The ugliest cars in the world

They’re the automotive eyesores we love to point and gawp at, but rarely bother to quantify. Thanks to the Daily Telegraph which polled its readers on the matter, we now have an unofficial and highly contestable list of the world’s ugliest cars.

The nation's retired colonels, or whoever reads the Telegraph nowadays, have made some interesting choices. Alongside some real stinkers like the Nissan Cube and Peugeot 1007, they’ve included some merely awkward-looking vehicles such as the Porsche Panamera and even the classic Morris Minor and Jaguar XJ-S. Here's their 'top' 10:

Range Rover Evoque
Ford Ka
Morris Minor
Suzuki X-90
Nissan Cube (pictured)
Porsche Panamera
Austin Allegro
Peugeot 1007
Jaguar XJ-S
Nissan Juke

What do you think?

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Thousands in line to be let off speeding fines

Have you been convicted of a speeding offence recently? If so, you may be able to contest your conviction due to a technical error involving many of the UK’s road signs.

The Crown Prosecution Service says a cock-up on the M42 in Warwickshire means many of the speeding tickets issued on two stretches of road could be voided because the variable speed-limit signs didn’t meet traffic regulations. Some of the electronic signs which inform drivers of changing speed limits – Advanced Motorway Indicators – are said to have been in the wrong sized font.

  

This may seem like a triviality, and it is. But there could be a lot to gain from this little loophole. Thousands of people were caught by speed cameras on that stretch of road – between junctions 3a to 7 and junctions 7 to 9 – until November 2012, when Warwickshire police stopped using the signs and halted prosecutions.

It’s estimated as many as 11,000 people could be entitled to claim back their fines and have their points reinstated. The Highways Agency says the signs did comply with the regulations, although the CPS and Warwickshire Police are advising people who were nabbed on the M42 before November last year to seek independent advice, as they could have been falsely prosecuted.

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Best and worst service stations in the UK

Every driver will sooner or later have to familiarise themselves with the motorway service station. This will mean getting used to poor quality food at rip-off prices in an environment of unbearable drabness. You may not think it, but some are actually better than the others. But seeing as they all blend into one identikit, low-roofed hut in our imaginations, it’s often difficult to remember which ones were worth holding on for, and which should be skipped.

Thankfully one loveable anorak has put together a rankings system for every motorway convenience in the UK. What emerges from the results is that – perhaps unsurprisingly – they're all mostly terrible, with very little to distinguish between the awful and mediocre.

By popular consensus, the best roadside convenience in the UK is the Tebay, on the M6 near Penrith in the north west of England. So far apart from its peers is Tebay that it is described as the Keira Knightley of service stations. It boasts unusually clean toilets, a decent array of health food, a children’s play area, and even a butcher’s onsite. In short, it’s everything we’ve come to expect a service station not to be.

Unfortunately, Penrith is only one of two independent service stations in the UK. The other is Cairn Lodge on the M74 in Scotland, but the reviews suggest this one’s no better than its big corporate rivals. Of the big chains, facilities run by Moto are scored highest, while Welcome Break is considerably worse, and Road Chef outright dismal.

Next time you need a break, consider this, and hope you’re in the vicinity of Penrith near the Lake District, or at least an establishment run by Moto.

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