What's Our Story?
Helping everyone find the info and product advice they need to make their automotive life better
The idea for the Weekly Autos began with a question…
‘When I’m looking for my next car, where should I go for the info I need?
Starting in 2022, I set out to try and answer that question. It’s not an easy question, and there is no ‘one’ answer, but I wanted to try my best. Through our articles I’ve tried to focus on topics I wanted to know when buying cars, putting myself in your shoes.
Even now, with almost 200 posts, there’s still so much more I need to cover – so in that way, The Weekly Autos is far from perfect. Having said that, I hope if you’re reading this then you’ve been able to find the info you need – and if the answers aren’t here, I’d love to hear your questions to help in any way I can.
Tom
What Makes The Weekly Autos Different?
When I explain to people what I like to focus on, I’m often asked ‘Well there are tonnes of automotive review sites Tom, and most do it better than you ever could, what are you going for here?’
And as harsh as that might sound, those people aren’t wrong. The Weekly Autos will never be the greatest car review site, and that’s ok. I’m not an automotive journalist, and that’s never been my goal here. If you want high production values, plenty of exciting footage of cars on winding roads, and lots of stats, there’s more than enough great content out there.
My aim has always been to give my own opinion, based on experience. That experience comes from almost a decade working in the automotive industry, and also from someone with a genuine passion for cars.
So when I’m looking for a new car (and I’m online most days checking prices, looking for the best deals, and the most interesting cars out there) I’m not looking as a journalist or professional reviewer. I’m looking as a potential owner.
That has its downsides of course – like everyone I’ll have a bias, whether that’s my thoughts on how a model looks, or how useful an optional extra is. I’ll always try to give you both sides of the story, but I’ll explain my thoughts too.
So if you are looking for your next vehicle, and you want to know if it’s worth upgrading to a certain feature, or what’s a great alternative if your dream car is too expensive, then I might just be able to help!
A Bit More About Me...
As the main contributor to our site, my interest in all things automotive goes back as long as I can remember. Some of my first memories are visiting car shows with my dad and the late 90’s F1 races, where I got hooked on the lifelong support of McLaren.
I’ll talk more about my cars in the section below, but I started my life behind the wheel in a Vauxhall Astra that was older than me. For anyone outside the UK, this was a car worth around $500 and probably less than 100 bhp. Even so, this was the perfect car in my eyes, despite breaking down a few times and struggling to get up steep hills.
I took my interest in the automotive world to a new level at university, studying engineering. I was lucky enough to go to one of the best automotive centers in the UK and work on some incredible projects, visiting manufacturers and racing teams.
After Uni, I started work in the automotive industry, and I’ve been in various roles for the last 7 years. I’ve worked with manufacturers and suppliers and had great experiences with how the industry works. What’s more, I’ve had the chance to get up close to so many cars and find out their best and worst features
Back in 2022, I had the idea to start a website after struggling to find some advice on the best options to pick on a BMW I was looking at. That genuinely got me thinking, and apart from a few excellent forums out there, the info I needed was missing. Without any experience in running a website, I started The Weekly Autos to answer those questions.
If you want to find out some more about me, here’s a few questions I’ve been asked by readers:
And you might not agree with all the answers!
What is the best car you’ve owned?
This is difficult, but I’d have to say my current BMW 440i Gran Coupe. If I’m feeling nostalgic, I’d say the first car I ever owned (my old Vauxhall Astra) but being realistic, it has to be the 440.
It’s surprisingly practical, looks better than a 3 Series (my opinion!), and the 6-cylinder engine is enough for anyone. It’s managed road trips through Europe and is great as my daily driver. And apart from snow, it can handle any type of journey.
What’s the most exciting feature you’ve seen in a car?
My answer changes all the time when I’m asked this because there’s always something impressive being introduced. I’ll have to answer this with a few options, and even I’ll acknowledge these are strange choices:
The data screens in a Nissan GT-R
These days we are used to infotainment screens in every car, monitoring your driving style, fuel economy, and everything else – but I can remember the first time I saw all the different options for tracking data in a GT-R; it was ridiculous.
You could be tracking g-force in the corners, the force applied to the pedals, and boost. It’s old technology now, but back in 2008, when I first saw it, this was unlike anything I’d seen in a car before.
The doors on a BMW i8
I remember first seeing the i8 and thinking it must be some kind of one-off prototype. It was so different from what I recognized a BMW to be, and then you saw the doors. For me, there are a few things on my bucket list for cars, and one is owning a car with gullwing or butterfly doors.
The i8 might have been a disappointment when it came to performance, and it’s laughably impractical, but every time I see one, I check the prices on Autotrader. Maybe one day…
The Pagani Zonda (mostly the exhausts)
These are pure childhood memories, but I can’t think of a super/hypercar that caught my attention more than the Zonda. Everything about it was ridiculous, and for a kid it looked like the future.
At that age I wasn’t bothered about performance stats (and the Zonda wasn’t lacking there!) but it quickly became the car I’d pick on every driving game I could, and it was my first poster car.
What is your dream car?
This one is pretty easy – it’s the Lamborghini Muira. I know this isn’t an original answer, but for me, the Muira is the most beautiful car I’ve ever seen, and it’s often considered the car that started the supercar idea.
I’ve only ever seen two in real life (both at Goodwood FOS) and even though it’s impractical, not that fast by modern standards, and probably difficult for me to get into, I’d have one in a heartbeat. I just need to find a few million first.
So, what is your sensible dream car?
Being realistic, if I had the choice to own a Muira, I’d probably have few other cars to handle the day-to-day driving. But what if I could only pick one car?
For that, it has to be the BMW M5. I’ll probably get comments from the RS6 supporters, but the M5 is the closest to a ‘perfect’ car that I know of. It’s a comfortable place to be on long journeys, packed with technology, and goes like ****. There are some less-than-stellar BMWs on sale right now, but the recent M5 proves they still know what they are doing.
What is my favorite (and least favorite) feature on modern cars?
Modern cars aren’t perfect, and I’m not a fan of many recent changes that manufacturers have introduced. There are some bright spots though, and for me the Head Up Display is the best feature introduced recently. HUDs have been around for a while, but the latest systems are incredible.
My least favorite option is probably the combination of voice & gesture controls. They feel like features designed purely for marketing, and every time I’ve tried to use one of these systems it has been easier to just use the physical controls. These systems will come good one day, but not right now, and replacing buttons on your dashboard isn’t helping.
The best road trip I’ve been on?
This one’s another easy answer. I’ve been lucky enough to drive on some incredibly scenic roads, but the Gotthard Pass is easily the most impressive.
The strange part is this wasn’t planned as a road trip – I was on a family trip to Italy and we were driving from Milan to Basel – the route we had planned had major delays, and we chanced the Gotthard. Safe to say it was the right decision.
Unfortunately, all those pictures from that holiday are gone, so I’ve had to use an online photo to show you the pass. This doesn’t give you a full picture of your surroundings, and it’s definitely worth a search online to see the true extent of this road
The road trip that’s top of my bucket list?
This one is a tricky question to answer. If we’re talking ‘money no object’ then I’ve got four trips I would love to do at some point in my life:
First, I want to drive through the Fjords in Norway – the scenery looks incredible, and it’s a short distance from the UK.
Next, it has to be the Pacific Coast Highway. This one needs no introduction, and I think it’s on the to-do list for most petrolheads.
In runner up is Japan. I know most people don’t think of Japan as a driving holiday, but it’s always been a place I want to explore.
And finally, in first place – New Zealand. My ultimate driving holiday is travelling across the whole country, and I’ve got to make it happen.
