Car Chute

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Below the waistline the Roadster is very recognisably a Mini.

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• New Mini Roadster in pictures       
  

This, BMW assures us, is the final production version of the Mini roadster – the sixth model in the current line-up and the first open two-seater in Mini history.

It’s a typically Mini interpretation of the compact, two-seater sports-car genre with a simple, manually-operated soft top, short overhangs and high waistline, rising slightly along the length of the body towards a flat rear end.

But it has considerably more steeply raked A pillars than the standard Mini – with the roof up it’s still 20mm lower than even the Mini convertible – and it’s very much a two-seater, with nothing but stainless-steel roll-over bars and a parcel shelf behind the front seats.

The roof unlocks at the simple twist of a lever on the windshield framer and folds flat behind the seats, with the outer skin on top, so there’s no need for a cover when it’s down.

To close it, press the button between roll-bars and the roof’s leading edge pops up on gas struts; grab the handle, pull it forward over your head and give it a twist to lock it on to the windshield frame – it’s that simple, much like the classic sports cars of the 1960s.

And, of course, the absence of electric motors, levers, struts and solenoid locking mechanisms not only saves weight but also lowers the centre of gravity.

Built into the boot lid is an active rear spoiler that extends automatically at 80km/h.

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The tall tail – which has an active rear spoiler that extends automatically at 80km/h – does, however, make space for a wide-opening tailgate and 240-litre boot with through-loading capability for awkward-sized parcels.

The rest of it is standard Mini, with signature hexagonal grille, large circular headlights, vertically stacked tail lights right on the rear corners of the body, and a black border around the bottom of the body to tie it down (visually, anyway) on to the surface of the road.

Under the skin, there’s some stiffening under the rear of the body, combined with extra-sturdy side sills, to stiffen the body shell,

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Ferrari’s exciting new 8-cylinder convertible, the 458 Spider, will share the spotlight with the Ferrari FF and an exclusive customised Ferrari California that epitomises the new Tailor-Made programme announced by Ferrari.

“This year we are pleased to showcase some of the very latest products from the prancing horse marque that made their international debut very recently. Motoring enthusiasts will have the opportunity to see the 458 Spider, which is sure to be one of the star attractions of this year’s event,” said Hossam Hosni, General Manager – Luxury Auto, Al Tayer Motors.

The new 458 Spider joins the 458 Italia, widening the range of Ferrari’s mid-rear engined V8s and offering the same uncompromising technological solutions, handling and performance in a refined open-top configuration. It is equipped with a Ferrari-patented fully retractable hard top – a world first for a sports car with this lay-out.

The 458 Spider is powered by Ferrari’s naturally-aspirated, direct-injection 4.5 litre V8 which was nominated as the 2011 International Engine of the Year for its engineering excellence in terms of driveability, performance, economy and refinement. The power is transferred to the road by Ferrari’s class-leading dual-clutch F1 paddle-shift transmission through the sophisticated E-Diff, itself integrated with the F1-Trac traction control and high-performance ABS for maximum handling dynamics.

Tailor-Made Programme

Ferrari will also have an area of the stand dedicated to the Tailor-Made Programme, which will enable owners to reach an even more personal level of distinctiveness with the specification of their cars.

The Tailor-Made Programme provides clients with an extensive range of exclusive cloth trim, colours, finishes and technical materials for a final specification inspired by unique classic Ferraris and by motor racing. The selection is available in three innovative collections – Classica, Scuderia and Inedita – specifically conceived by Ferrari’s Styling centre.

The Ferrari range at the Dubai International Motor Show

Lining up alongside the 458 Spider will be the Ferrari FF. This V12 melds to an unprecedented level an extremely sporty, high-performance character with incredible versatility, superb comfort and sophisticated elegance, guaranteeing both driver and passengers an absolutely unique driving experience.

Also being showcased on the Ferrari stand will be a specially customised Ferrari California, the mid-front-engined V8 GT that combines performance, versatility and driving pleasure.

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Children are the UK’s Biggest Distraction to Drivers

PR Newswire — October 31, 2011

LONDON, October 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ –

A recent survey conducted by RED Driving School has revealed that having children in the car is the biggest distraction for UK drivers with a whopping 31% of drivers being most distracted by squabbling offspring.

Comments from backseat drivers come a close second for a huge 28% of drivers.

Unsurprisingly more 35-44 year olds are distracted by children onboard whereas our younger drivers (aged 18-24 at 34%), and over 55′s cite those unhelpful comments from backseat drivers as most distracting.

Mobile phones are the third most distracting things for UK drivers, but this means a worrying 20% of drivers don’t insist on mobile phones being switched off while driving.

