The all new Range Rover easily beats an express train. If only I could afford one

MY FAVOURITE means of lounging in luxury on the way down to London might be no more, but that's okay because Land Rover's come up with a solution.

I have to admit to feeling a slight tinge of sadness when I read that as of December the express train services along the West Coast Mainline will no longer be run by Virgin, because for the best part of a decade it's been the quickest, comfiest way to get to the capital. The car, as much as I like to sing its praises, simply can't shift you from the north west to central London in a shade over two hours.

That said, the car offers you a privacy even the swishest trains can't and if you're rich enough to regularly travel Virgin First Class then there's a new contender for your considerable amount of cash; the first new Range Rover in 11 years. Pedants, I know, will point out there's been 2005's Sport and last year's Evoque for anybody after a fresher car with those famous capital letters spelt out across the bonnet, but this is the big, proper Range Rover.

The big news for anyone planning on using one to impress their fellow golf club members/tow a horsebox/feature in a hip hop video (delete as appropriate) is that Land Rover have listened to the environmentalists and used a blend of lightweight materials and clever engines to make it less offensive to Greenpeace activists. The old one weighed twice as much as a Ford Mondeo and was so big it could qualify for its own postcode, but the new one manages to shave nearly half a tonne when it sits on the EU's set of scales.

It's also a credit to the designers of the outgoing one that it doesn't look dated and it seems it's business as usual with the new one - maybe it's not quite as bluntly imposing, but it's sleeker and showier, although I'm not entirely sure about the curious slats running down the front doors. A Range Rover is like one of those flats you see Kevin McCloud getting excited about; the elegance is in its simplicity.

There's only one problem. The new Range Rover's going to be more upmarket - or in layman's English, even more expensive - than the old one, so it means that for me at least the comfiest way to get to London is still going to be by train.

First West Coast Ltd, please don't ruin it...

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The Mini show at Santa Pod was a drag for all the right reasons

YOU really needed earplugs to watch the jet car. The sound it made as it screamed past was utterly magnificent, but so loud it was actually painful.

Yesterday I thought I'd do something completely different to get my petrolhead kicks, which is why I jumped in the back of a mate's Saab for the long journey down the M1 to Santa Pod in Northamptonshire. The UK's home of drag racing was having one of its ‘Run What Ya Brung' days for Mini owners, called Mini In The Park.

The event does pretty much what it says on the tin - you pay a couple of quid, line your pride and joy up alongside someone else's pride and joy at the start of a quarter mile dragstrip, and see who gets to the other end first.

Even though I wasn't driving it was a joy to watch, particularly because there was definitely an unofficial element of Mini (the cheeky Brit runaround I've owned a couple of) versus MINI (the BMW-engineered city slicker of today). It was genuinely close stuff in some of the races - yes, the modern motor's got more power as standard, but the older cars came with all sorts of weird and wonderful modifications to make them go even faster. When one new MINI made a blistering start, only to make a large bang and deposit several expensive-looking bits of intercooler along the run, I wasn't sure if I was meant to laugh or cry.

A really quick run in a hotted-up Mini was somewhere between 10 and 15 seconds, but to appreciate the difference between really quick and a proper dragster you just had to see the jet car, a machine which manages to bend time because it's so brutally fast. I simply cannot believe it did a quarter of a mile in less than FIVE seconds, but it did, doing 265mph when it crossed the line! To put it into perspective, that's nought to the top speed of a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport in a quarter of the length of Lord Street in Southport in less than the time it'll have taken you to read this sentence. Surreal stuff.

Even though I'll make sure I bring some earplugs again next time, drag racing's definitely worth the 350 mile round trip. In car nut terms it was like Christmas had come early, only there was a different sort of Santa involved.

Life On Cars took these pictures of the event:

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Popular Office Chair Styles for Home and Business Use

In today's post we will be covering several of the most common types of new office chairs, there function or purpose, and what makes them beneficial to end users. With so many seating options on the market it's important to educate yourself with as much buying power and product knowledge as possible. We hope that you find this post informative!

Style 1: Conference Chairs

It's all in the name! This form of chair is obviously designed for professional office use. Typically conference chairs feature loop arms and are upholstered in a leather of your choice. Common styles include both high back and mid back variations. In most cases, the larger the boardroom the fancier the conference chair. For small spaces a simple task style conference chair with mesh back is typically used. These types range from about $99 to $249 depending on brand. For more upscale conference areas a high back leather chair is often used to convey success. These range from about $299 on up. Again, these estimates completely depend on the brand you choose to go with.

