Bicester Heritage has submitted plans for a 344-room hotel on the former RAF Bicester site as part of a vision to create the “world’s leading automotive resort”.

The hotel will use materials inspired by existing pre-war RAF buildings and will include a four-storey atrium to showcase rotating automotive-themed exhibitions and displays. Situated next to the track, the hotel will provide unrivalled views of the events and rallies held on the 420-acre site.

Other amenities will include a restaurant, bar, courtyard, gym, swimming pool and sauna.

Dan Geoghegan, managing director of Bicester Heritage, said “We very much look forward to welcoming enthusiasts to our motoring hotel, from which they will be able to experience a range of automotive destinations on a single site, from the existing centre of excellence for historic motorcars to private track, exhibition hangars, OEM brand centre and future technology.”

The hotel is designed by British designer and car enthusiast Dexter Moren, who said: “Hospitality specialist architects and interior designers, Dexter Moren Associates, are thrilled to have been selected to design a landmark hotel within a former RAF base, forming part of the Bicester Heritage master plan vision focusing on motorcars and aeroplanes.

“The design objective has been to respond in a contemporary manner to the site’s rich and unique story, drawing inspiration from its historic position at the forefront of aviation, engineering, and innovation while complementing the existing period buildings.”

Motor lodges

Future plans include the building of so-called ‘motor lodges’, allowing individuals to stay within the ‘resort’ with their car and adjacent to the circuit. It will complete the transformation from a derelict site into a thriving business community.

Today, Bicester Heritage is home to 35 businesses with a collective turnover of over £20 million and is the UK’s only hub for historic motoring excellence. 

Details of the planning application can be found on the Cherwell District Council website.

Fans of Apple’s MacBook computer are expected to dig deep for the ‘MAC 800K’ registration at the current DVLA auction.

The registration is one of 500 being offered at the latest Timed Auction, with reserves ranging from £250 to £2,500. If you fancy showing the world how much you like your laptop, ‘MAC 800K’ comes pre-loaded with a £250 reserve.

Anybody keen on Apple products needs to bid on @DVLAAUCTION for the number plate
MAC 800K. Starts 10am #MacBook

— Mark Pearson 🧢 (@mark_lloyd1) August 6, 2018

It puts us in mind of the registration on show at the Haynes Motor Museum, with a 1987 Bentley Continental Convertible displaying CAR 800K – or CAR BOOK – a reference to the publishing business famous for producing the Haynes Manual.

If Apple products aren’t your thing, and you fancy something with a little R&B flavour, how about ‘WH17 NEY’, which is offered with a £400 reserve. You have One Moment in Time to place a bid – the 10-day sale commenced on Monday and will reach a conclusion on Wednesday 15 August.

Pinball wizards might prefer ‘TO11 MMY’, with other name-based plates including ‘CA11 THY’, ‘MA17 HEW’, and ‘PA11 ULS’.

For registrations with a touch of automotive flavour, how about ’25 FER’ or ‘MC18 REN’?

Alternatively, if you think personalised plates are a bit ‘RUB 115H’, you can tell the world courtesy of a registration with a £250 reserve.

Jody Davies, DVLA Personalised Registrations’ senior sales manager, said: “We only planned to hold four Timed Auctions this year. However, with the ever-growing demand from our customers and the incredible array of registrations available has enabled us to add a fifth into our calendar.”

‘700 O’ leads the way

At lunchtime on Tuesday 7 August, ‘700 O’ led the way in the online auction, with a price of £6,510 – some £4,000 more than its reserve. If you’ve had enough of Porsche 911 fever, maybe ‘911 BS’ will float your boat – current price a bullish £6,010.

Registrations without a bid include ‘900 BJ’, ‘1967 BC’, ’59 DES’, ‘3000 GL’ and ‘HAC 3T’.

As for ‘MAC 800K’ – that has risen to just £780. Still, it’s cheaper than a new MacBook Pro…

With mainland Europe still gripped by a seemingly never-ending heatwave, certain areas of France have enacted anti-pollution restrictions against traffic.

The Crit’air vignette system was introduced to allow local authorities to restrict traffic to all but the cleanest of cars when air pollution spikes. With some 31 environmental zones across France, almost all major towns and cities are included.

This week Paris, Strasbourg, and Lyon have used the Crit’air restrictions to ban the most polluting of cars from town centres. High levels of ozone have been cited as the cause, with things worsened by the continuing hot weather.

Paris has already used the Crit’air restrictions 12 times since the beginning of July. The French capital is encouraging car sharing, and launched special public transport offers to cut down on car usage.

Car drivers using the low emissions zones must display a vignette, or risk a fine of €68 (£61) if caught without one. Fines can also be levied for ignoring emergency pollution restrictions.

A small price to pay

Given how little the vignettes cost, it may be wise to spend the €3.11 (£2.70) plus postage if you are planning on heading to any of the areas with low emissions zones in place.

The levels of vignette sticker correspond to the emissions level of the particular car, with those more than 21 years old unable to apply for the vignette – effectively banning them from all controlled areas.

The EU has a useful specific website, including a route planner, letting drivers see if they will pass through an emissions zone on their journey across all of Europe.

