The term ‘SUV’ was first used in the late 1980s to describe sports utility vehicles that were based on light truck chassis and were categorised by an upright stance, raised ground clearance, robust looking design and high towing capacity. Very utilitarian. Typical examples then were the Land Rover, Toyota Land Cruiser and the Jeep Cherokee. Launched in 1970, the Range Rover, the granddaddy of SUVs, in production to this day, remains the best of them all. 

To gain a piece of this growing market segment, other manufacturers began to produce SUVs, albeit smaller, and cheaper, and so the Suzuki Vitara was born in 1988. The Vitara’s 2019 model is the fourth generation. The second and third generation were known as the Suzuki Grand Vitara, but now we are back to the simpler, more concise Vitara. 

Strictly speaking, the 2019 Suzuki Vitara is categorised as a compact SUV. In line with its competitors, gone is the boxy shape of the original model which has been replaced with the curved roofline and raised haunch above the rear wheels that now epitomises modern compact SUVs. It is also about 5inches shorter, 3inches lower and 1-1/2inches narrower than the previous model, thus more suited to our narrow roads and making it easier to handle for those of you who are somewhat challenged in parking skills.

Not that the Vitara is indistinguishable from its competitors, with the traditional Suzuki front grille, redesigned for 2019. The all-white model that I drove is an attractive car, well designed both outside and in. Build quality is good, with even, narrow shut lines, smooth welded seams, no body rattles and doors that close with a satisfying clunk.

Powered by a 1.6l naturally aspirated gas engine, through a 6-speed automatic transmission, the Vitara is no slouch as it quietly nipped along, taking tight bends with no fuss. I know I was miles away from pushing it to its limits; nevertheless, I stayed within the speed limits and it handled well.

Comfort levels in the cabin are high. Well sculpted suede and leather seats with firm lumbar support meant I felt not a jot from my chronic sciatica. The view through the 3-spoke leather steering wheel to the instrument panel is completely uninterrupted. The 2019 model now has an armrest so that there is some arm support for long journeys, even with your hands on the wheel at the 10 to 2 position. At 164.5inches long, this ‘F’ Class car is a good size, and that is apparent in the cabin, especially when you sit in the rear. Even with the front driver seat pushed back halfway, I was comfortably seated with adequate leg room. The boot/trunk has a capacity of about 375l expanding to 1160l with the rear seats folded down. They also do the usual 60:40 split.

The 2019 Vitara comes with a bucket load of features. You can even spec the 4-wheel drive option, though why you would, beats me, unless you need to tow a boat trailer off a beach or wet slipway. Maybe. Other interesting features available include shift paddles, LED daytime running lights, automatic dim rear view mirror, smartphone linkage, a rearview camera (I am now of the opinion that these should be mandatory), roof rails, auto headlamp levelling, hill hold and hill descent control, and a panoramic sunroof. There are ten colours to choose from including the bi-tone, which has a different roof colour from the body. In the showroom, I spotted the Ice Grayish Blue body colour with Cosmic Black roof and thought that was really cool.

The full list can be had from the dealer. Prices start at $43,995 for the 2-wheel drive mono-tone. For a test drive and a chat contact, Auto Solutions, St John’s Road. 

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For its latest exhibit, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta has assembled 17 of the most beautiful, hideous, and strange automotive concepts ever dreamed up by man, from a 1934 Bugatti prototype up to an early iteration of the Porsche 918 Hybrid supercar.

What happens when creators balance aesthetics, functionality, and their personal vision of the future is one reason we love cars. That’s especially true when the results leave us wondering, “How could anyone think this was a good idea?”

1936 Stout Scarab

Designer William Stout, who worked as an aircraft engineer before turning to automobiles, was a pioneer in integrating luxury and leisure into transportation. Stout Air Lines is credited with introducing flight attendants and in-flight meals. The Scarab draws on that idea; it’s a road-going diner car powered by a Ford V-8 tucked in the rear of the stretched aluminum body. The brand never took off, partly because at $5,000 (about $90,000 today), the Scarab was more expensive than the Packards and Cadillacs of those days. Fewer than ten were produced.

1942 Oeuf electrique

The 1942 Oeuf électrique, or electric egg, had three wheels and ran on batteries decades after gasoline became the dominant way to power cars, and decades before Elon Musk decided to make electricity cool again. Its designer, Parisian Paul Arzens, worked as a painter and designed railway locomotives before moving on to cars. The bubble is made of hand-formed aluminum and curved Plexiglass, a novel material at the time.

