Alex Robbins
@Scrof
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Freelance car journo walking more than 200 miles in support of @missionmotorspt .🚶 Please sponsor me at:
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I’ve had a break from Twitter these last few months.
But I’m back for the foreseeable, and I’m going to be doing a big, scary thing for
@Missionmotorspt
later this year.
More in the video below ⬇️
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Here we are, then. I was 37 years old when I managed to buy my dream car.
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Spotted near Grosvenor Square in London last evening. Proper old money spec - street parked, immaculate MOT history and laughably low mileage. And just look at that plate!
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Home! And in the garage. She fits - just. And she’s got a name now, because it just felt right. Welcome home, Audrey.
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A practical demonstration of the way SUVs with LEDs can be horribly dazzling, even with the correct beam pattern and adjustment. (Stationary, engine-off traffic on the M25 tonight, before anyone has a pop.)
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I’ve been a bit busy these last few days. Welcome to the world, little Kesandu, or Sandy for short, born on Friday evening. His name is Igbo for ‘one who spreads life to everyone’. Mum and baby doing well. Big sister tremendously excited. Dad a blubbering mess.
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Here we go then. After a long day of trains, allow me to present, fresh from the attentive care of its previous owner
@Joe_Hallenbeck
: my new motor.
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A friend just forwarded this pic over to point out something I hadn’t twigged. Looks like the Range Rover following the Queen to Buckingham Palace the other evening was wearing one of her private plates. Lovely touch.
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She is a 1970 D Special, quite tatty cosmetically, not very original, no history, LHD, two different colours and in need of some work - which is how I could afford her. But she runs and drives, looks solid and is mine. And I am utterly overjoyed. I don’t really have the words.
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I feel as though it’s incumbent upon me, having discovered that there is a Tatra 603 for sale, to notify
#weirdcartwitter
that there is a Tatra 603 for sale. So here goes:
Folks, there is a Tatra 603 for sale.
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Still reeling from yesterday, so I’d like to tell you a bit more about the ship I was on. HMS Hurworth is a Hunt-class, the oldest and one of the smallest Navy warships. But also, for my money, one of the most interesting. (🧵)
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You will doubtless have been wondering where on earth Audrey is, and why it's mid-way through summer, and I'm not flouncing around the place in her listening to Aznavour, smoking a Gauloises and shrugging insouciantly at everything. (1/23)
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This is a perfectly legitimate place to spend one’s evening. Isn’t it?
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I think this would count as a positive day, on the whole.
Audrey is on the road!
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Unfortunately a buyer I’d lined up for the 480 has now pulled out. It will therefore be up for sale on Car & Classic very shortly. Before I do that, though, are there any takers?
I’d be pricing it at £4,995 but I’d take a bit off that for a Twitterer. More details below.
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Here are some cool cars parked together. (Also an interesting Honda E size comparison.)
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In solidarity with my LGBTQ+ friends in the industry, for whom this decision will make attendance very difficult, I will be boycotting this show, and I encourage all my fellow freelance journalists, content creators, and editors on publications large and small, to do so too.
FOCUS EXCLUSIVELY ON QATAR
GIMS 2023 will be held exclusively in Doha, Qatar, in November 2023. Despite many efforts and with regret, the optimal conditions for staging a top-class Motor Show in Geneva next February are not secured. More info:
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Audrey is going off to the garage next week. I’ve just picked up my loaner. And what a loaner it is.
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“Yeah just casually driving around an industrial estate in Colliers Wood on a Tuesday morning in my Espada…”
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I don’t hate that new 1 Series facelift, but it doesn’t half look familiar…
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Well look, as a Volvo owner I couldn’t very well let a cold snap go by without taking at least one picture of my car in the snow, now, could I?
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Having the album cover showing on the dash display can be a neat feature, but can also result in demonic Phil staring you down each time you go to check your speed. Argh.
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I’ve had the honour and privilege of hanging out in and driving
@ThePollitt
’s wonderful 19,000-mile Rover 827Si today. You don’t need me to tell you it is delightful. And a good reminder that, contrary to our apparent collective memory, these were actually really nice cars.
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Still en route home. It’s getting dark now. And that can mean only one thing.
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So I found out the Volvo’s project code was G13. Kind of equivalent to a BMW’s E number. Then I found out this plate was available for a bargain price. And then one thing led to another…
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I think it’s happened. Sale agreed on the TVR. Delivering it to its new owner on Wednesday. Golly. Bye, silly plastic car. It’s been fun.
