A selection of cars gain the five stars, with one each for 3 and 4 in the latest Euro NCAP tests.

• Retest of Ford Mustang shows safety improvement, secures Three Star Euro NCAP rating 
  
• “This underlines the power of the Euro NCAP consumer testing programme,” says Thatcham Research 
  
• SEAT Ibiza the standout of other vehicles tested, raises the bar in Supermini safety 
  
• A further four vehicles tested – Five Star ratings for the Alfa Romeo Stelvio, VW Arteon and Hyundai i30, Four Stars for the Honda Civic

Following an unfavourable safety rating earlier this year, Ford has resubmitted its flagship Mustang sports car for testing, on this occasion earning a Three Star Euro NCAP rating. This follows the addition of standard-fit Pedestrian Detection, Forward Collision Warning, Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) and a Lane Keeping Aid, while rapidly addressing a ‘bottoming-out[1]’ issue with the driver’s airbag.

“In just a few months, Ford has responded to improve on the initial low safety rating given to the Mustang,” comments Matthew Avery, director of research at Thatcham Research. “Our advice to buyers is to always opt for a Euro NCAP Five Star car, so a Three Star Euro NCAP rating is never a cause for celebration. 

However, Ford’s rapid addition of a suite of standard-fit safety tech and its prompt updates to improve the performance of the airbags and restraints is to be applauded and underlines the power of the Euro NCAP consumer testing programme as a force for positive action. We will continue to apply pressure on carmakers to ensure UK drivers have the safest possible cars.”

Take a SEAT

July’s standout vehicle was the SEAT Ibiza, which at £13,000 is a relatively affordable and well-reviewed Supermini. Avery comments, “SEAT has set a new benchmark in safety for the Supermini price point category. The Ibiza not only comes with standard-fit AEB but also Pedestrian AEB – which is proven to reduce vulnerable road user deaths.

“The new VW Polo will be built on the same platform as the Ibiza which bodes well and with major new Supermini launches expected later in 2017, the safety game is now on for carmakers in this category.”

Four other vehicles were tested by Euro NCAP this month, with all but one achieving a Five Star rating. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio, VW Arteon and Hyundai i30 all received the maximum Five Stars. The Honda Civic was awarded a Four Star Euro NCAP rating, despite having standard-fit AEB. This was in part due to the head of the rear passenger dummy representing a 10 year old recording a hard impact through the curtain airbag

The Irish Car Of The Year goes to the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, with the C-Class Coupe taking a segment honour.

The Irish Car of the Year Awards in association with Continental tyres took place last night, October 27th, at the Powerscourt Hotel, Enniskerry.

Journalists from Print, online and broadcasting hosted a gala black-tie event attended by Ireland’s leading car brands, importers, distributors & other motoring dignitaries.

Mercedes-Benz took the top award with their E-Class and also a category win with the C-Class Coupé, crowned Irish Medium Car of the Year 2017.

ICOTY Committee member Michael Sheridan “E Class has set the bar to new heights.”

ICOTY Committee member John Galvin “We’ve had 40 years of Irish Car of the Year and the E-Class is an exceptional winner.”

Tom Dennigan of Continental Tyres said about the awards “Continental is delighted to be associated with Irish Car of the Year, an event that continues to be the highlight of the motoring year.”

Stephen Byrne, Chief Executive, Mercedes-Benz in Ireland, said: “We are honoured to win the Irish Car of the Year 2017 award. This accolade bestowed by Irish motoring journalists is a recognition of the advanced technology and features to be found in the new generation E-Class.”

The category winners:

• Suzuki Baleno - Irish Small Car of the Year 2017
• Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupé - Irish Medium Car of the Year 2017
• Mercedes-Benz E-Class - Irish Large Car of the Year 2017
• Peugeot 2008 - Irish Small SUV of the Year 2017
• Hyundai Tucson - Irish Medium SUV of the Year 2017
• Ford Edge - Irish Large SUV of the Year 2017
• Ford Mustang - Irish Performance/Sports Car of the Year 2017

The category winners were all in the running for the top honour with the judging panel of close to 30 journalists electing E-Class by a landslide margin.

