February 4, 2012
Car Buying Guide
With our plans afoot (albeit fictitious), about resurrecting and running SAAB, the Geneva Motor Show in March would be a perfect platform to announce our future plans. In the meantime..... The Paragon Automotive board have already been reading through documents that detail the buy-out offer for SAAB. Our first plan is to pay the 100 million … [Read more...]
Whilst many car manufacturers are predicting growth this year, the franchised dealer network is nervous at the prospect of having registrations forced upon them in order to enable their car making masters to achieve these growth forecasts. There has been much said in the trade press along the lines of it being hard in retail sales but there … [Read more...]
The Chinese are coming! Well they’re dipping their toes in the car retailing water anyway. With most large car makers and dealer groups looking to exploit the economic spurt happening over in China it’s somewhat ironic that jauntily named Chinese car maker Geely will be coming to a showroom near you come the end of the year. Its … [Read more...]
Car production in the UK rose by 5.8% in 2011, industry figures show. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said manufacturing had ended the year with a 1.6% rise in December, producing a total of 1,343,810 vehicles in the year. The SMMT said record exports had been the main driver of growth, with more than 80% of vehicles … [Read more...]
Mini is recalling 235,000 vehicles worldwide - 29,868 cars in the UK - due to a fault with an electric water pump. The fault, which could potentially be a fire risk, is known to affect vehicles, including the Cooper S and John Cooper Works models, built between March 2006 and January 2011. Owners will be contacted in the coming weeks to … [Read more...]
One of the biggest challenges facing car dealers in 2012 is competing for a smaller piece of the pie in a shrinking market. With fewer cars and therefore less choice, dealers are going to have their work cut out to be the first choice for consumers with the money to actually buy a car. We often talk about how dealers are “upping the ante” … [Read more...]
The unseasonably mild weather in most places is putting some dealers in danger of static 4wd’s which they have bought at a premium in anticipation of the familiar snow which usually greets us at this time of year. The converse to this however is that convertibles are actually selling, although not in great numbers, for canny buyers who believe … [Read more...]
Decembers’ new car registration figures are in so who won the league? Who made it into Europe? Who got relegated? We can now take a look at the final table for 2011 and check the standings of the various top 20 manufacturers we have followed throughout the year in the Car Makers Premier League. As the SMMT themselves say 2011 was … [Read more...]
Car Buzz have created an infographic showing the best selling cars in 2011, plus the best selling manufacturers and key trends. … [Read more...]
December 2011 new car registration figures: New car registrations were down 3.7% in December according to the latest figures released today by the SMMT. 119,188 cars were registered in the month, with the market 3.7% or 4,629 units down on December 2010 (which let's not forget was down 18% on December 2009) and down 4.4% over the year. … [Read more...]
‘When Paragon met.... SAAB’ The last twelve months for some car manufacturers could have easily deserved entry into one of our old “Death Watch series”. However after we had to pull the last one for “legal reasons”, I’ve come up with another idea; how many of us have always hankered after owning and running our very own car … [Read more...]
As we welcome in 2012 it is worth reflecting on what a very challenging year in the motor trade 2011 was. It was a year which saw many dealerships suffering, some having to call in the administrators and some sadly going under completely. Many car buyers deciding to delay or cancel their decision to buy another car in favour of sticking with … [Read more...]
I remember back in late 2008 when I wondered if the motor trade, as I knew it at least, would ever be the same again. The share prices of the big boys had fallen through the floor. It really felt like the end of the world was nigh and there were probably going to be some major casualties. Fast forward a couple of years and the situation may not … [Read more...]
Troubled Swedish carmaker Saab has filed for bankruptcy after failing to secure fresh funds from potential Chinese investors. General Motors (GM), which owns part of Saab, did not want Chinese carmakers accessing technology licences. Production has been suspended at Saab's main plant in Trollhattan, Sweden, since April as the company has … [Read more...]
Car production in the UK rose for the sixth straight month in November, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). A total of 136,111 cars were made last month, up 8.5% from the same point last year. UK engine production rose by 1.7% in November. "UK vehicle and engine production continues to lead a manufacturing … [Read more...]
Naming your car seems to be associated with girls rather than boys but I have to admit that, with all the new models on the road today seemingly designed by the same computer program, they all seem to merge into one. It sort of makes me hanker for the old days when I had to get underneath my mk 3 Cortina and bang the starter motor with a ball … [Read more...]
It’s time once more for the Car Makers Premier League where each and every month we examine the top 20 manufacturers by number of units registered and see just how they look when compared with the previous month. At the end of the year who will be crowned champion? Who will drop out of the top 20 as the year unfolds and which high achievers will … [Read more...]
November 2011 new car registration figures: New car registrations were down 4.2% in November according to the latest figures released today by the SMMT. 134,027 cars were registered in the month, with the market 4.2% or 5,848 units down on November 2010 (which let's not forget was down 11.5% on November 2009) and down 4.5% over the year-to-date. … [Read more...]
Daimler is preparing to disband ultra-luxurious car manufacturer Maybach. The decision follows almost a decade of trying to make Maybach a profitable rival to Rolls Royce and Bentley. Maybach will be replaced by new and more luxurious models from the Mercedes brand, which is also owned by Daimler. Daimler is said to have invested more than … [Read more...]
Suzuki Motors has initiated arbitration proceedings against Volkswagen in a bid to buy back its shares from the German carmaker. Volkswagen bought a 19.9% stake in Suzuki in 2009, but relations between the two have since deteriorated. Suzuki ended its partnership with VW in September, after the latter accused it of breaking the terms of their … [Read more...]
I have been driving my new VW Amarok for about 2 months and today I have decided to tell you all about it. Let me start by saying that reviewing cars is not my usual forte but the bods at MTI want a good truck story as winter sets in and as they found out I’d recently got one they asked me what I thought of it, so here goes. If you know … [Read more...]
Will the days of the drop top soon be gone forever? Sounds like a pretty glib thing to say in the middle of November but with so many cabs to choose from the market for them has become somewhat diluted to say the least and, according to some of our contacts, customers have become just plain bored with them. The re-launch of the Golf cab for … [Read more...]
Car production rose 14.1% in October as a total of 128,654 cars were made in the UK during the month and is up 5.8% over the year-to-date. UK engine production rose 12.0% and is up 5.7% over the first 10 months of 2011. "October was another positive month for UK vehicle production, with output up 12.5% and car manufacturing at its highest level … [Read more...]
It appears that the relentless pace of internet buying shows no sign of slowing. Online shopping grew by 18% in 2010 with 37 million active online shoppers in the UK and its reckoned this figure will grow to more than 55m by 2014. Latest research by automotive data specialists Sewells shows that nearly 40% of buyers would happily buy a brand new … [Read more...]
Kia Motors has released the first official images of its all-new Ray (not short for Raymond as far as we are aware) compact vehicle, which will be sold exclusively in the Korean home market. The Ray city car will provide consumers with economical motoring and a spacious and highly versatile interior, while standing out from the crowd thanks to … [Read more...]
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