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Don't believe the hybe

Took my daughter to the library to indulge her interest in Roald Dahl - something to be encouraged, yes? I flipped through the latest Car magazine. Delighted to see the new Fiat 500 took home the Car of the Year gong, whipping the likes of Porsche and Rolls Royce. Other than the new Ford Mondeo the judges didn't feel the any of the others shifted the paradigm. It's not enough to be good or even great anymore.

Interested also to note that the 'greenest' vehicle manufacturer in the European market is………drumroll…Fiat once again, whipping out Toyota (sixth, from memory). Even with the hype over their hybrids it wasn't enough. Fiats cumulatively emit fewer carbon emissions.

Footnote. The series of double page spreads in the front pages of Car magazine are abysmal. It used to be that a spread was something special and to do it for a car brand was the ultimate (in my book anyway). I think my favourite of all time, if only because I can remember it after all these years - for the BMW 635csi. Headline: The average man has 2.5 kids and no BMW 635csi. Perhaps I was partisan - it was my car of the day. I also remember a poster in the London tube showing an Audi Quattro parked stylishly between a pair of temple burners. The Headline simply said 'Kneel Here'. Perfect. Car ads seem a little confused these days. Thank goodness for the editorial.

Comments

  1. Stanley Johnson12:21 pm

    How exciting to see the press give the thumbs up to the reborn 500.

    My wife had a new Beatle up until quite recently, and it wasn't a patch on the one my Dad had when I was growing up.

    The new Mini however seems a logical progression from the original. I'm hoping the 500 follows suit.

    Many years ago I went out with an Italian girl who drove an old Bambino. She had to open the sunroof because I was too tall for the car. Happy days!

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