An all-round view of F1

If you're a fan of F1 then you'll almost certainly have spotted the name and branding of TATA Communications strategically-located in and around the circuits.

As well as being a technical partner of the all-conquering Mercedes team the telecommunications arm of the vast Indian conglomerate is also - and I'll quote this verbatim given the degree to which Formula1 and its various corporate acolytes like to exercise control over these things - the 'Official Connectivity Provider' in addition to being the "Official Web Hosting And Content Delivery Network Provider Of Formula1.com".

So there.

Anyway, being pretty cutting-edge, the clever boys and girls at TATA have been working with their counterparts at Formula 1 on enhancing the 'show' for the viewer and their latest wheeze has seen them experimenting with 360 degree live video feeds from a race - specifically the recent high-value stock-car smashup that was the Singapore Grand Prix - good timing..

Now, whilst 360 degree video is a relatively new technology it has been available in a number of forms for a few years now - most recognisably in videos available on Youtube where the viewer can pan and tilt the camera either in their browser or Youtube app or alternatively by donning one of the ever-increasing number of virtual-reality headsets whose complexity ranges from a cardboard affair into which one slips their smartphone, right up to the high-end, high-definition devices which imbue the wearer with a sense that he or she has just stepped off the set of the latest Star Wars epic..

Either way, the technology is starting to mature and this hasn't gone unnoticed by - amongst others - the aforementioned  Formula 1/TATA partnership & whilst other sporting events have dallied with this emerging applied science, their output has been limited - for technical reasons - to a delayed feed, (typically by 30 seconds) which isn't really ideal if you're wanting to convey an immersive, live atmosphere to those who weren't able to make it to the event being relayed.

So, the boffins at TATA got their collective thinking caps on and managed through some form of electronic witchcraft to live stream the recent carbon fibre-strewn proceedings in real time through a pair of 360 degree cameras; one being located in the paddock and the other trackside, so, conceivably you could have followed the fractious relationship between Sebastian Vettel and his team mate from 'racing incident' to recriminations and huffiness back at the team motorhome..

At the moment, this experiment in all-round visuals is being treated very much as a proof of concept and we're probably a few years away from being able to take control of the camera angles from the comfort of our own sofas, but rest-assured - this is a technology which will come into its own within the next decade as the infrastructure and demand for it become ever more pervasive. As mentioned above, Formula 1 is keen to improve the spectacle of the events it stages, not least in the face of increasingly lower audience share and it will undoubtedly see this toe-in-the-water-exercise as a step towards offering the service - perhaps as an additional cost package - in the not-too-distant future.

In this era of video on demand and timeshift recording capability, the consumer is becoming ever more used to deciding what he and she..consumes..and for the die-hard F1 fan, the ability to be able to call the shots is one which I feel will be pretty attractive.

Even with the drop off in viewing figures in recent years, subscription viewing numbers remain fairly healthy and if a value-added service such as TATA and F1 have just trialled is rolled out for a relatively cost-effective fee I wouldn't be willing to bet against it becoming a popular option for those who want a bit more from their F1 involvement.

Watch this (3D) space I guess..

Dave Wakefield

It's Go at Goodwood

So here we are again, and after a day spent perusing the wares of the World's motor manufacturers at yesterday's Moving Motor Show the Festival of Speed 2017 is now in full-swing.

Lengthy queues to get into the event - whilst a chore on the clutch foot - (you're getting old, Ed) are a sign that it's going to be another sell-out weekend and already the place is fair bustling with devotees of all things automotive.

Our intrepid team shall be out and about all  weekend soaking up the sights, sounds and smells of  - if you'll permit us just the one oft-repeated cliche - a most unique event.

As I write this, a Metro 6R4 - possibly one of the more unlikely but incredibly successful rally cars of the 80s is just darting its way past the fearsome flint wall as it heads for the finish line at the top of the hill, whilst endurance racers old and new - some fresh from pounding the tarmac at Le Mans - are lining up, ready for their turn to do the same.

And as the howl of multi-cylindered exotics reverberates around the estate, in a fitting reminder that nothing ever stands still - especially motorsport - we'll be treated to the sight later on - if not perhaps the sound - of the somewhat less frantic-sounding, yet equally-exciting Mahindra Formula E racer  which is making its debut here at the Festival.

