A Datsun revival could actually work with Nissan's eco know-how

GREAT news! Datsun - a brand you thought had died back in the days of Spandau Ballet and bad leggings - is back.

I am, unfortunately, a bit too young to remember a time when you stroll into a car showroom and drive out in a gleaming new Cherry or Bluebird, but as evocative automotive names go it's not exactly one I've brought up to recall fondly. Google the Datsun Sunny and it'll become immediately obvious why I'd go for a Golf instead.

True, I'll admit the original 240Z sports coupe is deservedly called a classic car, but it on its own can't save Datsun's reputation for being a maker of crushingly dull motors.

So you're probably expecting me to head into town, get my shoes polished and prepare to give plans to revive the name a right old kicking.

But I reckon the Nissan Renault partnership, a sort of Franco-Japanese alliance aiming for automotive world domination, is on the ball and could actually pull off reviving a rubbish brand best known for building boring hatchbacks to boringly high standards.

Take, for instance, Nissan itself, which realised a couple of years ago nobody was buying saloons anymore. It pulled both the Primera and the QX out of the showrooms and instead brought you the Qashqai, a sort of off-roader meets hatchback thingymebob whose name nobody can spell or pronounce properly. A car which you, the great British public, responded to buying them in their thousands. The Nissan Qashqai is absolutely everywhere because you love it.

Nissan then decided, using all the money they'd made from Qashqai sales, to fit wheels to an SR-71 spyplane and go racing at Le Mans. While the car they've created, the Deltawing, looks like something Darth Vader would drive it shows they've got the finger on the pulse, because they're using it to prove small, lightweight cars are better than big, heavy ones. It might only have a 1.6 litre engine but - because it's only got half the drag of a normal racer - that's all it needs.

Admittedly, we're not all Stars Wars villains so you probably won't see the Deltawing for sale any time soon, but what Nissan might be offering you instead by reviving Datsun is the sort of reliability and ruggedness Qashqai buyers love, but with added eco-friendliness and a lower price.

A Deltawing-inspired Datsun with racing-inspired aerodynamics, eco-friendly yet unexpectedly exciting engines, low weight and - crucially - an even lower price? That's a Sunny successor even I'd go for...

Privatising Britain's roads helped pay for Olympic Torch route, Prime Minister argues

THE route the iconic Olympic Torch will take across the county of Outer Liverpool has been unveiled by the Chelmsford 2064 organisers this week.

Members of the Chelmsford Olympic Organising Committee said they had finalised details of the route the iconic torch would travel on its journey between Southport and Bootle later this summer - and, provided you’ve paid your Pedestrian Charge this month, you’ll be able to go along and see it.

Former Manchester Rovers striker and committee chairman Romeo Beckham said: “Today we bring the Olympic Torch Relay to life, with torchbearers coming from each of our corporate road sponsors.

“We hope local communities come out, pay to enter their local streets, and cheer on the many private companies who have invested in our roads and helped the Olympic Games come back to the UK for the first time since the London games of 2012.”

Among the roads where paying residents will be able to see the Olympic Torch are Activia Yoghurt Avenue, Serco Street, Go Compare Grove, Facebook Crescent and Reggae Reggae Sauce Road, before finally being transported by convoy along the Audi Expressway. Outer Liverpool’s remaining 50 motorists, who each pay £400 a month to use the region’s roads, will not be allowed to use any of the routes on the day itself.

The national route of the Olympic Torch has been designed to travel with 10 miles of each of the regional road owners, who since the last games in 2012 have spearheaded decades of investment in the British road network.

Prime Minister Leo Blair, said it was moves to privatise new roads, first suggested ahead of the last British games in 2012, and then their total privatisation in 2019 which had paid the way – literally – for the Chelmsford 2064 route.

“Thanks largely to the investments private companies have made in our roads since they were privatised in their entirety, the Olympic Torch can travel along roads which have barely deteriorated since the majority of British motorists were priced off them in the early 2020s,” he said.

“Naturally, I look forward to welcoming the Olympic Torch to some of the nation’s most profitable roads – and for the Chelmsford 2064 organisers to pay their tolls as they travel throughout Britain, of course.”

The Champion – which celebrated its 70th birthday earlier this month – asked Ministry of Transport officials whether they thought privatising Britain’s roads, a move first suggested by Sir David Cameron back in 2012, had been a bad idea which had cost motorists dearly and nearly scuppered the Chelmsford 2064 preparations altogether.

Nobody from Britishroadpayments.com was available to comment before this week’s edition went to press.

How to enter the 2012 Ormskirk MotorFest

DO YOU own a classic car or bike you'd love to show off to thousands of enthusiasts later this summer?

