At the moment, an electric car is a great thing to have! You get free electricity (from a network of rapid chargers), you get free road tax and you even get free travel into London’s congestion zone – where you can then park for free.

No charge to charge. Would electric cars be so popular if filling them with fuel was not free?

This isn’t very sensible as a long term measure. It will one day end.

The question is when, and to someone looking to step into the world of EVs, that question is very important. After all, it’d be a bit galling to buy an EV based on very favourable sums to find out that the running costs are about to take a leap upwards.

Now, to be honest, the government probably aren’t going to ramp up the road tax for cars that already exist, though they have done this in the past. You can’t really put it past them therefore. I must also concede that the hideous lack of rapid chargers here in rural mid-Wales mean that I wouldn’t get free electricity anyway – I’d have to charge at home at whatever that costs. A few quid per charge I imagine.

So, I’m hoping that this fear of new charges won’t actually impact my own EV desires. By far the biggest issue there is that I still can’t afford to buy one. Even worse, if I do find myself in a position to buy one, and I just might if plans for next year pan out as I hope, I might find myself having to choose between buying an EV and restoring my 2CV as even if I do manage to scrape enough money together for one of those activities, I certainly stand no chance of affording both.

It must be said though, one large part of the appeal for electric vehicles is that I could drive one from home to pretty much anywhere near the motorway network for almost zero pounds. If that incentive was removed, then certainly, some of the appeal of electric propulsion would disappear with it.

As part of a new experiment with HubNut, I’m entering the world of Vlogging or video blogging. I shall discuss a variety of (mostly) motoring-based issues. In my first Vlog, I discuss my 12-month Citroen XM ownership experience, electric cars and Saudi Arabia. I’m very pleased that being a Brit means I can criticise the Saudi regime without fear of being locked up. Or killed.

I also discuss roadworks in Powys. Sort it out bois!

Sometimes, videos take a frustratingly long time to reach YouTube. 13 months in this case due to various reason! Like forgetting to record a conclusion…

However, good things are worth waiting for I hope. And a V6 engine always helps.

Having recently told you about a car I dislike very much indeed, I should probably aim for rather more positivity. So, here’s a car I’d very much like to own. And it’s not a Citroen!

Cor! Delicious Daimler.

I love V8s. I always have done. There’s just something about the noise. The torque. But mainly the noise. Yet, I’m not really one for performance vehicles. Without doubt, the fastest V8 I’ve ever driven was a Gardner-Douglas Lola T70 replica. It had over 400bhp and was insanely quick. Far too quick for public roads. I have much the same trouble with TVRs, which is a shame as the Griffith and Chimaera both look fantastic, sound better than Prokofiev and feel truly special to drive. I just don’t want to get to 60mph quite that quickly thanks.

So, the idea of a 2.5-litre V8 in a fairly heavy body is therefore surprisingly appealing to me. That makes the Daimler 2.5-litre (or later V8250 as here) very appealing indeed. You get the marvellous soundtrack from Edward Turner’s majestic little V8, but it takes almost 15 seconds to get to 60mph. Perfect. You can deploy all of the beans, and not worry about upsetting PC Plod.

Being a plusher Mk2 Jaguar, these Daimlers are a lovely place to sit too. The slimline bumpers reveal this one to be a later V8250, but unlike the later Mk2 Jaguars, you still get all of the proper wood and leather (rather than cheaper Ambla).

Hmmmm. A proper interior.

They’ve been bargains for a long time too. Jaguar Mk2 prices, especially 3.8s, have been stretching ever higher. Daimlers top out at £20k and you can get a nice one for £15. A Mk2 3.8 could be twice that and while a lot quicker, doesn’t sound like a V8.

Of course, I certainly don’t have £15,000 kicking about, so it’s unlikely I’ll ever achieve this particular dream. Nonetheless, it’s a very pleasant one to have. They really are truly marvellous.

I’ve been busy posting more car-related videos this year, taking my channel past 40,000 views. Thanks folks! Here are some of the recent additions. I’ll start with the most recent.

