Think we’ve missed something off? Let us know in the comments!

Porsche 911

Porsche 911

The Petrolheads would claim this is for the engine, but when I asked around the office this was the first car that almost everyone came up with for impressing girls. Apparently, and I quote, “girls love anything by Porsche”. The sexy interior probably helps too, plus the fact that everyone knows they are expensive.

Ferrari

Ferrari 458 Italia

The traditional choice, Ferraris are all too often the midlife crisis car for high earning men. As such, it is fair enough to assume that a lot of the time there is an element of attracting nubile young women involved in choosing it. Plus, if you don’t want to be noticed, you don’t cruise the streets in a bright red Ferrari.

Lamborghini

Lamborghini

Similar to a Ferrari in some respects, just with more fake tan. Can me narrow minded, but every owner of these strangely combustible cars that I have known has been a gym addicted, sex addicted maniac. Their car is their kingdom.

Aston Martin

Sleek Aston Martin

An altogether classier affair, everyone knows that an Aston is a) expensive, and b) luxurious. Perfect for making out in and bound to draw in a classier level of woman (so the theory goes), an Aston is often viewed as a sure fire way to guarantee some positive attention form girls waiting for their very own Mr Bond.

Mazda RX8

Mazda RX8

The poor mans convertible, an RX8 is still a pretty flash car. I also hold onto the idea that many misguided men see a Mazda MX5 as a babe magnet too, although most girls I know think of them as hairdressers cars…

Audi TT

Audi TT

The Audi TT is a sporty car with aesthetics that seem to appeal to women. We, apparently, love the curves, and the fact that you get a great Audi ride whilst also looking really cool. This is the ideal car to impress a girl too, because guys don’t have to feel emasculated by the vaguely feminine design either, especially with the coupe version.

Classic cars

Classic Austin Healey

This tends to be an older man’s territory, and driving a classic like an Austin Healey is a great way to show off the girl you have managed to acquire too. Younger men don’t tend to care as much about the classics, but there is something about taking a girl for a stroll around an English country mansion in your cute convertible on a first date that appeals to the romantics amongst us.

Nissan 350Z

Nissan 350Z

This is the car that a power-hungry car addict will buy, with an aim to looking flash. It looks smart, drives smarter, and offers many opportunities to impress. Plus, it is kind of affordable at the same time as looking very sporty indeed, implying cheekily that you have money, even if you didn’t pay that much to own it.

VW Camper van

VW Camper Van

Yup, this is a car/van that guys love, and which girls love even more. The vehicle implies that you are fun loving, good company and with good taste, and plus the girls get to ride in a super cool vintage car too. Call me silly, but I think girls will be more impressed by this than by many of the far more expensive cars in this list.

Massive pickup

Massive Pickup

These aren’t called penis extensions for no reason. Although I doubt this works, a big pickup or 4X4 with huge alloys and a banging sound system seems to be a wannabe gangstas favourite method of attracting the ladies. If that’s the type of gal you are after, add some bling and you should be in there!

A Yacht

Flash Yacht

Yeah yeah, I know this isn’t a car. But if we are talking about impressing girls, then this water based purchase has to go in the list. Even if it isn’t a car. I simply don’t care. You see, an absurdly expensive yacht is a really status symbol, and I think a lot of girls do tend to respond to the offer to sail around the Seychelles for a week of sun, sex and good food, or even just a one night stand in the Marina.

According to Which?, 87% of firms surveyed in the companies trip around 67 garages failed to miss at least one of the faults with the car that had been brought it. Not particularly bad if these are little faults, but especially worrying considering that all of the faults were bad enough to have potentially caused a crash. In fact, according to the BBC report of the story:

Which? found 48% of garages failed spot brake fluid was at the minimum level; 68% did not inflate the nearly flat spare tyre; 57% missed a blown reversing light bulb, and the low pressure in the nearside rear tyre was missed by 21%

Now, correct me if I am wrong, but this seems worrying. If, as Which? like to argue, this is a snapshot of the industry, then we may have a lot to worry about, especially considering the dangers of driving a safe car, let alone a dodgy one.

Come on, garages in the UK! It is time to shape up!

There are also, of course, business issues that we never even think about. After all, this is an industry when people come along to buy what is essentially a fancy tin can on wheels, and there are bound to be hazards with that. Something might go wrong, and so you will need public liability insurance to protect you when someone leans on a car in the forecourt, and it rolls of down the hill. Or when someone slips on a wet patch of oil.

Car insurance, too, is a consideration that people tend to completely forget. They look at car dealers as flat two-dimensional people, and never think about all the hassle and money that goes into running a dealership! The fact is, however, that car dealers will need insurance for taking people out in cars for test drives, and that insurance is going to have to be a whole lot more comprehensive than the relatively comprehensive insurance we Luddites have to buy. The solution is Motor Trade insurance, which is actually provided by a surprisingly large number of insurance brokers.

I had never thought about this before. After all, car dealers insurance hasn’t exactly been a priority in my life! However, I dread to think how much car dealers have to pay to protect themselves against someone having a prang on a test drive. Or stealing the car. It is a hard world – and maybe we need to spare a bit more thought for the poor old car dealers having to navigate those murky waters.

