I run a site called DriveArchive. Let me explain.

DriveArchive is a bit like FriendsReunited, only for cars. Or lorries, buses, motorbikes, any sort of vehicle you like, which has a numberplate.

It's free to use, you can go along and search for a vehicle without registering, so why not pop along and give it a go now... oh, but before you go... Obviously the chances of you finding a particular vehicle are quite slim. There are a heck of a lot of vehicles in the database, but then in the real world there are a LOT of vehicles... but I guess FriendsReunited once had very few people on it, and look what happened there. What the site really needs is for YOU to add some data when you visit.

If you go and have a look for a particular vehicle (might be one you once had, might be one you own now) and it's not there (or especially if it is!) then please add a record for it... you know it makes sense!

Registration is free and easy, minimum details I need are a name and an email address, to enable me and hopefully other owners to reach you (though note that your email need NOT be visible on the site for this to happen.)

Try it, what the heck, go to DriveArchive now...

It just so happens that I'm in an excellent position to compare and contrast the merits of the Ford Focus TDCI and the Vauxhall Astra CDTI. The missus is fortunate enough to get a company car, and a few years ago she acquired the Astra.

After four years she had to change to a new car, and this time, mostly just for a change, she plumped for the Focus. And I bought the Astra from the leasing company. So we now have both, and I get to drive both regularly. They both have the 100bhp version diesel engines, of very similar spec. They are of a similar trim level. They have similar performance and fuel economy. So, which (as Harry Hill would say) is best? Only one way to find out... fight!

Okay, not quite a fair fight, as the Astra has done 85,000 miles and the Focus about 3,000. However, I drove the Astra when it was brand new, so I think I can do a fair comparison.

Performance
Economy
Handling
Brakes
Body
Interior
ICE
Reliability
Result

Now then. People who drive slowly. I got stuck behind one today, and it made me think... (I had a lot of time.)

Do you know what this road sign means? I bet you haven't seen it very often. I can't recall ever having seen one. But it's in the Highway Code. It's a MINIMUM speed limit of 30mph. Blimey! What a great concept! Woo hoo!

I live in North Wales - which means two things. Firstly speeding has become all but suicidal due to Ubermeister Brunstrom's obsession with sending his troops to hide around corners and in vans waiting to get you (I'm surprised they find the time what with all the other things they have to do, like, um, ah). And secondly, it's a major retirement area.

I'm not young myself, not by a long shot. But it's just a plain fact that older folk, in the main, drive slowly. I have no problem with that, I'm slowing up myself. BUT, and this is a big but, when the car in front of you insists on going at 20mph through built up areas, because there's a chance the speed camera van might be there, then it's all gone too far.

I mean, you (and all the other poor saps trying to get on with their lives in the queue with you) can't easily overtake, safely, in a 30 limit. You're just stuck. This is not fair. I've always said that I prefer speedy boy racers to slow coaches, because you see the boy racer, then he's gone in a flash, but the dawdler, you're stuck with, seemingly forever.

So... to address two problems in one go, here's my idea. Firstly, all 30 limits (and 40s, and 50s) have an IMPLIED minimum speed limit of their value too. Go too fast or too slow in these areas, and you're nicked, my son.

Cracking idea, huh? No! you cry, because who's going to police that idea. We are, that's who!

If you see someone who frankly ought not to be on the road going either too fast or too slow, you report them. However, to avoid vindictiveness, there must be, say, three independent complaints for it to proceed. And in a slow moving queue stuck behind one of these snails, that would be easily achieved!

Okay, okay it wouldn't work. But surely there's a way? Please. Somebody. Sort it out!

(oh and I would really like to see one of those minimum speed limit signs before I die.)

The whole reason I set up the DriveArchive site was to find out where my old motors had gone to.

