Andy665

I would not see a problem with a Corrado as a daily. Couple of years without a Corrado now but can draw some comparison with one of the other cars in the household. 1998 E36 328i, 124k on the clock and its used as a daily by the OH. Feels more solid than my 6 month old Mondeo

If you buy the right car then there should be no issue

Most critical stamp in an M3's service book is the oil change at 1500 miles.

Driven a few E46 M3's - immensely capable car but ultimately dull - at safe speeds on the public road they not stretched so ultimately quite boring to drive - anyone can drive an M3 quickly on the road - wheres the challenge in that

had a good friend who bought a new E46 M3 - sold after six months and bought a Civic Type R, said it was more fun as you had to actually drive it rather than just point it

It has got a heated rear screen though - wow

Audi has not really lost the plot price wise - merely taking advantage of lots of idiots prepared to pay stupid money for a merely well designed car with slick marketing - if you were in business and able to sell everything you made would you not also push the prices up

I know a reasonable amount about them.

Designed by Alfa Romeo and built by Zagato - most people believe Zagato designed it but they had nothing to do with the styling

Based on a shortened 75 floorpan, rear 5 speed transaxle, 3 litre 12 valve engine (basically the same spec as the South Africa only Giugario GTV V6) produced 210bhp

Often referred to as Il Mostro (the monster) or its internal title ES30

Build quality was chronically poor, topped out at about 145mph but was a fabulously well balanced car

Just over 1000 produced all in LHD between 1989 and 1991, only official colour was red with tan leather

About 250 RZ roadsters were also produced between 1992 and 1994, in either black, red or yellow although I believe a couple were made in silver and white

The SZ was approx £50 when new, nice examples are now around the £25k

One of my all time favourite cars and close to the top of my "must own one day" list

All sorted, discovered a small split in the insulation of the wiring to the coil pack plug, obviously creating a short - re-wrapped and running better than its ever done

Alfa forums are like morgues so thought I'd try here in the hope that someone might be able to suggest something.

The Alfa has acquired a misfire - it runs individual coil packs (£90 a throw).

Changed MAF, plugs and crank sensor (all were on the "to do" list anyway) and still there

Acquired a used but tested set of coil packs and changed them over - misfire still there but have isolated the problem area to be cylinder number 3. Every time a perfect coil pack is put there and car is started the coil pack cracks - I honestly have not got a clue what the problem is / may be

Any ideas / suggestions gratefully received?

Eunos is the name used for the MX-5 in the Japanese domestic market, easy to spot one as the rear number plate recess is square whereas EU spec cars are rectangular

For the time he spent on your car that is seriously cheap

All three cars washed and interior cleaned every week without fail, the BM and Alfas wheels come off every fortnight so arches and rear of wheels can be cleaned. Every wash involves all door, bonnet and boot shuts, underside of doors etc - if done regularly it only adds a couple of minutes to a normal wash as they never get truly dirty. Tailpipes and silencers of BM and Alfa polished every week and nderside of both are snow foamed and jetwashed weekly.

Always dried using drying towels, windows cleaned monthly (at worst), all cars fully clayed, machine polished, polished, waxed / sealed twice per year

Sad maybe but I find it relaxing - immediate resultys for your efforts and whilst doing that I'm not thinking about the crap of everyday life

Good show, terrible organisation in terms of car parking and entry. Standard of the cars was not up to previous years but there was more diversity and less of everyone following the same trend. Great to have Corozin visiting us (great curry was consumed) and Noah got to travel in a Corrado again - he did upset a few owners in the car park who were getting out of a questionable Golf and he told them that they had a chav Golf - not bad going for a 3 1/2 year old

First VW show for over a year for me this weekend - this time I'll be attending as a non VW owner as well - looking forward to it - been to every Ultimate Dubs and its a good season opener

Yes it does - whilst it uses the same floorpan as the Mk4 Golf the slightly longer front overhangs provide fractionally more space

Was lucky enough to get out and drive the above yesterday.

Uses the Carrera 4S body but retains rear wheel drive only, the 402bhp engine thats a £8k+ option on the S etc etc

Car I drove was a PDK version and have to admit to being seriously impressed with the smoothness of the changes, you often only knew it had changed gear by the display telling you it had, thank goodness Porsche have relented and provided paddles though, much better to use than the buttons fitted previously.

