Tata and Jaguar/Land Rover

There has been much written in the press about car companies struggling with the downturn and drastically cutting production. In the UK, some journalistic scribes have picked up on Tata (new owners of J/LR) wanting a soft loan for Jaguar and Land Rover to move their vehicles to a more eco-friendly position. Everyone is moving that way but it costs so much money and takes time. Many portray

Cars & Models

They say that women and cars both keep you poor but I think that is unfair. I mean cars never cost me all that much…. Joking aside, cars do keep you poor while only gold diggers do so otherwise. Guys who lavish so much on their beloved car often have an attractive female or dolly bird too. Even in car shows, young pretty girls are seen on the stand with the new gleaming model. There is some

Toyota Europe Production/Sales 2008

Toyota has marched inexorably towards the number one spot in the world for car/LCV production (excluding heavy vehicles). In 1998, Toyota made just under 5 million of such vehicles, well short of GM and Ford at the time. Ford was passed in 2005 and GM is only a matter of time. But now Toyota is being its sensible cautious and scaling back its growth. Even the most successful are not immune to

Why Can’t Jaguar Have An SUV?

New owners Tata have stated no SUV for Jaguar as Land Rover has that role. I can see where they are coming from, but does this mean Land Rover will in future make and sell “soft roaders” or crossovers? All Land Rovers are serious off roader 4WD sorts. They have a place but a diminishing one in this world, as they tend to be heavy and therefore not so good on fuel and emissions. Crossover type

Chery Automobile, The Car Company

This is a Chinese firm founded in 1997 to make cars in Wuhu. It was supposed to be called Cheery but a mistake in translation led it to this name without meaning, and it has been retained.
At first it used machinery and engines purchased from Ford and a chassis from SEAT, Spain. Since then, to make progress in the car industry quickly, they have worked with Bertone, AVL, Bosch, Lotus

General Motors, The Car Company

Buick started making cars in 1904 and became the General Motors company in 1908 in Flint, Michigan. GM quickly acquired new brands such as Oldsmobile and Cadillac but it’s growth led to financial problems and ownership changes. Eventually Alfred Sloan became president in 1923 and he led GM to its global dominance. He is credited with creating annual model changes and by establishing a

NZ And Diesel

Diesel has become the fuel type of choice for Europeans. It’s more economical and the engine power is more accessible over a wider rev range. On the down size, it does need more maintenance. When one buys petrol in NZ, the tax is already on the fuel. Diesel, however, is charged separately as road user charges (RUCs). The problem with that is all vehicles up to three tones have the same tax, which

Honda, The Car Company

Honda started making cars in the early 60’s and had bold ambitions of dominating the market the way they did with motorcycles. While they have been very successful, they could not duplicate what they had done in the two-wheel arena. Honda is 5th largest carmaker in the world and 2nd largest in Japan.

They have become a respected maker of cars worldwide and in 2007 made 3.9 million passenger

Nissan, The Car Company

The first Datsun was built in 1914 in Tokyo. The company meandered along, merging with other companies. In 1933, the company moved to Yokohama and the car division became known as Nissan Motor Co. Nissan then established close ties with Austin of England, making cars under license. It then used Austin engines as a basis for its own cars. The 1960’s saw Nissan getting seriously into exporting cars

GM Luton

I know this is about cars but I'll stray into vans occasionally.

IBC Vehicles Limited at Luton, Bedfordshire, was formed in 1987 as a joint venture between GM and Isuzu and has been a wholly owned subsidiary of GM since 1998. In 2003, IBC became a dedicated commercial vehicle plant and now produces vans under the Vauxhall, Opel, Renault and Nissan brands. Officially, it employs 1750 workers and

Why Buy A Porsche?

I've been suspicious about why Porsche is so profitable. They don't make many vehicles, approximately 100,000 pa. However, Porsche are so cashed up, they have just about taken over the VW/ Audi/ Skoda/ Seat/ Bentley/ Lamborghini conglomeration. I came to the conclusion that must make mega profit on each unit sold.

Then I started reading the Nissan GT-R vs Porsche 911 Turbo comparisons. Every

Nothing Mini About MINI Sales In 2007

MINI sold nearly 223,000 vehicles s year. From 2001, when it was introduced, sales grew strongly to 2005, when the 200,000 barrier was breached. 2006 saw a slight decline as work was done to allow for more production. Then 2008 will see the Clubman adding to sales. 260,000 could be reached this year. Top 10 markets for 2007: 1) The UK has been always been # 1 apart from 2006, when the USA took

Ryton's Demise

The Ryton Car Plant was in Warwickshire, bordering on a small village named Ryton-on-Dunsmore. It was originally built by the Rootes Group around 1940 to build aeroplane engines during World War II. The Rootes Group got into financial difficulties in the 1960s and Ryton was taken over Chrysler. I had a Hillman Avenger, a car from that time. It was a GLS Alpine (see pic below, Alpine just as mine