Vignette stickers can be bought from the official French environment ministry website. Beware of unofficial websites reported to be charging substantially more for the same service. Orders should be processed within 24 hours, with tracked delivery taking around 10 days.

Motorbike riders and commercial vehicle drivers are also covered by the rules, with HGVs liable for bigger fines of up to €135 (£120) for non-compliance.

A partnership between Volkswagen and navigation app Waze is set to offer roads ideally suited to get the most from GTI-badged models.

The ‘Superdrives’ campaign aims to match fun routes with GTI owners, with the tarmac choices specially selected. Volunteer Waze map editors have spent time sorting roads based on a number of criteria and ranking them in order.

Routes have been selected based upon proximity to points of interest, number of engaging corners, the volume of traffic, and even whether any incidents have been reported. Those picked are meant to fit the Volkswagen GTI ethos of driving enjoyment.

While driving, roads optimised for the GTI experience appear on the Waze app once a driver is within 12 miles of them. A special emblem will be shown, letting the driver set the navigation system to head for the ‘Superdrive’ highway.

Both Volkswagen and Waze are keen to stress that the selected routes should not encourage speeding or reckless driving. Thankfully the app doesn’t record fastest times, meaning there should be no competition between the two million Waze users.

You’ll need to be quick to find them though, as the GTI Superdrives campaign is only set to last throughout the summer months.

Although all of the 75 specially curated routes should offer fun, Waze has selected 10 which meet all the GTI criteria. So whether you drive an Up, Polo, or Golf GTI the following roads should prove to be enjoyable.

Top 10 GTI roads according to Waze

1. B3135 from Cheddar to Ashwick
2. A940-A939-A944-A97 (from Forres to Alford)
3. from A701 Moffat to A700 Edinburgh
4. A4069
5. A82
6. A308, B3021, B3026, Old Windsor – Dorney
7. Alcester to Wilmcote
8. Draycote Water to Warwick
9. Hard Knot Pass: Skelwith Bridge to Gosforth
10. A675 Bolton to Blackburn

If you think getting your car serviced at your local dealership is a struggle at times, spare a thought for those living on the Torres Strait Islands.

Located between the northern tip of Queensland, Australia, and the mainland of Papua New Guinea, the Torres Strait Islands are not the most accessible of places. So when your nearest Nissan garage is over 155 miles (250 km) away, things become complicated when it comes to important recall work. Forget the Flying Doctor, airborne mechanics are what you need.

The Takata airbag recall has affected millions of cars across the globe, and been attributed to numerous deaths and serious injuries. It also resulted in the Takata Corporation declaring bankruptcy due to the level of compensation and costs from the recall.

Design flaws in the propellant system used to rapidly inflate the airbag is the cause of problem. In accidents the airbag can deploy too quickly, showering drivers with lethal shards of metal and plastic.  

Since 2013, numerous manufacturers have undertaken exercises to replace the defective airbags. But this year, the Australian Federal Government mandated a nationwide recall for all cars affected, requiring some 2.7 million cars to be repaired by the end of 2020.

Hot and humid conditions make the unstable airbags even more prone to explosion, meaning northern areas of Australia are particularly at risk.

The Australian authorities also insisted that those in remote areas should not be disadvantaged by the recall process. This resulted in Nissan Australia’s drastic action to ensure even customers in locations like the Torres Strait Islands were treated fairly. 

Two Nissan-approved mechanics spent the day island hopping around the northernmost tip of Australian territory. Nissan vehicles used by the local police force were top of the list to get the vital recall work.

Although an impressive display of customer service, don’t expect your local dealership to be flying in mechanics next time your Qashqai needs an oil change.

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Tesla has surprised investors and analysts with its latest quarterly set of results, sending shares up more than 10 percent in after-hours trading.

But Elon Musk’s electric car company still lost a record-breaking amount of cash, with losses of $717 million more than doubling compared to the same quarter in 2017.

Tesla burned through $430 million of its cash reserves – but because this was less than investors expected, the results were seen positively, which is why shares rose so sharply.

The firm still has $2.2 billion of cash in reserve, easing concerns that it might run out of money.

CEO Musk, pictured above with Canadian musician girlfriend Grimes called the results “really kind of a mind-blowing leap forward” in a call to analysts – particularly as the firm met its goal of producing 5,000 Model 3 cars “multiple” times last month. The new goal is to make more than 50,000 of them in the next quarter.

Model 3 now outsells all other premium mid-sized sedans in the US…..combined pic.twitter.com/FhjKUGK58N

— Tesla (@Tesla) August 1, 2018

Musk also said Tesla aims to make a profit in the second half of the year, for the first time in its 15-year history. “Our goal is to be profitable and cash flow positive for every quarter going forward.”

Overall, Tesla delivered 18,000 Model 3 in the previous quarter, and a total of more than 40,000 cars overall, once Model S and Model X are factored in.

Musk also apologised for his erratic performance on the firm’s previous quarterly investor call, and for controversial comments about the rescuer of boys trapped in a cave in Thailand.

Related Tesla car news: 

• Tesla UK Superchargers reach 50-location landmark
• New Tesla Model S Shooting Brake unveiled in London
• Tesla one-make EV racing series announces dates