Author: James Ruppert

Loves cars, especially old cheap ones. Drives a fossilised Land Rover and original Mini Cooper. Incredibly, has won awards for journalism and books.

Keep Windscreens frost free with these household hacks according to Wiperblades.co.uk

by James Ruppert | Feb 10, 2025 | Articles, Car Care, Car Cleaning, Car Culture, Car History, Car Products, Electric Cars, Games, News, Off Roaders, Ruppert's Bangertorial, Technology, Videos

Despite frosty mornings seemingly past us, a cold snap looks set to hit the UK over the next few nights, leaving many Brits with frozen windscreens. However, savvy motorists are looking for ways to stop the frost affecting them altogether. And while there are plenty of ways motorists can make their mornings easier, there is

‘Over 60’s bus pass’ searches skyrocket 380% says GetByBus.com

by James Ruppert | Feb 10, 2025 | Articles, Car Culture, Car History, Electric Cars, Environment, Games, Motoring Costs, News, Off Roaders, Ruppert's Bangertorial, Technology

Searches for ‘Over 60’s bus pass’ have risen by 387.06% in the UK after the government announced new car tax rules for over 70s. On April 1st, these new rules will see the Standard Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) fees increase to £195 and no longer exempt older drivers because of their age. Bus travel expert,

2025 Škoda Octavia vRS Review

by James Ruppert | Feb 8, 2025 | Articles, Brown Car Guy, Buying Cars, Car Culture, Car History, Electric Cars, Games, News, Off Roaders, Ruppert's Bangertorial, Technology

25 Years of Performance Heritage says Shahzad Shiekh Can you believe it's been nearly 25 years since Škoda surprised drivers with a solid and sensible saloon that gave hot hatches a fright? (Actually, it might have looked like a saloon, but it featured a “liftback” hatch rather than a boot lid.) In the intervening years, []

FORD FIESTA, VW GOLF & FORD FOCUS UK’S MOST STOLEN CARS SAYS TEMPCOVER

by James Ruppert | Feb 8, 2025 | Alliance of British Drivers, Bangernomics, Car Theft, Future Proof Cars

12 Ford Fiestas were stolen daily on average in the UK in 2024 – a whopping 4,446 over the course of the year – despite the popular car being axed in 2023 1,727 Volkswagen Golfs were stolen last year, driving it to second place, followed by the Ford Focus, which was nicked 1,700 times Nearly

Priciest Personalised Licence Plates in the UK Revealed by ALA insurance

by James Ruppert | Feb 8, 2025 | Articles, Car Culture, Car History, Electric Cars, Games, News, Off Roaders, Ruppert's Bangertorial, Technology

Interest in personalised licence plates remains strong with UK drivers, allowing them to express their individuality and interests. This trend ensures a thriving market for buying and selling these unique identifiers, with some fetching high prices at auctions. Research from gap insurance provider, ALA Insurance, highlights the top 10 most expensive plates sold via DVLA

Volvo EX30 Single Motor Extended Range RWD Ultra

by James Ruppert | Feb 8, 2025 | Brown Car Guy, New Model, Articles

A Compact Electric SUV that likes to do things differently says Shahzad Shiekh The Volvo EX30 is the baby SUV in the Swedish brand’s electric SUV lineup, and it’s making quite a statement. Billed as a compact crossover, it offers a blend of stylish design, advanced technology, and the kind of practicality we’ve come to

TOYOTA YARIS, SEAT MII & SKODA CITIGO NAMED BY TEMPCOVER AS BEST LEARNER CARS

by James Ruppert | Feb 6, 2025 | Articles, Car Culture, Car History, Electric Cars, Games, News, Off Roaders, Ruppert's Bangertorial, Technology, Toyota, Used Cars

Everyone wants the best chance of success when it comes to passing their driving test and the car you learn to drive in can play a big part in boosting your confidence. Learner driver insurance experts Tempcover have reviewed some of the top learner car recommendations and explored factors such as safety ratings, MPG (miles

10 Strange Examples of Innovation in the Auto Industry

by James Ruppert | Jan 30, 2025 | Articles, Car Culture, Car History, Electric Cars, Fashion, Games, News, Off Roaders, Ruppert's Bangertorial, Technology

While the world of automobiles is filled with the newest technologies and exciting developments, there have also been some decidedly odd inventions in the vehicle industry that are worth noting says Oscar Collins the editor-in-chief of Modded. As people await self-driving vehicles and the flying cars seen on early 2000s television, there are some innovations []

2025 – The Cavalier and Chevette at 50!

by James Ruppert | Jan 27, 2025 | Articles, Car Culture, Car History, Classic Cars, Electric Cars, Games, News, Off Roaders, Ruppert's Bangertorial, Technology

2025 will see the 50th anniversary of the launch of two significant cars into the UK car market – the Vauxhall Chevette and the Vauxhall Cavalier – both of which were destined to not only help turn-round the fortunes of Vauxhalls UK operations, but also benchmarking new standards in their individual sectors of the car []

Helderburg Land Rover Defender

by James Ruppert | Jan 25, 2025 | 4 x 4, Articles, Car Culture, Car History, Classic Cars, Electric Cars, Games, News, Off Roaders, Ruppert's Bangertorial, Technology

Free Car Mag love a Land Rover, especially a proper Defender or an earlier Series example. Seeing what specialist companies can do to make them even better is something we have celebrated over the years. We were rather pleased to make contact with the great people who run Helderburg and in the coming months we