Style 2: Desk Chairs

In most cases desk chairs are the most affordable style of chair made. They typically feature a fabric or breathable mesh back design like the chair pictured above. Modern desk chairs can offer quite a few quality ergonomic features like adjustable arms, built in lumbar supports, and various tension adjustments. The average price for a new desk chair is around $99 but more upscale models are certainly available.

Style 3: Executive Chairs

Executive office chairs are the definition of success and class in the workplace. A high end executive chair will feature a high back design, Italian leather upholstery, various top notch ergo features, and much more. The chair shown for example is one of the most upscale executive chairs on the market. The Concorde Presidential Chair sports a price tag of $2179. For a chair with this many features, and this high a comfort level, it's worth every penny! However, that's a bit unrealistic for the average consumer! That being said, the common conception is that executive chairs have to be extremely expensive. This is definitely not the case. Excellent executive chairs from respected manufacturers including Global Total Office can be purchased for as little as $399 in a variety of leather options. Depending on the statement you are trying to make, and the level of comfort you demand, there is definitely an executive chair on the market for you!

Style 4: Guest Chairs

There are endless styles of guest chairs on the market today. So much so that it can be overwhelming! This category of chairs probably deserves a post of it's own but deserves a mention here none the less. Common guest chair styles include the following...

Side Chairs: Typically used in executive offices to compliment the decor. These types of guest chairs usually feature a wood finish and can be in either mobile or fixed leg variations.

Beam Seating: Beam seating is becoming more and more popular. As the modern office furniture boom continues, the market for products like beam seating will grow as well. This style of guest chair is often completely customizable. Beam seating offers the ability to add or remove seats and tables from a beam in order to maximize a spaces potential. This for of office seating is most commonly found in reception areas.

Lounge Chairs: Most of us are familiar with this style of chair. Lounge chairs are found in homes, waiting rooms, lobbies, and many other places. While fabric lounge chairs are popular, leather versions dominate the market. This type of chair will always be popular, as in most cases it allows for shoppers to pair a selection with other matching furniture from the same collection.

Style 5: Big & Tall Chairs

Big and tall office chairs are typically made to support up to 500 lbs. For most people to consider a chair "big and tall" it needs to support at minimum 300 lbs. Shoppers in the market for this style of chair will find a huge selection of awesome seating designed to provide optimum levels of comfort. Big & Tall seating often offers excellent ergonomic features and chair adjustability not found on other office chair styles.

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Fire up the... MINI Cooper S Roadster

DID the Great British Summer end ages ago or is yet to begin? Thanks to heatwaves, floods, droughts, downpours and landslides, I doubt anyone's really sure.

One thing, however, continues unabated during the country' greener months - our unusually optimistic take on it all, probably best expressed automotively through our generations of small and not-at-all-leaky sports cars. It's a mantle MINI's keen to take on with their latest addition to the small car family, a two-seater ragtop roadster aimed at the keen driver.

Posing's a big part of what sporty cars like this are all about and on this front it's usual MINI fare, with a short, stubby stylishness on the outside and lots of chunky rocker switches on the inside. To my mind it looks better than its tintop sister, the MINI Coupe, because it swaps that car's hideous baseball hat roof for neat, electrically-powered soft top that's a doddle to operate.

It's also a doddle to drive and as keen to attack corners as the rest of its MINI sisters, although I can't help feeling that if it's driving fun you're after than the 2.0 litre version of Mazda's MX-5 will offer you more thrills for the same sort of money as the Cooper S version's £19,000 asking price. That said, the rear-wheel-drive roadster can't compete with the MINI on looks or interior ambience.

Ironically, the MINI Roadster's biggest rival in my books comes from within, in the larger and more familiar shape of the MINI Cabriolet. No, the Cabriolet can't offer the same sharpness in the corners but it's still an absolute joy to drive, and it offers space for four and a bit more space for your bags. If I wanted a sports car I'd go for that infernal Mazda, but if I wanted an open-top MINI, hand on heart, I'd go for the Cabriolet.

That said, if your heart's set on enjoying the added aesthetics and agility of the MINI Roadster during what's left of summer, you won't be disappointed.

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Woodvale Rally organisers "confident" of return to RAF Woodvale for 2013

PLENTY of you have got in touch about this year's Woodvale Rally, which for the first time in its forty year history wasn't actually held in Woodvale.
Thanks to everyone for your comments about this year's show, which was held this year not at its traditional home of RAF Woodvale, but at the home of the Southport Flower Show, at Victoria Park. From the feedback both on Life On Cars and at The Champion, the Victoria Park event has definitely had a mixed reaction from visitors - some loved it, others, like yourself, didn't find it as impressive as previous years.

