EVs, autonomy, and the car business — narrated.
Daily automotive briefing — EVs, autonomy, manufacturing, and the car business as it transitions — summarized and read aloud.
Axel Automotive Brief — Tesla Robotaxi updates, Rivian R2 configurator live, and Fisker owners rebuild from open source
Storyflo Daily·3 minWelcome to Storyflo Daily Automotive. The story that should be a business-school case study: per Electrek, when Fisker Inc.
Today's curated set
Storyflo's agent monitors thousands of partner publishers and promotes stories into the trending feed when they get multiple sends or operator curation.
Storyflo Daily·3 minAxel Auto Brief — Aventon Current ADV eMTB scores a $600 cut, Tesla Robotaxi makes the podcast cycle, and parents weigh fast e-bikes for teens
Welcome to Storyflo Daily Automotive.
2027 Volvo EX60 First-Drive Review: A Luxe EV That Gets Smart, Not Showy
Volvo continues its commitment to electric vehicles with the 2027 EX60, a new electric crossover that balances luxury and practicality. Available in rear-drive P6 and all-wheel-drive P10 configurations, the EX60 boasts around 300 miles of range and a starting price of approximately $60,000. This model is designed to compete with other electric SUVs like the BMW iX3, offering a tasteful design without excessive features. The EX60 showcases a modern aesthetic with a tapered roofline and distinctive LED taillights. Inside, it features a minimalist design dominated by a large touchscreen interface, although some controls remain tucked away, which can be inconvenient. The vehicle is powered by a single front motor in the P6, delivering 369 horsepower and a 0-60 mph time of 5.7 seconds. The new SPA3 architecture enhances the EX60's structure, making it lighter and more efficient, with rapid charging capabilities. Driving the P6 reveals a smooth and comfortable ride, ideal for everyday use, while the P10 offers a more powerful experience with 503 horsepower and a 0-60 mph time of 4.4 seconds. Both models feature adjustable dampers, though the P10's sport mode provides a more engaging driving experience. The EX60 also includes advanced infotainment with Google integration and a premium audio system, enhancing the overall driving experience. Volvo plans to release the EX60 in Plus and Ultra trims, with a base Core trim to follow. The P6 RWD Plus comes equipped with numerous safety features and modern conveniences, making it a compelling option in the electric vehicle market. Additionally, buyers can opt for overseas delivery, marking the EX60 as the first Volvo EV to offer this service.
Toyota’s GR GT Hasn’t Even Shipped Yet And The Internet Is Already Tuning It
__DEGRADED__ - The GR GT supercar received a digital tuning by Khyzyl Saleem. - It includes wide fenders, carbon fiber aero, and BBS E88 alloy wheels. - The standalone Gazoo Racing flagship will likely draw real tuners. Every flagship eventually attracts someone who thinks it could go further. The GR GT is Toyota’s performance high-water mark and the spiritual heir to the Lexus LFA. Even with its ultra-long nose and low GT3-racer proportions, there are people who want it wilder still, closer to the exotics it runs with. Independent designer Khyzyl Saleem is one of them. His first digital reworking of the GR GT is, in his own words, “just a lil chonk,” which undersells what he actually did to it. More: Does Toyota’s GR GT Sound Good Enough For A Car That Looks This Wild? The Japanese supercar picks up a custom bodykit, fresh alloys, and a bespoke livery, all of it dialing the visual drama up toward Lamborghini territory. The centerpiece of the styling work is the set of wide fender extensions, blended into the existing bodywork. The fenders pair with a more aggressive carbon-fiber splitter. Down the flanks, Saleem added side gills and extra fins along the skirts. The bigger change sits at the corners of the GR GT with a set of deep-dish BBS E88 wheels, and the whole car dropped closer to the road. The rear end appears to be carried over, as the standard model already comes with a large ducktail spoiler, an aggressive diffuser and quadruple tailpipes. As a final touch, the digital artist chose a new color combining a purple shade for the main bodywork with a black roof. More: Toyota GR’s Secret Texas Garage Has Been Preparing Lexus Dealers For A $200,000 Supercar Saleem didn’t mention any performance upgrades but the hybrid setup of the GR GT is competent enough to support the sportier bodykit. The car runs a twin-turbo dry-sump 4.0-liter V8 making at least 641 hp, with an electric motor adding extra shove. Toyota still hasn’t published a combined output figure, though it has confirmed a top speed beyond 199 mph (320 km/h). Deliveries of the first standalone model from Gazoo Racing are expected to start in 2027. Whether buyers will actually bolt on aftermarket kit like Saleem’s is another question. Either way, Toyota’s flagship is the sort of car tuners tend to circle.
