Corrosion surprise
Great cars though they are, why don’t
we see any stories in Autocar about
the fact that McLarens have became
depreciation disasters?
Why? I suspect it’s due to major
corrosion issues. I bought a 570S,
which literally dissolved in front
of my eyes. McLaren ‘fixed’ it by
replacing many panels. However,
it started to corrode again, almost
i m me d i at e l y. S o I s old it.
T h i n k i n g t h i s w a s a one - of f, I
bought another. Lo and behold, it has
c or r o de d t o o. S o I ’ v e s old it. No mor e
McLarens for me.
O w ne r s of c a r s le s s t h a n t w o
y e a r s old , w it h v e r y low m i le a ge s
and which were £175,000 new are
being offered between £95,000 and
£100,000 by McLaren dealers.
They are amazing cars but badly
built. McLaren has created a fabulous
brand, but it’s now withering and will
fail unless they get the corrosion and
depreciation issues sorted.
Denis Dowen
Via email
Service, please
It has been great to read about your
Mini Cooper S five-door hatch (Our
Cars, 10 April).
I bought my Mini First with the
promise of two-year service intervals.
My car was built in November 2012
but registered in March 2013, so its
service reminder was set to the build
date. The BMW dealer said this was
wrong and adjusted it to two years
e v e r y Ma r c h. I n Nov e mb e r 2 01 5 t he
brake f luid service was f lagged up,
but the garage insisted that this was
correct as it was three years from the
build date.
Now I have a car that needs
servicing twice in the same year and
then nothing the next except for a
yearly MOT. Check your car’s service
indicator...
David Pickard
Via email
Living in the past
You r r e c e nt ne w s it e m on a p o s si ble
retro look for Porsche’s next hypercar
(News, 3 April) made me smile.
LETTER OF THE WEEK
Keep calm, carry on
I’m quite astonished at the number of letters
predicting the demise of the car industry when
a mandated speed cap comes into place. The
manufacturers and government have both saidthese can be overridden with a step down on the
a c c e le r at or. I f y ou mu s t go 9 0 -10 0 mph , y ou c a n.
John Impey (Your Views, 10 April) suggests
you’ll lose performance and handling. How?
There’s still be the acceleration to get us up
to speed, and even if limited to 70mph, we
will still get to use that acceleration. I don’t
see how handling will suffer. That makes no sense;
handling matters at all speeds, not just at high
s p e e d. A l y n S c ot t ( You r V ie w s , 10 A pr i l) t h i n k s t he
(debatably) beautiful styling of the likes of Porsche and Jaguar will be as
i r r e le v a nt a s t h at of a Sk o d a. But w e s t i l l w a nt s ome t h i n g t o ou r t a s t e on
t he d r i v e w ay t h at m a k e s u s sm i le e a c h d ay, f r om c it y c a r s t o s p or t s c a r s t o
SUVs. We all use our cars differently. So really, calm down and carry on!
Tim Washington
Via email
I hardly think it’s ‘news’ that
Porsche is considering a retro-
inspired design!
I took a look at the Porsche website
today (for the first time ever) and
it l i s t s no fe w e r t h a n 43 mo de l s. Itillustrates every model in side profile
and they all share the same retro-
inspired silhouette. Sure, it’s slightly
stretched for the limousines and
stacked for the SUVs, but every single
model gives a retro nod to the 911.
I really can’t understand why
anyone with any creativity would
c ho o s e t o s t y le c a r s at Por s c he.
David McNeill
Via email
Get the point
The recent criticism of Autocar’s
ongoing support for Jaguars as great
driver’s cars misses the point – and
so does Autocar.
T he v a s t m ajor it y of c a r s t o d ay a r e
not bought based on whether they
give a good driver experience but on
brand cachet and how much theyimpress neighbours and colleagues.
The tens of thousands of Range
Rover Evoques on the road were not
b ou g ht b e c au s e of how t he y d r i v e
but because of a combination of the
aspirational badge on the bonnet and
their fashion icon looks.
Sister brand Jaguar does not have
such aspirational appeal and will
never compete head-on with Audi,
BMW and Mercedes, whose badge
appeal overcomes any other failings
in cornering ability and steering feel.
Robin Warren
Via email
Not the first
A n e le c t r ic M i n i i s not h i n g ne w. I n
t he 10 A u g u s t 1967 i s s ue , A ut o c a r
reviewed two Travellers that had
been converted to battery power,
lo ok i n g t o t he f ut u r e of e le c t r ic c a r s.
Peter Saunders
Via email
Body as battery
Much as I admire the motor industry
for the sterling work it has done
in the development and design
of electric vehicles, I feel that the
current technology is not going to
cut the mustard, and neither will the
abysmal charging infrastructure.H i g h on my w i sh l i s t w ou ld b e
a vehicle with its body shell made
from Graphene, which would make
it incredibly strong, rigid and light.
But the icing on the cake would be
that the Graphene body was also
the battery and it would have a
f i v e -m i nut e c h a r g i n g t i me f r om a
domestic socket. Orders anyone?
Steve Parrott
Bridgnorth, Shropshire
C is for Comfort
At last, someone is taking the side of
the nation’s necks, spines, pelvises
and tender parts (‘Are you sitting
comfortably?’ 17 April).
WIN
Letter of the week
wins this ValetPRO
exterior protection
and maintenance kit
worth £48
62 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 24 APRIL 2 019
A n o r a n g e M c L a r e n : i s i t p a i n t o r r u s t?
Autocar plugged plug-in Mini in 1967
YOUR VIEWS
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