Car Interactive
Posh Duster > VIA EMAIL
I am interested in the favourable reception given to the styling of the new Volvo XC40 in several recent issues. You talk about it having a ‘grown up Scandi-cool vibe’, but I see a cross between a Suzuki Ignis and a Dacia Duster that’s been to finishing school. And I don’t mean that as a compliment.
Other recent Volvos have been interesting, particularly the S/V90 series, which offers a genuine alternative to the ‘me too’ German offerings. Tom Burns
Alive and kicking > VIA EMAIL
Every so often I retrieve some old editions of CAR from the loft to leaf through nostalgically. This picture shows the March 1975 cover of the one I happened to be reading (complete with scoop photo of the Austin Allegro estate) when this month’s edition spookily dropped through the letterbox. Reports of Aston’s death had been clearly exaggerated and I’m sure we’re all glad about that. Ken Taylor
Too fast to live > VIA EMAIL
I regard myself as very, very fortunate to have been the keeper and/or owner of some truly wonderful cars including a Bertone Alfa Romeo GT Junior, a BMW M5, a TVR Griffith (which I’m not proud to admit I wrote off ) and, more recently, a Porsche Boxster 981.
And yet within the last year I’ve started to believe, strongly, that fast driving on the public road is anti-social. In fact, completely unacceptable.
Last summer I sold the Boxster (which I genuinely adored and still miss). I now run a delightfully imageless, aggression-free Seat Leon. Nothing to prove, no disparaging remarks or gestures from other road users, plus the Leon is nicely put together, well equipped, and not such a bad car to drive either.
What has happened to me? Is it just my advancing years? I am 66. Can it be that simple? I don’t think so.
The tide of public opinion has turned against the whole concept of driving for pleasure, especially at high speed. And this has definitely got to me. For all those real enthusiasts, people who are now like I used to be, I fear for the future. Guess we’ll all have to find something else to get unreasonably excited about. Chris Waite
Built-in obsolescence > VIA EMAIL
I think it’s about time for CAR to address one of the main developments in the car industry in the last few years. A lot of car
manufacturers have moved a lot of the functions – both essential and less important functions – from tiny, physical buttons to a digital interface, obviously to follow the market trends but also to save money. Is it really the best and safest solution?
A lot of the reviews only mention the graphical interface and the basic interaction of the display, but fail to really dig into the complete user experience. Which controls should have easy access? Which controls and functions can be on a lower and less accessible level? This is about so much more than whether it looks good – this is about usability and safety and real value. An increasingly large digital display in the dashboard isn’t always the best method of communication between the driver, the car and the world around.
Also, the manufacturers are building proprietary hardware into the cars which might render them useless in a couple of years, just like outdated phones laying around in cupboards. Anders Hanse Boys’ club > VIA EMAIL The CAR Design Power List (February 2018 issue) was as interesting for the omissions as for those who were included. Only one under 45 and no women. Is that really a reflection of the industry? Or is it a reflection that the magazine I have been reading for over 40 years is narrowing its focus just as the world around it seems to be changing?
Maybe you could start with an article on the younger, not exclusively male, designers and influencers out there. More important is to look at how you can encourage content from more diverse sources. Otherwise you run the risk of becoming as relevant as diesels in the not too distant future. Tony Churchill Ugly Astons > VIA EMAIL I’m getting old. How do I know? I can’t fathom the appeal of the new Aston Martin V8 Vantage. When I viewed the official online launch, I posted this comment: ‘This car fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.’ My kids upbraided me (after laughing), calling me an internet troll. Then I read the February issue of CAR and I couldn’t have disagreed more with Ben Pulman on the subject of styling. The nose of the new Vantage combines the snout of a bottom-feeding fish with the headlights of a Mazda MX-5. The interior looks cross, as if the car is furious at you for sitting behind the wheel. If the DB11 is a Savile Row suit, as Mr Reichman avers, then the Vantage is the bloke in the front of the plane, wearing cargo shorts and trainers, clipping his nails as he awaits take-off.
I have a 2007 V8 Vantage in my garage and I am now convinced more than ever that the responsibility for selling it will fall to my heirs. It’s just too damned beautiful to part with. Kevin Whalen Ugly Ferraris > VIA EMAIL Awesome Ferrari at 70 issue (January 2018), except you call the Bertone 308 GT4 ‘ugly’ and show the worst (US spec?) colour scheme I have seen on one. The follow-up Pininfarina 308 GTB and GTS were beautiful but they didn’t have to package 2+2 seats and a mid-mounted V8.
Over the page there’s no comment on the crude styling of the Mondial. It resorts to black detailing to disguise massive rear pillars and cheese graters covering crude side air intakes. In comparison the proportions and elegant ‘glasshouse’ air intakes on the GT4 show just what a good job Bertone did. Which has aged better? For me there is no contest, but maybe I am biased towards the 308 GT4.
I took this photo of one in 1977, when the 308 GT4 was current and I was 11, parked in the driveway of a holiday home near where we were staying. No idea who owned it, this was as close as I got, but since that day the 308 GT4 has been one of my favourite cars. Robin Capper
Up my street > VIA EMAIL
That new VW Up GTI sounds perfect, judging by the First Drive in your March issue. The simplicity, the lack of weight, the focus on driving pleasure, but not to the exclusion of sensible hatchback