Europe’s Biggest Motorcycle Maker Accused Of Selling Illegal Bikes
__DEGRADED__ - KTM allegedly detunes its off-road bikes to make them road-legal at registration. - Dealers reportedly restore full power once the customer takes delivery of the bike. - One dealer warns the detuned engines fail after barely 12 miles, or 20 km, of use. Surviving near-death usually makes a company more cautious. Not always. Having scraped past permanent liquidation in late 2024, KTM, Europe’s largest motorcycle manufacturer, now finds itself in hot water for reportedly selling off-road bikes and registering them as road-legal. Several prominent European publications have dug into the practice, and yet local authorities appear content to look the other way. The KTM 350 EXC-F is one of the models that sits at the center of it. In standard trim, the 350cc single-cylinder makes 51 hp and is meant for track and competition use only, never the public road. Undercover reporting tells a different story. KTM is said to be detuning these bikes to 15 hp so they qualify for road registration, then de-restricting them again before the keys change hands. Read: BMW Charges Supra Money For A Superbike Painted Like A Jaguar A team of reporters from ten major publications, including Spiegel and Manager Magazin, have spent recent months posing as prospective KTM buyers, and what they found is not pretty. The off-road bikes, they report, are restricted at the factory and registered for road use. They then reach dealers with the parts needed to convert them back to their original output. The dealer returns the bike to stock, tweaks the software, and sends it out the door, free to hit public roads on falsified registration documents. KTM Sales Rep Admits To The “Cheat” One reporter recently posed as a buyer at the Brussels Motor Show, speaking with KTM about its practices. The sales representative apparently acknowledged that the motorbikes are delivered in a restricted state to meet registration and emissions regulations, before being modified, saying, “It’s a bit of a cheat.” One dealer in Austria told a reporter from ORF that the engines will be damaged and break after just 12 miles (20 km) in their de-tuned state, noting they’re not designed to be so heavily restricted. These bikes are often referred to as ‘supermotos’ and because they’re technically not legal for road use, Spiegal reports insurance companies don’t cover them. That means that if a rider is involved in an accident, they could be staring down prison time. Breaching Local Regulations According to the International Council on Clean Transportation, the derestricted KTM bikes are “more than twice as loud” as when they’re restricted, and apparently produce as much carbon monoxide as a “diesel locomotive,” with particulate emissions much higher than those of a car. KTM says that all off-road motorcycles it sends to dealers are delivered in “road-legal condition,” and that modifications are made only at the customer’s request. In addition, dealers reportedly tell buyers that once the restrictions are removed, the bikes will no longer be legal for road use. Of course, these dealers have no way of stopping buyers from riding their de-restricted bikes wherever they want. Spiegal also reports that many of the motorcycles are derestricted as soon as they arrive at dealers, long before a customer makes a request.
Weekend Drive: Motor oil warning light flashes as trade tensions heat up
__DEGRADED__ Lindsay VanHulle and Molly Boigon of Automotive News join host Kellen Walker to break down the looming synthetic motor oil shortage, the biggest trade and tariff issues ahead of USMCA negotiations and how automakers are adapting to the U.S. ban on Chinese hardware and software.