The fancy list of features includes:

K&N Induction Kit (removed and now has standard Air intake)
32″ Kenwood Subwoofer (The only one ever made)
2x Kenwood KAC-PS301 Amps
8 Kenwood Dualmag Speakers
Kenwood 7″ Touch Screen Navigation
Ipod Connection
6 CD Disc Changer
Rear Reverse Camera
Black Tow Bar
Full Leather and suede Seats (colour coded very rare)
18″ Black Alloys
Nokia Bluetooth Car kit
Full XENON HIDs

Now, that is cool! No? Or is this my inner street-wise gangsta coming out? Making me talk about how “fly” the car is?

What do you think?

The New Citroen-DS3

I like competitions like this. You have to participate, rather than just enter, and it gives you a little bit of entertainment for when the day gets boring. There is also the chance to win a car, which everyone is bound to like!

So, what do you have to do? Well, it is simple. Play the game on the facebook page, hunting for parts of the DS3 based on clues given by the game. It is that easy! I’m off to have a go now…

Anyway, the prizes are either XBox 360′s, or the car itself. That car is one of the first small hatchbacks from Citroen in recent years that has broken away from that bubble-car style mould. It actually looks closer to a Clio sport than a Citroen, and I am surprised to admit how sporty and energetic it looks. This could actually be a real market contender, from a brand who never before have really sought to challenge the dominance of brands such as Renault or Toyota. I quite like it, which is a strange feeling!

Anyway, why not go and enter yourself?

Only 3,000 new Mondeos will be made, meaning potential customers could be left feeling disappointed. The lucky few will enjoy features such as a SatNav system covering Europe; automatic head lights; rain-sensing wipers; a self dimming rear view mirror; front and rear parking sensors; 17-inch alloy wheels and a solar reflecting windscreen to maintain a cool cabin temperature, altogether valued at over £2,000.

The new Mondeo will be available as of the 1^st September 2010 at £18,795 for the petrol version and £19,495 for the diesel – which is only £300 more than the standard Zetec model, on which the new Mondeo is based.

Ford’s large car product manager, Jon Gunn-Smith said, “Mondeo Sport represents the outstanding value typical of all vehicles sporting the Blue Oval badge. It will be on sale for a limited period during the lifetime of the new ‘60’ plate, so interested customers should get in quick.”

The Mondeo Sport offers either a 1.8 litre, 125 BHP diesel engine, sending out 154 g/km CO₂ and returning 48.7 mpg combined, or a 2.0 litre 145 BHP petrol engine. It is available in four colours, Frozen White, Panther Black, Moondust Silver and Sea Grey.

The new Sport will be made available in 5-door hatchback and estate body styles.

Ant Bradshaw writes on behalf of Oneswoop.com, who he claims “works alongside the UKs leading Ford dealerships to provide leading OTR prices for any New Ford Models”.

However, maybe due to the credit crunch, nowadays people don’t seem to be as keen to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on a car if they aren’t getting anything luxurious. And, in this technology driven world, luxury means more than the inevitable leather interior – it means technology.

And so, with the 458 Italia, Ferrari have responded. This sleek and utterly gorgeous car (which I have seen in real life in the town I live in!) is crammed with innovations and technology. This technology, however, is all dedicated to drive quality – Ferrari couldn’t stretch as far as poncy SatNavs with built in night-visionand the like! It gets rather technical, unsurprisingly – the E-Diff and F1-Trac control software are integrated in the same ECU to reduce communication times and improve acceleration out of corners, the ABS is added into the same ECU system, the gear box is sleeker than ever, and the 4499 cc V8 is the first Ferrari direct injection engine to be mid-rear-mounted for slightly more practicality. In essence, this car will now driver better than it would have before, whilst looking and feeling pretty damn stunning.

I want one!

Now, one way of looking at a story like this would be to see it as good that he is being caught and disciplined. Which, of course, it is. After all, he is a public figure, and if we seem him getting in trouble for breaking the law then we will know the same will happen to us. However, perhaps the publicity bought to cases like this will have the opposite effect, and encourage people to drive fast themselves. After all, if Joe Cole is doing it it must be cool.

Which way do you think it works?

Vinyl Car Graphics

These graphics are available in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and all sorts of patterns. We’ve got the somewhat predictable chequered flag pattern, go faster stripes, dragons, monsters, letters… if you can imagine it, it seems likely you can get it as a vinyl to stick on the side or the bonnet of your car.

Butterfly Vinyl Car Graphics

So, what is the decision? Are they a good and affordable way to decorate your car? Or, more likely, are they decidedly uncool?

Ford, you see, have reported a 22% drop in sales in July. Despite a surprisingly good start to the year, which gave many car dealers a cause for optimism, it seem that this upwards trend has started to take a worrying turn in the opposite direction. Apparently profits are still on the up, but missing out on quite such a big chunk of sales must be enough to make Ford more than a little nervous.

I wonder if this is just the first sign of what is going to be a hard 6 months in the automotive industry?