Clarkson column splits opinion
The piece, defending the Top Gear presenter over a clip which was never actually broadcast in its controversial form in the first place, has neatly divided Life On Cars readers between those who think he's some sort of automotive Ron Atkinson and those who think his apology was heartfelt and that he deserved to keep his job at the helm of the world's most-widely watched motoring show.
John Kade was one of the readers who got in touch after reading my piece in last week's Champion, and wrote:
"Firstly can I say that I found this very offensive. Does Mr Simister know Jeremy personally, his article also falls short of describing how indecent Mr Clarkson's behaviour was. It appears that Mr Simister is minimising Mr Clarkson's behaviour. How many celebrities have lost their jobs in broadcasting due to this sort of clandestine racism? After all Jeremy Clarkson is in the public eye and arena, his behaviour should reflect that."
However, I also had plenty of readers lining up to agree with the article, including fellow Champion columnist Jim Sharpe, who wrote not a letter, but an entire column of his own on the subject:
I appreciate it's a hugely sensitive subject, but it's good to see that Jeremy appears to be getting on with what he does best - filming a new series of Top Gear, which I'm really looking forward to. Whichever side of the fence you're on, however, it's clear that the whole saga has prompted some strongly-worded feedback.
Then again, that's nothing compared to the letter I had earlier today, entitled simply David Simister is an idiot and knows nothing, in which one reader questions my right to be a motoring journalist simply because I think Giorgetto Giugiaro made the Daewoo Matiz far more interesting than it could have been.
Each to their own, and all that...
Life On Cars shortlisted for national award
Originally created by motoring journalist David Simister in July 2009, the blog is one of just eight from across the UK which have been shortlisted for the Automotive category of the UK Blog Awards 2014, with the winner due to be announced at a ceremony in London on 25 April.
The blog, which is accompanied by a sister column in The Champion newspaper in Southport, focuses on a wide range of motoring topics with more than 750 articles since its launch, including many of the misadventures David has encountered in his own cars!
David is the news editor of Classic Car Weekly, and regularly contributes to The Champion as the motoring correspondent for the series of weekly newspapers.
Life On Cars changes gear
What you might not know, however, is that Sefton and West Lancashire's favourite motoring blog has looked largely the same since November 2010, when I gave it a bit of a facelift to bring into the line with the various shades of blue that make up the house colours at The Champion.
You can, of course, still catch up with the printed column in the eight editions of the newspaper every Wednesday, but with all the other changes it only seemed right to give the blog a bit of a sprucing up, including bringing in a bit of red - oh all right, a lot of red - to match Classic Car Weekly and its equally scarlet logo.
But while the colour's changed and some of the pictures and stories might come from a little further afield, with CCW being a publication with national reach, the anecdotes of automotive misfortune, the tips for events in the North West and all the other things Life On Cars covers will continue.
So while you'll be seeing red with the artwork, hopefully you won't be seeing red with any of the articles!
Read more of David's motoring stories - including a full page report on his MGB GT - in the latest edition of Classic Car Weekly (published Wednesday, April 17).
Life On Cars: The Champion motoring roadtest directory
Driving cars - and more importantly, writing about them - is what this blog's always been about, and it's always heartening to see from the number of hits that people do read it and enjoy it. Which is why, in a tradition started way back in 2010, I've always liked to give something back by creating special, online-only magazines packed with features, reviews and test drives.
This isn't one of them.
There will be no tenth issue of the imaginatively-titled Life On Cars magazine but what I've got instead is something I use to show the car makers, the PR people and the SMMT that all my test drives do actually make it into print - what I call the Champion motoring roadtest directory.
Readers familiar with the motoring pages of The Champion will be familiar with its pages but for those of you who don't live in Sefton and West Lancashire - which I know is a lot of you - it's possibly the first time you'll get to see a range of test drives and Life On Cars pieces as they've appeared in print. Covering everything from the Alfa Giulietta to the Volkswagen Polo GTI, it's an exhaustive look at almost all the cars I've driven over the past year.
Of course, Life On Cars is about more than just test drives and there's all sorts of stories and reviews on the way, including I hope, for the first time ever, coverage of the simply colossal Cholmondeley Pageant of Power later this month. If it's got horsepower and at least three wheels involved, it ticks all the right boxes in my book!
Until then however, feel free to see how a whole raft of cars fared when they got The Champion roadtest treatment...
At least this facelift's better than the Fiat Punto...
AS PROMISED, here’s the interview I did with Dune FM’s Martin Hovden to plug Life On Cars, broadcast on November 6th across Southport and West Lancashire on his Live From Studio One Show.
You might also have noticed a few changes on here lately; that’s because – in order to tie the site in more with the sister column in The Champion newspaper – it’s just been given a facelift, including this snazzy logo which both newspaper and website have in common.
I just hope it’s a better facelift than Fiat (Multipla), Mercedes (SL) and Hyundai (Coupe MK1) can manage…
Everybody loves a Morgan
FEW things are more embarrassing than stalling, but I think I've found one. Stalling a bright red sports car - with the roof down - on a busy high street.
Luckily, it's a fate I've just narrowly avoided.
Morgan's 4/4 is a sports car from the old school and - thanks to a blend of luck and being annoyingly persistent - I somehow managed to blag a road test for GR8 Life, the glossy sister magazine of The Champion.
I won't go too much into what it's like to drive - you'll have to read the write up to find out - but it's about as far removed from family hatchback motoring as you can imagine, especially in some of its quirkier charms.
The indicators being on the right (i.e. wrong) side you'll get used to, but what I found trickiest of all was the endearingly unique handbrake, which took me pretty much the entire drive to master.
Taking any unfamiliar motor out onto the streets can be a little daunting at first, no matter how much you revise the controls beforehand, but threading a scarlet red roadster which you only clapped eyes on 20 minutes earlier is in another league.
But I don't think anyone cared, because they loved the 4/4. Other drivers get aggravated if you're in other flashy sports cars, but become a Morgan man and they're suddenly prepared to forgive anything.
I'm just lucky stalling on Lord Street wasn't one of them...
Read my thoughts on the Morgan 4/4 in next week's Champion and in the winter edition of GR8 Life, due out in December.
A Champion top ten
CHAMPION readers looking for my top ten ways of squandering someone else's £10,000 can find them here.
This beautiful Jag XJ is one of the motors I'd rather buy than a campervan, but what would you go for? Don't forget to leave your top ten in the comments section!
