I often ask that question myself.
For the past 41 years I’ve been writing about cars, and for 25 of them edited one of Britain’s top free newspapers and helped it win a host of national awards along the way. I’ve been a sports sub editor, deputy editor and ultimately editor of the Milton Keynes Citizen, and also worked for them on a freelance basis.
I’m secretary of the Midland Group of Motoring Writers, an august body of 36 motoring journalists who have a combined circulation of over 7 million readers.
But back to the cars. From that very first road test (a Ford Cortina Crusader and, yes, I still have the newspaper cutting) I’ve run the rule over everything from a humble Citroen 2CV to an Aston Martin Rapide, either road testing here or on new car launches at home and abroad.
I love cars then. I sometimes think the choice available to motorists is baffling – a far cry from my early days when the motoring masses mainly had the choice of a Ford, a Vauxhall, or an Austin or Morris. Cars from the Far East were a long way off the horizon and quality European brands were a relative rarity on our roads.
I weigh up cars on their practicality, quality and value for money, but I’ll always add relevant facts and figures because at the end of the day, we all want to know how it performs and, in all probability, how little fuel we can get away with putting in the tank each week. Or how far an electric charge might take you.
And if there’s something I don’t like then I’ll say so. It’s only my opinion, and you’ll probably have your own too. By all means get in touch and we can swap points. The contact details are on the home page.
In the meantime, drive safely.
✱ Looking for information on any particular car?
Over the past 30 odd years I’ve run the rule over most of the major cars that populate our roads,
thanks to excellent links with the top manufacturers.
On this site you’ll find recent tests of cars from Alfa Romeo, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Citroen, Fiat, Ford, Great Wall, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Kia, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, MG, MINI, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Porsche, Range Rover, Renault, Saab, SEAT, Skoda, smart, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Vauxhall, Volkswagen and Volvo.
Other information available at the drop of an email to the address below, or even a phonecall – I do answer it sometimes!
✱ To scan my archive of road tests carried out in the past few years, just type the name of the car you’re looking for in the ‘Search for it’ box on the left of the home page. If I’ve driven it, or given it the once over, you’ll find it.