Four Wheel Fest (Scottish Motor Show)

Member Name: hakkved

Product:	Scottish Motor Show
Date:	01/12/01 (384 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: shiny sports cars

Disadvantages: no BMWs or Audis

Every couple of years Scotland is treated to its very own four-wheeled festival. This year beginning on the 9th of November and throughout its 10-day duration the public had access to £20million worth of cars with ease in the halls of Glasgow’s Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre.

The Scottish Motor Trade Association has been the Motor Show organisers since 1908! and put on an impressive display of cars from family saloons, luxury executive models and exotic sports cars. This set-up offers the perfect opportunity for the public to make an informed choice on future car purchases with many people on hand to give advice on each make and model. Personally I enjoy just wandering around drooling over perfectly lit and shiny sports cars.

Ford’s range of cars on display seemed extensive. One of their highlights was Colin McRae’s World Rally Championship Ford Focus and apparently the man himself, Stirling Moss and Jackie Stewart were lined up to make personal appearances throughout the show. The RS Focus was a popular choice (especially with my bruv – he’s now obsessed!) designed with handling tips and technology from McRae and his Focus. My favourite Ford has got to be the Puma, and a limited edition Puma Thunder was on show, but sadly marks the end of the Puma’s production. The new Ford Fiesta had its debut; it seems to look a lot like the Focus, but is more advanced.

The dream machine collection of cars ranged from Ferrari (though they are not a dream for me – I have a deep hatred of prancing horses and the colour red!), Maserati, Lotus, TVR and Porsche. The Lotus Elise is just stunning (I need one!) and the strange Lotus 340r was amusing. Understandably these cars were not available for leaping in and out of. The TVRs were a class apart too with their strange interior designs.

Mercedes had my 2 favourites present – the SLK Kompressor convertible and A-Class, which I duly j
umped into both to briefly pretend they were mine! Tucked away all lonesome behind the Mercedes stand was Formula One star David Coulthard’s McLaren. The McLaren was one of 3 F1 car appearances. A Williams and a Jordan were also on view separately but still in an abandoned state for some reason. Maybe I’m too used to the big F1 affair at Autosport International where all the F1 cars are guarded by team workers.

Honda’s showing consisted of the beautiful black Honda S2000 – another car I couldn’t resist jumping in behind the wheel, the sweeping angles through the bonnet are very pleasing to the eye. The new Honda Jazz, which has been described as Dr Who’s tardis inside, is spacious enough for adults to sit in the rear seats, along with the Civic and CR-V made a varied Honda display.

Other highlights throughout the show was the presence of Knight Rider’s very own Kit – complete with pulsing red light and Thunderbird Lady Penelope’s pink Rolls Royce – a flashback to childhood tv viewing!!

Jaguar, Aston Martin, Citroen, Renault, Fiat, Land Rover and Vauxhall were all in attendance with their current display of motors. One thing has to be said however. The Fiat Multipla is quite honestly the worst looking car I have ever seen in my life – and instils a sense of deep illness within me whenever my eyes shamefully fall upon one – and sadly there was one at the show!

And when all the stationary cars became too much, the Mini Adventure Zone provided some dramatic four-wheeled action. Apart from offering the chance to view the new Mini in all its dainty glory, the driver manoeuvred the Mini in a number of speedy handbrake skid parking moves and 2-wheel driving to make for some dramatic entertainment. The look on the face of the member of public in the passenger seat was entertainment in itself!!

All in all the Scottish Motor Show was a success despite
the no-show of BMW and Audi (alas no Z3’s or TT’s). The show appeals to car enthusiasts of all ages and the vast array of vehicles offers the chance to make buying decisions. But more importantly it keeps me appeased until the Autosport International Show in Birmingham in January!!

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