Andrew Britain presents this episode of 4 Wheels Good. Peter Baker reports from Jersey and looks into the new Electric Toyota and Mike Rutherford chats to Sterling Moss about safety in Formula 1.
Later in the show, Peter Baker looks at concept cars from the Arizona Desert, Ginny Buckley gets some advanced Driving Lessons while Ian Royale visits a Tudor Castle and test drives the executive cars on the market. Finally our very own John Wright will show us how to purge the engines in new cars!
Don't forget to subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell so you never miss a video!
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© Men and Motors - One Media iP 2023
Later in the show, Peter Baker looks at concept cars from the Arizona Desert, Ginny Buckley gets some advanced Driving Lessons while Ian Royale visits a Tudor Castle and test drives the executive cars on the market. Finally our very own John Wright will show us how to purge the engines in new cars!
Don't forget to subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell so you never miss a video!
------------------
Enjoyed this video? Don't forget to LIKE and SHARE the video and get involved with our community by leaving a COMMENT below the video!
Check out what else our channel has to offer and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to Men & Motors for more classic car and motorbike content! Why not? It is free after all!
Our website: http://menandmotors.com/
---- Social Media ----
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/menandmotors/
Instagram: @menandmotorstv
Twitter: @menandmotorstv
If you have any questions, e-mail us at talk@menandmotors.com
© Men and Motors - One Media iP 2023
Category
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MotorTranscript
00:00 [Music]
00:26 Oh hello again, how you doing? A very special greeting to our new viewers across Sweden,
00:31 Norway and Denmark who can now enjoy all Meadow Motors programmes on their own dedicated
00:36 satellite transponder. Well wherever you live there's another pack programme tonight,
00:41 we'll all gawp at some stunning American concepts, enjoy the latest Audi executive saloon,
00:47 see how a purge machine can help your car's efficiency and Stirling Moss will be talking
00:51 about Formula One safety. By the way next week we have the first of two special programmes direct
00:57 from the huge automotive show in Frankfurt. There'll be loads of new cars to look at,
01:02 the all-new Volkswagen Golf, Vauxhall's new Mini MPV, the Zafira and Mercedes' new off-roader
01:09 made in Alabama, the M-Class. But first this week, yet another electric car experiment,
01:16 but one which seems to have been a resounding success because of the chosen location.
01:21 Peter Baker flew to the Channel Islands to drive a Toyota RAV4 with a difference.
01:26 Jersey in the Channel Islands, it may be only nine miles by five miles across, but the summer
01:32 sees Jersey packed with tourists enjoying the hot sun and the annual battle of flowers parades.
01:38 But for the people living here as well as looking after the tourists, this is mainly an agricultural
01:43 island and that means Jersey potatoes, tomatoes and milk products and whatever. Now this is not
01:49 to say that the average Jersey man or woman gets off on the latest agricultural equipment,
01:54 they want to have fun as well. Islanders in Jersey are pretty well off and you see an awful lot of
02:02 sports utility vehicles and fun four by fours to take them to the beach or whatever they want to
02:07 do in their leisure time. Things like the X90 from Suzuki or the Honda CR-V or the RAV4 from Toyota.
02:14 I've hired one of these for the day from a hotel, but this ain't a normal RAV4, this is all electric.
02:21 This electric RAV4 is one of a mini fleet provided by Toyota to hotels around Jersey to test out the
02:29 concept of electric vehicles over a five-year period. It's a rather unusual beast to get to
02:34 terms with at first. When you turn it on all the lights come on, you see a full charger,
02:40 it's a little orange light that pops off. You've got part reverse neutral drive, you've got B
02:46 which is braking and also an electric button here, comes up here, EB, that's extra brake.
02:52 When you're going downhill you put it into B, it slows you down, it's like a lower gear and it
02:58 recharges the battery as well. I think primarily to start with it's got a 40 mile an hour speed
03:03 limit so it's a very safe driving environment so therefore you're not going to have people
03:07 perhaps who drive petrol cars who then go on to electrics and speed and it is an extremely safe
03:13 vehicle. I think the beauty of it is it's a very quiet car but the problem with that is we had
03:17 actually two guests who waited in the car park for 20 minutes for the engine to start up, they
03:21 couldn't hear the engine and therefore we had to help them out and advise them that actually there
03:25 was no noise, it's a super car, it's very quiet. That's quite disconcerting initially but you get
03:30 used to it, put the stereo on I think is the answer to that. I think it's a very practical car,
03:34 this particular model is not too large so it parks well, there's no difficulty in recharging
03:39 it, there are places on Jersey, four points on Jersey we can recharge, 120 mile duration,
03:44 that's excellent for Jersey. I mean most of our customers do more than about four or five miles
03:48 a day, myself included, so that would work very well for me. So it's got a good future I believe
03:53 on Jersey. Certainly this Channel Island seems to be an ideal location to run electric vehicles.
04:00 After an overnight charge it'll run for more than the average day of touring,
04:03 there are no motorways to run out of juice on and the maximum speed on the island is 40 miles an
04:08 hour, so well chosen Toyota. It wasn't so much us choosing Jersey, it was really more like Jersey
04:14 choosing us as Toyota. They are very keen on electric vehicles in Jersey, they've had a lot
04:20 of history of trialling vehicles there and just trying out different manufacturers products.
