Car theft of a different kind!

Cars from Ford dealership cars are now becoming the target of the latest metal theft.

Community members and organisations alike are suggested to undertake an anti-criminal system named Smartwater.  Smartwater is a hidden liquid that leaves a traceable DNA on metal, to help stolen goods make it back to their rightful owner. Other organisations supply a bespoke kit specially established for automobiles which will furnish you with metal marking fluid, unbreakable sticker and a window sticker which will warn potential thieves that you have protected your catalytic converter. With this type of hooliganism routinely on the rise, it is well worth the minor investment.

In the current economic low point and with the price of precious metals always increasing, organised thieves are showing just how adept they can be. The raid of copper and lead has now become typical.  Many churches, domestic houses and educational institutes are sad to find out that they have been the victim of theft. St. Asaph Cathedral in Wales was recently targeted by thieves and had £10,000 worth of lead stolen overnight.

Unfortunately Ford Mondeo Dealer Chelmsford cars are also a target for metal thieves. They are nicking catalytic converters in light of the high value valuable metals they contain. Catalytic converters reduce harmful pollutants from car exhausts. The ingenious invention adopts precious metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium which are obviously appealing to robbers.  Taller cars are particularly at risk since the accessibility tends to be better and the larger the engine, the bigger the prize! For best practices in reducing the risk, park your car in a gated secure complex if possible, only park your car in a brightly lit area and take special notice of people working under cars!

Even more power for the DS3 Racing

Citroen introduced the DS3 in 2009 as the first model of its new DS range. With the new DS3, Citroen want to compete with the MINI, Alfa Romeo MiTo and even the Audi A1. One of the DS3’s USPs is that the buyer can personalise their car when they order it by mixing and matching body and roof colours.

At the 2010 Geneva Motor Show Citroen introduced the DS3 Racing; it is an upgraded version of the standard DS3 and comes with 207 BHP. It can do 0-62mph in 6.5 seconds and has a top speed of 146 mph! 

The guys at Superchips, the well-known ECU remapping company have now announced a Superchip for the DS3 Racing to make it even quicker. According to Superchips the ECU remap extracts an additional 26 bhp at just over 6,000 RPM. To obtain the gain Superchips’ engineers analysed the Bosch MED 17 ECU in conjunction with in depth dyno and real world road testing, as a result they have delivered enhanced performance with no compromise to reliability. 

As with all Superchips remaps, the DS3 re-map will not affect fuel consumption. Driven like for like the Superchip may even improve fuel economy!

The new DS range is attracting a lot of interest and conquest business that would otherwise gone to competitor brands. A new DS4 will be joining the DS3 in the next year or so, the DS4 is based on the Peugeot 3008 – Citroen’s sister brand.

The DS3 is definitely a hot hatch and I can see it becoming as popular as the Golf GTI. Once second models enter the market there will be a surge in the numbers we see on the road.

Exciting new Ford Mondeo

The current Mondeo range has only been around since 2007, but already it is starting to look dated against Ford’s latest models. The Mondeo has become a very popular model for families, fleet drivers and taxi drivers. The Mondeo is very versatile and offers excellent comfort, fuel efficiency, reliability and durability.

The current Mondeo is available with a choice of quite a few diesel and petrol engines. The petrol range is made up of a 1.6 litre with 110, 120, 125 or 160 PS. There is also a 2.0 litre with 145 PS and available as a FlexiFuel model. The larger petrol units are the 2.3 litre with 161 PS and a 2.5 litre with 220 PS. The diesel range is made up of four engines available with different power outputs. The 1.6 litre is a 115 PS, the 1.8 litre comes with either 100 or 125 PS. There are three power options with the 2.0 litre engine, 115, 140 and 160 PS. The 2.2 litre diesel engine is available with either 175 or 200 PS.

There have been spy pictures of the new Mondeo flying about on the internet, it is rumoured that the new car will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March next year. The new model will, be on sale from spring of next! 

The new model is heavily based on the Evos concept car Ford showed last month, it looks very much like an American muscle car. Ford has used its Kinetic 2 design language to bring the Mondeo into line with the rest of the models in the range. 

The new Mondeo will have big boots to fill, the 2007 model has won many awards during its short life span including the 2011 What Car? Green Awards for the “Greenest Family Car”.

Evoque Evolution

There was much anticipation for the launch of the new Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, on its launch earlier on this year the order books were already full! This was a massive boost for Land Rover, who under new TATA ownership is doing well. The Evoque was an instant hit and at the moment Land Rover is overwhelmed with the demand.

You might think that Land Rover would be patting itself on the back and taking a quick breather, no chance! The guys back at the drawing board are already designing a high performance version of the Range Rover Evoque to appeal to a slightly different demographic. According to sources on the internet, the 2.0 litre petrol unit is being boosted further to squeeze out at least 300 bhp.

David Mitchell is the Evoque program director and has been charged with overseeing the high performance model. He has been driving around a prototype Evoque that has the higher performance engine to ensure the chassis can handle the power. David reported back, “The chassis can take it.” 

The new high performance model will most probably be badged “Supercharged”, as all current high performance Land Rover models use this badge. The current model range consists of three engine options, a 2.2 litre diesel with either 148 or 187 bhp. The petrol engine is a 2.0 litre with 237 bhp. 

In only its first year of production the Evoque has already won a handful of awards including the 2011 Auto Express Car of the Year and Best production car by Car Design News in 2010.

Ford impresses at the MPG Marathon

The MPG Marathon is in its 9^th year now, it has become the longest running and most popular event to demonstrate how car and driver can work together to achieve the best miles per gallon and fuel efficiency. Participants have included celebrities in the past and there has even been international coverage. The event provides a captive audience for businesses and manufacturers involved in lowering car CO2 emissions.

