Ford Fiesta is Best Selling Car Ever in the UK

The Ford Fiesta has been named as the best-selling car of all-time in the UK after registering a total of 4 115 000 sales as of this July 2014.

Ford Fiesta now overtakes the Ford Escort

The Fiesta was first introduced in the country back in 1976 and has been a B-segment leader for 27 of the past 37 years. The vehicle further surpasses the record of the Ford Escort which sold 4 105 961 in the 32 years it was on sale in the UK from 1968 to 2000.

It comes as no surprise that the Fiesta is doing relatively well in the UK, considering that some of Fords vehicles are engineered in Britain, including the award winning 1-litre EcoBoost turbo engine which was developed at the company’s research and development centre located at Dunton, in Essex.

Theres also the 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine that powers the Fiesta ST which is manufactured at the Bridgend Engine Plant, South Wales, while Dagenham Diesel Centre has engineered the new 1.5-liter TDCi diesel for the Fiesta.

The Ford Fiesta has gone from strength to strength and todays car combines style, value, driving dynamics and remarkable technologies such as the multi-award-winning 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine, comments Mark Ovenden, Ford Britain chairman and managing director. It continues to outsell its nearest retail competitor by more than two to one and that really tells the story of this extraordinary car.

In South Africa, the Ford Fiesta is also a popular car and routinely sells on average 500 units a month.

2014 Citroen C4 Picasso Review (Video)

The Citroen C4 Picasso is a bit of a marvel. From the outside, the car looks like a concept car that escaped the design studio while everyone was on lunch. This is a good thing. We are always teased with futuristic-looking concept cars, only to find duller, more conservative versions on showroom floors. Kudos to Citroen for putting something that looks like its from the future, on sale today.

Interior and futuristic technology

And then you climb inside. The dashboard is like nothing I’ve ever seen. A touchscreen and a huge centre display take care of everything. You can even display photos from your last holiday on rotation. Or, more usefully, you can see the car from a birds eye view, using clever 360 degree cameras to help you park.

Or, as you’ll see in the video, you can just ask the car to park itself. While quite a few cars these days offer this feature, there are a small handful of cars in this price bracket which offer this technology. And the Citroen’s tech seems to be very, very good at it, while I have had some cars reverse into curbs.

Not only will the Citroen C4 Picasso parallel park, and reverse alley dock, but it will also exit a parking space for you as well, using its park distance sensors to make sure it doesn’t bump into anything.

The first time you experience this, you can’t help but smile and laugh like a kid with a new toy. It really is quite creepy watching the steering wheel spin on its own accord. If I had children I would definitely convince them I was controlling the car with my mind.

Specifications and features

On top of all this, for about R340 000, your Citroen C4 Picasso comes with one of the best interiors I’ve come across. The passenger seat has an electric foot rest, both driver and passengers can have a massage and/or heat their seat, and the three individual seats in the rear are all individually adjustable.

The electric tailgate opens to reveal a generous boot, and everything is bathed in natural light by the huge glass moonroof, which has an electric roller blind.

Citroen C4 Picasso Engine

All this and I haven’t even mentioned the engine, which is also rather special. A 1.6-litre turbodiesel which Citroen claims an average consumption of 4-litres/100km. Four! Even if you drive like a fool and the consumption doubles, that’s still mightily impressive. I was averaging 6.9 litres/100km, which for a car offering this much size and comfort is genuinely impressive.

It’s a fascinating new offering from the French, and if you have been procreating, the Citroen C4 Picasso is something you need to look at if you’re considering a new family car.

2014 Citroen C4 Picasso Self Parking video

Tougher Ford Ranger XL-Plus Unveiled in SA Specs and Prices

A new and tougher derivative of the Ranger bakkie is now available in South Africa, and is aimed at mining customers.

Toughness combined with world-class-safety

According to company, the new variant the Ford Ranger XL-Plus is a new entry-level proposition into the line-up while offering a new dimension of toughness to the range.

The Ranger XL-Plus was born out of particular requirements from the mining industry, as well as other business owners whose main concerns were rugged capability and impeccable safety standards, says Mark Kaufman, vice president of marketing, sales and service at FMCSA.

The vehicle is already extremely capable, and big mining companies have committed to using only vehicles that have five-star ENCAP and ANCAP ratings, which Ranger XLT and Wildtrak derivatives boast.

In order to comply with the safety requirements determined by international mine operators, the model is fitted with airbags for both the driver and passenger, as well as side-impact, curtain, and a driver-side knee airbag. In addition, it has an optional bullbar designed to work in conjunction with the cars existing safety systems, thus not compromising airbag deployment.