04:25 Really the RAV4 EV was chosen because it's the latest thing and also because we like Jersey
04:30 because it's only 45 square miles across. It's a speed limit of 40 miles an hour so it's ideal
04:36 for an electric vehicle. The electric RAV4 is packed with nickel hydride batteries which give
04:41 a 200 kilometre range and a top speed of 125 kilometres an hour, but an electric motor and
04:47 power aren't the only changes. Obviously the vehicle has a one speed transaxle so there
04:53 aren't gears as such, you literally put your foot down and the vehicle accelerates away.
04:58 The good thing about an electric motor is it has a lot of torque, a constant amount of torque at
05:02 low revs so it actually picks up extremely well. You put your foot down and you literally whizz
05:06 away very quickly and very quietly obviously, no noise apart from a little bit of tyre rumble.
05:11 The experiment is a joint venture between Toyota and Jersey Electric.
05:16 Well I think that we see an opportunity here in Jersey which has all the elements that are most
05:22 challenging for electric vehicle technology. We see the opportunity here to show that it is
05:29 an economic, it is a viable form of transport and if we are taking the lead in certainly in Europe,
05:37 if not the world, we feel that's our role. Now we're supported by several other major players
05:43 in this initiative so we're confident that we can bring to the party something really important.
05:49 Now getting behind the wheel of an electric car is very strange, you're taken off and there is no
05:53 engine noise. Now the last electric car we drove was in Wolfsburg in Germany, it was the electric
05:58 version of the Golf. Now there the quietness of the engine doesn't really freak you out because
06:03 the Golf isn't a noisy car anyway. Now the Toyota RAV4 are a kind of vehicle like this,
06:08 you expect to have a kind of lively sound from the engine and it just isn't there. You've got
06:13 the torque and the acceleration isn't bad but the feedback that you get from the vehicle when
06:18 driving it, the experience is totally different than one that you would have with a normal petrol
06:23 or diesel car. It's not just the noise, it's the vibration, it's the feel from the steering wheel,
06:28 it's almost like free wheeling. Here we are at the junction, anyone coming? Nope, push the foot down,
06:33 the foot's on the floor, we just do not hear anything, it's really bizarre. You obviously get
06:37 the tyre noise and a bit of the wind noise but that's it and so it's a completely different kind
06:43 of feedback response to learn. It's like learning to drive all over again. Once you get orientated,
06:50 these electric RAV4s drive as well as the ones we know and love. The ride quality, great, handling
06:56 amazing, you can almost thrash it round the corners with the grip of a saloon which is
07:00 remarkable for a car with such a high centre of gravity. But why did Toyota choose the RAV4 for
07:05 their electric car experiment? We took the vehicle and we used that as the base vehicle for our
07:10 electric car because it's such an unusual car in itself. The RAV itself was an extremely unusual
07:16 vehicle when it came out, it looks like an off-roader, drives like a car so it was a natural
07:21 progression really to put the electric drivetrain in that vehicle. Well if you're eager to be the
07:26 first on your block with an electric RAV4, I'm sure you won't be that eager to find out that
07:30 if this were for sale in the UK it would be around £50,000. So with that sort of price tag, what
07:36 really is the practicable future of electric vehicles? A lot of people feel that it's so nice
07:43 to come to Jersey, come to Laurels on, have something different. There is a novelty factor
07:47 but also if you're taking kids out it's the kids eventually who will be buying electric
07:51 cars for the future. This was our first stage so these are nickel metal hydride batteries which
07:55 are very advanced in themselves in the RAV4 EV but the next stage is probably the fuel cell vehicle
08:00 which is another stage of hybrid vehicle, electric vehicle rather and then we have a full hybrid
08:05 vehicle as well which was unveiled only a matter of weeks ago in Japan. So while we wait for a
08:10 practical electric future are we really living in a present which is only an extension of the old
08:15 electric milk float? Take a look at this. That was Scandinavia where they have electric car rallies.
08:31 I don't think even Ernie the milkman would be seen driving one of those. Peter Baker there in Jersey
08:36 with the electric RAV4. I'm sure there's a gag there somewhere about Jersey milk and electric
08:41 milk floats but I can't think of one quick enough. Seriously I worry about the pedestrians with the
08:47 advent of these electric vehicles. They're so quiet you can't hear them coming. No doubt the
08:52 boffins are working on built-in combustion engine noise as we speak. Well it's time to return to
08:58 Stirling Moss at his Mayfair apartment. This week Mike Rutherford asks about Formula One safety.
09:04 Well safety is the flavour of the month or probably the flavour of the decade. It used to be said that
09:09 you couldn't sell safety. I think Volvo have put that one to rest because you can very much sell
09:15 safety these days. What about safety in Formula One though? Who better to comment on that subject
09:20 than our old friend Stirling Moss. Stirling, how safe is Formula One? Is it too safe?
09:28 I think the modern car is fantastic. There's no two ways about it. I think it is too safe. I think
09:32 the problem with safety is you get a contempt of danger and this goes for you, me or anybody.
09:37 And I think in racing you don't want to have a contempt of danger. I mean we have a situation
09:42 where we've had two world champions, two of the finest drivers ever in the world,
09:46 actually drive the other one off the road at 170, 180 miles an hour. Now that is appalling.
