McLaren owner awarded damages for ‘deprived enjoyment’ after tractor crash

August 10, 2016

A McLaren driver who was involved in a collision with a tractor just weeks into ownership has successfully claimed compensation for the enjoyment he was deprived of while his supercar was being fixed.

Charles Gow demanded a like-for-like replacement from the tractor driver’s insurers, NFU Mutual, after he was deemed not to be at fault for the crash involving his McLaren MP4-12C.

Although Gow said he was willing to accept a Ferrari, no courtesy car was forthcoming from the insurance company for the weeks his McLaren was off the road.

Despite owning two Aston Martins, a Range Rover and a BMW 5 Series, Gow eventually hired a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG to drive instead of the McLaren.

Gow’s barrister, Guy Vickers of Exchange Chambers, accepted that insurance companies generally only need to provide a replacement car if they can establish a need for a replacement.

However, he said: “In most cases this is a straightforward matter of simply pointing to the fact that the damaged car was the only car the claimant had the use of before the accident… but in [this case] the defendant argued that, because of his other vehicles, Mr Gow could not establish need.”

NFU Mutual refused to pay for the hire of the Mercedes, pointing out that damage to the McLaren was minimal and Gow had use of a number of other cars.

But Gow argued that he should be entitled for a like-for-like car, and his own Aston Martins were older and not as special as the McLaren.

Vickers added: “Mr Gow successfully argued that, in this context, need was to be assessed not in some objective utilitarian sense, but by considering what type of vehicle the claimant had the use of before the accident and whether any of the other cars he already owned could replace that use.

“So although he had other cars, some of them objectively highly desirable, none of them was a supercar like his McLaren and the defendant, having to take his victim as he found him, was obliged to recompense him the cost of hiring an equivalent to his own.”

The judge agreed, concluding that the £190,000 McLaren was a ‘particularly special’ car – and nothing in Gow’s car collection made up for the enjoyment he was deprived of while it was off the road.

As such, he ordered NFU to compensate the McLaren owner for the Mercedes SLS AMG hire car – and even reimburse him for general damages caused by having to use his older Aston Martin for the two months before hiring a car.

Best Bike Awards 2016: the UK’s top motorcycles revealed

Richard Aucock

August 9, 2016

The Auto Trader Best Bike Awards 2016 have been revealed, celebrating the very best in the UK motorcycle market. It’s a sector in great shape, and 2016 has been a classic year for new model launches. Auto Trader has chosen the very best of the best.

British bike market in 2016

Almost 80,000 new motorcycles have been registered in the UK already in 2016, a healthy rise of nearly 6% on 2015. Although sales of entry-level bikes are down, bigger-engined motorcycles are doing well: the 126-650cc category is up an impressive 8.4%.

More motorcycles on Motoring Research

The biggest new bike category is for stripped-back Naked bikes, beating even Scooters and Adventure Sports bikes in the popularity stakes.

Biker boom

There are now 1.25 million motorcycles in use on UK roads, a number that’s been growing over the past few years. There are lots of active riders in Britain and, as bikes become ever-better and boast ever-more-attractive deals, many will be in the market for a new machine.

Here’s the pick of the UK new bike market in 2016.

Best bike for AM licence holders: Peugeot Django 50cc

The 50cc motorcycle 16-year-olds should be riding in 2016 is the retro-look Peugeot Django 50cc. It retains the award it won last year for its combination of cool looks and everyday usability. There’s even a 12-volt charger, so smartphone obsessives can top up their battery on the move.

Best bike for A1 licence holders: Honda CB125F

Riders aged 17 should hot-foot it to the local Honda dealer to pick up a bargain-priced CB125F. Not for nothing is it the UK’s best-selling 125cc machine. It costs from just £2,699, does 151mpg and looks far cooler than you’d ever believe a beginner’s motorbike could.

Best bike for A2 licence holders: Honda CB500F

Riders aged 19 or over can choose a full-size motorcycle that’s restricted to 47hp. Once they pass their full test, this restrictor can be taken off. The best choice here is, again, a Honda; the CB500F is the perfect step-up machine from the CB125F.

Best Scooter: Vespa GTS 300

Who doesn’t want a classic Vespa? Now there’s reason to want a modern Vespa: the GTS 300 has scooped this category three years running and Auto Trader says it’s hard to see anything beating it. It even has heated grips for winter!

