This weekend, I’ve waved the family goodbye and headed to Heathrow for a flight over to Geneva. Why? The launch of the Kia cee’d. 

It coincides with a meeting of the Association of Motoring Writers Groups – so I’m driving a new car AND meeting my fellow Chairmen.

Which gives me the perfect opportunity to bring you a quasi-live blog. The new Kia cee’d has, truth be told, passed me by somewhat. The Hyundai i30 got the fanfare and the later-launched cee’d has been left out a bit. Now’s catchup time for Kia – starting this weekend.

And so, onwards…

18:00, Friday 18 May – le Mirador hotel

Literally just arrived, after driving the 60-odd miles from the airport. Swiss drivers, aye – they don’t half like to tailgate and get REALLY impatient if you, say, drive at the legal limit past a speed camera. My bad, clearly.

After a briefing, it was straight into the car, after clapping eyes on it for the first time. Impressions? Vauxhall Astra-like rear, a surprisingly low-looking nose by pedestrian impact-friendly modern standards, and a cool set of LED daytime running lights whose similarity I can’t quite place.

The interior has the usual modern Kia lack of initial impact, which grew on me a lot during the hour-long drive. Odd this: I noticed it with the Rio too – what at first appears dull and plasticky later emerges as something with substance and quality. Weird.

An initially whiney engine dented the first few-hundred metre impressions, but it became silent enough at speed. First thoughts on the drive: lovely ride bias, with supple bump absorption, damping with depth and very good levels of noise isolation. Clearly it’s the VW Golf that’s been the benchmark here, rather than the Ford Focus.

More later. A quick shower beckons, before meeting Lawrence Hamilton, Kia’s marketing director, over dinner. Any Kia questions? You know what to do…

The BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe costs, on paper, from £61,390. The one you want (the 640d) costs from £63,900. The one we drove on the launch, though, cost at least £79,000.

What was it – an M Sport variant? Nope: M Sport actually ‘only’ adds £4,665, which seems like a bargain when you consider it adds 19-inch alloys, M bodykit, sports seats, anthracite rooflining and lots of M styling details.

Indeed, even the range-topping 650i engine in top-line M Sport trim will only cost from around £75k when it goes on sale in June. No, what’s at work here is options. Lots and lots of options.

Not only is the M Sport trim offered from launch, but BMW’s bespoke Individual trim line is also offered on the new 6 Series Gran Coupe – and it’s choosing from this highly boutique-style range of options where the costs really start to ramp up.

Take the Frozen Bronze paint. The satin finish looks amazing, and it’s the first satin-finish car we’ve seen that’s not in black or white – but it also costs £2,305. Metallic paint is standard.

Upholstery? Of dubious taste in our eyes, but there’s no denying it has impact and is also highly bespoke. How much? £5,635 for the BMW Individual Full Merino leather.

You don’t even get a complementary Alcantara rooflining as standard: that costs £1,185 extra. The white dash trim? Another £490. The 19-inch wheels are only an inch larger than standard but still cost £1,755 more, and if the booming Bang & Olufsen speakers seem impressive, get ready to fork out £3,750 for the full stereo setup.

Excessive, and done only for the launch? Apparently not. It is actually just what customers demand. BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe buyers apparently don’t just want any car, but want the ability to make it bespoke. Average options spend for 6 Series buyers? £10-12,000.

That’s why BMW has worked hard to ensure so many packages and options are available right from standard, when people will be most open to spending big on them. Customers demand it, respond to it and actively indulge in it.

So although the 6 Gran Coupe theoretically starts from £61k, don’t expect many cars in the UK to actually cost that. Indeed, if buyers follow the advice in our first drive and add the must-have Adaptive Drive suspension pack, the entry-level price for the 6 Series Gran Coupe is actually more than £65k. Our test car had that, too. And LED headlights. And BMW Assist. And DAB stereo.

The £100,000 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe? If not, it wasn’t far off… and it’s a measure of how convincing the 6 Series gran Coupe is as an upmarket luxury GT that it still manages to pull it off.

+ BMW and the Olympics: not a new thing

+ Live blog – Mercedes SL 63 AMG

+ The agony of dropping car keys: strike a chord with anyone?

