Great News from the South West.....

We've just heard about a new event in Devon celebrating all things motoring....

For many years the South West has been sorely in need of a true festival event to celebrate all things motoring - and we are delighted to announce the inaugural Castle Hill Car Festival to be held on Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th August 2013.

The Festival will be staged in the magnificent parkland grounds of the Castle Hill estate near South Molton in Devon, just 40 mins from the M5, and will include a display of over 1,000 classic and historic vehicles from clubs and private owners and will feature a special showcase display of Aston Martins to celebrate their centenary year.

Bonhams, the international specialist auctioneers and valuers will have a team of staff on hand to provide advice as well as confidential valuations for owners. In addition there will be a Trade Exhibition area for products and services to the classic car market.

For the more ambitious owners there will be an exciting MSA regulated sprint trial organised by the North Devon Motor Club through the heart of the estate, plus a choice of two road rallies. In addition there will be a full programme of arena events and an extensive auto jumble.

More information and a booking form is available for download from our website at - www.castlehillcarfestival.co.uk

The cost for exhibiting cars will be £5.00, (includes driver and one passenger) for one or both days and camping is available for £10.00. Food, drink and evening entertainment will be available for campers.

There has been considerable interest in the Festival and club spaces are expected to book out quickly and so early booking will be essential. Applications will be approved on a first come, first served basis.

Here at UKMT we have also noted the very reasonable visitor ticket prices... Adults £12, Children 5-16 £6, and under-fives £FREE..! There won't be any advance ticket sales... Payment is cash only on entrance to the site.

Honda named "Most Reliable Car Manufacturer"

I'm sure that when purchasing a new car, its "reliability" is a factor that, alongside design, economy, safety, and cost, we all consider quite important...  We would be daft not to, particularly if it is the primary way we get to work, drive the kids to school, go shopping, etc...

However, quantifying this "reliability" can be quite difficult, with most of us relying on a manufacturer's reputation, often decades old, and things our friends say, good and bad...

A survey carried out by Warranty Direct and MoneySupermarket.com has tried to add a touch of science to the proceedings... and named Honda as "the most reliable car manufacturer", with Suzuki and Toyota coming second and third, in, perhaps unsurprising to our "reputation" and "gossip" reliant team, a clean sweep for Japanese manufacturers.

The overall order is dictated by each manufacturers Reliability Index (RI) score, which takes into account the average number of and cost of failures which occur to each model produced by a manufacturer. This is based on data collected through thousands of car warranty policies which are held by Warranty Direct customers with vehicles which are less than 10 years old and have under 100,000 miles on the clock.

The average RI score is 100 and the lower the score, the more "reliable" a manufacturers vehicles tend to be. However, it should be noted that by taking into consideration average repairs costs, more expensive luxury brands, perhaps with fewer, but more expensive faults, are going to be disadvantaged.

Interestingly, Honda didn’t have it all their own way, with the Kia Picanto being statistically "the most reliable individual model".

Honda also missed out on the title of manufacturer with the "cheapest average repair costs", with this accolade being taken by Ford. The fact that Honda didn’t feature in the top ten of this list, serves to make their overall victory all the more impressive!