09:52 You're thinking of the Senna incident in Japan? Yes, of course. Yes. I mean it's terrible. They
09:57 would do it and they wouldn't do it if they were frightened of their own necks. And that I mean is
10:04 to me is an indictment. I mean in the old days, and I don't want to go back to the old days because
10:08 obviously we need to change, but one was scared. I mean I was scared. I can tell you that it was
10:13 three or four years before I spun, not because I was that great, but because I was frightened if I
10:17 spun I'd hit the side and turn over and I might hurt myself seriously. And I think that one needs
10:22 to reserve a certain amount of fear because it is an important quality. I think the control of your
10:29 fear and the ability to be able to drive faster than another man without frightening yourself,
10:35 in other words you manage to get your limit up here, higher than he does, is what makes one man
10:40 better than another. And if danger comes into it where if you're a naughty boy you're not just
10:45 going to spin off, you're going to damn well be hurt, that sure makes you think about it. I'll
10:49 tell you it's the same as gambling. If you gamble for just chips it's nothing, or matchsticks, but
10:55 you put down even a penny, even if you can afford it, it still then means something. I want to beat
10:59 you more just to get your 6p. Yeah. So it's important. Are you saying then that if we see
11:05 somebody doing a very quick lap, say in qualifying where you know one lap is the be all and end all
11:13 really, and let's not forget of course that's where tragically Roland Ratzenberger lost his
11:18 life, not in a race but qualifying. Very dangerous. Yeah. Maybe there are some that are taking the
11:24 view that hang on a minute I need that extra second, I'm really going to push my luck, but
11:29 I know if I fly off and I hit that tyre wall, I'm in a carbon fibre car, Kevlar car, probably the
11:38 safest car in the world, and there's very little chance really of hurting myself. I'm going to get
11:43 a rocket from the manager because my god they've got to work all night, the poor mechanics and so
11:46 on, but I think really that is about the point. I think that is a shame and I think it's an
11:53 indictment of our sport. It is also bad that when a corner is really difficult, as some of them
11:59 were, I mean the Grande Curve at Monza for instance, really difficult, you go in there boy,
12:02 and you're really thinking about it, they go and put a chicane in. So they emasculate the circuit
12:08 like that. And I think this is a great shame. I think motor racing has to have an element of
12:13 danger to stop people like you, if you like, from saying well god I'd like to get and have a go in
12:17 the car. You wouldn't want to get in the car if you thought Christ this is really dangerous. And I
12:22 mean racing drivers have to be a bit different to the other people to get in these cars and drive.
12:28 And you know a lot of people will take the view that Michael Schumacher on his 20 million bucks
12:34 a year or whatever he's on, he's being paid to... Much more than that actually. Much more actually
12:38 thinking about it. I think that's his expenses isn't it? Yes. That's the allowance for the wife.
12:45 But I think a lot of people... I must tell you, excuse me interrupting you, but one thing I'd
12:51 like to tell people about Michael Schumacher, which I think is very important, it may even
12:54 impress you. A little dog came into his pits, I think in Brazil, and one of the mechanics kicked
13:00 it out of the way, you know that, I don't know if you know this, and his wife went up to this guy
13:06 and clocked him, you know, she really banged him. And they got this dog and it was a poor stray,
13:11 nothing, a Heinz Verati, you know, 57. And she took the thing under her wing, obviously with
13:15 his agreement, and they brought the thing back and it's now his dog. And they looked after it.
13:21 And to me that really, I think is fantastic. It was in Brazil or somewhere wasn't it? It was in
13:27 Brazil. And you know, to have love for an animal like that, I think is wonderful. Yeah, it shows
13:33 the other side of the man. It does. Also shows how easy it is to bring rabies into the country.
13:37 He didn't bring his dog here, did he? No, but I mean, in my limited dealings with him, I've got
13:46 to say, people say he's arrogant, but I find the bloke is all right. He's not over friendly,
13:52 he hasn't got a clue who I am. You know, I mean, he talks to me, he's not quite sure who he's
13:56 talking to, he doesn't look me in the eye. But yeah, he gives me the time of day. And yes,
14:01 he's arrogant. And yes, I've seen him treat people in a not terribly pleasant manner. But for God's
14:07 sake, when you can't even walk down the street, or go to a restaurant, or have five minutes peace
14:12 on your own, is it any wonder that it makes you arrogant? And anyway, if he is arrogant,
14:17 I think if there is anyone in Formula One, who can afford to be arrogant, or deserves to be
14:21 and deserves to be arrogant, there is only one. And that's him. You know, I mean, he is the best.
14:26 He's not particularly, he doesn't see me and come up high style, you know, this, that and the other.
14:29 I wish he would. But I can, I can understand what he you know, what he's about, frankly,
14:35 I think the man is terrific as a driver. He is highly paid, okay, if people pay him, that's not
14:41 his fault. I would not expect him or you or me to say, listen, you're giving me twice what I'm worth.
14:46 Of course you're not. If he can get that, that's what that's what he's worth. His worth is what
14:50 he can get. He I mean, he hasn't got a gun to anybody's head. And if Mr. Agnelli says it's
14:55 worth this much out of my pocket, then good luck to the guy. Agnelli being the boss of Fieggs,
14:58 who are the team ultimately, and he's got a lot of bread, employing. But, but, but I, but we were
15:04 talking about the safety of this thing. I haven't had a chance to speak to Michael about what he
15:09 feels about safety, but I wouldn't mind betting you that he would agree because I think if cars
15:14 were far more difficult, he is still the man who would master it. And I think I don't think I've
15:20 seen him do any foolhardy things, maybe, but I can't think of one. Maybe people have seen this
15:24 and will write it and say, what about this, that and the other. But overall, he does not come out
15:28 to me as being a foolhardy person. Sterling Moss and Mike Rutherford there. After the break,
15:33 we'll escape to the States to look over some gleaming concepts and Ginny Buckley will get
15:38 some advanced driving tuition. Hello again and welcome back. A concept car is a very useful
15:49 means to test out materials and parts configurations as well as obviously wacky designs.
