city we were in. The whole rollercoaster-like-contraption twisted and wound through the centre of the city like a dragon’s spine; we spent a good hour chasing charity shops and kauf-houses around, seemingly following the twists and turns of this beast. It was staggeringly impressive.

My hastily shot pictures through the windscreen don’t do it justice.

**Update!** Have since discovered that it is the Wuppertal Schwebebahn. It appears that it’s quite well known…

Spotted in Essen

Aidan spotted this mosaic on the side of a building. He’d run off to find a toilet, leaving me to guard Tina. We then did a driveby of this wall – is that the strangest sentence ever written?

“What did you do on your holiday in Germany?”

“Oh, we did a driveby of a wall!”

“Fascinating…”

Well, for WGP pottery fans, there is a good reason for it:

Jasba mosaic

So, yes, we are mad. But there was a good reason for it.

Art or Awful?

We saw this in an antiques shop and could not decide whether to get it or not. It was only thirty Euros, but it was very heavy. We just couldn’t make our minds up whether it was possibly Fifties – therefore cool – or Eighties… then not so cool. After umming and aahing over it for a while, we decided to leave it. Not to worry: I bought a 1950s umbrella for a Euro from the same place and an amazing wall plaque… more about those another post!

This is just a quick (I say quick, it’s taken me nearly an hour!) taster of the German trip. I know what you’re all here for really… but you’ll just have to wait until later for pictures of the finds.

I’ll leave you with this. It’s a picture of Aidan’s face* when he realised that we’d been driving on not much more than fumes on the way back to Dunkirk.

No petrol!

*Note: this was staged afterwards once he’d calmed down a bit.

Well, later on I’ll start the mammoth (but fun) task of photographing and blogging about the finds. For now, I’ll leave you with a sneak preview:

Not even half of it!

In our first ever top five we give you our definitive list of what we think are the top 5 city cars on sale in the UK today for less than £10,000. We think all these cars are great, but obviously some cars are greater than others.

The Cheeky Fiat 500

 

Fiat 500

Our favourite city car is the Fiat 500. Just about sneaking in to our self imposed budget, £9,695 will get you behind the wheel of the entry level 1.2 pop edition. For your money you’ll get a 1.2L 69bhp engine that will cope with whatever the mean streets of the city can throw at it and more toys than you can shake a stick at. Alloy Wheels, Air Conditioning and a CD player with ipod compatibility all come as standard proving that a chic and fashionable city car can be had on a meagre budget.

The Czech built Peugeot 107

 

Peugeot 107/Citroen C1/Toyota Aygo

Next up is a display in badge engineering. The Peugeot 107, Citroen C1 and Toyota Aygo are all built on the same production line in the Czech Republic as part of a joint venture. £8,695 will get you a three door 107 Urban lite with a 1.0L 68bhp engine that will return roughly 67mpg. As is expected these days you’ll get a CD player with aux input to help stave off boredom while stuck in the inner city traffic jams, ABS with Electronic Brake Force Distribution and driver, passenger and side airbags. Prices for all three models are pretty much the same so it all comes down to which one you like the look of best and for us that’s the Peugeot.

The Grown up Mk2 Twingo

 

Renault Twingo

The Renault Twingo may have lost some of its charm from the original MK1 but it’s still a great looking city car. For a limited time only, a mere £6,595 will buy you a Twingo Bizu 1.2 special edition with Bluetooth connectivity -normally a £295 optional extra-, automatic windscreen wipers and single disc MP3 compatible player. The 1.0L 60bhp engine is not the most refined which is why despite a generous haul of free optional extras, the Twingo can only hit the middle of our countdown. It’s not the worst city car out there, but it’s beaten by other options.

Ford Ka, a good car but overpriced for what it is

 

Ford Ka

The Ford Ka shares its platform with our number one car the Fiat 500, which may leave some of you asking why it’s in our number four slot. Simply put we don’t think the Ka looks as good as the 500 or offers the same value for money. In order to get the same levels of equipment you’ll be looking at paying £10,295, £600 more than its Fiat counterpart. The Ka’s residuals aren’t quite as strong as its sister car either. However for £8,545 you can get the entry level Ka Studio, with the now obligatory MP3 compatible with Aux port CD player, ABS, EBD and Fords Intelligent Protection System the Ka is also the only car on our list to offer emission cutting stop start technology.