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Oh, and because you’re all filthy
#weirdcartwitter
folk, here for your delectation is an elderly (and very tidy) Mk1 Laguna gently sipping tea from its Thermos and taking in the view.
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Wow. Mad fever dream last night. I dreamt that, at the height of the SUV craze, JLR had decided it no longer wanted one of the best known, most universally respected and most commercially desirable SUV brands in the world.
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You join me in Swindon, where I am pumping kilowatt hours into this Skoda Enyaq. See that roof tent? Well, I’m on my way to the Pembrokeshire coast, where tonight I’ll be sleeping in it on an off-grid campsite. I will of course keep you updated on this experience.
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One last price reduction on the TVR. This is now seriously good money for a Chimaera in this condition, and with this sort of history. If it doesn't sell for this, it's going in the garage for the winter and I (might) have another go next year. Anyone?
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Might just be me, but my timeline feels particularly angsty and fighty and horrible this morning. So here’s a cleanser: a Peugeot 304 drop-top which, to my mind, is the automotive equivalent of a fluffy kitten.
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I’m on a train into London. There are many reasons I get the train into London, but this one is arguably the most exciting of all: there’s an old car waiting for me at the end of this journey. And this one is either going to be sublime or ridiculous. Yes, it’s NEW OLD CAR DAY!
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New rear tyres and a wash ahead of our family hols. 70mpg on this morning’s dawn raid to drop the dog off. And tomorrow she’ll take us to Scotland in comfort and safety. We’ve done 36k miles in her now; I reckon we’ll do that again and then some. She’s become part of the family.
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Busy at nursery pick-up this evening, so it was tricky to find a parking spot. Fortunately I had the right tool for the job.
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Off to the What Car? Awards tonight. My money’s on the 1983 Citroën BX taking home the big Car Of The Year gong. How about you?
#WhatCarAwards
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Just had a sudden realisation that the side profile of the Volvo is pretty much a stretched, squashed Citroen AX.
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So don't count on seeing Audrey out and about any time soon. But do count on seeing her out and about one day. She will be fixed, she will run again, and she'll be better than she has been for a long, long time. (Fin.)
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Yeah that’s right. I did park with all the other cool cars at the services. Obviously.
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@ThePollitt
Everyone else has gone British here, but I think that’s incidental. I think the crucial part is that it must consist of the layer of faux luxury Hyacinth demands, atop the sort of ordinary car Richard can afford. I think therefore that the correct answer is a Ford Focus Vignale.
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Had to drive to Southampton to visit a friend tonight. Should really have taken the Skoda. Didn’t.
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If anyone has an Ami they need to park somewhere, they can probably fit it in behind me.
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An imminent addition to the family means I’ve had to move out of my office. Fortunately I found a tiny shepherds hut that fits down the side, and I’ve spent the last couple of days making it home. This is probably as tidy as it’ll ever be, so have a pic to celebrate.
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You’ve got £33500-ish to spend on a new EV hatchback. Which are you choosing: the Peugeot e-208 GT, or the MG 4 Trophy Long Range and £2,000 change?
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Stopped in to see how Audrey’s coming along this week. Turned into the road and this sight greeted me. I still can’t take her home just yet but crikey, doesn’t she look good? 😍 (from a distance 😆)
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Time to introduce you to a new addition to the fleet. Don’t get excited - it’s quite a boring one. That’s right - I’ve bought, as
@Petrolblog
would put it, my very own shatchback.
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I'm a big fan of whoever it is that's spent the last five years racking up almost 80,000 miles in a bright yellow V8 Lexus LC500.
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…and home! That’s 1,500 miles in three days in a 250,000-mile, nine year old EV, at an average of 3.1 miles per kWh. It wasn’t hellish, it wasn’t impossible - I’d even go as far as to say I enjoyed it, on balance.
The last supercharger of the trip - Maidstone - is the least impressive. The site is dark and foreboding with no facilities, the bays awkward to get into. I’d be very nervous if I were a young woman having to charge up here alone. Thankfully I’m only here for a few minutes.
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When you’re a car dealer but you’re really not great at selling cars…
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Just bagged this Auris for a car-agnostic neighbour who wanted a dependable, frugal, fuss-free hatch to replace his dying Mk1 Focus. 2014 1.6 Icon Plus; tad leggy at 91k but excellent nick, a genuine full history and the private plate thrown in, all for £5750. Happy with that.
