Confessions of a car addict

Welcome to Have Car, Will Drive. I am a young motoring enthusiast and uni student living in Melbourne, Australia and I have decided to share my thoughts, experiences and opinions on this blog. HCWD will document my driving experiences, and thoughts all all things automotive, as well as share interesting vehicles I see and anything else that is vaguely relevant. Car love for me is not just about exotic vehicles that are out of reach for most of us, but about finding enjoyment in any vehicle. This enjoyment for me is two-pronged, and stems from both driving enjoyment and a less tangible, emotional attachment that I seem to have to anything with four wheels.

Pictured above is my '08 build Ford Focus, my first new car purchase. Two weeks ago I piloted it on a four-day, 1000km round trip laced with twisty bitumen and a good helping of gravel back-roads. It is not amazingly fast, not is it particularly luxurious. And yet with its two-litre four and five-speed manual transmission, mounted on a (relatively) taut chassis and reasonably competent (if a little soft) suspension set-up, it can be quite a bit of fun on a good twisty road.

I hope to write up my recent adventures in my Focus at some point, but the catalyst for starting this blog is my forthcoming trip to New Zealand. Over a period of sixteen days I plan to drive the length of the North Island, see the sights and enjoy the driving along the way. I will post my experiences here, with an emphasis on the driving, and the occasional side note on my other experiences.

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Reflections Of A Car Addict On Holiday

BMW Vision Concept at AIMS 2011 After more than a month of running around madly, resting intensly, and doing various things that can only be done during uni holidays, it is well and truly time for me to put some time back into Have Car, Will Drive. In that time I've visited the Melbourne Motor Show, driven upwards of 1500km including two trips to Phillip Island, and dipped my feet in the mirky waters of car mechanics peforming my first radiator flush and attempting to understand the intricate workings of a Hyundai's hydraulic clutch system.

When Is A Diesel Not A Diesel? When It's A Fiat...

Like most small cars, the Fiat 500 is sold with an optional diesel engine in Europe. To date Australia has only had the choice of petrol-engined Fiat 500s, so when I heard that Fiat had announced the Fiat 500 Diesel for sale in Australia I was excited at the prospect of a new version of the funky Italian hatchback offering spectacular fuel efficiency while burning those long-chained hydrocarbons once reserved for trucks and tractors. Unfortunately, my hopes were soon dashed like a diesel-powered boat caught on a rocky coastline. Instead of being a diesel powered version of the miniature Italian, the Fiat 500 Diesel is a special edition of the regular petrol-powered 500 with trimmings designed by an Italian fashion house. 'Which Italian fashion house?' I hear you ask. That's right, you guessed it: Diesel.

Posthumus Review: 1994 Saab 9000CS

(This one may not actually be dead, but it is certainly dead to me, and so it qualifies for a Posthumus Review) Despite nearly two months having passed since the unfortunate demise of my Peugeot 405 Mi16 , I was definitely on the rebound when I bought my next set of wheels. From the sporty French emotion of the Peugeot I went to the clinically Swedish practicality (with a hint of European style, of course) of the Saab 9000CS. Instead of a five-speed manual mated to a rev-happy four mounted on go-kart-tight suspension, I now had a (relatively) heavy wallowing barge driven by an asthmatic 2.3L four and a clunky four-speed auto. But the old Saab was not without its perks. Its rear hatch provided easy access for transporting bikes and other assorted luggage with the seats folded flat. The heated front seats were a delight on cold winter mornings, and to my (possibly strange) tastes the fake woodgrain dash was a nice touch of class. The heated side mirrors and headlamp wipers were more of

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