 1947 Norman Timbs Special

No other automobile looks like the 1947 Norman Timbs Special, with its front-mounted cockpit and curves leading to a raindrop tail. Timbs, an Indy racing engineer, made the car with a Buick Straight 8 engine placed at the rear of the chassis. Look to racers like the 1937 Auto Union Type C for indications of Timbs’ inspiration.

1953 General Motors Firebird 1 XP-21

To describe today’s supercars, we fall back on likening the Koenigseggs and Paganis of the world to jet fighters. The 1953 General Motors Firebird I XP-21 was an actual jet fighter, with four wheels, a tail fin, and a bubble cockpit. The turbine engine spun at up to 26,000 rpm to generate a whopping (for the time) 370 horsepower.

1955 Chrysler (Ghia) Streamline X “Gilda”

The 1955 Chrysler (Ghia) Streamline X “Gilda” got its name from a 1946 Rita Hayworth movie. After foregoing a planned jet turbine engine, Italian firm Ghia outfitted the Gilda with a plain 1.5-liter engine made for touring. The design is an antecedent to a short run of Chrysler turbine cars, and the fins tell you it’s from the 1950s.

1970 Ferrari (Pininfarina) 512 S Modulo

Design firm Pininfarina has produced more famous works, but the Ferrari 512 S Modulo car, which it created for the 1970 Geneva Motor Show, didn’t aim for beauty. Designer Paolo Martin put the bizarre body on the chassis of the Ferrari 512S race car.

1970 Lancia (Bertone) Stratos HF Zero

This 1970 Lancia (Bertone) Stratos HF Zero is the concept that led to the seminal Lancia Stratos. Just 33 inches tall, the concept was so short, drivers had to enter through the hinged windshield.

2001 BMW GINA Light Visionary Model

The 2001 BMW GINA Light Visionary Model concept came from BMW design director Chris Bangle, famous for upsetting the German auto-maker’s design standbys with hard geometry and chunky body parts. Here, he covered the car’s exterior in polyurethane-coated spandex that would shift according to the car’s aerodynamic needs at the time.

Porsche 918 Spyder Concept Car

The Porsche 918 Spyder Concept Car was unveiled at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show and led to the hybrid supercar Porsche on the road today. The concept was an evolution of the Carrera GT that precedes it, with added electric motors on the front and rear axles producing a combined 218 hp. Those, of course, were supplemented by a 500-horsepower 3.4-liter V-8.

1935 Bugatti Type 57S Competition Coupe Aerolithe

The original example of the 1935 Bugatti Type 57S Compétition Coupé Aerolithe, which debuted at the Paris Auto Show in 1935, was lost after the unveiling — the popular explanation is that Bugatti disassembled it for parts to make the Type 57 production car that followed. The model on display is a recreation produced in 2007, based on recorded specs, photographs, and an oil painting by a Bugatti engineer.

1932 Ford Speedster

The 1932 Ford Speedster, packing a flathead V-8 engine, came with a starter button, decades before the feature became standard automotive fare. The low, long roadster was the brainchild of Henry’s son Edsel Ford and designer Eugene Gregorie.

1934 Voisin C-25 Aerodyne

Like many of his peers on this list, designer Gabrielle Voisin started off making airplanes. After World War I, he turned to cars. Only 28 of the 1934 Voisin C-25 Aerodyne were made, one of which won Best in Show at the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

1948 Tasco

This 1948 Tasco was made under a short-lived brand called The American Sports Car Company — the car’s name is an acronym for the manufacturer. Gordon Buehrig, formerly of Duesenberg, took design inspiration from World War II fighter planes. The fiberglass covering the front wheels moved with the steering input.

1951 GM LaSabre

The 1951 GM Le Sabre was the first car to sport fins and a wraparound windshield, design elements that became standard in American cars thereafter. The car came with a moisture detector that would automatically raise the convertible’s top if it rained.

 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt

The curves on the 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt were inspired by streamliner trains. The car was among the first to have power windows — Chrysler used hydraulic motors to move them. The fully retractable hardtop and button-operated pop-open headlights were also seminal design features that showed up in cars decades later. It was one of the last Art Deco designs before concepts leaned towards futuristic aesthetics.

1956 Buick Centurion

The 1956 Buick Centurion had a back-up camera decades before they appeared in consumer vehicles. Buick emphasized the significance of the car’s advances with the Jetsons-esque clear bubble roof and cockpit, which gave the driver and passengers unobstructed views.