Additional modifications and enhancements include a frame tested for an increased towing load of 3500kg, an optional heavy duty front bumper, extruded aluminium side steps and front mud flaps, as well as a lockable fuel filler cap.

Coming inside, the Ford Ranger XL-Plus benefits from a Crew Chief mounting bracket paired to an expanded wiring harness for accommodating more switches and circuits, a heavy-duty second battery, vinyl floor covering, and heavy-duty seat covers.

“Modifications developed for the Ranger XL-Plus came from extensive testing in real-world scenarios,” said Kaufman.

“We took feedback from our customers on what more they need from the Ranger in applications such as mining, and built a version of Ranger that will take a lot more punishment, as well as offer integration with technical equipment used on sites.”

The vehicle will be available in three body styles with two chassis cab models in single and double-cab variations, and a double cab model with a loadbox.

Power will come from a Duratorq 2.2-litre TDCi engine mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, while all models will have four-wheel drive and will be fitted with an electronic locking rear differential.

Ford Ranger XL-Plus price in South Africa

The model is built at the Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria, and will be sold in South Africa as well exported to other markets such as Australia and New Zealand with mining operations.

Ford Ranger XL-Plus Single Chassis Cab: R319 900

Ford Ranger XL-Plus Double Chassis Cab: R334 900

Ford Ranger XL-Plus Double Cab: R379 900

All Ranger derivatives come with a comprehensive 4-year / 120 000km warranty and a 5-year / 90 000kms service plan with service intervals of 15 000kms. Customers will also benefit from 3-years of roadside assistance and a 5-year corrosion warranty as part of the Ford Ranger package.

SA Affected in Jeep Recall

Chrysler has announced a worldwide recall of up to 792 300 older Jeep SUVs because of faults with ignition switches that could fall out of the “run” position, shutting off the engine and disabling air bags as well as power-assisted steering and braking.

“Unintended ignition key rotation”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in June 2014 it was investigating Jeep Commanders and Grand Cherokees after getting 32 complaints that a driver’s knee can hit the key fob or key chain, causing the ignition switch to move out of position. The agency said that it is requesting additional information from Chrysler to ensure that its repairs will be effective.

Even though Chrysler no longer makes the Commander, and the Grand Cherokee has since been redesigned, the automaker revealed that models affected in the worldwide Jeep recall include the 2006-2006 Jeep Commander and the 2005-2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Although still waiting for official confirmation, Media Liaison Manager at Chrysler South Africa, Richard Sloman, said that out of the almost 800K recalled vehicles, some 643 Commanders sold in that time period, would be the number they would look at.

The number of Grand Cherokee units affected locally is still being investigated. As soon as we have received the parts we will make contact with the customers, those who still own the cars since new and the dealers will attend to those enquiries as they are encountered, said Sloman.

The same ignition problem is the reason GM had to recall more than 15 million cars over the last six months.

GM acknowledged that it knew of the ignition problem for more than a decade, but failed to recall the cars until earlier this year, when it recalled 2.6 million small cars such as the Chevrolet Cobalt (not sold in SA).

“The GM Cobalt recall brought to light new information that NHTSA will use in the future to evaluate stalling issues,” NHTSA said in a recent statement. “While there is no specific standard regarding ignition-switch torque and no standard regarding the amount of weight from key chains and keys that an ignition switch must be able to handle, NHTSA will continue to conduct research to determine additional improvements that can be made to the nation’s fleet.”

2015 Ford Mustang in SA – A first look

Ford took over the Sandton Convention Centre last week as 1 000 gathered dignitaries and industry stakeholders elbowed each other out the way with their iPads and smartphones, poised to record the first glimpse of the 2015 Ford Mustang as it eased very quietly from behind an electronically-controlled curtain into full view.

Other items shown off include the facelifted Ford Focus and thanks to lax Brazilian customs officials, the Ford Figo concept wasn’t able to make an appearance.

2015 Ford Mustang

The car that took the stage as the undoubted highlight of Fords Go Further conference was a peachy red colour, and one of the first things you noticed about it was that it has modern, multi-faceted headlight lenses countersunk into the corners of the nose, rather than the retro-round lights of its predecessor. Yet, although the three-pillar tail lights remain a styling cue that’s from the very first Stang, the 2015 Mustang is not about to trade too heavily on its 50-year history as one of the worlds most-loved cars.