Tesla’s Own Workers Reportedly Wouldn’t Trust FSD To Drive Them Around
__DEGRADED__ - Reuters alleges Tesla exaggerated FSD safety stats through disputed crash comparisons. - Former staff described failures alongside extensive testing and safety reviews. - The report highlights the gap between autonomous driving promises and reality. Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, have spent years talking up how important true autonomous driving is. Throughout this time, the technology has often been treated as though it’s right around the corner, just a few months away, or just a few software updates away. Musk has gone as far as to indicate that the brand’s value is directly tied to solving autonomous driving. According to a new investigation, several current and former employees have a warning for the rest of us: don’t buy the hype. The investigation conducted by Reuters dives deep into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving program. It allegedly includes insider information from those still with the company and some ex-employees. Somehow, the result is a picture that’s both alarming and reassuring at once. More: Feds Expand Tesla FSD Investigation After Visibility Failures Reuters says it spoke with former Tesla data labelers, self-driving engineers, researchers, and safety experts while also reviewing Tesla’s public safety claims and methodology. The outlet found that workers tasked with helping train FSD regularly reviewed footage showing Teslas struggling with everything from school buses and emergency vehicles to construction zones, pedestrians, and speed control. Several former workers reportedly said they personally wouldn’t trust the system to drive them around. One of the more emotionally charged claims evolves around an internal Tesla group informally referred to as the “trauma team.” Reuters says these workers focused specifically on near-misses involving pedestrians, including children. Former employees also described footage allegedly showing FSD-enabled Teslas striking animals, missing hazards, or requiring human intervention at the last possible second. Safer Than Humans? Then there’s the statistics side of the story, which may ultimately be the most important part of the entire investigation. For years now, Tesla executives, including Elon Musk, have publicly argued that Full Self-Driving is dramatically safer than human drivers. Reuters says outside researchers reviewed Tesla’s methodology and found several major issues with the comparisons being used. We’ve also called out the potential holes in Tesla’s claims here, but now there are insiders to back it up. Reuters claims Tesla compared crashes involving airbag deployments in FSD-equipped vehicles against broader federal crash datasets that included less severe incidents. Researchers also criticized Tesla for comparing relatively new Teslas against the entire U.S. vehicle fleet, which averages well over a decade old. The investigation additionally alleges Tesla only counts certain crashes if they occur within five seconds of FSD disengagement, despite federal reporting standards using a longer 30-second window. Researchers interviewed by Reuters argued these choices potentially paint a much rosier picture of FSD safety than a stricter apples-to-apples comparison would show. The Negative Space Of course, some of the biggest “reveals” might not actually surprise anyone closely following the autonomous vehicle space. To a degree, they might be reassuring. Reuters spends considerable time discussing Tesla’s alleged use of mapped robotaxi zones and extensive route preparation ahead of launches in places like Austin and California. Former employees described teams annotating roads, curbs, pickup zones, signs, and difficult traffic situations to help ensure successful demonstrations and smoother operation. Elon Musk in 2019: “If you need a geofence area you don’t have real self driving!” by u/bladerskb in SelfDrivingCars That’s notable largely because Musk has repeatedly criticized rivals like Waymo for relying heavily on mapped operating zones rather than generalized AI capable of functioning anywhere. In the clip above he literally says, “If you need a geofence area, you don’t have real self-driving.” Yet the report simultaneously reveals something else, too. Tesla appears to be obsessively reviewing edge cases, safety interventions, and system failures internally. Frankly, if Tesla wasn’t doing those things, that would probably be far more concerning. The Reuters investigation unintentionally exposes the strange duality at the center of Tesla’s self-driving ambitions. Internally, the company reportedly appears deeply aware of how difficult autonomous driving remains. Employees review failures, annotate hazards, retrain scenarios, and monitor disengagements in painstaking detail. Externally, Tesla leadership continues to speak about autonomy as though it’s perpetually just around the corner. That gap between engineering reality and public-facing rhetoric may ultimately be the real story here. Credit: Tesla
Trump Could Make Vehicles Even More Expensive With Latest Trade Push
__DEGRADED__ Trump is looking to revamp the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Administration reportedly wants to increase North American parts content to 82%. More importantly, they want 50% of parts to be made in the United States. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) came into force nearly six years ago and the United States bills it as a “mutually beneficial win for North American workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses.” However, it’s up for review and the Trump administration appears to want big changes. According to four people who talked to Reuters, the administration wants to increase the required North American parts content from 75% to 82% to receive preferential treatment. That’s a sizable bump, but one that doesn’t sound out of the realm of possibility. However, there’s a big kicker as at least 50% of that value would need to come from the United States. That’s a huge change as the current agreement only requires 40% or 45% of “core parts” – depending on vehicle type – to be made in high-wage jurisdictions such as Canada or the United States. In effect, it sounds like the Trump administration is trying to steal automotive jobs from Canada. This is hardly surprising as relations between the two countries have soured significantly under the ballroom enthusiast, and the countries have targeted each other with tariffs amid the spat. Reuters went on to suggest the United States could effectively negotiate the revised trade rules with Mexico and “then present them to Canada as a take-it-or-leave-it proposition.” On top of that, the administration reportedly wants to leave some tariffs on Canada and Mexico even with the new agreement. It sounds like a lose-lose situation for Canada and Mexico, but the latter could benefit if our neighbors to the North take the biggest hit. However, it’s too early to say how things will pan out. White House That being said, automakers are likely concerned about drastic changes and consumers should be too. The Detroit News spoke to AutoForecast Solutions’ Sam Fiorani, who pointed out that increasing US parts content would likely drive up prices and limit options. As he explained, “Mexico supplies a lot of vehicles that are price-sensitive. Raising the cost of those vehicles by requiring more expensive U.S. labor to be included would eliminate their competitiveness in the U.S. market.”