Straight in blind to a Vauxhall Zafira Tourer this week. Unlike the press images, my model doesn’t look particularly outstanding: finished in doom black (dark colours really don’t work well on big, flat-sided vehicles like this), it’s a basic spec car so has such novelties as a plastic steering wheel and a pretty awkwardly-placed manual handbrake rather than the whizzy electric item increasingly seen in rivals.

Funny how base-spec Vauxhalls seem to feel more ‘base’ than other models: some of the interior cutbacks often seems just a bit too far-stretching. Many’s the Astra press car I’ve had without a trip computer (despite having the buttons on the end of the stalk). Rivals have climate control buttons where Vauxhall has knobs and dials. Plastic steering wheels seems to stretch further up the Vauxhall price bracket than they ought.

Being as apparently mean as this hardly gets the pulse racing. Given how aged the old Zafira felt by the end of its days (it’s still on sale, but I’d recommend not), I wasn’t expecting something much better than average from its new sibling. More fool me.

The Vauxhall Zafira Tourer is a minor revelation.

For starters, it has a normal driving position, rather than the bus-like setup of the old car that boasts oddly angled steering wheel and glaringly close-set pedals. More reclined, the new car’s driving position feels like that of a normal car, just from the pleasingly higher vantage point most MPVs command.

This is buoyed by superb visibility. The massive windscreen is panoramic and clever design of the A-pillars has created huge quarterlights that you really can see out of and find useful on the road. The Citroen C4 Grand Picasso was the first car to pull this trick and it’s pleasing Vauxhall has followed suit.

It’s not just interior basics and boring-sounding but actually very relevant details that impress, though. This MPV drives well too – and that’s something I certainly wasn’t expecting.

In particular, it has a great front end, all reassuring response and firm stability. It doesn’t roll onto the outside wheel in corners but tracks with composure through them, rather like a taut quasi-hot hatch does.

The pay-off is a slightly firmer ride than normal, with a quasi-sport feel to the nibble of the wheels and the frequency of the body movements at speed. Maybe this is due to the stiffness of the roll bars: but I really don’t mind. It’s worth it, and besides, it’ll undoubtedly improve when laden, too.

So here I am, looking forward to tooling a cooking diesel Zafira Tourer auto down my favourite handling roads in coming days, to see whether it really is an Astra GTC in loft-extension drag. And if so, why so. Check in later for more.

Who knows, I may even be able to photograph it in a more exciting way.

+ Vauxhall Open Tourer

+ Geneva Motor Show 2012

+ Vauxhall Insignia VXR dial colour change

Minor detail on this weekend’s Honda Insight test car that’s been irritating me: if the stop-start has stopped it, and you go to stop, it starts.

Eh? That’s what I thought. It goes like this:

- At the end of a journey, you come to a halt. The super-efficient stop-start system cuts the engine as you roll to a halt (it works at 6mph and below), meaning your journey ends free from fuel consumption. This feels good.

- You slide the CVT shift lever from ‘D’ into ‘P’.

- The engine starts up. This feels idiotic.

Yes, really. For some bizarre reason, moving out of drive fires up the engine – despite, I’d presume, your clear intention being to switch off, park up and leave it. What sort of an oversight is this?

It’s fiendishly frustrating – all the hard work of fuel-saving, spoiled at the very end of the journey. It means you leave the Insight gnashing your teeth: there are psychologists who, I’m sure, can tell you the effect this has on your impression of the brand. In this case, it ‘aint positive.

Honda’s done so much to rectify the wrongs of the current-shape Insight in this 2012 model. But it’s details like this that really surprise, and show that the famed engineering-led development of Honda hasn’t quite been fully restored yet.

Unless you can tell me a reason why it’s right to do this? Because I’m struggling.

