Thursday, 16 February 2012

Jaguar Land Rover pushes up Tata's profits

Tata Motors has announced a 41% rise in profits booted by rise in sales by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) despite fall in profits within the Indian market (falling more than half to 1.74bn Rupees).

The rise is attributed to sales (32,000) of the new Range Rover Evoque model.

In the three months to December 31, China has also overtaken UK as JLR's biggest market. China now accounts for 17.2% of total sales compared with 16.5% for the UK. Sales have also increased in Russia. In the same quarter, JLR had a profit of £440m, up 57% from a year earlier.

Source: BBC News.

Wednesday, 15 February 2012

New Audi RS4 Avant

Audi has just released official pictures of the third generation RS4 Avant which is an estate version.





The car will be powered by a 4.2-litre V8 (same as in the RS5) mated to a seven-speed S tronic transmission. With a top speed of 174 mph capability and Quattro handling, the  car can go from 0-62mph in only 4.7 seconds.

The car will be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show next month.

Monday, 13 February 2012

Aftermarket car and truck Accessories

One of my favourite TV shows used to be the American version of MTV's Pimp My Ride. I loved the way they would take a run down rusted death trap into an amazing dream ride. One of my friends back in Malaysia is a huge fan of the series as well and you should see the way he modified his old Proton 1.8 Wira. Nothing as drastic as in the TV series but he's done a great job - with whole body kit, spoilers, new rims, new wheels and a shiny metallic paint job - the car looks fantastic. I will try to persuade him to send me some pictures.

And it does not stop there. The interiors have also gone through a complete makeover with racing seats, new gear knobs and all kids of gauges on the dashboard. However, he drew the line of coloured LEDs underneath the car ("too fancy")and any modifications to the engine. All he did was change the exhaust and new air intake systems.

Through him, I discovered the world of the car tuning and modified cars. Some guys spend thousands of dollars on aftermarket accessories doing up their cars - sometimes immediately after they get it out of the showrooms. Some see this as an art form while others feel that they are expressing their personality using their cars.

If you are one of those guys - check out the amazing range of new after market car accessories available.

Friday, 10 February 2012

Saturday, 4 February 2012

Mercedes Benz - the luxury brand

Brands sends different messages to consumers and when I think of luxury car brands, among the first images to come to mind is the three-pointed star Mercedes-Benz logo. It is one of the most recognizable and timeless logos. The German car brands have built up a reputation for good engineering, quality, design and service quality. However, unlike BMW, VW or Audi, most consumers automatically associate Mercedes Benz with prestige and luxury.

However, when people think of safety, Volvo is the brand listed on top. While the Japanese brands are listed high for Quality and BMW comes on top for performance (according to The Consumer Reports National Research Center). The only This is really interesting because Mercedes Benz does make high performance and sporty models (for example, the SLK range) and are also among the safest cars around (according to Euro NCAP results). Despite this, Mercedes-Benz remains as one of the top most desired brands among customers around the globe.

Mercedes-Benz SLK 200 BlueEFFICIENCY Sport-Paket AMG (R 172)

Despite the perception the Mercedes-Benz cars are expensive, you will be surprised to learn that you can actually get used models at really affordable prices. However, maintenance can be an issue as spare parts can be expensive. As always I only recommend that you use the genuine parts recommended by the manufacturer. It can also prove to be quite hard to find parts for older models. You may need to find a reputable spare parts dealer.

If you live in the US and are looking for Mercedes Benz Parts, I recommend that you check out German Star's Mercedes Parts Catalog. With 25 years experience in the Mercedes Benz parts business, they have and extensive inventory with parts parts listed by chassis or engine type.

Even if the parts you seek are not listed, you can contact them via email or on their site using their Online Quote Form. You can also drop a line in their Discussion Forum where one of their staff will respond promptly.

If you are not really sure about your chassis type. the site has a Mercedes Model Info form for quick reference.

I was quite impressed when I read that orders are shipped via UPS or FedEx and received within 2 to 3 days. There is not much information on the site but they also serve international customers.

Friday, 3 February 2012

Best cars of 2011 - Euro NCAP

Euro NCAP has published the results for 53 new car models available in the European market, including the commercially available Electric Vehicles. The vehicles achieved a five star rating and showed good scores in each of Euro NCAP’s four areas of assessment.

The best cars in each category are listed below:

Small off-road 4×4 category: Audi Q3

Supermini category: Chevrolet Aveo

Small Family category: Ford Focus

Small MPV category: Mercedes B Class

Large Family category: Volvo V60

The Ford Ranger was the only pickup tested by Euro NCAP in 2011. It is the safest pickup yet tested by the organisation and scored highly in all areas of assessment, most notably in pedestrian protection.

As for electric cars, the Nissan LEAF was the first of its kind to achieve Euro NCAP 5 star overall rating.

Read the full report on the Euro NCAP site.