Nissan Leaf dealers get appointed

The Nissan Leaf has already been awarded “2011 European Car of the Year”; it is due for customer deliveries in March 2011. Because, the Leaf is a fully electric vehicle Nissan has had to equip a selected few dealerships to give the best regional coverage for Nissan LEAF customers and for their commitment to customer service as buying a Leaf may not be as easy as buying a used Nissan in Kent.

Nissan UK has selected 24 dealerships; these dealerships will have a fast charge facility which will allow EV customers to charge their Nissan LEAF up to 80% capacity in 30 minutes. Nissan has selected these dealerships and equipped them with fast chargers to ensure that over 90% of the UK population are no more than 50 miles from a fast charger.

Nissan has already got experience in setting up specialist centres which it had to set up for UK sales of its GT-R Supercar. The Nissan LEAF dealers will have a sales specialist, an EV Relationship Manager (EVRM), who will act as a single point of contact at the dealership for Nissan LEAF customers.

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Jaguar SUV could become reality

Since TATA Motors has taken over Jaguar there seems to be a new lease of life in the brand, the XF has been a great success winning many awards and restoring people’s faith in the brand. The Jaguar XJ is an excellent example of the brand’s new creative, technological and design abilities.

 

As well as selling the Jaguar XK in Sussex, Jaguar has announced it may build a SUV to compete with the likes of the BMW X5, Mercedes M Class and Audi Q7. Jaguar said if an SUV were to be launched it would be aimed to attract younger and more female customers to the brand.

CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, Dr Ralf Speth said, “We need to attract more female and younger buyers to the brand, and we know female buyers are not so keen on big, low saloons and that they like cars in which they sit up high”.

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The new Lotus Elan

In October Lotus announced that it will be bring the Elan back to life once more for 2013, the second generation Elan ran up until 1995, it replaced the first model which was launched in 1962 and was in production till 1975.

The Elan has been described as the heartbeat of Lotus’ new model line up, it is Lotus’ high performance sports car, expected being a Lotus! The 2013 Elan will also be practical enough to use on a regular basis as the day to day car rather than just a weekend car. It has a 2 + 2 seating configuration which immediately sets it apart from its competitors.

The new Lotus Elan will feature a 4.0 litre V6 pressure charged engine capable of delivering up to 450 BHP and taking into consideration its relative light weight of just 1,295kg, the Elan’s performance borders on supercar territory.

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Arrival of the Abarth Coupe

Abarth is planning its first stand-alone car since becoming part of Fiat 40 years ago, The Abarth Coupe will be the firm’s small, fast, efficient and most exciting performance car but, is yet to be released.

Abarth models are the fastest of Fiat’s offerings but Abarth isn’t a made-up division of Fiat like ‘R’ is for VW and ‘M’ is for BMW.  It was an independent car maker and tuner that were renowned for building hill climbing sports cars and for adding performance modifications to cars.

After Fiats takeover of Abarth in the 70s, the Abarth badge got attached to fast Fiats and Lancias but slowly got devalued until it was nothing more than just a badge. More recently the revived brand is riding high following its launch of the Punto Abarth in 2009 and the most recent launch of the 500 Abarth earlier this year.

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Volvo Offers Driver Training Scheme

The UK fleet division of Volvo Cars UK has teamed up with Ultimate Car Control to offer a unique and valuable training programme for company car drivers. Ultimate Car Control (UCC) spent five and a half years developing a programme to create a scheme that fleets can sign up to – to meet their legal obligation and protect their employees.

UCC developed a scheme called Excellence in Professional Driving (EPD), drivers take part in one day courses and use new or used Volvo S60 models, which has been chosen by the manufacturer for its safety specifications and driver aid technologies.

The one-day driving course is split into two sessions - the first is a classroom-based session covering topics such as hazard perception, the effects of drugs and alcohol on drivers, as well as finding out how vehicle safety systems such as anti-lock brakes actually work. The second part is dynamic driver training, where participants learn how a car behaves in extreme situations and what a driver can do to keep control.

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Jaguar pulls one over BMW and Mercedes

The UK’s best selling automotive magazine “Top Gear” has named the new Jaguar XJ as the “Luxury Car of the Year 2010”, the British manufacturer beat off stiff competition from the German luxury car makers BMW, Mercedes and Audi.

