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James's Weekly Used Car Chatter - 4th February 2011

By James Preston
makeandmodel.co.uk
04 February 2011
What’s been going on this week?

When was the last time you bought a brand new car? A survey by the the Society of Motors Manfacturers and Traders (SMMT) out today has shown that sales of new cars have fallen by 11.5% compared to this time last year, this represents the seventh consecutive month fall.

Do you have a favourite car commercial? There have certainly been some good and some not so good ones over the years, here are a few of the best, let me know your favourites....


Honda's classic 'The Cog' advert


Nissan 4x4


VW GTI


Finally this week we end on the Ferrari 458 Italia, as I mentioned before it was most people's car of 2010, spare a thought for this guy who'd only had his for 2 weeks until something happened, I won't ruin it for you, have a great weekend!



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Alfa Romeo Giulietta

By Ian Griffiths
makeandmodel.co.uk
01 February 2011
If you rememeber a while ago, one of writers, Ben sang the praises of the new Alfa Romeo Giulietta in his "Having the cask full and the wife drunk" post.

Here's a promo video from Alfa which shows exactly how good this car looks!



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James's Weekly Used Car Chatter - 31st January 2011

By James Preston
makeandmodel.co.uk
31 January 2011
What’s been going on this week?

Speed Cameras – there’s no doubt about it they serve a purpose by helping to stop accidents as well as reckless driving.

However what is the point of having them if only half across the country actually work? I guess we now know that they aren’t just a Police money spinner as some people like to point out. I read a report today that only 44.7% are working at any time, this is clearly not good enough and something needs to be done.

Valentine’s Day, the day that every bloke who is in a relationship doesn't want to forget because otherwise you’ll end up in the dog house, is less than 3 weeks away, stuck for ideas? Fear not, hopefully Makeandmodel came to the rescue. We teamed with group buying site Crowdity.com to offer a FREE £15 Red Letter Days voucher, this can be used on ANY of their offers and valid is for 10 months - we hope to run more of these deals in the very near future.

In the past couple of years Electric cars have come a long way in terms of development, well now Audi have jumped on the band wagon and created the Auto Union Type C e-tron. I admit it does like something one of David Beckham’s children would drive around his LA Mansion; however it is suitable for adults as well. The car is 2.32 metres long and just under 40 inches wide.


The E-tron has a top speed of 18mph, has a range of 15 miles and recharges in around 2 hours, no word on price.

Have a great week and don't forgot to spend the voucher!


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Get a £15 Red Letter Days gift voucher FREE!

By Ian Griffiths
makeandmodel.co.uk
28 January 2011

After much negotiation, we’d proud to announce that we’ve launched our first group buying deal today! Get a £15 Red Letter Days gift voucher FREE!

While all the noise and chatter in the tech world about group buying has reached fever pitch over the few weeks, peaking with Google’s $6 billion bid for Groupon, we’ve been beavering away to make sure that Make and Model users don’t miss out on the biggest online trend right now. All the work has paid off and we’re pleased to announce that we’ve teamed up with one of the UK’s leading group buying sites, Crowdity to bring you some car related group buys.

We’re one of the first websites in the UK to use the group buying technology on a non-group buying website, so you might be wondering what it’s all about and how it works? Well it’s fairly simple. We’ll do our best to find you and amazing deal, it’ll usually be something at a huge discount, or like today’s deal, a freebie! All you need to do is click buy now and download your voucher. There’s just one condition, we need to reach a set minimum number of buys before the deal goes live and we all get our vouchers, so make sure you spread the word on Facebook and Twitter.

So please take advantage of our first deal by click here to find out more!




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Ferrari FF the new Four-Seater, Four-Wheel Drive Prancing Horse

By Ian Griffiths
makeandmodel.co.uk
21 January 2011
As you’re probably aware, the Make and Model team are huge Ferrari fans, so today has been a treat as the guys from Maranello have unveiled their new model this morning, which is the most powerful and versatile four-seater ever to roll off the production line…and it’s Ferrari’s first ever four-wheel drive offering!

Our first thoughts were, Ferrari, 4WD, roof box, skis, Alps…perfect road trip?


The Ferrari Four or FF (four seats and four-wheel drive) is an entirely new V12 GT concept representing a new chapter in Ferrari’s history. Pininfarina has once again designed a car whose lines and proportions are perfection.