1959 Cadillac Cyclone

See those two black cones where the 1959 Cadillac Cyclone’s headlights should be? Those are the radars for the car’s crash-avoidance system, a technology you might recognize as today’s adaptive cruise control. If the car sensed an approaching object, it would set of a series of warning lights and a high-pitched beep, and car could even automatically apply the brakes.

This article was originally featured in the Spring 2018 edition of RG Motor.

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The horse-and-carriage business first began to hear the rumble of the automobile coming up fast behind it in the early 1900s.

And within just a few short years horse-drawn vehicles had clip-clopped their way into virtual extinction, handily overtaken and left behind by the new gasoline-powered automotive juggernaut

But the trade managed to hold on in Bermuda far longer than it did in the rest of the world as the automobile became the dominant form of transportation. The island decided noisy, smoke-spewing “horseless carriages” were very much at odds with its carefully cultivated image as a tranquil resort destination.

So Bermuda responded to the changing times by ignoring them: a ban on the private ownership of motorised vehicles was put into place in 1908 and strictly observed here for almost 40 years,

But come the Second World War and the arrival of the American military’s Jeeps and trucks on the island and Bermuda’s preference for horse-drawn vehicles over the horseless variety began to crumble. Technological progress in the form of the internal combustion engine could no longer be held at bay,

By 1946 the passage of the Motor Car Act finally overturned the prohibition on automobiles and motorbikes and the days of literal horse-power in Bermuda were numbered.

Today we are living in an era when the long dominance of the internal combustion engine is drawing to a close and  the electric car is finally coming of age. After years of false starts and countless failed attempts to manufacture practical, good quality batteries, the future of transportation is upon us.

Electrically powered vehicles are becoming increasingly competitive in terms of price and performance with their petrol- and diesel-powered counterparts.

Last year Chinese-owned Swedish automobile manufacturer Volvo announced plans to make only hybrids or electric vehicles after 2019. And American automotive giant General Motors has also committed to an “all-electric future”, promising to launch at least 20 new electric and fuel-cell vehicles by 2023. It’s only a matter of time before other brands follow suit or face going the same way as the manufacturers of horse-drawn carriages.

There can be no turning back. And this time there is no way for Bermuda to even temporarily postpone the inevitable.

In the months and years to come Bermuda, like the rest of the world, is going to have to confront a number of difficult truths about the pending transition to electric vehicles. While the new breed of vehicles are increasingly economical to run, environmentally friendly and boast ever-improving performance levels, there are nevertheless going to be growing pains.

Among them will be a steep learning curve for mechanics who will be dealing with entirely new forms of automotive technology in the near future.

Unlike gas-powered engines, electric engines don’t require oil changes. They also have far fewer moving parts and break down less frequently, eliminating a lot of the routine maintenance that garages and repair shops currently rely on for much of their income.

In fact, the latest types of electric vehicles can often be serviced using parts purchased online or even fixed remotely through online updates.

Bermuda’s auto repair industry employs several hundred people. While they are increasingly skilled and technically minded, some observers say that like so many of their counterparts elsewhere they are not entirely prepared for all of the ramifications of the impending electric vehicle revolution.

For in the not too distant, it’s been said, the typical auto mechanic will need to combine the skills of an IT support specialist with a “gearhead’s” boundless enthusiasm for the car culture – “someone with the ability to change tires and operate diagnostic and scanning equipment to root out problems involving computer networks and data processing.”

The end of gas-powered transportation will obviously not occur overnight. But the future of the internal combustion engine is limited, at best.

And those who earn a living from automotive repairs and servicing in Bermuda need to adapt quickly to the changing technology and circumstances.

For instance, aside from their computerized features electric vehicles require no traditional oil changes, fuel filters, spark plug replacements or emission checks. In many instances there is also no need for changing timing belts, differential fluid and transmission fluid.

Brake pad replacements for electric cars are less frequent because regenerative braking returns energy to the lithium-ion battery, significantly reducing the wear and tear on mechanical brakes because they’re used less to slow the vehicle.

But businesses which re-train their employees and individuals who take advantage of apprenticeship courses and the Bermuda College’s automotive technology certification programme should be able to make the transition to electric relatively seamlessly. And while a comprehensive understanding of the new electrical and electronics systems which operate these vehicles will be indispensable for the successful mechanic of the future, not all old-school auto repair skills will be lost: there will still be many mechanical systems on vehicles that have to be fixed. Tires can last only for so many miles, shock absorbers and struts will eventually need replacing and even the most sophisticated batteries won’t last forever.

