reliability

The results are in for the What Car? reliability survey, with MG coming ahead of brands such as Porsche, Audi and Volkswagen. In the most reliable cars by brand category, MG Motor UK was in the top ten – an impressive result that illustrates the brand’s commitment to quality manufacturing. MG had already been ranked high in the What Car? satisfaction survey. The survey involved 14,200 participants, who were each asked to report on faults that had occurred in the past twelve months on cars aged between 0-3 years. Categories included battery, bodywork, brakes, engine, engine electrics, exhaust, exterior lights, fuel system, gearbox/clutch, interior trim, non-engine electrics, steering, suspension and other. Speaking about the result, Matthew Cheyne, Head of Sales and Marketing at MG Motor UK, said: To be recognised for the second time this year in the What Car? […]

“I’ve never seen one of these before. What kind of car is it?” the police officer asked, his cruiser parked behind us on Massachusetts’ Route 13 to provide some protection against the stream of commuter traffic rushing north, toward the New Hampshire border. “It’s a Rover,” I replied. “An SD1. It’s a British car.” “Rover, huh? Never heard of those,” he said. This didn’t surprise me, given that he probably had not yet been born when Rover made its last stab at selling cars in the U.S. in 1980. “You know Land Rover and Range Rover?” I asked, employing my standard response. He nodded. “Well, the same company that made those built cars, too, going all the way back to the early 1900s.” He found this surprising. People always do. The car’s owner, my friend Dirk Burrowes, is far more […]

The ABRR is based on UK Reliability Runs that to this day continue to run and benefit children’s charities in England. Carried on by the Delaware Valley Triumph Club of PA since 2008, the ABRR spirit is now spreading throughout the USA with multiple regional runs. The ABRR is a challenging and fun driving event that so far has raised more than $215,000 for worthy children’s charities here in the states! The ABRR is not a race. The run is conducted on public roads at posted speeds. It is not a road rally either, as there are no checkpoints or deliberately vague and misleading instructions.  The ABRR Teams travel in groups, taking care to keep the cars together, making group stops as necessary. The ABRR is a great fall drive on rural paved roads through beautiful countryside in the company of […]

America’s British Reliability Run, a three-day rally in classic British cars for charity, rides again! The dates are October 16th to 18th. In 2013, twelve teams from all various marque clubs and all over the region ran a 750 mile route through Pennsylvania and raised over $9,000 for the Children’s Specialized Hospital in NJ. This year, at least twenty-seven ABRR teams will be driving through some of Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey’s most scenic roadways at a time when fall color should be near its peak. The Run will begin in Quakertown, PA with its terminus in Milford, NJ. We will have dinner Friday night at the iconic Seneca Lodge, in Watkins Glen, NY. We will have a presentation by Bill Green, the historian for the Watkins Glen race track and International Motor Racing Research Center. After a ceremonial […]

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars returned in magnificent style to the Scottish roads that, in 1907 set the scene for one of the marque’s defining moments. Wraith, Ghost Series II, Phantom and Phantom Coupé all paid homage to the achievements of the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, which, by completing a 14,371 mile virtually non-stop run, forged the marque’s reputation as purveyor of the ‘Best Car in World’. The 1907 Scottish Reliability Trials The petrol-powered automobile was still in its infancy in 1907, and the greatest concerns for the motorist were a car’s ability to cope with gradients, the ease with which it could be steered, stopped and started again, but above all, its reliability. However, very few early manufacturers could truly meet these requirements. Indeed, Rudyard Kipling, an ardent motoring enthusiast, summed up the mood of the time by saying: “I like motoring […]

Five of the top six reliable cars are Japanese… but the good news is that three of them are made in Britain. Honda, which has a plant in Swindon, Wilts, is first in the list of smooth-runners. Third is Derby-based Toyota and Nissan, with a factory in Sunderland, is sixth, says new research. Honda-buyers can drive smugly knowing there is only a 10% chance of a breakdown when the car is between three and six years old. Other Far Eastern companies Mazda, Subaru and Mitsubishi are also high in the Manufacturer Reliability Index top ten. At the wrong end of the table is Land Rover, with a 47% chance of a breakdown, with Renault and Saab queuing up just behind on the hard shoulder. The index, compiled by insurers Warranty Direct, gauges the most dependable used cars among 250 popular […]