MORE POWER FOR VW CC

The engine line up of the sporty and elegant Volkswagen Comfort Coupe (CC) has been upgraded to offer improved performance, less CO2 emissions and better fuel consumption. 

The significant upgrade is on the 2.0 TDI which is now offered with BlueMotion Technology. The 2.0 TDI 125kW engine has the Start-Stop system with Energy recuperation. As a result, the new claimed combined fuel consumption is 5.5 litres per 100 kilometres –144 g/km of CO2 (6.1 l/100km – 159 g/km of CO2 in the previous engine).

FREE STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT WINS PEUGEOT/ FACEBOOK COMPETITION

The digital campaign held on the Peugeot South Africa Facebook Fan Page involved participants navigating their way through various riddles regarding the Peugeot brand and products. 
 
Vicotrian Taioe (pictured left) walked away with R10 000 worth of electronics for her dormitory room, including a 32" Flat screen TV, surround sound, an XBox and an iPod Nano.
 

LUCKY FREE STATE FARMER WINS NISSAN NP300

Two leaders in their respective fields, Nissan SA and animal health provider Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, formed a mutually beneficial partnership in 2010, whereby Nissan SA proudly sponsored two NP300 Hardbody 2.5 TDi Hi-Rider Double Cabs as the two grand prizes to be won during Intervet’s annual sales campaign to the farming community.

BMW, PEUGEOT, CITROEN FORM ELECTRIFYING VENTURE

The BMW Group and PSA Peugeot Citroën have decided to enter into a new phase of their collaboration, by signing an agreement to set up a 50-50 equity joint venture named BMW Peugeot Citroën Electrification. The agreement was signed on February 1st by Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, and Philippe Varin, Chairman of the Managing Board of PSA Peugeot Citroën. In October 2010, the two companies had signed a Memorandum of Understanding designed to expand their existing cooperation to hybrid systems.

OFFICIAL: AUDI A7 SPORTBACK HERE IN MARCH!

Audi of South Africa has confirmed that the new A7 Sportback will be available in the country sometime next month (March). According to Audi officials, the A7 will be launched to the media while it rolls out to dealerships where customers can take a much closer look, arrange test drives and place orders to their liking.

SLS AMG AND S-CLASS TAKE CLASS HONOURS AT AUTO MOTOR UND SPORT AWARDS

The motoring magazine "auto, motor und sport" has been conducting its vote for the "Best cars of the year" since 1977. This time more than 90 000 readers took part in the longstanding survey to decide the best cars of 2011. This year the editors of "auto, motor und sport" gave their readers a choice between 315 vehicles in ten categories, among them 40 brand-new candidates.

JANUARY SALES SHOW STEEP RISE OVER 2010

Very strong new vehicle sales for January have provided further evidence that there is positive momentum in the market at present, according to the CEO of the McCarthy Motor Group, Brand Pretorius.

“Total sales of 45 114 units in January was, in fact, higher than for any single month in 2010, which is very encouraging, particularly when one considers that it was midway through the month before the business world was functioning at normal pace after the holiday break,” explained Pretorius.

TOYOTA VERSO SCORES HIGHEST EURO NCAP POINTS

The motor industry has made huge advances in safety in the past few years, but it is Toyota that’s built the safest MPV, according to Euro NCAP’s test results for 2010.

In March last year Toyota’s seven-seat compact people carrier was given the top five-star rating for all-round safety performance by Euro NCAP, the industry’s benchmark testing organisation. Verso also achieved the highest combined percentage scores in each test category of any MPV subjected to the independent crash test and assessment programme.

M3 STILL KING OF ALL M CARS

BMW M GmbH concluded the 2010 business year with a significant boost in sales. In a year marked by far-reaching changes in the model portfolio, the number of BMW M car sales rose by 14.2% to 16 967 units. Overall, worldwide growth in demand for high-performance sports cars, M Sport packages, exclusive special options from BMW Individual as well as driving experience training courses contributed to this positive development.

FORD SA PREPARING FOR ALL-NEW RANGER PRODUCTION

The Gauteng provincial government, along with Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) today officially opened a Production Simulator Facility, attached to FMCSA's assembly plant in Silverton, Pretoria. This follows an announcement by FMCSA to invest approximately R3.4 billion to produce its All-new Ford Ranger pick-up truck in South Africa.