Best Commuter: Honda NC750X

Commuter motorcycles should be painless and easy to ride, with a good seating position for excellent visibility. Cue the NC750X, a genuine twist-and-go machine with clutchless transmission and, new for 2016, cooler and edgier looks. Again, it’s a three-time category winner.

Best Naked: Triumph Speed Triple R

The most popular new motorcycle category in Britain right now is the Naked sector. Ooh-err. Aggressive looks, minimalist bodywork and savage power make them real thrillers – none more so than the 138hp race-bred Triumph Speed Triple R.

Best Retro: Triumph Thruxton R

Retro bikes are more classically-styled Naked machines – and Triumph has this sector sewn up too, with the beautiful Thruxton R. It builds upon the established Thruxton range with improved dynamics and engine power. “It’s the retro Triumph you’ve been waiting for,” said Auto Trader editor-in-chief, Jon Quirk.

Best Adventure: Honda Africa Twin

We’ve been waiting a long time for a new Honda Africa Twin, but at last it has arrived – and Auto Trader says the wait has been worth it. It’s one of the best motorcycles to come out of Honda in years, and is “a phenomenal all-rounder… If you want a reason not to buy a BMW GS, this is it”.

Best Tourer: BMW S 1000 XR

Planning on riding across Europe this summer? You need a BMW S 1000 XR. It’s a superbike engine in a sports touring chassis that, says Auto Trader, creates the motorcycle equivalent of a performance SUV. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a BMW X5 M for riders.

Best Sports: Yamaha YZF-F1

The fearsome Yamaha R1 has done it again. A sublime track bike, Auto Trader reckons it’s a bike that wins over both head and heart in an instant. It’s also a race bike for the road that you can thrash all day long without fear – mechanical integrity is second to none. “It’s staggering,” say the editors.

Best Cruiser: Indian Springfield

You may not have heard of the Indian motorcycle company but you’ll certainly have heard of the motorcycle brand it’s beaten to best Cruiser 2016: Harley-Davidson. The Springfield has “the ride quality of an ocean liner and a finish that out-luxes all-comers.” Just for added reassurance, it even has a five-year warranty. Born-again bikers, you need this in your life!

Best Manufacturer 2016: Triumph

Despite building more than 54,000 motorcycles overseen from its Hinckley, Leicestershire HQ, Triumph keeps on innovating, with models such as the Thunderbird, Bonneville and modernised Speed Triple range. It’s a brand that shows the future really is looking bright for the British motorcycle industry, says Auto Trader – which is why it didn’t hesitate to award it the Best Manufacturer 2016 gong.

Best Bike 2016: Honda Africa Twin

The Auto Trader judges were unanimous in picking the new Honda Africa Twin as their Best Bike 2016. They said its ability both on- and off-road is “staggering”, the engine is superb, it’s comfortable to ride and it offers tremendous value for money. An all-round champ that stands clear as Britain’s best in 2016.

Self-driving Tesla Model X rushes owner to hospital

Andrew Brady

August 9, 2016

A driver in the USA suffered a pulmonary embolism while he was driving his Tesla Model X – so he told the car’s autopilot feature to take him to the nearest hospital.

37-year-old Joshua Neally was driving home from his Missouri office in the SUV when he suffered a piercing pain in his stomach and chest.

More car news on Motoring Research
A man has died after his Tesla crashed while on autopilot
Tesla Master Plan: part 2

Instead of calling for an ambulance, Neally, a lawyer, instructed the Tesla to use its Autopilot feature to navigate to a hospital emergency department.

The system is able to control braking, accelerating and steering for sections of motorways, but isn’t capable of driving through towns.

Neally’s Model X reportedly drove 20 miles towards a hospital emergency department, before he managed to take over and park the electric SUV.

Leicester City owners treat players to fleet of BMW i8s

Andrew Brady

August 5, 2016

How do you treat a football team that has defeated all odds to claim the Premier League title? There was talk of Leicester City’s Thai owners buying players an electric Mercedes-Benz B-Class each – but instead, a fleet of 19 brand new BMW i8s has been delivered to the team’s King Power Stadium.

Posting the pictures on Facebook, Leicester City fan page first4LCFC said: “These are the gifts promised to the players following last season’s triumphs. Unbelievable scenes!”

With a list price of £104,540, this line-up of BMW i8s will have cost Leicester bosses nearly £2,000,000 if they were bought outright.

Fans were quick to respond, with Lynne Orridge commenting: “Well deserved I say, they made a lot of people happy with their win – and not just Leicester fans.”

