Opinions expressed here are not necessarily to everyone's liking.

Why do I write this blog? I'm not really sure. I enjoy it (usually), it gets me thinking about various things, it is an informal way of passing on information and advice (particularly on driving matters), and it is a harmless way for me to let off a little steam occasionally. But it is a personal thing. It is not the definitive word on driving or anything else. It is just my personal slant on odd things that grab my attention. It is not to be taken too seriously.
Consequently, I found it laughable  when a couple of other driving instructors threw their toys out the pram, a couple of years ago, because I bemoaned the over-reliance on reference points. I then found it ridiculous when one of them took it so personally that they paid solicitors to threaten me with legal action unless I removed that particular post, even though it was a general rant rather than a specific (or personal) one.
A similar thing happened this week. Whilst at a test centre, waiting for my pupil, another instructor knocked on my car window.
"Why did you slag off my car in your blog?" he asked (he has a Peugeot 207).
I was quite taken aback by this and denied any such action. A few weeks ago, in a post on this blog about swapping my Clio for the Fiesta, I had briefly discussed various cars I have given instruction in. I only had the Peugeot for a few weeks while my Clio was being repaired after being hit by a bus. I actually liked it, and said so at the time. But, as I wrote in the blog post, and as I repeated to this instructor, my pupils and I were happy to get the Clio back. This is not necessarily a reflection on the Peugeot, we were obviously accustomed to the Clio. In fact one pupil, who had been happy with me for months, had her test approaching and preferred the Clio so much that she swapped to another instructor, who had a Clio. This was her PERSONAL choice. No doubt there are plenty of people who prefer 207s to Clios, and plenty of people who prefer the 207 to the Ford Fiesta. They are perfectly entitled to their own opinion and I wouldn't even think of disagreeing with them.
He asked me to remove the remarks about the 207. My initial thoughts were something along the lines of WTF? But I aim to please and, as he has no doubt ascertained, the 'offending' comments have been removed.
Perhaps that's not enough? Perhaps I should redress the balance with more positive comments about the 207 (not that they were negative in the first place):
It is quite a nice looking car. I like the way the wheels are symmetrically positioned on either side. The fuel cap is conveniently positioned on the side of the car to allow easy filling. The steering wheel is an attractive round shape. The seats support from both below and behind. There is a convenient little slot to the right of the steering wheel to hang your car keys. And it comes in some lovely colours.
Strangely, I am far more positive about Peugeots than I am about Manchester Utd, the Conservative party or the pondscum who tailgate my pupils, but I have never had anyone asking me to remove my comments about those.
I guess he felt that prospective customers might read my blog and be so influenced that they would be swayed away from him. (Scratches head), Silly me, I thought potential pupils would be more interested in the quality of instruction, rather than the car, but what do I know?

Old Faithful

I see that many people have found this blog after searching for information about the Renault Clio. I have now had my Clio for 20 months, so what do I think of it?
I have to be honest, it wasn’t my first choice. Having had several Vauxhall Corsas when I was with BSM I knew that I didn’t want another Corsa. My last BSM car was a Fiat 500, which I personally loved, but it wasn’t too popular with my customers.
Leaving BSM meant that I could choose whatever car I wanted. I read loads of reviews, had some test drives, and plumped for the new Ford Fiesta. But a misunderstanding over the end of my BSM contract meant that I had to cancel the Fiesta I had ordered. Then I ……… oh, it’s a long, boring story, but I ended up choosing my Renault Clio.
Fantastic. I loved it, but more importantly, my customers loved it. It wasn’t as much fun to drive as the Fiat 500, but it is a very easy car to learn to drive in. The clutch is very forgiving, the engine is very flexible, it has good all-round visibility, the brakes are excellent (almost too good) and it has a pleasing, uncluttered driving environment.
But what don’t I like about it? Tough question, my answer is “not a lot”. The seats aren’t the best - you feel a little like you’re sitting on them, rather than ‘in’ them. I don’t feel comfortable with having a ‘tyre inflator’ instead of a spare wheel. The steering isn’t quite as sharp as I would like it to be. Renault extended the wheelbase on the current model and (especially after the Fiat 500, which was as responsive as a Go-Kart) the steering felt a little unresponsive. The only other thing I can fault is reverse gear; there is no button, trigger, push , pull, or other mechanism to prevent accidental selection - it simply won’t let you go from a forward gear straight into reverse. This is fine most of the time, but every now and then it gets stuck and you have to go through the faff of putting it back in neutral, clutch up, clutch down, then it will go into reverse. These extra couple of seconds can add extra pressure in the middle of a parallel park or turn in the road.
But these are very small niggles. The Clio is an excellent tuition car. When a bus rear-ended me last year, the insurance company provided me with a Peugeot 207. Although I liked how it looked, my pupils... (passage removed because it caused offence) ...and we were all pleased when, a few weeks later, we got the Clio back.
But, as Echo & The Bunnymen once sang, nothing lasts forever. My relationship with my Clio seemed to lack the spark it once had.
After 20 months, 76,000 miles and over 100 pupils, we had been through a lot together.  But where I once used to lovingly polish her body, these days I am more likely to call her names when my pupil struggles to get it in reverse gear. Perhaps it was time to move on. She was to be binned, dumped, given the elbow, ditched, tossed aside, drop-kicked and given the big heave-ho.
And so, last Tuesday, I took her for one last spin. I drove down to Glasgow. She was as lively as ever; steady and assured on the winding roads, but responsive when I wanted her to overtake. Each time I saw another Clio heading towards me I would look at the styling, look at the smile on the driver's face and wonder whether I was doing the right thing. Perhaps the Clio and I were made for each other.
We reached Glasgow, where I was to say goodbye to her. It felt less like a relationship break-up, but more like taking a favourite dog to the vets and leaving her there.

If you have come to this site after searching for information on the Renault Clio, then I can only praise it. It's not perfect, and I believe they are bringing out a new model later in the year, but every time I see someone driving one, I think "What an intelligent person."

Va-va-voom

As promised, I got my Clio back this morning. I had begun to get used to the Peugeot, but it did feel nice being back in my car - the clutch is much more forgiving and the steering has more 'feel'.
When Matthew took his test last week the examiner looked at the Peugeot and asked me "Why have you gone and got yourself one of these?!" He obviously wasn't impressed.
It wasn't the first time examiners have turned their nose up at a car. When I was with BSM and had a Fiat 500, the examiners would often make disparaging comments about it. One time, at the start of a test, the examiner asked my pupil to pop the bonnet and tell him how he would check the oil level. As my pupil lifted the bonnet, the examiner looked into the engine and asked "Where's the rubber band?"  The cheek!