The Alto, late to the party but worth considering with heavy discounting

 

Suzuki Alto/Nissan Pixo

Our final car is the Suzuki Alto/Nissan Pixo. It’s not a bad car, but it’s a car that’s late to the city car party. Another exercise in badge engineering the Alto and Nissan Pixo both come with a 1.0L 68bhp 3 cylinder engine tuned for fuel economy as standard. Emissions are good at 103g/km, the car is let down by an interior that looks as if it’s come out of a car from 2001 rather than 2011. £8,345 will buy you the base spec SZ3, featuring a 2 speaker MP3 compatible stereo, remote central locking, driver, passenger and side airbags. The Alto/Pixo is outmatched by the other cars in this category and looks overpriced when compared to the Twingo or 107.

With our first top five done don’t forget to log on next week for our top five small coupe cabriolets.

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Da esquerda para direita: Mercedes-Benz 280 w126, Ford Taurus, Toyota Previa, Dodge Charger, Subary Legacy e Ford Ka.

Clique nas imagens para vê-las em tamanho maior.

Contribuição de Flávio Palmesi.

and a Christmas Tree, not the big one but the 180cm one. Plus a big bag of miscellaneous items as well. Here is the thing, I drive a Ford Ka. While coming out of the car park, I thought to myself how in the world am I going to squeeze all of the above into this little “Ka”, and how embarrassing it will be if I had to turn around and push all the stuff to the delivery counter after all the effort, just so you know it costs $30 for home delivery. Ok backing up the “Ka” in between a Toyota Landcruiser & a Hyundai ix35 (my dream car), I felt really silly at that moment thinking am I fooling myself here. Anyway I was persistent and with much support from my partner, we went ahead and tried it. The man who was loading his stuff into his Landcruiser turned and looked at me and said, “You are really ambitious” and laughed. I chuckled and replied, “never try you never know.”

If you ever need to purchase this amount of furniture and drive a slightly bigger car, yes you definitely can bring it home yourself! Ok this is what we did!

1. Lower both the front and back left passengers’ seats
2. Push the Billy Bookcase through the front
3. Lie the Malm 3 Drawers on top of Billy Bookcase
4. Slide the Rast Drawers on top of the Malm 3 Drawers
5. Lie the Melltorp Table on the top of the Rast Drawers
6. Secure the furniture with the seat belt to prevent it from moving left to right
7. place the Christmas Tree & miscellaneous in the boot

The rush of an overwhelming sense of accomplishment was unexplainable. So always believe in yourself, never give up trying, what do you have to lose.

the weekend to be:
Saturday – I am very much hoping that Saturday will be a rest day; a chance to do some organizing, paperwork and to enjoy the final F1 qualifying of 2010 from Abu Dhabi.

Sunday – will be a slightly unusual day as I won’t be at Arun Community Church, instead I shall be joining, former Delirious? front man, Martin Smith as he leads some worship at the annual Mission Worship conference in Eastbourne. Then, once I get home I plan on catching up with the F1 and hope that Mark Webber has gained the drivers crown. If you are going to Arun Community Church on Sunday morning Jon Jolly will be leading the musical worship and Mark Yates will be speaking to the adults.

any planned trips next week: Yes, next week looks very similar to this week. I’m down to Central Hall on Tuesday for the Paradise road performance and then on Thursday I’m heading back down to Newport to see Rosie.

single/album/artist of the week: Where to begin? On a Christian music front I have been loving Matt Redman’s “You Alone Can Rescue” taken from his latest album “We Shall Not Be Shaken” [iTunes] as I think it’s a great congregational worship song. Then, a whole load of music – I finally allowed myself to listen to Paramore’s “Brand New Eyes” [iTunes] after a long break and remembered just how good an album it is – I also think discussing Ms. Williams with a friend helped me revist the album. I’m also really into Mumford & Sons “Sigh No More” [iTunes] as it’s songs are so singable. And you can’t round off the week any better than with Paul McCartney and his “Good Evening New York City” [iTunes] his songs are great and I’m a bit of a fan of his drummer, Abe Laboriel Jr.

A contribuição é de Rodrigo Andrade Rabelo.