Some in Bermuda’s automotive field have, of course, already started quietly upgrading their skills because the market share for all-electric vehicles has been growing steadily here for several years now.

Vendors are reporting increasing sales and higher numbers of enquiries from potential customers. And businesses that have brought the vehicles to the island are confident more people will make the switch to the electric option in the near future as they grow more familiar with the technology and choices continue to increase in terms of the models and makes available.

Certainly Bermuda residents already don’t lack for options when it comes to the plug-in vehicles. An electric vehicle showcase held at the Hamilton Princess last November by the Bermuda Government’s Department of Energy in collaboration with various vendors featured a wide range of vehicles and attracted considerable public interest.

Among the vehicles on display was the Bermi, which is marketed as Bermuda’s “people’s car”. It was the most compact of the electric vehicles on show, other than the rental market Twizys.

The minicars have been brought to the island by businessman Mike Swan, of Localmotion.

Costing $14,800 for the two-seat version, and $16,900 for the four-seater, the Bermi is a runaround capable of travelling up to 80 miles between full charges. It takes six to eight hours to fully recharge on a 110v supply, or half that time using 220v.

Mr Swan hopes the minicars will also soon be given the green light for use by the rental market.

“Interest has been off the charts — from hotels and private individuals,” he told The Royal Gazette during the expo when more than 30 people lined up to go on test drives.

“Bermuda, with its short commuting distances, is perfect for electric cars. We could be a leader in the world with totally electric vehicles.”

Auto Solutions displayed a new all-electric commercial van, the Nissan e-NV200, which has a full-charge range of 105 miles.

The company is also offering the Nissan Leaf, an electric family car with a full charge range of up to 155 miles.

Harry Andrews, sales and operations manager, told The Royal Gazette running costs and maintenance bills for the vehicles would be half that of gasoline-powered models.

The company has sold about ten of the Nissan Leafs, and it has interest from a further 20 potential buyers.

Mr Andrews is confident electric vehicles are already going from the niche market to the mainstream faster in Bermuda faster than is the case in many other jurisdictions.

He said consumer acceptance of electric vehicles had been hastened here because so many Bermuda residents were already comfortable with the technology, and understood the arguments for them in terms of practicality, cost savings and environmental friendliness.

Auto Solutions is offering a service where it will install a home-based recharging facility for electric vehicle purchasers.

Mr Andrews and Sam Dale, a technician at Auto Solutions who has undergone electric vehicle training with Nissan in Mexico City, believe recharging ports around the island will quickly become more common place.

A number of the island’s hotels already have electric vehicle recharging facilities available.

Mr Andrews said electric vehicles are “a wave” that has already arrived on Bermuda’s shores, and that it was vital to continue building and buttressing the local market’s understanding and confidence in the vehicles.

Also on display at the Hamilton Princess expo were electric motorbikes, including a model constructed in Bermuda by Team Oni Racing Club.

Alex Marshall, sales and marketing director at Torc, pointed out the electric bikes save about $2,000 on running and maintenance costs per year and reduce noise pollution. He said electric bikes, which have a full charge range of about 60 miles, can be recharged in six hours at a cost of less than $1.

Renault was represented at the showcase event with a regular-size electric car and a minicar Twizy, while Bermuda Motors had a BMW i3 and electric Kias on display.

Andrew Rance, service manager at Bermuda Motors, said: “It’s great to see the different models and the new technologies all in one place.

“The interest is picking up and people are getting more educated [about electric vehicles].”

At the onset of the last transportation revolution in the early 1900s the operators of horse-drawn vehicles were alerted, both literally and figuratively, to the approach of the earliest automobiles by the trademark spluttering and coughing of their relatively primitive engines. Today’s electric vehicles run almost silently, by way of comparison. But anyone who so much as glimpses in the rear-view mirror these days can spot quiet fleets of electric cars steadily advancing on gas and diesel-powered vehicles. And they are closing the distance rapidly.

This article was originally featured in the Spring 2018 edition of RG Motor.

The post Next Generation appeared first on RG Magazines.

“I have a good understanding of the industry and how it has evolved over the years. From the basic technology to what we see now with the hybrids and electric cars. I have seen the vast advancements and changes that have come along over the years,”said Mr King, who moved into the top job after being the after-sales manager for parts.

Speaking about the transition to becoming general manager, Mr King said: “We [Mr Butler and himself] were very close and he supported me a lot. It was a smooth transition and it was a big learning curve for me.”