The Irish Car of the Year committee

Bob Flavin, John Galvin, Michael Moroney and Michael Sheridan

May European car registrations show a shift even further towards SUV's and away from the standard compact of previous years.

• Car registrations in Europe recorded the best May results since 2012
• SUVs and sports cars drove growth with volumes up by 29% and 28% respectively
• Renault’s registrations up by 34% boosted by the Clio and Captur
• Volkswagen lost market share following a decline posted by the Golf

New car registrations in the 29 markets analysed by JATO Dynamics show that the positive trend in automotive sales is continuing – with new car registrations during May 15.1% higher than the same month in 2015. 

A total of 1.33 million units were recorded, the second highest total this year and the best result in May since 2012. Last month’s percentage growth was also the highest so far this year, and surpasses the 1.5% increase recorded between in May 2015 and May 2014. 

The growth is due to strong increases in four of the five largest markets, with Italy up by 28% and France in fourth position with its volume increasing by 22%. Belgium, Poland, Czech Republic, Greece and Hungary also recorded significant increases.

Volkswagen was the best-selling brand, with 148,600 units registered, accounting for 11.2% market share. By comparison, in May 2015, its volume accounted for 12.4% of the total market. Last month’s market share for Volkswagen was the lowest in May since 2008. 

The German brand recorded decreases in major markets such as Germany and Spain, with each declining by 1%, the UK was down by a significant 7% and the Netherlands fell by a dramatic 17%. 

In comparison, the brand grew its market share in some markets such as Belgium, Switzerland, Greece, Sweden and Czech Republic. During May, sales of Volkswagen SUVs were down by 14% whilst compact cars were down by 3%. The most significant movement in May was Renault surpassing the 100,000 units mark with an outstanding 34% increase. 

This was due to demand in its home market, France, where it increased sales by 33%, strong increases in Italy, where it was the second best-selling brand, as well as increases in Germany and Spain. As a result, the French brand was able to increase its market share from 6.6% in May 2015 to 7.7% in 2016, reaching the highest May point since 2010. 

Its SUVs and subcompacts drove the growth with 79% and 26% growth respectively. Volkswagen and Renault were followed by the other three big mainstream brands: Ford which was negatively affected by the UK market, Opel/Vauxhall which saw UK volume fall by 21% and Peugeot which benefited from French growth.

The premium ranking was led by Audi which recorded 75,000 units, which is more than 5,000 units ahead of Mercedes and BMW, which both recorded 69,700 units. 

In contrast to Volkswagen, Audi posted a 19% increase thanks to higher demand in Germany, Italy and Spain. Mercedes was the second best-selling premium, increasing its volume by 13%, but this was only five units ahead of BMW, which recorded a bigger growth of 22%. 

Fiat was seventh in the ranking buoyed by the Italian market where its registrations grew by 33%. This brand recorded its second best market share since February 2011.

“The premium brands are clearly benefiting from the positive growth in Europe. Mainstream brands such as Renault, Peugeot and Fiat are also benefiting from Volkswagen’s slowdown,” commented Felipe Munoz, Global Automotive Analyst at JATO Dynamics.

Infiniti was again the brand to post the highest percentage increase, with a significant 150% jump, with 1,224 units sold in May, of which 887 were its compact Q30. Jaguar sold 5,700 units, a 121% rise, thanks to sales of the XE midsize sedan and the F-Pace, the brand’s first SUV which sold 1,477 units. Other big improvers include Bentley (+65%), Abarth (+60%), Ssangyong (+57%), Honda (+32%), Lancia (+32%), Mazda (+31%), Jeep (+30%) and Lexus (+26%).

While the model ranking was led by the Volkswagen Golf, the real drivers of change were the Renault Clio and Captur, and the Peugeot 208. Registrations for the Golf were down by 2% to 43,900 units, taking it to its lowest market share since June 2011 - 3.23%. In contrast, the Opel/Vauxhall Astra, Skoda Octavia and Peugeot 308 outperformed the segment’s growth of 11%. 

The Clio boosted the B-Segment’s registrations with a rise of 25% which took the segment’s growth to 12%. Other models recording growth included the Volkswagen Polo (+16%), Peugeot 208 (+30%), Toyota Yaris (+20%) and Dacia Sandero (+32%). The Captur meanwhile was the best-selling SUV. 

