Friday 28 January 2011

TOYOTA'S BIG PERFORMANCE AT TOKYO AUTO SALON



Small in size but big in attitude, a pumped-up, track-ready interpretation of the super-smart iQ city car leads a posse of tuned and tweaked Toyota concept and production cars at the Tokyo Auto Salon. The world’s largest annual aftermarket parts show that took place from 14 to 16 January, gives leading tuning firms and custom car specialists the chance to demonstrate their engineering and design skills, from mild sports accoutrements to the wilder fringes of auto design.

JD POWER AWARDS VOLVO XC60


The Volvo XC60 has ranked highest in the medium SUV segment in the 2010 J.D. Power and Associates quality survey.

2011 has started on an exhilarating note for Volvo Car South Africa. With the superb all-new Volvo S60 now on sale countrywide, the gorgeous new V60 due for launch in February, brand-new VCSA offices in Irene, and now yet another award for the Volvo XC60  - the J.D. Power and Associates Quality Survey award - VCSA is looking forward to an extremely successful year.

UPCOMING 2012 CITROEN DS4 VOTED "MOST BEAUTIFUL"


The Citroën DS4, the second model in the DS line, has been voted “Most Beautiful Car of the Year” by more than 60,000 web users in 62 countries! The award was presented to Frédéric Banzet, Managing Director of Citroën, at the official ceremony of the 26th International Automobile Festival on 27 January.
 

TOYOTA LAND CRUISER 78 WAGON: TO BOLDLY TAKE YOU WHERE YOU'VE NEVER BEEN BEFORE!





The Land Cruiser 70 range, well known as one of the most capable off road vehicles available, have been bolstered with the introduction of the Land Cruiser 78 Wagon.

The new Land Cruiser 78 Wagon is available immediately and will compliment the popular Land Cruiser 79 Pick-Up and the Land Cruiser 76 Station Wagon. It arrives on the eve of international celebrations to celebrate 60 years of the Land Cruiser’s go-anywhere capabilities.

SAFE, FRUGAL HONDA CR-Z


The Honda CR-Z hybrid sports coupé, launched in South Africa last year, has emerged as one of the brightest stars in the latest round of stringent safety tests conducted by the authoritative Euro NCAP safety testing authority.

The CR-Z not only came out tops in the Supermini category, but was also one of the five safest cars in overall terms tested.
 

Wednesday 26 January 2011

PAGANI UNVEILS MAD HUAYRA








 Pagani has pulled the covers off its brand new supercar, the Huayra, just weeks before it appears at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. The Huayra (please don’t ask, we don’t know how to pronounce it either!) replaces the very successful Zonda, which not only challenged the more established names in the game, but beat some of them too. From what we understand it has to do with a very powerful ancient god whose name was Aymara Huayra Tata.

BRAND NEW ASTON MARTIN V8 VANTAGE S REVEALED





Aston Martin has released details of the new V8 Vantage S, a car that looks just like other Astons, but different. The differences are not immediately apparent to the untrained eye, so to that eye, here they follow. It features carbon fibre on the front bumper, a different front splitter, larger air intake for the brakes and the engine and 19-inch V spoke wheels.

GEELY SOUTH AFRICA GEARS UP FOR MASSIVE YEAR


It was a milestone year for Geely South Africa in 2010, with the Chinese car company acquiring new owners, doubling its dealer network and achieving the lowest fuel consumption by a petrol-engined car in its class in the Total Economy Run.

Geely SA is owned by the Hallmark Motor Group, a sister company of the JSE-listed transportation, supply chain and logistics service provider Cargo Carriers and the family owned Magic Group, who each hold 50%.
 

Tuesday 25 January 2011

BMW IS MOST SATISFACTORY BUY


BMW South Africa has been ranked the highest in satisfying new vehicle buyers during the purchase experience, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 SA Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study released today. 

Now in its sixth year, the SSI Study is a comprehensive assessment of the new-vehicle purchase experience and is encapsulated in an overall sales satisfaction score for each nameplate. Overall sales satisfaction scores are comprised

Monday 24 January 2011

CITROEN SHOWS OFF 2011 WRC DEFENDER


The entry of the DS3 WRC in the 2011 World Rally Championship will open a new chapter in the history of the French make. The Citroën Total World Rally Team’s aim is win its seventh Manufacturer’s World Title, and to achieve this it has entered two crews: Sébastien Loeb-Daniel Elena, gunning for their eighth drivers’ world title on the trot, and Sébastien Ogier-Julien Ingrassia who have been

ELECTRIC MAZDA2 COMING SOON TO JAPAN

Mazda Motor Corporation is independently developing an electric vehicle (EV) with plans to commence leasing in Japan in spring 2012. The new EV, based on its Demio subcompact, is expected to have a driving range of 200 kilometres and will be leased mainly to local government bodies and fleet customers.

JAGUAR E-TYPE IS 50 THIS YEAR!


Jaguar fans and car fans in general, listen up. This year the iconic Jaguar E-Type turns 50! Yes, it has been that long. The car was launched at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1961, and so Jaguar is planning a few tricks to celebrate a big chunk of its history. Events such as the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the Nurburgring Old Timer Grand Prix and the Goodwood’s Revival and Festival of Speed will be used.

GENEVA 2011: FIAT JOURNEYS INTO NEW GROUND WITH FREEMONT



The next Geneva motor show will host the debut of the new Fiat Freemont, which will go on sale in Europe during the second half of 2011.
 
The Freemont is built on the base of the Dodge Journey and will be the first Fiat vehicle to come out of the partnership with the Chrysler Group. It will be produced in the Mexican plant of Toluca, where the 500 is produced for the US market.

PEUGEOT DOMINATES, WINS 2011 RALLYE MONTE CARLO



The 1985 Rallye Monte-Carlo was won by Ari Vatanen after a memorable comeback, while the 2009 edition of the winter classic saw Sébastien Ogier claim the first international victory of his burgeoning career. This time round, it is Peugeot France's Bryan Bouffier and Xavier Panseri who produced the performance of the event when they climbed from seventh to first place on a single stage, before calmly controlling from in front to the finish. Peugeot really wanted to win the centenary Monte, and they succeeded!
 

Sunday 23 January 2011

MZANSI BOY GREG LEVINE SNATCHES TOP MCLAREN JOB

2011 sees the launch of McLaren Automotive's first in its range of 'pure' McLaren high-performance sports cars, the McLaren MP4-12C. And leading the company's first full year of global commercial operations will be the new Sales and Marketing Director, Greg Levine.