A wheely interesting revelation, ladies June 13, 2009
Posted by richard in : Technology , add a commentBIG alloy wheels are de rigueur nowadays.
But, just a decade ago, they were far more rare. Maximum size for the mid-1990s Volvo S40, for example, was 16-inches.
Goodness, mainstream Fiestas run wheels that big nowadays.
Why was this? ‘It was really tight in the wheelarches,’ an engineer told me, ‘We did have a fix, that involved bending metal parts inboard.
‘But we couldn’t apply this in the required volumes to offer it as a series option.’ So, even on the speedy T4, 16-inches was your lot. Damn.
Until, that is, the final generation run-out S40.
‘By then, we’d developed a new technique, that could adjust the inner wheelarch production without slowing the production line down.’
It was applied. 17-inch wheels came to the S40 range.
And, the geek within me has another top fact to bedazzle the ladies with.
MINI John Cooper S Works Photostream on Flickr
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Which totally random used car am I looking at today? April 6, 2009
Posted by richard in : Uncategorized , 1 comment so far6 April 2009 – Volvo S60
IT’S still a good looking car, you know, the S60 that’s just passed me while I was out jogging. Sleek lines and a coupe rear made it the coolest mid-size Volvo ever. A car that so really should have been a BMW 3 Series rival.
They never quite cracked this, which ultimately did for it. So, there was no direct replacement, it lingered too long, then quietly disappeared last year.
Too quietly, I hear; Volvo dealers were frustrated that they had customers willing to order, but no cars in stock! S’pose if ever there were a positive problem to have, this is it.
Jogging, tonight, though, I wondered how much I could get one for. Hence, the introduction of another new category.
Which random used car am I looking at today? An ad-hoc rundown of random stuff I spot and start thinking about while on my travels. All, rest assured, will be bargains.
£1500 is the answer here, for example. And that’s for a whizzy, fully-loaded 2.0-litre turbo, in gold, not yet a decade old, with heated leather seats and bags of gadgets.
Being a Volvo, it’s a bit soggy anyway, so there are no fears about high miles snuffing the suspension crispness. The engines are good for it, too, even if the servicing may be more of an issue (generally, it’s dear. I’d find a specialist).
And if fuel costs did prove too tippy, I could even convert it to LPG. Volvo sold these as factory-fit LPG cars for years, so there’s plenty of knowledge out there.
I’m almost tempted, you know.
You can see what’s coming. I reckon this series might be quite fun…
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The latest thing to sell cars April 2, 2009
Posted by richard in : News clues , add a commentFirst it was Honda. Then, Volvo. Then, Renault. With what? Something so brilliant, I’m amazed nobody’s offered it before.
Free payment protection insurance for those buying on the car makers’ finance schemes.
In other words, peace of mind that, if they buyers sign for a new car and then lose their job, payments on the new car will still be covered.
Genius, or what?
The more you think about it, the more sense it makes. It illustrates, for example, that while banks may not be lending, cash-rich car company finance houses most certainly still are.
After all, their very business is pitching out money secured against new cars, then pulling in the interest from the monthly payments.
If they don’t lend, they don’t trade or function. So, car makers tell me, they’ve certainly got the reserves to lend. And are trying their damndest to do so.
The whole car industry crisis has been borne of fear. Buyers, not buying, because they’re fearful. This one simple incentive reassures them, in three ways – by…
• Proving the cash is there
• That eye-watering finance deals such as Civic Type-Rs for £199 a month are available
• That buyers will be protected if the worst does indeed happen…
… I’d wager a successful uptake will mean these three companies won’t be the last to implement such schemes.
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What I learnt from Autocar – 18 March 09 March 19, 2009
Posted by richard in : What I learned today , add a comment… I saw a heavily cloaked test car a few weeks ago on the M42. Looked like a Jaguar, beneath the disguise. It was – the new XJ, which Hilton says will be unveiled in June.
It was going to be a reskin of the current model, but is much more than that. Jaguar’s taken the lessons from the XF – a rehashed S-Type – and applied them here, for an extensive overhaul using the same air-suspension wheelbase.
Styling will wow. Jaguar designer Adam Hatton stressed as much over a beer late last year, at a function in the Cotswolds… and I believe the Malvern-dwelling dude (who rates the Citroen C4, but doesn’t like the new MINI).
There’s even going to be an all-glass panoramic roof.
Jag’s 3.0-litre V6 diesel will feature: this is so powerful and eco, it makes the V8 diesel redundant. Range Rover only for that, then? Seems an expensive way of doing things.
… VW’s said it’s planning a Bluesport range of green performance cars. Like Bluemotion, but faster. Raking in more profits, then.
… Mercedes will sell a diesel version of the next SLK, due in two years. As it’s based on the fine current C-Class platform, expect the brilliant C 250 CDI engine to feature.
… Sweden is not to ban petrol and diesel in 2020. It will ban them in 2030 instead. So that’s why Saab and Volvo are so big on biofuels…