Dominic Cohen, RED Driving School [http://www.reddrivingschool.com ] states, ‘There will always be distractions while driving, but it is important for the drivers to learn to avoid or reduce as many of these elements as they can, not only while learning to drive but after they’ve passed their test. As well as teaching basic driving skills, we are committed to teaching road safety education to all of our pupils enabling them to understand the road and its potential dangers.’

Cohen continues, ‘The results of this survey underline just how important greater awareness of road safety is. Our Road Safety Team is currently out and about throughout the UK to help those currently undertaking driving lessons [http://www.reddrivingschool.com ] and those who’ve already past their test, with a reminder of road safety and awareness skills.’

Other distractions include loud music being played at 13% and the driver or passenger smoking being the least popular overall at 4%.

For more information please visit http://www.reddrivingschool.com

Subject Codes: PC/t.111031090621025, PR/dest.Public, PT/lang.en, RE/United_Kingdom, IN/AUT, IN/TRN, SU/CHI, SU/SVY, SU/PSF

Toyota Customers Get SiriusXM Data Services for 3 Years on Select Model Year 2012 Toyota Camry Vehicles Equipped with Entune(TM)

NEW YORK, Oct. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) and Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. will automatically give a 3-year subscription to SiriusXM data services, featuring fuel prices, traffic data, weather forecasts, sports updates, and stock information to customers purchasing select Model Year 2012 Toyota Camry vehicles equipped with Toyota’s new multimedia system with Entune(TM).

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101014/NY82093LOGO)
The Model Year 2012 Toyota Camry is the first Toyota vehicle with these advanced features from SiriusXM.

“Toyota has included satellite radio in its vehicles since 2004 and we are delighted that they have decided to bundle three years of information services into select Camry vehicles. These services include fuel prices, traffic data and weather delivered by SiriusXM,” said Steve Cook, Group Vice President and General Manager, Automotive Division, SiriusXM. “This is an advanced feature from SiriusXM that drivers will find helpful and use daily, and we are thrilled to work with Toyota to give customers the best in-vehicle experience available on the road.”

“Giving our customers the opportunity to experience satellite radio and data services from SiriusXM, including the option to find the best gas prices from over 100,000 fuel stations nationwide, enhances the experience of driving Toyota vehicles equipped with a state of the art product like Entune,” said Jon Bucci, Vice President, Advanced Technology Department, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.

Toyota drivers and passengers using data services from SiriusXM will have access to key SiriusXM data features, including:

Fuel Prices: SiriusXM gives customers pricing drawn from more than 100,000 fuel stations nationwide, and the ability to sort by price, distance or alphabetically.

Traffic Data: SiriusXM delivers real-time traffic speed and flow data with accident and incident information to all users to bypass congested areas.

Weather: SiriusXM shows coast-to-coast weather data, current conditions, three-day forecasts and warns of inclement weather in your area.

Sports: SiriusXM provides scores and game schedules from the MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL.

Stocks: Customers can track price and daily changes of actively reported securities traded on the NYSE®, NASDAQ® and AMEX®.

Toyota will continue to give customers purchasing new Toyota vehicles equipped with satellite radio a 3-month SiriusXM subscription, featuring more than 135 channels of commercial-free music, and premier sports, live news, talk and entertainment.

For more information on SiriusXM, please visit www.siriusxm.com.

About Sirius XM Radio
Sirius XM Radio is America’s satellite radio company. SiriusXM broadcasts more than 135 satellite radio channels of

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Caterham India, a subsidiary of the Burman owned Dabur group is setting up operations in India. In an exclusive tete-a-tete with BS Motoring, Ansar Ali, Managing Director, Caterham Cars and Matt Cummings, CEO, Caterham Cars India said that the brand would be officially available in India, come 2012.

  More Related StoriesAustin 7 and Morris 8 – Bit by BritFerrari Leggenda e Passione – RM Auctions Maranello – Red Letter Day Over the hillsFAST! – OOO LOLA! – The Caterham-Lola SP/300.R Caterham Cars come to India!Here are excerpts from the interview:

BSM: Caterham is a relatively unknown brand in India. How easy or difficult will it be for you to establish the brand?

Ansar Ali: Given the scale and size of the country, yes it will be difficult and we are not underestimating the job at hand. Our association with F1 (Lotus F1 team – Tony Fernandes owned), the internet and with drivers like Karun Chandhok being part of the team, we think will also aid us in our growth.

BSM: Your compatriot, Lotus Cars believes in going upmarket and becoming a ‘cool’ brand. Does Caterham harbour such a future?

Ansar Ali: We don’t foresee a change in the way we do things. We follow Colin Chapman’s policy of being lightweight and focussed. This is exactly what you find in the Caterham 7 and will find in our future products as well. The cars are engaging for the driver, pure in their responses and there is a strong interface between driver and the road. All of this presents an opportunity for us to be different and we plan to be this way.

