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Back to school: Ford gives out free Focus RS driver training

31 August, 2016

We’ve all seen the videos of people running out of talent in their brand-new Focus RS, and we’ve all seen the media hype around how Ford irresponsibly produced a vehicle with a ‘drift’ button. Ford has responded to the flurry of mixed reports and media hype with its own solution: driver training. 

Dubbed the RS Adrenaline Academy, Ford USA is now running the driver training at Miller Motorsports Park, in Utah. It’s a free course, and owners of the latest RS are able to attend a small classroom briefing, then they’re out on the track learning about each individual mode the RS now has — especially the drift mode. 

With the courses now being held in America, we’re hoping they’ll make their way down to New Zealand. If the drivers in America are having issues sliding off the road, it’s likely to happen here too. 

The motor car as an art form

12 March, 2026

We have certainly come a long way since the exhibition entitled 8 Automobiles, shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in the autumn of 1951, the first exhibition concerned with the aesthetics of motor car design.
It was here that the often-used term ‘rolling sculpture’ was coined by curator Philip C Johnson, director of the department of architecture and design, when he said, “An automobile is a familiar 20th century artefact, and is no less worthy of being judged for its visual appeal than a building or a chair. Automobiles are hollow, rolling sculptures, and their design refinements are fascinating. We have selected cars whose details and basic design suggest that automobiles, besides being America’s most useful objects, could be a source of visual experience more enjoyable than they now are.”

More to the point

6 March, 2026

This Daimler SP252 is so rare, few people know it exists. It’s one of a kind. It’s the only surviving, in fact the only SP252 ever completed; the would-be successor to the SP250 Daimler Dart. It is also the last sports car to have been designed by Jaguar’s legendary founder, Sir William Lyons.
Perhaps one of the original Dart’s biggest problems was it’s somewhat-divisive looks. It certainly went well enough to win fans, although Sir William wasn’t among them. It crushed the opposition in the Bathurst six-hour race, finishing five laps ahead of anyone else, and it was snapped up by police forces in Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, as it was the fastest thing on the road.
So you’d think a stunning new body with the magic Lyons touch would have been a surefire success. Why this car never made it into production is still something of a mystery, as the official explanations barely stack up.