http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/shared/handlers/rsshandler.ashx?N=4294781421+692&Ns=P_Publication_Date|1CAR Online | Blogs | Gavin Green RSS Feed(c) 2013, Bauer Media. All rights reserved.30Every once in a while, BMW hosts an informal chat between Leading British Motoring Writers and a member of its management board. A year or so ago, we parleyed with Ian Robertson, one-time Rover manager, now done good (he’s head...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-why-Rolls-Royce-should-not-build-an-SUV/Tue, 30 Oct 2012 14:46:00 GMTBlogsThis is the second part of Gavin Green's instalment, the History of CAR. Click here for Part 1By 1982, CAR was on a roll. Twenty years old, it had graduated from the pioneering rebel of car magazines into the UK’s...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/The-story-of-CAR-part-2/Sun, 21 Oct 2012 11:48:00 GMTBlogsCAR Magazine will celebrate its 50th anniversary in autumn 2012. Here we look back at the origins of CAR, told by one of the people instrumental in its history, Gavin Green. Click here for an online digital version of this article, which first...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/The-story-of-CAR---part-1/Sat, 20 Oct 2012 13:30:00 GMTBlogsThat glorious British summer – of gold medals and diamond jubilees and Paralympic glory, of Wiggo and Mo and Hoy’s joy – is not over. It has moved to Paris where instead of meaty athletes and brave Paralympians, we find...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/News/Search-Results/Motor-show--events/Paris-Motor-Show/2012/Paris-motor-show-2012-review-by-Gavin-Green/Fri, 28 Sep 2012 01:31:00 GMTBlogsJust back from Tanzania to watch the wildebeest migrate across the Serengeti and one of the highlights – along with the lounging lions, hyenas wandering into our camp, trumpeting elephants and stalking cheetah (not to mention numerous flights in little...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-the-indestructible-charm-of-the-Toyota-Land-Cruiser/Tue, 04 Sep 2012 10:00:00 GMTBlogsAfter more than 100 years of electric car dross, at last there’s a good one. The BMW i3, likely to go on sale late next year, is the first intelligently conceived electric car I have experienced. Rather than just a...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-the-worlds-first-good-electric-car/Thu, 09 Aug 2012 11:24:00 GMTBlogsThe Japanese are about to attack the most difficult market of the lot: supercars. Domination of the small and medium-sized saloon markets, worldwide, has been accomplished. They can also check off the small coupe sector. And the big saloon market,...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Honda-NSX-driven-by-Gavin-Green/Mon, 30 Jul 2012 10:00:00 GMTBlogsThey gather on a gorgeous spring day, the sky a deep Bugatti blue, to pay homage to the 60th anniversary of the greatest sports car maker in the world. Nine cars, six of which represent the best of the breed,...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Greens-Greatest-Ferraris-of-all-time--Car-magazine-June-2007/Wed, 25 Jul 2012 10:00:00 GMTBlogsThere are no 200mph-plus hybrid supercars on sale and then suddenly, like London buses, four come along all at once. The new Ferrari Enzo F150, mega McLaren P12, Porsche 918 Spyder and Jaguar C-X75 will all likely compete in the...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-gets-the-inside-story-on-Jaguars-new-C-X75-supercar/Tue, 24 Jul 2012 18:37:00 GMTBlogs‘A new Metro went by me the other day and, to tell you the truth, I thought it was a Citroen AX. And that upset me, because if I can’t tell them apart then what chance has the average motorist...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-why-all-cars-look-the-same/Thu, 12 Jul 2012 10:00:00 GMTBlogsJust over a decade ago Russell Bulgin and a few close friends had a ‘last lunch’ in a Soho restaurant. Russell knew he was dying. He was frail, his grey skin the texture of tissue. He could barely walk unaided....http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-pays-tribute-to-CAR-columnist-and-writer-Russell-Bulgin-who-died-10-years-ago/Mon, 02 Jul 2012 10:41:00 GMTBlogsIf we exclude the tiny volume luxury car kings, the auto companies probably doing the best cabin designs right now are Audi, Jaguar and Volvo. After a brief drive of the new and impressive Volvo V40 – the best Volvo...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-improving-the-design-of-the-humble-rearview-mirror/Fri, 08 Jun 2012 12:55:00 GMTBlogsOn the 20th birthday of the marvellous McLaren F1 road car – it was launched two decades ago at a Monaco GP party – I am reminded of one of its many virtues. But one that never received the praise...