For $350,000, Indecent Will Turn Your Porsche 911 Into A Wagon
__DEGRADED__ - Polish tuner Indecent is building a 911 widebody shooting brake. - The $350k package fits 991 Turbo, Turbo S, and GT2 RS models. - The prototype is scheduled to debut at the 2027 Goodwood FOS. The appetite for reworked Porsches shows no sign of cooling, and the aftermarket is happy to keep feeding it. The latest comes from Indecent, a Polish tuner that has decided the 911 would look better with a longer roof and has set about turning a coupe into a shooting brake. It began as a rendering posted to the company’s social channels earlier this week. The image showed a 991.2 with a reshaped roofline and rear end, the silhouette landing somewhere close to a scaled-down Panamera Sport Turismo. Widened rear fenders, aftermarket alloys, a custom orange paint, and a twin rear spoiler complete the look. More: Porsche’s 964 Just Got A Carbon Rebuild And A Twin-Turbo 500 HP Flat-Six The response was enthusiastic enough to push the project past the what-if stage. Indecent green-lit the build, and work on the prototype is already underway, this one commissioned by a paying client rather than spun up as a styling exercise. Whether a shooting brake 911 is an improvement on the original is a question the render leaves wide open, but someone has put money down to find out. Turning a 911 into a shooting brake won’t be easy, as it requires extensive modifications on the bodywork. However, the end result will be quite unique and more practical than your regular coupe. Rear passengers should gain a bit of headroom, and there will be more room for cargo behind the seats. More: Porsche Built The 993 For The 1990s, This One Was Built For The Future There is a complication, though. The engine sits at the back of the 911, as it always has, so the team has to solve a cooling problem once the vented engine cover makes way for a custom tailgate. The first car will start life as a 991.2 911 Turbo, the version powered by a twin-turbo 3.8-liter flat-six good for 533 hp (397 kW / 540 PS). The build is expected to take a full year, with Indecent aiming to show the finished car at the 2027 Goodwood Festival of Speed. More: Porsche’s Most Mocked Design Scrambles Onto A New 911, And Somehow It Works What is more interesting is that the shooting brake conversion will be offered as an optional upgrade to Indecent’s existing widebody kits for the 991.1 and 991.2 generations. The company told us each subsequent build will take up to four months and can be based on the Turbo, Turbo S, or GT2 RS. The price is steep, an estimated $350,000 on top of whatever the donor car costs. Beyond its widebody kits for the 997 and 991, Indecent has also turned out Dakar-style and Slantnose conversions of the 997 as one-off commissions.
