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The venue was Bicester Heritage Centre, a new site packed with engineers, workshops, Ferraris, Jensen's, Bugattis. Today it hosted a dozen classic SKODA's from the ŠKODA 422 through to a brand new ŠKODA Superb. It really isn't very often you get to see 80+ years of a marques history in one place. This is a part of SKODA UK's heritage fleet, together for the 120year celebrations. Fair to say a labour of love for the gents who keep them running. Getting up close to this heritage collection is an amazing opportunity. Being handed a key to start one up, even... View the full article & discuss below.

It began in 1895 with the humble bicycle and the vision of two men. Václav Laurin (a mechanic) and Václav Klement (a bookseller) started to design and manufacture bicycles, these were made under the name Slavia. Complete customer focus was the guiding principle; ‘only the best we can do is good enough for our customers’ was the motto. The bicycles sold well and by 1899 the pair began manufacturing motorcycles. They also changed the name to the Laurin & Klement Co. With a production run of nearly 4,000 motorbikes of various types, the pair saw a new phenomenon – the View the full article & discuss below.

Like its five-door hatch sibling, the Sports Tourer is based on an all-new lightweight vehicle architecture with a new design, powertrains and technology. It is built at Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port manufacturing plant in Cheshire. All-new Astra Sports Tourer in Vauxhall showrooms next year Smaller outside, bigger inside – up to 200kg lighter than outgoing model New seat architecture and tailgate that opens via a kick New powertrains and technology including OnStar and Apple CarPlay Vauxhall’s all-new Astra Sports Tourer is to make its debut at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. Design Just like the five-door hatch, the Sports Tourer View the full article & discuss below.

A new Ford Motor Company survey shows SUVs are highly desired by Millennials – those aged 17-34 – indicating Europe’s SUV boom is poised to accelerate as the generation reaches prime new car buying age. More so than other age groups, Millennials say SUVs make them feel powerful when they drive, are the kind of vehicle they want to be seen in and are more sporty and fun to drive than other vehicle types – according to top strategic research consultancy Benenson Strategy Group. The Millennial generation is also more likely to consider it important that a car is perfect for an View the full article & discuss below.

Darren Quibell, (30), a ŠKODA Master Technician, has been ranked third in the world at the recent ŠKODA Service Challenge in the Czech Republic. Darren, who works at Lincoln ŠKODA retailer Dennis Horton & Son, was named best in class at the UK Service Challenge Final, held at the Volkswagen Group National Learning Centre at the end of last year, and went on to represent the UK in the global finals. Following a series of five practical and theoretical tasks, designed to test knowledge, ability and skills, Darren was awarded third place worldwide in the Master Technician category. The ŠKODA View the full article & discuss below.

Leading Mazda performance specialist BBR is pleased to unveil two stages of engine performance upgrades for the 2.0-litre Skyactiv-G versions of the Mazda 3. Representing the culmination of eleven months of intensive in-house development, BBR’s 2.0-Skyactiv-G tuning program has successfully removed the key electronic and mechanical restrictions on 120, 145 and 165 PS models of the Mazda 3 / 6, CX-3 and CX-5, releasing the full potential of the new direct-injection powerplant. BBR’s testing program revealed that these versions of the 2.0-litre Skyactiv-G are identical mechanically, meaning that both stages of upgrade suit all power variants. View the full article

Cycling is a big part of ŠKODA's heritage, it's how it all began. So it's not surprising, this will be the fourth successive year, ŠKODA UK is the official car partner of the Tour of Britain. This means they are providing a fleet of vehicles to ensure the event’s seamless running. The race kicks off in Wrexham on Monday, 7 September, and will finish in London six days later. Throughout that time, a fleet of 50 ŠKODAs will support the world-class riders and their teams. As well as Octavia, Yeti and Fabia, the ŠKODA collective will include the stylish View the full article

TL;DR New engines, an advanced chassis, new Porsche Communication Management A new Porsche 911 is always highly anticipated - and the latest generation announced today is no exception. The core appeal of the rear-mounted flat-six engine in the 911 and its characteristic sporting driving experience resonate with owners and enthusiasts alike. This reputation for responsive and dynamic performance, forged both on the road and race track, coupled with unparalleled everyday usability, underpins the unstinting appeal of the 911. The 911 has been the world’s best-selling sports car for decades. Now, the new generation has arrived, equipped to extend View the full article