A chronological list of the cars I've owned:

	Mini First car, obvious choice. I had no idea what I was doing when I bought it, no idea about mileages, no clue how to spot a dud. I was lucky, it was actually quite reliable. I slowly trashed it. Bits fell off, I used and abused it, ultimately smashed it through a hedge, I bodged repairs, I bodged bodywork, oh dear oh dear. What I'd give to have it back, just as it was back then.
	MG Midget Suddenly got an idea that sports cars would be fun. And this was. If you see a Midget on the road today you'll know that they were named very appositely. They are so small, and as I am not myself, I wonder how I got in the thing. Went everywhere in it, usually with the top down. Not fast, not quiet, but very reliable and a good laugh. Except in snow. I really hope someone preserved it. I doubt they did. 0-60mph - 14.8 secs 95mph top speed 65 bhp
	Mini Clubman Estate What on earth I was thinking I don't know. I mean it wasn't a bad car. But why I went from sporty young blade in an MG to this shopping trolley I just cannot now recall. I'd just about got the hang of the mechanicals of cars by now, so I didn't cause this car anywhere near as much damage as the previous two.
	VW Beetle My mate Roy sold me this for next to nothing. I ran around in it for a few months, while bodging over the rust and tarting it up for a quick sale. An interesting driving experience, those girder like bumpers certainly commanded respect, and once you'd wound it up to speed, leaving your noise behind you, it was a relaxed motorway cruiser. 0-60mph - 20+ secs 78mph top speed 40 bhp
	Triumph GT6 Aha. Now this is it a bit more like it. Almost a proper sports car. The GT6 was fast. Great big engine, and hardly anything to it. A mini E-type. Sort of. I eventually stripped it out, replaced all the carpets, refurbished the mechanicals, rust-proofed it, and I hope that somewhere out there it still exists. Sold to a guy in Stone, Staffs, called Stuart I think. Bonkers rear suspension, though. And Overdrive! Huh? 0-60mph - 9.5 secs 112mph top speed 98 bhp
	Triumph TR7 Hang on a minute, I'm filling up. Oh how I loved this car. I know TR7s have a terrible reputation. I don't care. This car was just great. It looked great (to me). It went fast, it handled quite well. It was a full sized car, not like the Midget and the GT6. I went all over in it, even slept in it once. I cannot recall it ever breaking down. I was mad to sell it. Please tell me it survived. Please. 0-60mph - 10.8 secs 108mph top speed 105 bhp
	Suzuki SJ410Q And another odd choice. There I was with the love-of-my-life-TR7, and I decided to buy the slowest car in the universe. My first new car, it cost £4.5k, about the same as a Ford Fiesta at the time, but I thought it would be a lot more interesting. It was, in a cold, slow, bumpy sort of way. Good off-road, fun on beaches, nice on a summer day with the top down. Absolutely un-drivable on motorways. Top speed 60 with the wind behind you. 0-60mph - a long time 68mph top speed 45 bhp
	Ford Fiesta XR2 Another favourite, perhaps the best car I've had. It went like stink, really did. And, unlike previous cars I'd had, this one handled! Oh it was a harsh ride. Front tyres wore out in 6k miles. But it was fun, fun, fun. Nice inside too. Sunroof. Gosh I used to drive it fast. Never had a dodgy moment in it, though. Good brakes, good grip, just plain good all over. 0-60mph - 10.1 secs 106mph top speed 84 bhp
	Opel Manta GT/E This beauty cost me £7,500 back in 1984. At the time I hated Capris, and wanted something that did the same job, but was better. The Manta had a rallying pedigree, and looked just fabulous in white, I thought. I never quite bonded with it, like with the XR2 above. It was faster, but it felt slower. It was a lovely car, until the day I over-did it in the wet and bashed it up a grass bank. The garage botched the repairs, and it was never right after that. Its end was ignominious... it just rotted away. I waxoyled it when new, but blocked a chassis drain hole, leading to water just standing inside, which eventually rusted through. It only did 75,000 miles. What a waste. 0-60mph - 9.0 secs 122mph top speed 110 bhp
	Triumph TR7 Now you'd think I'd have learned my lesson, but no, I bought another TR7. This one, theoretically, should have been better. It was a five speed, and not Speke made. But it was pretty ropey. And, it was rusty. It had a very good sunroof, and did go quite well, but hadn't the charm of my earlier model. 0-60mph - 10 secs 110mph top speed 105 bhp
	Ford Escort MkIV When it was new, and owned by my then partner, this was a pretty good car. Unfortunately by the time I got it, it was somewhat tarnished. It had had a minor bump, which had holed the radiator, but the car was driven on until the engine exploded. The engine was replaced. But somehow the car felt loose and rattly and a bit rough after that. I should have kept it, with it's new engine, but for reasons which escape me now, I decided to trade it in for... 0-60mph - 11.7 secs 109mph top speed 90 bhp
	Rover 414iS I paid £12,000 for this car. Just before car prices started to fall. What a dummy. And the thing was nice, but it wasn't that much nicer than the Escort it replaced. It had one huge problem, that the transmission was very jumpy. To start off and change up through the low gears smoothly was impossible. I came to hate the car because of this, and nobody could seem to fix it... maybe it was me... maybe my clutch foot is just rubbish. I dunno. It had nice alloys, and it was quiet and comfortable and quite frugal. Once I'd sold it, I quite missed it. 0-60mph -  11 secs 111 mph top speed 103 bhp There's a full story of this car in the Articles section of DriveArchive.
	Astra 1.7 CDTI The more powerful of the two diesel versions available, thankfully. Has been 'in the family' from new, and I've acquired it from the leasing company as it turns 4 years old, having done over 80,000 miles. It's averaged over 53mpg so far, and has a fair turn of speed in the mid range, making it reasonably fun to drive. Slower speeds reveal a tractor-like engine noise, but the quicker you go, the less apparent that is. Hate the colour, should have chosen red. Nice alloys. Terrific stereo. Has been replaced by a leased Focus, with which it compares quite well, the Focus having a more sporty feel and more gizmos. However, it lacks the Astra's solidity, and surprisingly has an inferior sound system and interior trim feels less well put together. The Focus's engine (again a diesel) is much quieter and refined, though. 0-60mph - 11.3 secs 112mph top speed 100 bhp

