Ever wanted to be Steve McQueen in ‘Bullitt’? remember those ‘Starsky & Hutch’ and ‘French Connection’ car chases? Were you the driver in your dreams?

Back in 1998, Atari tried tried to emulate that feeling with a computer game called ‘Driver’ (that spawned a couple of sequels), but it actually ended up as, if I was being kind, a pretty rubbish version of Grand Theft Auto if GTA had been half as good as actually was.

But now, under the guiding auspices of Ubisoft our hero, cop John Tanner, has had a load of development cash thrown at him to try and get a criminal called Charles Jericho to jail.

So far, so good. But Jericho escapes and rams Tanner’s car with the prison van, putting our hero in a coma in hospital. End of game?

No, just end of belief.

In hospital Tanner discovers he can leave his body and put himself into the bodies of different drivers around San Francisco, enabling him to do almost anything. Whereas we, as normal immoral human beings with the ethics of a polecat, would rob banks and raid pubs, Tanner decides to find Jericho and return him to custody.

Just like real life then?

Driver: San Francisco this time round has managed to get a licence deal on 125 cars, from a classic 1951 Hudson Hornet to the Pagani Zonda Clique, with (deep breath) Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Cadillac, Dodge, Ford, Chevrolet, Lamborghini, Maserati, VW, Ruf, Pontiac, Nissan and McLaren amongst a few others. And amongst that there’s a plethora of cars that you’ll never be able to drive in real life, but here, it’s paaaaarty time!

208 miles of road include the Golden Gate Bridge, Bay Bridge and parts of Mavin County and Oakland, and 9 different game modes in Multiplayer too!

Of course, there’s plenty of people trying to stop you catching your man but you can use other drivers in other cars to block them off as you zoom around the streets; and you’ve always got your trusty sidekick Tobias Jones alongside you.

Every completed story chapter opens up a new part of San Francisco to ‘play’ in and you buy garages, cars and upgrades (complete with supernatural boosts, obviously) all through Tanner. Movie tokens can also be gained that you can use to action special missions and those garages that you own can earn you money; – well, sort of. You actually earn WP (willpower) which you can use to get Tanner out of his coma.

So, whatever vehicle you decide on, from police car, camper and taxi to monster truck, rally car and tow truck, you’ll have to learn how to use them, drive them and utilise them for your own needs to complete missions, tasks, dares races and pursuits.

(There’s also a collector’s edition available that offers a toy replica of a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 440 Six Pak (which is actually Tanner’s car), a map of San Francisco with details of the 80 dares that you can access around the city, an in-game multiplayer mode with 3 exclusive cars (1963 Aston Martin DB5), 1972 Lamborghini Miura and 1966 Shelby Cobra 427) and 4 single player race challenges: – Mass Race where you try and escape the whole San Fran police force, Relay Race where you change cars mid race to win, Russian Hills Race and Taxi Race.)

Tonight, the Streets of San Francisco are yours – at least for a few decades.

An ancient and mysterious rite, drifting has in recent years become quite a very popular sport across the globe. Driving various cars at quite high speeds, the technique is based on overstreering, causing a loss of traction in the rear wheels, making it appear like the front wheels are proceeding in the opposite direction on which the car is travelling. This ultimately stretches the boundary of the vehicle as well as the driver.

The sport started in the Japanese touring circuit in the 1970’s. It was actually a motorcyclist Kunimitsu Takahashi who ‘drifted into the corners’ by shifting his vehicles into its apex so as to slide. It was not very long until it was adapted in rallying, due predominantly to the ‘Drift King’ Keiichi Tsuchiya where the skilled racer applied the new technique to mountain roads. Soon after this radical step, the 1980’s saw the production of a famous video known as Pluspy which gave instructive details about drifting, showing prospective drivers how to accomplish this sometimes very difficult task.

The first national event came when Option magazines founder organized the D1 Grand Prix: the first drifting competition. The 1990’s saw it breaking new boundaries in competitive vents worldwide. In 1990’s the Willow Spring Raceway was the first demonstration in America of this new style, ultimately opening up the floodgates to the western world.

Since its modest beginnings, drifting has become a very competitive and luxurious sport. Professional events like the D1 Grand prix as well as others like the Formula D are looked upon with great appeal by onlookers. Or those less professional, there immediately formed the amateur Tafheet in the middle east, gaining popularity world wide as well.

These types of competitions are dependent on gaining points for the complexity and length of the drifts. In Australia the session are divided into Tansou, or speed run, trying to advance further to the final Tsuiso where two drivers face off by taking turns in a 8 heats to best the other. In most recent news the Mercedes-Benz Silver arrow team with driver Mauro Calo at the wheels smashed previously wourld records with the longest drift, extending 2,308 meters in his Mercedes C63 AMG.