I have been a member on here now for over 5 years which has seen me own an 03 Octavia vRS then an 04 Octavia PD130 Combi and finally a Fabia vRS, whilst all of these car have had their good points and bad the time has come to move on as I've struggled to find what I want from the current Skoda range. After weeks of looking from selling my Octavia Combi I settled my sights on a v50 SE Sport however SWMBO had other ideas which saw me buying her a Rav4 & i inherited her Fabia vRS, whilst I didn't want the Rav it turned out to be a fantastic buy especially over the winter months with all the snow and ice. Anyway, I finally sold the Fabia which left me looking for a car no older than the Fabia (06) and something that would cost no more than £1000 to change, my must haves included diesel/lowest milage possible/cruise/climate control/half leather and lots of space for the family which left me looking at the Laguna/307/407/Mazda6 (no leather), After looking at all the above and test driving them all I fanally seattled on a 407 Sport which SWMBO found and picked it up 20/1/2010 As I mentioned I settled on a 407 SW Sport and spec is as follows 2l HDI 136bhp 6speed box Cruise Control with speed limiter Half Leather, Electric adjustable seats Dual Zone Climate Control Bluetooth 6 Disc CD Changer & MP3 headunit ABS/ESP Full Electric Windows & Remote Central Locking Panoramic Roof Rear Parking Sensors Auto Wipers / Auto Headlights Passenger Seat Airbag deactivation Tyre Pressure Monitor Split 2 piece boot door Auto Folding Mirrors Auto Dimming Rear View Mirror Heres some pictures The pictures don't show the colour at its best, its a really dark burgandy with a deep shine. 1st mods ordered View the full article

Well, ticked over 7k this morning. Not too bad for 3 months driving! I've been keeping a seriously close eye on oil levels (once a week at least), and its been steady at 9/10 on the dipstick since I took delivery. Checked Saturday morning and it seems to have gone to just above the minimum very quickly. A quick scout round for any leaks and found none, so thought I'd better look at getting a top up. Halfords unfortunately don't stock anything suitable. Its a strict ACEA C1 or JASO DL approval, so off to Mazda for the Dexellia own branded stuff. Unfortunately my nearest dealer is 25 miles away, but I do pass about 10 miles from one on my way home. I rang Pilling in Milton Keynes, and they confirmed it was in stock. Got to there at 5:50 to find they'd shut early (supposed to be 6:00). I popped into sales, had a whinge and was met with a very smarmy salesman who frankly I wanted to punch in the face. I left in a huff and went back this morning, and parted with a not-too-unreasonable £9.60 for 1l. I had a moan about last night, and the nice guy in parts gave me a nice velcro Castrol oil bag, chuffed. I have to say, this week its felt noticeably quicker, and economy is showing a shade over 50mpg on the trip. So hopefully with 7k on the clocks, its finally decided to loosen up a tad. Will report back on mpg after another couple of tankfulls. View the full article

Škoda Auto has posted bumper November sales in 2009, with UK demand up 45.3% year-on-year. In total 2,511 Škodas found homes in the UK during the period. The Fabia supermini continues to be the most popular model, closely followed by the recently revised Octavia. The upturn in registrations wasn't confined to the UK however – Škoda's worldwide sales totalled 55,460 vehicles in November, representing an increase of 26% over the same period in 2008. China alone accounted for over 11,000 of these sales, a huge 172.8% increase. With the recent introduction of the multi-award winning Yeti crossover and Superb Estate, Škoda has never been in a stronger position to continue to grow its market share than in 2010. View the full article

All, Today we launch the BRISKODA blogs, these are going to replace about 4 forum that are currently used to track project developments, news and so on. We also see quite a few what did you do today threads. All these can be handled in blogs quite well. Don't get too hung up on the title blog, it's a generic term. Initially anyone can comment on the blogs, but only freedom members may start one/ create one. This is get the system bedded in with users before expanding it. You can get started with blogs by visiting your My Settings link to access your control panel. From there under Your Options you will see a new link blogs. From this link you can create and maintain your blogs. You will have for the moment a limit of 2 blogs. You can either link to a remote blog if you're already blogging or start one. With the allowance of two you can also have a specific project blog should you wish, but they are for you to use as you wish. You will also be able to assign other members on the site as editors of your blog. Should you be co-working or sharing info, then this is a great way to make it easy to spread information. In time we'll open the system up to cater for uploads, polls and more. Today is launch day, tomorrow is the future... View the full article

