NEWS | EVENTS | GALLERY | FORUM

Kevin, Sue & Belle (Figaro) sales@figaroownersclub.com

Last Monday (25 October 2021), saw the existing central London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expanded to create a single larger zone up to, but not including, the North Circular Road (A406) and South Circular Road (A205). Now having to pay £12.50 a day, for many of our members living in London, it could mean an additional cost of £3,250 a year if they use their car for work. Even for those lucky enough to own a Figaro as a second car, this could work out at an additional cost of £650 a year if they use the car on a Saturday or Sunday.

The introduction of the expansion has seen both a cancelling of club membership and a higher than normal level of cars go up for sale on our Figaro Trader site. We understand that many owners are holding on to their cars in the hope that something can be done further down the line.

According to Tobyn Brooks from The Figaro Shop, the problem is there is no 'standard report' currently existing for the Figaro. This means the first car tested has to have an extensive WLTP cycle examination in order for a report to be written.

Costs from the official WLTP cycle test run at Millbrook test station are currently very high with the first car tested costing circa £30,000 and tests after that running at around £500 per car, plus the specialist exhaust system. Read more

London based member William Alms sent us this amazing picture of his pale aqua Figaro. He told us that a few weeks back he proposed to his girlfriend with a Figaro as it had been her dream car for as long! We assume she said yes as he goes onto to say they both love it and have found our club's videos really helpful and interesting and can't wait to do some work to get her looking really good.

Last Sunday, 47 Figs got together in Shizuoka, Japan to celebrate the car 30th Birthday Anniversary.

Our Japanese members have been in touch regarding an amazing event last weekend. With the backdrop of Shizuoka, a Japanese prefecture on central Honshu’s Pacific coast and the home to 3,776m-tall Mount Fuji, Japan’s highest peak, our members enjoyed a brilliant day of sharing their love of the car.

Due to translating issues, the info was a bit sketchy but we thought you would love to see the pictures.

Thanks to both Lynette and Rob who organised a nice drive out a few weeks ago which was enjoyed by members Ian Earley, Pauline Poole, Debi Rogers, Peter Berry and Richard Hawkins.

My wife Clare had always wanted a Figaro and admired them for 15+ years, but due to having twins, it was never a practical choice for her. But now the boys are 16 yrs old the time was right. We have had Olive for just under a year, we didn’t have a big budget so had to buy one that needed some work doing, so we bought Olive. We have worked really hard on her all year, she needed a new turbo, welding, new paint, interior repair and deep cleaning, heater matrix and air-con…we did all the work ourselves and only had help for the re-gas of the Air-con.

We were so proud of her that we decided to take her to the Nottinghamshire classic car and motorbike show on August 30th 2021… she was popular and had a lot of people wanting to ask questions and just chat. We decided to put her in the exhibition arena as my wife really wanted a plaque which everyone got for taking part, we did not expect her to win her year category as the arena was packed with beautiful classics, but she did, we were overjoyed and quite emotional.

She was automatically entered into the car of the show category, to join cars that won their category from the 1950s to our category 1990s. How overjoyed we were when she won the car of the show, we were so shocked, but she did look rather fabulous.

She will be coming off the road over winter for further maintenance and who knows we might try a couple more shows next year.

With the nights drawing in, you may consider upgrading the instrument lights. The job is a bit fiddly and involves removing each dial to gain access to the old bulbs and insert the new LED bulbs.

I shot a comprehensive video which if you're thinking of carrying out

the upgrade is well worth a watch

Glenn Rader and Karen Bartos live in the Detroit, Michigan area in the US. They own a fully restored, award-winning, Figaro built by The Figaro Shop in Didcot, England. They purchased the car and imported it to the US in 2019. The car’s name is Fanchette, one of the characters in the opera The Marriage of Figaro (Fanchette is described as the “girlfriend to many” in the opera notes)

During the warmer months, there are several car shows in the Detroit area. One of these, The Detroit Dream Cruise, is billed as the largest car show on the planet, with an estimated 40,000 cars and over 1.5 million spectators participating. The Dream Cruise includes a one-day “cruise” of a ten-mile stretch of urban road, Woodward Avenue, where people display their cars to the crowds of enthusiasts.

Due to the large number of cars, there is no judging or awards given at The Dream Cruise. Here is an example of one of the more unusual cars that showed up at “The Cruise”.

In addition to the Dream Cruise, there are many smaller car shows in the Detroit area, usually involving 100-300 vehicles, where awards are given. The categories of judging vary from show to show. Over the past two years, Fanchette has won four awards:

• Best 1981-1994 Stock Vehicle

Most of the awards at these car shows come in the form of a trophy or plaque of a more conventional form. At the car show where Fanchette received the Best Foreign Car award, Glenn and Karen got a nice surprise. The awards were beautifully hand-crafted by a local artist and made from car parts.