With this increase in popularity there exist certain well known cars that tend to be used. Rear wheeled vehicles lead the standard with Japanese manufactures like Nissan as well as Toyota and Mazada becoming frequently used. From American manufacturers vehicles like Ford as well as the perfect Dodge Viper make the list. In Britain, and indeed Europe, the Vauxhall Omega tended to be used as it had uniquely good drifting characteristics. Models like the MBW M4 as well as certain Volvo’s also do the job well.

It appears that drifting is here to stay and that its popularity will continue to grow. Certainly difficult and quite enjoyable to watch, the sport will continue to grow and embrace new traditions. Watch such a bright future ahead, one can only watch and see how it develops.

In July of this year, Marvel Studios will release their latest opus in “Captain America – The First Avenger”. It’s looking to be quite the lush historical piece, filmed, as it was,  at Shepperton Studios in London and on location in Manchester and Liverpool; featuring a 50+ strong collection of vehicles from 1931-1948. These include a 1942 Chevrolet Gillig School/Tour Bus, a 1933 Dodge Tow Truck and an authentic WWII Dodge Military Ambulance.

Well, it might excite you to hear that a collection of these vehicles, fresh from the set, plus a supporting cast of sixty five fine classic and sports cars, will feature at the Historics at Brooklands sale set to take place on 3rd March.

Each car from the Captain America collection, having been round the block a few times, boasts its own intriguing history. The 1933 Dodge Tow Truck, for example, was sourced from the Nevada Desert with genuine bullet holes on the driver’s wing and bonnet.

Says Nigel Gostelow, Executive Producer of Captain America: “I, along with our Director, Joe Johnston, are both avid ‘petrol heads’, and so historical accuracy was vitally important to us. When it comes to movie production, the settings need to look and feel real, and these cars played a large part in that process. Ultimately they looked great on set, and pleasingly, were correct and very well prepared.”

Says Edward Bridger-Stille, Historics at Brooklands Auction Director: “We are delighted to be working with Marvel Studios on this project. The cars are fascinating and with extremely low reserves set across the board, everybody will have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire a little piece of cinematic history.”

Captain America will be released in July of this year. For a complete list of the Captain America auction inventory, click here.

The Dodge Journey combines off-roader inspired looks with a versatile seven seater cabin.

The front-wheel Dodge Journey has 5+2 seating as standard across the range as well as plenty of storage – Under seat, under floor, sliding seats, side panels – Dodge has really taken care with the interior of the Journey.

Nationwide are please to offer reduced rates across a range of Manual and Automatic Diesel engines. For more information please click on

Dodge Journey Contract Hire Lease offers

Chrysler UK are the umbrella company controlling sales of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles in the United Kingdom. Nationwide Vehicle Contracts have recently lowered lease rates across the range on all vehicles from these manufacturers. Fantastic deals are available across the range on all models but some vehicles are more special than others. Deals include: the strong Dodge Caliber 2.0 CVT; the slick Chrysler Grand Voyager; the powerful Jeep Patriot 2.0 CRD; and the imposing Dodge Nitro 2.8.

Please have a look at the deals available from all three manufacturers as they may not last for long or contact our sales team for more information.

The Dodge Caliber sport auto comes with an impressive 9 speaker MusicGatesound, 6 CD changer audio system. The Interior is expertly built to the highest standards with ‘accent’ trimmed features throughout. The exterior has chromed features, tailgate spoiler and impressive 18” alloys. ABS and airbags are just some of the safety features on this powerful car. This model features 6 speed semi auto sports transmission on a 154 bhp 2.0 litre engine. The Dodge engine is strong and powerful with 10% more power than the BMW equivalent model.

To view the full specification and to get an instant online quote please follow the link below:

Lease a Dodge

The new Dodge Nitro 2.8 Crd SXT is one of the best value mid size four wheel drive vehicles we offer with an unmatched specification at this price point. With a 2.8 diesel engine, choice of manual or automatic transmission and a standard equiment list that includes 20 inch alloy wheels and air conditioning, cruise control and electric powered seats and 6 disc cd changer the Nitro a recommended buy. To view the full specification and get a quote click on the link below.

http://www.nationwidevehiclecontracts.co.uk/Jeep-Grand_Cherokee-variants.htm

The Dodge Nitro is one of our favourite compact SUV four wheel drive vehicles thanks to a spacios interior, great spec and value for money personal and business contract hire rates. The 2.8 Crd SXT Automatic can be laesed from just £249.95 plus vat per month with an initial deposit of £999.95 plus vat. As well as Automatic transmission and a powerful 170bhp 2.8 litre diesel engine the SXT grade includes large 20 inch alloy wheels and sports suspension, front fog lamps, cd player and airconditioning. To see full details on the Nitro car and get a quote click on the link below to view our up to date price list:

http://www.nationwidevehiclecontracts.co.uk/Dodge-Nitro-variants.htm