So read on as we present three options that meet Miss A’s requirements perfectly and one wild card choice that although may not meet her list of requirements exactly, is still very much worth closer inspection.

CAR 1

Mitsubishi Colt 1.1 CZ1

• 2007
• 1.1 petrol engine
• Group 3 insurance
• 58000 miles
• 1 previous owner
• £90 Annual Road Tax

First up we have have the Mitsubishi Colt. An underrated supermini if ever there was one, it’s looks will divide opinion but we personally think it’s quite handsome in it’s pre facelift guise and thanks to it never really being a huge sales success you also have a car with a bit of exclusivity to it. The CZ1 model comes equipped with Power Assisted Steering, Electric front windows, Radio/CD, ABS, Remote Central Locking and the all important full service history. Mileage at 58000 is a little high for a three year old car, but with reliable Mitsubishi build quality and a full service history this shouldn’t put any buyer off. A four star euro NCAP rating is decent enough although not class leading. The 1.1 petrol engine is reliable, although it is better suited for town driving than regular motorway runs. We found this one for sale at Rainham Motor Company in Essex, the dealer is asking for £4000 which although in budget is a bit high for our liking especially taking into account it’s above average mileage. We’d be going in with an offer of £3250 with an aim of buying the car for no more than £3500, if the dealer doesn’t want to play ball, then walk away as the same car at a franchised main dealer should cost you no more than £3600.

CAR 2

Ford Ka 1.3i Zetec

• 2007
• 1.3 petrol engine
• Group 4 insurance
• 11000 miles
• Air Con
• £125 Annual Road Tax

The Ka was on sale for 12 years with very few changes before it was replaced by a new model in 2008, which makes this one of the last of the previous shapes to be sold. Finished in metallic black this Zetec edition comes with everything the colt came with but also the added luxuries of Air Conditioning, Alloy Wheels, ABS and Heated door mirrors. The Ka has a strong fan base and supply is plentiful, finding a good one is not a difficult task. Still looking surprisingly fresh now (and in our opinion better looking than the new Ka) the only thing that does indicate the Ka as an older car is it’s £125 annual road tax which is slightly disappointing for the supermini/city car class.  Coombs Cars Limited in Rhondda have this brilliant example for sale at a price of £4000. Even taking into account it’s very low mileage we still think the asking price is a little high for us so we’d be looking to pay no more than £3700 with a full tank of unleaded and a years road tax as part of the deal.

CAR 3

Citroen C3 1.4i Desire

• 2006
• 1.4 petrol engine
• Group 3 Insurance
• 40000 miles
• 1 previous owner
• £125 Annual Road Tax

The only 5 door model in our selection is Citroen’s answer to the likes of the Corsa and the Clio. The 1.4 petrol engine is probably the pick of the range for those who are city dwellers but need the flexibility to make progress on the motorway should the need arise. This Desire model comes equipped with Alarm, Immobiliser, Electric front windows, Air Con, reach and rake adjustment on the steering wheel and air bags for both driver and passenger with side air bags for that little extra nod to safety. Citroen’s are renowned for electric bug bears, and unfortunately the C3 is no different so when test driving make sure you check out every button you can find on the dash. This four year old desire model is on the market for exactly £4000 at Said Motors in Surbiton. Unlike the previous two cars we’d say this valuation is pretty much on the nail, but at the same time with a new C3 now out on sale we’d still be going in with an offer of £3750, a tank of unleaded and a years tax.

CAR 4 – The wildcard choice

MINI One

• 2002
• 1.6 petrol engine
• Group 5 insurance
• 48000 miles
• British Racing Green
• £155 Annual Road Tax

The final car that we bring into the mix shuns our age requirement by 4 years, but in our opinion is still worth a look. The MINI is a favourite with everybody and our £4000 budget will secure a Mark 1 MINI One. Thanks to brilliant styling only those in the know would be aware that this is not the same as a current MINI. Being the One Spec, equipment is  a bit light on the ground with an outdated tape player instead of the almost standard everywhere else CD, electric windows are pretty much the only toy you have to play with. Those who choose a MINI though will be getting a car with go kart like handling and badge appeal more than anything else. This early model MINI One is for sale at Autosave in Warrington. With 10 months MOT and 5 months Tax the pricing is spot on and if we are honest we wouldn’t even haggle that hard. Dealers know the MINI is a popular car and they will always be able to find a buyer, as such they are less likely to compromise on price.  With this being an early model though we would recommend taking a mechanic along to view the car with you. Early MINIs despite their perceived premium image have been known to suffer with gear box issues, electrical faults and plenty of trim rattles.