BSM: Caterhams fall under the sub USD 40,000 and sub 3.0-litre category which requires homologation. When do you plan to begin the process?

Ansar Ali: By early next year (i.e. 2012), Caterham India will import a car for just this purpose. The homologation process will begin immediately.

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Chevrolet is more than a cornerstone of popular culture, it’s a
brand that has captured the nostalgia of the South Shore for 100
years, a symbol for the American Midwest. From Lansing to
Valparaiso and Hammond to Lowell, Chevrolet has become synonymous
with ingenuity, grace, speed and power. The vehicles produced under
the Chevrolet name go far beyond their craftsmanship and connection
to the world famous ‘bowtie.’

Like the industry and culture that stands the test of time and
economic strain across our landscape, the Chevrolet brand has
endured for a century. Many models of Chevrolet have become brands
unto themselves, their names evoking nostalgic trips through
yesteryear and a look ahead to tomorrow.

The classic sexy lines of the Corvette glimmering under the
streetlights of a Lake County “Cruise Night,” the brightly colored
muscle of the Camaro rumbling across U.S. 30, the flashing lights
of a racing Crown Point P.D. Impala, the comforting hum of the
economy-slaying Volt pulling into a student parking lot at I.U.N.,
are all exquisite examples of automotive artistry across our
Region.

Only love has been immortalized in popular song more the
Chevrolet. It’s said that Chevy pops up in the lyrics of more than
500 tunes recorded by performers as diverse as Dinah Shore (“See
the USA in your Chevrolet”), The Beach Boys (“She’s real fine, my
4-0-9″), Don McLean (“Drove my Chevy to the levy . . .”) and – now
that he once again goes by the name Prince – the artist formerly
known as “the artist formerly known as Prince” (“Little red
Corvette, baby, you’re much too fast”).

Inspired by such a cultural catalog, we decided to sing Chevy’s
praises ourselves, focusing on what the brand really is all about -
great cars. Here are our nominees for the dozen greatest Chevy cars
of all time.

1912 CHEVY SERIES C CLASSIC SIX: This is the car that started it
all. And it arrived with a flourish. At the time, Henry Ford’s
Model T was chugging along with a 177 cubic-inch four-cylinder that
made 20 hp, taking Henry’s T to a top speed of 45 mph or so.
Chevrolet arrived on the scene with its Classic Six boasting a 299
cubic-inch six-cylinder. Making 40 hp and reaching speeds as high
as 65 mph – pretty heady stuff at the dawn of the last century -
the Series C Classic Six was a force to be reckoned with. Known by
the public simply as “the Chevrolet,” the Classic Six got the
bowtie brand off to a great start – even if the bowtie logo itself
would not debut for another two years.

1932 CHEVY DELUXE SPORT ROADSTER: This is the car

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TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp said it would keep its Thai production suspended for a fourth week and reduce output in North America and South Africa, marking the first impact of the floods in Thailand on car production outside Asia.

Thailand’s worst floods in 50 years have affected hundreds of manufacturers and cut off the supply of about 100 components for Toyota, Thailand’s top automaker with a production capacity of 650,000 vehicles a year at its three factories there.

Japanese automakers dominate the southeast Asian car market and the stoppages are set to eat into profits just as they were beginning to ramp up output after supply disruptions from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan. Many car makers had also recently announced a slew of new investments in the region to meet booming demand.

Toyota, the world’s biggest automaker, said it did not know yet how much the reduction in output would affect its results.

“We will make an announcement right away if we find out there will be a big impact on our earnings,” it said in a statement on Thursday.

Thailand’s disaster also began affecting output outside the country this week, with Toyota cancelling overtime at all its Japanese vehicle plants, causing a production loss of 7,000 vehicles through Saturday.

Toyota also cut back work in Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines this week and on Thursday added the United States, Canada and South Africa to the list of countries that will trim production starting on Monday.

A Toyota spokeswoman said the company did not know yet how much production would be reduced in all the regions.

With many suppliers directly hit by the deadly floods, automakers are scrambling to procure replacement parts and assess the extent of disruption to the supply chain.

Rival Honda Motor Co has postponed the launch in Japan of a special edition of its Life minivehicle that had been scheduled for October 13. Its 240,000-cars-a-year factory in Thailand’s Ayutthaya area is still under water, also forcing its 40,000-units-a-year factory in Malaysia to close for most of this week.

PRODUCTION Canceled

Before the update on Thursday, Tokai Tokyo Research analyst Mamoru Katoh had estimated a 5,000-vehicle daily output reduction for Toyota globally based on its previous plans. Assuming a 300,000 yen ($4,000) profit on each vehicle, that would amount to a 1.5 billion yen ($19.7 million) reduction in profit every day, he wrote in a report.