Any questions regarding Fanchette, including the Figaro Shop restoration and the process of importing a car to the US, can be directed to Glenn at glenn@noovoo.com

We did hear a few concerning stories from some members who claimed that after installing the strips they appeared to wrinkle in the heat which look unsightly.

We asked The Figaro Shop for a comment and they said: After over 1,000m so far of this, we have not personally seen any issue with shrinking but a simple solution would be to apply some double-sided tape (tape only, not the foam-backed variants) on the other side of the seal before fitting it to the body of the vehicle. Once the chrome is clipped down to the body, it should squeeze the rubber seal between the chrome and body keeping it firmly in place. We have fitted and sold countless kits with great results so I would say that it could be that the clips holding the chrome are not secure enough…but every car does differ so the double-sided tape solution would work really well. Maz Christofi, Parts Manager, The Figaro Shop

In the town where we live, I have on occasion seen a Figaro, and I became slightly obsessed. Earlier this year we went to London for a week, and we saw three different Figaro’s, and I took photos of, and with two of them. The third one was being driven by a lovely lady and I had to stop and watch it for as long as I could see it.

Then, last Monday, I handed in my dissertation after four years of study, and I decided to go to York for the day on Tuesday. When I got back from York, my husband waited for me at the train station. He was standing next to a Topaz Mist Figaro. I thought it was the one I had seen in our town before, that just happened to be parked there at the time. So I went closer, had a look, and joked with him that if it was his car, he’d have been leaning on the bonnet. But that is when he got a key out of his pocket and gave it to me. At first, I just stared at him and couldn’t quite comprehend what was happening. Then he said that it is an anniversary gift, (we are celebrating our 25th Anniversary in November), and congratulations on completing my studies gift! I was totally blown away!

For Holkham, we had arranged special access up their drive from the South, and my goodness what a long drive that was with so many Figaros out in the sun! Along the drive, past the famous obelisk, and sweeping round towards the front of the hall where we had arranged for our Figaros to park up in pride of place! So popular is this venue that there were already some vintage tractors booked to park up in the morning before us.

Members could then enjoy the rest of the day as they wished with the Hall, grounds and the discounted entry we had for the Walled Gardens which were quite a sight. Another amazing day with a lovely crowd of people, and the joy of enjoying the Norfolk countryside in a fleet of Figaros! What more can you ask?

Here’s to the next day trip… a little shorter, but taking place on Hallowe’en and concluding at a once-secret Nuclear Bunker!

WATCH OUR VIDEO FROM THE DAY

In the beginning, God created heaven and Earth. The Earth was without form, and void and darkness. And God said, “let there be light” and there was light.

Billions of years later in 1977, the rock band AC/DC followed this with; Let there be sound, and there was sound. 44 years on from this, Jill said “let there be music”, wishing to hear the great sounds of Bruce Springsteen coming from the stereo in her beloved Figaro. But there wasn’t any. Rosalita was poorly. She had succumbed to the pandemic that had befallen many of us over this past year. She was hot to touch, losing fluids and her seats were sticky. She was in need of emergency surgery.

Jill didn’t know what the outcome would be. Would Rosalita pull through? Was she destined for the great breakers yard in the sky? Could a miracle happen? So many questions. Why her, why now? What if she doesn’t get better? She would leave an empty void. (Well, an empty garage at least). There was no other option, Jill had to phone for assistance. Help was dispatched and Rosalita was manoeuvred onto the car ambulance. She was on her way to the Figaro hospital. Would Jill see poor Rosalita again?

GregorGregor de Gruisbourne - Stuttgart, Germany.

Held over the long Bank Weekend (UK) 3rd & 6th June 2022, the event features a drive out on Saturday and a closed street run on Sunday where the historic town of Laon comes to a standstill and the locals come out to enjoy the spectacle.

Along with the Mazda MX 5, the Nissan Figaro are the proud Marque of Honour* for the 2022 Laon Historique, the biggest classic car pilgrimage to Europe, and as such will enjoy an exclusive display parking area and will be the prominent marque for the Saturday Run and Sunday Parade.*As the Marque of Honour we will enjoy exclusive display parking areas and will be the 'prominent marque for the Saturday Run and Sunday Parade!

DON'T DELAY AS WE ALREADY HAVE OVER 50 CARS SIGNED

These are pretty simple, just remove the 4 x 12mm bolts and the seat will be free to take out. Just make sure when you re-insert the bolts that you do not cross-thread them by forcing the bolt to rotate when it doesn't feel right. This can happen when the bolt is not at 90 degrees to the carpet. A good tip is to try turning the bolt with your fingers first, rather than using a spanner. If it is stiff then apply some grease to the bolts thread to help it into the tapped area.

If the front seats are still in place, push them as far forward as you can and then position yourself in between the two seats (see pics/video). Holding the seat base with both hands, give it a sharp tug upwards. The seat base will become free to remove. Now you will see 2 x 10mm bolts that need to be removed. Now pull up the rear seat and it will become free.

Below you will see a video that explains in detail all the processes

involved in removing the seats