Southern Group of Motoring Writers | Member Profile Archives

Dan Bevis

Ben Hodges — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 13:44:40 +0000

Dan has been a freelance motoring journalist for around fifteen years. In 2025 he launched Copacetic magazine, a project that he dearly loves despite all the sleepless nights and constant financial peril. To pay the bills, he’s also editor of MiniWorld magazine. He’s written thousands of mag features over the years, for titles including Octane, Classic & Sports Car, Classic Ford, Fast Car, Banzai, Retro Cars, Classic.Retro.Modern, VWt, BMW Car, Performance VW, Modern Classics, GT Porsche, PPC, VolksWorld and various others; he was also previously editor of Mini Magazine and Fast Ford.
Dan’s had more silly cars than he can remember (he lost count when it got past a hundred), including five 205 GTIs, a handful of Capris, a BMW 2002 Touring rally car, all sorts of XR- and RS-badged Fords, assorted Type R Civics and Audi TT 225s and many other daft things.

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Glenn Brooks

Ben Hodges — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 22:20:05 +0000

Arguably happiest when at the wheel of his Rover SD1 Vitesse, Glenn has been cars-obsessed since childhood. Reviewing new models is one part of his work for industry portal Just-Auto.com, the other being a specialism in OEMs and their future vehicles worldwide. Previous experience has included everything from reviewing cars for local newspapers, running an industry newswire for JATO Dynamics, managing a consumer-facing website in California plus editing a Formula 1 team magazine.

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Shane Wilkinson

Ben Hodges — Fri, 03 Jan 2025 13:17:40 +0000

After a number of years working in the world of radio, I decided to roll the metaphorical dice in 2021 and take the leap over to automotive journalism. A combination of my lifelong obsession with cars and an incredibly fortunate job application saw me join the team at Auto Express in 2021, and I still work there today.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m still relatively new blood, but I’ve been fortunate enough to cover some of the latest and greatest that the ever-turbulent automotive industry has to offer. I’ve also amassed my fair share of complimentary notebooks and water bottles.

While my professional life sees me erring on the side of the sensible and reliable, my personal car tastes tend to be anything but. My current chariot is a Suzuki Swift Sport that’s dependable enough but still finds creative ways to chew through money. Reliability is overrated though, so my latest hobby is staring at endless Austin Sevens and Trabant 601s on Facebook Marketplace.

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Jim McGill

Ben Hodges — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 11:30:21 +0000

Motoring and motorsport, that’s what’s made my world tick throughout my journalistic career, which for the last 25 years has been based just outside Oxford (but I still get asked by the new breed of PRs at English-based launches: “Did you fly down?”). From borrowing a Citroen AX from my local dealer in Dundee in the mid-Eighties to driving the latest Lamborghini models, I’ve driven everything in between. Over my career, on occasion I’ve been the main motoring writer for all of Scotland’s quality national dailies and Sundays, and contributed to UK nationals including The Times, Telegraph, The i, plus magazines including Autosport and SAGA.

With a strong motorsport background, 15 successive years at Le Mans 24-Hours, and having worked previously with Sir Jackie Stewart, Colin McRae, Allan McNish, Dario Franchitti and Paul di Resta — including ghost-writing a post-race column for three years for a certain Scottish F1 racer — I continue to be actively involved in British GT.

While continuing to supply motoring news, reviews and features to The Scotsman and Europe’s largest independently-owned car dealership group, I also relish extensive adventure drive features including, amongst others, being the first to drive the 60kms across frozen Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia.

Along the way I’ve also picked up a number of journalistic awards which, given my reserved Scottish nature, I tend to keep quiet about. I’m also a committee member of the GoMW.

Recent work:

I drove from Land’s End to John O’Groats on 100% sustainable fuel – how I saved CO2 and set a new UK record

Kia Sorento 2024 Review: stylish 7-seat SUV retains its practical appeal

Remember city cars? I drove the 2024 Kia Picanto and its still a little charmer

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Maxine Ashford

Admin — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 21:20:46 +0000

Maxine has more than 35 years’ experience in journalism and has been specialising in motoring for the last 23 years. It gives her the chance to drive all the new models both here in the UK and overseas, as well as interviewing the specialists and engineers behind the very latest innovative technology. Maxine has written for national and regional newspapers, websites and specialist magazines and also runs her own motoring website at www.carjourno.com. Top tip, don’t get her started talking about rugby – you’ll never get away!

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Andy Russell

Admin — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 11:57:08 +0000

Andy Russell has been writing about cars, bikes and motoring for more than 30 years. After becoming group motoring editor of a large regional media organisation, he took the freelance route. He has driven more than 2,000 cars. He now creates bespoke web content, media publicity and digital newsletters for motor dealers and an award-winning independent specialist finance broker. As SGMW publicity officer, he also updates its website with the latest group gossip and helps feed the social media monster.

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Phil Huff

Phil Huff — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 13:29:13 +0000

Phil Huff has ridden the wave of new car launches for the last 10 years, providing reviews to national and regional newspapers, magazines and websites, along with other automotive content. While that continues, he’s now embracing the LCV world and publishing Professional Van and Professional Pickup, as well as supplying LCV content to clients. His wife, Samantha, keeps him in check as she works alongside Phil, running their third title, the lifestyle focussed CALIBRE. He’s managed to rid himself of the habit of buying any car costing less than £500, but if a Hyundai XG30 ever appears on eBay…

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Chris Rees

Chris Rees — Thu, 30 Dec 2021 17:21:44 +0000

Chris Rees has been writing about cars for 40 years, contributing to newspapers, magazines and websites, as well as authoring more than 20 car books. He is currently a freelance writer and editor, editing Auto Italia magazine, the world’s leading title about Italian cars, and is Motors Editor of The Official Ferrari Magazine (TOFM). Currently secretary of the SGMW, he is honoured to help out with annual events such as the SGMW Heritage Driving Day and the SGMW Karting Grand Prix.

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David Ward

David Ward — Thu, 30 Dec 2021 15:34:41 +0000

Founder of the Southern Group of Motoring Writers and currently the vice-chairman, David Ward continues to write daily on all motoring matters for the Northcliffe UK Media Group and for its parent, Associated Newspapers with its worldwide syndication system which involves editorial coverage of new car releases, road tests, industry background research and current technology developments, plus regular interviews with key industry figures. Having covered the motor industry as an editorial specialist now for over 40 years, David has a wealth of background knowledge and so is regularly called upon to use that information for all kinds of outlets, ranging from motoring publications to individual car manufacturers and research institutions like universities involved in the industry.

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Tom Scanlan

Tom Scanlan — Thu, 30 Dec 2021 15:29:35 +0000

Tom’s first foray into motoring journalism was as producer of a weekly radio programme for the British Forces Broadcasting Service. That was in 1973. Tom has been freelance since 1993, having returned to the UK after service in Cyprus, Germany, Hong Kong and the Falkland Islands.

He was the motoring writer for the Reading Evening Post for ten years, as well as contributing to a wide variety of magazines on both new and classic cars.

He seems to be a fan particularly of Alfa Romeos, having owned seven examples from decades starting in 1960. He also enjoyed years of Ferrari ownership with a 1968 365 GT 2+2 and has run Alvis, Riley, Sunbeam and a few big Yankee V8s.

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