Article- The 100,000 mile question when buying a car!!!!!

Recently I changed jobs and with it I lost my company car, now I’ve had one for about 9 years and over that time I’ve never had to worry myself about the perils of buying a secondhand one. But when I got back on the horse, so to speak, one thing I noticed was a shift in my previous misgivings or doctrine about buying a car. And this revolved around mileage and what constitutes “high mileage”.

Article: The future of the car club in the Facebook age

Things are changing in car club circles and has been for several years, membership numbers are generally down, forum traffic is slowing and new uptake is faltering. Now this is not just for some of the bigger more well established clubs but across the board. The question is why? And the answer is simple, Facebook.

The Dawn of the Hypercar

Really it should read “The Demise of the Supercar” because that’s exactly whats happened over the last 10 or so years. I grew up in the 80’s which meant the poster of the white Lamborghini Countach on my wall or maybe the Ferrari F40, it was the golden time of the Supercar. It was an arms race to build the fastest car, with the main prize for breaking the 200mph marker.

Article- When did comfort become the norm when buying a car!!!!

Okay I’m guilty I do love some of the modern gadgets and comforts of my new company car, the DAB radio that tells you the band and track name of the song playing, steering wheel controls, 60mpg and integrated satnav, but when did all that comfort and convenience become more important than the driving?

Article: Rise of the Retro Car Scene

There’s no denying or ignoring the rise of the Retro Car scene over the last 5 years or so. A new generation of “classic car owners” have looked back to the cars they saw growing up in the 80’s and now want some of that style back. Not only that but cars that were ridiculed back in the day, an embarrassment to be seen in, are now held in high esteem, we’re talking Lada Riva’s, Skoda Rapide’s, Fiat 124’s and even the Reliant Robin.

The Petrol Stop 4 years old

Well we’re 4 today and it’s been another busy year with over 110 articles on cars, bikes, shows and events over the last 12 months and add to that the FREE 2013 Events and Shows magazine.

So plans for the next year, continue to feature vehicles that are strange, odd, rare and unusual, as well as another magazine and hopefully some more interviews. For all the latest posts please  “like” our Facebook page and welcome to all the new people over on there have joined in the last year as well as those on Google+.

I’m always looking for feedback or vehicles to feature, so if you know of one or drive one then get in touch, [email protected]

Thanks again for taking the time to view the website its much appreciated and if you think others will like what’s on here please share a link.

Heath

Article: What defines a Retro Car?

The age old question that’s been knocking around the internet for years now and one I get asked regularly as an admin on RetrobeutesFacbook Page.  Is the age of a car?  Or in the case of say the 2CV the date it was first produced? Does it a have a defined cut off of 1989?

Happy New Year

It’s been a great year on The Petrol Stop, lots of car shows from small club national meets right up to the massive Lancaster Classic Car at the NEC, lots of cars highlighted and at the end of the year a Free Magazine produced. Next year will be more of the same with more interviews, more strange vehicles and more free magazines (just click on the icon top right) and don’t forget if you know of a car that should be on here or you have an unusual car then get in touch.

Happy New Year to you all.

Heath

The Petrol Stop Magazine

Well following the preview a few weeks ago I am happy to announce that the first Petrol Stop magazine is now available and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I had creating it-

 

Please let me have some feedback either on here/facebook/twitter or Google+, and don’t forget to share it.

Heath

Startrax Oval Racing, Belle Vue, Manchester

I’ve been to watch racing a number of times, usually British Touring Car, but until this August I had never been to see anything more grassroots, to be honest I had no excuse as Belle Vue speedway is only about 7 miles from my house in Manchester. So on a sunny and warm summers evening I headed over for my first night of stock car racing and I was excited to see what it was all about.

Footman James Manchester Classic Car Show Pictures

You may have seen the write up of this show from a few weeks ago-

Manchester Classic Car Show

The pictures can now be seen on the Footman James Manchester Classic Car Facebook page as well-

Footman James Manchester Classic Car Facebook

Stiff Speed Tumbler

Posting on this site means I go looking for website that verge on the odd in terms of cars, however once in a while you come across a site that just blows you away. That’s what happened with Stiff Speed. I was originally looking for pictures of retro cars for another forum that I help administer Retrobeutes, but as I scrolled down I just got intoxicated with it. The fact most of the pictures are scanned in “real” photos with their time honoured fading. They show car scenes such as hot rodding and drag racing with a mixture of choppers thrown in for good measure, through various decades with what was the cutting edge styling and modifying of the time which today just seems nostalgic.