Piloted by a man who's held the Hill record for 18 years & who plans to best it - former F1 driver Nick Heidfeld - this really would be a remarkable achievement and proof - if ever any were needed - that alternative power is very much today's technology.

Stay tuned - we're here all weekend..

Print Hon Demand.

3D printing has been with us a for a while now and product designers are coming up with ever more innovative uses for this rapidly developing technology.

Traditionally used in industry for rapid prototyping and test manufacture of components prior to full production runs being commissioned, the application of the 3D process has seen both the range and physical size of 'printable' objects increase dramatically in the space of just a few years.

Whilst the aviation sector has rather taken the lead when it comes to getting 3D-printed parts onto its end products - Airbus for example fitting many of them to its new A350 - the automotive industry has not been slow itself to see the potential, and the traditional prototyping and design phases of car design are already benefitting from the rapid turnaround times and flexibility that the process delivers with printed parts starting to find their way onto production models.

Currently, only high end manufacturers such as Koenigsegg are bolting printed components onto their vehicles but as the costs come down it's surely only a matter of time before you'll be able to pop to your local showroom and purchase a Peugeot or Porsche fitted with printed parts..

The next logical stage of course will be the entirely printed vehicle and already Local Motors in the US have managed to produce a design in the form of the Strati, a basic electric concept which took around 40 hours of printing time to churn out.

                                          Strati pic © Local Motors

Interesting though the Strati is as a design however, it's Honda's latest offering which really deserves a closer look.

Designed in collaboration with Japanese technology firm Kabuku, the as yet un-named Micro Commuter electric vehicle utilises Honda's chassis and drivetrain knowhow and allies it with a body entirely constructed using Kabuku's 3D printing expertise.

The brief to Honda and Kabuku was to provide a compact, fully-electric delivery vehicle capable of negotiating the narrow streets of Kamakura where locally-based confectionary company Toshimaya is based. Finding it increasingly difficult delivering its famous dove-shaped Hato sablé shortbread to customers using an 'off the peg' van, Toshimaya realised that some innovative thinking was required resulting in the bespoke creation provided by Honda and Kabuku.

Measuring 2.5 metres from stem to stern and around 1.3 metres across this tiny little truck weighs in at 600 kilos and only has room for the driver with the rest of the boxy body being devoted to the carriage of the delectable avian shortbread.

With a top speed of 43 mph (70 km/h) it's envisaged that it should have a range of around 50 miles (80 km/h) on a 3 hour charge.

 

Using the Variable Design Platform which allows for different vehicles to share certain fundamental construction features the diminutive delivery van went from design to reality in an impressive 2 months and now serves both as a clever and cute solution to Toshimaya's delivery problems as well as providing them with a unique and eye-catching mobile billboard as it hums around the tight confines of Kamakura's streets.

Looking ahead we'd expect to see more and more of these examples of 3D printing technology being applied to motor manufacturing. As demonstrated so ably by Honda - albeit in collaboration with a firm which is already operating in this area - major manufacturers are starting to look seriously at the benefits.

With relatively quick development turnaround times and the ability to infinitely customize models whilst utilising a modular set of underpinnings, the potential, once this methodology has matured somewhat must be huge.

Dave Wakefield

The Rise of The Machines?

It was as I heaved open the vault-like door of a friend’s latest acquisition at the weekend I paused to appreciate the lengths to which car manufacturers will now go in order to ease the burden of the automotive traveller.

My mate had  - with some caution it must be said – manoeuvred the not-unsubstantial 2014 Range Rover Autobiography down our narrow driveway and it was as I reached out to the passenger door handle in order to open it and greet him that my attention was diverted from the grinning fizzog of the car’s evidently proud pilot by the sight of a mechanised running board/step arrangement gliding smoothly from the lower sill in the general direction of my shins.

Emblazoned with a ‘Range Rover’ logo I gawped at it as I realised that this latest 4-wheeled automotive marvel to which my chum had treated himself was in another league again from the already well-appointed old-shape item he’d recently chopped in.

Much as one might once have marvelled at the now increasingly de-rigeur hands-free flush in public lavs, I found myself opening and closing the (soft-close, natch) door in order to watch this mechanical ballet play out over and over whilst in my mind the question of how I had existed for so long without access to such a remarkable feature on my own personal transport nagged away at my addled braincell..