I had a blowout on the way home from work which totally destroyed the front OSF tyre, so rather than replace the one I decided to replace the 235/40x18 tyres with the correct size for the Octavia even though the other 3 tyres had loads of life left. So out went the cheapo Accellera tyres in 235/40x18 and in came the cheapo Capitol branded tyres in 225/40x18. Hopefully these should solve the rubbing issue I had with the rear wheel arch when fully loaded. View the full article

August saw a trip down to Genoa Italy for the Octy, we travelled down the east side of France, around the southern part of Switzerland and entered Italy via the Mont Blanc Tunnel. Italy was very hot with daytime temps well into the 30s and dropping to 29c at night. On the return leg we visited the old F1 circuit at Reims for a second time and this time got a few pictures. View the full article

June 2009 and its off to the Costa Del Sol. We travelled via Calais, Rouen, Bordeaux, Madrid all the way down to Malaga where we spent nearly 2 weeks. We visited lots of places along the coast and went to Granada, Nerja and Gibraltar. The trip went ok with a total mileage travelled of 3819 miles. View the full article

April also saw the replacement of the Alloy Wheels with 18" RS6 replicas, the OEM wheels were getting a little tired and needed new tyres. These wheels came up for sale and were cheaper than the tyres needed at the time. View the full article

Easter 2009 and its off to Luxembourg and Germany for the week after the bank holiday. The weather for this trip was very warm, and we travelled down via France and Belgium into Luxembourg. We also visited the Nurburgring, again just spectating mostly from Brunchen. View the full article

September 2008 saw a weekend break in Great Yarmouth, no pictures of the car though. September also saw the installation of a Columbus Navigation unit to replace the Audience Headunit. View the full article

June 2008 saw my cars first trip down to spain, only as far as Madrid this time due to time constraints. The journey was Via Boulogne, Rouen, Bordeaux to Madrid, After a week it was time to return to the UK reversing the route we took driving down. The picture is in the hotel carpark where it was raining. Total mileage for this trip was just over 2,200 miles. View the full article

Just a short weekend break here, in the Calais to Le Touquet area. I had the first problem with the car here, an emissions fault on the Maxidot display, which was traced back to the Fuel temperature sensor. Once changed the problem was cleared. Luckily it did not affect the car at all, just an annoying check engine light with "Emissions Worshop" error. View the full article

August 2007 saw a trip down to Stu where a Maxidot dash panel from the vRS was installed to replace the standard Elegance LCD dashpod. View the full article

Easter 2007 saw another european trip, this time down to Germany and the infamous Nurburgring. We travelled down through Belgium and across country to Bonn and the ring itself. The journey back was via Luxembourg and France. The car was not driven on the ring, but instead viewing others was the order of the day. View the full article

Just one week into my ownership and its time for the first long distance trip. We set off for Southern France via Dunkirque, we travelled down via Paris and the Millau bridge before arriving in Narbonne where a few days were spent before travelling back via Montpellier, Lyon and Reims. View the full article

My octavia was purchased by me secondhand in September 2006 with 14K miles on the clock, she is a 2005(55) reg. 2.0TDi PD140 Elegance in Sahara Beige Metallic wuth Onyx cloth interior. I am the second owner, the first owner being Alamo Car Rental, so in reality I guess it had a few drivers in the 9 months between registration and me buying it. The only optional extra fitted to the car was the Audience headunit, which rather oddly did not include the then standard upgraded sound system. View the full article

well as me and my partner are expecting our first baby, i decided to look round for a bigger car, i wasnt particularly bothered about getting another skoda, but i came across a 1999 T reg felicia 1.3 estate, for a very reasonable price not too far from where i live, so i braved the snow and ice to go and look at it and at 4pm this afternoon i bought it home. the only problem i've got with my other one is the boot is too small so i thought i'd give this estate a try.it is very clean and tidy the only thing that lets it down is a crack in the back bumper think can see it in this picture hopefully it will serve me as well as the hatch back which i now need to find a new home for, she hasnt set a foot wrong running well for what it is, very untidy bodywork wise, but coping brilliantly with my 500 mile a week driving. she has left a lot for the estate to live up to now View the full article