If I may, I'd like to review this book in the manner of Mr. Clarkson himself. Ahem.

Firstly, I'd like to point out to you that although the production of a book may well involve the destruction of an ecologically valuable tree or two somewhere in the world, I can demonstrate with a flip one-liner that this is of no consequence whatsoever, and may well indeed be a good thing. I'd now like to go off on a wild tangent at this point, and relate to you a recent visit to some foreign clime where I had a jolly old time at someone else's expense, and make you feel like your life is vastly inferior to my own, which it almost certainly is. At the very last moment I'll return to the subject of the review, this book, which I will pick huge holes out of, mercilessly, using a alarming amount of hyperbole.

I will point out that this is nothing new, that it is a series of Sunday Times articles ranging back several years, giving the briefest road tests of cars, some of which are no longer for sale. And that acres of print, more than the size of Texas, are spent in repetition of what is basically the same joke.

And then, right in the last paragraph I will confess to absolutely loving this book. That despite all of its obvious failings I devoured it cover to cover and laughed heartily along the way. That despite it being a jolly good way for Mr. Clarkson to make a lot of dosh without having to do any more work than he had already done, I don't begrudge him a penny, and would happily buy any number of his other books.

If you liked the format of the above, buy the book, you'll love it. I have to admit here that Jeremy and I are worryingly on the same wavelength with our views of the world. He doesn't like politicians, the police, hippies, environmentalists, slow drivers, speed cameras, modern music, etc, etc.... And neither do I - so it's easy and enjoyable reading. If you don't like his views, stay away. You'll just get cross.

Recommended, 8/10, you could buy the paperback version here.

I was watching the old goggle box this morning, thinking that if the BBC spent as much on the programmes as they did on the bits between programmes, we'd all be a lot happier I imagine, when the topic of petrol came to mind.

And bubblejet printer ink. And saffron. And heating oil. I've had to buy all of these things recently, and they're all madly expensive, suddenly. Well, maybe not the saffron, that's always been a bit daft. Yesterday I order a 2 gigabyte SD memory card for my new Canon S5 IS bridge camera, of which more another day. From Play.com it cost 15 quid. 15 quid! It's amazing. I also ordered 4 ink cartridges for two printers. 68 quid. That's amazing too, but not in the same way. And when they arrive they will be weeny little boxes, massively over packaged, containing the odd drip of ink which may or may not come spurting out satisfactorily. Hmmm. On the one hand, a marvel of modern technology, 2,000,000,000 bytes of information held on a thing the size of a stamp. £15. Some coloured liquid, £68. "Are they having a laugh?"