At least I’ve found a workaround, though. Turn the ignition off while still in ‘D’. Just remember to shift it into ‘P’, or the car won’t release the key. Maybe it knows after all…

+ How Honda justifies the Jazz Hybrid

+ Honda says now to hybrid for new Civic

+ BMW ECO PRO

Industry

• 29/4: There are 476 different models on sale in China, 120 more than the US. Head of VW China predicts over 80 more new models will launch in 2012. (CAR)
• 29/4: China’s 1.3bn population is three times that of the entire EU. Car ownership stands at 50 vehicles per 1000: in Europe, the average is 500 per 1000. (CAR)
• 27/4: The cleanest cars will be cleaner than the cleanest trains by 2020: an average of 40g/km tailpipe CO2 – 25g/km per passenger based on the 1.6 person average vehicle occupancy – will beat the most efficient trains. The 2000 figure for cars was 140g/km CO2. (Autocar)
• 26/4: The European new car market fell 7 per cent in March and registrations are at their lowest level since 1988. In Q1, Italy was down 21 per cent and France was down 21.6 per cent; Germany was up 1.3 per cent and the UK was up 0.9 per cent. (Just-Auto)
• 26/4: Car production in Mexico grew 13 per cent in 2011 to a record 2.6m units (19.5 per cent of North America output). 2.14m of them were exported. Audi’s announcement it will build a plant there joins Ford, Honda, Nissan and Mazda with plans to expand or build new plants there. (4wheelsnews)
• Mexico is expected to become the world’s third biggest vehicle exporter and its third biggest vehicle producer. (4wheelsnews)
• 25/4: Intelligent mobility – networked cars under digital control – could create a £5bn industry in the UK within a decade, and employ 20k people. (BBC)
• 25/4: 10 carmakers are among the world’s largest 100 public companies. They are: VW/17, Toyota/25, Daimler/37, Ford/44, Honda/59, BMW/61, GM/63, Nissan/85, Mitsubishi Corp/95, Hyundai/96. (Detroit News)
• 20/4: US diesel demand increased 35 per cent in Q1 2012. Many new diesel introductions are planned, including the first US diesel Mercedes S-Class in 17 years. Audi will launch four diesels in the US next year. (Auto Trends)
• 14/4: Car production in Poland was down 26 per cent, representing ‘very large risks’ for the country: car production represents 7 per cent of Poland’s industrial output. 825k cars and trucks were assembled last year in Poland: Fiat assembles the 500 and Lancia Ypsilon, VW makes the Transporter and Caddy, Opel makes a range of cars including the Astra GTC. (4whelsnews)
• 14/4: 37 per cent of potential EV buyers are put off by the car’s high prices. Less than 30 per cent are deterred by the limited range. (Glass’s)
• 11/4: Bosch has sold 75 million ESC units since launching the technology in 1995. Since 2010, it has been producing more ESC units than ABS units. The technology can prevent 80 per cent of skidding accidents and Bosch says that after the seatbelt, it is the most important automotive safety system. ESC is mandatory on all cars type approved in the EU after October 2011, and will be standard on all cars sold from November 2014: today, it is fitted to 72 per cent of all new cars sold in the EU.
• 11/4: Italy is now Europe’s weakest new car market: sales fell 26.7 per cent in March and 20.9 per cent in q1. France fell 23.5 per cent in March and 21.7 per cent in Q1 (but these figures were biased by the ending of a scrap page scheme). France’s annualised selling rate is 1.97m: Italy’s is 1.37m – a level last seen in 1979. (Automotive IQ)
• 9/4: China imports 55 per cent of its oil. Prices have recently exceeded the 8rmb barrier, a key psychological one. (China Car Times)
• 8/4: The Chinese new car market grew 2.45 per cent in 2011. Its peak growth was 30 per cent. (Car News China)
• 8/4: US makers are averaging 25 per cent fleet renewal rate as model replacement cycles shorten. A few years ago, the renewal rate was 15 per cent. (Detroit News)
• 8/4: 80 per cent of UK goods are delivered by road. (SMMT)
• 1/4: Citroen is to close its Slough HQ and move to Peugeot’s Pinley House HQ (which opening in 2008 and already houses a joint PSA training centre). No timetable has been announced for the move – and Citroen will retain separate sales and marketing teams plus separate retail networks. (Auto Retail)
• 1/4: GM CEO Dan Akerson says European production overcapacity is equivalent to 10 plans. Since the 2008 economic crisis, only three plants have closed: Fiat Sicily, Saab Trollhattan and Opel Antwerp. Mitsubishi will stop production in the Netherlands at the end of the year. (4wheelsnews)
• 1/4: Europe has 240 car production facilities in 27 countries. Between 2008-2012, Ford, Chrysler and GM closed 13 US car plants. (4wheelsnews)

The Mercedes-Benz SL 63 AMG is launched this week and I’m flying out with the UK group today for a first drive.