Labour-saving features on cars have of course traditionally appeared at the higher end of the market before filtering down to those of us mere mortals and functions once considered to be the province of the luxury boys such as electric windows and climate control are now pretty much standard fitment on the majority of vehicles in the UK's showrooms.

So, in order to go at least some way towards justifying the inflated prices demanded of those who would travel in the cosseted world of the opulent, manufacturers are continually striving to alleviate the apparently onerous tasks presented by the action of piloting - or indeed being piloted in - their vehicles.

On the face of it, the Range Rover's robotic aid to ingress/egress might seem an exercise in overkill and complexity - a practical demonstration of the perceived laziness commensurate with the sort of coddled target market to which the brand is pitched - but it does illustrate the point that in order to attract & retain the custom of those for whom the outlay of a six figure sum on transport is a familiar decision - the high-end manufacturer is compelled to keep pulling ever more ingenious labour saving functions out of their corporate hat.

In the case of the Range Rover, just opening the door and being offered an easy way of embarking or disembarking is the rather elegant first step - literally - towards being conveyed in comfort which only a few years ago would have been the preserve of those used to travelling behind a fluted grille and a shiny bonnet mascot.

Such is the gamut of luxurious gewgaws and luxury touches that one can waft along in a wonderful bubble of isolation - cushioned against the hectic pace of life outside by double glazed windows and constantly adapting air suspension as one's buttocks and lumbar regions are warmed/cooled/kneaded by expansive leather seats adjustable in every conceivable axis so that the lucky occupant experiences nothing so troubling as a stiff sacrum or a chilly bum cheek..

And these features certainly have a place - anyone shelling out the previously mentioned £100k plus for the privilege of travelling Business Class on the nation's increasingly crowded and stress-inducing road network can rightly expect a lot of luxury for the outlay - but at what point do the labour-saving accoutrements start to become distractions or conversely so indispensable that we neglect our duty to scan the road ahead because the radar nestling in the front bumper is doing it for us?

For the driver, aren't these ever-present comfort features in danger of diverting him or her  from the actual purpose of being in the vehicle in the first place?

And are we, as those charged with safely piloting machines with the capacity to kill, not at risk of allowing ourselves to rely too much on the driver aid technology at our disposal - whether it be the blind spot detector the or the radar-controlled cruise control - at the expense of actually driving the car using our inbuilt sense of hazard perception and spatial awareness?

Indeed, it seems that the lines between what constitutes a comfort feature and a driver aid are becoming increasingly blurred & not just in the rarified, climate-controlled confines of the latest Range Rover either. As more and more functions previously only available to those with a penchant for the posh start to trickle down to mid-range, mass-market fleet metal, we're starting to be presented with a bewildering array of technology each time we climb behind the (increasingly optionally-heated) wheel.

This might well be a bit of a double-edged sword, not least for the reasons alluded to above: more distraction + more reliance on the technology could very well add up to a loss of focus on the actual act of driving with the inherent disastrous consequences.

We certainly live in interesting times - technology is advancing at such a rate that we can only be but a couple of years & some diligently-applied legislation away from encountering fully autonomous vehicles on our roads, despite the recent well-publicised and tragic death of a US Tesla driver at the wheel of a car in "Autopilot" mode.

But the fact remains that for the foreseeable future the vast majority of cars on our roads will be being conducted not just by a battery of computers fed by a multitude of sensors but by flesh and blood utilising the Mk1 eyeball and the grey matter number-crunching engine between our ears, and for that reason I believe that whilst the onward march of technology definitely has a part to play in helping us get from A to B with minimum fuss and in the safest way possible it shouldn't become so overbearing that it reduces the onus on the driver to use his or her own judgement & most certainly shouldn't affect their ability to maintain control of his vehicle at all times.

Now, don't get me wrong - not one of us here at UKMotortalk could be classed as a Luddite - we're not going to berate the march of technology and with open arms we welcome anything which advances the cause of safety for the road user and in particular that which eases the burden on today's hard-pressed car driver.

But equally we would strongly advocate that those who find this technology increasingly at their disposal recognise when it is a hindrance rather than a help.

Whether it comes in the form of a vast TFT infotainment screen in the middle of the dashboard (*cough* Tesla *cough*) or a trick self-parking mode, applied science in the cockpit should surely be as unobtrusive as possible - particularly in the case of gadgetry and switchgear.

