SkyBlue Freelance
The website of Adam Sloman, freelance motoring journalist and author.
Who am I gonna call?
Sep 2nd
The bank manager, probably.
Because one of the rarest cars in Europe is coming up for auction and I need it.
It’s a 1959 Cadillac Ambulance, but more than that, it’s a nigh on identical to the car from Ghostbusters. Yup. Ecto 1. More >
Out tomorrow….
Aug 19th
Is the new issue of MG Enthusiast, with a five page article by yours truly, but, best of all More >
Addiction and the dangers of relapse…
Aug 13th
Yes, I fear I am on the verge of heading down the dark shadowy path of addiction once again.
I can feel it. I’ve started looking at the paraphernalia, and talking to people who are ‘connected’ to help me get my ‘fix’ (see, I am down ‘wiz da kidz, innit’). More >
Motoring Memories
Jul 30th
Just the other night I was typing away on MSN Messenger, discussing with one of my editors some of the cars I’ve owned in the (just over) ten years I’ve been driving. I was shocked at how many I’ve had.
Me and Mini no.1
Random Road Tests: Rover 416Si
Jul 24th
The finest 1.6, Brit-built saloon 1995 had to offer?
I’ve recently just come back from Barcelona, after a SEAT engine launch, and the journey to and from Heathrow gave me the chance to undertake another random road-test.
With the MG still in the garage, and no long-termer to speak of (sniff) I didn’t want to leave Mrs S. without a car for the time I was away. After a brief ‘phone call to my brother, I’d negotiated a loan of, what he calls, his ‘silver dream machine’.
‘It doesn’t like the rain’ he told me. ‘It stutters in the damp’ he said. I wasn’t filled with confidence. ‘Do you have break down?’ I enquired.
So, a little gingerly, I set off for Heathrow not sure what to expect. Moving off, there was quite a bit of clutch judder, while the pedal itself is set monumentally high (I’ve mentioned to my Brother he may want to get this looked at!) but once I sent off it wasn’t bad. OK, I’m surrounded by a sea of grey paisley and similar grey plastic, but the 400 is pretty refined, it’s quiet at motorway speeds (quieter than my MG ZS) the gearshift is still nice and tight and it chugs along with little fuss or effort required. OK, so its never going to offer a cutting edge in driver dynamics, and compared to the previous R8 model 200 and 400 it is a bit of a let-down.
There was plenty of room for my luggage in the boot (even if the tailgate did swing down and crack the top of my bonce) and despite its age, everything still works. Alarm, central locking, hot and cold running windows, all present and correct. And no signs of the dreaded head gasket failure, either.
Considering it was bought for just £400, that’s an awful lot of car for the money, and it just flew through its recent MoT. It was cheap to run too, 370 odd miles for £45 in petrol isn’t bad if you ask me.
A car like this underlines that good cars can be had for little money, its the sort of car that scrappage has removed from the market, sadly.
It’s tidy little car, for little money and above all else, it’s a Rover…
From Hamburg to a Beetle.
Jul 18th
It’s been an action packed few days for me, since I’ve just finished my first international launch, for the new MINI Countryman.
Hamburg's harbour
I’m remaining tight-lipped on my thoughts about the car, (you’ll be able to read them soon enough through one of my usual outlets!) but I thought I would blog anyway!
Leaving home at an eye-watering 2:45am, I headed off to Heathrow, booked on Lufthansa’s business class, with little idea of what to expect. I’m not ashamed to admit I was somewhat apprehensive. Luckily, I was in the company of a good bunch of fellow journos, and once in Germany, I was buddied up with the hugely experienced Brett Fraser, and we were soon putting the big MINI through its paces.
Hamburg is one of Germany’s most famous cities, a huge port, and former home to The Beatles. The hotel itself was nestled in the St. Pauli district of the city, home to the legendary football club, and the infamous Reeperbahn. With a bit of time on my hands, I took the chance to get a few bottles of Astra beer to bring home, and found myself a St. Pauli scarf (it was 29 degrees centigrade, but winter will be here soon enough!). The hotel was great, with one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in, normally when I’m away I do it cheap and cheerful, so this was quite step-up from my usual Travelodge!