After an early start and lots of coffee, I’m attempting my first live blog from the launch itself. Internet and wifi connectivity dependent, keep coming back to see how I get on…

Back at my desk – reflections

AMG is about performance, performance, performance (Paulat’s words) – but it’s also about so much more besides. Few cars this powerful are also as friendly and as engaging. You are confident driving the SL 63 quickly and, while you’re not as engaged as you would be in a Porsche, there’s still a lot of accurate, precise, high-quality satisfaction to be had.

The engine is a dream, with its all-round abilities making up for any lack of ultimate old-model howl (and the exhaust bellow will be enough for some). The brakes are brilliant. The interior is lovely. As I said in my MSN Cars piece, the best all-round performance sports car on sale? Taking into account the full repertoire of everyday needs, including cruising down the motorway and nibbling through city centre traffic? It’s well up there…

12.00 – St. Tropez Polo Club

Just chatted to Arnulf Paulat, project manager for vehicle development. How long to develop the SL 63 AMG? Two years – and his proudest achievement is launching it on time to coincide with the series launch of the new SL model range. “Development is one thing, bringing it to production is something else entirely.”

Also spotted my first drive has gone live on MSN Cars: do please read it and let me know what you make of the new SL 63 AMG!

10.40 – St. Tropez Polo Club

Back at the Polo Club and it’s been a partly roofless morning today. Difference? A lot more noise, obviously – from the explosive exhausts that bellow and rasp when on the throttle, flutter and crackle when off it. At times, there’s an almighty BANG from the rear that’s so incredible, you wonder how it can be legal.

Here’s something though: I prefer the SL with the roof up. It’s sharper, more incisive, more accurate. The car I loved from yesterday didn’t return until I raised the roof. So, after half an hour’s exploration early on, it’s remained up ever since.

I intentionally sought gnarly, twisting, narrow and challenging roads this morning too. I wanted to doublecheck the SL AMG was as agile as I thought. Sure enough: its ability to shrink during press-on motoring is quite something. And now it’s finally stopped raining, what a demonstration of its grip and traction too.

The steering remains a touch too light and it’s hardly packed with feel either. But the front end is still very accurate and grip is also electrically sharp and powerful. Those brakes, too, are glorious – but only once the cold morning dew has been taken off…

One more thing: this car really is supercar-fast. With all this power, so easily accessible, plus the egg-you-on confidence and ability of the chassis, it’s a searingly fast backroad car.

07.00 – hotel room

First drive for MSN Cars written and sent. Verdict? After much musing, I reckon it’s a very accurate, confidence-inspiring and rewarding sports car with near-supercar levels of performance and the chassis ability to back it up. It’s easy to drive fast, but gives enough back for it not to be dull, and strikes a very good balance between handling dynamics and ride comfort.

It’s much more focused and satisfying than I was expecting, and despite the huge torque figures backing up the searing SLS-lite performance, it’s never intimidating. There’s a natural neutrality to it that I found extremely rewarding.

No, it’s not quite as involving as a Porsche 911. It’s not meant to be. This is an all-round performance car whose abilities at both ends of the spectrum stretch further than you’d expect.

My god, is it fast, too. The last fraction of throttle travel is truly explosive. Thing is, it’s all so well modulated, and delivered in such a considered way, you never feel like you’re sitting atop a ticking bomb.

And then noise? It’s still there. Less unfettered and pure than before, but it still rumbles and burbles with the best of them. Particularly roof down – and hopefully there’ll be more opportunity for that today.

Also been reminding myself about the old 2008 Mercedes SL 63 AMG. How stark the deficit in toque was even then.

22.15 – laptoptappery

Good fortune with the seating plan meant I’ve just returned from two hours sat next to Thomas Rappel, product strategy boss at Mercedes-AMG GmbH. He’s told me why AMG is a convincing manufacturer in its own right (moving away from its roots as a vehicle tuner), what the brand does to turn Mercedes into AMGs, some of the techniques it uses to engage with its extremely loyal customers, and how it reserves the right to say no to a Mercedes request to create an AMG if it feels the vehicle would not be a ‘true’ AMG.