Hennessey Turns GMC’s Sierra AT4 Into A 700-HP Answer To The Raptor
__DEGRADED__ - Hennessey replaces the Sierra’s stock setup with a supercharged V8. - The Sierra AT4 gains suspension upgrades and rugged steel bumpers. - This upgraded pickup can sprint from 0-60 mph in just 4.2 seconds. Some companies chase efficiency. Hennessey chases the opposite. Alongside making muscle cars even more extraordinary and building the European-rivaling Venom F5 hypercar, the tuning company knows plenty about making potent off-roaders even more outlandish. It has done exactly that again with its Goliath 700 package for the GMC Sierra AT4. As standard, the Sierra AT4 comes with a 3.0-liter turbo-diesel inline-six, but for the Texas tuner, that engine is far too small. The Goliath 700 is based instead on the available 6.2-liter V8 Sierra AT4, now fitted with a massive supercharger. The beefed-up engine churns out 700 hp at 5,500 rpm and 611 lb-ft (828 Nm) of torque at 4,200 rpm, meaning this beast can hit 60 mph (96 km/h) in just 4.2 seconds. In addition to adding an air-to-water intercooler and a stainless-steel catback exhaust with black tips, Hennessey has transformed the pickup to ensure it can conquer almost any terrain imaginable. Watch: Hennessey’s Demon 1700 Makes More Torque At The Tires Than A Bugatti Chiron Makes At The Crank The work starts at the front, with upgraded DBS components and new upper control arms. Multimatic’s excellent DSSV shocks carry over, and Hennessey has added new 20-inch wheels wrapped in 35-inch off-road tires. Looks To Match There’s no mistaking the Goliath 700 from a standard Sierra AT4 thanks to a host of other exterior upgrades. These include new steel front and rear bumpers, custom badging, a 40-inch LED light bar, three-inch LED pod lights, carbon fiber tailgate accents, electronic power running boards, and a Hennessey skid plate. GMC hasn’t built a direct competitor to the Ram 1500 TRX and Ford F-150 Raptor R, but this is perhaps the closest truck you can get to one. Rounding out the upgrades are several interior tweaks, including new all-weather floor mats, numbered plaques, and embroidered headrests. As with other Hennessey packages, the Goliath 700 includes a three-year / 36,000-mile limited warranty.
31 Cameras Watch Every Boulder Driver, Two Residents Want A Judge To Pull The Plug
__DEGRADED__ - Residents claim Boulder’s camera network illegally tracks drivers without probable cause. - Lawsuit seeks damages and an order stopping warrantless use of the system. - Flock Safety says similar constitutional challenges have repeatedly failed in court. Automatic license plate readers are all over the USA. Some cities have hundreds, and effectively track every single person driving in or out of the area. Boulder, Colorado, has considerably fewer, less than 50 in total, but residents say that’s far too many to begin with. Now, two are suing the police chief over what they’re calling a violation of state law. The lawsuit, filed in Boulder County District Court, accuses Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn of creating a system of warrantless mass surveillance through the deployment of 31 Flock Safety cameras across the city. Plaintiffs William Freeman and Gwen Steel argue the technology continuously tracks the movements of thousands of drivers without probable cause, judicial oversight, or meaningful privacy protections. Cameras That Map Daily Life According to the complaint, first highlighted by Denver 7, the cameras collect images and location data that are stored in a searchable database accessible to law enforcement. The plaintiffs claim that it creates what they describe as a “dragnet” capable of revealing where people work, worship, seek medical care, attend school, or participate in political activities. Read: Why More Cities Are Suddenly Pulling The Plug On Flock Safety Cameras The suit also names Boulder Police Records Specialist Dawn VanAckeren as a defendant. Freeman alleges that after requesting records related to his own vehicle through Colorado’s public records process, he was denied access to the data collected about him. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified monetary damages and a court order that would prevent Boulder from continuing to use automated license plate readers without a warrant. That’s key because we’re not talking about federal laws or constitutional standards in this case. Civil rights attorney Andy McNulty, who represents the plaintiffs, argues that Colorado’s constitution provides stronger privacy protections than those recognized in some other states. The complaint contends that no court has established probable cause to justify monitoring every vehicle traveling on Boulder’s roads around the clock. Police officials have defended the technology in the past, arguing that the cameras help reduce crime and recover stolen vehicles. During a January town hall meeting, Redfearn said the public-safety benefits outweigh the risk of misuse and noted that Boulder does not share the data with federal immigration authorities. Flock Points To Its Courtroom Record Flock Safety also pushed back against the lawsuit. The company said courts around the country have repeatedly considered and rejected similar constitutional challenges, maintaining that fixed license plate reader systems have consistently been upheld as lawful. In some cases, suits have made all the images they take public information, and police departments have turned the cameras off in response. Flock added that agencies control their own data and determine access, retention, and sharing policies. The case has been assigned to Judge Michael Kotlarczyk. For now, Boulder officials say they are reviewing the allegations and will respond through the court process.
