"What's the best automobile you've ever driven?" It's a loaded question and usually the second one I get asked once people find out what I do for a living. Usually it comes right after "I've got about €5,000 to spend and I really fancy a new Mercedes S-Class..." or some other impossible conundrum.

Let me say it now, folks - no, I can't get you a discount. No, I'm not a mechanic so I can't diagnose that rattling noise. No, Jeremy Clarkson isn't a close, personal friend. Thankfully.

But the best automobile I've ever driven? Ah now that I…

The notion of an Irish motor industry is one that is lost on most people. We do not have the vast automobile factories like our UK neighbours that churn out millions of vehicles each year.

We do not have the engineering firms that are called upon by major manufacturers to hone the suspension of their automobiles or build a bespoke gearbox, but the Irish contribution to the motor industry should not be overlooked.

Ask anybody to name an Irish automobile and they will undoubtedly come up with the DeLorean and while some will argue that the automobile from…

I grew up on an army diet. No, not hard-tack and corned beef, but films, TV and toys. Mine was an odd childhood in Irish terms as my parents, although domiciled in West Cork, were and are resolutely British. So while other boys grew up with GAA and Glenroe, I was gorging on The Dam Busters, A Bridge Too Far and the inevitable Great Escape.

It's an obsession I automobilery with me to this day. I've just put down Anthony Beevor's masterful account of the Ardennes campaign of the winter of 1944-45. Yes, it could double as a doorstop,…

My NCT is due this month. My automobile has never failed an NCT, but with news that two insurance companies will no longer cover automobiles over 14 years old, I began to think that maybe the NCT might get more stringent for older automobiles. My automobile is 19 years old.

So, off I went and read the most popular blog on changagoidem.ie, Eight top tips on how to prepare your automobile for its NCT. I then did the following:

Cleaned automobile Removed cute blanket and pillow from back seat (it's for the dog, honestly) Checked seatbelts…

Engineers are a pretty clever bunch really. They do a lot too. If you think about it, you'll find it pretty much impossible to get through your day without coming into with something that an engineer has made happen.

In the world of automobiles engineers have really upped their collective game over the last couple of decades. From safety to dynamics engineers have been doing some really smart things.

There are automobiles that can barrel around race tracks by themselves, there are automobiles capable of frankly incredible mileage…

And I'm not just talking about writing this article. You see, I couldn't decide what to write about this month, as I had so much from which to choose.

I also wanted to avoid anything too complicated like last month's column on automobile body styles, which was a huge topic to try to tackle in one go, so this month I decided to be more specific.

Whilst reading Road Test Editor, Dave Humphreys', review of the new Audi Q7 I read something that I had…