Aston Martin Cygnet

In the least likely turn of motoring manufacturing you’ll ever see, Auto Express has the scoop on Aston Martin’s Cygnet monster small city car. It’s a Toyota IQ based vehicle, meaning a short wheel base, decent fuel economy and even two back seats.

Attention to detail on the Cygnet is extremely high, with vents from the V12 Vantage, a funky grille and a tasty interior that is almost infinitely customisable to you taste, or lack thereof. Of course, some of you may be wondering just why Aston Martin has taken this avenue. Is it simply a marketing exercise, or a way to get more people ‘into’ the brand?

Well, some of the more astute amongst you may think it’s down to CO2 emissions – and you could well be right. The UK firm may be looking to be able to quote a lower average CO2 emissions across their entire range and this car will help them do exactly that.

The Aston Martin Cygnet will be available (at first) in 2010 to Aston Martin customers in the UK and Europe, for the princely sum of £20,000+.

Aggressive driving has no place on roads – I’m sure I’ve mentioned that fact before. This is, however, no more apparent than when conditions are poor. This is a timely article in which I’ll relay a recent experience and tips to assist in some defensive driving.

When conditions are good, you can put a bit of pace on your car. You can brake a little later, reach legal limits with no problems and generally go about your driving business. Wintry conditions, as we’re now seeing across the UK, make a huge difference to roads we’re on. Suddenly, even main ‘A’ roads can become treacherous – with black ice and limited visibility with the darker nights. So, what sort of hazards might you face?

Hazards
• Black ice
• Snow
• Driving rain
• Gusts and gales
• Diversions due to poor conditions
• Limited or lower visibility

Note, the above hazards are all related to general conditions, whilst it’s the driving style of other road users that can actually cause you all manner of problems. To give an example, I was on a reasonably long drive earlier today (about 20+miles), which I normally do on my bike. Obviously with the conditions being the way they were, it was impossible to get the 2 wheels out, so I jumped into the driver’s seat instead.

I was pleased to note that it did seem as if most people were taking care – increasing their distance between other cars for example and not driving in a ‘furious’ manner (a legal term to describe a particularly aggressive style of driving – though may not be in regular use any more). Imagine then my horror to see a large van accelerating up very quickly behind me – charging if you like. It was also swerving between lanes.

I’m not sure if you’ve ever been in a crash, but I can tell you that in the few seconds before, your heart will race as adrenaline pumps through your body. You’ll stiffen in worry – an instinctive reaction. I did – I really did believe that the driver was at a very high risk of losing control, or had perhaps already done so. He must have been barely two feet away from my bumper.

I’m glad to say that there was no crash and the driver decided to speed off at upwards of 90 miles per hour I’m guessing. Dangerous? Of course he was – but it was his attitude that really pissed me off. Imagine for a second that one of his rear wheels had of slipped on black ice and forced the van sideways. He would have smashed into two lanes of busy dual carriageway traffic and likely as not been responsible for the deaths of others.

Ultimately, the message is that when poor driving conditions are prevalent, we must make sure that we take even more care than usual on the roads.

Recommendations
• If conditions are poor, increase the distance between you and the vehicle in front (normally it’s 2 seconds)
• Don’t stay in the right hand lane – get back to the left when you get the chance
• Have various first aid and safety essentials in your car in case you do get stranded
• Whilst you’re warm in the car, if everything does go wrong you’ll want a nice warm jacket – take one with you
• If a driver near to you is driving aggressively or acting in a manner that makes you feel unsafe, take the next junction/turning off – you can always report them if they were generally driving in appropriately