We as drivers in our turn should perhaps be encouraged to accept the increasing assistance with which the motor manufacturers are so keen to provide us but not at the cost of distracting ourselves from the art of driving or the risk of dulling our own skills.

Mind how you go..


Dave Wakefield

Off the beaten track.

Kim Palmer is Public Relations Manager for Land Rover in the UK & on Saturday at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed we sat down with him in the impressive surroundings of Jaguar Land Rover's expansive stand to shoot the breeze about all things Landie.

Amongst other things, we asked him about new additions to the Land Rover stable as well as the impending putting out to pasture of an old faithful warhorse..

Click here to listen.

photo (c) Land Rover

Honda - Playful is back.

Leon Brannan rejoices in the wonderful title of 'Head of Car' for Honda UK and he gave us an insight into Honda's plans for the short to mid-term both in the UK and further afield.

Leon used the term 'playful' to describe Honda's approach and nowhere was this more evident than in the theme of their stand at this years' Festival of Speed which resembled an oversized, boxfresh toy car collection, authentic even down to the labelling and cellophane windows.

Listen to him telling Will Chambers about Honda's resurgence in the UK, their re-engagement with Formula 1 and how they believe that the future for car fuelling will involve nothing more nasty coming out of the tailpipe than good old h2o here

HRV photo (c) Honda

Faster than a speeding bullet..

Ian King is the brave/mad - delete as appropriate - chap who regularly drapes himself across dragster bikes capable of launching him at the horizon faster than anything short of something weapons-related.

Not only is he a five time European Top Fuel Bike Champion, he also manufactures the engines used by pretty much any of the Top Fuel community worldwide - a fact which means that even if he personally is having an off day, somewhere in the world, one of his engines will most likely be flying the flag for the King concern.

He spoke to UKMotorTalk's Will Chambers at the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed about how he started out building bikes in his youth, how his bike is powered by explosives, and what it's like to regularly terrify small children every time he winds open the throttle on his astonishingly-loud company transport..

You can listen to Ian chatting to Will here

And find out more about Ian & his exploits here

The busy life of the F1 Development Driver

Alex Lynn, Development Driver for Williams Martini Racing, took time out on a hectic Sunday at 2015's Goodwood Festival of Speed to chat to UKMotorTalk's Will Chambers.

He spoke about the honour of being a British driver in a British team as well as how he manages to balance his duties at Williams with his other role racing for DAMS in the highly-competitive GP2 series.

Listen to the interview here.

Sights from Sunday

Another busy day spent in Lord March's back garden for the UKMT crew.

Interviews and photos will be appearing here in the next couple of days but for now, here are a few of the sights we snapped on our extensive travels.

Lottery win? Another possible object for your consideration..

Spotted in the media area at the top of Honda's oversized toyshop stand was this svelte & mean-looking creation.

At an estimated retail price of £100k when it launches - most likely towards the end of 2015 - Honda's all-new NSX hypercar isn't exactly what you'd call cheap (for a Honda at least). However, when you consider that it'll be belting out a not inconsiderable 550bhp from a petrol-electric hybrid powertrain that's located within a lightweight aluminium/carbon-fibre bodyshell, you'll be going an awful lot quicker in this thing than your cooking Jazz shopping trolley..

Dave Wakefield 

Sir Stirling Moss & The '55 Mille Miglia.

Anyone with petrol flowing through their veins knows the name Stirling Moss. He truly is one of the legends of British - indeed world - motorsport. The Festival of Speed this year celebrates sixty years since he won the awesome 1000 mile Mille Miglia in record breaking time. Hear how he and his legendary sidekick Denis "Jenks" Jenkinson won the iconic Italian endurance race in 1955 here.

  

Graham Benge

Felipe Massa - F1's charming man.

Back for his second time at the Festival of Speed was popular Brazilian Williams Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa. He's a man of great charm who was truly enjoying his weekend running up the Goodwood hill in one of the Williams Heritage Collection cars. He was only slightly confused by the lack of buttons on his steering wheel compared to his usual Sunday drive.. You can hear him chatting to me here 

Graham Benge

Don Garlits - the Big Daddy of Drag Racing.

