Gearing up

EARLIER this week I was given the Holy Grail of aspiring car scribes.

It's hardly got the most exciting title but The UK Motor Industry Press and PR Guide 2009 has got something any upcoming Jeremy Clarkson desperately wants - the names and numbers of every motor maker's press person.

While it's hardly Lord of the Rings it does it excite me in my own slightly sad, media-orientated way, because it means arranging test drives is no longer akin to picking up molten lead with bare hands. It's also - at £85 a pop for non-journos - pretty exclusive stuff.

It's amazing how hard test drives, which I arranged a lot of when I worked at the Daily Post in North Wales were, simply because I dealt with dealers rather than press offices.

One Volkswagen review I did was shot down in flames by an over-eager salesman, who said I couldn't possibly point out that the Scirocco's rear visibility isn't as good as the Golf's. Another, working for a BMW dealership, insisted a test drive of a Z4 could be done entirely from the passenger seat. I did eventually get behind the wheel, but only after a lot of persuasion.

Yet many others - Toyota and Ford in particular - were more than happy to throw the keys my way and let me come to my own conclusions. Incidentally, I told their salesmen that while Toyota's IQ is a fantastic car, the bigger Urban Cruiser isn't, and they accepted my thoughts.

Hopefully my latest little book will let me into a world where I'll be able to tell you more about new cars without being pestered by car dealers more worried about image than honesty.

I also got sent a second book, called simply So you want to be a motoring writer.

That could come in handy, I feel.