JLR In Good Health: 2011-12

One thing that I couldn't understand about British management was the fact they never talked up success. Maybe it was viewed as bragging, something not in good taste. If so, you would have to say German companies have excessive poor taste, as they talk up their achievements like no others. The fact is the public don't perceive saying how well you are doing as improper. JLR now does tell the world

The Hyundai i20

I went for a test drive in Hyundai i20. The list price in NZ is substantially too much, approaching NZ$27,000. This one was on special for 22k drive away, which sounded close to where it should be anyway.

It had all the basic things you would expect. It was roomy and plenty of light came though the well sized windows. It also drives well enough but if you want sharp acceleration, it disappoints

Fiat And Mazda Team Up?

The next Alfa Romeo Spider will be a Mazda MX5, built in Japan! The platform will be all Mazda, with unique body panels and engines to each brand. This is the way of the future. Mitsubishi already make SUVs for Peugeot and Citroen.

Both Mitsubishi and Mazda are not well placed. Mazda no longer has Ford to help defray expenses with. However, thanks to the Ford tie-up, Mazda currently has a

The Toyota Prius C

I have driven hybrids but not enjoyed them. They are numb when accelerating and I'm not one for putting 'the pedal to the metal' as they say. They look ugly too. The Prius C looks OK and that is important. It does 3.9L/100km. In NZ it comes with a 1.5 litre motor with CVT transmission, and sells for NZ$31,000. That puts it over 10k under the Honda Civic Hybrid, which isn't very good. The Prius C

Japanese Brands Falling In Europe In 2012

If you look at Europe minus the former Soviet nations (ACEA figures in other words), then Japanese everyday brands are retreating. They are particularly being hit by Hyundai and Kia.

Below we see the difference, with Jan-Apr 2012 percentages first and April only figures in parentheses:

Mitsubishi -32% (-38)
Honda -22% (+2)
Suzuki -17% (-22)
Mazda -12% (-9)
Toyota -9% (-13)
Nissan -4% (-20)

Car Market Nouvelle-Calédonie: 1980s

Way back in 1983 (the earliest record I have), Nouvelle-Calédonie had a small car market of just under 3,200. The big players were French, of course, and Italian. The top five were, along with market share:

1 Renault 692 21.7%
2 Peugeot 462 14.5%
3 Fiat 163 5.1%
4 Autobianchi 155 4.9%
5 Ford 148 4.6%

Total 3186

Things changed rapidly through the decade, and three years later the top five

Work Practices

In many developing nations, workers rights are generally limited by the fact laws favour business and there are plenty to take your job if you don't comply. Wages are also low. It was like that once in western nations too, but labour laws were enacted to protect the workers.


There are those that feel that in some countries worker protection has gone too far and it undermines competitiveness.

Vehicle Sales Peru: 2011

The Peruvian market is diverse. So many brands, many Chinese as is common in developing nations. The usual western brands are at the top. An asterisk after the brand means there were two entries for the make, which I combined. Despite the long list, many 'other' sales appear, which can only make you wonder what are all those sales doing unassigned to any marque. I would have added percentages on

The Nissan Juke-R Is Coming....Be Scared

Nissan has decided to put into production its outrageous Juke-R crossover in a very limited run on build-to-order basis. I have been reading about it in NZ car magazines and I thought what a shame it will never reach the public. Well Nissan has the 'you know what' to do things that others won't. Nissan say: "The 3.8-litre, 160mph Juke-R made its global debut in Dubai in January this year,

Plant Closures In Europe...Not

Ford just posted another loss in Europe, $149m this time. GM loses money each year. Yet both are popular within the region, 2nd and 3rd respectively according to ACEA. GM knows it needs to close a plant at least, one of the three in Germany would be obvious. I'm less sure what Ford should do. Close its Belgium plant and move Mondeo production elsewhere? PSA, Renault and Fiat all have far too