#BrownCarGuy – News, Views & Reviews!
You know that little flash of headlights you do to help out a fellow motorist – to say “watch out, mate, there’s a speed trap ahead”? Yeah… turns out that could cost you £1,000. Yup. One grand. For being a nice person.
If you own a second-generation Citroën C3 (2009–2016) or a first-generation DS3 (2009–2019), stop everything. You might be sitting behind a steering wheel that could literally kill you. In June 2024, Citroën issued a Europe-wide “Do Not Drive” order for thousands of these models after a horrific fatal incident in France – where an airbag deployed during a minor crash and shot metal shrapnel into the driver’s face, killing her. That’s right – the very safety device designed to protect, became the instrument of death.
It started with a dive. Yes… I said “dive”, not “drive”. Actually, I don’t do water. So my answer to Roger Moore would have been “no” when he turned to his passenger in the 1977 Bond movie, The Spy Who Loved Me, and asked, “Can you swim?”. Of course, his actual passenger was a lot prettier.
I am obviously referring to that epochal moment when 007 truly went full sci-fi, as a sleek, low, wedge-shaped car sliced under a helicopter, zipped off a pier, dove into the ocean and transformed into a submarine. That white Lotus Esprit had me at “Look what Q’s brought for us, isn’t it nice?” – it was love at first sight, and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since.
Well, it’s finally here – the much anticipated return of EV subsidies in the UK. The government has announced a massive £700 million pot to encourage more people to go electric, offering grants of up to £3,750 off the purchase of a new battery electric vehicle (BEV). Sounds fantastic, right? But wait – before you dash off to your nearest dealership, there are a few important details you really need to understand. Because this time, things are a little different. And if you’re not careful, you might end up worse off!
Could the Nissan Leaf be the next national car? Sounds wild, but with the UK Government planning to throw £700 million at boosting electric vehicle sales – and reports suggesting only UK-built EVs may qualify for the cash – it might just happen. This isn’t just about climate targets anymore. It’s about protecting British manufacturing, curbing cheap imports, and getting private buyers back in the game. I break it all down in the video below.
Welcome to Car Guy Therapy – your dose of motoring mayhem, eyebrow-raising concepts, and proper petrolhead perspective. We will dish out the latest car news, drop a few truth bombs, and maybe help you make sense of the bizarre world the automotive industry’s driving us through. Watch the video below now!
It’s summer in Britain. Yes, actual summer – it’s our THIRD HEATWAVE so far this year!. That means barbecues, ice cream vans, and… dangerously dehydrated drivers. Wait, what? Yes, really.
You might think you’re safe and sound, cruising along in your climate-controlled motor, cold air gently blasting your cheeks, enjoying life with the smug satisfaction of someone who ticked the “dual-zone AC” box. But while you’re sipping that fizzy drink or half-lukewarm coffee from the services, your driving ability is deterioting rapidly, you won’t even realise it, until its too late!
Some days you just get handed a gift. An off-road playground. A couple of rugged Suzukis. And 55 years of 4WD history to dig into – literally.
That’s exactly what happened when Suzuki invited me to Monster Mountain, just outside Cardiff, to celebrate 55 years of Suzuki ALLGRIP four-wheel drive technology. This rough-and-ready quarry facility – now a motocross training ground for Suzuki ambassador and MX champion Geoff Walker – was the perfect terrain to unleash a couple of their finest go-anywhere heroes: the legendary Suzuki Jimny and a classic 2005 Grand Vitara V6.
Some cars are more than the sum of their spec sheets. Some cars are hidden gems. Some cars are unexpected delights. Some cars actually make sense on multiple levels. Some cars are the new, £22k, 2025 Suzuki Swift AllGrip Ultra Hybrid tested here.
If you like eager little hatchbacks that will dart in and out of city gaps, provide usable passenger and boot space, engage you with heel-and-toe downshifts and cheeky handbrake turns, sip fuel while being refined at motorway momentum, and even scrabble over churned-up gravel while wading through rain pools. Then you’ve landed on the right road (off-road) test!
When I started out in this game, being a motoring journalist was always about one thing: driving the cars. The thrill of the exhaust note, the response at the helm, the performance, the grip, the grip of the wheel, the subtle (unspoken) communication between machine and man – that’s where the magic was. That’s what we, as automotive content creators, have always aimed to convey to you – the audience, the readers, the viewers. What makes a car good, unique, special… or even downright dreadful?
But now… it seems that very role (our very reason for existence as petrolheads?) might be under threat.
