John Evans

Guildford

Freelance Editor and Writer at Freelance

Special Correspondent at Autocar

Freelance motoring and music journalist

Articles

Coin-operated parking machines are being disabled in favour of smartphone apps - and drivers aren't happy | Autocar

2 weeks ago | autocar.co.uk | John Evans

Coin-operated onstreet parking machines are being decommissioned in favour of smartphone apps, despite complaints by some drivers that parking apps are expensive and unreliable. The latest area to be hit is Guildford, which, in the past month, has had two-thirds of its town centre parking machines disabled, with notices taped to them advising motorists to pay using the RingGo app.
Ratrods, left-hookers and unfinished project cars: Meet the man who buys the Ferraris you really shouldn't | Autocar

3 weeks ago | autocar.co.uk | John Evans

But not all of his purchases are ‘orphans’. “My 430 Scuderia was immaculate,” he says. “I owned it for three months and then sold it, making £25,000. I added £3000 and straight away bought a left-hand-drive F355.”Over time, Scott has become a whizz with the spanners. He’s self-taught but little, short of dropping an engine for a timing belt change, is beyond him. He’s constantly on the internet, seeking out deals, parts and technical advice.
Is Elon Musk really putting EV buyers off Tesla?

3 weeks ago | autocar.co.uk | John Evans

Love ’em or hate ’em (and that may be shaped largely by your view of Elon Musk), Tesla electric cars are a common sight on the roads these days. And with a facelifted Tesla Model Y currently being rolled out and some catching up to do in the sales charts, Tesla recently invited potential customers to visit its showrooms to try some of its models. I must once have recorded my details with my local Tesla dealer because I too received an invitation.
A £16,000 Testarossa!? Driving the rattiest Ferrari on the road | Autocar

3 weeks ago | autocar.co.uk | John Evans

Fortunately, the interior handle and door card on the driver’s side of Scott Chivers’ left-hook Testarossa spider is secure. Pull the handle on the passenger side and it comes off. I am driving Ratarossa, a Ferrari Testarossa well-known by the internet. The car derives its name from the ‘recycled automotive transport’ exemplified by rusty Type 2 VWs and is the ultimate expression of Scott’s philosophy. Its grey body is rough.
How I became the UK's biggest roundabout enthusiast - and why you should love them too | Autocar

1 month ago | autocar.co.uk | John Evans

Close Surely, if anyone knows a dull car when he sees one, Kevin Beresford does. That’s why I’ve asked the creator of those tedious but inexplicably popular wall calendars ‘Car Parks of the UK’ and ‘Motability Scooter Riders of Benidorm’ to consider another: ‘Dull Cars of Redditch’, a potential companion calendar to his recently launched ‘Roadworks of Redditch’, the relevance of the place being only that he lives there.
"I spend more time completing forms than testing cars" – MOT fraud crackdown comes under fire | Autocar

1 month ago | autocar.co.uk | John Evans

The government’s plan to tackle the most common form of MOT test fraud has been criticised by a former inspector who claims reduced levels of enforcement are undermining standards. Around 80% of fraudulent pass certificates issued each year are for cars that haven’t been inspected – known as ‘ghost MOTs’. Since 2023, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which administers MOT tests, has been trialling ways of stamping out this practice.
Uproar over end of bargain deals for car industry staff

1 month ago | autocar.co.uk | John Evans

The government’s plan to end what it has called “contrived car ownership schemes” has rattled the UK’s automotive industry, which forecasts devastating consequences for itself and its workers if this becomes law. The Employee Car Ownership Scheme (ECOS), which the government intends to end from 6 April 2026, differs from traditional salary sacrifice schemes in that the car is owned by the employee, not the employer.
UK's biggest car fleet takes £565 million blow

2 months ago | autocar.co.uk | John Evans

The UK’s biggest fleet, whose “explosive” growth in June last year was credited with helping car makers through a tricky period, has reported losses of more than half a billion pounds – saying this highlights the growing cost of car ownership and volatile resale values of EVs.Motability Operations, the company behind the Motability charity, buys cars and leases them to people with a qualifying disability allowance for £75.75 per week.
'Challenging backdrop' of low private EV sales hits charging firms

2 months ago | autocar.co.uk | John Evans

Another charging company doing likewise is Instavolt. Familiar at service stations and from its growing network of hubs (its next, with 44 chargers, will open at Winchester in March), Instavolt develops, installs and operates ultra-rapid charging stations. “We’re a profitable business investing millions every year, all of it private money,” said CEO Delvin Lane. “This year and next, we will invest £70m.”He is confident that this will be money well spent, saying: “We’re at a tipping point.
How to open your own car museum

2 months ago | autocar.co.uk | John Evans

“For most middle-age visitors, they’re the cars of their youth – although one 90-year-old gentleman was delighted to see our Austin Seven Special,” says Hawkins. To date, the museum has welcomed 45,000 visitors, one of them being Martin Read, who has driven up from Torquay. “I’m shocked by how much they have here,” he says. “I’m that impressed, I’ve bought an annual pass.”Hawkins is convinced that his museum will be a boon for Taunton.