LAND ROVER OFFERS FREE RUGBY WORLD CUP TICKETS

Land Rover South Africa joins the Rugby World Cup 2011 festivities as they launch a nationwide consumer competition for 11 lucky winners to witness a day in rugby history at this year’s Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand in September.

7 SERIES DESIGNER CHRIS BANGLE TO JOIN SAMSUNG?

Chris Bangle, the former director of design at BMW, has apparently been hired to design cell phones, tablet computers (TCs) and netbooks. Unconfirmed rumours say he is now the head of design at Samsung, the South Korean electronics giant.

NEW FORD RANGER GETS F1-STYLE AERODYNAMICS

The same Formula One techniques – and engineers – that make race cars go faster are now helping the all-new Ford Ranger slice through the air cleaner, ensuring the compact pickup delivers one of the best fuel economy figures in the segment.

Aerodynamicists Thorsten Maertens and Neil Lewington arrived at Ford from the high-paced world of circuit-racing four years ago and brought with them the know-how and technology to make the global Ranger a more streamlined vehicle.

MITSUBISHI NOT KILLING EVO. YET...

Rumours have been going around that Mitsubishi will kill the Evo high-performance car for the next-generation. The Japanese company has been under increasing pressure to plug falling sales and to produce environmentally-friendly cars. In the United Kingdom the Evo range is quite popular, and such rumours haven’t been taken lightly.

BMW PLEDGES R10 MILLION TO JAPAN QUAKE AND TSUNAMI VICTIMS

Given the devastating consequences of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan, the BMW Group is showing solidarity with the victims of the catastrophe and has pledged emergency aid totalling 1 Million Euro.

AUDI R8 GT PRICED FOR NORTH AMERICA

Audi’s R8 GT is headed for Mzansi sometime this year. It’s also going to the United States of America and they at least have pricing details already. Only 90 of the 333 units being built by Audi will see US soil. The number will without a doubt be much less for SA. US dealerships are putting a price tag of US$196 800 (R1.4 million) on their cars, compared to the standard R8 V10 which is designated at US$149 000 (R1.05 million) a piece. Audi South Africa sells the R8 V10 for R1.97 million standard today.

HIGH PANAMERA, CAYENNE SALES EQUAL TOP PORSCHE PROFITS

Porsche executives met today and decided the Cajun baby SUV will be produced at the company’s Leipzig plant in the state of Saxony. "During the production of the Cayenne and the Panamera, our Leipzig plant has impressively proved that it can produce premium vehicles of highest quality," says Matthias Müller, chairman of the Porsche AG board of management.

VOLVO R-DESIGN GIVES S60 AND V60 KICK

R-Design is a kit pack designed to spice up the average Volvo product. Most models can be fitted with R-Design, from the C30 right up to the XC90 range. Now the new S60 and V60s are available with R-Design garb, straight off the factory line, turning really good-looking Volvos into spectacular pieces of eye candy.

PEUGEOT 207 ENTERS SA RALLY SCENE

Team Pirtek Peugeot drivers Hein Lategan and Visser du Plessis will add a new dimension to the South African Rally Championship for 2011 with their choice of the Peugeot 207 S2000 to contest the series. Du Plessis will run a 207 purchased from a team based in Portugal while Lategan has purchased a new 207 S2000 Evolution kit from Peugeot Sport in France.
 

CABRIOLET, SEDAN, COUPE, WAGON FOR NEXT MERC A AND B-CLASS?

Mercedes-Benz has not exactly lit up the sales fires with its A and B-Class variants. The cars’ main competitors are the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series, both of which are doing quite well. Part of the reason for that is Merc hasn’t really gone beyond populating the two with different engines. Essentially a bigger A-Class, the B-Class was meant to provide more practicality, space and comfort than its smaller sibling. Now Mercedes-Benz says both cars may add different shapes for their next generations.

OLD GEEZER GROBLER BLITZES FIELD IN NEW RFS BMW X3

Multiple national off road champion Hannes Grobler and former champion co-driver Hennie ter Stege (RFS BMW X3) got the new season off to the best possible start with victory in the Production Vehicle category of the Adenco 400 in the Western Cape on Saturday.  They crossed the finish line in Darling after nearly 400 km

2300 NISSAN AND INFINITI CARS DAMAGED BY JAPAN TSUNAMI

Automotive News Europe reports that around 2 300 units of Nissan and Infiniti branded cars were damaged beyond repair as they got swept through by rushing waters caused by the tsunami of Friday the 11^th. The tsunami, caused by the 8.9 earthquake that struck the north-eastern Japanese coastline near the city of Sendai, sent notable shockwaves as far as Tokyo, 400km away.

SA MOTOR INDUSTRY LACKS TRANSFORMATION - MOTLANTHE

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe has reiterated his and the government’s position on the South African motor industry, that it lacks transformation at virtually every level. Speaking at Motor Industry Staff Association of South Africa (MISA) breakfast last Friday, Motlanthe highlighted the fact that while the automotive industry is a major employer, there is still a stark lack of black participation as far as managerial and ownership levels in it.

BREAKING OUT: BMW 6 SERIES COUPE!

Another big launch for BMW is on the cards as it unveils the all-new 6 Series Coupe. In January the German premium car maker launched the new soft-top 6 Series Convertible to the international media down in Cape Town. Soon it will be the hard-top Coupe’s turn.

AUDI SMILING ALL THE WAY TO BANK

The Audi Group has concluded the 2010 fiscal year with a record result. “The operating profit of €3.34 billion (R31.9 billion) shows how profitable Audi is. We are growing not only in China, but in many regions around the world. The Audi brand has outpaced the growth of the overall market, especially in the United States,” said Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG. “We’ve started the year off well and we’re targeting more than 1.2 million deliveries to customers for the total year,” Stadler said.
 

INDIA: AUTOMAKERS BATTLE MOTORCYCLES

India faces an uphill battle as it attempts to grow its domestic car market beyond the 2 million units it currently sells each year. Considering there’s just over 1 billion people living there, 2 million is a leaf in a forest. After all, Australia sold just over a million cars last year. And China, the world’s most populous country, became the biggest automotive market with over 17 million cars sold.

AUTOMECHANIKA 2011: RAYLITE BATTERIES WIN COVETED GOLD AWARD

First National Battery’s Raylite Ultimate, the only locally manufactured, Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA) battery with Absorbent Glass Matt (AGM) technology, was last night awarded the gold certificate for product innovation at Automechanika SA’s Innovation Awards.

CHINA TO CONTINUE DOMINATING CAR INDUSTRY

Chinese brands as a group are expected to enjoy the greatest growth in the global automotive market over the next five years, according to KPMG’s 12th annual Global Automotive Executive Survey.