Jason Dawe The Sunday Times
If you fancy standing out from the crowd, then a used Tribeca may fit the bill. If you can live with oddball styling.
The Subaru B9 Tribeca is far from being a pretty car, and its name — that of a ritzy neighbourhood in Manhattan — doesn’t suit it at all. Thanks to the ravages of depreciation, though, it is now beginning to look like a good go-anywhere, carry-anything family holdall.
Launched in the UK in November 2006, the Tribeca had already proven to be something of a hit in North America, where its combination of practicality (it can be bought with seven seats) and pricing made it an attractive alternative to top-notch European 4x4s such as the BMW X5 and Volvo XC90. UK consumers proved a tougher crowd to win over, though. Unlike the gas-guzzling US market, the British one demands diesel SUVs, and without a diesel-powered engine in the range, the Tribeca didn’t stand much of a chance against cheaper alternatives from Citroën, Ford, Peugeot, Renault and Vauxhall.
As quietly as the Tribeca appeared in UK showrooms, so too it vanished in mid-2009 with barely a murmur. After three years of faltering sales, the company’s flagship model was consigned to the UK car market’s history books. Clearly, that was far from great news for the few who bought a new Tribeca, but today those shopping for a well-built, distinctive SUV at sensible money — from £12,000 — may find it holds more appeal.
But before you go thinking that’s a lot of car for not a lot of money, consider the running costs.
20-signatory letter in Daily Telegraph today calling for biomedical research into ME
ReplyDeleteOn the MEA website today:
Saturday, 06 February 2010 07:54
A joint letter appealing for the nation to start taking ME seriously appears in The Daily Telegraph today. It is signed by 20 leading figures in the ME debate – including parliamentarians, clinicians, researchers and figures from the ME national organisations and patient support groups.
Breaking the ME enigma
SIR – The death of Lynn Gilderdale and the humane verdict in the trial of her mother brought home to many people for the first time what a devastating illness myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) can be.
Many of the estimated quarter of a million people with ME in Britain experience not only extreme pain and disability, but also incomprehension, ignorance, lack of sympathy and at times outright hostility, not only from the public but also from professionals responsible for their care.
Such lack of understanding even extends to blaming parents for the severity of their child’s illness.
It is time the nation began to take ME seriously. Provision of adequate clinical and other services by properly informed and sympathetic professionals is currently subject to a postcode lottery. Such provision should avoid inappropriate treatments, and range from support for home tuition for school-age children to respite care for the severely affected.
Above all, we should fund biomedical research to resolve the enigma of the underlying pathology of this illness. We should build on recent scientific advances to develop effective treatments, so that no one in future need experience the pain, isolation and despair that were Lynn Gilderdale’s fate.
Countess of Mar
Secretary, All Party Parliamentary Group on ME
Dr Neil Abbot
Operations Director, ME Research UK
Jane Colby
Executive Director, The Young ME Sufferers Trust
Anne Faulkner
Hon Director, CFS Research Foundation
Tanya Harrison
Chairman, BRAME
Malcolm Hooper
Emeritus Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Sunderland
Andy Kerr MSP
Dr Jonathan Kerr
Consultant Senior Lecturer, St George’s, University of London
Simon Lawrence
Chairman, 25 per cent ME Group
Kathleen McCall
Chairman, Invest in ME
Dr Luis Nacul
Consultant in Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Professor Derek Pheby
National ME/CFS Observatory
Neil Riley
Chairman, ME Association
Dr Charles Shepherd
Dr Nigel Speight
Sir Peter Spencer
Chief Executive Officer, Action for ME
Des Turner MP
Chairman, All Party Parliamentary Group on ME
Dr William Weir
Mary-Jane Willows
Chief Executive Officer, Association of Young People with ME
Andrew Stunell MP
Vice Chairman, All Party Parliamentary Group for ME/CFS