He’s been a goldmine of information. Watch this space there. Here’s a snipped: I asked him why the SL 63 AMG has just two suspension settings – Comfort and Sport – instead of the multitude of options on models such as the BMW M5.

His reply? If you do your homework right, why do you need five settings?” Customers want comfort, or sportiness – and want perfectly configured settings for both. That’s what AMG offers.

Oh, and the number one reason for someone choosing an AMG? The engine. “Well, the engine, and the sound of the engine. They’re on the same level.” Hence, that AMG audible ID we all know so well…

18.45 – still in the hotel room

Press conference is calling, but just looking at sales stats in the press kit. Between 2008-2011, Mercedes sold 5000 SL 63 AMG – and between 2001-2007, sold 21,500 of the SL 55 AMG.

Both are higher than I thought – selling 26,500 AMG SLs over a decade, in a sports car market now worth under 65k a year worldwide, is not bad going. Particularly as this one costs €157k basic… that’s nearly £130k!

18:00 – the Sezz Hotel, St. Tropez

The weather has been truly horrendous. Flooded roads, near-zero visibility, the works. Luckily, I’d had enough hours in the SL to get a feel for it.

And it’s surprised me. With its agility, its immediacy of response, its surefootedness and mechanical balance. Despite rain-lashed roads and despite cliffloads of torque, I didn’t once had a fright. OK, ESP stayed firmly on – but the car didn’t feel handicapped because of it, despite these conditions. Impressive.

Basically, though, it’s the way the SL has flowed across all the roads it’s encountered that’s really impressed. It’s a very natural-feeling car, balanced and accurate, something that gives the driver huge, huge faith.

The engine is searingly fast, as you’d expect. But not in the explosive way of before. Rather, the turbo torque has made it simply fast, all the time and at all revs, rather than building to a crescendo of speed as before. Think the shove of a diesel, which isn’t capped by a 4000rpm rev limit.

Oh, and turbo lag? Well I didn’t really spot much.

Now to the notepad, to drill down the details for the MSN Cars first drive. Quickly, though: the press conference is in an hour and I have plenty of questions.

15:00 – somewhere en route

I’m sitting low, on delectable soft-Yet-firm seats, behind the small, chunky, part-Alcantara steering wheel of a wieldy, agile and rapid sports GT. Surprises do far? Front end bite and turn-in, the surging spread of the V8′s power, the fact it is so friendly and comfortable in town yet so alluring out of it

Of course, there’s lots to digest, compare and contrast. But it’s looking positive so far.

And, yes, it’s still raining.

13:30 – St Tropez Polo Club

Almost into the cars. Some vital stats: there are two versions, the regular 537hp SL 63 AMG and the AMG Performance Pack one wiht 564hp. Standard is 800Nm of torque, AMG PP is 900Nm. Wow.

The seven-speed ANG SPEEDSHIFT MCT has automatic double-declutching, it’s suspension by ABC active springs and dampers, the flashy sprayless Magic Vision wipers are fitted and it also has a kick-open bootlid that’s also kick-to-close. Oh, and the bootlid is made from carbon composite, saving 5kg.

The body-in-white is a massive 110kg lighter and the SL 63 AMG, at 1845kg, is 125kg lighter than before.

And it’s raining here. Which has meant no helicopter ride, but an otherwise lovely 110km in an E-Class. More on that later. There are SLs to drive…

Pre thoughts – Airbus A321, somewhere over France

Another AMG Mercedes. How long will it be before AMG actually makes a car of its own, to halo-top all the Mercedes variants it’s now worked on? With its own dealership now open in China, it’s surely only a matter of time.

And so, the new car. I don’t know what to expect from this SL 63 AMG, to be fair. I know it will be very fast, and I’m pretty sure it will burble, bellow and yowl like any good AMG should. I’ve intentionally tried to avoid driving impressions on the new all aluminium SL though, as I wanted a clear head for this event.

I spoke to James Baggott last week, who had an E 63 AMG on test. My god, he said, it’s fast. As in, wheelspin at 70mph when you boot it fast. The noise it makes is incredible, too: it’s a very special car.

