Andrew Hamilton answers your queries
Remember the Triumph Vitesse? Essentially it was a Triumph Herald with a 6-cylinder engine shoehorned into it. Down on the Sheep's Head peninsula in west Cork, we came across a 1965 Vitesse.
Les Whitcher, 87, and wife Tess 84 still use the car to do a weekly 20-mile run to Bantry. But they aren't getting any younger and increasingly it needs attention. Les, originally from the south of England, thinks the main bearings are going, but the car is still very driveable after 200,000 miles.
He wonders if any classic car enthusiast - or someone interested in acquiring a Vitesse and doing their own restoration job - would be interested? Les and Tess are contactable at 027.67129. They live close to the idyllic village of Kilcrohane.
The Vitesse has a 1,596 cc engine, developing 80bhp. It still has the original gearbox and it was shod with radial tyres, unusual for a mid-1960s model. Being a classic car, there's no NCT applies and road tax is a mere €30 a year.
A distressing letter from a woman in Mount Merrion, Dublin, concerning another car of yesteryear, the Renault 12. We won't disclose her name and she emphasises she isn't pursuing any kind of claim. She just wants to know what might have happened.
"My father bought a lot of Renaults in the 1970s until my brother died in one which turned over in 1974. It was a new 12 and he was 17 years. He died from head injuries. I've heard of two other cases of the 12 turning over. My father was treated badly by Smiths, the importers at the time, and it tore our family apart."
We don't recall a particular stability problem with the 12 but someone may have experiences to recount which could be helpful.
From David Byrne, Dún Laoghaire: When will lower sulphur diesel be available here? I read your report on the very green and clean D-Cat Toyota Avensis - you said it still had to have wider availability.
Perhaps you are really referring to sulphur-free diesel of 10 ppm or particulates per million which, according to Catherine Burke of Esso, is the subject of an EU directive. "It must have balanced geographical availability by 2005 so we should be seeing it on some Irish forecourts by then. At the moment, the diesel we sell is ultra-low sulphur diesel which is 50ppm. It was introduced on our forecourts in March 2002."
Jean Lynch from Dublin:
I want to buy a small new car, something like the Seicento which my friend has but different. What else is available and can you give me prices?
You will be shopping in the A or baby car segment which doesn't offer huge choice. The offerings that you might look at: Daewoo Matiz (€11,995), Daihatsu Cuore (€10,127) and Suzuki Alto (€11,225). Fiat's new Panda which is much roomier than your friend's Seicento will be here in time for the 2004 market, and should sell at between €10,000 and €11,000. Watch out too, for MG Rover's City Rover coming around November which could be a bit bigger than what you are looking for. It should have an affordable price because it's Indian-built, by the firm that owns Tetley tea.
David Ryan, Offaly:
A hidden pothole on a minor Kildare road did terrible damage to my tyre and wheel. Can I make a claim against the Council?
Yes, it's true. Motorists have told us about successfully suing in the Small Claims Court. They were clever enough to carry a camera in the glove box and it provided the necessary evidence for the court. Otherwise, making a claim could be a lost cause.
Send your queries to
Motors Help Desk, The Irish Times, Fleet Street, Dublin 2 - or e-mail them to motorshelp@irish-times.ie