Anyway. Petrol.

So, oddly enough for a chap with a passion for cars, with a website about cars, and a section of his blog about cars - actually I don't own a car. I won't bore you with why not... though in truth it's just one word - impecuniousness (if I had a pound for every letter in "impecuniousness"...) - but at present I am fated to be using my partner's Peugeot 206. Which I hate. Again, another story.

But for reasons best known to my psychologist, I have been recording the petrol consumption of this car since it was new, back in May 2001. Since you ask... it's averaged 47.28 mpg over this period, which I consider to be fairly rubbish. Because in that time the thing has just pootled around, never going far, never going fast, (it's a 1.1 - it doesn't do fast) just a nice journey of 10 to 15 miles per trip - ideal conditions for good consumption. So 47 mpg I think is a bit weedy. But never mind, maybe I'm being harsh.

The point... back in 2001, I note from my rather sadly comprehensive notes on this topic, petrol was 68.9p a litre, or in terms my brain can more easily deal with, £3.13 a gallon.

My last fill up, buying as cheaply as I could from good old Tesco's, was 105.9p per litre, or £4.81 a gallon. I'm not good at maths, but I'd say that was an increase of over 50%.

Now, 2001 is not that long ago, is it? We've recently crashed through that pound-a-litre psychological barrier, and I suspect it will never go back. In terms of pounds per gallon (which let's be honest - a lot better way to judge, I mean we talk in terms of miles-per-gallon, don't we?) - the five pound gallon looms.

And at ever rise, Gordon's huge percentage tax take gets bigger and bigger. We had a strike for a lot less than this a few years ago. Is there nothing we can do? Are we just waving a white flag and giving up on this one?

If you're interested in mpg, then you might appreciate a bit Freeware what I wrote, it takes your readings of mileage and fuel price and amount bought between top-ups and gives the answer, it's downloadable from here:
Zip Version
or
Exe Version

Every few months I conduct a survey on my DriveArchive site about motoring related issues.

Here are a few results from recent times:

Near where I live there are several stretches of road where they've dropped the speed limit from a very fair 40 down to a totally stupid 30. You can tell it's daft because (nearly) everyone semi-ignores the new limit, except when the old Bill is about, not because we're law breakers, but because it's plainly daft. You wonder who makes these changes, and why.	If today's road tax was collected not by a yearly lump some but by a small percentage on the cost of fuel, wouldn't that be fairer? The more miles you do, the more you contribute to the upkeep of the roads, and if you're a low user, then you contribute less.
Question: There are signs for eveything these days. How about when a speed limit changes, they put up a large sign for a few months explaining themselves?	Question:  Wouldn't it be fairer to collect road tax from the price of fuel rather than a yearly sum that everyone pays, regardless of annual mileage?
agree: 58.1% don't care: 25.6% disagree: 16.3%	agree: 77.5% don't care: 3.9% disagree: 18.6%
Speed cameras. They may be a right pain, but maybe they do sort of work. But the truly galling bit, surely, is where the fine money goes. It goes into the coffers of the coppers, and they spend it on... erm, well, who knows? So, wouldn't it be better if the cash generated from speeding offences went somewhere better?	Is it not blindingly obvious (ho ho) that drivers should have regular eyesight tests to maintain their driving license? And that the interval between tests should decrease as age increases, until it's on a yearly basis? It wouldn't require a huge effort to turn up somewhere, read a distant numberplate and be allowed to continue driving. I see so many drivers who clearly cannot see where they're going.
Question: Would it improve the way you feel about the police generally if speeding fines went straight to, say, Children in Need?	Question: Should there be a regular eyesight test to maintain your driving license?
agree: 52.8% don't care: 16.7% disagree: 30.6%	agree: 82.2% don't care: 11.1% disagree: 6.7%
Is it me, or is nearly every white van man and small lorry driver you see these days using his mobile phone as he speeds between jobs or deliveries? I was recently nearly run off the road by a lorry carrying a huge mobile home, where the driver was breezing along with just one hand on the wheel, one holding his phone.	I'm not sure about the laws governing making a mess on public highways, but it seems to me that the you ought to be heavily prosecuted for making the surface of a road very slippy and dangerous. Yet in rural areas you are always coming across muddy bits of road which could be, and probably are, lethal - especially given a drop of rain.
Question: Would you like to see even more stringent rules on mobile phone use for people obviously conducting business in this way?	Question: Maybe the police would be making driving safer by keeping an eye on road surface abuse rather than getting so picky about speed limits?
agree: 82.9% don't care: 9.4% disagree: 7.7%	agree: 66.7% don't care: 23.3% disagree: 10.0%

If you want to participate in a survey (no signing up required) then visit here.