But it was only natural for him to take over as general manager.

“I have been at Bermuda Motors for 26 years,”said the 49-year-old. “I was after-sales parts manager before taking over as general manager. I first came to the company as a part-time worker out of Bermuda College. The opportunity was there and I took it. I was always interested in cars —it is one of my passions—and I was fascinated with Toyotas.”

Mr King said that when he was younger he saw that there were many guest workers in the car industry in Bermuda and not many Bermudians. “I saw the opportunity and that the future was mine if I wanted it. There were not many Bermudians in the industry then and I saw that many of the everyday things Bermudians could be doing were being done by guest workers.”

In fact he still sees the need for more Bermudians in the industry.

“It’s been a challenge for us to find Bermudians to go into the industry —I really don’t know why,” he said. “I can’t understand why we don’t have more Bermudians knocking on our doors. It is a challenge for me to get locals to want to come and work in various departments of the car industry. And everything is constantly changing now with the technology.

“We would like to get a commitment from Bermudians [to work in the industry]. We send people on courses constantly. In fact we just sent two people, one Bermudian and one guest worker, to the Kia training facility in Miami. Today you have to constantly keep up with the technology.”

It helps having been through the numerous departments at the company, said Mr King, adding that Kia is now their number one brand.

“I have been there and seen it and that helps —it is especially important moving forward,” he said. “We are constantly trying to improve and look after our customers so they get value for money. I have been in all the departments and know all sides of it. I have worked my way through them.”

And a car is especially important to Bermudians, he said.

“For the average Bermudian their car is their number one purchase because not everyone can afford a house. Their car is their first big purchase and we want to make sure we look after them all the way. Bermudians love their cars —they keep them very clean and take a lot of pride in them.”

Getting locals to buy into the new hybrid and electric cars will be a challenge, he said as some people don’t like change. “That is going to be a challenge for us —to get people to buy them and see the savings they will get.”

He has seen change over the years. “It used to be that all the cars were stick shift but that has changed. Nearly all of the cars we bring in now are automatics which are far better in our stop and start conditions. Now it will be hybrids and electric cars —we will be seeing more and more of them.

“That is just the way forward and with the price of fuel in Bermuda being so high is makes sense. Also with hybrids and electric cars it will reduce our (carbon) footprint. We live in this beautiful island in the Atlantic and we want to keep it that way.”

In the future drivers will see more electric stations and eco friendly vehicles.

Also the electric models are ideal for Bermuda. “We are not driving a lot of miles each day and it is perfect for us,” Mr King said. “You just plug the car in overnight —and depending how much you drive to work and back you won’t have to do that every night. Eco vehicles make sense for Bermuda in the future.”

Mr King has over the years gone on training courses to the Caribbean, Panama and also to Japan for Toyota. And it was while he was in Japan in the 1990s that he become aware of the philosophy of Kaizen —continuous improvement.

“The principle of Kaizen is you are constantly improving no matter if you are in manufacturing, supply or logistics,” he said. “It’s a philosophy. This business here is complex but you want to try and keep it as simple as possible. You are constantly asking yourself; ‘How we can improve our product and how can we can do things better’.”

Kaizen was originally introduced to the West by Masaaki Imai in his book Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Successin 1986. Today Kaizen is recognised worldwide as an important pillar of an organisation’s long-term competitive strategy. Kaizen is continuous improvement that is based on certain guiding principles:

•  Good processes bring good results.
• Go see for yourself to grasp the current situation.
•  Speak with data, manage by facts.
•  Take action to contain and correct root causes of problems.
• Work as a team.

“I took that on board and we work with it internally with our staff to constantly improve,”Mr King said, adding that working as the after-sales manager for parts was a “very detailed”job.

“There are thousands of parts and you can’t keep every single part [in store],” he said. “It was a very challenging job —how do we get a person’s part in that is cost effective and minimises the inconvenience for the customer.

“We have a wide range of vehicles —everything from the Picanto [the highest selling car in Bermuda] to the high-end BMW. We try and cater to customers with different budgets. Some are single, some have families and they all want something different —a car which suits their taste. We want to look after everyone.”

Bermuda Motors distributes BMW, Fiat, Ford, Kia, Lexus, Mini and Toyota cars, vans and trucks, as well as Kymco motorbikes and scooters.

Mr King himself drives a Kia, but his real love is fishing.

