Ford Mustang DUB limited edition unveiled

In partnership with DUB magazine, Ford have unveiled a limited special edition of the 2011 Ford Mustang. This comes as no surprise as the Mustang is the most customized car in the world, so Ford took this opportunity to showcase the Mustang to a new generation.

Unique and powerful Ford Mustang to hit the road

Being based on the 305hp Mustang V6, the gearbox will come in either automatic or manual 6-speed. The engine remains the same though but the wheels are now 20 inch and fitted with Pirelli tyres. Colour options include: Grabber blue, Black, Race Red and Ignot Silver.

Many areas of the interior have been styled by Roush as well as the front fascia and splitter. The limited edition DUB Ford Mustang will be available this fall and will be offered in either coupe’, convertible and glass roof.

Ford Start Concept car revealed in Beijing

Ford chose the Beijing Auto Show to debut their new Ford Start concept car. This concept is a little different to most usual concepts that are showcased at motor shows. The Ford Start concept is aimed at short inner-city driving, with the focus being on fuel efficiency and low cost.

Ford Start Concept takes minimalist approach to motoring

The engine in the Ford Start concept will be a 1-litre, 3 cyclinder with direct injection and turbo-charging to improve efficiency. As you would expect from any concept car, the Start comes with many futuristic and styled features, such as the LCD located in the dashboard and its funky curves.

The Ford Start concept looks great, with sleek curves and a more luxurious design that is usually reserved for larger cars. The start will appeal to youngsters and anyone looking for a cheap, convenient get-around car to transport them around urban settings.

New Opel Ampera pre-production on schedule

The new Opel Ampera has been in production for a long time now and today marks an important day, as the first of the pre-production models has just rolled off the factory floor. The new Opel Ampera is set to go on sale in European markets in the later parts of 2011, so there is still a long wait for the car to go into full production.

New Opel Ampera to undergo rigorous testing

The point of these pre-production models is largely for testing, ensuring that they live up to the standards that are set, including safety as some of the models will be used crash-testing and structural integrity . Also the controls and car software are tested so that the final launch product will run smooth and as error-free as possible.

In keeping with the general push towards more eco-friendly and fuel efficient cars, the new Opel Ampera has been designed as electric. The new Opel Ampera will deliver up to 60km on the electric motor before the standard engine will kick in and take the car more than 500km in a seamless change. Charging the battery is done by plugging the car into any house-hold plug socket, which adds great versatility and user-friendliness to the Ampera.

The new Opel Ampera is set to go on sale in the later months of 2011

Assen GP bodes well for Aprilia

With the World Superbike season hotting up, Max Biaggi takes 4th in the Dutch Assen GP. Biaggi riding the Aprilia RSV4 had good finishes in both races and ended the Dutch leg in 2nd place. First place is held by Leon Haslam from the Suzuki team.

This result also puts Aprilia ahead of Ducati in the manufacturers standings.

Standings after Assen GP

Rider standing

1. Leon Haslam – Suzuki
2. Max Biaggi – Apilia
3. Johnathan Rea – Ducati

Manufacturers standing

1. Suzuki
2. Aprilia
3. Ducati

New Audi R8 Spyder features in Iron Man 2

As in the first movie, Robert Downey Jr’s character of Iron Man drives an Audi. This time around though he is in the sporting new Audi R8 Spyder. With the character of Tony Stark being a flamboyant playboy, he needed a car that would fit his image and style and yet also provide the technology and performance that he would naturally be accustomed to as a brilliant scientist. The new Audi R8 Spyder was a perfect match, and throughout the movie the character of Tony Stark is seen behind the wheel of this Audi supercar.

New Audi R8 Spyder in the limelight

Branding in movies is nothing new for some of the top car manufacturers and is becoming more and more common. The massive exposure and positive association that these car brands get from major Hollywood movies is huge. Possibly the most prominent example being that of the James Bond movies and the various cars that the character has driven. From Aston Martin cars in the early versions, to BMW cars in the Pierce Brosnan era, all the way around back to Aston Martin in the latest films in the series.

