South Of The Border, Down Mexico Way

No I’m not breaking out into song, just looking at the Mexican market. In 2001, there were 16 car brands plying their trade. By 2006, there were 27. The big 5 of 2001 have naturally lost market share as the new arrivals took some for themselves. The head honcho in the market, GM, only lost .4 % share while # 4 VW lost 6% to just under 12%.







2001




2007

Please, No Škoda Jokes

The history of the Škoda goes back to 1895 when they produced motorcycles & they were making cars by 1905. In 1925, it became part of the the biggest industrial enterprise in the land, Škoda Works. Thereafter it's cars bore that name. After world war 2, Škoda came under state control. They were sold in NZ & had a poor reputation but were cheap to buy. VW starting investing in Škoda and increasing

SEAT, The Car Brand From Spain

SEAT stands for Spanish Society of Touring Cars. It was founded in 1950 I think as an initiative of Franco for a Spanish car. It ended up basically manufacturing rebadged FIAT cars. In 1900, VW took the reins but it remains a Spanish car company, situated near Barcellona. In 2006, 430000 came off the production lines. Sales have been around this figure for all the 21st Century. Production by

Jaguar, What Is Selling In 2007?

Top dog for Jag in 2007 is the X-Type, 16500 being made for the first 9 months. Sales down a third isn’t good on paper, but monetary loses on the model will have all but ended. The sales pain has been worth it. A freshen up of the car coming on line next year will help, but the fact that it is being pulled from the US market is disappointing.


The aging but better than ever S-Type comes in

Cars That Did Something Special (And One That Didn't)

Cars sometimes come along and do something special for one reason or another. I have selected a few of my picks of what some of those cars were.

Model T Ford.

Why I selected this car is that it was the first mass production car that brought personal transport to the masses. I don't see the car as anything special in itself but for bringing motoring to the people it has to be here. It's like

S-Types Are So Nice

Many feel that Jaguars are naff. I'm sorry but you are wrong. Actually, I'm not sorry. How many potential E-Class or 5 Series drivers would at least test drive an S-Type? I'd wager that there is more chance of the French making English their official language. You are the loser though as they are sooooo underrated, it's not funny.

The S-Type will soon be replaced by the XF, which does look a