After a cocktail reception for the invited journos from Britain, Ireland, Germany, Canada and the US, our hosts were kind enough to lead us on a tour through the Reeperbahn, offering to show us the ‘sights’ and boy, did we see ‘em! I’ve also learnt that you haven’t seen Back to the Future III until you’ve see it ‘auf Deutsch’; (‘Was ist das, Marty?!?). The actual press conference was good fun, and everyone from MINI did there utmost to make sure everyone was kept happy. It was also a good chance to get to know some of the guys I was there with, and actually allowed me to relax!
The following morning we were back out in the cars, only for a combination of road closures and sub-par sat-nav putting an end to any chance of us following the carefully planned out route on offer. Back at the airport I got my brownie points in check with a perfume for Mrs S and a Hamburg teddy bear for little Miss S before getting back on the 737 to come home.
Although I could have stayed in bed all day today, I had already booked myself a gig, finishing up a photo shoot on an immaculate collection of VW’s owned by a local chap. The sun was shining up on Dartmoor and we were able to get some great shots of his mint GTi Cabriolet and perfect ’56 Beetle. He’s got four VW’s in total, and I’d already shot one, so I was glad the threatened rain never appeared, and we were able to finish it off-there’s nothing worse than ringing someone to cancel.
The Bus earns its keep-out on a shoot.
His cars are all perfect, and the Beetle in particular, is special, since its been in family since new. It’ll be coming up soon in an issue of VW Golf+, I’ll let you know when! The only downside with spending time with people who have a collection of cars is that it just makes me want to add a few to the Sloman fleet!
So a full-on weekend, and I’m set to do it all again this week, with SEAT whisking me off for a couple of days in Barcelona.
I feel tired just thinking about it…
I’m a Seoul man…
Jul 8th
The upcoming Kia Sportage
In a recent conversation with an editor of mine, the subject of Korean cars came up, and the fact that in the past, I’ve not had too much love for Korean cars.
While I don’t think I will ever understand why anybody could buy a Kia Rio, there are Korean cars I would certainly consider, chief amongst which is the new Sportage (pictured).
The old Sportage was an ugly thing, a miss-mash of different styles that offered nothing aesthetically, and little more once behind the wheel. Although I’ve yet to drive the replacement, the successor Sportage further demonstrates the company’s coming of age in my opinion, and I think it’s chief designer Peter Schreyer’s best work for the firm yet. Together with the Soul (a car than very nearly became the Sloman Family Fun bus-a crap dealer experience and a lack of boot space did for it) and the Venga (silly name) it shows the brand as a great value, funky alternative to more expensive options we’ve previously bought. Chuck in the industry leading seven year warranty and it’s not hard to see why more and more people are buying them.
If I’d been able to consider a Sportage at the time then I may well have ended up with my first Korean car.
As old, crusty models are consigned to the history books, the firms future looks increasingly interesting. It’s Slovakian plant was built in two years and in January this year, less than three years after it opened, it produced its 500,000th car as well as producing engines, and the new iX35 for sister-firm Hyundai.
Kia’s also doing well in the US, with the Forte Koup, not currently available in the UK, in particular, is a car I’d love to see on UK roads, although it’s current range of 2.0 and 2.4 litre engines may restrict sales somewhat! The upcoming Cadenza could well give the Mondeo a bloody nose, if the two ever go head-to-head. With a decent diesel engine it could be a great fleet seller.
Kia’s slogan is ‘The Power to Surprise’, and I think that’s a pretty accurate way to sum them up.
Good ol’ Goodwood
Jul 3rd
Alfa's centenary sculpture at the 2010 FoS
Thursday I had the privilege of spending the day at Goodwood’s Moving Motorshow.
