Car Production Belgium / Netherlands: 2010

Belgium is a small country but with a surprisingly large car industry. It relies on overseas firms as it has no industry of its own. This can make it vulnerable to sudden closures of factories. It's 2010 production was:

Volvo 225,000
Ford 185,000
Audi 70,000
GM Opel 50,000
Total 530,000 +1%

One of those sudden departures was GM Europe closing its factory in 2010. It has now gone for good but

Cars I Would Buy

When it comes to cars, I have definite tastes. I like compact. Compact means efficient, economical, ecological, convenient and maneuverable. The modern small cars are quite roomy and they travel distances in reasonable comfort. I would never buy a two door car (unless it is a sports car) and hatchbacks I like. So what would I buy in New Zealand? GM Europe products for example are not sold in NZ

The MINI Family Just Keeps Growing

On would have to say that German car companies are aggressive. They don't just exist in the market, nor do they merely compete in the market either. No, they attack it. Take BMW and its MINI brand. It started out as a smallish two door hatch in 2001, the convertible (2005), Mk II (2007), Clubman (2008) and Countryman (2010).Later in 2011 comes the Coupe, then more variants later. The MINI range

The Nissan Qashqai Mk II

The first Qashqai (Dualis) was designed, engineered and mainly built in the UK. The next one (Mk II) will be too. This car has been a rip snorting success. In 2010, Sunderland production reached 271,200, just over 21% of all UK car manufacturing and well ahead of second placed MINI. Pan European Sales reached a very impressive 235,500.

The decision to have the UK do it all again for the second

Car Sales Nouvelle-Calédonie: 2010

Car sales in New Caledonia are about 11,500 sales per annum. The three French brands of Renault, Peugeot and Citroen took nearly two thirds of the market as recently as 2001, but for 2010, under a quarter. Premium brands are not big sellers on this autonomous overseas collectivity of the French Republic.

Brand/Sales/Share/Inc-Decr
1 Ford...... 1,325.. 11.4%.. 18.2
2 Peugeot.. 970... 8.3%..

The 2012 Jaguar XK

Generally facelifts do little to improve a car, often to give buyers the excuse to trade in the pre-facelift model. Some seem to take the design backwards. I must say the changes for the Jaguar XK 2012 really work. It involves a larger grille, new bumper design, slimmer chrome trim, new wheels, and new exterior colors. The slight exterior changes have made for a smart looking improvement. With

Lamborghinis That Don't Work No More

Here is a fine police car in Italy. I am sure many a law enforcer on the beat anywhere in the world would like to have one of these...


Of course driving a supercar is more challenging than a regular car so they need extra care. Unfortunately, this a post about Lamborghinis 'that don't work no more'....


I think this officer had some explaining to do.

For some of these temperamental beasts,

Car Manufacturing In Japan Well Down

The Tsunami and sales downturn has really hit Japan. Manufacturers around the world who source components from there have been hit too. Looking at production figures, one can see how bad it is. If we compare April 2011 to 2010 by manufacturer:

Brand/Prod/Decrease
Toyota 50,000 –80%
Nissan 45,000 –50%
Mazda 35,000 –50%
Mitsub 27,500 –30%
Subaru 25,000 –40%
Daihatsu 20,000 –60%
Honda 15,000 –80%

Chrysler Brand To Go From Europe

The Chrysler brand has ceased to exist on mainland Europe. It has never sold well there so its owner Fiat has pulled the plug on it. Lancia will take over the dealers to broaden its coverage on the continent, the only place where they are sold anyway. It will also widen its range of just three vehicles by selling rebadged Chrysler vehicles under the Lancia logo. On the other hand, Chrysler will

Jaguar SUV...Finally

Finally Jaguar is planning to launch a new SUV to boost sales. Although this is the area of Land Rover of the same company, Jaguar intends for an off road vehicle to meet the development cost of a new platform. Besides, VW, Audi and Skoda all compete in the SUV sector within one company.

While much is yet to be known of the new vehicle, it will be made of aluminum. This is the material for all

Special BMW Car Polish

Someone once said that people will buy anything with a BMW badge on it. I suppose that provers that the company has managed its brand very well. That means they sell better than they should, even models not that well executed. The above 1-Series is a classic case of that. While a good drive, it was also impractical, as the rear seating and boot area were very cramped. While some may not worry on