Archive for July, 2010
The great Leyland comeback?
Mike Humble As a person that knows just one or two things about the bus and coach world, my eyes opened at the news of one of the UK’s largest independent bus body builders is to be a quarter owned by an Indian concern. What makes this interesting is that both companies have their background deeply [...]
July 29, 2010
· 
Mike Humble · 
4 Comments
Press Report : MINI confirms 2011 WRC programme
David Evans, Rallies Editor, Autosport, 27th July, 2010 MINI has confirmed the existence of the Countryman World Rally Car for the first time – and that the Prodrive-built machine will run on selected rounds of next year’s World Rally Championship before starting a full programme of events in 2012. A statement, which came from MINI [...]
July 27, 2010
· Clive Goldthorp · 33 Comments
Jaguar : X-TYPE replacement cleared for production
Keith Adams We’ve heard on the grapevine that the Jaguar board has signed off a new-age X-TYPE-replacing model. Given the current resurgence of Jaguar, underpinned by the success of the XF and new XJ, the arrival of a new entry level model will prove a useful fillip. Talk of the ‘failure’ of the X-TYPE should [...]
July 26, 2010
· Keith Adams · 110 Comments
eBay : Want a 'new' Austin 1300?
Keith Adams This unregistered 1971 Austin America has popped up on eBay USA for $8000, which currently equates to £5340. The car, which has been stored indoors from new, features air conditioning and the seller says that the car remains clean and rust-free. According to the description, it’s clear that the car has been looked after while [...]
July 22, 2010
· Keith Adams · 30 Comments
Bangernomics – Literally!
Words & Pictures: Mike Humble I often wonder how funny and evocative certain smells can be and how, sometimes even after many years, a certain whiff can bring back a thousand memories. As a youngster growing up in a town such as Darlington that had its roots in heavy engineering since the Victorian era, I tend [...]
July 22, 2010
· Mike Humble · 13 Comments
First Drive : MINI Countryman Cooper S ALL4
Adam Sloman The new five door MINI Countryman had its international launch in Hamburg, Germany last week. AROnline Contributor Adam Sloman was there to try it out. At over four metres long, the Countryman is the biggest MINI yet, and it’s the first to be built away from the famous Oxford plant, with production being based [...]
July 20, 2010
· Adam Sloman · 51 Comments
Rover 600 : the bypassed future-classic…
Keith Adams I know that I’m going to come in for a lot of flack about this, but I think that the Rover 600 is a bloody good car – possibly one of the best that Rover ever built. However, before you accuse me of being boringly predictable and saying ‘of course it is’, given [...]
July 19, 2010
· Keith Adams · 44 Comments
Press Report : No payouts from “cynical” MG Rover Trust Fund
Channel 4 News, 13th July, 2010 A trustee of the MG Rover Trust Fund, which had promised compensation for workers who lost their jobs with the collapse of MG Rover five years ago, has told Channel 4 News he has been left feeling “very cynical” over its failure to pay out any money. 6,500 workers [...]
July 15, 2010
· Clive Goldthorp · One Comment
Range Rover : Evoque prototypes start “undercover” testing
The all-new Range Rover Evoque has entered its final phase of testing, with hundreds of prototype models dispatched around the globe for trial in the toughest climates and conditions. Land Rover is making no secret of the operation – its Design Team has fitted ten prototypes with funky camouflage wraps to introduce the new car [...]
July 14, 2010
· Clive Goldthorp · 15 Comments
MINI : CEO Armbrecht aims for sales of 300,000 “in the near future”
Pa Krix, Automotive News Europe/Automobilwoche, 14th July, 2010 HAMBURG – MINI’s latest model, the Countryman, will help the brand reach sales of 300,000 “in the near future,” CEO Wolfgang Armbrecht said. The BMW-owned brand sold 216,000 units last year. BMW insiders expect between 40,000 and 50,000 Countryman models to roll off the line at contract [...]
