Titan the Robot

The 2011 Motorexpo, which was held at London’s Canary Wharf, was a resounding success with more than 410,000 visitors attending the event. Motorexpo is the UK’s largest, free-to-visit gathering of car manufacturers and there were just over 250 new cars on show. Manufacturers who were showcasing their vehicles included Bentley, BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Saab, Skoda, Tesla, Vauxhall and Volvo to name just a few.

New models such as the BMW 6 Series Coupe, 2012 Jaguar XF, Lexus CT 200h, Mercedes-Benz SLK and CLS 63 AMG, Saab 9-5 SportWagon and the Bentley Continental GT all made their UK public debuts. Popular attractions at the event were the characters from the Disney.Pixar blockbuster “Cars 2″, Lightning McQueen and Finn McMissile and of course Titan the Robot.

The “Drive the Future” green zone was also popular with showgoers able to see electric cars such as the Vauxhall Ampera, Mitsubishi i-MIEV and Tesla Roadster. If you want to put the date in your calendar for next year the event will be held from Monday the 11th through to the 17th June. Full details and information on how to get there can be found at www.motorexpo.com

Jaguar

The 2011 London Motorexpo is being held at Canary Wharf in London between the 6th and 12th of June with access free of charge to all members of the public. Many British car manufacturers will be showcasing their new models with Jaguar unveiling the 2012 model line-up to the public for the first time. They will have models of the new XF, XFR saloons, XK coupe and convertible and of course the new 2.2-litre diesel XF, which is bound to be popular with fleets.

Other car manufacturers on show include Bentley with the new Continental GT, Land Rover with their Range Rover Evoque, Group Lotus with the Elise Club Racer plus their Evora GT4, Saab with its all-new 9-5 Sportwagon and finally Skoda with its efficient Greenline II range.

The 2011 London Motorexpo show also has a “Drive the Future” feature where you can experience the latest electric cars and low-carbon vehicles plus the exciting purpose built off-road course gives you the chance to experience Land Rover’s off-road capabilities.

BMW has announced their agreement to supply Saab with four-cylinder petrol engines from as early as 2012. The contract for the delivery of the engines was signed by Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management BMW AG, who is responsible for Sales and Marketing.

The four-cylinder engines will be destined for the new Saab model series and will offer the latest fuel savings technologies (BMW EfficientDynamics) and also the Start-Stop feature. Mr Robertson said,”We are continuing to expand our powertrain system sales business worldwide as planned as part of our Strategy Number ONE. We are delighted to support Saab with our engine expertise. Our engines have a clear lead over the competition when it comes to fuel consumption, emissions and performance”.

General Motors has announced today that agreement has finally been reached to sell Saab Automobile to Spyker Cars NV with a binding agreement on purchase having been agreed for $74 million US dollars (in two staggered payments).

The wind down of Saab will now stop and John Smith, GM vice president of corporate planning and alliances said,” Today’s announcement is great news for Saab employees, dealers and suppliers, great news for millions of Saab’s customers and fans worldwide, and great news for GM. General Motors, Spyker Cars and the Swedish government worked very hard and creatively for a deal that would secure a sustainable future for this unique and iconic brand, and we’re all happy for the positive outcome”.

General Motors has announced that following their discussions having now ended regarding selling Saab Automobile AB to Spyker Cars, they will now close down the Saab operation in an orderly fashion.

This will bring at an end six decades of automobile manufacturing by the firm. Saab will continue to honour warranties and provide service and spare parts to current Saab owners around the world.

General Motors has confirmed that the sale of its Saab subsidiary to Koenigsegg Group AB was terminated at the discretion of the buyer.

“We’re obviously very disappointed with the decision to pull out of the Saab purchase”, said GM President and CEO Fritz Henderson. He went on to say,”Given the sudden change in direction,we will take the next several days to assess the situation and will advise on the next steps next week.”

Choose by your star sign?

Carcraft, the used car supermarket, has found that when choosing your car, most motorists focus on things like price, size, the tax bracket and fuel consumption.

However according to some fun research they conducted they also found that your Astrology Star Sign could affect your choice. Aries drivers (the ram) tend to go for something flashy and sporty (red Mazda MX5 or Saab Convertible) whereas Sagittarians prefer something to accommodate their sense of adventure (4X4 or a muscular MPV). Aquarians apparently like something that is fun, small and quirky like the Ford Ka or Mini.

Whatever your Star Sign, try the new contract hire Super Shopper as you can find any make or model of vehicle.

Autoquake.com, one of the UK’s leading used car auction sites selling ex-fleet cars, has announced that according to their figures, that used car prices are falling faster online than on dealer forecourts. A car which would have sold for £10,000 on Autoquake.com a month ago is now typically listed at £9,312.

Fredrik Skantze, Autoquake.com’s Co-founder said “After months of rising prices, we’re seeing signs that the used car bubble has burst. Values at auction have begun to slide and our prices are lower than they were a month ago”.

One thing is for sure, when you a buy a car rather than contract hire, you are liable for all the used car depreciation. So before you buy it is worth considering car leasing as an option.

The top ten Autoquake.com average percentage prices reductions last month are below. 

Saab 9-5 saloon

Saab, the Scandanavian manufacturer, has released the details of their new premium saloon, the Saab 9-5 which signals the dawn of a new era for the company. The new car goes on sale in 2010 and has a new sculpted shape with muscular, aerodynamic, styling.

The car has an array of new features including head-up information display (HUD), adaptive headlights (Bi-Xenon Smart Beam), adaptive cruise control, Saab DriveSense adaptive chassis with real time damping control, keyless entry and starting, dual-zone climate control, dynamic parking assistance and Saab XWD with eLSD, an industry leading all-wheel drive system.

New Saab 9-5

The car has an all-turbo powertrain using highly efficient four cyclinder engines and you have a choice of three fuel types, petrol, diesel and E85 bioethanol. CO2 emissions are as low as 139g/km. The engine options are a 160hp 2.0-litre turbo diesel engine, a 220hp 2.0-litre petrol turbo engine and a top of the range 2.8 V6 turbo, generating 300bhp which is offered exclusively with the Saab XWD.

After the launch a 1.6-litre petrol turbo with 180bhp will be introduced plus the 2.0-litre BioPower E85 engine.  All the transmissions offered will be six-speed as well. The new car makes its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September and as soon as prices are released, we will have car leasing rentals on the site.

General Motors and the Koenigsegg Group have signed a stock purchase agreement for the sales of Saab Automobile AB. The deal is expected to close by the year end and will secure Saab’s future. Saab plans to exit legal reorganisation shortly.

The deal is subject to certain closing conditions for example including the expected funding contributions from the Swedish government as well as continued GM transitional assistance. Saab is also expected to now launch several new cars, which have been developed with GM and are in their final stages of development.