'Too many old farts think Jaguar is the National Trust of car makers'
'Too many old farts think Jaguar is the National Trust of car makers'
There’s a stale attitude pervading the internet forums, and revitalised Jaguar is the victim. Porter takes aim at the naysayers.
'It’s the battle of risk versus reward that’s catnip for car nuts like us'
'It’s the battle of risk versus reward that’s catnip for car nuts like us'
When the alarm bells (and suspension failure warnings) are ringing, should you still buy that well-used dream car? Meaden did.
'For the modern urban crawl, the relaxing, untaxing Nissan Leaf is perfectly fit for purpose'
'For the modern urban crawl, the relaxing, untaxing Nissan Leaf is perfectly fit for purpose'
Admire a car that’s fit for purpose? Then if you do most of your driving in an urban environment, Porter reckons you need a Nissan Leaf
‘Ring records once meant something, now I feel completely immune to their impact’
‘Ring records once meant something, now I feel completely immune to their impact’
Nürburgring lap records have become mighty but meaningless, says Meaden, who reckons we can bring back the awe of the olden days
'So if the supercar is the necessary glamourpuss of machinery, what’s at the opposite end?'
'So if the supercar is the necessary glamourpuss of machinery, what’s at the opposite end?'
If supercars sit at the top of the automotive tree, what are their absolute polar opposites? Porter thinks he’s nailed it
'The roads are a treasure trove of memorable turns if you’re on the lookout'
'The roads are a treasure trove of memorable turns if you’re on the lookout'
We’ve all got our favourite corners. Meaden wants to hear yours in the hope that it could become part of something rather special
'The Aston Martin Rapide AMR is a completely preposterous car. And I want one very much indeed.'
'The Aston Martin Rapide AMR is a completely preposterous car. And I want one very much indeed.'
Take dignity, and discard. Then add smugness and blend with no logic whatsoever. Yes, it’s Porter’s recipe for a truly silly car
'The critical ingredient isn’t the car or the driver. The road brings the magic'
'The critical ingredient isn’t the car or the driver. The road brings the magic'
Car, driver, road: they’re all important, but which holds most sway when it comes to a rewarding drive?
'As a cosmetic add-on, carbonfibre is ugly, unpleasant, and incredibly vulgar'
'As a cosmetic add-on, carbonfibre is ugly, unpleasant, and incredibly vulgar'
Richard Porter has his say on carbonfibre as an aesthetic addition to the car.
'The notion of dropping an unlikely motor into an equally unlikely recipient is almost as old as the car itself'
'The notion of dropping an unlikely motor into an equally unlikely recipient is almost as old as the car itself'
Some of the most deranged automotive one-offs are the result of engine swaps. Meaden identifies his favourites.
‘Maybe it’s a sign of the times. In all likelihood, we’ll look back on the 2010s as the era of grey’
‘Maybe it’s a sign of the times. In all likelihood, we’ll look back on the 2010s as the era of grey’
The choice of paint colours car makers currently offer is unspeakably dull. Porter reckons he knows why
‘What would you commission as your one-off supercar?’
‘What would you commission as your one-off supercar?’
Money no object. Three words, endless possibilities for the imaginative petrolhead. Meaden gets the ball rolling with his own fantasy car
'So riddle me this: why am I not interested in the new 911 GT2 RS?'
'So riddle me this: why am I not interested in the new 911 GT2 RS?'
“A stiffened, steroid-injected 911 just isn’t fulfilling its main role in the automotive animal kingdom”
'You don't need to take a far-flung vacation to acquaint your car with a great road'
'You don't need to take a far-flung vacation to acquaint your car with a great road'
"Just get up early, drink coffee, grab the keys and drive" says Dickie Meaden
'Well, I mean, winning is so un-British isn't it?'
'Well, I mean, winning is so un-British isn't it?'
"There are things we Brits do very well, but getting behind our sportspeople is not one of them" says Porter
"Who asked for autonomous cars?"
"Who asked for autonomous cars?"
Engineers and scitentists are falling over themselves to create the autonomous car, but who actually wants one?
"Cars are often nicer if you don’t try to be such a hero about it."
"Cars are often nicer if you don’t try to be such a hero about it."
Richard Porter rallies against the misplaced machismo of performance cars and urges us not to be a hero.