Right-hand drive versions

With the announcement that the Mustang is for the first time to be available in right-hand-drive, this is one may say, the global debut of Mustang, as opposed to it being an American-market product that just happened to be exported in limited numbers to the UK and Europe and, even in small numbers, to South Africa.

European tech with American heart

That global focus on the 2015 Mustang means that it has an all new, independent rear suspension design and an up-rated front-strut layout to give it the kind of handling that Europeans are accustomed to. Mustangs design team had to think autobahn rather than interstate, when giving it a chassis and suspension system that could cope with speeds of 250 km/h in Germany.

This means all the latest safety features will be part of the package when it goes on sale for in left-hand drive form in America and in Europe in around September 2014, and when it arrives here in right-hand-drive form in the first quarter of 2015.

At one point in the welcoming party for the Mustang, attended by media from all parts of the country on the Thursday evening, a Ford spokesperson alluded to the fact that this was a welcome-back party for the Mustang. Thats a moot point.

When the original 1965 Mustang was launched in America, Ford South Africa brought in about 80 left-hand-drive examples on a special import scheme. And in the ensuing years (before Left-hand drive imports were banned in the late 90s) it was possible to bring in a Mustang at quite considerable cost due to the 100% import duties imposed on cars not built in SA in that era. But essentially, the most iconic Ford has never been available here on a walk-into-a dealership basis.

Available on showroom floors in 2015

Now youll be able to do that, and enjoy all the spares back-up etc that youd expect from a car listed by a manufacturer here. To place your order for the 2015 pony car, you will be able to specify either a 2.3 litre EcoBoost twin-scroll turbo four-cylinder engine, good for around 230 kW, or a five-litre naturally aspirated V8, punching out over 320 kW.

I suspect that initially at least, the bulk of sales are going to go the way of the V8, because although Mustangs since the beginning have been available with lesser engines (sixes in the mid-60s and even a wheezing four-cylinder in the fuel crises 70s) we have always associated Mustangs with V8 grunt.

Pricing will be aggessive

I mean, can you image Mustang Sally riding around with a four-cylinder exhaust note? Me neither. Prices are not yet specified, but when it was announced late last year, SAs Ford CEO Jeff Nemeth told the writer that you can rest assured that our pricing will be aggressive. Which, I hope, means cheap. Okay, cheap-ish.

Porsche Cayenne Facelift for 2015

Porsche has shown its next update to the Cayenne range that saw the company entirely lifted from the doldrums and return as a profitable manufacturer. The changes to the new Cayenne are very subtle from the outside with a few minor tweaks to add visual appeal and increase aerodynamic efficiency. The interior has been updated to become more driver focussed, while the engines have been given more torque and power, and an entirely new V6 turbo has been built for the Cayenne S.

Big Grille

The front grille of the facelifted Cayenne has been enlarged and the design of the front body, the front fenders and the bonnet are entirely new. Another new feature are the airblades, which are air fins located on the right and left of the front end used to guide air to the intercoolers for cooling.

The diesel, S, and S E-Hybrid models are all equipped with bi-xenon headlights and hovering four-point daytime running lights. The Cayenne Turbo gets the Porsche Dynamic Lighting System. Towards the rear, the tail lights have been updated as has the tailgate and the exhaust tailpipes are now integrated into the rear bumper.

All About Engines

The major upgrade to the Porsche Cayenne facelift is the updated engine specs as well as the new V6 doing work in the Cayenne S. First off though the Cayenne S E-Hybrid has had its electric motor power doubled so it alone now produces 70kW and can reach a top speed of 125kph. Combine that with a 3-litre supercharged V6 and the hybrid has a combined power of 306kW and 590Nm of torque. Itll dish up a 0-100kph sprint in 5.9 seconds and go on to 243kph.

The Cayenne diesel just gets a minor power upgrade taking it to 177kW and 550Nm. The all-new Porsche developed 3.6-litre bi-turbo sits in the front of the Cayenne S and produces 309kW and 550Nm. This new engine replaces the big V8 petrol in the range but puts out more power and torque in comparison whilst being more economical. The Cayenne Turbo retains the 4.2-litre V8 with twin-turbochargers and puts out a huge 382kW and 750Nm getting it to 100kph in 4.1 seconds with the Sport Chrono package.

Porsche Cayenne Facelift for US First

Chassis tuning of the new Cayenne was optimized for greater comfort, without compromising its dynamism Porsche says. The facelifted Cayenne goes on sale first in the US during November this year (2014).