Find out why this Skoda Rapid is so very, very special in this rear-engined Skoda road test.

A frantic few minutes aboard a BMW-powered, 100bhp 2CV. I’m hoping to shoot a rather less shaky video of this car later in the year.

Smooth executive class, with a V6-powered Citroen XM. A delightful road test.

From the sublime, to the ridiculous. A road test of my very own Perodua Nippa – or Kancil in Malaysia. It’s a reworked Daihatsu Mira.

Don’t forget that you can follow me on Twitter, and on Facebook.

Yes, it has been a week since my last post and no, I haven’t spent the whole time moping about the lack of 2CV action in my life. Even though it has been beautifully sunny!

No, I have instead been very busy just with general stuff. No time for moping! On Saturday, I drove all the way to Pride of Longbridge with a friend in his Austin 3-Litre (and I spent much time driving it), then there was plumbing, mirror-fixing and XM tyre swapping on Sunday, before driving 200 miles to Swindon and back yesterday to inspect a minibus.

Austin 3-Litre provided some classic thrills. An intriguing car

This week, I’m very busy with community minibus doings and writing work, so Blog postings may well be somewhat reduced, for which I can only apologise. It’s all good though, and I’m hoping for some very positive news on the writing front going forward. We shall see how 2015 pans out, but it’s certainly looking to be better than 2014. Which is nice. Thanks for reading.

Ian

Happy news. The Perodua Nippa now has MOT. It only failed on a torn steering rack gaiter, and it took all of 20 minutes for the garage to replace that yesterday. I feel a bit bad for not tackling that job myself, but time has been tight of late.

Perodua Nippa celebrates its MOT pass

The MOT gave me a chance to perform a good corrosion check underneath. All seems well, but I’ll have to keep an eye on things. After all, my Daihatsu Sirion proved that corrosion can be a real menace, even with something I see as a thoroughly modern car.

Driving the Nippa is a bit odd though. Despite being mechanically very similar to the Sirion (albeit with a smaller engine) it doesn’t seem to encourage outright hooning in the same way. Perhaps its the lack of mechanical refinement that makes the engine seem unhappy to be treated too brutally, or perhaps I’m just becoming a better driver…

Certainly, my good lady wife approves of the Nippa, marvelling at its lack of power assisted anything. The only downside is that the lack of torque at really low revs means you need to gun it more than you’d like, especially on hill starts. It’s very easy to make the clutch stink – so maybe I’ll let the very first owner of this car off for burning a clutch out in just 10,000 miles. You certainly can’t treat the clutch like a button, which you pretty much can in either of the Citroens. Or the minibuses I drive.

Speaking of which, my time working full-time for the community transport group has come to an end. We’ve now employed someone permanently (well, for the remaining two years of that particular project) and this morning, I very much enjoyed the complete lack of alarm clock. Mid-week tea in bed. How naughty.

Mr ClassicHub is never happier than when test driving all manner of motors

It’s likely I’ll be doing some part-time work for the bus company going forward, but what this really means is that I’m attacking the world of writing with renewed vigour this year. So, keep an eye on the newstands to see where I crop up. Despite what you might think, magazine sales seem to be remaining pretty strong in the face of increased internet competition. All the technology in the world can’t replace the fact that many of us still like to just pick up a magazine and have a good read.

Ah, it’s that time again. A vehicle has been identified. It isn’t yet paid for, but I reckon a deal is likely. A train has been booked to go and see said vehicle – £23 to travel over 100 miles doesn’t seem bad to me. It will be interesting to see how much it costs to get back home again. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow!

The romance of the train – reflections on a journey

Naturally, my finances haven’t recovered dramatically overnight, but gaining some additional employment has certainly given things a helpful leg-up. But the potential purchase has been driven by the need to temporarily replace the 2CV, for as little expenditure as possible. Sadly, that means that while I would love an Ami or Dyane, I have a few hundred quid to spend, not a few thousand.