THE VERDICT

As with any car purchase it all comes down to personal choice, and any of these cars would make a fantastic first car, all of them bringing something different to the party. The Ka has a fantastic drive on it’s side and sheer volume means finding one in perfect condition is not that difficult, unfortunately it’s let down by a lack of refinement and a dated interior when compared to some of it’s rivals here. The MINI One is the next car to be knocked out of the competition. Although it is a new design classic and has a perceived premium feel to it, we can’t overlook the lack of standard equipment, high road tax and the fact that a car half it’s age can be picked up for the same price and in some cases less. Our runner up car is the Citroen C3. Although we rate it’s versatility being the only 5 door car in our list and we like it’s styling, we can’t get away from the C3′s electrical bug bears and the slightly low rent interior. Which makes our winner the Mitsubishi Colt, although the 1.1 is underpowered for those wanting to hit the motorway, for inner city driving you can’t really go wrong. For the same £4000 budget you should also be able to get either the 1.3 petrol or the 1.5 diesel which will also be up to the task of motorway jaunts. With a generous level of equipment across the range, rewarding drive and superb reliability the Colt offers a complete package.

Ford Ka ECOnetic

PARIS, 30 September 2010 - Hajatan Paris Auto Show 2010 yang berlangsung 30 September-17 Oktober benar-benar menjadi ajang unjuk keunggulan teknologi bagi kalangan industri mobil, tak terkecuali Ford Motor Company. Sejumlah produk anyar dengan teknologi paling gres ditampilan di gelaran tersebut.

Satu di antara produk Ford yang dipajang di gelaran itu adalah mobil mungil Ford Ka generasi terbaru yang telah menyandang teknologi ECOnetic. “Ford Ka baru ini menggunakan teknologi Start- Stop standar Ford. Peranti itu menjadikan Ford Ka lebih irit bahan bakar kendati harus banyak berhenti di depan lampu lalu lintas atau terjebak kemacetan lalu lintas,” sebut FMC seperti dilansir autoevolution.com, Kamis (30/9).

Pabrikan itu menyebutkan, berkat peranti itu Ford Ka, baik yang bermesin bensin maupun disel, mampu menghemat bahan bakar 3 persen lebih tinggi ketimbang generasi sebelumnya. Varian yang bermesin bensin Ford Duratec 1.200 cc hanya butuh bahan bakar 4,9 liter untuk menempuh jarak 100 kilometer.

“Tingkat emisi gas CO2 varian ini hanya 115 gram per kilometer,” aku FMC.

Adapun varian bermesin disel TDCi 1.300 cc mengkonsumsi 4,1 liter untuk menempuh jarak yang sama. Tingkat emisi CO2 varian ini hanya 109 gram per km.

Teknologi Start-Stop Ford Ka itu bukanlah seperti teknologi serupa di mobil lain. Peranti itu telah dilengkapi baterai canggih yang pengisian ulangnya berlangsung secara otomatis melalui starter motor dan alternator.

Untuk membantu pengemudi mengurangi tingkat konsumsi bahan bakar sebanyak mungkin, instrument cluster Ford Ka generai terbaru ini juga dilengkapi lampu indikator yang khusus menunjukkan tingkat penggunaan bahan bakar. Walhasil, dengan melihat indikator itu, pengemudi bisa menyesuaikan gaya berkendara mereka sehingga bisa menghemat bahan bakar.

Ford berharap dengan penggunaan teknologi itu semua model bisa melampui batas minimal penurunan konsumsi bahan bakar dan emisi CO2 sebesar 30 persen di Eropa pada 2020 mendatang.

Rencananya, Ford Ka ECOnetic ini mulai dipasarkan November mendatang. Namun, FMC belum memberikan informasi ihwal harga.

