The badge is what counts
I have some news for Ranjit Dosanjh
concerning the 85% of BMW
1 Series owners who don’t know from
which end their vehicle is driven
(Your Views, 31 July): many of them
probably aren’t that concerned. The
important fact is it’s a BMW.
My view is informed by 30 years
in the motor trade. On my first day
a s a r o ok ie Me r c e de s s a le sm a n I w a s
put through an intensive product
training course, but to my dismay,
I soon realised that all I needed to
know were the colour chart and
options list. I was also amazed to
learn how few of my customers
read motoring magazines – their
information came mainly from
family, friends and work colleagues.
We avid Autocar readers live and
breathe cars and imagine everyone
who owns a car does as well. As I
learnt all those years ago, this is not
necessarily the case.
Jeff Loomes
Hartley, Kent
Gone, not forgotten
On reading your feature ‘I wish I’d
never sold it’ (Autocar, 24 July),
I was filled with sadness at my own
big regret.
We lived in the Middle East in the
early 2000s and owned a 1993 Jeep
Wrangler, a 4.0-litre manual one.
We treated it to new brakes, a new
radio and speakers and some slightly
larger wheels and tyres. It was a
great-looking machine. When it was
time to come home we thought about
the residual value of a left-hand-drive
car with a kph speedo and wrong-
way dipping headlights, so we sold
it. Hopefully ‘Jason’ is still loved and
providing someone in Dubai with
some really fun journeys.
Chris Barker
Via email
Regrets, I’ve had a few
Your frank admissions made me
fe e l sl i g ht l y le s s t e nde r a b out my
own decisions so cruelly exposed
as crashing errors of judgement
(‘I wish I’d never sold it’, 24 July).
I did manage to buy an E-Type, a
LETTER OF THE WEEK
EV missed opportunities
As a surveyor I visit lots of new housing
developments in Wiltshire, Hampshire and
Dorset, but when desperately sought planning is
granted by local authorities there is no stipulationfor the builder to install electric vehicle charging
points or solar power sources.
Many of these new homes are for the people
electric vehicles are most suitable for: people
with company cars, people in retirement or
young drivers. Drive through any housing
development that was built five years ago and
you will see almost all new cars on the driveways.
With the houses lacking charging points, what cars
w i l l b e on t he d r i v e w ay s i n f i v e y e a r s’ t i me? It w i l l b e
down to the homeowner to install a charging point, but
it’s an opportunity missed by authorities and the government
to meet targets and be world leaders.
Nick Smith
Via email
nice Series 1 3.8 , which I sold for
a f r a c t ion of w h at it i s w or t h now.
I can sympathise with Goodwin’s
dilemma – the Plus 2 was never on
my radar, although it may have been
the better investment.
That’s not the worst of it. In about1978 there was an unloved Dino
246GT parked behind my local paint
suppliers. It was seriously rotten but
complete, and two grand would have
bought it. I spent my hard-earned
on a Mk1 RS2000 instead, and no, I
don’t have that any more, either.
Bill Gysin
Via email
Make mine a Macan
After a series of M Sport BMWs,
the last one a 2015 535d GT on 21in
wheels with conventional tyres
and steel springs, I now own a 2017
Porsche Macan S on 21s and air
suspension. The ride is a revelation,
even in Sport Plus mode, and never
harsh like the M Sport suspension
was. Even the lesser-spec Macans I
test drove rode miles better than any
BM W I ’ v e ow ne d. My a d v ic e i s i f y ouwant a good ride, buy a Macan.
Ian Kleyn
Staines, Middlesex
Enter the Sandman
I was so pleased to read of Colin
Goodwin’s design for the perfect SUV
(‘Dacia Sandman, give me a dream’,
17 Ju l y). S o muc h c om mon s e n s e.
I noted with interest the design
specified steel wheels. Nobody has
ever explained the ‘advantages’
of alloy wheels to me. I am totally
convinced that a car with 15in steel
wheels and 65-profile tyres will not
only give a more comfortable ride but
a l s o t r a n sm it muc h le s s r oa d noi s e
into the cabin when compared with
the same vehicle fitted with 18in
alloys and 35-profile tyres.
Christopher J Baker
Brigg, Lincolnshire
Those were the days
Colin Goodwin’s article brought
memories f looding back of my early
days as a motorsport spectator
(‘Challenge accepted’, 24 July). In
the 1950s and ’60s there were at
least four other meetings in the year,
British Grand Prix aside, when you
could watch F1 cars in action, if you
were happy to travel to Goodwood,Silverstone, Oulton Park or
Snetterton. Not any more, of course.
The last time I felt that close to the
action was the first Festival of Speed
in 1993. Your correspondent has it
exactly right when he wrote about
how depressing today’s experience
is, with spectators treated as
inconvenient cash cows.
Ian Pascoe
Via email
Supercar soliloquy
Speed camera coverage, political
attitudes and traffic density have
sadly rendered supercars essentially
WIN
Letter of the week
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Porsche Macan: we’re walking in the air
BMW 530 Touring: a jarringly bad ride
Sandman concept’s
steel wheels make
perfect sense
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