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-decries-the-trend-to-ugly-car-engines/Fri, 01 Jun 2012 10:35:00 GMTBlogsHow depressing that, according to so many motoring pundits, the headline grabbing star of the recent Beijing Auto show was a 600bhp V12 Lamborghini SUV. The new Rambo Lambo is about as in tune with the modern mood as a...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/How-China-will-influence-your-next-car/Fri, 18 May 2012 08:00:00 GMTBlogsIn Beijing, the smog is appalling and the traffic dreadful. Outside, we are ringed by coal-burning power stations, trying to fuel the city’s insatiable appetite for energy. The air is so bad you can taste it and feel it when...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-Beijing-motor-show-2012-blog/Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:26:00 GMTBlogsEvery time I go to a so called 'developing' country I am reminded of the wonderful appeal of old well-used cars. India and Morocco happen to be two of my favourite destinations. One of their appeals is the horde of...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-the-appeal-of-battered-old-cars/Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:32:00 GMTBlogsThis is the tale of two Volkswagens. One risible. One righteous. The new VW Up is a brilliant little car. From its tough yet well-textured cabin, to its composed ride quality, to its tuneful three-cylinder engine, to its outstanding space...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-one-very-good-and-one-very-bad-new-Volkswagen/Tue, 03 Apr 2012 10:00:00 GMTBlogsThe Germans have done a fine job at running the British car industry. Every major British-bred car company – Land Rover, Jaguar, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Mini, Aston Martin – has a German boss. Most of these companies are doing very well,...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-the-Bentley-SUV-and-on-what-makes-a-great-British-luxury-car/Tue, 20 Mar 2012 07:08:00 GMTBlogsThere is surely no surer sign that the good times are back: the stars – or rather, the most talked about cars – of the Geneva show were a new Bentley and a new Ferrari, both 12-cylinder powered. They are...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Greens-review-of-the-Geneva-motor-show/Wed, 07 Mar 2012 17:11:00 GMTBlogsJust back from Spain, where I’ve been driving the new 3-series saloon on those magical winding roads of Andalusia. As expected, it is a terrific car. The new one is a step-on from its predecessor, especially in cabin quality, handling...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-the-fine-new-BMW-3-series/Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:00:00 GMTBlogsThe late great Russell Bulgin – a good friend and a fellow CAR contributor – was once asked what was his favourite car. His reply was: ‘the newest’. Russell was always modern and cutting edge. He did not like retro...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-the-new-and-old-Honda-NSX-/Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:00:00 GMTBlogsA great British design classic is reborn next month. The new Routemaster bus goes into service (from Victoria to Hackney). It looks great, including practical jump-on jump-off rear platform. I can hardly wait to get on board. I loved the...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Britains-dozen-transport-design-icons-by-Gavin-Green-/Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:55:00 GMTBlogsQuick question. What do you know about the Indian motor industry? I asked a couple of friends, car literate but not car nuts, before I set out for Delhi, and both cited the single fact that they still make the...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Greens-review-of-the-2012-Delhi-auto-show/Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:41:00 GMTBlogsBest concept The Alfa 4C. Light, gorgeous, fast, economical. Exactly what Lotus should be doing rather than previewing bloated V8s. Best new supercar The McLaren MP4-12C. May lose out to the Ferrari 458 in seat-of-the-pants excitement but a technological titan....http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Greens-review-of-2011/Fri, 23 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMTBlogsOf all the anticipated new 2012 cars, the one I most want to drive is the slowest, the cheapest and the smallest. I can hardly wait to drive the new Renault Twizy. I’m told it will happen soon, well before...