Its great to see such major car brands associating with big Hollywood movies, it can only be positive for both brands as they both garner huge exposure.

New Porsche Panamera 4 Makes World Debut

Porsche have chosen the Auto China Beijing 2010 motor show to debut their new Porsche Panamera 4. The new Porsche Panamera 4 will be available this year in May. The Panamera 4 has been designed to be a cross-over between sportiness and practical every day driving.

New Porsche Panamera 4 – Features

The new Porsche Panamera 4 comes with a 3.6 litre V6 direct fuel injection engine capable of 300 hp. The Panamera 4 has active all-wheel drive and are somewhat economical at just 10 litres of fuel per 100km. The new Porsche Panamera 4 comes with many new advancements and technologies, including an auto start-stop function which will further reduce emissions and increase its economical running.

Land Rover Range Rover voted Russian Car of the Year

At the recent ‘Car of the Year’ awards held in Russia, the 2010 Land Rover Range Rover won the ‘Best full size off-road vehicle’. These awards are the Russian variation of the the popular ‘Car of the Year’ competition that happens in many different countries around the world.

Land Rover Range Rover popular in Russia

The award is voted for by over 1.5 million Russian car owners after various models have been nominated as best in their category.

Look out for a full ‘Car of the year’ writeup coming in the next week, noting how the system works, as well as many of the previous winners.

Toyota Land Cruiser recall won’t affect South Africa

Continuing from their previous car recall program, Toyota has now begun recalling additional vehicles. The Global recall program will effect the Toyota Prado, Toyota Land Cruiser and Lexus GX 460, as mentioned in a previous post.

This recall however will have no effect on South African Land Cruisers or Prado models, as they are right hand drive models and it is only the left hand drive models that are in need of the recall. The recall is to fix an issue with the left hand drive models, there is an issue with their Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) under certain conditions.

The reason is because the right hand drive models have different weight distribution.

2010 Lexus GX 460 Recall Announced

Lexus seems to now be facing a similar situation to Toyota with their recent accelerator issues forcing them into a mass vehicle recall. Lexus, who are a division of Toyota, seem to have the issues on a much smaller scale though. Only the 2010 Lexus GX 460 is affected, so it should be a lot easier to handle and effect far fewer people.

Throttle problem for 2010 Lexus GX 460

The issue with the 2010 Lexus GX 460 is with the “Throttle-lift off” and as the problem was identified, the vehicle was taken out of the salesroom floor and intensive investigations conducted regarding the issue. The issue has now been identified and a solution created. Lexus has now started a voluntary recall program for all 2010 Lexus GX 460 models.

Anyone who brings their Lexus in for the recall program will be issued with a courtesy car during that period. Anyone who has any questions regarding this recall should contact their local Lexus dealership.

New Audi A1 Iphone game available

Say hello to the the new Audi A1 Iphone game. There seems to have been a trend of late where the big car brands have accompanied the release of one of their new models with an Iphone game. This was done previously by Volkswagen with their Scirocco game which was launched when the car came onto the market. These games provide great publicity for the brand and are impressive forward-thinking new channels of advertising.

New Audi A1 game is fun and interactive

Whats really nice about these kind of games is that they are free to download from the Itunes store. While there are a ton of free apps already available on the Itunes store, they are usually quite simple and have not had much development go into them. This is where the big car brands games come in. They obviously have huge budgets for advertising and can supplement the development costs quite easily from the exposure these games generate.

The new Audi A1 game is no exception. The game comes with great soundtracks which change depending on the level. The driver needs to drive the new Audi A1 through  various levels, collecting extra points as they go. There will also be a highscore table accessible online and you will be able to share your scores through Facebook and Twitter. Also included in the game, as one would expect, is the option to subscribe to Audi’s newsletter, to further increase their exposure.