“I have a boat and I love fishing —especially deep sea fishing for wahoo and tuna,” he said. “I just love being out there. I have always loved being out on the water and I try to encourage teenagers to go out. Fishing kept me out of trouble when I was young and hopefully it can do the same with the kids today. I like to teach them about GPS and trawling —get them addicted to fishing!”

This article was featured in the May 2017, RG Motor Express Magazine, now RG Motor.

The post New boss at Bermuda Motors looks to the future appeared first on RG Magazines.

However there are some which are definitely worth watching. Some of the ten films listed here you may have seen, but if you haven’t check them out!

1. Senna

This is a remarkable 2010 British documentary film that depicts the life and death of Brazilian motor-racing champion Ayrton Senna, directed by Asif Kapadia. The film’s narrative focuses on Senna’s racing career in Formula One, from his debut in the 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix to his death in an accident at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, with particular emphasis on his rivalry with fellow driver Alain Prost. It relies primarily on archive racetrack footage and home video clips provided by the Senna family, rather than retrospective video interviews, and has no formal commentary.

2. Bullitt

This great film may have been made in 1968 but decades on, the infamous car chase scene with Steve McQueen is known as one of the grittiest, heart-pumping car chases in film history. The key was reality because it all looks absolutely real and plausible.

Bullitt drives a 1968 Mustang GT, and it was this movie that added something to the Mustang myth. For the chase, two identical Mustangs were pitted against two identical black, 1968 Dodge Chargers that played the bad guys’car.

3. Days of Thunder

A stock car driver gets his chance to compete in NASCAR. The automotive version of Top Gun, and another Tom Cruise spectacular. Wheel to wheel all the way to the chequered flag, there are plenty of gasp moments in this 1990 film which attracted criticism from some NASCAR quarters, partly for focusing too much on the “rubbing”manoeuvre —ramming your competitor’s bumper with yours during a race.

4. The Fast and the Furious

Not the most original of ideas for a film admittedly, but the street racing scenes in this 2001 film are terrific, and Vin Diesel and the late Paul Walker are likeable leads. Many sequels followed, but it’s the original that remains the best. Hit the nitrous oxide and count the gear changes.

5. Cars

Set in a world populated entirely by anthropomorphic cars and other vehicles, this 2006 American computer-animated comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures stars the voices of Owen Wilson, Paul Newman (in his final non-documentary feature), Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin, Michael Wallis, George Carlin, Paul Dooley, Jenifer Lewis, Guido Quaroni, Michael Keaton, Katherine Helmond and John Ratzenberger.

6. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Probably the most endearing caricature of a car, ever. The hero in this 1968 film was based on the aero-engined racing Chitty Bang Bang, built and raced by Count Zborowski at Brooklands in 1921. At the time, it had a Mercedes chassis and a 23-litre, six-cylinder Maybach engine. It reached a speed of 100.75mph in its debut appearance in the Brooklands Short Handicap.

It’s safe to say that there’s no other car on this list quite like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

7. Mad Max (and Mad Max 2 and Mad Max: Fury Road)

OK there are three movies here but they are great! This Australian dystopian action multimedia franchise was created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy and began in 1979 with Mad Max which starred the then little-known Mel Gibson.

This was followed by Mad Max 2 (also known as The Road Warrior).

Fury Road didn’t have Gibson in it and came out two years ago. Shooting took place in Namibia and stars British actor Tom Hardy as Mad Max, and Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa.

8. The Love Bug

The Love Bug (sometimes referred to as Herbie the Love Bug) is a 1968 American comedy film and the first in a series of films made by Walt Disney Productions that starred a pearl-white, fabric-sunroofed 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle named Herbie. The movie follows the adventures of Herbie, Herbie’s driver, Jim Douglas (Dean Jones), and Jim’s love interest, Carole Bennett (Michele Lee).

9. Easy Rider

This 1969 American motorcycle road movie was written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, and produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. It tells the story of two bikers (played by Fonda and Hopper) who travel through the American Southwest and South after selling a large score of cocaine. And it has a great soundtrack with the likes of The Band, The Byrds, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Steppenwolf.

10. On Any Sunday

This documentary on motorcycle racing features stars of the sport, including film star Steve McQueen.

Considered to be one of the best ever motorcycle sport documentaries ever made, this 1971 film was nominated for an Academy Award. Bruce Brown, the director, successfully reflected the lives of various types of motorcycle enthusiasts that were racing in motocross, desert racing and the Grand National in the early 1970s.

This article was featured in the May 2017, RG Motor Express Magazine, now RG Motor.

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