Opel Mini Car

EISENCAH – 23 September 2010 - Volkswagen (VW) dan Ford sebentar lagi tak bisa berleha-leha dalam memasarkan varian mobil kecil besutannya. Sebab Opel Vauxhall, Kamis (23/9), telah memaklumatkan akan memproduksi mobil kecil di Jerman guna merebut pasar kedua produk tersebut.

Memang, hingga saat ini Opel tidak memiliki model yang bisa menghadang laju mobil kecil Ford Ka dan mobil kecil yang sebentar lagi diluncurkan VW Up.

“Mobil berukuran kecil itu, akan menjadi elemen terpenting dalam strategi pertumbuhan kami,” tutur Nick Relly, Chief Executive Officer Opel, seperti dikutip automotivenews.com, Kamis (23/9).

Opel rela menggelontorkan dana sebesar 90 juta euro atau sekitar Rp 1,09 triliun untuk investasi pengembangan mobil kecil itu.

Namun, Opel belum memberi bocoran informasi ihwal model dan spesifikasi mesin mobil kecil yang akan diproduksinya itu. Pabrikan itu hanya menyebut, mobil itu kemungkinan dinamai Junior dan dibangun di pabrik perakitan miliknya di Eisenach, Jerman bagian Timur.

“Yang terang, mobil itu nantinya sangat stylish dengan desain yang menarik serta irit bahan bakar. Proses produksi dimulai pada 2013 mendatang,” sebut Reilly.

Dia menambahkan, kehadiran mobil kecil itu akan menambah jumlah portofolio Opel sekaligus membuka segmen baru bagi perusahaannya.

Watt crowbarred several car-and-football metaphors into the tortured article, which also mentioned a Range Rover belonging to Steven Gerrard.

The article was subsequently sent to a sub, who rewrote it completely and uploaded it to the magazine’s website without a byline.

The Safe Bet: Hyundai i10

Cheap to buy and cheap to run (tax and insurance are economical), the Hyundai i10 is a tiny, capable car. Much happier nipping around town than on motorways, the Hyundai i10 slots into any parking space with ease. Although there isn’t much space inside, air-con is included as standard, and with its 5-year, unlimited-mileage warranty, you’ll have peace of mind too.

The Budget Buy: Citroen C1

If you’re looking for a budget buy that’s fun to drive, the Citroen C1 could be the car for you. Great for whizzing around town, the stylish and solid Citroen C1 won’t let you down. It only comes with a few standard extra – 2 airbags, CD player with MP3 socket – but it’s a comfortable little car and very cheap to run.

The Funky One: Fiat 500

The deceptively spacious Fiat 500 is a cute city car with retro good looks. As well as looking good, it’s also comfy upfront, although the rear isn’t great for tall people. A reliable little car with lots of extras – seven airbags, sport button, traction control, CD player with MP3 capability among them, what more could you want?

The Spacious One: Toyota Yaris

If you’re after space with your city car, the Toyota Yaris is a small car that feels big. Small looking on the outside, but spacious on the inside, the Toyota Yaris has plenty of cubby holes to store your important things away. Plus, extra space keeps taller passengers happy in the back. And to give you even more reassurance,  the Yaris scored top marks for safety in crash tests.

The Popular One: Ford Ka

The Ford Ka is not only a great city car, it handles well on main roads too. Along with it’s cute looks, which you can personalise quite easily, the Ford Ka is both fun and cheap to drive. Plus, the space inside is great for the size of the car, even the boot is pretty decent. However, the extras included as standard are very basic, and spending more on options can work out to be quite pricey.

A panel of judges compromising used car market and vehicle valuation specialists at CAP voted unanimously for the Ford Focus, saying it was “the vehicle which set new standards of quality in the volume car market during the decade 2000-2009″.

The judging panel was particularly looking for a car which excelled in a number of areas: affordability, practicality of ownership, sustained popularity and trusted reputation.

Mark Norman, chairman of the CAP judging panel, said of the Ford Focus: “Although the awards concentrate on three year-old vehicles, it is testament to the build quality of Ford cars that well maintained examples from the late 90s still feel as if they have many years of motoring life left.”

He continued: “The Ford Ka scores on every measure of used car excellence, offering true affordability, low running costs and reliable simple engineering. The 1996 to 2008 Ford Ka offered something truly fresh to the small used car buyer as well as a reliably popular offering for the used car dealer.”

As Seen in AM-Online !