AlanBrand.com

Following up on the success of the Volkswagen New Beetle, the BMW MINI version of the Mini and the new Fiat 500, Auto Express reports on two more resurrections …

BMW are working on an updated version of the Isetta bubble car - this modern version will be bigger, have four wheels, and regular doors rather than entry through the pop-out front.

Renault are developing a new Renault Alpine - a very fast two-seater, possibly mid-engined, designed as an everyday sports car.

Given that most of these new models based on iconic names are bigger and heavier than the originals with little of the original’s charm, I’m usually not a fan of the new versions. It is very frustrating that the one that I find most interesting probably won’t make it to Canada … C’mon, Renault, bring your new Alpine to me!

Edmunds has a First Drive review of the 2007 Holden VE Utility, destined to be sold in North America as a Pontiac in 2008 with any luck. A modern take on the El Camino, this sporty beast is just the thing to take bags of garden waste and leaves to the composting depot in record time.

The first Jaguar XF to roll of the Castle Bromwich line is this Vapour Grey 4.2L V8 SV8 model that is being donated to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust collection.

Jalopnik has an item on a report by KGP of a new Jaguar prototype spotted on the roads near Coventry … it is believed to be the XFR, and is expected to be in production in about a year. The XFR features a quad-pipe exhaust, large cross-drilled rotors, 20-inch wheels, lower ride-height and a blacked-out grille mesh.

I’ve just read that the Car Of The Year, the all new Fiat 500, and its Ford Ka derivative will both be assembled at Fiat’s Polish factory … located in the town of Tychy.

You couldn’t make this stuff up!

More entertainingly, you can configure your own Fiat 500 online … mine (above) leans towards the Classic look.

Pistonhead reports that the Jaguar workers’ union Unite have announced that if they can’t stay working for Ford, then they’d prefer to work for Indian auto-maker TATA.

I wonder if the other short-listed bidders can make more of an impression on Ford’s decision makers?

Follow-up: 23 November - the AutoIndustry website reports on this story giving TATA and former Ford Executive Jac Nasser & One Equity as the remaining two bidders - they ask the question of whether Ford will do what’s best for Jaguar/Land Rover or for the Ford shareholders. I have a bad feeling about this.

We had our first real snow of the season overnight … the phone rang at 7:00 AM with the news that Amy’s school bus wasn’t running today. It then rang 5 minutes later when Amy’s boyfriend, Aarron, called to check that she was going to school. A few minutes later the alarm kicked in with our regular CBC Radio 2 wake-up!

After a warming breakfast, Jan shoveled the walk while I found the car in a large heap of snow in the driveway, and Amy was duly chauffeured to school.

It’s difficult to imagine that on Tuesday I was raking leaves, even the late roses were taken by surprise! Oh well, it’s all part of living in Snowin’ Owen Sound.

The latest issue of The Ontario JAGUAR went to the printer at the weekend. This marks the end of my second year as editor of the OJOA newsletter. I’m gradually getting comfortable with the process, and setting my own style. For this issue, I managed to find a picture of George Harrison behind the wheel of a Jaguar Mark II in the early 60s for the cover. Given that my first issue as editor had a picture of the Inspector Morse car, you might say that I’ve come full circle!

So you want to run your own cinema? United Artist celebrate their 90th Anniversary with this 100 disk, 90 movie package. At about $609 that’s $7.50 per movie, not a bad price to pay … and you get to watch at home instead of in a small crowd of strangers that talk through the movie with or without a cell phone, or noisily eat dubious food, or kick the back of your chair, or insist on walking out of the cinema right in front of you at exactly the most exciting moment in the movie and manage to step on both your feet on their way through.

Back in the day, my friend Brian had a real one of these … it left my 1952 Panther 100 in the dust!

Available from all the best model stores for around $125, this superbly crafted Minichamps 1:12 scale model features impeccable detail including the engine, working suspension, and authentic graphics.