But not everyone thinks treating footballers to a fleet of expensive supercars was the best way of spending the cash.

Cheryl Taylor commented: “[It] is nice the the club spent money on the players. They put the cost of the away coach up from £10 to £18 and the parking at home games up £10.”

The club’s Thai chairman, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, is said to be worth around £1.15 billion.

The BMW i8 combines an electric motor with a 1.5-litre petrol engine. It can hit 62mph in 4.4 seconds and top speed is limited to 155mph.

House prices up 10% by adding a driveway

Motoring Research team

August 4, 2016

Adding a driveway gives a bigger boost to house prices than a new fitted kitchen, adding an extra bedroom or building a conservatory.

And homeowners can make even more if they add a driveway and then rent it out: yourparkingspace.co.uk says annual income of £1,500 could be made from allowing pre-booked cars park on your driveway.

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The online parking marketplace turned to Virgin Money for the estimates: creating a driveway adds £19,000 to the value of the average home in the UK.

Fitting a new kitchen or adding an extra bathroom boosts house prices by £11,500, while building a conservatory will add £9,600 to the price of the average British house.

“Having a parking space close to your home is highly valued by potential property buyers and it’s one of the most profitable home improvements that you can make,” said MD at yourparkingspace.co.uk Harrison Woods.

He says it could be a good way for homeowners to move up the property ladder. “By renting out your parking space, you can generate extra income meaning that if you do decide to move up the property latter, you’ll have even more money to help you out.”

Despite the uncertainty caused by Brexit, the Centre for Economics and Business Research predicts house prices will rise by £40,000 on average over the next five years – and as values go up, so the gap between the second and the third runs of the property ladder widen.

But would you build a driveway and then rent it out to solve this problem?

There could be more electric car chargers than petrol stations by 2020

Motoring Research team

August 3, 2016

The number of electric car charging points in the UK could exceed the amount of petrol stations within the next four years.

That’s according to research from Nissan, which revealed there were just 8,472 fuel stations in the UK at the end of 2015 – compared to 37,539 in 1970.

If that rate of decline continues, there’ll be fewer than 7,870 petrol stations in the UK by 2020.

Public electric car chargers, meanwhile, are multiplying – with 7,900 expected by 2020.

As electric cars increase in popularity, the number of chargers available for the public to use are increasing rapidly – from a few hundred as recently as five years ago, compared to more than 4,100 today.

Nissan’s EV manager, Edward Jones, said: “As electric vehicle sales take off, the charging infrastructure is keeping pace and paving the way for convenient all-electric driving. Combine that with constant improvements in our battery performance and we believe the tipping point for mass EV uptake is upon us.

“As with similar breakthrough technologies, the adoption of electric vehicles should follow an ‘S-curve’ of demand. A gradual uptake from early adopters accelerates to a groundswell of consumers buying electric vehicles just as they would any other powertrain.”

Last month, we reported that EV chargers were about to overtake petrol stations in Scotland – with more than 550 charging points across the country, compared to fewer than 700 independent petrol stations.

Opinion

I’ve spent a couple of months with the Motoring Research long-term Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, and using the charging network has been a real eye-opener.

While using a public charger (often enjoying free parking in a convenient location at the same time) is so much nicer than visiting a petrol station, it’s far from being perfect.

For a start, the Government really needs to step in and regulate public charge points. They’re operated by so many different companies in different areas, actually having the correct card to use is a lottery. I’ve got around this to some extent by using Chargemaster’s Polar Plus card, at a cost of £7.85 a month (after a six-month free trial). But there are still points out there that I can’t use – annoying in a PHEV, potentially day-ruining in a fully-electric car.

The monopoly of motorway service station chargers is owned by Ecotricity. The green energy company has shown its true colours recently by hitting EV drivers with an excessive £6 fee for 30 minutes charging. Moves like that makes running electric cars almost as expensive as petrol cars – take away the incentives, and that ‘tipping point’ Nissan talks about is a long way off.

Andrew Brady

Nissan points out that the electric car charger to petrol station ratio is particularly high in London, where only four conventional fuel stations remain within the congestion charge zone. One of the country’s oldest petrol stations, the Bloomsbury Service Station, opened in 1926 and was closed in 2008.

The joint Government and car industry campaign for alternatively-fuelled vehicles, Go Ultra Low, reports that more than 115 electric cars were registered every day in the first quarter of 2016, equivalent to one every 13 minutes.