Then chances are you'll want to enter your pride and joy into this year's Ormskirk MotorFest, for which the organisers are now inviting entries. An official website for this year's event has also been launched, which you can find at www.ormskirkmotorfest.com

There are two ways to enter your vehicle for this year's event:

1) BY POST

Download a copy of the entry form and print it off before filling it in with details of your classic car or bike.

Send off the completed form to:

Aintree Circuit Club Events Office
1 Tilney Street
Aintree
L9 8DT


However, due to extra administration costs, there is a £5.00 fee payable for postal entries to this year's MotorFest.


2) ONLINE ENTRY

Go to the Ormskirk MotorFest 2012 website and click on either "Entry Form" or the "The race for registrations is now on" logo.

An electronic registration form will load. Simply fill in your details and provide some information about your classic (including a JPEG picture of it), and simply click "Submit".

A few minutes later you should get an email from one of the organisers, letting them know they will contact you soon about your entry. Unlike the postal entries, online entry is completely free of charge.

Full terms and conditions of the event are also available on the Ormskirk MotorFest website.

More updates on this year's Ormskirk MotorFest will be posted on Life On Cars as soon as they're announced.

Life On Cars Magazine Issue Nine!

THE LATEST edition of the Life On Cars magazine is ready!

As ever it's packed with motoring features and news aplenty - including a round up of some of the stars of this year's Geneva Motorshow - and a look at two very different British sports cars.

Hope you enjoy it...

Open publication - Free publishing - More cars

If Darth Vader drove a car...

THE same people who brought you the Micra and the Almera have just fitted wheels to an SR-71 spyplane.

This, believe it or not, is not the next Batmobile, but a racing car which Nissan is going to campaign at this year's Le Mans 24 Hours. The DeltaWing, the company reckons, will weigh half as much as a normal racer and have half the drag. And, presumably, twice the wow factor.

Andy Palmer, executive vice president of Nissan, said:

“As motor racing rulebooks have become tighter over time, racing cars look more and more similar and the technology used has had less and less relevance to road car development. Nissan DeltaWing aims to change that and we were an obvious choice to become part of the project.

“But this is just the start of our involvement. Nissan DeltaWing embodies a vast number of highly-innovative ideas that we can learn from. At the same time, our engineering resources and commitment to fuel efficiency leadership via our PureDrive strategy will help develop DeltaWing into a testbed of innovation for Nissan.”


Admittedly, it's not a classified entrant - so technically, it can't win the race anyway - and it's only got a 1.6 litre engine, but because they've bolted an enormous turbocharger it still manages to pump out an impressive 300bhp. Not that any of that matters, because while it's purportedly acting as a technological testbed the thing absolutely everyone will be talking about is that body.

As a sort of cross between an SR-71 spyplane, a Le Mans racer and something out of the Star Wars films I think it looks fabulous.

You probably disagree. Let me know...

Ormskirk MotorFest 2012 will be free of charge for classic car and bike owners

A MOTORSPORT spectacular will remain free to take part when it returns to the streets of Ormskirk later this summer, petrolheads have been told this week.

Aintree Circuit Club confirmed this week that when the Ormskirk MotorFest returns on Sunday, August 26 it will be free for both participants and visitors, following the announcement of a £10,000 sponsorship deal with the Belfry Group.

Mike Ashcroft, chairman of Aintree Circuit Club, said: "Aintree Circuit Club and West Lancashire Borough Council are delighted that the event has managed to attract this level of support in difficult economic times and wish to express their sincere thanks to Belfry Group Managing Director, Keith Rimmer, for his commitment to Ormskirk Motorfest.

"The event will continue to be completely free to attend or participate. You will be able to complete your Entry Application Form online, without the need to email. There will also be a facility to download your Application Form for entrants who wish to send their form by post."

Last year's inaugural event attracted more than 200 classic cars and bikes - with more than 90% of the entrants coming from the Sefton and West Lancashire areas - while more than 10,000 people visited Ormskirk to see the displays and parades.

For more information on how to enter visit the Aintree Circuit Club website at www.aintree.org.uk

A Volvo to be proud of

IT'S always nice to see a classic car being used by its owners for everyday chores, particularly if it's one as clean and cherished as this beautiful '65 Volvo.

This sober Swedish saloon - which I think is a 121 Amazon, although I could be wrong - is a brilliant example of what Volvos used to look like before their designers discoverd Etch-a-Sketch had been invented, and arguably you can see influences of it in today's rather sleeker and sportier offerings, including the latest V40.

If you own this classic Volvo by all means get in touch - I'd love to know more about it. I'm sad to admit it, but it made my lunch break seeing it on a Southport street otherwise packed with Astras and old Escorts.