That got me thinking about AMG and just what it stands for. Does it bring anything more than just speed and drama? From experience, I know the old C 63 AMG was an absolute peach of a car, with rare chassis finesse and delectably precise, intimate steering. It had spot-on spring and damper rates for properly classy poise, balance and absorbency, and was so much more than simply being the thrill-wagon you’d expect from a 6.2-litre engine in a junior executive bodyshell.

But despite this, you still don’t consider such subtleties when you imagine AMG. It’s always about the noise and the grunt. Will this SL, with its newfound lightness, it’s newly-green V8 turbo and its presumed benefit of so much more AMG engineering experience, finally telegraph this? We shall see.

To be continued!

Come back later for more…

Pinterest: of interest? That’s what I’m finding out, thanks to an invite by Neville Hobson (@jangles) following my tweeted intrigue.

That my invite to this new social media channel came via another social media channel is telling, but I nevertheless think there’s potential in Pinterest.

I just need to work out what it is and how to use it.

Pinterest itself? It’s a virtual pinboard, allowing you to share images you see online with others. It’s a bit like cutting out images from magazines and sticking them on the fridge – only here, it’s far less effort and far more flexible.

Adding images to Pinterest is called pinning them. To do this, install the plugin, which will be displayed in your bookmarks bar.

See an image you like? Hit that ‘Pin It’ button.This pulls up a separate web page with all images from the page you’ve been viewing available to ‘pin’. Choose the one you’re after, fill in the comments popup, hit go and – bingo, you’ve added to your Pinterest board. You can even tweet it if you so wish.

Hold on – board? Yup: the idea is to create a board, or multiple (pin)boards (geddit?), ordered by subject so you can build up your virtual image scrapbook. At the moment, I’ve chosen five:

Great motoring journalism

Images that caught my eye

Dials

Cars driven

Products I love

When I see stuff I like online, I’ll add it to these boards, to fulfil my geeky tendencies.

Pinterest users also get to play image editor. No matter how geeky the subject area, they can quality control what’s displayed there. I’m doing this in my ‘dials’ board, for example. Only the finest car dials from history will be displayed here. Sorry, Rover 45 design team.

So, why Pinterest instead of Twitter? Because it’s visual. The secret is in the boards, and the collection of images they hold. Choose the right subject and these can be truly compelling must-views – which, with the right Pinterest editor, will become compellingly sticky for fans of said subject.

It chimes with something others have said: the internet is becoming visual. People don’t want to read, they want to look at images, the richer the better – and it’s Pinterst’s encouragement of this, plus its ability to collate such images with immense granularity, that’s the reason why I think it has potential.

I will persist. I’ll keep on pinning and will be following others who do, too. Keep the interest up and see what happens.

>>Links to more thoughts on Pinterest>>

The Wall on Pinterest

Mashable on Pinterest

The BBC on Pinterest

Wired on Pinterest

Scott Monty on Pinterest

Blue Glass on Pinterest

Lance Ulanoff on Pinterest

Dreamgrow on Pinterest

—

+ What journalists should not do on Twitter

+ Mercedes on X-Factor

+ Facebook and Twitter for cars: BMW to the rescue

I dropped the keyfob to my long-term Audi the other day – and the agony flashed through me like electric the very instant it left my hand.

Crack-clack-scrape. Clatter. No! Yes. And this terror is all because car makers have raised the stakes of the keyfob by turning them into objects of envy.

The actual ‘key’ no longer exists amongst premium brands. Take Audi: jagged metal scrapings went out years ago, replaced by electronic fobs (and starter buttons). Mercedes was the first to do this, and BMW has also long since dispensed with the metal lathe.

These electronic fobs have become increasingly, well, premium. Mercedes started things off here too, by inlaying the three-pointed star in silver; BMW followed by dropping a coloured propellor roundel onto the lock button of its remote; today, Audi’s keyfob is a work of beauty.

Weighty, Bentleyesque, with smooth-finish plastic and a heavy-metal polished chrome fob (complete with four-ring stamping all ready for Audi to be pressed in), it’s as much a work of art as an Audi interior itself.

So, when you drop this beauty, it hurts.

