Llandudno friends raise over £12k on chaotic Rome road trip
The journey was full of mishaps and laughter, according to Martin Krol, organiser and garage owner.
The team on the Dover-Calais ferry (Image: Supplied) Mr Krol said: "We had our moments.
"James locked his keys in his car before we'd even left the country, and we had to break in.
"We had a couple of mental breakdowns as well as the cars.
"James' Volvo even broke down in central Rome outside the Vatican.
"We had armed police pointing guns at us in seconds – they don't mess around over there.
"There were four of us with our heads under the bonnet trying to fix it as fast as we could."
Three of the motors on the cross-Channel ferry (Image: Supplied) Despite the challenges, the team raised £12,586, including a £100 donation from a fellow traveller at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Mr Krol said: "We're thrilled with the amount we have raised and want to thank every single person who donated.
"I'm also proud of all the lads who used their own time and money to come out on this adventure and support the charity."
The team attracted a following online and were even recognised on the Dover-Calais ferry by a couple from Llandudno returning from their wedding in Poland.
After reaching Rome, the friends split up to continue their travels, with some heading to Paris and others to the south of France.
Once back in North Wales, they auctioned off the four vehicles, affectionately named Pink Panther, Noah's Ark, Cecil, and Veronica, raising another £3,500 for the hospice.
The team in Pisa at the famous Leaning Tower (Image: Supplied) Sian Golding, fundraiser for Hope House Tŷ Gobaith, praised the team's efforts.
Ms Golding said: "What a brilliant effort by Martin and the team.
"They have managed to raise an incredible sum which will help us on our mission to reach and support every local child and family living with a life-threatening condition.
"They must have made some real memories and stories on the road, and their efforts will help to make even more precious quality moments for the families we support and care for.
"Thank you."
Hope House Children's Hospices provide specialist nursing care and support to more than 750 children and their families across Shropshire, Cheshire, and Wales.
The charity relies on public donations for most of its £10 million annual running costs.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
16 hours ago
- Telegraph
An insider's guide to DAF, by owners of the quirky Dutch cars
While DAF Trucks have been a market leader for decades, the Dutch company's venture into the car industry was disappointingly brief – only 15 years, to be exact. During that time, about 750,000 cars rolled off the production line in Eindhoven, beginning with the DAF 600 that made its debut at the 1958 Amsterdam motor show. Several incarnations followed, including the most popular 33, 55 and 66 models. Some critics joked that DAFs were driven mainly by elderly ladies and were inconsequential, however such blinkered views failed to acknowledge that, in some respects, the cars were ahead of their time, most notably in their automatic transmission. The company's founders, the Van Doorne Brothers, strived to produce a car accessible to all but with some luxuries associated with more expensive vehicles, such as a self-shifting gearbox. Unheard of in small cars, DAF broke new ground by creating the Variomatic transmission – inspired by a belt-driven lathe in the factory – utilising a pulley/belt system to achieve a stepless, automatic gearchange and deliver optimal engine speed for any driving situation. Ironically, the system's popularity increased after DAF stopped producing cars when Ford and Fiat, among others, fitted a continuously variable transmission (CVT) to their smaller models. DAF's short flirtation with the car industry ended in 1973 when Volvo bought the brand. Several factors contributed to the company quitting the car market, including failure to expand sufficiently to compete with rivals and the founders' conservatism restricting the cars' performance potential. This side of the North Sea, DAF only started making headway in the small vehicle market during its final years; before then, import tariffs had been prohibitive until they were lifted when the UK joined the Common Market in 1973. Today, it's estimated that only about 120 DAFs remain on UK roads. We caught up with three devoted owners to understand the enduring appeal of the quirky Dutch cars. I have a long affinity with DAFs because not only did my mother drive one, but I grew up just down the road from the factory in the Netherlands. Often, I'd cycle to school past the plant and see the works rally cars leave for a competition – they drove them to events back then. I bought my 55 in 1997 for £800 after having my eye on it for ages. When it won our concours, I asked the owner for first refusal if he sold it. Luckily, he did. DAFs rarely come up for sale in the UK, but typically I'd expect a 55 Coupé to sell for around £3,500 to £5,500. However, mine is modified and rally-prepared. Similar modified cars have been offered in Holland for about €20,000 (£17,320). For years they were regarded as 'uncool', yet in recent times people have started to seek them out, precisely for that reason. I increased the power of my 55 by, among other