It claims electric power could be the dominant form of propulsion for all new cars sold in the UK as early as 2027 – with more than 1.3m electric cars registered each year.

RAC proves potholes ARE getting worse

Andrew Brady

July 30, 2016

If you think Britain’s roads are littered with more potholes these days, RAC breakdown data suggests you may be right: vehicle breakdowns caused by bad roads have risen a whopping 125% between 2006-2016.

The sort of things that are damaged when you hit a pothole – components such as dampers, suspension springs and bent wheels – made up 0.4% of RAC callouts in 2006. By 2016, this had risen to almost 1% of callouts.

“Our analysis… unequivocably confirms what most road users already know, which is that the condition of our local roads has deteriorated drastically in the last decade,” said RAC chief engineer David Bizley.

“This analysis suggests that the quality of the UK’s roads suffered a steady decline from the start of 2007 through to the end of 2009, presumably due to lack of investment in maintenance and resurfacing during worsening economic times.”

Since then, there has not been sufficient funding to fix the backlog.

“Although 0.9% (of call-outs) seems low, the growth in this type of call-out is indisputable. With few exceptions, it’s the vehicle owner who picks up the bill, adding up to millions of pounds each year.”

And motorists are fed up. The RAC Report on Motoring shows the state of Britain’s local roads is their number one gripe and 50% feel the condition of roads in their area has declined over the past year.

One in three thus want the government to prioritise fixing Britain’s roads above everything else and a further half rate extra investment here as a top-5 priority.

Not something that’s going to happen soon though, says the RAC: “The effect of insufficient investment over much of the last decade care going to take some considerable time to rectify,” warns Bizley.

‘How to’ guide for recalibrating ADAS replacement windscreens

Richard Aucock

July 29, 2016

Cars fitted with ADAS Advanced Driver Assistance Systems rely on cameras mounted onto the windscreen – and if you need to replace your screen, you also need to have these safety systems recalibrated or they won’t work correctly, says vehicle safety expert Thatcham.

That’s why it has led a new working group called the ADAS Repair Group, which has just published a new code of practice for those fitting replacement safety windscreens.

More advice on Motoring Research

The guide helps technicians identify the various ADAS systems that may be fitted, show how to remove them from the old screen and fit them to the new one, and offer full guidance on how to recalibrate them.

This, says Thatcham, is a crucial safety measure: as they become more commonplace, customers are becoming increasingly reliant on them – any miscalibration can adversely affect performance and safety.

The guide also includes notes on how to explain this to customers so they have full confidence in a car with a new windscreen. Replacing the windscreen on a car with ADAS? Expect to have all this explained to you by the person doing the job.

Euro NCAP research shows ADAS systems such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB) have helped reduce real-world rear-end collisions by 38%. Currently fitted to 6% of vehicles on the road, ADAS may feature in 40% of cars by 2020.

Hence the need to make sure the safety process for fitting new windscreens is robust; cracked screens are an inevitability and it is vital to ensure ultra-safe modern cars don’t become less safe because their advanced safety systems are compromised…

Tesla Master Plan part 2: solar, sharing, trucks, buses and better autonomy

Motoring Research team

July 21, 2016

Tesla will launch a truck, a bus, a “beautiful” solar roof battery storage product, autonomous vehicles that are 10 times safer than normal cars and an app that will let you share your Tesla with others (and get paid for it).

The plans are detailed in Tesla founder Elon Musk’s second ‘master plan’, which he rolled out overnight to focus the company’s next decade.

More car news on Motoring Research

It’s part of his ambition to accelerate the viability of sustainable energy “so that we can imagine far into the future and life is still good.

“It’s not some silly, hippy thing – it matters for everyone.” Because if we don’t achieve a sustainable energy economy, “we will run out of fossil fuels to burn and civilisation will collapse.”

Musk therefore has four far-reaching goals over and above the volume development of Tesla’s passenger cars (the mainstream Model 3 is still due in 2018).

On sustainability, Musk wants to develop a solar roof product that’s linked in with a battery storage system that will turn everyone into their own utility company. It will be simple to order, simple to install, have a simple utility contract and be linked to a simple smartphone app: a fully integrated energy generation and storage solution.

That is why, says Musk, Tesla has been joined up to one of his other companies, SolarCity.

But Musk also has big plans for Tesla motors.

More Tesla models

Tesla wants to make more vehicles. Musk reckons he has the passenger car segment covered – “a lower cost vehicle than the Model 3 is unlikely to be necessary” – and will broaden the lower end of the range with a better, smarter Tesla bus.