Now, I’m quite used to dabbling in the poor end of the market. I enjoy seeing how much I can get for how little. Sure, it’s a risky old place and you need to have your wits about you – I actually refused a car last year! Yes, it was too bad even for me. It is very challenging to find a car that’s small, very simple and in good condition though. What tends to end up in the bargain basement is clapped out luxobarges that folk are terrified of, or stuff that really is on its last legs.

Time will tell whether I’ve made a good call this time or not, but I very much look forward to finding out. I quite enjoy train travel on occasion, especially when there could be a treat at the end. I say a treat – I’ll hopefully be driving home in something with an engine not massively larger than the 2CV’s and which was summed up by most magazine tests as best kept in town rather than the open road. It was panned for its shabby interior, lack of refinement and bouncy ride. Should be an entertaining drive home then!

With luck, I’ll be live tweeting my adventures through the day. I’m due to meet the new steed at 1406hrs. Stay tuned!

I will shortly be undertaking a very important journey in the life of my 2CV – a 500-mile road-trip that will see my humble Tin Snail clock up her 200,000th mile – and 111,000th in my ownership. I’m terribly nervous about it! I don’t really know why.

There’s nothing like a roadtrip!

Firstly, this isn’t just a roadtrip for the sake of it – no, we’ve been invited to and see my good lady wife’s family and their worryingly adorable children. We are remarkably happy at playing the eccentric Uncle and Aunt role and I think we do it quite well.

Naturally, that means attempting the journey in the least-suitable vehicle for the task. So, the majestic, comfortable, peaceful, mile-munching XM will sit on the driveway while we don earplugs and head East in my shouty 2CV.

I think I’m making a big fuss about nothing really. Last August, Elly the 2CV clocked up 1000 miles in a couple of weeks thanks to various events in Anglesey, Stratford-upon-Avon and Wiltshire. But, the truth is that poor Elly is feeling her age somewhat. I’ve still no idea what the next stage of her life will be, so perhaps one last roadtrip is a good idea! After all, she clocked up her 100,000th mile on roadtrip-in-a-day to Snowdonia in 2002, when I was living in Birmingham. I was desperate for her to make 100,000 miles before her original chassis gave way.

Now she’s in dire need of overhaul again, I’m determined to get her to 200,000 miles. That has to be a pretty decent innings for a tin escargot designed for motorising French farmers. She really is increasingly ropey though. I’d love to know how she’s now managing to leak water in that pools beneath the rear seat as well as the torrents that wash my shoes on a regular basis. I’m also concerned that the headlamp bar might simply buckle under the pressure of extended motorway use. The powder coating is structural it seems. (never again). I also have to be careful where I put my feet to avoid going all Fred Flintstone. Thankfully, the brakes are in fine order…

It isn’t nice seeing my car in such a state, but such is the reality of a wet climate, old cars and zero budget. 2013 was a dreadful year, where the 2CV barely had chance to dry between downpours for most of the summer. I was staggered at how quickly the 2CV deteriorated in these conditions. We’d already said goodbye to our Mini the year before, accepting that necessary restoration work on TWO cars was entirely out of order. I hope that was a good move – certainly B61 UND is MOTd until July this year, so that’s nice. If Betsy the Mini was still with us, I fear we’d just have two piles of rust with just the badges to identify them.

The Mini might be capable in the snow, but it isn’t good for longevity!

It does rather heap on the pressure to get something a bit more modern. Something that might stand a reasonable chance of surviving more than one Welsh winter. You’d be surprised how many moderns still rot though – Ford Kas, Pumas and even Focuses are far from immune. So there’s still the danger of rot, mixed with a dull ownership experience. I can’t see me being likely to give a Ford Focus a name. To be honest, Elly and Betsy are pretty rare in being named, but they’re the sort of car I love to own. Cars with character in abundance where every journey is an adventure!

Hopefully, this 500-mile round trip won’t be too MUCH of an adventure…