Last month’s SUVs registrations accounted for 24.4% of the European total, up by 2.7 percentage points compared to May 2015. This segment was mainly boosted by strong sales of B-SUVs, and particularly an 82% increase posted by the Fiat 500X. 

In addition, the Jeep Renegade grew by 53% and the Suzuki Vitara posted a 39% rise, the Ford Ecosport posted a significant 109% increase and the Mazda CX-3 posted a 497% rise.

Compact SUVs (C-SUV) recorded a 34% volume increase thanks to the new Hyundai Tucson, in second position behind the Nissan Qashqai which posted a 10% increase. Within this ranking the Kia Sportage recorded strong growth of 43%, the Renault Kadjar posted a 520% increase and the Ford Kuga recorded a 44%, which outperformed the Volkswagen Tiguan which was down by 18%, moving from second to the sixth position in this subsegment. 

Demand for the largest SUVs (D-SUV and E-SUV) expanded by 26% with the Mercedes GLC, Nissan X-Trail, Land Rover Discovery Sport, Volvo XC90 and Audi Q7, all recording significant increases.

MPVs continued to lose ground with registrations up by 9% as the Volkswagen Touran and Fiat 500L’s gains were offset by the fall posted by the Volkswagen Golf Sportsvan and Renault Scenic. 

Midsize sedan/SW was the fifth best-selling segment with a stable market share of 8.8%, it was led by the Volkswagen Passat, Audi A4 and Mercedes C-Class. The market was completed by the City-cars segment which posted 9% growth, Large sedan/SW with 7% growth, Sport cars which was up by 28% thanks to the Ford Mustang at third place, and the luxury segment which grew by 4%.

Felipe Munoz, Global Automotive Analyst at JATO Dynamics concluded: “The market is continuing to experience positive growth with many segments increasing sales. Small SUVs continue to be the big winners whilst MPVs lost out as consumers look towards more appealing designs.”

Many thanks to JATO Dynamics for the use of the

information included within this press release.

Goodwood festival of Speed welcomes a new category for 2015, Drifting, with some of the world's best.

For the first time in Goodwood Festival of Speed history, the 2015 event will feature a special category dedicated to the art of drifting on June 25-28 with a number of the discipline’s biggest names lined up to take part.

Red Bull Athlete ‘Mad’ Mike Whiddett and Monster Energy Athlete Ken Block, who attends with Ford, are two of the best-known exponents of drifting, and both will return to thrill the sell-out crowds on all three days of live motor sport action in the ‘Catch my Drift?’ category.

THE PICTURE THAT USED TO BE HERE HAS BEEN REMOVED AT THE APPARENT OWNERS REQUEST - HOWEVER FAIR USE POLICY WAS IN PLACE HERE.

HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYONE.................................

New Zealander ‘Mad’ Mike’s Flat-Out and Fearless driving at last year’s event earned him the ‘Spirit of the Festival’ award and his style embodies the theme of the 2015 event, at which he again brings his sensational Mazda RX-7 ready for more tyre-smoking action.

YouTube phenomenon Block, whose stunning Gymkhana videos have achieved more than 300million views online, brings his incredible 850bhp Ford Mustang, dubbed the ‘Hoonicorn’, and will be joined by another Monster Athlete, Festival of Speed debutant Buttsy Butler, and his Toyota Soarer.

Goodwood can now announce that EXTREME Drift Allstars, the leading live action drift brand, will bring four supremely-talented drivers to the Festival of Speed.

James Deane, last year’s EXTREME Drift Allstars European Champion, who brings his Falken Motorsports Nissan 200SX S14 to Goodwood’s iconic 1.16-mile Hillclimb. Deane made history in 2014 by setting a new world record for a continuous twin-vehicle drift lasting an astonishing 17.72 miles.

The Irishman will be joined by the man he beat to last year’s European crown, Poland’s Piotr Wiecek, who brings his 1000bhp Budmat R34 Skyline to the UK and will look to show the kind of form that carried him to the 2014 Polish national title.

Norway’s top drifting star, Joachim Waargaard, will give his eagerly-anticipated BMW M4 its first outing in public at Goodwood while Australian Champion Luke Fink will drive his world-famous LBP PS13 V8.