15:55 Chrysler in the States have got a stable of concepts in their car park at the moment.
16:00 And when we found out their car park was the Arizona desert, we jumped on the next plane
16:04 to give them a once over. We were there at the Detroit Motor Show when Chrysler wheeled these
16:10 beautiful dream concept cars in front of our bulging eyes. We were allowed to look and touch,
16:16 but we weren't allowed to drive. Not till now. Until now, concept cars have been developed as
16:23 designers models or engineering test cars that may not even have an engine in. But for the first time,
16:29 Chrysler is going for more hands on approach in an attempt to prove that concept cars can be
16:34 practical. They've been brave enough to invite motoring journalists from around the world
16:39 to get behind the steering wheel and give the cars a spin. Well, I think the reason for having the
16:44 European press in is to give them a sense of what Chrysler Corporation is all about today in terms
16:50 of the excitement that's going on in product development. And that's going to have a halo
16:54 effect on all of our other products, of course, many of which are being shipped into into Europe,
17:00 into the European market. Echoing the glamour of the 30s and 40s, the Chrysler Phaeton is a huge,
17:08 luxurious four door convertible with a length of about 5.5 metres. It's powered by a 5.4 litre V12
17:16 engine. In contrast, the copperhead two seater sports car is much sleeker, combining classic
17:29 design with modern technology. And how about this for a concept, the Pronto, a five door hatchback
17:41 with a unique plastic bodywork and the Jeep Icon with its compact, muscular look.
17:48 And this is the latest in the line up to reach the production line. Of course,
17:55 the Prowler, we saw it at the NEC in Birmingham last year. It's a modern day version of the
17:59 American hot rods of the rock and roll era. Well, last year, the Prowler was touring the world. Many
18:05 people got their checkbooks out, but many people will also be disappointed. Only 5000 are in
18:10 production for next year's market. Most of us will never be able to afford cars like this,
18:17 but at least we can dream.
18:25 [music]
18:27 Yeah, you know, some of us spend our whole lives looking high and low for the one to share the
18:40 essence of your heart and soul. Sometimes what they've been saying is actually true.
18:46 When a student pulls up a chair, the teacher's standing right in front of you.
18:51 [music]
18:55 [music]
18:59 [music]
19:03 [music]
19:07 [music]
19:15 [music]
19:23 [music]
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19:35 [music]
19:39 [music]
19:43 Some exquisite looking cars there, and what a responsibility having the opportunity to get
19:49 behind the wheel of a car of which only one working model exists in the world. Right, what are your
19:56 driving skills like? Honestly? Well, it's time now to join Ginny Buckley for another advanced driving
20:03 lesson. Tony Shirley, when you pass your test, the Department of Transport test, that qualifies you
20:09 to drive on the road and it means that you're a safe driver, you're a good driver. What's the need
20:13 for an advanced test? Well, that's the first, if you like, mistake. It qualifies you to drive on the road.
20:20 It does not mean you're a safe driver. It does not mean you're a good driver. That's the first thing.
20:25 All it means is you've attained that minimum level of driving ability to pass that 30 minute or so
20:31 test. What happens then, you're going to be driving for another 40, 50, 60, 70 years. Vehicles change,
20:39 road conditions change. You need to be able to keep your driving up to scratch, continually improve it,
20:44 learn new techniques. Just as you do in a career, you learn more things about your career and how to
20:49 perform your job. Driving is a key part of life. You need to have, improve your abilities in that key
20:55 part of your life. Okay Ginny, you've just got yourself into an unfamiliar car. Get your seat
20:59 belt on, make sure that's comfortable, make sure the seat's adjusted, including the head restraint.
21:04 That head restraint looks okay for you. Any other seat adjustments, make sure the internal and
21:10 external mirrors are okay. You feel for the clutch, the brake and the throttle, you know where they are
21:14 and where the various gear positions are, particularly including reverse, and how to
21:19 actually select reverse on this car. So, having familiarised yourself with that, then the basic
21:24 controls, where the indicators are, the horns. We've already had a walk around the outside,
21:29 we're comfortable that the tyres are okay and the tyre pressures look reasonable. We don't have a
21:34 tyre pressure gauge to actually check them, but at least they look basically reasonable,
21:37 the tyre pressures. Make sure you're comfortable with the positions of the steering wheel,
21:43 because this car does have an adjustable steering column. External mirrors, okay. Right, okay,
21:49 when you're, just feel the handbrake as well, so you know, cover the foot brake while you're
21:53 checking the handbrake, to make sure the car doesn't roll. This is like my driving test all
21:58 over again, you know. It is very similar. So, you're going to direct me, you're going to tell me where you want me to go.
22:03 Just remember that you are in charge of the car and the driving. If I say, ask you to do
22:09 something or make a manoeuvre, the decision is ultimately yours, whether or not it's safe. Now,
22:13 please do be kind with me, because I've not driven this car before. Don't worry. And remember that I
22:16 have to get in my own car and drive home after it, so I don't want to be too much of a wreck. Okay,
22:20 not a problem, not a problem. And when giving directions, we'll always be, when driving along,
22:24 we'll always be following the road ahead, unless signs or road markings dictate otherwise. Okay.
