Late 1960s Honda Gas Tank Emblems (brand New) on 2040-parts.com

Mechanics qualifications gained using Haynes manuals

MOST MEN enjoy a good Haynes car manual, whether they really understand it or not, but a group of youngsters has used the workshop guides to achieve their first qualifications in car mechanics. The first wave of the Haynes Mechanix scheme has seen a mixed gender youth club group, aged 15-25 and from Islington in London, use Haynes manuals along with guidance from experienced mentors to fix real problems on a real car. The donor Volkswagen, known as Percy the Polo, was a theoretical MOT fail and needed replacement spark plugs, a brake fluid replacement and much more, to give the aspiring tinkerers a broad spectrum of challenges.

1990s supercars

By Tim Pollard and Ben Oliver 10 July 2008 16:01 Supercars in the Nineties By now well and truly established, the supercar regulars continued to offer ever more outrageous products. The recession bit in the early ’90s, but thereafter some of the landmark cars were launched: the McLaren F1 is, for many, the definitive supercar of all time – a one-off conceived with all the purity of a grand prix racer. Others dabbled (remember the Jag XJ220?), but none achieved the Macca’s astonishing single-mindedness.Browse our GBU-style pick of the decade's landmarks below – and vote for your favourite supercar decade in our poll  Make and model Year Price Engine 0-60mph Top speed 1990 £156,000 5707cc V12, 492bhp, 428lb ft   4.1sec 202mph  For   The Audi-fettled 6.0 VT was the last, and best Against   A playboy's plaything; never gained real credibility Verdict   Lambo's thinking looked slow after the F40 and 959   Lamborghinis third mid-engined V12 supercar lacked the impact of the first two.

Mini is 50: a Mini celebration by CAR writers and readers

By Tim Pollard Motoring Issues 13 October 2009 12:45 Mini is 50 this year and we've published a 33-page Mini special in the new November issue of CAR Magazine – packed with memories, drives and analysis of and with the cars and people that made Mini great.  Here we've asked some of CAR's top writers to remember their personal highlights from the past five decades. Gavin Green explains why he recently drove across Australia in a modern Mini, while Anthony ffrench-Constant recalls why crashing a classic Mini caused him to start a lifelong nicotine habit. Click on the links below for our new Mini stories – and don't forget we want YOUR Mini memories too.