VIVACIOUS VOLVO V60 WAGON LAUNCHED

Beauty is said to be in the eyes of the beholder, so I behold that the new Volvo V60 is a stunningly beautiful motor car, let alone wagon. I’d even place it in the list of top 3 most attractive wagons in the country today. That may not sound like much considering how few wagon derivatives we have, but the few that are present are quite competitively designed too.

MERCEDES-BENZ B-CLASS F-CELL'S ROUND THE WORLD IN 125 DAYS TOUR

Mercedes-Benz is trying to prove its F-CELL technology is now ready for near-mass production and consumption by sending out a batch of B-Class F-CELL into the wide world for durability and usability testing. In fact, the cars will circumvent the globe and go through four continents and four countries. Noticeably neither South Africa nor Africa at all are included on that list. Neither is South America for that matter. Are things so dark on our continents that Merc will not attempt a drive with an electric car through them?

CITROEN EXTENDS WARRANTY

Citroen South Africa has recently launched Freedrive, the latest in a flood of initiatives from the innovative French marque which are designed to enhance the ownership experience.

An optional extra, Freedrive enables to convert their service plan (standard on all models with the exception of the entry-level C1) to a full maintenance and warranty plan at point of sale.
 

GRANNY (82) FALLS FOR FIAT 500

Capetonian Elizabeth Jonker might not be able to turn back the clock but she sure can wind it up again in her brand new Fiat 500. Ouma Bet, as she’s affectionately known (and her personalised numberplate testifies to), recently took delivery of her sparkling Bossa Nova white Cinquecento from Jacques Bester at Imperial Fiat & Alfa in Kuilsrivier.

CHEVROLET CORSA UTE STILL ON TOP

The motor industry welcomed the start of the new  year with a strong sales performance in January. NAAMSA sales statistics released today show continued growth in new vehicle deliveries with total industry sales of 45 135 for the month. Passenger vehicles accounted for 32 977 of those sales, light commercial vehicles 10 563, medium commercials 636, and heavy trucks and busses 959 units.

PRESTIGIOUS LOUIS VUITTON AWARD FOR JAGUAR C-X75

The Jaguar C-X75 was last night awarded the Louis Vuitton Classic Concept Award 2010 by a panel of luminaries from the worlds of design, fashion and luxury.

Undoubtedly the star of the 2010 Paris Motor Show, the C-X75 – judged by a Louis Vuitton panel – has once again beaten stiff competition. lThe panel was led by renowned automotive consultant and inaugurator of the prize, Christian Philippsen.

NISSAN LEAF BLOWS INTO HAWAII

Today, Nissan North America Inc. (NNA) brought sustainable mobility to Hawaii with the arrival of the state’s first all-electric Nissan LEAF. Bill Markevitch took delivery of his Nissan LEAF SL today at New City Nissan of Honolulu. This groundbreaking moment follows deliveries in the launch states of California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Tennessee and Texas. 

EATON M-LOCKER DIFF STIFFENS MAHINDRA SCORPIO

Mahindra South Africa has improved the value-for-money proposition of its Scorpio bakkie range which consists of single- and double-cab Pik Ups in 2 and 4 wheel drive models, by adding Eaton’s locking rear differential to the standard specification.

FIAT MULTIAIR ENGINE WINS BIG AUTO MOTOR UND SPORT AWARD

Among the prizes awarded by “Die Besten Autos 2011” – a competition organised by the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport with the participation of its readers, who vote for winners in different categories – Fiat’s TwinAir engine gained an extremely prestigious accolade, the prize named after Paul Pietsch (former driver, reporter and publisher) for technological development. Aldo Marangoni, Product Engineering Vice President at Fiat Powertrain collected the prize during an event held at Stuttgart.

NEW HILUX XTRA CAB NOW AVAILABLE

Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) has added the Hilux Xtra Cab to the popular Hilux range of bakkies.

The Xtra Cab is available immediately and offers a stretched cabin with 500 mm more cabin space than the single cab. This creates a storage area behind the two individual front seats for the safe and secure storage of valuables and equipment.

NEW FACELIFT MERCEDES-BENZ CL-CLASS LAUNCHED, PRICED FOR SA

When it comes to Mercedes-Benz coupes, one cannot possibly go any higher than the CL-Class, now refreshed with a number of touches that catapult its facelift status towards something that could seriously be called all-new. Such is the pace of change at Merc that it would be criminal for the CL not to benefit from such waves of innovation.