The Fun 2026 Renault 5 EV America Will Never Get To Buy | Review
__DEGRADED__ PROS ›› Design, exceptional ride, handling, equipment CONS ›› Rear legroom, limited range on the highway Plenty of carmakers reach into their own past and come back with clumsy pastiche. Renault is one of the few that gets it right. The R5 E-Tech is among the more desirable electric subcompacts in Europe right now, so we took the keys for a week to find out whether it holds up as something you actually live with. The production version landed in 2024, three years after the concept, carrying retro-futuristic styling that reaches back to the original R5 of 1972. The French subcompact serves as a zero-emission alternative to the closely sized Clio and a successor to the aging Zoe, while sitting just above the Twingo E-Tech that has only recently joined the range. None of this is coming to America. Renault left the US decades ago, and the R5 was built around European prices, European streets, and European tastes, with no plan to cross the Atlantic. So consider this a look at the charming little electric hatch America would probably love but can’t have. More: Renault Finally Has A Proper Premium SUV, But Europe Doesn’t Get It Our press car is the flagship Iconic trim painted in the striking but optional Pop Yellow shade with a sparkle effect, arguably the best fit for the new R5. The vivid color comes paired with a Diamond Black roof, a red accent strip along the flank, and 18-inch Chrono alloys, though I would take the Techno wheels given the choice. Iconic trim is also the only way to get the stronger 148 hp electric motor and the larger 52 kWh battery pack. Looks are subjective, but everyone I interacted with had good things to say about the design of the R5, which turned more heads than most press cars I have reviewed. Besides the exotic color, my favorite details are the vertical LED taillights with a three-dimensional finish, the sculpted fenders, and the rally-style DRLs on the front bumper. More: Renault’s New Electric Van Probably Looks Better Than Your Car The result is a car with a sporty, playful character that is genuinely hard to ignore in a market drowning in interchangeable SUVs. I am also taken with the small bump on the hood, a clear callback to the cooling vents of the classic 5 that earns its keep functionally too. Walk up to the car and the 5 emblem lights up in segments, reading out the battery charge level before you have even opened the door. Premium Tech In A Small Package The interior is filled with tech, especially in the flagship Iconic trim. The rather bulky digital cockpit sits high, comprising a 10.3-inch digital instrument cluster that changes colors depending on the driving mode and a crisp 10.1-inch touchscreen that’s slightly angled towards the driver. Review: The 2026 Renault Austral Facelift Is Polished, But It Has A BMW-Sized Problem Renault’s Google-powered OpenR infotainment has intuitive menus and connects seamlessly to a smartphone. More importantly, it is joined by a row of physical climate controls on the center console. The only ergonomic foul is the volume buttons which are awkwardly positioned on top of the screen, although there is a dedicated stalk behind the steering wheel for easier operation. Another slightly irritating thing is that the ChatGPT-powered “Reno” AI assistant kept popping up at irrelevant times during my conversation with the front passenger, reminding me of the animated paperclip from the old Windows Office. The buttons on the steering wheel control most functions, including a Multi Sense button for switching drive modes (Eco, Comfort, Sport, Perso). The gear stalk only has drive and reverse, leaving park out of the equation. Equipment is quite generous with heated seats and steering wheel, wireless charging, and a full suite of ADAS including an auto parking function that works great. In terms of materials, Renault’s color a trim department did a great job in creating a youthful environment. The yellow recycled textile on the seats and front doors is a nice touch, paired with synthetic leather and yellow stitch, also found on the passenger side of the dashboard. More: Radical Espace Reboot Leads Renault’s 36-Car Plan To Fight China’s Threat As for practicality, the rear seats of the 3,922 mm (154.4 inches) long hatchback might feel cramped for tall passengers if they sit behind a tall driver. Legroom and headroom are tighter than a Fiat Grande Panda, although adequate for an urban-focused offering. The boot has a capacity of 326 lt (11.5 cubic feet) which is slightly above average for the segment. Don’t look for a frunk as the electric motor takes up all of the space under the hood. Sharp Reflexes and Highway Manners On the road, the Renault 5 E-Tech clearly punches above its weight.