Like dropping an iPhone, it’s a posession you treasure and don’t want to damage. I looked down with a grimace. Picked it up, brushed it off on my trousers, polished it on my top – all things I’d do with the 4S. And then examined it.

Damage? A small chunk out the top. Phew. Could have been worse. So why do I still try to polish it out each time I now pick up my keys? Muse on the replacement cost of a new electronic fob? It’s not even my car. Yet, for some reason, I care.

In years gone by, it used to be the keyring that made the statement: the key itself was a utilitarian way of doing a job. Drive a classic Porsche, BMW or Mercedes and you’ll see what I mean. You think you’ve been given the keys to a Hillman Imp or similar.

Chuck them on the floor and it didn’t matter. Now it does.

Car makers have thus played a masterstroke. More than ever, car keys are now a status symbol. They reside safely next to your iPhone, sit safely and proudly on your desk. Are polished. Are caressed.

And the value of the brand to the owner edges further-higher with every touch. Brilliant.

Just don’t drop them: it’s premium-grade pain when you do.

+ Designing the new BMW F30 3 Series

+ Details: Audi A6 Avant

+ Bentley Supersports ISR: how living with a supercar differs from other cars

Twitter is a great resource for journalists who want to broadcast without delay and then interact with readers

However, it presents additional challenges to journalists because of who they are and what they do. Standards and etiquette must be different to other Twitter users.

Here are some pointers I’ve found from experience (and mistakes) as a journalist in using Twitter.

• Don’t broadcast typos

Easily done. We’re journalists: if we discover news, we want to get it out there fast. It’s instinct. But if, say, we’re using an iPhone in the field, it’s not hard for typos (or, more likely, autocorrect fails) to slip in.

Action: simply re-read every message before sending. The news can wait 10 seconds more.

• Don’t share private discussions with other journalists

Obvious: your colleagues may speak in person on a broad range of subjects to you, under the accepted generality that it’s all off the record. Do not tweet any of this, no matter how apparently insignificant. This is surprisingly easily done on social media, due to the immediacy of the medium.

Action: think about the content and potential sensitivity of what you’re sending, if it’s related to a conversation you’ve had with a colleague or counterpart.

• Don’t share links without thought

What you share is just as significant as what you write. It tells people what you’re reading, what you’re interested in. Does this really reflect your true opinions? Have you included a comment explaining why you’re sharing it, if it doesn’t?

Action: never share without thought. If it’s not adding anything to your followers, share it elsewhere. Or not at all.

• Don’t forget your followers

People are following you because you’re a journalist. They thus want interesting content from you. Insight. Facts, Explanations. Not glorified RSS feeds to your online content. Not vacuous messages saying you’re off for lunch. Not more lolcats.

Action: see every tweet as writing a headline story for the front page of the publication you work for.

• Tweet from the pub

Journalists use Twitter as a professional tool. But having a personal account means lifestyle tweets are an inevitability. It’s why people follow you, after all. This is fine. Just don’t start tweeting at 10.15pm from the bar. You will regret it.

Action: disable Twitter if you’re going out for drinks (seriously, do it).

• Follow without thought

Who you’re following is a reflection on you. People will view it as an insight into your views and beliefs. Yes, even the offensive, vacuous and contrary stuff that can slip in without realising.

Action: look at who you’re following and assess if it truly reflects what you think.

• Engage carelessly

Journalists come under scrutiny. The quickest way for someone who disagrees with you to express this is via Twitter. Engagement is encouraged, but so is care. An emotional response to an emotional tweet can quickly get out of control.

Action: be careful what you say – and never instantly respond to any criticism that comes via an @reply.

Who does it well?

You can learn from these people. I’ve purposely not included motoring journalists here.

@Peston

@PeterHoskinsSky

@gordonmacmillan

@henrywinter

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#UKjourn: Growing master list of all UK journalists on Twitter

+ Facebook and Twitter for cars: BMW to the rescue

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+ #10yearsago

New York International Auto Show, I really enjoyed you: 112 years has taught you lots about what’s needed to run a successful motor show, and you delivered.

My first time at a motor show in the US, I didn’t quite know what to expect from New York. How big was it? Would the US brands dominate? Would it be full of cars I had no idea about or interest in? Would the scale be as vast, daunting and foot-blistering as other BIG American infrastructures, such as the JFK airport that processed us into the country?