I love days at Goodwood, having been to the Revival Meeting for the past two years, but I’ve not made it to the Festival of Speed until now (I had tickets a few years ago, but a faulty Mini Cooper got in the way) so I was excited to finally make it.
The focus of Thursday was the Moving Motorshow, and all-new part of the festival that aims to recapture the spirit of a proper British Motorshow, with a proper exhibition hall, as well as offering ‘Drive and Ride’, allowing punters like you and I to expereince the cars on Goodwood’s famous hillclimb track.
That wasn’t all though, with manufacturers setting up huge exhibits, like Audi’s behemoth, complete with massive ‘A1′ signage, for just two A1s. One being a boggo red number, the other being Damian Hurst’s ‘art-car’. I’m still not sure about the A1, it looks OK in profile, but dead on, there’s something not quite right about the baby Audi. Given the choice, I’d plump for it’s cheaper Spanish brother, the Ibiza, in Bocanegra form. Lovely little motor, every bit as good as the A1 in my opinion.
Looking great from all angles, was Toyota’s FT-86 concept car. As far as I’m concerned, the launch of this one can’t come soon enough. I loved the sporty Toyotas, like the MR-2 and especially the Celica GT-Four.
I want tomorrow's Toyota today..
The car looks fantastic, and I can’t wait to try one out. After everything Toyota has been through this year, it’s great to see something like this from the Japanese firm. Toyota also showed off a couple of cars from their Rallying past, with a Carlos Sainz-era Corolla on display, although the rear windscreen was intact, so I’m not sure that Carlos ever drove this particular car! They also had the Top Gear Polar Challenge Hi-lux, so a good spread of cars were there.
Supercars were also well covered, with Ferrari’s 458 Italia looking stunning in white, but it was beaten by the debut of McLaren’s MP4-12C. OK, so it’s not the most snappy of names, but the car looks incredible, and a fitting follow-up to the near mythical F1.
MG’s build up for the launch of the MG6 continued, and I was fortunate enough to get behind the wheel of a pre-production car once again. You’ll be able to read my thoughts online and in print soon enough, so I’ll have to keep schtum on that front for now!
Up near the house itself, a selection of Alfa one-offs and concepts from the past were out on display, with some wild and wacky designs, from the Stratos-esque Carabo (it was designed by Bertone too, so the similarity makes sense!) through to the angular Navajo. It’s not diffcult to see how it missed out on full production!
Speaking of wacky designs, the full field of Wacky Racers were also there, with Penelope Pitstop and Peter Perfect in attendence.
Alfa Navajo: Captain Scarlet's wheels?
There was plenty of fun stuff too, with a good showing from Top Gear, allowing people to get up-close and personal with the electric powered Hammerhead Eagle Thrust-i, or Geoff, as its also known. The 3,500 bhp Cummins diesel engined Mini was also pretty out-there, despite the hoofing great lump chucked in the back, it still looked better than the Countryman.
A glorious, sunny day, with thousands of happy punters, the Festival of Speed runs until Sunday and is well worth the trip, along with September’s revival, this is one of the must-attend events for any petrol-head.
Get on down to Goodwood. It’s automotive heaven.
Another successful showing for the new MG
The same, but different
Jun 30th
My sister has recently come back to the UK to visit after four and a half years in Australia, and while there are many similarities between the UK and the Aussies, it’s remarkable how many things are different.
My sis brought back a load of Aussie mags and brochures, and in amongst them is the sales bumpf for the Holden Sportwagon range, where the smallest engine is a 3.0 litre V6, all the way up to massive six litre V8.
6.0 litre V8-cheap to run down under
Now, over here in Blighty, the idea of a 6.0 litre, 300+ break horse estate is almost unthinkable, as European manufacturers focus increasingly on frugal diesels, hybrids and electric cars, most manufacturers seem almost embarrassed to shout about the higher performance models in their ranges. But then, sis explains that petrol is about 60p a litre, where as over here, it’s near the £1.20 mark. At those prices it’s not difficult to understand how and why people are able to run such big cars. If the situation was replicated in the UK, I can think of a whole host of cars I could afford to run!
