Toyota's new Auris

Toyota has launched a new diesel-powered Auris, the SR180.



The car is powered by a 175bhp 2.2-litre diesel engine which takes the car from from 0 to 62mph is 8.1 seconds. The engine is mated to six-speed manual transmission.



Features of the car includes lowering springs with double wishbone rear suspension and rear spoiler. The wheels are carried on five-spoke 17-inch alloys



The SR180 will be in UK showrooms early next year and is available for bookings from £17,995.

New Mini dealership in Coventry

Just found out that the biggest Mini dealership in the midlands is in Coventry. Sytner Coventry Mini opened their doors in October this year.

Here's the Address:
128 Holyhead Road
Coventry
West Midlands
CV5 8NA

Tel: 02476 600 700

Jaguar XF on Top Gear tomorrow

James May tests the new Jaguar XF on Top Gear tomorrow (Sunday) at 8pm on BBC Two. Really looking forward to watching it.

Mahindra & Mahindra entering the US market

I was talking to a few guys about the expected take over of Jaguar and Land Rover by Indian car maker, Tata. While doing so I mentioned the other Indian company who was bidding for the same - Mahindra. It was no surprise that no one had heard of them.

I just found out that they are planning to enter the US market soon.



Found this interesting slide show - Mahinda: An American "Hosehold Name?" narrated by David Kiley.

Latest car test results from Euro NCAP

Test results for 6 cars were released by Euro NCAP yesterday:

In the Supermini category, the Daihatsu Materia and the Mazda 2.

In the Small Family Car category, the Honda Civic

In the Large Family Car category, the the Mercedes Benz C Class, the Renault Laguna and the Volvo V70

Out of these, four cars received five stars in adult occupant protection. These were the Mazda 2, the Mercedes Benz C Class, the Renault Laguna and the Volvo V70.


Mazda 2

During the trest, delay in the deployment of airbags was detected in the Mazda 2 and the Volvo V70 even though they were not part of Euro NCAP tests.

In the frontal impact test of the Mazda 2, a small disturbance shortly before impact led to a delay in the firing of the airbags and protection of the front seat occupants was compromised. Although these disturbances are not part of Euro NCAP’s tests, they could occur in real life accidents. In the case of the Volvo V70, curtain airbag deployment was delayed in the side pole test.

Both manufacturers have taken steps to rectify the problems.

Read the full press release here: "Euro NCAP - up to speed on testing".

Tata set to take over Jaguar, Land Rover

Tata Motors, a subsidiary of the Indian Tata group is set to take over British luxury marques Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford.

Ford stands to make around £1 billion (about $2.05 billion / Rs 8,000 crore) from the sale.

Tata won over two other bidders , namely, Indian car company, Mahindra & Mahindra and American private equity group, One Equity.

If it works out, this will be the first time ever that an Indian company has taken over a Western auto company.

Jaguar dealers in the US are worried that the take over might hurt the brand image. Ken Gorin, chairman of the Jaguar Business Operations Council, reportedly said:

I don't believe the US public is ready for ownership out of India of a luxury car make...

Read "Tata hits image problems in the U.S."

Proton BLM concept

One of my friends forwarded these photographs of the Proton Base Line Model (BLM) concept. Apparently LG CNS Design Studio helped to design the model. Not sure it got leaked and not sure whether you can call it a spy shot. Really looks muscular but the thing I really like in the photographs are the sports rims.





Read more about it in Wikipedia and Paul Tan''s blog.

Private Fleet - Australian car buying site

I recently got to know about Private Fleet, an Australian auto broker which has been in business for nearly seven years. Though the company is based in Chatswood, New South Walesr, Private Fleet is affiliated with over 600 dealers all over Australia.

First impression of the site was quite good. With a neat and tidy layout and unlike other car sites, the page is not littered with ads.

Getting a quote is fairly simple (you will notice I didn't say "on their site"). Read on and you will understand what I mean.

All you have to do is choose a make and model. Fill in your post code and hit the "Get a quote" button. You will then be taken to another page were you would have to fill in a few details. If you are looking for a used car, you will have to fill in a few more details and you are done.

I tried it and got the message

"We look forward to dealing with your enquiry and being of assistance in the purchase of your new or used car.
We will contact you shortly (generally within 24 business hours)..."

and so on. Personally, I would have preferred a results page with all available cars listed with pictures and all necessary information, including the price.

I know I said the site was neat and tidy but it sure could could do with some brightening up. Pictures of flashy cars won't hurt. I also suggest putting up a link to an "About us" page on the navigation rather than from a link in the text. Trust me, customers like to know who they are dealing with especially in an online environment. Having said that, they have some great testimonials from their customers including some great reviews by Naomi Robson from Today Tonight, Channel 7 and Hoyle from The Age Newspaper.

As a car fanatic, I found the site quite interesting. They have loads of information on cars including brief history of different brands and cars reviews. Do check out the site.

Fuel prices still up

A few weeks back, I wrote "Fuel prices coming down". Unfortunately I was wrong. Prices are still above the £1 mark. It was 103.9p for unleaded petrol and 107.9p for diesel at the Texaco station near my house. Prices are a bit lower at BP, Tesco and Morrisons.

I can't believe that they were below 90p when we first arrived here in the UK a year ago.

Aston Martin opens new design studio and unveils a new concept

Yesterday, Aston Martin unveiled a new concept car - the V12 Vantage RS to coincide with the opening of a new design studio. The studio is located in a building adjacent to Aston Martin's manufacturing and engineering centre at Gaydon in Warwickshire near here. The modern building covers 2700 square metre space.

Coming back to the concept, the Vantage RS concept is based on the acclaimed V8 Vantage coupe and features a 6.0 litre V12 engine that produces 600bhp.

The Vantage
According to their press release, the car is capable of reaching 62mph (100km/h) from rest in 4.0 seconds and 100mph (160km/h) in just 8.5 seconds.