HONDA BALLADE RETURNING TO SOUTH AFRICA

One of the most iconic nameplates on the South African motoring landscape is set to return when Honda SA launches an all-new Ballade passenger car in the first quarter of next year.

The new Honda Ballade will follow in the tyre tracks of a motoring legend that not only established Honda as a passenger car brand in SA, but also set new, elevated standards for small cars in terms of quality, service and luxury.
 

2010 SALES HEADED FOR SURPRISE FIGURE

Vehicle sales in South Africa in November were better than expected, according to the CEO of McCarthy, Brand Pretorius. “November is normally not a good month for the motor trade from a seasonal perspective and it is encouraging to note that last month’s figures matched the excellent sales recorded in October.

LAND ROVER FREELANDER 2 UPDATED FOR 2011

Land Rover took a gamble by introducing the Freelander a few years ago. But that gamble is paying off as a steady fleet of Freelanders keep leaving showroom floors and ending up at excited buyers’ garages. One could say the Freelander is the most complete car in its class. Landy has just updated it and made it even better.

NEW DESIGN KINGPIN AT MINI

After 10 successful years at MINI Design, Gert Volker Hildebrand is handing over the running of the MINI Design studio to Anders Warming at the end of 2010. Gert Hildebrand will be leaving the company on 31 December 2010.

VOLKSWAGEN ENDS YEAR WITH A BANG

During November 2010 a total of 29 530 new passenger cars were sold in South Africa. Total new passenger car sales in November, including sales not reported in detail to NAAMSA, increased by 28.9% when compared to November 2009, bringing the year-to-date November market in 2010 to a level 30% above the same period for 2009.
 

CITROEN DS3 SCOOPS TOPGEAR 2010 CAR OF THE YEAR AWARD

TopGear magazine has named the Citroen DS3 its 'Small Car of the Year' and also crowning the talented supermini with the highly coveted 'Car of the Year' title in the publication's 2010 awards.

The Citroen DS3 saw off competition from both supercar and mainstream manufacturers including Jaguar, Bentley, Honda, Peugeot, Bugatti, Pagani and Koenigsegg to take the sought-after top spot as the magazine's overall 'Car of the Year'.
 

NEW 2012 NISSAN GT-R GOES 0 - 100 IN 3 SECONDS!

Nissan has released one performance detail for its updated 2012 GT-R which is set for international release in early 2011. The thank goodness they announced the one performance figure everyone asks about: the 0 – 100km/h sprint time. A completely standard car was tested.

LEAKED: ALL-NEW AUDI A6!

Autoblog.nl have in their possession, and now you have in yours, leaked pictures of the all-new Audi A6. Audi is launching the new A6 in Europe early next year, followed by other markets, including South Africa. Mind you, this is not a facelift but a brand new car. Look at the pictures and tell me if Audi has applied its best foot in designing it.

CONFIRMED: PORSCHE MAKING SMALL AUDI Q5-BASED CAJUN SUV

Here’s a very short but precise statement released by Porsche earlier today: “During its meeting today, the Supervisory Board of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, laid the foundations for continuous and successful growth of the company. The Supervisory Board instructed the Board of Management to drive forward the development of a further model series up to series production. Under the working name

HISTORY MADE AS NISSAN LEAF TAKES 2011 EUROPEAN CAR OF THE YEAR TITLE

In a historic moment for Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and zero emission vehicles, the 100% electric Nissan LEAF was awarded 2011 European Car of the Year.

The world’s first mass-marketed, affordable, zero-emission vehicle for the global market beat 40 contenders to win motoring’s most important accolade. This is the first time in the 47-year history of the annual competition that

ONE DA CUNHA TAKES PODIUM AT KHAYALAMI

Despite things not going their way brothers Marco and Paulo da Cunha emerged third and fourth overall respectively in the final round of the 2010 Bridgestone Production Car Championship at Kyalami on Sunday.
 

MERCEDES-BENZ IS BEST EXPORTER

Mercedes-Benz South Africa has once again come out ahead of the competition, winning the Gauteng Exporter Award for 2010 against a host of entrants.

The awards are sponsored by industry heavyweights First National Bank, the Department of Trade and Industry, Credit Guarantee, Glenrand MIB, Safcor Panalpina and Intertek. The annual event, attended by some 200 senior executives engaged in international trade and government officials, provided an exciting opportunity to recognise the 2009 achievements of the province’s exporters.