A Tesla bus would be smaller, smarter, comfier and autonomous: it would match acceleration and braking to other vehicles. It would take wheelchairs, strollers and bikes. There would be no centre aisle. It would take people all the way to their destination.

A big Tesla semi-trailer truck, promises Musk, would be cheaper to use, safer and “really fun to operate”. Both will be unveiled in 2017 (they’re under development now, confirmed Musk).

Autonomy

The controversial Tesla Autopilot function is being deployed now despite some arguing it’s not ready and thus not safe. Musk says Tesla is doing it now because “when used correctly, it is already significantly safer than a person driving by themselves.”

Boldly, he claims it would be “morally reprehensible to delay release simply for fear of bad press or some mercantile calculation of legal liability.”

At the moment, Tesla Autopilot is officially in the beta stage. As part of Musk’s master plan, that beta tag will one day be removed – that will be when it is “approximately 10 times safer than the US vehicle average”.

So there you go: Tesla wants to make cars 10 times safer than normal cars, and fully roll them out in the next 10 years.

Sharing

Musk wants to “enable your car to make money for you when you aren’t using it”. This will be dependent on true self-driving being approved by regulators: then, Tesla will let you add your car to a Tesla shared fleet via the smartphone app and have it make money for you.

“Since most cars are only in use by their owner for 5% to 10% of the day, the fundamental economic utility of a true self-driving car is likely to be several times that of a car which is not.”

What’s more, Tesla will also take on cab operators and Uber: where there’s lots of demand for self-driving taxis, “Tesla will operate its own fleet enduring you can always hail a ride from us no matter where you are”.

Musk revealed his new master plan as part of a fascinating blog post on the company’s website (which is now under tesla.com rather than teslamotors.com…). The scope and ambition of it is enormous. Read it in full and let us know what else you think Musk may be planning to do…

Tesla Master Plan part 1

Musk reminded us of his first master plan, devised a decade ago. He said it “wasn’t all that complicated” and consisted of:

Create a low volume car, which would necessarily be expensive
Use that money to develop a medium volume car at a lower price
Use that money to create an affordable, high volume car
Provide solar power

The last point he stressed: “no kidding, this has literally been on our website for 10 years”.

Explaining the first master plan, he said he started off with point 1 because “it was all I could afford to do with what I made from Paypal”. He admitted he thought the chances of success were low, hence starting with his cash rather than someone else’s.

“Starting a car company is idiotic and an electric car company is idiocy squared.”

More weird things car brands also make

Motoring Research team

July 19, 2016

More weird things car brands also make From Christmas baubles to polo saddles, carmakers will do anything to lighten your wallet. Check out our handpicked range of exclusive items you can buy if you want to show the world what fine taste you have. Here are some of the weird and wonderful things can brands also make.

Toyota Energy Observer

A fresh update to this list comes with Toyota’s sponsorship entanglement with the Energy Observer hydrogen research vessel. A curiously amusing means to a noble end. Toyota is known for its endeavours in alternative energies with the Toyboata being the latest.

Lamborghini Tauri 88 Smartphone

At around £4,000, the Lamborghini Tauri 88 smartphone it’s a bit pricey, but it does have a 5-inch HD touchscreen, more memory than most laptops and a 20-megapixel camera. You can choose from four colours, too, but only 1,947 will be made. So you’ll have to act fast.

Bristol Cars merchandise

Carmakers like to cash in on their brand’s heritage by making weird and wacky items designed to appeal to the discerning enthusiast. Take British luxury car manufacturer Bristol, which launched a range of luxury merchandise. You’ll be able to buy branded clothing, scale models and even leather bags and wallets designed by Paul Smith.

Alfa MiTo by Marshall concept car

Carmakers will do anything to breathe new life into a car nearing the end of its product lifecycle – and Alfa Romeo turned the MiTo into a four-wheeled amplifier. It’s called the Alfa MiTo by Marshall concept car and it “draws inspiration from the look and feel of Marshall’s iconic amplifier equipment”, featuring a 50w amp head and two 12-inch 75w speakers in the boot. It’s even powered by its own battery system.

Maserati and La Martina luxury polo saddle

We’re tempted to ask the horse, why the long face? It’s clearly not impressed with the one-off La Martina and Maserati polo saddle on its back. In a statement, the horse, which received only a couple of sugar lumps and a polo mint for its troubles, said, “Happy 100th birthday, Maserati, but I still can’t forgive you for putting a diesel engine in the Ghibli”.