Since Jaguar’s sale to Indian TATA Motors we have been hoping for rejuvenation in Jaguar, and boy have they delivered! Top Gear’s editor put it quite nicely when he described the XJ as a "Blast from the future, rarely has a new car slackened so many jaws"

Jaguar released the all new XJ in May of this year with renewed confidence and expectation; the XJ has been extremely well received by customers and media alike, it is fast becoming a multi-awarding winning model for Jaguar. The jaw dropping XJ has already scooped the Scottish Luxury Car of the Year and What Car? Luxury Green Car of the Year accolades.

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The new 2015 Lotus Elise

Lotus, the British sports car manufacturer has been producing the Elise since 1996. It was named Elise after Elisa who is the granddaughter of Romano Artioli who was the chairman of Lotus at the time. The Elise is only a handful of cars that are still hand built in fibreglass, the body is bonded to the all aluminium chassis, and this keeps the car light and reduces production cost.

The 2002 Lotus Elise which is the current model was developed in collaboration with Vauxhall/Opel. Lotus needed the funding for the development and research hence collaborated and produced the Vauxhall VX220, which was basically a –rebadged Lotus Elise.

In 2008, the Elise was given a slight refresh and new models were added to the line up. As well as the naturally aspirated Elise producing 189 bhp, Lotus introduced a second version, the Elise SC sporting a non-intercooled supercharger producing 218 bhp.

For 2015 Lotus has unveiled an all new Elise, it looks very much like a high performance sports car. The new Elise’s bold directional body gives you subtle hints of the traditional Elise’s lines but looks completely different at the same time.

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The Audi A6 gets a touch of Vorsprung durch Technik

Audi has released specifications and figures for the all new Audi A6; the new A6 has been completely redesigned using Audi’s most advanced lightweight construction techniques. Audi has added impressive engine options for the A6, which promise to be powerful yet highly fuel efficient and have low CO2 levels.

The new engine options include, a 2.0-litre TDI 177bhp, 3.0-litre TDI 204bhp, 3.0-litre TDI 245bhp and 3.0-litre TFSI 300bhp all the power plants make use of advanced direct injection technology for the leanest possible fuel burn rate. The new engines work in conjunction with important technologies from the Audi's modular efficiency platform - the start-stop system, the energy recovery system and the innovative thermal management concept. As a result, fuel economy has improved by up to 19% compared to the previous model, pushing the Audi A6 to the front of the class in this discipline.

Just like the old A6 the new one will have an array of transmission choices, depending on which engine model is chosen the transmission option includes a manual six-speed transmission or continuously variable multi tronic CVT for front-wheel-drive models, and the new seven-speed S tronic twin-clutch transmission for the Quattro models.

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Land Rover offer protection from the VAT increase

The new VAT rate of 20% is due to come into force from January 2011; one of the sectors that will be heavily affected by this change is the automotive industry. Many manufacturers along with their franchised dealerships are offering incentives to help customers avoid paying the higher rate of duty.

Land Rover are offering customers the chance to avoid paying the extra VAT on new build retail orders placed before December 31st 2010. Land Rover customers will avoid the increased VAT rate if their vehicle is registered and delivered between 4 January 2011 and 31 March 2011. Land Rover has decided that the 2.5% VAT difference will be jointly funded by Land Rover and participating dealerships.

Land Rover UK, MD said, "Protecting against the VAT increase means that customers can order with confidence, secure in the knowledge that the January tax hike will not affect their vehicle purchase, this move demonstrates that the interests of our customers continue to be at the heart of our business strategy."

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Project Kahn to add Cosworth Power to new Range Rover Evoque

I'm not a big fan of Project Kahn models, they are a bit over rated and bordering on Chavvy.

But I've read that they plant to add a Cosworth power plant to the new Range Rover Evoque. The Cosworth powered model has been confirmed on the Project Kahn's website alongside a single image, with no further details.

The most likely power source for the Evoque Cosworth would be Ford's 237bhp, turbocharged 2.0-litre Ecoboost unit, complete with a power boost from Cosworth as well as numerous dynamic and styling tweaks.

I've always loved anything to do with Cosworth, so maybe this Project Kahn car will get my approval ;)

Exclusive!! The New Range Rover Evoque 5-Door Launch Film

Check out this exclusive video of the Range Rover Evoque, featuring interior shots and city driving.