Add in another Polish ace, Kuba Przygonski, driving a Toyota GT86, plus a dedicated area for the cars within the newly-expanded F1 Paddock presented by Sky Sports F1, and a sensational display of flat-out and fearless driving is guaranteed.

USA - Ford Motor Company and Hot Wheels® break world record for biggest loop the loop.

• To help children cultivate an interest in science and engineering, Ford attempted to set a new world record for building the largest Hot  car track loop as part of this year’s Take Your Child to Work Day
• Ford Mustang Hot Wheels car started at more than three stories high inside Ford Research and Innovation Center
• Old record loop stood at nine feet, nine inches tall

Ford ran circles around the old Hot Wheels^® record loop as part of this year’s Take Your Child to Work Day. When the effort was complete, Ford had made a world record attempt with a Hot Wheels car track loop that exceeded 12 feet tall.

The world record attempt was the brainchild of Ford dynamometer technician Matt West, who had built increasingly large Hot Wheels loops with his six-year-old son Blade at their home in Monroe, Michigan.

The attempt took place in the three-story atrium of the company’s Research and Innovation Center in Dearborn in support of Ford’s participation in national Take Your Child to Work Day.

“It started as part-fun, part-physics lesson with my son at home,” said West. “We built one in our playroom, and then built a five-foot-tall loop in our backyard. When people at Ford heard what we were up to, everyone thought it would be a great way to get young people excited about science and engineering by trying to break the world record on Take Your Child to Work Day.”

The current record of nine feet, nine inches tall was set in Ohio. West and his friends at Ford successfully made a Mustang Hot Wheels car complete a 12-foot, six-inch loop.

“On a track, a Hot Wheels car can only go so fast, so carrying the momentum of the vehicle through an entire loop is harder than you might think,” said West. “In a world where kids are inundated with TVs and tablets, I thought teaching my son with actual moving vehicle models would be so much more rewarding, and then it took on a life of its own.”

Early on, West and Blade went to work dreaming up the world record-breaking loop. With the help of others at Ford, including John Jaranson, technical expert in interior systems, and Grant Compton, computer-aided design engineer, they created the loop using computer-aided design software called CATIA, which is often used for car design.

Knowing they had to create the super structure out of four-by-eight-foot sheets of plywood, they designed the loop into sections that would get bolted together.

Once designed, the team enlisted the help of Will Brick, general manager of TechShop Detroit, a membership-based, do-it-yourself workshop and fabrication studio, to bring the digital design files to life. Jaranson is a member of TechShop, thanks to Ford’s innovative relationship with the company, a part-time instructor who helps other members utilize the available tools. The team cut the sheets of plywood using a water jet cutter.

“At TechShop, we like to say, ‘Build your dreams here,’” said Brick. “It was great to help Matt and to work with the Ford team to bring his son’s idea to reality.”

“It’s an honor for Hot Wheels to have inspired Matt West and the Ford team to embark on such an epic world record attempt,” said Chris Down, senior vice president and general manager, Hot Wheels. “Ford and Mattel have a history going back more than four decades. We both have tremendous passion for pushing the limits of design, and we’re happy to be involved in trying to generate enthusiasm for science and technology for kids everywhere.” 

With its signature 1:64-scale models, Hot Wheels has created hundreds of Ford Motor Company vehicles, including many of the original 16 Hot Wheels models released in 1968 – a custom Mustang, Thunderbird and Cougar.

Taking the all new Ford Mustang from sketch to production.

• The design of the 2015 Mustang is all-new yet unmistakably Mustang
• Once a design was selected, exterior and interior designers worked to perfect the lines throughout the all-new Mustang, resulting in the car first revealed last year

For a car designer, the chance to reimagine an icon like Ford Mustang is always exciting. Doing this for the famous Ford performance car’s 50th anniversary is the opportunity of a lifetime. 

By mid-2009, with the substantially updated fifth-generation Ford Mustang in production, Ford designers, engineers and marketers turned their collective attention to what would come next: the design that would mark more than five decades of continuous Mustang development and production.  