22:29 And I'll try and give you the directions in plenty of time. But if you do miss a direction sign,
22:33 or miss a direction instruction I've asked you to do, don't worry, we'll recover the situation.
22:38 Not a problem. Right, let's go then. So, this is how you'd start off everybody, when they come along
22:43 to the Institute. You'd get them in the car, you'll take them off for a drive, sit in with them, and
22:47 then give them a critique. That's right. Sometimes we will actually highlight things as we're driving
22:53 around, depending on the level of what's going on at the time, in terms of the hazard level.
22:58 Sometimes we'll ask some questions as we're driving along, providing it's safe for them
23:04 to think about the answer. It's a useful habit to get into before you slow down, as you had to there,
23:16 because of the light changing through to red, just to check in the mirror, to make sure that
23:20 it's actually safe to reduce your speed. Right. If you've got a 38-time-hour tick, sitting two foot
23:24 from your bumper, applying your brakes is probably not a good idea. So here we are, Tony, hitting the
23:29 centre of Manchester, and this is all quite an important part of the test, city centre driving.
23:35 So what would the lesson consist of? Well, basically, it's important when you're in city
23:40 centre, what we try and get over the message, and it's important to all driving, is about
23:44 observation, seeing what is ahead, what is around, what other drivers and other road users,
23:49 or potential road users, are doing. Assessing which lane you're in, because you get so many
23:53 different lanes going left, right, straight ahead. You get one-way streets, two-way streets,
23:59 you get two lanes in one direction, one lane in the other. Ginny! What? Please, for the sake of
24:07 the ratchet and the mechanism of the handbrake, it'd be useful if you press the button when you
24:10 apply the handbrake. More to the point, if that ratchet wears out, your handbrake could release
24:14 itself automatically without you doing anything. And more to the point, it gets on your nerves.
24:18 Well, it does also get on my nerves. It's actually surprisingly audible from outside the car.
24:23 Okay. Well, you've mentioned there very briefly about the safety and about looking after the car.
24:28 How much does the test cover that? What are the points? Well, it's not the test per se that
24:32 covers the car. It's the technique and style of driving that helps reduce wear on the car.
24:38 So many drivers signal what they are doing, rather than what they wish to do.
24:44 Signal at the last minute as they're doing it. Exactly. I drive through Malifan in the outside
24:47 lane on the motorway and I'm doing, you know, 70, and somebody pulls out and signals as they're
24:52 pulling out in front of me and I have to slam my brakes on. Your left signal there to pull in from
24:58 lane two to lane one was an ambiguous signal. Really? It was, I'm afraid. In what way? You
25:04 could have been leaving the motorway. You were only 200 yards from the slip road. So here we are
25:08 back in the studio after my first drive with Tony, and I must say it was like taking my test all over
25:12 again, but about 10 times worse, because of course I've got into bad habits over the year.
25:16 So how did I do, Tony? Well, put it this way, in no time was I looking for the ejector seat.
25:20 Oh, that's good. That makes me feel okay. But I mean, there are a number of areas in which to
25:25 improve. I think the key one is you are trying to make, go faster than your level of observation
25:31 ability permits you to do so. Right. You're going faster than it's safe. I'm a speed freak.
25:36 Yeah, if you wish to call yourself that. But don't worry, we can tame that. Okay. We can tame that.
25:41 And the reason why you're going too quickly is that you're not seeing all the situations that
25:46 you have to potentially plan for that will actually naturally bring your speed down,
25:51 because as you realise the number and variety of hazards there are, you will say, crikey, I've got
25:57 to slow down in order to cope with them. Are you saying here that I'm exceeding speed limits? Is
26:02 that what I'm doing, or is it just generally, I'm sticking to speed limits, but I could be going
26:06 slower within them? You were certainly exceeding speed limits on a number of occasions. But
26:12 equally, where you were sticking to speed limits, the legal speed limits, then there were times
26:18 when you should have been going a little slower. So, Tony, am I doing anything right? Is there
26:22 anything positive that's come out of this lesson today? Yes. There are a number of things that
26:26 came out. One is you took great care to make sure that the car was correctly set up for you,
26:31 bearing in mind it was a strange car to you. So that was very important. All too many drivers
26:35 just get in a strange car and drive off. That was very important. You actually controlled the car
26:40 well. It can be vastly improved, but you did actually control the car well. You're a confident
26:46 driver. What we need to do is to work on your actual technique and instil a degree of discipline,
26:51 shall we say, into your driving. That sounds like my old school reports, to be honest. Yeah,
26:55 mine were a bit like that as well. Well, it certainly got my appetite whetted, and it's
27:01 brought home to me a lot of things that I didn't realise, and things that you just do automatically
27:05 without thinking about. I'm sure there'll be people watching that think, "Well, hey, maybe
27:10 wouldn't mind having a go at that." What do they do? Well, there are groups of people all over the
27:14 country. There's about nearly 200 groups of people of the Institute of Advanced Motorists around the
27:19 country. The easiest thing to contact their local, find out where their local group is,
27:23 to ring the Institute, and the number's 0181 994 4403. Contact them, and they will send them
27:31 details of where their local people are, and they will be only too willing to help them out.
27:37 And because the Institute, and indeed many, and the groups are charitable organisations,
27:42 they are there because they want to do it. It's not a commercial service. They were there because
27:48 they want to improve people's driving and want to increase road safety. Well, I have definitely
27:53 learnt something tonight, and I hope you have too. Are you still looking for that perfect company
27:58 car, something to really reflect your position in the world? Well, after the break, we'll get
28:02 behind the wheel of Audi's latest A6, which might be literally right up your street.