+ New York International Auto Show: upcoming

Well, no. What I found was a friendly, efficient motor show that was manageable, blended familiar with novel, and mixed Europeans, Japanese and US brands in a way that made it easy to follow in an unfamiliar marketplace.

There were even lessons for European shows within the Jacob Javits centre: NYIAS proved there’s no need to wait nearly an hour to receive press accreditation, as I did at Geneva this year, for it can be processed in two minutes. There’s no need to queue and stand out in the cold for a notional opening time, as all journalists want is be let in toso they can head for the press room, grab a desk and drink coffee.

There’s no need to leave us wilting, either: give us muffins, M&Ms and more coffee, and we’ll be your friends for life (particularly those who are unable to leave the press room due to the pressures of those increasingly familiar live update reports…).

Show sense

The show itself? The bulk of it was neatly spread over two floors, a bit like Geneva. The stands weren’t as lavish but were arguably more efficient, and all the hosts on them were friendly, discreet and, most importantly, knowledgeable. I spent 15 minutes chatting to the Scion lady, for example, and came away fully conversant with a brand I’d previously been impassive on.

+ Geneva Motor Show 2012: media analysis

I also liked the general relaxed air. Press conferences were spread over two days and each one lasted 20 minutes instead of 15. As Jaguar Land Rover proved, this gives plenty of time to get information out there – and if 20 minutes is too much, simply finish early and let people meander to the next. No running, no drama: this takes some of the show intensity away but does also give opportunity for more consideration and more thought.

Something new for me too: it didn’t officially start until 9am, and before then, there was an official show breakfast. Yes! They fed us! What’s more, loaded us up with stories too, with speakers from J. D. Power, Nielsen, the Greater New York Dealers Association and, in the keynote address, Carlos Ghosn himself. Meaty stuff to start the day and, while the European shows don’t have time for this, it would still be nice to do something similar.

Gripes? A few

Pity the WiFi remained a pain. I thought I was in luck: all-day access at the Jacob Javits centre, for a steep but justifiable $29.95. No such joy: it worked for all of five minutes before it became overloaded and stymied any on-the-move updates. I have emailed them for a refund.

The press room was also under capacity, with the usual throngs of people sitting on the floor desperately updating copy. In getting a chair, I was lucky – thank you, 6am hotel departure.

Maybe the show was a bit too relaxed in places, too. More than a couple of stands were still finishing construction deep into press day, and the good ol’ Jacob Javits centre itself did seem a bit faded in places, drawing a contrast between some of the more premium fare on show (Geneva gets away with this through the illusion created by those big-bucks show stands).

Overall though, I enjoyed New York, even if the actual content wasn’t premier league (many stands boasted ‘seen it already’ exhibits billed as ‘new debuts’). I was able to better understand the US car market and spend plenty of time researching and experiencing its products, plus speaking to and learning from its representatives.

Just what a motor show should be about. Roll on year 113.

>> My coverage from the New York Show:

http://cars.uk.msn.com/news/new-jaguar-f-type-1

http://cars.uk.msn.com/blog/inside-track-blogpost.aspx?post=41620f72-2d0a-4f82-b6cd-b79851a5ca9b

http://cars.uk.msn.com/blog/inside-track-blogpost.aspx?post=568e4771-1c9e-4bbc-bc81-596f5779747b

http://cars.uk.msn.com/blog/inside-track-blogpost.aspx?post=0f5a774f-7165-407c-921b-bb2c52f96bb2

http://cars.uk.msn.com/blog/inside-track-blogpost.aspx?post=1b673038-1862-4ada-8a34-028a6cf4fb0b

http://cars.uk.msn.com/reviews/land-rover-dc100-2012-concept-1

http://cars.uk.msn.com/news/land-rover-off-road-course-wows-new-york

http://www.richardaucock.com/new-york-international-auto-show-upcoming/

http://www.richardaucock.com/new-york-international-auto-show-review/

>>Be sure to check out this cracking NYIAS infographic too!

+ New York International Auto Show: upcoming

+ NYIAS on Twitter

+ Geneva Motor Show 2012: media analysis