The FF features the company’s first ever four-wheel drive system. Ferrari’s exclusive, patented 4RM (four-wheel drive) weighs 50 per cent less than a conventional four-wheel drive system, maintaining perfect weight distribution (53 per cent over the rear axle).

Our first thoughts were, Ferrari, 4WD, roof box, skis, Alps…perfect road trip? It also, obviously, is a little reminiscent of the BMW Z3M Coupe and some people even think side and rear views are similar to a Subaru Impreza?! We can’t wait to find out more when it makes it’s official debut at the Geneva Motor Show…until then, here are some of it’s vital statistics and most importantly (perhaps) pictures:

Engine

  • Type: 65-degree V12
  • Overall displacement: 6,262 cc
  • Maximum power: 660 CV @ 8,000 rpm
  • Maximum torque: 683 Nm @ 6,000 rpm

Dimensions and weight

  • Length: 4907 mm
  • Width: 1953 mm
  • Height: 1379 mm
  • Dry weight: 1790 kg
  • Weight distribution: 47% front, 53% rear
  • Weight/power ratio: 2.7 kg/CV

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 335 km/h
  • 0-100 km/h: 3.7 sec






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James's Weekly Used Car Chatter - 21st January 2011

By James Preston
makeandmodel.co.uk
21 January 2011
What’s been going on this week?

Only one week to go of January, 2011 seems to be flying by already! 5 more dealers added to the site this week:


Last week I mentioned that David Beckham's Porsche was for sale, well, it's now been sold for a cool £136,000, £14,000 less than what he paid it for two years ago.

Aston Martin have announced the pricing for their new city car, the Cygnet. It will available for a staggering £39,995 which will buy you a launch edition, production starts in April. The company are describing it as the 'Luxury Commuter Car'.


Aston Martin Cygnet - who will buy this car?


Finally this week, does anyone know when the new series of Top Gear starts? It's just I'm rather looking forward to all of this.....


Enjoy the weekend!


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"Suzuki" Swift Decisions

By Ian Griffiths
makeandmodel.co.uk
20 January 2011
Check out this Suzuki Swift video:



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The Five Most Popular Cars of All Time

By James Preston
makeandmodel.co.uk
14 January 2011
Car manufacturers have been vilified in recently years by environmental enthusiasts who blame cars for the damage caused to the ozone layer and other potentially disastrous environmental happenings.

This has resulted in a recent surge in the number of environmental cars being produced by car manufacturers. These are becoming increasingly popular with the public on the back of receiving a number of industry awards. The Nissan Leaf for instance has recently become the first all electric car to win the car of the year accolade in this year’s awards. The Leaf is capable of a top speed of 92 mph and has a range of 100 miles between charges. The fact that it uses only electric would shave £1,500 per year off the fuel bill of the average motorist and cut at least £50 off their insurance costs according to Moneysupermarket.com.

This is therefore potentially the beginning of the end for the conventional fossil fuelled car, with the cars we drive set to change dramatically in the coming decade. This was recently confirmed by Nissan president Carlos Ghosn who believes that Nissan’s commitment to the production of electric cars will see them increase their market share of the global car market to 10% by 2020. The following is therefore a list of the cars which proved most popular in the ‘fossil fuel’ era of car production.

5. Ford Escort


First produced in 1968, the Escort was the successor of the highly successful Ford Anglia. However, the Escort soon proved itself as being even more popular with Ford creating seven iterations of the Escort over the next 32 years and selling over 20,000,000 Escorts around the world. The mark 3 proved the most successful Escort in the UK, with 1,500,000 versions of them operational in 1989 making it the most popular car on British roads at the time.

The Escort also proved itself to be very successful in the racing world, winning the 1970 World Cup Rally with Hannu Mikkola as well as winning two official World Rally Championships in 1979 and 1981. The Escort was also highly successful in the touring car world, winning multiple championships with the legendary Andy Rouse in the 1980s.

The Ford hatchback batton was eventually passed onto the Ford Focus in 2000, which is proving to be equally successful.

4. Volkswagen Beetle


The Beetle is unique in having a rather broad appeal. It was initially produced in 1938 by Adolf Hitler’s Auto Union car production company which aimed to make a car which was affordable for the vast majority of Germany’s people. This resulted in the creation of Volkswagen, which translated in German as “People’s car”.

The first car produced by Volkswagen was the Beetle and inevitably this became associated with the third reich which one would image has the potential to become a killer blow for any brand. However, the allied forces encouraged Volkswagen to re-open after the war in an attempt to get the German economy moving again. Although it took some time for the company to lose its stigma it eventually became very popular in the 1960s in both America and Britain and began to become an emblem of the hippy movement of that decade.