Maserati aluminium dice

Now we don’t know about you, but after a hard day in the office, we like nothing more than getting dressed up and heading to our local multi-storey car park. Whilst some may be tempted to take advantage of the empty car park in their expensive Italian four-door saloon, we like to chuck dice about for a few hours. Maserati aluminium ones, obviously. The fun never stops.

Lamborghini ceramic baubles

These aren’t just Christmas baubles… These are Lamborghini ceramic Christmas baubles, finished in a special orange glaze and available as a set of three. Proof that you can take the bull out of the Lamborghini logo…

Peugeot pepper mill

The Peugeot brand dates back to 1810, when it made its first tool: a saw blade, using high quality laminated steel. The brand also developed a reputation for delivering the very best salt and pepper mills, something it continues to this very day. Peugeot estimates that it has made tens of millions of mills for grinding salt, pepper and coffee, which includes over 900 different variants. Next time you’re in a restaurant, turn the salt and pepper mills upside down to see if they’re Peugeot-branded.

Porsche ice cube tray

It’s impossible not to love this Porsche ice cube tray. We’re tempted to say it’s the coolest piece of car-branded nonsense we’ve ever seen…

Ferrari golf collection

The Ferrari Golf Collection could be the name given to Ian Poulter’s own private collection of Ferrari cars. But no, the Ferrari Golf Collection is a range of official licensed products, from clubs, to footwear and from clothing to accessories. You can even buy a Ferrari-branded driver with improved aerodynamics and a reduced drag coefficient.

Lotus 108 bicycle

The Lotus Type 108 bicycle could never fall into the nonsense category. In fact, the Lotus 108 was a trailblazer – the bike that helped Chris Boardman achieve greatness and lay the foundations for years of British cycling success. And to this day, it’s arguably the best looking bicycle ever created.

Bentley Home Collection

The press release for Bentley’s Home Collection at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile di Milano includes terms such as “rigorous aesthetic sensibility”, “sophisticated velvets”, “pastel nuances” and “exquisite taste”. Which all sounds rather lovely. Yes. It is basically a range of Bentley furniture.

Bugatti hookah

Well if you were going to drop another million pounds on yet another “final edition” Bugatti Veyron, you were probably smoking something. Allegedly. Which may go some way to explaining the $100,000 (£76,000) Bugatti by Desvali luxury shisha pipe. Personally, we’d rather spend the money on a Porsche 911 Carrera and use the leftover cash for a second set of tyres. Smoking!

Porsche bobsleigh

And speaking of Porsche, how about this – a Porsche bobsleigh. Apparently its designed for children. Which can be used as justification for buying one next Christmas.

Jeep strollers

Carmakers will often speak about customer lifetime value. In short, a 20-year-old has the potential to buy more cars in their lifetime than a 70-year-old. But surely the Jeep stroller is taking things too far? What next, Audi-branded four-wheel drive cots? Quick, get the head of product planning on the phone – untapped niche alert.

Peugeot Design Lab piano

If we were to review this Peugeot and Pleyel piano, we’d probably complain about the pedal arrangement, the lack of seat support and the limited amount of boot space. On the plus side, the soundtrack is pretty spectacular.

Audi R18 Ultra Chair

This is the Audi R18 Ultra Chair. For best results at dinner parties, position it really close the person sat next to you and shine a torch into their eyes until they move aside. Works every time.

Bentley aftershave

In fairness to Bentley, we could have picked on any number of car manufacturers for this one, including Ferrari, Lamborghini, Jaguar or even Hummer. The question is, why would you want to smell like a car? Most interiors smell like Magic Tree air fresheners and old socks.

Audi Q3 camping tent

The Audi Q3 Camping Tent has a wind load rating of 43 mph. But even so, we’d recommend dismantling it before you make your way out of the camp site.

Bentley barbers’ chairs for Pankhurst

The Pankhurst men’s grooming store is apparently the finest barbershop in London. Which is why Bentley was keen to supply six barbers’ chairs.

Jaguar Concept Speedboat

The Concept Speedboat was designed to demonstrate the diverse and active lifestyle enjoyed by owners of the Jaguar XF Sportbrake. Check out the fin on the teak decking. It’s offset in a nod to the Jaguar D-Type. Something that will impress your boating chums down at the marina.

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