The organisers have, however, told me since the event that they are 'confident' this year's Woodvale Rally will return to RAF Woodvale for the 2013 event, although probably the best bet is to check with the official website at www.woodvalerally.com for any official announcements about next year's show. If I hear anything, however, I'll post it on here as soon as I can.

On another note, here's some more pictures from the show, which were taken after I'd cleaned the dust on my camera lens which made the first lot of shots look a bit weird and hazy to the untrained eye:

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How a Mini Moke fan from Bootle became Britain's newest car manufacturer

A BOOTLE man has become Britain's newest motoring manufacturer after he put a cult classic car from the 1960s back into production.

Charles Andersen said that he has been able to start remanufacturing the AMC Cub, an open-top fun car modelled closely on the original Mini Moke, for the first time in 20 years after he secured a new supply of parts.

He told Life On Cars: “As far as I know nobody else in the country in the country is making anything else like this - all the other firms who were building Mokes like these shut down years ago, so it's something that's completely unique.

"The reaction you get people when you drive it is incredible - everybody smiles and waves at you, and you get people beeping their horns at you as you go past. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it's a lot of fun."

Mr Andersen's firm, Andersen Motor Company, originally produced the Cub in the 1980s using parts from the Mini, but was forced to end production a decade later when the supply of parts for the cars dried up. It is only now, thanks to new parts being produced for the original Mini that he is able to put his car, similar to the Mini Mokes used in the hit ITV show The Prisoner, back into production.

He added that while other Mokes were available from Chinese firms, he added that his is the only one made in Britain and the only one to pass Individual Type Approval tests, including fully-tested seatbelts for both the front and rear seats. The car also uses the same engine as the Mini - a 1.3 litre A-Series engine, in this case lifted from an MG Metro - but just like the original Mini Mokes of the 1960s is not fitted with doors, windows or a roof.

 

A car fully built at Mr Andersen's Bootle factory will set you back around £12,000 - less than the cost of a brand new MINI - but aspiring engineers can build themselves one for as little as £4,000, using parts from an original Mini used as a donor car.

For more information about the AMC Cub, visit the Andersen Motor Company website online at www.amcgb.com or give Charles a call on 07903 573050.

Keep an eye on Life On Cars over the next few weeks for motoring correspondent David Simister's thoughts on what the Cub is like to drive. 

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Ormskirk MotorFest 2012 preparations move up a gear

PREPARATIONS are well under way for a motorsport spectacular later this month - and you're invited to join the action.

With less than three weeks to go before the Ormskirk MotorFest rolls into town in Sunday, August 26, the borough council and organisers Aintree Circuit Club are making final calls for volunteers to act as marshals and for owners of racing machines from the 1950s and 1960s to bring their vehicles to the event.

Councillor Martin Forshaw, the council's portfolio holder for planning and development, said: “We are all getting very excited about this year’s Ormskirk MotorFest. Make sure you put the event’s date in your diary and don’t miss a thoroughly enjoyable event.”

Last year's MotorFest helped Ormskirk enjoy its busiest ever trading day, with more than 10,000 visitors packing into the town centre, and this year the council, Aintree Circuit Club and main sponsors The Belfry Group are determined the event will be even bigger.

Among those who have already offered to help are members of residents' group New Way Tenants and Residents Association, who told Life On Cars that they would be volunteering as marshals to the positive impact the car and bike spectacular has on Ormskirk.

Group member Jane Thompson said: “The MotorFest is an excellent day out and I am in full support.

"This is an excellent event which puts Ormskirk on the map. Members of NWTRA are volunteering to help promote Ormskirk market town."

Organisers Aintree Circuit Club have also launched their new Friends of Ormskirk MotorFest scheme this week, which for a membership cost of £5 gets visitors a collector's badge, a specially-produced event brochure - and the chance to get a ride in one of the event's more exotic entrants around the streets of Ormskirk.

Signed up to appear are supercars and competition motorcycles, including one ridden by the late Joey Dunlop, a former world motorcycling champion. There will also be MG racing and rally cars, Metro 6R4, Group B rally cars and racing motorcycles, and the Santa Pod Raceway Top Fuel Dragster. Some of the vehicles will take part in parade laps around the town, and static displays will be on Moor Street, Aughton Street and Coronation Park.

If you have a competition car you'd like to enter, would like to volunteer as a marshal or would simply like more information about the event, visit the official Ormskirk MotorFest website at www.ormskirkmotorfest.com

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