2015 Honda NSX Spied in Germany

The much anticipated 2015 Honda NSX has been spotted undergoing final testing at the Nurburgring circuit in Germany.

2015 Honda NSX

The all-new NSX was revealed as a concept about a year ago, and a full reveal is expected to happen before the end of the year. According to the company production is set to begin in 2015 at a newly established Performance Manufacturing Centre in Ohio.

Looking almost the same as the original design, the 2015 NSX comes with a few noticeable changes to its front fascia and has new hood vents over the front wheel arches.

It will supposedly be powered by a three-motor high-performance hybrid system incorporating two electric motors driving the front wheels along with a third motor built into an all-new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission while a mid-mounted twin-turbo V6 engine will power the rear axle.

Honda will also make use of its Sport Hybrid Super Handling All Wheel Drive system (SH-AWD) which it says will be able to provide the NSX reboot with “instant delivery of negative or positive torque to the front wheels during cornering to achieve a new level of driving performance unparalleled by current AWD systems.”

An official debut for the standard car is expected early next year, possibly at the Detroit Auto Show.

2014 Alfa Romeo 4C SA Pricing Announced

Alfa Romeo has revealed SA pricing for the 2014 4C.

2014 Alfa Romeo 4C price in South Africa

Built in a Maserati factory in Modena, Italy, the 2014 4C retails for R870 000 in South Africa and comes standard with a three year/100 000 km warranty and maintenance plan.

The annual production of the 4C Alfa Romeo on the major world markets is limited to only 3 500 units.

Power will come from a turbocharged 1.75-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 177 kW and 350 Nm of torque. It is connected to a twin-clutch transmission which enables the coupe to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in just 4.5 seconds and hit a top speed of 258 km/h.

The Launch Editions

The 4C Launch Editions are said to be the first models to arrive in South Africa and will be available exclusively in Alfa Red, Rosso Competizione or Madreperla White.

The models will additionally be equipped with bi-xenon headlights, carbon fibre mirror caps, a carbon fibre rear spoiler and an aluminium diffuser. Other notable features include a race-tuned suspension, a sports exhaust system, red brake callipers and 18- / 19-inch Dark Grey alloy wheels. The cabin will feature black microfiber sport seats and Red or White accent stitching.

Rare Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale up for Auction

This extremely rare prototype Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale is to be auctioned off on August 16 2014. It could well become the most expensive Ferrari ever to be sold at auction. The 1965 model is one of three that were ever made and wears chassis number 06701.

Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale potential auction price

If estimates are correct it could well sell for 25 million Euros (R350 million) breaking the previous record of 20 million Euros (R280 million) set in 2013 by the Ferrari 275 GTB/4 NART Spider. The Speciale edition Ferrari was built specifically to race at Le Mans against the likes of the Ford GT40 and the Carrol Shelby’s Daytona Cobras. This particular model never saw track action but was sold off as a road car and has found its way around Europe participating in historic car events. The 275 GTB/C Speciale still holds the record for the best ever finish at Le Mans for a front engine car. In the 1965 Le Mans the Speciale finished third overall behind two Ferrari 250LMs. All three 275 GTB/C Speciales were fitted with super-lightweight aluminum bodywork, a chassis constructed of smaller and lighter tubes, and a dry-sump engine topped with six Weber carburettors. The 3.3-litre V12 engine was specifically developed with big valves and cylinder heads and most of the auxiliary casings made from magnesium. 50 additional kilowatts (total of 235kW) powered a chassis that was lighter in all respects to the standard 275 GTB road car.

Audi Multitronic CVT To Be Phased Out

Despite the German brand being one of the first to use this type of automatic gearbox more than a decade ago, Audi has revealed its plans to axe its Multitronic continuously variable transmission (CVT).

Audi Multitronic CVT replaced by seven-speed dual-clutch transmission

The company said the transmission won’t be offered on next-gen models, in favour of using a new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. According to a report by Motoring, Audi’s senior driving behaviour engineer Ralph Riegger, said that the Multitronic offered a major benefit, you were able to keep the engine speed at very low revs thanks to the transmission ratio, but were now able to use a stepped transmission and the efficiency there is better that is better.

The Audi Multitronic CVT was involved in a class action lawsuit during the course of its use, which said the transmissions are prone to premature failure in roughly 64 000 A4 and A6 sedans built between 2002 and 2006. Besides these two models, Audi is also offering the continuously variable transmission in the A5 and A7 but their successors won’t get it.

The new seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox (DSG) is believed to make its debut in the all-new A4 (B9) set to go on sale in the first half of 2015.