In North America, Toyota said it would cancel production on October 29 in Indiana and Kentucky, two plants in Ontario, Canada, and an engine plant in West Virginia to conserve parts.

Japan’s Chunichi newspaper cited an unnamed Toyota executive as saying a complete

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It was there that the young Jeremy acquired the strut, the poise and the
arrogant self-belief of the fourth-form bully, which have constituted his
public persona ever since. It was also where he met Andy Wilman, Top Gear’s
producer: the company the two recently formed (with BBC Worldwide) to
exploit the brand is known as Bedder 6, which is either a reference to the
Repton dormitories, a sniggering soundalike for “better sex”, or both.

Despite his parents’ hopes, Clarkson says he was expelled for smoking,
drinking and making trouble. Like many a misfit before him, he found his
natural home in journalism, first as a trainee with the Rotherham
Advertiser. As soon as he discovered that the motoring correspondent got to
drive a different new car every week, the car-mad young hack decided that
this was the line of business for him.

In the Eighties, the publisher Matthew Carter was a partner with Clarkson in
the Motoring Press Agency, which was his first step up after his regional
apprenticeship. Carter remembers the novice Clarkson as being a dazzlingly
natural and prolific writer. He proved himself equally naturally at home in
front of a camera in the late Eighties, when he began to co-present Top Gear
with the second-hand car salesman Quentin Willson. At that time, the show
was still playing its role as a fusty consumer programme for earnest car
nerds – but the blazingly ebullient Clarkson, 6’5” with his wild curls,
leather jacket, cowboy boots and high-waisted jeans was soon bursting at the
programme’s seams.

After presenting a chat show – which failed because it was blandly produced,
rather than incompetently hosted – Clarkson took a leading role in 2002 in
reinventing Top Gear, alongside Wilman, as a larky lads’ show. Forming a
little schoolboy gang with his uneasy sidekicks James May and Richard
Hammond, he created a format that celebrated arrested development – trashing
caravans and cars they hated, making stinks and whizz-bangs. It soon became
one of the BBC’s most successful global franchises.

The deference and adulation Clarkson routinely commands from the gormless
audience on Top Gear was previously reserved solely for royalty. At the same
time, Clarkson has established himself as a national treasure via his
newspaper columns and best-selling books, in which he combines the
unquestioning certainties of the pub bore with populist

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Quick, name the five top markets for General Motors’ Chevrolet brand. The first four are easy, or at least obvious once they’re listed — the United States, Brazil, China and Canada. But the fifth? You won’t guess it in a million years.

That’s because it’s Uzbekistan. Yes, that Uzbekistan, that little peanut of a land-locked country that used to be a part of the Soviet Union and which butts up against such thriving nations as Afghanistan to the south and Kyrgyzstan to the east.

Its economy is rooted in the past, with cotton production its greatest export. Its gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is less than $1,000 per person and unemployment — or under-employment  — is said to be more than 20%. It is, by any measure, a poor nation.
Yet, according to Johan Willems, vice-president of communications for GM International Operations (GMIO), Uzbekis will buy almost 80,000 Chevrolets this year, making it an even more important market to GM than rising industrial giant India. Casually ask a GM spokesperson the secret of the amazing success and, of course, he or she will talk about Chevrolet’s product revolution, new business practices and all the other rigidly mandated talking points that are so a part of American culture these days. (Take in any of the current GOP debates for proof — if you have the stomach.) Press a little farther and out comes the real reason. The General, thanks to a generous association with government- affiliated UzAvtoSanoat and with a reputed 93% of the passenger car market, is essentially the only game in town.

OK, so Uzbekistan is hardly a business model that can be transposed elsewhere (though, no doubt, GM would love to try).

What it does show, however, is that the new General Motors is very much a worldwide automobile manufacturer. Of the 4.26 million — yes, 4.26 million — Chevrolets sold last year, more than 60% were sold outside of the United States, and emerging markets are a huge part of Chevy’s success. (The company’s spokespeople claim it was the only Top Five global auto brand to grow its market share.)

Indeed, GM is becoming quite expert at exporting the American way of motoring. Susan Docherty, GMIO’s vice-president of sales and marketing, notes that the General’s relative lack of exposure in the Middle and Far East are actually a benefit. “There’s just so much potential for growth,” says GM Canada’s former marketing and advertising manager for Saturn/Saab/Isuzu, noting that while GMIO made up 28% of Chevrolet’s sales in 2011, it is up from a minuscule 1% in 2000. “And,” she says, “there’s lots of room for growth,” her region accounting for 49% of

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