The cheap small car survives: Life with a mega-mile Ford Fiesta
__DEGRADED__ Recent reports show that Britain's car fleet is getting older, whether because people are reluctant to switch to newer machines or just that their trusty motors are more reliable. But what is life really like running a car that's had a hard life? Last year I bought a Ford Fiesta with 130,000 miles on the clock, which I owned for a year until selling it recently. So what is like really like running a 17-year-old car? I like to think I’m the sort of person who doesn’t follow trends, who does things just that little bit differently from everyone else – so here’s my newly acquired Ford Fiesta. If I’d had my way, my partner would be running around in a Daihatsu Cuore Avanzato or a Talbot Matra Rancho, having passed her driving test a few months ago. Alas, her requirements for a first car were rather more centred on efficiency, reliability and practicality than esotericism, so it came down to a supermini, and this 2009 1.4-litre Titanium 5dr finally won us over by virtue of being fairly decent value, the right colour and less than five miles from home. It’s fine, really, but for the £2500 we paid I might have asked for a better-smelling interior, a working boot release and carpets that were still glued to the floor. It’s not holding up badly for a 130,000-mile supermini, though, truth be told: it still pulls well, steers tightly and stops straight. I was rather disappointed that we only managed around 30mpg over the first 100 miles, but I attributed it to my newly qualified partner’s rev-happy suburban driving style and assumed the figure would improve as her right foot lightened with time. That is until I stopped to pump up a slightly pillowy rear tyre and discovered we were shockingly low on pressure at each corner. I’m expecting a massive increase in efficiency now that they’re all properly pumped up, and the car is tangibly more responsive and better-riding, to boot. One pound well spent. Used car buying guides will always tell you to check for rust, knackered clutches, dicky electrics and all sorts of other common foibles you might find on a second-hand motor. What they don't tend to warn you about is the smell. So when the interior of my 130k-mile Fiesta started honking bad enough to make me gag, I didn't know what to do. I can't describe it: imagine a thick, cloying funk of old, moist organic matter. A pretty grim fragrance - more Vom Ford than Tom Ford. I cleaned up a smattering of mould under the damp rear carpet and invested in some silicon sacks that (brilliantly) keep the cabin dry in winter, but still the aroma persisted. After a while I realised that it was at its worst when I turned the blower up, which gave me an idea... A quick scan of the forums and I had my culprit: the cabin filter. For the princely sum of about £8 I had a replacement in my hands just 24 hours later, and set about the quick task of swapping it in. And thank goodness I did. Not only was the old filter a putrid shade of green-grey, it was also decorated with a fairly thick layer of loose, unidentifiable grime and crumbled as I removed it from its housing. These are meant to be replaced every two years - I'd be surprised if this had been in the car less than 10. A cautionary tale... When did you last do yours? Otherwise, this high-mileage hero has been serving us pretty well, so I was surprised to get a panicked phone call from my finacée while abroad the other day, alerting me to an alarming amount of white smoke coming from the car on start-up. That certainly did sound worrying, particularly as the car isn't worth enough to warrant a costly head gasket replacement, so I was keen to have a look myself when I got home. Impatient as my better half is (and warned by alarmist associates that it could blow up at any minute), she couldn't wait that long and summoned the RAC, who arrived quickly and kindly went through the motions before confirming my quietly-held suspicions: it was a bit of a cold day, and the white smoke was just steam from the condensing exhaust gases. Annoying, but no better repair than one that doesn't need doing. On we go. You never want to smell burning oil when you’re driving – much less on Easter Sunday when you’re 80 miles from your destination, running late and have a boot full of chocolate eggs that need delivering urgently. I resisted the urge to remind my partner that we could have taken a shiny new electric car for the trip to see her family in Birmingham and instead quickly ascertained that oil was leaking from the rocker cover onto the exhaust manifold – but not severely enough to make me consider an extended stay at Oxford services. Holding our breath, and with one eye on the hard shoulder, we nursed the Fiesta back down the M40.