A lifelong hero of mine is the legendary US drag racer Don Garlits. This year - and for the first time - he came over to the Goodwood Festival of Speed to perform some demo runs in one of his original slingshot dragsters and I spent an enjoyable 1/2 an hour chatting to him in the agreeable surroundings of the Drivers' Garden. 83 years old - he is still doing demo runs but took the decision three years ago to stop competing after his Top Fuel Rail broke the 300mph barrier with a tyre-smoking 303 mph pass over the quarter mile. Hear him tell the story here: 

Graham Benge

Tow-tally Impressive

Here at UKMotortalk we're big fans of smart & innovative design and whilst at the recent Goodwood Revival we chanced upon something that really caught our attention.

Now, perhaps you're one of those really outdoors-y people who like to spend as much time as possible careering down sheer cliff faces on a thousand-speed mountain bike with your mates, or maybe you're a classic motorcycle fan & enjoy showing off your pristine 1959 BSA Bantam all over Europe.

All well and good, but what are your options if you want to stay over and make the most of a long weekend at your sheer cliff face/classic motorbike meet?

Hotel? Pricey, and if it's a big event you're at, probably booked up way in advance.

Caravan perhaps? Ok if there's room but probably not ideal if you are heading off the beaten track a bit.

The good old tent then? Maybe, but they can take up a fair bit of valuable space in a car, especially if you've got all your other gear to lug about to & from your event.

Well, what we discovered on our trip over the road to the more retail & entertainment-focussed part of the Revival might be just what you're looking for..

Resembling  the progeny of a one night stand between an Ifor Williams trailer & an Ariel Atom, the SylvanSport Go appears at first glance to be a pared-down version of the sort of thing your local gardening firm might use to cart lawnmowers around in if designed by Jonny Ive (for those of you not in the thrall of Apple's every product release, he designed the iPod, iPad, iPhone, etc).

However, look a little more closely and you start to notice that all is not as it might seem, as mounted atop the smart silver-painted tubular framework is what resembles a slimline version of the seemingly-ubiquitous Thule roofbox favoured by Audi A6/BMW 5/Volvo V70 owners up & down the land.

Look a little closer still & you'll discover some intriguing ring-pulls not dissimilar to the kind you only yank out of a hand grenade if your next action is to lob it as far away from your current location as possible..

Parked next to this apparently compact trailer on the stand was what appeared to be a funky-looking trailer tent from which emerged Steve Downey, the friendly & avuncular proprietor of Valke Outdoors, the Somerset-based importers of the Go, and a man who was about to demonstrate to us just what a clever piece of kit it is.

Steve began by telling us that whilst Go is a well-established & well-known product in its native USA - no less an authority than National Geographic calling it "The Coolest Camper Ever" - a slogan prominently displayed on the frame of one of Steve's demo models -  it's new to our shores, but he reckons it'll be a hit once people realise just what it can do.

So, we asked him, what exactly can it do?

Essentially, he explained, it can go from being the low profile futuristic-looking trailer we'd just been wandering round to the airy & spacious accommodation we were now currently sat inside, because, in a feat of packaging of which the afore-mentioned Mr Ive would be proud, all the hi-tech, ripstop fabric currently sheltering us from the West Sussex elements stows neatly away into that deceptively slim roof-box we'd spotted earlier.

And, into the bargain, the trailer was capable not only of transforming into a place to rest your head after a hard day's quad-biking, it would transport the quad bike as well..

It's the versatility of the Go which is its real USP it seems. The compact framework we'd seen on the first of the two rigs parked up in Lord March's back garden actually adjusts in height from 1.3 metres (51 inches in old money) in closed 'Travel Mode' up to an impressive 2 metres (79 inches old skool) when transporting your quad bike, jetski, 1/2 tonne of garden waste for the tip etc.

And for those of us who stand somewhat above average height the good news is that in full-on camping mode, the roof height is a vertiginous 2.2 metres (colour) or 87 inches (black and white) so if rock climbing in 6 inch (15cm) heels is your thing, you've been thought of too..

Adjusting the height of the trailer to the different configurations is as simple as removing the hand grenade safety pins and winding the mechanism up or down to the required setting using a hand crank attached to the front of the trailer - although Steve can sell you an adaptor for an electric drill if you're knackered after a day's hooning in the boondocks. Or just idle.

Other, somewhat more useful accessories offered to complement the Go's already pretty comprehensive kit list (it comes with self-inflating mattresses for instance) include a handy solar-power system for running low-current LED lights, as well as 12v & USB outlets, essential for charging your iPhone in the middle of nowhere or the Silverstone GP campsite (much the same thing if we're honest).

