Blog Archives

Land Rover Defender

7/30/2012

According to many German automotive engineers few things turn out to be more permanent than a temporary solution.

So it was with the 1948 Land Rover. A stop-gap export vehicle to extract a more generous steel ration from the post-war Labour ‘austerity’ government, the 'farmer’s friend' took just over a year to match Rover’s passenger car production and, two years later, it was two-to-one.

Renault Trafic 9 Seat

7/23/2012

Large multi purpose vehicles never hacked it in Europe.

But, as light commercial vehicles became more civilised, passenger versions also came to fit the bill for those who wanted a substantial MPV.

More often than not, they could carry a full complement of people and have room for their luggage, kit or equipment. For Renault UK this has been a welcome trend. Earlier this year it undertook a radical range cull. Out went upper-medium Laguna (hatch, coupe, estate) and other major casualties were the Espace/Grand Espace – its large MPVs. Focus for the company now is on its small to lower-medium cars (a new Clio supermini comes late this year) and an already strong presence in the LCV market.

Audi A3

7/12/2012

Audi claims the original A3 of 1996 defined a new sector of the market – the premium lower-medium car.

It’s an assertion that’s hard to challenge, as there is no shortage of evidence to back it up. BMW introduced the 1 Series in 2004 seeking a share of this high-volume sector, while Mercedes-Benz has given the latest A-Class a thorough revamp so it looks like a conventional hatchback.

Meanwhile Volvo, with increasing acceptance as an alternative to premium badge cars and perhaps even seen as deserving of a place on choice lists alongside the German brands, will soon introduce the V40 as a rival.

Jaguar XF 2.2D Business

7/12/2012

Inflation is a troublesome thing. The rate at which costs increase has a habit of taking goods out of strategic price points that make them attractive.

And while there’s more to procuring vehicles for fleets than an on-the-road price, or even a transaction price, with best practice looking at wholelife costs, it still has a role to play.

When Jaguar launched the XF in 2008 its strategy was based on six-cylinder and eight-cylinder cars with high levels of standard equipment, but the volume of business sales in the executive saloon sector is four-cylinder diesel.

Mazda CX-5

7/12/2012

Welsh Motoring Writers' 2010 automotive achievement award went to Mazda Motor Corporation. It marked 20 years of the MX-5 sports car, 50 years since its first motor car, half a century of work on the Rotary Combustion Engine and 90th anniversary of the company's formation.

But it was not just a look back. For the future, another major theme of the award was Mazda's SKYACTIV technology - or technologies - since engine, transmission and vehicle construction issues have been tackled in one fell swoop.

Land Rover Defender

Renault Trafic 9 Seat

Audi A3

Jaguar XF 2.2D Business

Mazda CX-5

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