This year the marathon headed towards the Cotswolds, the event took place during the 5^th and 6^th of October. Separate routes were devised to ensure the cars and drivers covered a variety of road conditions. The 350 miles marathon was split between A and B roads as well as motorways. Participating cars were then split into classes depending on their tail pipe emissions. There was a winner for each class as well as an overall winner.

This year’s overall winner was the Smart fortwo CDi, which achieved a record of 99.24 mpg! Ford also did very well at the marathon; many Ford models lead their class. As well as passenger cars Ford submitted three Transit vans, resulting in two of them winning best-in-class titles and another achieving 59mpg.

A lot of media attention was on the all new Ford Focus, as has been since it was launched earlier on this year. The Focus achieved 56.3mpg, which is a 17.6% increase over the manufacturer’s official figures.

The MPG Marathon has become more important now as the economy continues to struggle and fuel prices continue to rise. CO2 emissions are also in the headline more than ever before, with the government asking us to think about how we can reduce our own carbon footprint.

Focus technology put to the test

When the 2011 Ford Focus was launched a lot was made of its technological advancements. Ford has concentrated strongly on adding new technology to the Focus to make it stand out from the competition. These features are not just there for comfort and practicality, some of the technology has helped the Focus become one of the leading models when it comes to accident prevention and driver aids.

My personal favourite has to be the self-park feature, which can parallel park the Ford Focus for the driver. The Driver does not have to touch the steering controls or the pedals. Another handy feature is the camera that captures the current speed limit and then displays it in the instrument cluster. I find myself questioning the speed limit a lot so this will be very handy.

Other notable technology in the new Focus include:
•    Auto High Beam
•    Active City Stop
•    Lane Departure Warning
•    Lane Keeping Aid
•    Driver Alert
•    Blind Spot Information System

Comedians Jimmy Carr and Jay Leno have put the Ford SYNC technology to test by communicating with one another across the globe using the built in WiFi in the Focus. They used Ford SYNC WiFi capability with an external USB broadband modem which is plugged into the vehicle's media system, making the car a WiFi hotspot.

It was a good demonstration of what the Focus’ technology can used for, Jay Leno said, "Bad cars don't really exist so car makers are increasing looking for ways to make their models stand out. The one place we spend more time than anywhere except our house or office is the car. It's not a surprise people want the same gadgetry on the road."

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) - Hyundai IX35

The Hyundai IX35 has been produced by the Korean car company since 2004, but it was sold under the name of “Hyundai Tuscan”. The IX35 name plate was only introduced for the 2009 model, Hyundai decided to drop the previous name for the European market.

The new IX35 follows the design mantra of the smaller Hyundai cars; it has sweeping lines giving it that coupe look and keeps in line with the “Fluidic sculpture” design philosophy.  The new model is a major step up from its predecessor, better quality materials have been used to give the IX35 a premium feel.

For the UK market the IX35 is currently available with 1 petrol engine and 3 diesels. The single petrol unit is a 1.6 litre; the diesel line up is made up of a 1.7 litre and two variants of a 2.0 litre. The small petrol engine is well suited to city and town driving it is punchy and accelerates well off the lights. For motor way miles the diesel options are better, especially the 2.0 litre models.

Like most modern day SUV models the IX35 is a “Soft Roader” it has been designed for tarmac roads rather than gravel and mud fields. With that in mind the IX35 offers suitable comfort, the ride is supple and the suspension absorbs a lot of the bumps.

During the EcoVelocity show last month Hyundai debuted the Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) version of the IX35. The Hyundai ix35 FCEV has a driving range of 360 miles; it has a 0-62mph time of 12.8 seconds and a top speed of 100mph. The fuel cell stack can operate in temperatures as low as -25 degrees Celsius whilst only emitting water vapour.

Hyundai UK's managing director, Tony Whitehorn, said, "We are extremely excited to be showcasing the ix35 FCEV in the UK for the first time at EcoVelocity. Hyundai is a world leader in the development of hydrogen-powered technology and is constantly researching and developing modes of transportation that use alternative fuels at the Eco-technology research institute in Mabuk, Korea.

Clever Lexus Marketing

Lexus became a popular premium brand in the UK when the IS200 was launched, as a direct competitor to the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C Class the IS did well to establish itself. Ever since then the Lexus brand has been gaining momentum in the UK. Larger models like the GS and LS were slowly introduced.

This year Lexus has a full model range of offerings, including the new Lexus CT 200H and the exotic sports coupe – the Lexus LFA. Only 500 of the LFA models will be made, with deliveries due in 2012. Out of the 500, 50 will be fitted with a special Nurburgring Package. One of the models fitted with this special package just set the new lap record at the Nurburgring, completing the lap in 7:14.64. It was driven by Akira Iida – a professional racing driver.

Breaking a lap record is great for publicity but not always feasible, for the CT 200h launch Lexus signed up Kylie Minogue to star in the TV adverts. The Kylie Minogue and Lexus CT 200H adverts worked a treat, there was a lot of buzz generated and people were talking about the car. For a new car it is critical to make sure people know about it, Kylie definitely helped in achieving that.

As the name may suggest the Ct 200h is a hybrid car, it has a 1.8 litre VVT-I petrol engine combined with a 100 KW electric motor. The hybrid powered CT 200H can do 0-62mph in 10.3 seconds and has a top speed of 112 MPH. As well as being environmentally friendly the CT 200H is very good on fuel, on a combined cycle it can do 68.9 MPG.