Steve sees the Go as a bit of an automotive Swiss Army Knife - today taking the remains of an old kitchen down to the council dump, tomorrow ferrying you & some Lycra-clad chums off to the Fells for a couple of days' charging up and down on mountain bikes & we'd have to agree, it's a versatile & clever machine whose rugged construction & ability to travel on less than perfect surfaces might also lend itself to use by the emergency services for use at incidents where a temporary R&R facility could be handy. Even if's just somewhere to sit & have a warming brew, it could prove attractive to organisations such as HM Coastguard who routinely find themselves stationed away from civilisation when called into action.

At £8994(GB) it's not exactly cheap - a fairly decent trailer tent will set you back around 5 & half grand - but that's not the point. The Go will get you there & shelter you in reasonable comfort but it'll also take all your kit into the bargain  - or 'toys' as Steve smilingly referred to them - & that so far as we can see is a unique proposition.


Dave Wakefield

Using your loaf when using your lights

UKMotortalk contributor Steve Houlihan vents his spleen..

There seems to be a growing trend for the misuse - or lack of use at all in some cases - of vehicle lights. 

Now that more cars have daytime running lights -or DRLs - drivers seem to think that having these on negates the need for the proper vehicle lights to be on. 

Why on earth would anyone think that?!

Only the other week I was driving along the M4, it was dark - not getting dark, actually properly dark, when I came upon a car, a black car I might add, without lights on. 
So naturally I politely flashed the driver to hopefully prompt him into putting his lights on. 

No response. 

I flashed again - I always flash vehicles who don't have lights on in dark conditions or bad weather (more on bad weather later).

Still no response from the black car in front, in the dark. So, as he was driving at 50 mph in fast moving traffic, and I didn't fancy hanging around, I did the obligatory mirror, signal and manoeuvred around the black car (in the dark) to pass him. 

As I got alongside him I could see a faint glow from the front of his car which meant his DRLs were on. 

So, I gave him a couple of toots on the horn, hoping he'd look at me, so I could wind down my nearside window and tell him he didn't have his lights on. Instead he just turned his lights on, then back off again a second later, all in one movement. 

Bemused, I shook my head and carried on, I'd done my best to tell him but seemingly he wasn't listening.

Since this event I've given his actions and reasons a bit of thought. Did the sudden glow in front of his car tell him he'd put his full beam on? Does he not know the controls of his car? 

Or were his dashboard instruments lit?

This last, it seems to me, is a bad idea that car makers and designers have incorporated into their machinery. 

You don't need instruments lit during the day. If you go through a tunnel, where it's less bright even if lit internally, you're supposed to put your lights on, which will illuminate the instruments too. I think that drivers honestly forget their lights aren't on, 'cause the instruments are lit!

My company has a new van, which I'm the sole driver of. 

It's a Mercedes Sprinter. It has DRLs. The previous one didn't. In fact this is the first vehicle I've driven a lot that has had them. We've only had the van a week at time of writing. My instruments aren't lit all the time.

But. I still switch my lights on in dim light or bad weather (no, later still for the bad weather thing!) because I use my EYES to see whether lights should be on or not.
As a rough, very rough, guide, if I cannot see my instruments easily, as in if the panel looks a bit dark, lights go on. I don't believe in sidelights. Mine are either on or off.

Now, with mention of sidelights we can at last move onto bad weather.

Sidelights are not enough when driving along a motorway, or any road really, in heavy rain or snow, or thick fog (more on fog later). 

It's not about seeing where you're going, it's about being seen by vehicles you're approaching or passing. This applies especially on motorways. 

And, if your car is dirty, the front usually gets especially dirty in spells of cold, damp weather when salt has been spread on the motorways. 

So, a point to note at this, er, point, is that lights should be cleaned if they become dirty. Most vehicles still don't have headlamp wash systems. But who does that really? It's a bad habit we have that we don't do things we should, or we do things we shouldn't (more on bad habits later!).

In heavy rain/snow or fog, if you look in your mirror, it's virtually impossible to see a car with only its sidelights on. And actually impossible to see a car with no lights on at all. It's just downright dangerous.

And, as a bit of a sideline to the sidelights issue (see what I did there?), if it's raining heavily enough to have your wipers on, surely it's raining heavily enough to have your lights on.

