Women and Wheels
women's motoring & cars & car reviews for women
Ford Focus RS Factory Tour
Feb 6th
See also our Focus RS first drive feature here
Ford are very proud of the Focus RS as a stunningly effective driver’s car, with good reason if the reviews are anything to go by (see our First Drive story here). Anything that gets Steve Sutcliffe from Autocar so animated must be pretty special. But Ford are also proud of the fact that they’ve been able to bring this car to the market at all, let alone with a £25,000 price tag, which is where our factory tour came in.
As if we needed any more reasons to be weary of our old chum The Credit Crunch, producing cars that enhance a brand’s image but don’t actually make any money is something manufacturers can no longer indulge in. Ford had to make sure that this new RS could be produced on the same line, at the same time and in the same factory as every other Focus. They couldn’t take cars off the line for ~any reason, or slow the line down to add extra components. Previous incarnations of the RS had to be whisked off to specialist suppliers for the “fast bits” to be fitted, which made the car expensive and slow to make. ~It was also a process that allowed quality issues to creep in because the process couldn’t be as accurately managed.
I was lucky enough to be asked by Ford to fly to Saarlouis in Germany with Richard Bremner for an article published in Autocar magazine. While doing the stills photography I also made the short video you can see above with the hope of showing what goes on behind the scenes in an ultra-modern car factory. It’s an awe-inspiring experience because of the sheer scale of the operation, although I’m always impressed by how calm and measured everything seems, despite that fact that 1,600 cars a day come out of this building!
Of course we missed the last flight back from Luxemboug and had to hire a rental car to hurtle back to the UK in time for work the next day, but that’s a story for another time…
Vauxhall Meriva
Feb 6th
There’s just something so pleasant and treat-like waiting in an airport with time to kill with nothing to do apart from having a leisurely coffee and eating a whole croissant without accusing eyes coveting your last few bites. The downside of course is that it always seems to involve early morning wakings (not having to deal with the kids is a bonus) and a destination that might at first sight appear rather undesirable.
Frankfurt, I’m reliably informed by my jet-setting husband is rather dull (and I’m sure the Frankfurtians Frankfurters? might say the same about you). But that was not the final destination of the trip – instead we went on to Vauxhall/Opel’s HQ in Russelsheim for the static launch of their versatile and innovative monocab, the Meriva…
Dating a Honda FR-V
Feb 6th
Cars are like relationships. Here’s your choice:
Fast and furious: Thrills that run the risk of breaking down pretty quickly, parts strewn along the road and perhaps a long spell in the garage afterwards. Or dull, dependable partners that don’t provide those heights of excitement but who’ll always get you there in the end. And they’ll keep on doing it year after year. Great.
But then there’s the clever bloke that nobody really appreciates when you first meet him at the party.
Quiet, understated and perhaps not the best-looking guy in the room – all too easy to ignore at first glance. But you get chatting and he turns out to be really quite funny, and that cleverness is very useful. You might leave the party with the handsome tyrant, but when you find out later (thoroughly exhausted) from a friend that your clever, interesting acquaintance has left the country for a job abroad you feel more than a pang of heartache. You wish you’d made more of your time together and make a resolution not to squander missed opportunities…
Vauxhall Corsa Ecoflex
Feb 6th
A change is often good, and certainly exchanging my husband John’s battered old Micra for my parent’s redundant Vauxhall Corsa a year ago was a very welcome one.
It had spent most of its life in the garage, had very low milage, was always spotlessly clean both inside and out and was serviced with alarming regularity. It came at a great time, just when John’s car, which he used every day, came to a standstill.
Now the poor thing has to cope with all weathers, its mileage has doubled within a year, it’s filthy outside and the inside is a health hazard, but worst of all I have to drive it. The cars of today are just such a joy to drive (with the odd exception), whereas this is just awkward by comparison.
Even my mum commented that it must be a shock having to drive it. I protested with rather too much vigour – she saw right through my white lie. I always feel as if I’m driving with my bum inches from the ground and while I’m fighting with gravity and increasing my sessions at the gym I’m only just winning…
Volkswagon Golf GTi
Feb 6th
Not sure what sort of boy could afford such a car (£23,015), but the Golf GTI must be the ultimate ‘boy-racer’. The term has derogatory undertones these days, but I was driving an all-new three-door Mk6 in white with black tartan trim and striking red stitching throughout, finished off with blacked-out rear windows – surely the definitive description of the breed? Very smart though, and all topped off with a leather steering wheel and gear knob. This must be every boy’s dream, especially when you step inside the classy cabin with seats that are so comfortable and supportive, and all the gadgets a lad could want?…