A bit of Americana in Manchester

Back in April I headed over to Event City near the Trafford Centre in Manchester to go to the Passion for Power car show, a show I highly recommend, but on the Sunday it was also the monthly American Auto Club NW meet at the local Krispy Kreme. Located some 300yds away from the main show so within walking distance meant this meet had a massive turn out. With cars from the 50’s to the now, pickups, Jeeps, a big rig, hot rods and even a rockabilly model walking round for pictures as meets go this was a doosey!!!!

The Nurburgring Part 3: Taxi, second lap and home

 

An early start was needed on the Sunday, it was a open session on the track and due to it being my Birthday I had been bought a truly memorable experience by a few of my friends who were with me and my otherhalf who was not, a seat in one the BMW M5 Ring Taxi's. So after a nosey around the filling car park we met our driver and climbed into this 570bhp rear wheel drive monster.

The Nurburgring Part 2: Taking it all in

Saturday was a closed session on the track for the RCN Circuit Challenge and not wanting to miss the action we headed back to the viewing area at Brunnchen which unlike on Friday was much busier for this touring car series. We set up for some track side action with loads of locals, some of which had arrived for the day  looking at the BBQ's and beer!! We were not disappointed as a whole mix of cars drove by, from your basic Ring fare of BMW 3 series and 911's both new and old, too VW Golf's both MK1, 2's and 3's, VW Polo's, Vauxhall Nova's, Citroen AX's, Porsche 924/944/928's, Honda Civic, MGB GT's and even a Renault Alpine.

The Nurburgring Trip Part 1: Getting there and round!!!!

Nordschleife, Nurburgring, The Ring, The Green Hell…… it goes by many names and to drive on its fabled tarmac is a necessary draw by all petrolheads who hold this "racetrack" in the highest regards and respect. In reality it’s just a German toll road, which like many others has no speed limit, but this toll road just happens to follow the same route, albeit tweaked here and there over the years, as the original Formula 1 track. So you can take your car on the same tarmac as the legends such as Jackie Stewert, Graham Hill and Jim Clark drove in anger.

Donington Park Grand Prix Collection

First off, I’m a big Formula 1 fan so it wasn’t going to be long before I headed over to Donington Park to visit the largest collection of F1 cars in the world. After all I’d driven past it enough times going to the racing and events (Restoration Show). So with a day booked off I made the 200 mile round trip to indulge!!!

Now a little history, Donington Park race circuit has F1 credential with it being used previously, most recently in 1993, for the European Grand Prix. It was even touted very recently with construction work started to replace Silverstone as the permanent home for F1 on these shores, though it all fell through in the end. So it’s easy to say that this is one of the best circuits in the British and a deserving home for the collection.

We're 3 years old today :)

We’re 3 years old, over the last year I think you’ll agree we’ve covered a variety of cars, vans, trucks and everything in between, totalling up another 138,000 hits on the year before. We’ve even started doing interviews (Gilbern T11 Prototype / Segrave Jensen Interceptor), which I hope will continue into the future, so if you have something unusual and you want it featuring then please get in touch via Facebook or Twitter.

Thanks to all those who have joined the Facebook and more recently the Twitter pages, if you haven’t the links are top right, usually once a week I delve into the archive as well as linking to new articles on the site so it’s the best way to keep up to date.

Plans for the next year are more car shows, more museums, and a trip to Nurburgring, lots of more unusual vehicles and interviews.

Remember if you like what you see, then pass the links on and share us.

Thanks

Heath (eefy)

Fuel Magazine: Review

I’ve known about this magazine for a few years, with it showing up in RetroCars Magazine (UK) and on Speedhunters.com, but it wasn’t until last week with the awesome news that it was now being stocked in the UK at selective newsagents. From the list there was a local WH Smiths on it and I dispatched the otherhalf to pick me up a copy (she works in the same shopping centre).

With anticipation I got the text "got your magazine", I then had to wait will 10pm that night before she was home. When I finally got a copy in my hand it turned out it was a double issue (07,11), I just hoped that it lived up to the expectations I had put on it.

What’s a sports car?

I know I’m opening up a can of worms with this one, but here’s my take on what is a sports car. Some would quote power figures and 0-60 times, don’t get me wrong there great but for me not the most important thing. For me it’s the feeling of driving, the feedback from the car a sense of fulfilment you have when after a “spirited” drive you park up with that sly smile on your face, tap the dashboard and say “well done” maybe even out loud.