I should point out, but I really shouldn't need to, that by "lights" I mean dipped headlights, not full beam. 

Just to clarify..

Car makers are seemingly taking more driver input away from actually driving a car - auto lights, auto wipers, anti collision... Surely they can make it so that if the wipers are on constant mode the lights come on too? That would make perfect sense and is a no-brainer to me.

And, whilst we're on the subject of bad weather, a little bit of fog... 

Foglights to be precise. And rear ones to be even more precise. If it's a bit misty, with patches here and there, you do not need foglights on. 

The Highway Code states that foglights should be used if visibility is down to less than 100 metres. As a rough guide, very rough, again, I use this; if the car in front of me is hard to see, the car behind me - if it's a similar distance away - will find it hard to see me. So, on go the rear fogs. 

When the car behind gets nearer, off go the fogs. Unless you have a classic with small rear lights, such as a Triumph Spitfire Mk1 for example, most cars' normal rear lights are easily seen from quite a distance even in fairly heavy mist. Mist and fog are the same thing, by the way. Water droplets in the air.

These points about lights and wipers bring me onto my final point. 

Bad habits.

We all have them. All of us. Except possibly those drivers who have passed the IAM advanced driving course, which I haven't. 

Yet.

I firmly believe if you put any driver into a proper driving test situation, we'd all fail - due to bad habits. 

We can all drive, we can control the car safely, we know our Highway Code, or should do. But we all have bad habits. 

Not indicating, bad lane usage at junctions or roundabouts, excessive speed, yes we all do that. Even if you say you don't you probably do. 

Slow down for speed cameras? Yep, well you wouldn't need to if you were already driving at the correct speed.

These bad habits could be corrected if we had a re-test, say, every 5 years? 

Maybe? 

Not a proper full test, more a refresher course on what we should, and should not be doing behind the wheel. 

It can only be a good thing, as I see it. Better drivers, better road manners, less road rage. More importantly, safer roads. For drivers, cyclists, bikers, and pedestrians.

Food for thought maybe?

Steve Houlihan

Follow Steve on Twitter @bandit4070

Guten tag, I must be going..

And so, in the light of The Worst Kept Secret In Formula One being revealed (see previous post re Lewis Hamilton's future employment prospects) we must bid farewell to the man in whose place young Mr Hamilton shall be racing next year.

Yes, at the ripe old age of 43, Herr Michael 'Schumi' Schumacher is hanging up the old crash hat & racing boots for the second time in his career and sloping off to spend more time with his millions, sorry, family.

When the newly re-branded Mercedes team announced that team principal (and man whose name resided above the factory door for 12 months) Ross Brawn had lured his old pal out of retirement to drive for him a couple of years ago, the response from Formula One fans was mixed to say the least.

Whilst some were ecstatic that the man who'd chalked up a stunning seven World Championship titles would be returning to show the current crop of PR-friendly automata just what a real racer looked like, others feared - justifiably it seems - that Michael would have lost his edge in the 3 years he'd been sat at home observing proceedings on what would most likely have been one of the biggest tellys in existence..

On the face of it, Michael's presence at the pointy end of the new venture had all the hallmarks of yet another smart move from master tactician Ross Brawn & the suitably well-funded Mercedes outfit. Whilst he would undoubtedly be a bit rusty in the new style F1 car with its considerably-reduced amounts of downforce and fully-slick tyres, it wouldn't take this wily old stager long to get back up to speed and start putting in competitive laps on a par with his widely-admired rising star team mate, Nico Rosberg. As it transpired, Michael seemed to struggle against the competition, and whilst he never actually found himself consistently lapping at the tail end of races with the likes of Marussia, it's pretty telling that his best result at the time of writing is a third place on the podium at Valencia behind two other World Champions, Fernando Alonso & Kimi Raikkonen.

The general consensus amongst the F1 fraternity it would seem is that whilst it was nice to have the Silver (née Red) Baron back in the mix, it's probably good that he safely bows out now with dignity rather than squandering his inestimable reputation trundling around every other Sunday in something your Grandmother could probably out run in her automatic Micra..

Personally-speaking, I was never Schumi's biggest fan - especially after that incident in Adelaide in 1994 - but I've always maintained a healthy, if grudging respect for his metronomic ability to think his way to victory after victory and, despite myself, found that I was eager to see him put a few of the new hotshoe breed in their place.

