Tag: car

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Bye-bye MX-5

After four years together it’s time for me and my 21 year old Mazda MX-5 to part company.  As I was preparing to advertise the car it occurred to me that I’d never got around to do a proper photo shoot… so in a brief break from the April showers I headed out, camera in hand.

This is my third MX-5.  Previously I had a 2005 mk2.5, and before that a 1999 mk2 version.  I love that MX-5’s are fun to drive, sporty, stylish, and have legendary reliability.  My next will be a rare green mk3.5 Sporting Black edition, hopefully.

Once I got into MX-5 ownership and the enthusiastic community of the MX-5 Owners Club I knew that one day I’d have to have a mk1 with pop up headlights.  The most popular colour for that age of MX-5 is red, but I wanted white as something a bit different.

This MX-5 may be old, but with a mere 64,000 miles on the clock and having grown up in Japan before being brought to the UK, she has no rust and is in great condition.  She also appears in a post about the new MX-5 and a post to celebrate her 60,000 mile ‘birthday’!

In photography terms it’s one of the few blogs filled with photos using just my Olympus 25mm f1.8 prime lens.  A couple of features of my Olympus OMD E-M1 camera came in really handy… The flip-out screen meant I could get the camera down load and use live view to frame the shot.  And by mounting the camera on a monopod and raising the camera five feet above my head I could use the wifi function with the mobile phone app to live view, frame, and shoot photos from high up.

After four years together it’s time for me and my 21 year old Mazda MX-5 to part company.  As I was preparing to advertise the car it occurred to me that I’d never got around to do a proper photo shoot… so in a brief break from the April showers I headed out, camera in hand.

This is my third MX-5.  Previously I had a 2005 mk2.5, and before that a 1999 mk2 version.  I love that MX-5’s are fun to drive, sporty, stylish, and have legendary reliability.  My next will be a rare green mk3.5 Sporting Black edition, hopefully.

Once I got into MX-5 ownership and the enthusiastic community of the MX-5 Owners Club I knew that one day I’d have to have a mk1 with pop up headlights.  The most popular colour for that age of MX-5 is red, but I wanted white as something a bit different.

This MX-5 may be old, but with a mere 64,000 miles on the clock and having grown up in Japan before being brought to the UK, she has no rust and is in great condition.  She also appears in a post about the new MX-5 and a post to celebrate her 60,000 mile ‘birthday’!

In photography terms it’s one of the few blogs filled with photos using just my Olympus 25mm f1.8 prime lens.  A couple of features of my Olympus OMD E-M1 camera came in really handy… The flip-out screen meant I could get the camera down load and use live view to frame the shot.  And by mounting the camera on a monopod and raising the camera five feet above my head I could use the wifi function with the mobile phone app to live view, frame, and shoot photos from high up.

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A weekend with the Toyota GT86

Not long after my VIP experience with Mazda and their new MX-5 and lots of tweeting about it, Toyota starting flirting with me on Twitter trying to tempt me to look at their sports car, the GT86.  After many years of driving MX-5s I couldn’t see me switching my allegiance from Mazda, but I’m always open to trying new things.  So last weekend the Toyota press team delivered me a GT86 to try out and photograph.

The first thing that struck me about the GT86 were the looks. There’s no doubting it’s a very good looking and photogenic car.  It clearly takes some design concepts from its ancestors like the Celica and looks classic Toyota both outside and in.  When driving around I got lots of admiring looks.

Upon starting the car I found another great thing, the boxer engine.  Having previously owned a Subaru Impreza, which also has a boxer engine with its distinctive sound, the engine sounded immediately similar albeit without the swoosh of a turbo.  The bucket seats also made me reminisce of my Subaru days.

All of this makes the GT86 a drivers car – it’s a nice place to be, a great car to drive, and perfect for anyone wanting to stand out from the crowd.

What disappointed me about the car were the rear seats and the lack of gadgets.  The car is a 2+2, two seats in the front, two in the back.  But there’s so little space between the front and back seats that they’re unusable.  The lack of gadgets on the GT86 was surprising, especially for a Japanese manufacturer.  The dual zone climate control, touch-screen bluetooth stereo with satellite navigation, and gear change indicator were all welcome.  But things I’d expect as standard were missing.  No parking camera or sensors, no puddle lights, and a clock which has been lifted straight from the ’80s. The only ‘old’ technology I was thankful for was the handbrake, the modern push button ones just aren’t my thing.

Photography-wise I really wish I’d had the car in summer rather than autumn when the daylight hours are limited.  I didn’t have time to experiment with lighting, but maybe next time I do a car shoot I will.  I tried to get photographs which are a bit different to the ones you’ll see on any car review website, ones which highlight the features which make it a GT86, which make it unique.

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A Sunday Drive in the New MX-5

Everyone knows that I’m a big fan of the Mazda MX-5, the best selling roadster of all time.  If this is news to you then you should check out my posts Happy Birthday, Little MX-5, MX-5 Owners Club National Rally 2014, and Goodwood Festival of Speed.

This month marks the UK launch of the fourth generation of MX-5.  I’d already seen the new car on a static display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, but was delighted to be invited by Mazda to a VIP event in the Cotswolds where I’d be able to drive the car.  Needless to say I took my camera along too…

It was great to be able to compare the new MX-5 to my 20 year old first generation model and see how the design and technology have moved on.  For a start, the 1.5l engine of the new car is great and so much more spritely than the 1.8l in mine and I guess more economical too.  There is a 2.0l version of the new MX-5, but I can’t see why you’d need it.  That said I did have some fun with a fellow test driver who had the 2.0l model – he couldn’t match me on the corners (due to my skill, I’d like to think!), but on a hill climb he beat me comprehensively.

The short-throw gearbox makes for quick gear changes and the brakes are really sharp compared to my car.  The accelerator pedal seemed odd at first but I quickly took to it.  The new car certainly has a lot less rattles too!

The gadgets and gizmos really put my car to shame.  Integrated satellite navigation and entertainment system, power steering, built-in USB chargers, nifty cup holders (which I found also make great lens holders!), climate control, heated seats had me drooling with desire.

For me it’s an almost perfect car, greatly doing what it’s designed to do.  The only three niggles I could name are that the steering feels too light for me (I think it’s ‘fly by wire’ and you get very little feedback), the two exhausts are on one side rather than one on each side (my OCD likes symmetry), and the lack of pop up headlights (due to pedestrian safety laws).

So, will I be buying one?  Absolutely.  Well, in a couple of years when the prices fall.  Of course, if any readers want to do a car swap or buy me a new MX-5 then get in touch!