After this the Beetle went into a slow decline and production stopped in 2003. During its 65 year existence, more than 22,000,000 Beetles were bought by consumers around the world and it became perhaps the only brand that was capable of appealing to both Nazi’s and Hippies.

3. Volkswagen Golf


The Golf became Volkswagen’s most popular model in the post war era and it still exists to this day with over 25,000,000 versions having been sold so far. It quickly became famous for its impressive performance and strong reliability at a relatively low cost which helped add to Germany’s growing reputation of building the best road cars in the 1970s.

Plans are afoot to maintain the Golf brand into the new era of environmental motoring with Volkswagen introducing the hybrid Golf Bluemotion in 2009. The German manufacturer is also currently in the process of developing the all electric Golf Blue-e-motion which is expected to be released in 2013 and will be capable of a 93 mile range between charges.

2. Ford F-series


The majority of UK motorists won’t even of heard of the F-series, but it happens to have been very popular in the United States since its introduction way back 1948. The model is Ford’s attempt at a pick-up truck which unlike its sister cars such as the Escort has survived for over 70 years with 11 different iterations of the car introduced during the time, with Ford selling a total of 30,000,000 F-series’s during this time.

Just like Volkswagen with the Golf, Ford have realised the power of the F-series brand and are planning to take it into the new environmental era with the American company currently planning on introducing a plug in version of the F-series with recent iterations of the model all having been focused on improved fuel economy.

1. Toyota Corolla


Contrary to popular opinion the Corolla is still in production to this day in some markets despite it being replaced by the Auris in the UK. Since its introduction in 1966, there have been ten generations of Corolla with over 32,000,000 sold world wide. Although it has never been the most popular car in the UK it has had a long run of being the most popular car worldwide and is currently the most popular make of car in a wide range of countries, from America to Afghanistan.

Despite recent recalls which prompted one state in Brazil to ban the sales of Corolla’s, the cars strong reliability, decent pricing and good performance have ensured that it has been the most popular car in the world ever.



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Caterham Lola SP/300.R - First Peek at Caterham’s New Model

By Ian Griffiths
makeandmodel.co.uk
13 January 2011

Well, yesterday we promised to bring you all the details of the new Caterham from the NEC at Birmingham today.

We were excited at the prospect of a return to the market by Caterham and the press release in December only fuelled our intrigue stating, “The latest addition to the renowned Caterham stable marks the beginning of a new dawn for the Company, but one that remains true to the lightweight, minimalist DNA of the legendary Seven and will complement its continuing global success.”

What we didn’t expect was what has just been unveiled and wow, what a car it is - a Caterham-Lola Trackday collaboration!!

We’ve tried to pick out the vital statistics, so here’s what’s on offer:

  • Caterham Lola SP/300.R
  • Mid-Engined
  • 2-Seater
  • Open Cabin
  • Track Day Only
  • Lola-developed aerodynamics package
  • ATS center-lock Formula 3 wheels
  • Lola developed lightweight aluminium honeycomb monocoque chassis
  • Caterham supercharged Ford Duratec 2.0LMotor
  • Lola Formula 3 derived gearbox mounted rear suspension
  • Seven-piece lightweight polyurethane body system
  • Max Power 305PS @7500rpm
  • Max Torque 290Nm @7500rpm
  • 0-60mph (claimed) 2.8s
  • Top speed 290kph

As for how it looks, well judge for yourself:







Let us know what you think!


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James's Weekly Chatter - 12th January 2011

By James Preston
makeandmodel.co.uk
12 January 2011
What’s been going on this week?

Happy New Year!

Hope you had a good Christmas, as you’ve probably seen we now have winner of our amazing Ferrari v Lamborghini Driving Day, congratulations again to Darren.

Two more dealers added to this site this week, welcome to Richard Smalley and SPR Cars.

Do you like Porsche? Who doesn’t! What about David Beckham? He’s alright, bit of a poser, I wouldn’t mind his car collection though!

Well now you can have it, his Porsche 911 Turbo is currently for sale, it’s done less than 7000 miles, the only problem is you’ll need a spare £100k……

Also well done to Ford who not only were the biggest selling car manufacturer in the UK for 2010 but also had the UK's highest selling car with the Fiesta.


Ford Fiesta


Enjoy the rest of your week!


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