28:08 Hi, welcome back. What makes an executive car stand out from the pack? Surely not just the
28:19 price tag. Ian Royal visited a Tudor castle to drive a car firmly in the late 1990s.
28:26 Now, I never usually want to complain, but after a dull diet of repmobiles, driving these things
28:30 around all day, you really want to get something with a little bit more spice, something radical
28:35 in its design. And that's why we've come to seek out Fresher Pastures, a gourmet menu
28:40 of one of the world's most beautiful cars.
28:42 [Music]
28:45 [Music]
28:47 [Music]
29:16 Well, this is Hever Castle near Eden Bridge in Kent, where I've come to have my motoring
29:21 appetite wetted. And on the gourmet menu is the brand new Audi A6.
29:26 [Music]
29:28 [Music]
29:30 Hever Castle is a mock Tudor castle with a lovely village where we're staying tonight.
29:52 The Audi is the epitome of modern engineering. Audi's designers really have come up with an
29:58 absolutely stunning car. The curved sweeping lines are just fantastic, very reminiscent of
30:04 the Audi TT prototype that we saw a couple of years back. The interior is very well appointed
30:10 to high spec. Let's take a look at it. Now, the inside of the Audi A6 is very impressive.
30:17 It doesn't have the ambience of, say, a Jaguar, but it reeks of quality. The only maybe downside
30:23 about the A6 getting into this car is it may be a little dull, perhaps needs lightening up,
30:28 but you could do that if you have the optional leather upholstery. You can select the choice
30:32 of hides and colours. You can even select from three different wood trims. And the standard
30:37 specification on the Audi A6 is very impressive. You get climate control, automatic climate
30:43 control. You will be able to sit back in luxury with air conditioning whirring away. The stereo
30:49 system is a quality system which you don't get on some other German cars. So perhaps BMW and
30:54 Mercedes are going to follow suit on that very soon. And there are nice little touches like
30:58 a cup holder in the front for the driver and the centre armrest. Audi engineers worked with
31:04 mathematical simulation in order to achieve the rigidity, weight and crash properties of the body
31:10 of the new Audi A6. And they've also used aluminium for the engine hood, door frames and parts of the
31:16 running gear. Despite being lighter overall, the new body is 50% more rigid than the previous
31:22 version. And the driver benefits from better ride comfort. However, if you're looking for a thrilling
31:27 drive, well, you really won't get it unless you ask for the sport suspension option, which at
31:32 around £300 is probably well worth paying for. Now with me now is Len Hunt, who's director of
31:38 Audi UK. Len, you've introduced this gorgeous new A6. What made you bring it in at this stage of the
31:43 cycle up against the new BMWs, the new Mercedes E-Class? Well, I think since 1994 when we saw the
31:49 first A6, which was the first car to carry the new A-series nomenclature, we've been progressively
31:54 launching cars. We saw the A8 and the A4, then the A3 last year. And now we've been building up for
32:00 this executive sector attack really to take on that car, the BMW 5-series principally and the
32:07 Mercedes E-Class. So it really is an important car for Audi. I think one of the comments that
32:12 we saw around the introduction of the 5-series BMW and the E-Class Mercedes was very much the
32:17 evolutionary styling that the cars took. And with the Audi A6, we see more of an innovative approach,
32:23 more a step change in the styling, certainly on the exterior and particularly on the interior.
32:27 And we're seeing sort of design features from the concept car we launched in Frankfurt, which is
32:33 the TT, the Audi TT. And so we're seeing a design stretch. And I think for people looking to be more
32:38 sort of innovative, more modern, you can see a sort of far-reaching stretch design.
32:44 The new Audi A6 was first unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March to fanfares and
32:50 Wagnerian fantasy characters. Its radical styling, reminiscent of the Audi TT,
32:55 heralds the next generation for Audi. Well, initial driving impressions of the new Audi A6
33:01 are very good. We're driving the 2.4, which is the V6, 165 brake horsepower. And this is equipped
33:08 on this model with the automatic transmission, which includes the Tiptronic mode, which allows
33:13 you to shift up and down the gears with a manual selector. That's very impressive. One thing that's
33:19 annoying so far is that the central control system that is in the middle of the dashboard,
33:25 which allows you to see which gear you're in, is very difficult to see on a bright, sunny day like
33:29 this. I've got my sunglasses on. It's sunny outside. It's very difficult to see which gear
33:35 I'm in on the control system because you can't seem to adjust the brightness of the control
33:39 system. So that's annoying. Also, when you're in automatic mode normally, it does tend to hunt up
33:45 and down the gears a little bit. There's a bit of jerkiness there as you try and put your foot down
33:50 and it kicks up a gear. But cruising at 70 miles an hour on a motorway, dual carriageway, it's
33:56 quiet, it's refined. Impression so far, good. The newly developed electronic climate control
34:03 now responds to the position of the sun. The system has separate temperature controls for
34:08 the driver and passenger, and new sensors not only measure the temperature at selected points,
34:13 but also take into account the surrounding area. A solar sensor now measures the intensity and
34:19 angle of the sun's rays. Attention to detail or what? Now, when manufacturers design a new
34:27 executive car, the driver inevitably always comes first. The rear passengers sometimes get a rough
34:33 deal. The cabins can be very cramped in the back. But the new Audi A6 has a remarkably spacious
34:38 cabin. It has class-leading knee and legroom in the rear. It has a light, airy cabin. Now,
34:44 I'm six foot and there's plenty of space for me in the back. The seats are perhaps a little firm,
34:49 but I think you'd mould your body into it quite well. Nice little touches in the rear,
34:53 these two cup holders. There's a centre armrest. There's a third three-way seat belt as well.