“To the people inside Ford, Mustang is considered the heart and soul of the company,” said Moray Callum, Ford vice president of global design. “We spent a lot of time amongst the team and with customers discussing the history of Mustang and what it meant to people and concluded that we needed to move forward with a modern design that retained the essence of the brand.”

What makes a Mustang?

As Ford’s performance leader, the basic parameters of Mustang were obvious: rear-wheel drive combined with the sound and performance of a V8 engine to create the visceral experience that Mustang drivers expect.

Part of the appeal of Mustang over the years has been the way it combines style, performance and everyday usability thanks to its four-seat cabin and sizable trunk. These attributes had to be part of the new design. With these basic parameters, Ford designers established a footprint to work with roughly the same as the fifth generation model.

From a design stand point, the challenge was how to design a car that was contemporary, but unmistakably Mustang. The goal was to create a Mustang with a bold, aggressive face, with chiseled detailing on the body and a more athletic stance on its tyres. 

The process kicks off

A typical new car program kicks off with a design brief that lays out the needs and wants for the upcoming vehicle. However, with 50 years of continuous development and production, every designer knew what to sketch and how a Mustang needs to look.

Several hundred sketches were submitted in early 2010 incorporating many of the primary Mustang DNA cues to varying degrees. The long hood/short deck, bold grille, shark-front nose, fastback profile, side hockey stick contour and rear tri-bar taillamps were reinterpreted in dozens of different ways.

Similarly, sketches of the interior featured the distinctive symmetrical instrument panel with a double brow design and large analogue gauges.

“There are a few key elements that make Mustang a Mustang. As designers, we need to edit those cues deciding which ones to retain, how to interpret them in a modern way and how to combine them to create a car that is immediately identifiable as Mustang,” added Callum. “Looking at all of the different Mustangs over the past five decades, those cues have appeared in some years and not in others, but the end result was still a Mustang.”

Perhaps the most prominent of those cues that did not make the final cut was the scoop, or “hockey stick” profile, on the flanks of the car. Many of the early proposals included some form of this visual feature, but ultimately it was not included in the final production model.

Throughout 2011, hundreds of initial sketches were narrowed down to a handful of proposals that would be transformed into an initial batch of clay models for evaluation in three dimensions. After further development, three themes went into the final selection phase in early 2012.

The 2015 Mustang theme is selected

By the summer of 2012-as with all previous generations- the main Dearborn, Michigan, studio took the lead on developing the Mustang into a production car.

Designers, clay sculptors and digital modelers spent countless hours refining the lines and surfaces that create the three dimensional body side and the powerful hunches as well as the long-sculpted hood with a forward leaning nose that give the 2015 Mustang its unique look and personality.

Details such as the shape and size of the grille and headlamps were refined and the rear track was widened by 70mm, giving the new car an even more aggressive stance.

The elimination of the front and rear bumper shelves and the use of unified side glass with the B-pillar hidden behind the rear quarter windows contribute to the new Mustang’s more contemporary shape.

On the interior, the team paid close attention to the relationships of the various elements, and designed them in a way to achieve optimum fit and finish. The final theme was inspired by the wing of an airplane, with the double brow carved out of the wing. All the gauges, registers, toggle switches and other design elements are placed into the wing. Everything is where it needs to be for usability, just like the cockpit of an airplane. The toggle switches are a highlight of the modern center stack.

The designers have also taken advantage of modern lighting technology at both ends of the car. Indirect LEDs illuminate the blade style tri-bar taillamps with a uniform glow. LEDs are also used for the three gills mounted inboard of the high-intensity discharge headlamps, recalling the gills molded into the headlamp buckets of the original 1965 Mustang.

Along the way, the shape of the new Mustang underwent twice as much aerodynamic testing as any previous generation.

The convertible

The convertible is clearly part of the same product family as the fastback and yet much of the bodywork is actually unique to the open-top car. Subtle but important differences in the shape of the rear bodywork give the convertible a cohesive shape of its own. 

From the raised and straightened muscle line on the rear haunches to the recontoured bootlid, the new Mustang convertible has a more linear quality whether the top is up or down, giving the car its own distinct presence on the road.

The final production design of the all-new sixth-generation Ford Mustang was revealed to the world in December 2013 and will be available in UK dealerships by the end of 2015.