Managed to have a play with the Launch Control - hit Sport Plus and LC buttons, foot on the brake and when you're ready release - absolute perfect launch (even on gravel).

Definitely an onion type of car - you can drive it quickly and safely but to really get the best out of it would require you to strip away the layers, each one revealing new characteristics and abilities - not a car you'd get bored of quickly

The 911 might not have the glamour of other cars in that sector of the marketplace but I walked thinking that its exactly where I'd sink my £90k if I had it to spend on a single car

Has anyone ever stopped and wondered how hard the person in the other car was trying or how capable that person is behind the wheel. Just because you can keep up with someone is not the same as having a car that is relatively close in performance terms.

Apologies - I meant the Mk5 Fiesta - was launched in 2002

Fiesta Mk6 was the biggest I have ever had any involvement in - 14,000 + attendees over six weeks in Marbella - think it was and still is Ford Europes most expensive launch event - $27 million budget

Uprate the suspension - the standard is far too soft and wallowly - fitted ours with Bilstein coilovers and totally transformed it

I found it poor that last year Autocar allowed Ferrari to send a team to their Best Drivers Car test to fettle / optimise the 458. The standard car they tested was slower round the track than the GT3, Ferrari then insisted that they time the lap again with their own car and hey presto - significantly quicker - what amazed me was that Autocar allowed the time for the fettled car to stand

One thing that will disappoint you is the interior quality. Nothing wrong with how its built but the quality of the plastics is truly dire - nice car to drive though, if not particularly refined

boost monkey - its what I do for a living. Work for companies on writing / delivering product training for new vehicles, work on launches etc etc, not all like the LFA but it gives me access to cars well in advance of them being launched.

Starting work on another Lexus product in June that won't be launched until 2012 - Lexus easily the best company I work for - open doors policy for me with regard to access to vehicles

Dr Forinor - its definitely a car for a true mechanical enthusiast and not someone who wants a "badge" - I have been lucky enough to drive a lot of top end cars but the LFA took the intensity of the driving experience to a whole new level

Was fortunate enough to drive a new Lexus LFA today at the test track at the Toyota Training Centre in Brussels.

What an awesome car, 560bhp at 8.700rpm, revs from idle to 9,000rpm in 0.6 of a second, 202mph top end, single clutch semi-automatic gearbox with changes variable from pretty smooth to a real slam in the back.

The attention to detail on the thing is incredible - total carbon fibre body, the V10 engine is made by Yamaha, rear transaxle, 390mm carbon ceramic brakes.

The engine spec is awesome - 4.8 litre 72 degree V10, individual throttle bodies, dry sumped, separate ECU's for each cylinder bank, titanium valves and connecting rods, forged aluminium pistons, solid rocker arms

And the noise - never heard anything thats road legal sound as close as a F1 car - way more shrill and intense than a V8 Vantage, Maserati GranTurismo, Alfa 8C or 458 Italia

Fascinating seeing one of the early pre-production cars being stripped down, the block can be picked up easily with one hand - the size of the built up engine is probably no bigger than a VR

48/52 front / rear weight distribution made it quite eerie to drive. Engineers made sure that the 50:50 weight distribution point and Centre of Gravity is at the hip point so when you turn into a corner it feels like its steering from exactly where you are sitting

Best thing is I get to drive it again next Monday

Indeed. the majority of vehicles sold in Brazil run on ethanol produced mainly from sugar cane

Had aftermarket Xenons on four cars now and always thought them a good upgrade. All the units I have upgraded though were lights with projector lamps rather than the C's standard lights. I have heard (though not seen for myself) that there may be issues with the light output being channeled through the Corrado's etched headlight lenses

Exciting from the point of view of an unlimited supply of fuel - not exciting at all from a cost perspective.

One or both of these things will happen:

1. Technology will be acquired by an oil company and shelved until such time as it suits them to use it

2. Government will slap duty on the fuel that will ensure its no cheaper than conventional petrol - in fact it will be more expensive due to its "environmental credentials"