The Astra discussed here is a 1.7 CDTi. Now, I've never driven a turbo diesel before, and I was half looking forward to it, half not. I knew from diesel evangelists that it would be quick, and economical. But I also knew that it would sound like a tractor and wouldn't rev. In all respects I was proved correct, but I was surprised just how much these expectations were true.

When the turbo kicks in this thing flies. Despite having driven many sports cars, I cannot recall a car with so much poke from 40 to 70 MPH. My young son calls it 'silly speed' not being able to differentiate between speed and acceleration. "Engage silly speed!" he shouts from the rear, and I put my foot down and you do feel that push in the back as the car pulls away.

But it does sound like a tractor at slow speeds. I had thought that maybe with all the technology that has no doubt gone into this engine, they might have been able to avoid that clatter, but no. I suppose you do get used to it, but driving slowly is not great fun for a driver who cares about these things, which I admit I do. Once you're up and running things naturally improve, but it's still a bit rough compared to a petrol.

The payoff therefore must be fuel economy? Well yes... so far the car has averaged 50 MPG. My previous car of a similar size managed 40, so it is a significant improvement, but not a massive one. Maybe I "engage silly speed" too often.

So, it accelerates well, but, and it's a big but, it's really hard to accelerate smoothly. From a standing start the turbo effect is hard to get used to. Nothing much happens, then it kicks in at a certain level of revs, you shoot forward, change gear and the whole thing slows up until that rev level is reached again. I admit I have not as yet mastered the art of keeping it 'on the plane' and achieving a lurch free journey. Drive it less aggressively and it's fine. Maybe I'm expecting too much.

The outside. Nothing to complain about there, it's a nice looking car. Somehow it looks like an Astra, but looks new too, which is good. It certainly looks better than the old Astra, and for me the new Focus manages the opposite compared with it's predecessor. The alloy wheels are a faff to clean, too many spokes.

The inside. It feels very, very solid. It's low on cup holders and places to keep "stuff", but the glove box is big and the dash quality is good. No rattles. The CD/radio is excellent, in fact this car has the loudest distortion free sound system I've ever experienced, put on "The Darkness" and go deaf.

The headlights, which on this particular car don't look-around-corners as on the adverts, don't seem that great on main beam. And they do look like a bunch of cheap plastic torches. The brakes are fantastic, disks all around with ABS, really good. Handling in normal circumstances is fine, I haven't thrashed it around a track, and it hasn't got low profile tyres, but for every day it's good.

The boot is ample, rear seat legroom is adequate. Seats are comfy, certainly a little firm at first and slightly slippery, but they have caused no problems on long journeys. Parking is easy, visibility is reasonable to the rear.

The handbook is appalling. It's so full of stuff about things you haven't got that it's of little use. Everywhere they tell you interesting features, but then you discover that you haven't got that option. As this car was already quite pricey I wonder just how much it could have cost if all the gubbins mentioned was actually installed.

Overall I like it, though I think I'd like a good big engined petrol version more, and I'd live with the inferior fuel consumption. If I had over 20 grand to spend, the Astra Sport Hatch VXR 2.0i 16v Turbo would do just nicely...

If you happen to live on the Isle of Anglesey, North Wales UK (as do I) then, if you are a motorist, I hope you find another site of mine useful, AngleseyMotoring.

It's a very simple site, it contains links and contact details of many motoring related businesses and services on (or near) the Island. There's a list of all the garage main dealers, and independents, as well as a host of service companies, and finally a lot of general motoring links, for example to traffic cameras and weather forecasts. It's free to use, so try here, AngleseyMotoring.