things, upgrading the engine to a 1,397cc Renault engine from a Volvo 340. Power has increased from about 50bhp to an estimated 85bhp, although it's getting tired now. I have completed track days, hillclimbs and taken part in classic tours but nothing competitive these days. Now, I just take it out every fortnight – it's certainly a fun car to drive. While the Variomatic transmission makes them unusual to drive, they have a decent chassis, are cheap to run and enjoy fine handling and precise steering. They allow fast progress, particularly in hilly terrain with lots of curves, and always seem to be in the right gear, allowing me to keep up with more powerful cars. Although lightweight, DAFs are strong where it matters, as in the admittedly rather quirky belt-drive CVT transmission; you can tell it was designed by a truck manufacturer. Earlier variants don't have a differential, the difference in rear-wheel speed around bends being taken up by belt slip. That also gives the effect of a limited-slip differential, making them useful rally cars. The only disadvantages with DAFs are that they rust and parts usually have to be sought in the Netherlands, where the Dutch owners' club has several warehouses full of old stock and newly made parts. I paid £2,500 for my DAF in 2016. When I collected it from Yorkshire, the guy asked where my trailer was, explaining that the car hadn't done more than about 25 miles per year so assumed I would trailer it back to Hertfordshire. So, with no AA membership or radio in the car and only a mobile phone for company, I headed off. The DAF performed perfectly, returning 40-plus mpg on the run home – it never missed a beat. I rebuilt the engine recently and now drive the car almost daily. While we also have a Subaru, which is superbly comfortable and quick, its economy around town is frighteningly low, whereas the DAF returns up to 47mpg. In addition, it's exempt from Ulez (ultra-low emission zone) charges in the capital and, being so small, can squeeze into parking bays that would defeat the Subaru. It has a huge boot, too, so a supermarket trip is no problem either. But wherever we go, we frequently receive hoots from the drivers of DAF trucks. They are the easiest car in the world to drive. You start it in gear, which sounds odd but you get used to it, put your foot down and off you go! One pedal to go, one to stop. The engine revs bear no resemblance to the car's speed and the sensation of the car going progressively quicker, but the engine revs remaining constant, takes some getting used to. Unlike 'normal' [torque converter] automatics, DAFs don't creep forwards on tickover, so you simply bring it to a stop using the footbrake. Although it only has a 750cc engine, the way the transmission works means the car is always in the right gear. Being air-cooled, the engine is a little noisy when driven hard, although on reaching a cruising speed the transmission adjusts and the engine becomes quieter. Drum brakes, meanwhile, are fitted all round on the 33 and need a good shove to make an emergency stop; you have to read the road more than in a modern car. People ask why I drive a DAF and it's quite simple: I came from a DAF family. My late father had a penchant for unusual vehicles and, in the late 1960s, bought a 33 van for his electrical business. So impressed was he with the van that he bought a DAF 66 as our family car, while my grandfather opted for a 55. When I passed my driving test, I asked a dealer to look out for a second-hand 33, which he did, so I drove that for several years, before moving to 'sensible' cars. Fast forward to 2016 and partial retirement from work. Wanting something to tinker with, I found this DAF 33 and the circle is complete. I paid £400 for my 1,108cc aubergine-coloured 66 in 2000. It has 18,000 miles on the clock and, to be honest, I don't drive it enough, although it has made two trips to Holland for major DAF events and been back to its birthplace in Eindhoven. DAFs have good road manners plus excellent suspension similar to the Morris Minor: torsion bars in the front, elliptical leaf springs at the rear. When I bought the car, the Variomatic transmission needed work so I demounted it to replace the vacuum diaphragms, which was a heavy but fairly easy job. Also, I replaced parts of the braking system and gained an MOT less than 24 hours before heading to catch the ferry for a week in Holland. In the days when I taxed the car at the Post Office, I was often asked where I stored my truck; few people recall that DAF also made cars. But I love cars which are a technical tour de force and dared to be different, such as the Citroën DS, NSU Ro80, Tatra 613 and the DAF Variomatic. The DAF was the only one I could afford. The interior of my 66 is unmistakably Giovanni Michelotti [among the 20th century's most inventive sports car designers ], like the BMW 1600 and Triumph Dolomite, where form and function conspire to give simple style and an excellent airy cabin with superb visibility. DAFs are well made and apart from the transmission are fairly mainstream. The Renault 1,108cc engine in the 66 is reliable and easy to maintain, while DAF's home-grown 746cc two-cylinder engine – the only car engine ever made by DAF – in the Daffodil, 32 and 33 required no development over its lifetime and is capable of starship mileages.'