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-the-car-he-most-wants-to-drive-in-2012/Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:41:00 GMTBlogsA (cynical) friend of mine once commented: ‘You can tell when a trend has peaked. It’s when the motor industry cottons on to it.’ A little unfair, I feel. But, as with many generalisations, there is a grain of truth...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-the-trend-for-giant-car-badges/Mon, 14 Nov 2011 09:11:00 GMTBlogsOne of the cheeriest sights at the recent Frankfurt Show was the new-style Formula Ford car, modestly sharing stand space with the latest production Fords and concepts. The new single-seat racer uses the latest 1.6 EcoBoost engine, and Ford hopes...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-the-new-Formula-Ford/Mon, 24 Oct 2011 11:50:00 GMTBlogsI got overtaken by a very beautiful sapphire blue McLaren MP4-12C last Sunday. Near-empty M4, the sun was shining and the McLaren was doing about 90, maybe a touch more, gliding majestically down lane three. That 12C was so far...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-Britains-antiquated-speed-limits/Wed, 05 Oct 2011 11:28:00 GMTBlogsThere are almost as many themes at Frankfurt 2011 as there are square metres of floor space (and this, dear reader, is a very big show. Comparing it with, say, the Geneva Motor Show is like comparing London with Ludlow). ...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Frankfurt-motor-show-2011-review-by-Gavin-Green/Wed, 14 Sep 2011 07:27:00 GMTBlogsFlew to Frankfurt a few weeks ago for the unveiling of the new BMW i electric cars, and very impressed I was too. Although still two years from production, the i3 (we’re told the concept is ‘very close’ to the...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-the-hidden-highlights-of-the-BMW-i3/Wed, 24 Aug 2011 10:30:00 GMTBlogsIt’s good to know that in this age of focus group blandness, of motor industry magnolia, of characterless capability, there are still some compelling ‘crazy’ cars. These are machines born from conviction, not committee. The Subaru Impreza STI and Mitsubishi...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-the-never-ending-appeal-of-crazy-cars/Thu, 04 Aug 2011 10:30:00 GMTBlogsJust returned from a ride in which I took winding French mountain roads at just over 40mph. I can tell you it was way more thrilling than driving a McLaren MP4-12C or a Ferrari 458 at double that speed.  The...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-his-unusual-recipe-for-McLarens-next-maximum-excitement-supercar/Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMTBlogsNever feel sorry for a car company. When they fail, it’s almost always deserved. Take GM and Chrysler. A few years ago they went bankrupt. Yes, the recession floored them and you’ve got to feel sorry for the people who...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-10-good-reasons-why-the-McLaren-12C-is-actually-better-than-a-Ferrari-458/Mon, 04 Jul 2011 11:51:00 GMTBlogsThe new McLaren MP4-12C is brilliant. Quite brilliant. No supercar more skilfully combines speed, agility, thrilling power – the usual supercar staple – and the automotive flip side (comfort, refinement, all-round usability, ease-of-driving). It is a technical tour de force,...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-McLarens-brilliant--but-not-quite-perfect--new-MP4-12C/Wed, 15 Jun 2011 12:45:00 GMTBlogsIt’s always good to encounter an old friend unexpectedly. Last week, on some good driving roads in the North Downs, I saw an immaculate late ’70s Porsche 928. The 928 was new when I arrived in England (in 1980). At...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-remembering-the-curios-Porsche-928/Fri, 20 May 2011 08:04:00 GMTBlogsWell, the frocks have had enough press coverage. (Kate Middleton 1, Pippa Middleton 2, Princess Letizia of Spain 3 and Victoria Beckham last, if you ask Mrs Green.) But what about the other stars of the royal wedding? The cars....http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-rates-the-royal-wedding-cars/Tue, 03 May 2011 10:18:00 GMTBlogsThe average CO2 emissions of cars sold in the UK have been cut by 12.5% over the past three years. So cars are clearly getting cleaner. High fuel prices have clearly paid their part, as have CO2-based car taxation. Yet...