Of course Vauxhall has dipped it’s toe in the water, importing the Holden as the VXR8, but Down Under, these big engined beasts are the norm, with petrol-heads generally split into two camps, Ford or Holden.
My 18 year old nephew has just bought a Ford XR6, with the (by Aussie standards) small V6 engine. When I was his age, the closest I got to anything with a ‘V’ in it was my 1991 Rover 214. There’s other little differences too, thankfully the Aussies managed to keep the steering wheel on the correct side of the car, but my sister was totally befuddled by my sat-nav barking instructions in yards, not metres, and felt that at 70mph, we were ‘flying’ !
It seems to me that Australia may well become the last refuge for the petrol-head, where Bathurst becomes a monument to speed and the smell of hot engines and burning rubber.
Maybe I ought to get myself on a plane and go and take a look for myself, before I forget what a V8 sounds like.
Anyone want to buy me a ticket?
My Gran Turismo 5 wish list
Jun 22nd
Having previously posted the latest trailer for Gran Turismo 5, I thought I’d add my ‘wish-list’ of things I’d like to see in the upcoming game.
1. Classic Minis
GT2 Mini Cooper
The Mini Cooper and it’s mkI Morris Cooper S ancestor made it’s debut on the PSOne, in the second game of the series, Gran Turismo 2. Since then, the Mini has featured in each addition of the game, a testament to the cars popularity in Japan.
Cruelly, the original Mini was removed from the European version of the game, rumours suggested that BMW requested it, leaving us EU PS2 gamers with just the MINI and the kit-car based Mini Marcos.
Given the games 1000 cars it’s reasonable to hope the Mini will make it and that BMW won’t have any qualms about it being included in the European version. That said, if it’s not, I’ll buy a different version!
2. Proper pit-stops
Today’s racers can replicate almost every aspect of motor-racing, real-world tracks, pixel-perfect panels, inch-acurate interiors, even realistic damage that deforms the cars, effects handling, and more. But pull into the pits and illusion is shattered. The car comes to a halt, a few stereotypical sound effects and your off, car fixed, racing back under way. Come one, lets see people swapping wheels (if that’s why you’ve come in) or at least see the pit mechanics lift the bonnet, or maybe stick some fuel in. It’d be really simple to do, but it’d look great.
3. Gimme a garage and let me walk around it
Two games that really stick in my mind are Sega GT 2002 and Project Gotham Racing Three. I loved the way that PGR 3 let you chose a range of garages to put your motors in and then let you wander around them, and in Sega GT 2002, photos of your racers were hung with pride in your garage, for all to see. I also liked the Sega game’s interface, garage door open, car parked, and, if you wanted to sell a car, it was parked on the grass outside with a ‘FOR SALE’ sign propped up on the windscreen, whichever way you cut it, that’s just a very cool way to do it. Compare this with the sterile car selection system used in Forza 3 and it’s obvious which method appeals more to us petrolheads!
4. More British tracks
As a Brit I want to see more tracks from the UK. Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Donnington. Come on, they’re superb tracks and a great blast to drive on. Yes it’s going to be ace to be able to blast around the famous GT tracks, but a few more tracks from dear ‘ol Blighty wouldn’t go a miss.
5. Customisation
Forza 3 pretty much got custom paint jobs spot on, so lets see GT take a spin at it, with so many more cars there’s so many more options for different designs, liveries and paint jobs.
6. More licensed race series
We know that the new Gran Turismo has got the license for both World Rally Championship cars (which means, erm, three cars, I think) and NASCAR. Yeah, NASCAR. Surely there must be better championships to add to the mix. Touring Cars would be much better if you ask me. As the Top Gear lot once scrawled on the side of a car, ‘NASCAR SUCKS’
I’m sure more details will emerge about GT5 as we move near the November release, hopefully some of those details will knock some of the wishes off my list!