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Just remembered I have this
@RussellWallis
print above my desk. I always saw it as a list of things to aim for. I thought I had a shot at one of the bottom three one day. I always thought the top two were out of reach. Sometimes, though, life throws you a bone.
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Tomorrow, the Saab goes off to its new owner. So we’re just having a bit of a moment with some Otis Redding. Bye old girl. It’s been fun. Again. 🥺
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Well that would appear to be a thing that has happened.
Deeply honoured (and more than a bit surprised, given the immense talent of those shortlisted) to find out I’m the
@NewspressTweets
EV Writer of the Year. Thank you!
I’m going to go and have a bit of a sit down now…
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When you have managed to repeat both ‘AMG’ and ‘plus’ within the same car name, it is perhaps time to sit down and have a bit of a rethink of your naming strategy. Merc’s is just word salad at this point.
In order to more accurately reflect the bulky complexity of new cars, car derivative names are becoming bulkier and more complex.
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Drove along the M4 yesterday and now my car looks like it’s been to the Alps and back.
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Reminded this morning that I’ve now owned this car for two years and 24,000 miles. It doesn’t get much of a look-in on here as it does its job so well, but suffice it to say I still adore it and can’t think of anything that’d do all the things we need quite so convincingly.
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So,
#FOTU
, then. Pleased to say I will be there, sadly not in Audrey because Audrey is being Audrey. Instead,
@UPnDOWNvids
has kindly lent me one of the finest unexceptional cars I can imagine taking - his 23,000-mile BX16 TRS, one of the oldest in the country. See you there!
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Finally managed to pap this mildly oxidised old Marina Coupe that seems to serve as someone’s daily round my way. Say what you like, but you have to admire the dedication in using and maintaining old BL tin on an everyday basis. (See also:
@idriveaclassic
)
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Do you remember when
@ThePollitt
owned a Rover 827? Pepperidge Farm remembers. And so do I, because I have (somewhat belatedly) written about him and the car - and I even had the privilege of driving it: [reg req’d]
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Hello. I still somehow own a Volvo 480. I’m quite keen not to; much though I’ve enjoyed my time with it, I could do with pouring money into a dilapidated old Citroën I also seem to own instead. If you were to come and buy it, I would be delighted. Ta.
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Thanks for this. It’s reminded me just how much I adored The Wrong Trousers. So much genius packed into such a short run time.
The Wrong Trousers is 30 years old!
The most pitch perfect chase sequence ever committed to film. I’m forever in awe of this scene. Long before you could fall back on CGI. Proper craft at work… AND it’s bloody hilarious.
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Interesting discovery while working on the train today: if you choose a Vauxhall Combo Pro instead of the Prime, you get body coloured bumpers and LED DRLs, but no wheels. Maglev thrown in, though, which seems like good value.
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It’s been a while since I drove a high-mileage car to France and lost the keys, so today I’m driving to the south coast in this 255,000-mile, nine year old Tesla. Let’s see how it goes!
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Geeky cool thing about the Volvo that I’ve just noticed (and love): the front and rear wipers are synced when on intermittent. When the rear is on fast (there are two speeds), it sweeps each time the front ones do; on slow it goes every third sweep.
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So while it’s the carriers and destroyers that make the headlines, the Hunt deserves its time in the sun. Don’t write them off because of their age or size - they’re fascinating ships too, and play a vital role in the modern Navy. Also, the big chair at the front is comfy.
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Me: feeling a bit chunky after Christmas, better lose some weight.
The bakery: the sausage sandwich is the same price as egg salad and you get a free jam donut.
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Last couple of pics from today.
@Joe_Hallenbeck
’s current and former cars brought together. He’s got good taste, no?
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Oh, hello old friend who’s been at the garage for the last two weeks having a big service, suspension and brake work, and now drives beautifully.
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Home! Been a long day. Might have a glass of wine to celebrate. Feels good to have pop-ups back in my life again though!
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It is now five years since I went freelance, so there follows a thread to mark the occasion which contains a spot of shameless self-promotion. You have been warned! (1/6)
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Would you like to buy a cheap ULEZ/CAZ-friendly Ford Focus saloon with a few battle scars, but a decent MOT, lots of (working) toys and a heart of gold?
Course you would. And I’ve got just the thing…
RTs always appreciated. Thank you!
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Bloke on the cover of the Focus’s audio handbook is living his best life.
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