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-thinks-car-tax-should-be-based-on-weight/Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:00:00 GMTBlogsIn the red corner, there are the premium makers obsessed by speed and sport. And then, alone in the blue corner – or should it be the green corner? – there is Lexus. The speed-’n’-sport bunch is led by BMW....http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-Lexuss-identity-crisis-in-Europe/Fri, 15 Apr 2011 10:16:00 GMTBlogsThe Lotus stand at the recent 2011 Geneva motor show was good enough, if nowhere near as madly ambitious as the little company’s Paris show extravaganza last autumn. Instead of five brave new sports cars, as seen at Paris, we...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-why-the-Alfa-4C-should-be-a-Lotus/Tue, 22 Mar 2011 09:07:00 GMTBlogsWhat was the theme of the Geneva Show? That’s like asking for a short plot summary of ‘War and Peace’. There was no single ‘theme’. Just a stream of eye-catching new cars, more than 100 of them, varying from meaty...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-blogs-on-the-2011-Geneva-motor-show/Tue, 01 Mar 2011 23:10:00 GMTBlogsLittle surprise that the people behind the world’s most expensive bicycle – £23,400 – are F1 people. Formula One costs are as stratospheric as the technology. In F1, £23K barely buys you a wheel nut. Little wonder, also, that the...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-rides-the-23000-Bf1systems-Factor-001/Fri, 18 Feb 2011 09:10:00 GMTBlogsBrunel! Thou shouldst be living at this hour:England hath need of thee: she is a fenOf stagnant waters: engine, lathe and pen. (With apologies to William Wordsworth.) It’d be easy to write a good blog about bad car advertising. There...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-the-new-Audi-ad/Tue, 15 Feb 2011 15:43:00 GMTBlogsI’m all for the proliferation of supercars. If there were more Ferraris, Porsches, big-money BMWs and mercurial Mercs on our streets, our roads would be far more cheerful and interesting. I also generally find supercar drivers reverentially law-abiding. On the...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/New-high-speed-Lotus-for-West-Midlands-Police/Tue, 18 Jan 2011 09:52:00 GMTBlogsElectric cars will one day rule the roads. But, like a G-Wiz on a long journey, they will take a long time to get there.  Various auto ignoramuses, among them ex-PM Gordon Brown, have hinted that new-generation EVs will proliferate...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-why-new-generation-electric-cars-will-be-the-big-story-of-2011/Tue, 28 Dec 2010 07:00:00 GMTBlogsThe industrial revolution didn’t end with the Victorians. It now moves faster than ever, not least in cars. 2010 probably saw more visionary production and concept cars than any year, ever. Gavin Green picks the top 10 cars of the...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Greens-top-10-cars-and-events-of-2010/Mon, 06 Dec 2010 09:25:00 GMTBlogsOver the past few months, there have been calls, from various worthy organisations, to reduce the drink drive limit, the speed limit and to crack down on drug-addicted drivers, all in the good name of improving road safety. The ideas...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-better-drivers-equals-safer-roads/Tue, 23 Nov 2010 12:24:00 GMTBlogsMy favourite type of car is a small car. Small cars require the greatest amount of creative nous. Just as a Rolls-Royce is the easiest new car to engineer because it has the fewest compromises (although that didn’t stop Maybach...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-the-small-car-trend-sweeping-Europe/Thu, 04 Nov 2010 09:09:00 GMTBlogsIn ‘The Mouse That Roared’, Leonard Wibberley’s book turned into a film starring Peter Sellers, the tiny European Duchy of Grand Fenwick declares war on the United States. A similar mismatch, you might think, has just been perpetrated by little...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-why-Lotuss-plans-are-a-supercar-or-two-too-far--but-you-have-to-give-them-credit-for-trying/Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:55:00 GMTBlogsThe Germans ‘invented’ the petrol car, the Americans popularized it and the Japanese transformed it from quirky transport tool into consumer appliance. But when it comes to big-step advances, the French are without equal. From the ‘Systeme Panhard’ architecture –...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Greens-Paris-motor-show-2010-report/Tue, 05 Oct 2010 08:31:00 GMTBlogsDid you go to the Goodwood Revival? If not, you really should have. That Fifties and Sixties festival and nostalgia-fest – when you really can pretend that characterful Morris Minors are everyday transport not dull little hatches, that Britain’s motor...http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Gavin-Green-Blog/Gavin-Green-on-why-the-Goodwood-Revival-may-well-be-the-Greatest-Show-on-Earth/Wed, 22 Sep 2010 11:44:00 GMTBlogs