Auto Trader Blog

What are your favourite car films?

Dom Sacco — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:13:50 +0000

Honda has asked the nation what its favourite ‘real world’ car films are – and they want you to star in the next one. What are your favourite car films? Honda’s top ten “ultimate road movies of all time” 1. Thelma & Louise 2. Easy Rider 3. Little Miss Sunshine 4. Road Trip 5. Motorcycle Diaries 6. Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas 7. [...]

Find a key and win £1,000 a day

Dom Sacco — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:30:59 +0000

One of the Auto Trader robots has lost his car keys and is rewarding helpers with the chance to win £1,000 per day*. Five new keys can be found daily on autotrader.co.uk’s used car search results until February 14. To enter, just search for used cars using Auto Trader’s search facility while following the clues below. Five [...]

What car should Schuey drive?

vijaypattni — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:19:55 +0000

Picture the scenario – you’re a Mercedes-Benz PR person. Your company has just built a menacing 571bhp Gullwing-door supercar. Then, a few months down the line, you re-enter Formula One and sign one of the world’s most famous – and successful drivers. What to do? Simples – re-edit your original supercar advert with a handy bit of Photoshop [...]

Caption competition

Dom Sacco — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:35:45 +0000

OK you know the deal by now – here’s today’s caption competition. Post your captions in the comments box below. Humorous responses encouraged.

Special-edition Mito for Maserati

Dom Sacco — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:29:51 +0000

Maserati has teamed up with Alfa Romeo to create 100 special-edition Mitos. The limited run will be dispatched to Maserati dealers across Europe to be used as courtesy cars. The special-edition supermini is powered by a 170bhp 1.4-litre MultiAir turbo engine. Each car features, 18-inch alloys, a rear spoiler, Pelle Frau leather interior, a special plaque on [...]

Lexus LFA sold out?

andrewgoodwin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:12:06 +0000

Despite its incredible £336k price tag, Lexus claims demand for its LFA supercar already outstrips supply. According to an official press release, “formal expressions of interest in purchase” (not official sales) already outnumber the 500 LFA’s planned for production. It’s possible to order an LFA up until the end of the Geneva Motor Show, which takes place [...]

The UK’s speed camera hotspots

Dom Sacco — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:01:25 +0000

New research has revealed the top three areas for speeding convictions. Do you live near a speed camera hotpot? Here’s the full list: 1. East Dunbartonshire, Scotland 2. Swindon 3. Sheffield Over half of all speeding convictions in East Dunbartonshire belong to male drivers aged between 17 and 21. What’s more interesting is the fact that Swindon Borough Council switched off [...]

Wrong number

Dom Sacco — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:50:52 +0000

Ever since the first registration number was issued in the UK way back in 1904, car owners have paid daft sums of money to secure something tasty, to make their car stand out from the crowd. While an expensive car doesn’t look quite right without a posh plate, when you’re driving a 15-year old Cavalier, spending [...]

When footballers modify

vijaypattni — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:15:04 +0000

Footballers are a strange bunch aren’t they? Let’s be honest, for most blokes it’s the dream job – getting paid to keep fit by kicking a ball around for 90-plus minutes watched by thousands and adored by more. But maybe it’s all the additional oxygen these boys are getting which leads them to make…strange automotive decisions. Take Stephen [...]

Underwater caption competition

Dom Sacco — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:27:46 +0000

We’ve had some weird and wonderful caption competitions here at Auto Trader – even some photos of cars on water – but none under water. Until now. This is the Rinspeed sQuba – a car which can drive across land and sea, James Bond-style. And now we want your caption ideas for the photo above. Just post [...]

Turbo or non-turbo, that’s the question

andrewgoodwin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:20:46 +0000

Engineers are being pulled in two directions. Customers expect new models to be more powerful, but burn less fuel than the cars which went before. So, it’s hardly surprising the latest vehicles are more often than not turbocharged. It’s the cheapest and most effective way of making a petrol engine more efficient. Forced induction is even the direction [...]

Cheap and cheerful

Dom Sacco — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:56:46 +0000

Kia is about to launch its new supermini, the Venga, in the UK. Having just driven it, I can confirm that while it isn’t class leading, it is thoroughly competent both dynamically and in terms of build quality. This is the latest in a line of supposed budget brands producing a highly competent car – but [...]

Send us your pothole pictures

Dom Sacco — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:38:16 +0000

After a cold snap, roads can be left full of potholes, which can damage your car. We want to see just how bad these can be – so send in your pictures of potholes great and small. Send photographs to us using the Auto Trader drop.io. If you want to claim for damage from your local council, you’ll [...]

Audi’s ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ victory

Dom Sacco — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:58:19 +0000

Audi has been granted full control of its ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ slogan, following a seven-year legal battle. In a landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice, Audi has won the right to extend the slogan’s trademark protection to include clothes and games. Initial attempts to register the slogan as a trademark were rebuffed on the grounds [...]

What kind of supercar do YOU want to see?

vijaypattni — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:19:27 +0000

We love rendered supercars. They look fantastic, have impossible performance figures and rekindle the childhood glee of drawing rocket-powered cars with machine guns on the side. With crayons of course. When you get older, crayons turn into Photoshop and machine guns morph into mega mph, and this is even better. Who needs violence and rockets when [...]

Jenson Button and the Frome Flyover

Dom Sacco — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:32:49 +0000

John Lennon and George Best have their airports, Rocky has his set of steps and George Foreman has his grilling machine. Mercedes even dedicated a supercar in honour of Sir Stirling Moss. But you know you’ve hit the big time when your home town names a flyover in your honour. 2009 Formula One Champion Jenson Button is [...]

Auto Trader’s caption competition

vijaypattni — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:15:56 +0000

Picture the scenario – you’re out on a nice afternoon drive in your Renault Laguna when suddenly… Someone chops off the roof and drives it straight into the ocean. They might get far, but the bucket doesn’t really inspire confidence does it? Think of a caption – and post below!

Clarkson branded ’scruffiest presenter’

Dom Sacco — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:57:57 +0000

Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson has been voted the UK’s worst-dressed TV presenter, with co-star Captain Slow (aka James May) in second place. But perhaps the casual look is just a part of being a motoring presenter. What do you think? Richard Hammond followed suit in fifth place, with other badly dressed presenters including Noel Edmonds and Adrian [...]

Audi R8 Spyder – why is it brown?

Dom Sacco — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:06:48 +0000

We love the Audi R8 here at Auto Trader – especially the gorgeous new drop-top Spyder. But we can’t help noticing the ‘interesting’ colour on the Audi R8 Spyder. Why would they make it brown? Is it to make the R8 appeal to an older crowd or give it an upmarket feel? It certainly does the R8 no [...]

Fiat 500 goes pink

Dom Sacco — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:59:07 +0000

“It’s the limited edition Fiat 500 that customers have been asking for ever since the popular city car was launched in 2008 – the 500 Pink has arrived.” Yes, that’s right, Fiat says a limited run of 500 pink Fiat 500s have been built. And the nail varnish-esque beauties have already been named as 2010’s “must-have” [...]