Drive Cult Ratcliff Writes

The Comparable Car Conundrum

Chris Ratcliff — 2011-12-01T11:13:26+00:00

From Frankfurt to Tokyo to Detroit, the Subaru vs Toyota punch and counterpunch reveal of two very similar cars seems to raise more questions than it answers.

I feel a bit like I've lost the thread of a movie halfway through. Not in a good Inception-type way, but more like Vanilla Sky. Either I've missed a fact that everyone else saw, or no-one else has mentioned the plot failing, and the failing is this: why on earth are Subaru and Toyota making the same car?

I don't mean this in a small, they-look-a-bit-similar way either. The underlying platform engineered by Subaru is virtually identical for both cars, but with both cars officially announced this week after...

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Up, Up and Away

Chris Ratcliff — 2011-05-12T10:41:08+00:00

Is improved driver testing a valuable goal to go after, or just pie in the sky?

Running an aeroplane is difficult, and rightly so. If you want to fly solo then to get your licence you need a medical, you need to pass 7 written exams and a practical test for communicating by radio, and finally you need a minimum of 45 hours flying experience. After all that, you can then fly little more than a single-engined washing machine with wings during the day in good visibility.

Want to fly at night? You need additional ratings on your licence. It's the same if you want to do aerobatics, fly...

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Getting Off Oil…

Chris Ratcliff — 2011-03-30T14:57:39+00:00

A pure petrol car may not be the mainstay of sales for much longer, but how can we use technology to wean ourselves off oil?

After last week's EV pragmatic lovefest, Matt raised the subject of hybrids. With almost every sector from luxury saloons to city cars now having a hybrid offering, are they the best option right now?

There are a number of different types of hybrids available: parallel hybrids where petrol and electric power can work individually or together; range-extending hybrids which use the engine to power the electric motors rather than the wheels; and finally, plug-in hybrids which can be either of the above but...

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The Future of Cheaper Motoring

Chris Ratcliff — 2011-03-21T23:11:09+00:00

A big V8 may stir the soul, but what about cars to soothe the wallet?

I am a petrolhead. My bloodstream is 99 RON, the sound of a beautiful engine gives me goosebumps and my shoes have the outline of Suzuka on the insole. However, at a time when petrol is £1.30+ a litre, the thought of running a big saloon with fuel economy in the teens doesn't really seem feasible.

I will nail my colours to the wall here, and say that I am a fan of electric cars. Not all of them, though; most look like research projects (even if they're actually not) and ones that you want to own are...

Published in: Blogging

The Racer Instinct

Chris Ratcliff — 2011-03-01T00:19:05+00:00

The helmet goes on, the visor down, the lights go green, and the racer emerges.

I’d qualified mid-pack, made a decent start but had a fellow driver up my inside into the first hairpin. As we exited he ran wide towards the curb, leaving me in no-man’s land rumbling over broken tarmac. Keeping the power on I rejoined and slotted in behind my new nemesis, no chance into the fast left, but watching his slide building on the entry to the first hairpin gave me a chance. A dab on the brake to tighten my line wasn’t matched by the guy behind me, and the tap from the rear left me T-boned in the...

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Why F1 2013 is lining up to be misshapen

Chris Ratcliff — 2010-12-22T10:25:09+00:00

Take engineers, give them a brief, and then wonder why the result looks odd but does what it's supposed to...

Nothing ages like an old Formula One car, and nothing advances as quickly as technology. Anyone who has watched the classic F1 race highlights on the BBC red button has seen angular, slab-sided cars with huge tyres being wrestled by heroes balancing one-handed driving against a manual gearshift, with the type of big, smokey engine blow-up that is increasingly rare in modern F1. Seeing highlights from the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s really shows the advancements in aerodynamics as the bodywork becomes more...

Published in: F1

The Engine Runs Again!

Chris Ratcliff — 2010-12-14T13:12:49+00:00

A quick trip to the car doctor, and the Focus runs again.

When I wrote the last blog about my Focus, it was just after it had been silently rolled into a space in the local garage. The good news, it has been restored to full health having had four valves replaced and various oily bits inspected and fettled. With a new lease of life, it's gone back to brilliantly filling the role of being solid and dependable, and oddly rattley from the exhaust. Must get that checked.

The thing that struck me about the experience though, was just how lacklustre it all was. Let me...

Published in: Ford Mustang

The Bulldog returns to F1

Chris Ratcliff — 2010-12-10T13:42:52+00:00

We've looked at the best of F1 2010, but further down the pitlane there have been equally impressive performances.

I can always tell when it’s getting to the end of the year, when the end of my desk starts leaving the floor, supported by a column of dead trees full of interesting car facts and gorgeous photography, so it’s time to give the local paper bank something to chew on.

Being a voracious reader of magazines, I can’t simply chuck away anything over a certain date. Each issue needs to be carefully combed through and potentially useful issues kept, while others have articles demanding one last re-read before...

Published in: F1

When the Engine Stops Humming

Chris Ratcliff — 2010-11-02T09:11:57+00:00

It's hard asking for help at the best of times.

When I was asked if I'd like a car blog for my cooking Focus here on Drive Cult, I turned it down. My car, trusty as it is, lacks any sense of sparkle or wonder, and instead just carries on performing faithfully, picking up the odd new scuff or rattle for its trouble. Until it stopped.

Returning from the shopping centre, I got in and turned the key...and nothing. My memory is already mixing with what I later learned, but honestly all I heard was an engine trying to start. Starter motor, things turning,...

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Some Lotus Notes…

Chris Ratcliff — 2010-10-19T08:16:56+00:00

What's really behind the Lotus announcements? And could the Elise be trying to take on the GT-R?

Do you remember when the Ford Focus was introduced? I do. Well, I remember Jeremy Clarkson standing in the waterfilled display stand stating how this made every other car in its class obsolete. This was off the back of the disappointing Escort and the utterly loathed Scorpio.

The Focus picked up where the KA had started, with new funky styling, a renewed interest in the driving experience, and was then followed by the rest of the Ford range.

A company like Ford, entrenched in model cycles and...

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