35:00 Little reading lamps. And this nice little touch as well, an executive Audi-designed coat hanger.
35:06 There's a good choice of engines on the new A6. There's the familiar 1.8-litre turbo engine,
35:12 which is a five-valve model. There's also the all-new 2.4-litre V6 made specifically for the A6.
35:19 And this, the 2.8-litre V6, available in either a two-wheel drive or the very familiar quattro
35:25 four-wheel drive. And coming soon, we'll see the familiar 1.9-litre turbo diesel engine.
35:30 In overall length, the new A6 is similar to the old model, but its basic styling has enabled the
35:36 proportions to change. Body overhang has been reduced by 57mm at the front and 17mm at the rear,
35:44 and the wheelbase has been increased by 73mm. The body's aerodynamic shape has put the high
35:50 point of the curve at a more central point than before, allowing for more interior room.
35:55 Knee room for the rear seat passengers has been increased by 62mm. Headroom is greater by 28mm
36:02 at the front and 20mm at the rear. Now, you don't do a test drive with a tape measure, of course,
36:07 but the overall feel is one of space and airiness, and it almost makes the BMW 5-series seem cramped
36:14 in comparison. I'm in the top of the range Audi A6. This is the 2.8 quattro, and with me, David
36:20 Ingram, product marketing manager. David, you were closely involved in the way that the whole A6 was
36:27 put together. Tell us more about your role in that. Well, it started off as a role for assisting
36:34 the engineers to develop the right things for right-hand drive vehicles to ensure that, for
36:40 example, the windscreen wipers went the right way. It might sound funny, but it wasn't always the
36:44 case many years ago. And to ensure the appropriate positioning for the pedal layout, the foot rest
36:52 for the clutch foot, and the positioning of the seat, steering wheel and pedal relationship. But
36:58 I think also beyond that, the UK market is very emotionally based, and the engineers value the
37:04 input from what they see as a very important market. In fact, their most important export
37:09 market. Now, on some of the cars, you can have the automatic gearbox with the tiptronic. What
37:15 about on some cars, the Porsche 911s have the shift up and down on the steering wheel. Is that
37:20 going to come on the new A6? Yes, very much so. We hope to be able to offer that within about 12
37:24 months. Also with radio controls on the steering wheel, again, for more and more convenience. But
37:29 we want to make sure that the positioning of the buttons is exactly right so that they don't get
37:34 in the way of normal day-to-day driving. The outgoing A6 was developed quite some time ago,
37:40 and a lot of developments have taken place since then. I think the most noticeable thing about the
37:46 car, as you say, apart from the design, is how much more refined the car is. The engines are
37:52 much smoother. A lot of engine technology with five valves per cylinder makes the car more
37:57 efficient, makes the engine more efficient, but also quieter and smoother. The car itself is much
38:02 quieter in terms of road noise, wind noise, and the contrast between the driving experience of
38:09 this car and its predecessor is really quite noticeable. Now, there are lots of important
38:14 safety features on the new Audi A6, which of course you'd expect on an executive car costing
38:18 between 20,000 and 30,000 pounds. You get airbags for both the driver and passenger, you get fifth
38:24 generation ABS, and you get ASR, which is an electronic traction control. Now, unfortunately,
38:30 it's a beautiful, dry, sunny day today. We can't try it out, but presumably on wet roads, it means
38:35 the car is very stable, there's no wheel spin. Even Audi have provided us with the nice weather
38:40 today. A whole host of features, which really are designed to give a very safe feel to the driver's
38:46 sort of driving. I mean, what we don't want to do is confuse him with all sorts of things he
38:50 has to do, so we tend to just put them there. And really, we don't want him worrying about
38:55 electronic diff lock or anti-slip control or ABS, but just want him to be confident that in the back
39:00 of his mind, should he get into a situation where they're needed, they just happen automatically.
39:04 I mean, most people, when they try and look through the handbook and try and work out what
39:08 that is and what that is and what it does, I mean, they're probably going to be completely confused.
39:12 Absolutely. I think we just need to make sure that they know it's there and it's working in
39:15 their interest and improving their enjoyment of the driving.
39:20 [Music]
39:33 [Music]
39:53 All in all, this brand new Audi A6 is a very classy executive car. You'd be happy to pull up
39:59 in the company car park in this. The prices are very competitive. This car is £1,000 cheaper
40:05 than the rival BMW. Specification is very high as well. So if you want a car that's well-built,
40:11 reliable, solid, and it's made in Germany, try out the BMW, try out the Mercedes, but don't forget
40:19 the new Audi A6. A gorgeous looking car, but there are, of course, many others in this highly
40:24 competitive market. Are you swayed? Well, get behind the wheel and test drive it for yourself.
40:29 Well, whatever you drive, they say that after some years on the road, a comprehensive service
40:34 is not really enough to get the most of the engine. After the break, John Wright will be
40:39 discovering what may be the automotive equivalent of an enema, a dose of vitamin tablets, and a week
40:44 at a health farm. Intrigued? Join us soon to find out. Hi, and welcome back to Four Wheels Good.