'It takes a special kind of person to take the plunge with a bold car colour scheme'
'It takes a special kind of person to take the plunge with a bold car colour scheme'
So you think the motorsport-inspired livery on your car is cool? It might be, says Meaden, as he plays arbiter of automotive taste
"Give it ten years, never mind 20, and DIY gearchanging will seem like a lost art"
"Give it ten years, never mind 20, and DIY gearchanging will seem like a lost art"
Porter suggests that the mass proliferation of automatic gearboxes doesn’t mean our left legs should become redundant
"It's a shame that our relationship with the performance car industry has become that of junkies and pushers"
"It's a shame that our relationship with the performance car industry has become that of junkies and pushers"
The so-called 'power wars' that manufacturers have engaged in are no longer relevant, amusing or helpful.
"The V6 is the engine world's constant disappointment"
"The V6 is the engine world's constant disappointment"
The worst engine layout ever to grace an engine bay? Porter has a convincing argument for a perhaps unexpected choice
"Dukes of Hazzard probably played as important a part in influencing my future as any maths or English lesson"
"Dukes of Hazzard probably played as important a part in influencing my future as any maths or English lesson"
Car makers are missing out on the incredible power of the silver screen and should try harder to engage with car culture, says Meaden
"The Portuguese are good at overtaking, people in Britain see it as lethal and objectionable"
"The Portuguese are good at overtaking, people in Britain see it as lethal and objectionable"
Porter ponders on the miserable - not to mention dangerous - inclinations of many people we share our roads with
"Conventionally-engined cars may be on borrowed time, but they've borrowed a good 20 years worth"
"Conventionally-engined cars may be on borrowed time, but they've borrowed a good 20 years worth"
The headlines may promise an all-electric future, but read more deeply and actual Government policy is thin on the ground, says Steve Walker
"If you really want to get to know a car, you have to take the time to run a sponge over it"
"If you really want to get to know a car, you have to take the time to run a sponge over it"
It's easy to get sentimental about cars, but to romanticise washing them? No problem for Meaden (who hasn't held a sponge in years)
"The glassfibre cladding has disappeared, but the test mule keeps the intrigue alive"
"The glassfibre cladding has disappeared, but the test mule keeps the intrigue alive"
Manufacturers used to exhibit extraordinary creativity in disguising their prototypes. Porter laments the loss of these pantomime cars
"I'm reluctantly wondering whether I've actually become a power-sliding parody of myself"
"I'm reluctantly wondering whether I've actually become a power-sliding parody of myself"
The cornering shot used to be a source of education and inspiration, but its currency has been devalued in recent times, reckons Meaden
"Scrapyards are full of shiny things that appear to have years of life left in them"
"Scrapyards are full of shiny things that appear to have years of life left in them"
Rusting bodywork is largely a thing of the past, but it’s unlikely car makers will address other failing components, reckons Porter
"The car industry is slowly but surely engineering me out of the process of driving"
"The car industry is slowly but surely engineering me out of the process of driving"
Engineers and scientists are falling over themselves to create the autonomous car, but who actually wants one, asks Meaden
"Cars are often nicer if you don't try to be such a hero about it"
"Cars are often nicer if you don't try to be such a hero about it"
Didn't go for air-con? You'll only notice when you're sweating rivers, says Porter, who doesn't buy into all this options-list machismo
"We're conditioned to want the next big thing, whatever that may be"
"We're conditioned to want the next big thing, whatever that may be"
Afraid of change, overly sentimental or just uninspired by modern machinery? You may well be a Hoarder, says Meaden
"The A1 is consistently confusing and confusingly inconsistent"
"The A1 is consistently confusing and confusingly inconsistent"
It may not be the quickest route, but its ability to surprise, entertain and even disgust makes the A1 the natural choice, says Porter
"It's long been the case that brutally unsocial hours are the best for driving"
"It's long been the case that brutally unsocial hours are the best for driving"
You don’t need to take a far-flung vacation to acquaint your car with a great road. Just get up early, grab the keys and drive
"Engine swaps embrace the spirit of anything-goes engineering to incredible effect"
"Engine swaps embrace the spirit of anything-goes engineering to incredible effect"
Some of the most deranged automotive one-offs are the result of engine swaps. Meaden identifies his favourites
"Time will tell whether these electric hypercars are hollow, fatuous publicity stunts"
"Time will tell whether these electric hypercars are hollow, fatuous publicity stunts"
Not only is the way in which hypercars are built rapidly changing, but so is their raison d'etre. Meaden thinks he's identified a new trend.
Ask Goodwin - What’s the oddest car that you’ve ever owned?
Ask Goodwin - What’s the oddest car that you’ve ever owned?
It was never going to be conventional, but Goodwin has surpassed himself with this revelation.