NEWS

BMW dealers sell 5,000 X5s a year: It is a profitable model indeed for the firm’s UK retailers. And it was quizzing those annual buyers that set the template for the mid-life facelift of the luxury five or seven-seat SUV. What did they want? Plenty more, it seems, of the same… Thus, the new X5 looks almost [...]

LUXURY car sales are dominated by one model – the Mercedes S-Class. Try as they might, rivals just don’t seem to be able to break this stranglehold. BMW’s been having a go for decades, and Audi joined the party a decade-and-a-half ago with the all-aluminium A8. Neither has dethroned the S-Class. There’s one rival that’s been around far [...]

HONDA NSX, a mere cult car? No, it’s more than that: indeed, it’s one of the most significant cars of the past few decades. This sounds like heady praise indeed, but don’t take our word for it. That is, instead, the view of McLaren F1 maker and car design god Gordon Murray. Back in the [...]

THE reasons why Rover doesn’t exist today are perhaps epitomised by the launch of the Metro. In development for more than half the 1970s, it was nevertheless rushed to launch and then, well, never really achieved the goals set for it.  Sure, it did pretty well in terms of sales – it wouldn’t be a legend [...]

STIGMA in the car world is a tough burden to carry and is often even harder to shed. Skoda has been at the sharp end of motoring jokes for decades, but has cleverly sidestepped them to become the forward-thinking car brand it is now. The new Superb Estate is the latest car in the marque’s PR offensive. Estate [...]

ONE-in-10 Porsche Boxsters will be the new Spyder variant. It is that sort of specialised car, one that Porsche won’t even guarantee will completely insulate the cabin from the rain (yes, really). That’s why the firm expects dealers will sell them as second or third cars. Think of this, then, as the Boxster Club Sport, the [...]

AN eight second 0-60mph hot hatch isn’t much to write home about these days. But 0-60 in eight seconds and just 119g/km CO2? If someone had suggested that was possible two years ago you’d have said they were having a giraffe. Engine and efficiency technology have come a long way, baby. In combining a 143bhp version [...]

Alfa Romeo is a brand that conjures up all manner of images in the average car buyer’s mind: Passion, flair, beauty – it’s the stuff motoring dreams are made of. But on the flip side of the coin are the less attractive connotations – reliability woes and trouble-prone electrics are reputations dealers are still struggling to overcome. With [...]

MINI has been such a phenomenal success for BMW, many carmakers have looked on enviously. Particularly those whose modern-times sales staples have been smaller cars. Take Citroen. It sells no end of city cars and superminis, but are they able to command Mini-like premiums? Alas not. Enter, then, the DS3. A new range created by Citroen to [...]

THINK Volvo, think square estates, think 240. The maker is still intent on changing this – senior managers have stated their determination to do so to Car Dealer Magazine – but, for now, the image remains. Thing is, though, the 240 may be square, but that sure doesn’t make it bad. It was launched in [...]

CITY cars for the past five years have been where it’s all been happening. Exploding fuel prices, a desire to be more eco friendly and the credit crunch have all played a huge part in focussing the spotlight on the babies in carmakers’ ranges. Throw in the cash conscious buyers the scrappage scheme funnelled into dealers [...]

CAN you hear that gentle breeze? Well get used to it – that’s the sound of the winds of change and they’re blowing around the car industry. One thing’s for sure, the old guard better watch out because the Koreans are coming – and this time they’re got the products to match their ambition. Not [...]

KIA’S remarkable expansion continues apace. It’s already sorted for competitive models in sectors such as the city car and family car classes. The new Sportage takes the challenge to popular cars in the compact SUV sector, and the latest Sorento offers luxury SUV motoring without the luxury SUV price tag. Now, it’s turning to other growing sectors [...]

Any production car that produces 670bhp is worthy of cult car status in Car Dealer Magazine’s eyes. It’s even better when said power is produced at a dizzy, screaming 8,000rpm – and little short of genius when it is a mighty mid-mounted 6.5-litre V12 that’s doing all the hard work. Yes, there is little doubt [...]

    Colloquially known as the car that burned touring car hero Jason Plato on national TV, there’s far more to the Caparo that just being, er, a bit of a hottie. Designed to demonstrate cutting-edge British technology, it’s thoroughly deserving of Cult Car status. Indeed, its fiery habits maybe even only enhance this… The designers, [...]

THE Rover 200 was one of the best cars Rover ever made. Sure, it wasn’t quite the most dramatic-looking. Nor was it the most interstellar to drive. It wasn’t even history’s most innovative Rover. But, in terms of market-hitting success, probably nothing can beat it.  No, not even the iconic original Mini. Controversial? Maybe. But [...]

FERRARI doesn’t hang onto its laurels for long, with a lifespan of just five years for every new model. Yet even Ferrari was surprised at how quickly the mid-engined F430 fell from fashion once the California, with its fancy folding hardtop, hit the streets. So the F430’s replacement, the 458 Italia, really must do the [...]

CAR Dealer Magazine staff are of a certain age. In our childhood, there was only one daddy on the World Rally circuit. The Lancia Delta Integrale. World Rally Champion 1987. 1988. 1989. 1990. 1991, too. Oh, and don’t forget 1992.  On the poster we had on our wall, they’d run out of space on the laurel [...]

TWO seats, soft top and rear-wheel drive – three ingredients that form the basis of a recipe for success. Add in a dash of affordability, a pinch of cute styling and lashings of handling prowess and you’re well on your way to a Michelin Star winning banquet of a car! When Mazda designed its MX-5 [...]

BMW has designed the 730Ld luxury limo to be something of a Tardis in reverse. Huh? Well, sure, there’s no arguing with the presence it has on the road. Yes, that ‘L’ stands for long-wheelbase. Fittingly, it’s huge. Long, lithe and designed – at no little expense – with a totally bespoke roofline to the [...]