40:56 Has your engine been playing up recently? No, I don't mean jumping up behind you or playing
41:00 truant on service days, just not quite what it was. Well, maybe it needs a purge. John Wright,
41:06 our resident automotive engineer, discovers more.
41:12 So,
41:36 welcome back to Inside Motors. It's an absolutely superb day here today, sun shining, birds singing,
41:43 brilliant. Unfortunately, we're going to talk modern cars, modern problems, dirty valves.
41:51 Problem with modern cars is that the tolerances in the engines are lovely and tight, nice, smooth
41:58 running engines. However, they suffer from a little problem of sticky valves. Now, I've got
42:06 with me John, who is a representative of the Wins Oil Company, and he's got an answer to this. But
42:12 first of all, we'll talk about the problem and we'll show you what happens. In front of us, we've
42:17 got a Ford Fiesta head. We're just going to take one of the valves out and have a look at it. There
42:23 you are, John. What do you think of that? Yeah, that's very characteristic of modern cars these
42:28 days, of the actual carbonization of the stem of the valve. It's caused by very fine tolerance
42:36 because nowadays you can find, you know, very fine tolerances are in sort of most engines.
42:40 And unfortunately, the fuel is of not such good quality and it's not so combustible. So,
42:45 unfortunately, it produces excess carbon. We've got a nice car to do the test on. We've got
42:50 an 1800 Escort, 16 valve Z-Tech, super car. The owner actually is reporting the fact that
42:58 he's performing like a 1600 8 valve. Right, can you just quickly show us around the machine? I
43:03 take it this is a business end? Yeah, this is the serious end of the business. This is the pressure
43:08 feed which actually, a quick connection pipe actually goes into the rail on the pressure side.
43:14 Another one goes in there to actually on the return feed. So, the vehicle actually runs totally
43:19 on the machine. Very nice. This is the pressure gauge because that is the important thing. We must
43:24 get the pressure correct. It's measured in psi and bar. So, you've got both correct to the whip there.
43:31 Right, this is the pressure setting. When it's full out, that's in like the diesel setting because
43:36 the vehicle, the diesel will actually run off its own pump. This is the adjuster. As you wind it in,
43:40 it reduces and increases the pressure. So, you can get it right to start the vehicle because if the
43:46 pressure is not right, the vehicle won't start. What's this little box of tricks? Well, this is
43:50 the timer on here and that is the solar cell which this operates. It's fully remote control.
43:58 That's the start button. That's the stop button. The purge button there is actually when you want
44:02 to evacuate the machine from doing a diesel to a petrol or vice versa because you don't actually
44:08 drain the tank every time. So, what happens to the buzzer when the product's finished in the machine?
44:14 It bleeps at you and you actually press the purge button and it evacuates the machine completely.
44:19 These two buttons here actually control the timer. So, it's the up and down buttons.
44:24 As you can see, two crocodile clips for fitting to a 12-volt supply. In theory, you can actually
44:32 do this process actually in the middle of a ploughed field if that's what takes your fancy.
44:36 This is the actual tank where you put the purge liquid.
44:40 Okay, there we are. Shall we get the machine connected up and we'll get it going? Yeah, fine.
44:50 Oh, hang on. Shall we just do a quick emissions test before and then we can see what your machine
44:56 does? Good idea. We've got George here with us, a senior engineer from Sykes-Picot-Vant who's
45:01 kindly come along to run the exhaust gas analyser for us.
45:06 Take a look at your setup for all different sorts of cars and kits. Well, this kit
45:15 takes a lot of beating. I've never really been caught out at all since we've been using the
45:22 machine. This is the inlet, the petrol inlet I take it? Yeah, that's where the main pressure feed
45:29 actually goes into the engine. Well, the next thing we've got to do, the important bit, is we've
45:33 actually got to put the purge liquid actually into the tank. So, top off that. There we go.
45:40 See how steady the hand is? What exactly is this stuff going to do now? What it's going to do is
45:45 going to clean the whole of the combustion chamber. It's going to clean the back end of the valves,
45:51 which is the important bit, and the injectors. So, in actual fact, you can tune the car up after
45:57 rather than tune it down. Okay, pop the top back on. Yeah. Well, what we'll do, we'll give it half
46:05 an hour. So, like so, and we activate it like so. That sounded healthy. I'm just checking there are
46:23 no leaks there. No, we're fine. Right, now what we need to do is to start the car. Right, half an
46:30 hour later, here we are. I'll tell you what, it sounds a lot better, John. It's a lot smoother,
46:34 isn't it? And it seems to have gained, the revs seem to have got a bit better, a bit higher.
46:39 Yeah, you weren't telling lies when you said it would get better after a day.
46:41 You can't afford to tell lies in this business. You always get caught out.
46:44 Right, okay, if somebody could switch it off, what we'll do is we'll take all the pipes away
46:49 and we'll give it a quick road test. Great, fine.
46:52 Tim, you've just run this round after the purge. What do you think of it now?
46:58 Yeah, it's running much better, John, thanks. We can't guarantee that your car is going to run
47:02 like a Lexus, but certainly purging is the name of the game. It's curing the sticky valve problem.
47:07 And remember, you saw it first on Inside Motors. Well, what a Pallada, the machine that seems to
47:13 have a real effect on tired out engines. I wonder if it has the same effect on humans.
47:17 Well, we're going now, but thanks for watching this week. Next week is our special edition from
47:23 the most important European motor show, Frankfurt '97. So please join us then.
47:38 [Music]