Realistically though, I reckon that was always a bit of a long shot - yes, Niki Lauda & Alain Prost proved in the past that you could come back, but for Michael, those three years away from the bleeding edge of competition had proved too many. Perhaps it was age, perhaps it was the realisation that he just didn't need to be doing this anymore - who knows, but I for one am glad he gave it a shot at least.

Mach's gut, Michael & thanks for playing..

David Wakefield.

UP! at the top of the charts.

The Volkswagen UP! (their exclamation mark, not ours..), the Seat Mii, and Skoda Citigo have garnered another trophy by winning the inaugural....

....MoneySupermarket Car of the Year Competition

This is a new annual competition where some of the most highly-qualified and knowledgeable motoring experts on the Web are asked to vote for what they believe to have been the 10 best cars of the past 12 months and UKMotorTalk was delighted to be chosen by MoneySupermarket to be one of the websites selected to help judge the competition.

Each judge’s nominations were awarded a score between 1 and 10, with their top vehicle being given 10 points and their 10^th nomination being awarded a single point. MoneySupermarket then collated all of the results and came up with a definitive top 10 which best represented the opinions of the overall motoring community.

The UP!, Mii and Citigo were a universally popular choice thanks to their stylish design and fuel-efficient nature, but they only just narrowly pipped the impressive BMW 320d to overall honours by a meagre two points.

The Range Rover Evoque was a strong third, proving to be another popular choice with judges thanks to its trendsetting styling which is something of a radical departure for Land Rover. And, in the interests of transparency, it was also the top choice of the team here at UKMotorTalk.

Perhaps the Range Rover’s failure to obtain overall top spot owes more than a little to the rising price of fuel at the pumps, which has resulted in fuel efficiency proving to be an increasingly important area of differentiation and one on which many of the judges appeared to place a greater emphasis.

Overall though, German manufacturers dominated the competition, picking up more than double the amount of points of the Japanese car brands who were a distant second.

British brands ranked a respectable third, owing largely to the popularity of the Range Rover Evoque and the radical new Vauxhall Ampera which came in 6^th. Vauxhall was the most popular British manufacturer in terms of points accumulated in 8^th place with 4 separate Vauxhall vehicles having been nominated for inclusion by judges.

MoneySupermarket have produced the following infographic highlighting the overall top ten in what it hopes will turn out to be an annual competition:

Image source: MoneySupermarket Car Insurance

So, congratulations to Volkswagen, Seat and Skoda on this strong showing for their new baby - It’ll be interesting to see whether the trend next year continues to reflect the ever-increasing popularity of frugal little cars such as the UP!

UKMT

And, relax..

So as we wind down in the luxurious confines of the Press tent, we can look back on another successful and enjoyable Revival event.

UKMotortalk's 'production partner' First Take Media has provided a full weekend's worth of lively, entertaining & informative radio and the whole team here has enjoyed every moment as ever.

This year's Revival provided even more of a retro-spectacle than ever before and the sense of being on a vast film set was stronger than ever.

Over the course of the weekend we spoke to some of the household names of motorsport - true legends such as Sirs Jackie Stewart & Stirling Moss, as well as those more well-known in the more recent era of motor-racing such as F1 racer turned expert pundit, Martin Brundle & seemingly-superhuman designer Adrian Newey.

All of these famous faces in addition to the many other racing folk whose eras ranged from times past to the present day were united in their appreciation of such a unique and unrivalled event and we agree with them wholeheartedly.

There truly is nothing else like it.

Quite how Lord March & his team plan to improve on this year really will be worth discovering..

..watch this space..

Saturday at the Revival

A busy and highly productive Saturday as always. Eight hours of live material produced for our friends at Spirit FM and interviews bagged with, amongst others Sir Stirling Moss, Desiree Wilson and Martin Brundle.

We're expecting another busy day at Goodwood today so keep your eyes peeled for updates from this unique event.

Spirit in the Sunshine

So, we're back in harness for another long weekend of high-octane hi-jinks.

Realising that it'd be a lot more fun to escape the palatial confines of Spirit FM's Chichester studios for a change, presenters Milly & Vicky are broadcasting in the Autumn sunshine outside our studio and really getting into the swing of things as they watch the world go by.

Meanwhile, other members of UKMT's crack journo squad are off to the four corners of the Goodwood circuit to grab incisive interviews with some of the well-known faces who flock here year after year.