Auto Express
3 days ago
- Auto Express
Buyers would rather have a cheap car than a safe car
Ask anyone buying a car how valuable safety is to them and they'll say it's very important, maybe even crucial. Ask them to prioritise safety above things that have a more direct impact on their everyday enjoyment of a car or their bank balance, and it is a different story. Advertisement - Article continues below We asked more than 400 people to pick their top three priorities when choosing a new car from 10 key buying criteria. Reliability overwhelmingly came top, chosen by 54 per cent of those polled, yet safety was second from last at 20 per cent. This deprioritisation of safety in the minds of car buyers might be surprising if you consider the implications of driving an unsafe vehicle, but it's nothing new for the automotive industry. Safety has long been a tough sell, compared with a car's more practical or emotionally involving facets. Volvo, you could argue, is the exception to the rule, having built a large part of its brand on foundations of safety innovation. Just ask yourself, though, how many car adverts you see based on safety, compared with those focused on design, performance, driving and value for money. Even the Swedish safety trailblazers don't overemphasise internal crash structures and blind-spot warning systems when trying to lure new customers. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below Safety isn't sexy. It's the thing everyone wants their pride and joy to do well, but hopes will never be put to the test. Like an insurance policy, car buyers know safety is important, but they aren't particularly inclined to pay over the odds when, in theory, one car is much the same as another. That's probably the great success of car safety over recent decades. Modern models in general are extremely safe and are getting more so all the time, despite this relative ambivalence from the buying public. The ever-tightening legislation governing safety standards has pushed up car prices, but it's also afforded buyers the luxury of not having to worry too much about choosing a safe model. It's a bigger consideration for used-car buyers because an older model is more likely to bring compromises on the safety front, purely because it was sold new at a time when safety standards weren't as tight. The official crash-testing body, Euro NCAP, has continually made its tests more stringent over the years, demanding more of manufacturers who want to achieve those five-star ratings. Safety is a great example of legislators and manufacturers working together to turn what's arguably the single most important thing about a car into something we don't have to care too much about. Find yourself a car that's both affordable and safe! Our Find a Car service has new, used and leasing deals available right now... Find a car with the experts Electric cars driven until they die: the truth about EV range Electric cars driven until they die: the truth about EV range Five EVs under £24k have joined Dacia's Spring on the UK market. How far can you go on a budget? We find out New Citroen C5 Aircross SUV undercuts the Volkswagen Tiguan by a huge £7k New Citroen C5 Aircross SUV undercuts the Volkswagen Tiguan by a huge £7k Citroen's revamped flagship C5 Aircross SUV is available to order now with hybrid or electric power Car Deal of the Day: Polestar 4 is a head-turning EV for a super cool price Car Deal of the Day: Polestar 4 is a head-turning EV for a super cool price The 'car with no rear window' is looking seriously cheap on lease right now. It's our Deal of the Day for July 28
Times
4 days ago
- Times
EV makers lose patience with incentive scheme and offer own discounts
Carmakers have begun discounting electric vehicles as they seek to capitalise on increased consumer interest as well as confusion over government grants. Hyundai and Volvo are among the growing number of brands voluntarily knocking thousands of pounds off the prices of their cars because an official scheme to encourage the uptake of EVs is taking so long to launch. Ministers announced two weeks ago that motorists buying new EVs with a list price under £37,000 would be eligible for grants of up to £3,750, a move designed to reverse a collapse in demand for EVs among private buyers. However, manufacturers have complained that they face an 'extraordinary' amount of paperwork to find out whether their vehicles are eligible for grants, while buyers have been left in limbo despite being told the scheme was under way. Dealers and online marketplaces reported a huge increase in interest in EVs after the announcement but were unable to offer advice to potential buyers as they were in the dark over what vehicles would comply. Under the scheme, qualifying cars will be discounted by either £1,500 or £3,750, depending on their environmental impact. Hyundai and Volvo have opted to knock £3,750 off certain new models while they await a decision from the government on their eligibility. Hyundai has applied the full discount to its Inster hatchback, bringing the price down to £19,755. The Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Kona Electric have been reduced by £1,500. Alfa Romeo has reduced the list price of the Junior Elettrica — the Italian marque's first EV — by £1,500. MG, which is Chinese-owned, is discounting its 4 EV hatchback and new S5 electric crossover by the same amount. An industry source said: 'The government scheme was announced without consultation and without any detail of how it would work in practice. Yet consumers were led to believe it was up and running from day one. 'There was a huge boost in interest for EVs because of all the publicity but the brands and dealers didn't even know if their vehicles were eligible and still don't. That's why we are seeing these discounts: because at the end of the day, a sale is a sale.' Other Chinese entrants to the UK market, including Leapmotor, Skywell and GWM, are also discounting cars. However, they are unlikely to be eligible for the government scheme because their cars will not meet the environmental requirements. Japanese and South Korean-made cars are also expected to be excluded. The scheme has rigid rules around 'science-based' targets — emissions targets brands can voluntarily sign up to — and manufacturing locations. Brands are expected to detail supply-chain emissions for some parts, components and materials used in the manufacturing process. Even ardent supporters of the grant scheme have been baffled by its rollout. They question why consumers were told it was available before manufacturers had been told to apply. Dan Caesar, chief executive of the trade group Electric Vehicles UK, said: 'The electric car grant certainly created a positive spike in consumer interest in battery EVs but reaction in the industry itself was more mixed. On one hand, it's good to see support for EVs and for charging. On the other hand, there is a feeling that a better outcome could have been reached if a wider group of stakeholders had been heard.' The Department for Transport said: 'The electric car grant will bring about a substantial boost for the industry, while saving drivers thousands of pounds and supporting jobs. We want the discounts to become available to drivers as soon as possible and we are engaging extensively with vehicle manufacturers and have published guidance to help them apply as easily as possible.'