July 14, 2010
· Clive Goldthorp · One Comment
XPart : Price reductions for over 5,000 MG Rover parts announced
XPart is discounting the price of more than 5,000 MG Rover parts in a bid to keep more MG Rover cars on the road by reducing the cost of ownership. The parts firm will be introducing substantial price reductions on carefully selected components from all categories of their range of MG Rover parts from the [...]
July 14, 2010
· Clive Goldthorp · No Comments
China Watch : The first MG5 renderings emerge in China
Adam Sloman With the MG6 due for UK launch this Autumn and the MG3 due for its Chinese launch around the same time, attention is now turning to the next MG and these renderings offer a suggestion of what we can expect. The new car, which is being referred to as the MG5, will most likely [...]
July 13, 2010
· Adam Sloman · 64 Comments
Renault’s best kept secret
Jemma Rochelle Hawtrey There has been a lot of talk in the media over the last couple of years about companies that were ‘too big to fail’. It’s a phrase that has become synonymous with the failures of the Bear Stearns and Lehmans Brothers investment banks in the US and, to a lesser extent, various [...]
July 13, 2010
· Keith Adams · 38 Comments
For Sale : Dr. Alex Moulton’s 1998 Citroen XM V6 Exclusive
Keith Adams This is a unique opportunity to acquire a very special vehicle. Finished in the very rare and highly desirable combination of Mauritius Blue paintwork with biscuit (cream) leather interior, this top specification XM has only one owner from new – suspension guru Dr. Alex Moulton, inventor of Hydrolastic and Hydragas suspensions used on [...]
July 13, 2010
· Keith Adams · 18 Comments
The car that changed its shape… a lesson that could be learned?
Jemma Rochelle Hawtrey Just before the Second World War, two very different designers were at work at two different car manufacturers. One of them was a German, by the name of Dr. Ing. Ferdinand Porsche. Yes, I thought you might have heard of him. The other was a Czech called Hans Ledwinka. Both were innovative [...]
July 13, 2010
· Keith Adams · 19 Comments
Press Report : Forster plans to fill Jaguar Land Rover gaps
Thomas Geiger, Automotive News Europe, 12th July, 2010 LONDON – Tata Motors CEO Carl-Peter Forster plans to move quickly to fill gaps in the Jaguar and Land Rover lineups. “Over the next few years we plan to nearly double our vehicle selection,” he told Automobilwoche, a German sister publication of Automotive News Europe. Tata Motors [...]
July 12, 2010
· Clive Goldthorp · No Comments
XPart : MG Rover competition winners revealed
MG Rover parts specialist XPart has announced the winners of its recent competition to identify the country’s MG or Rover with the most interesting history. John Newey of Summit Garage and Kevin Hogan of Hogan Bros Car Sales were both awarded ultra-bright LED handlamps for their competition entries. Newey’s collection of MG V8s includes an MG [...]
July 12, 2010
· Clive Goldthorp · No Comments
The search is on…
Keith Adams I know it sounds daft but, after spending months sorting out my Saab 9000 Aero, I’m thinking of moving it on. Not because I want to, of course – but, in these tough times, driving a car that pushes out around 300bhp for what these days seems to be a short commute to [...]
July 12, 2010
· Keith Adams · 13 Comments
China Watch : SAIC’s June sales soar, but can’t match earlier gains
Automotive News China/Reuters, 9th July, 2010 SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., partner to General Motors and Volkswagen in China, posted a 30 percent sales gain last month in a cooling market. SAIC, China’s largest automaker, reported sales of 289,200 vehicles in June. The increase failed to match SAIC’s 45 percent sales surge in [...]
July 9, 2010
· Clive Goldthorp · No Comments
China Watch : JLR wins approval for China-wide distributorship
Automotive News China, 9th July, 2010 SHANGHAI – Jaguar Land Rover has received formal approval from the Chinese Government to set up a wholly-owned nationwide distributorship, reported China Daily. Currently, authorized Chinese distributors import the vehicles and distribute them to dealers. Now Jaguar Land Rover, which is owned by India’s Tata Motors Ltd., will centralize [...]
July 9, 2010
· Clive Goldthorp · One Comment
