Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from The Motoring World

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

FROM

THE MOTORING WORLD

WOW, Another year has passed, and 2014 can be classed as one of the best for motoring in a very long time, sadly we lost SAAB, but good news seems to be on the Horizon, with a new owner who have very deep pockets, and a need for a premium brand within their range.

The continued expansion of Jaguar Land Rover continues apace with two brand new models the XE and Discovery Sport launched to the world, and over the next couple of years, a vast aray of new, replaced or refreshed models will increase sales significantly, but thats not all, JLR brought us brand new E-Types for the first time in decades, a new SVO devision, that has given us the RR Sport SVR, we saw this model some months ago at Solihull, as you can see below.

For me, the biggest disapppointment of the year was when Land Rover confirmed that they would not be building teh DC100, this modern version, of the evergreen Defender, oozed modernity, with teh familiar look of teh car it should have replaced, this car would have sold, and sold really really well, i just hope that what ever they replace it with, is equally as stunning.

The continued recalls of 2014 broke new records, with nearly 61 million cars just in the USA, from the Takata Airbag scandal to the GM ignition switch farce and so many more inbetween, shows that some car makers either do not really care, or have little interest in making their products safe and secure for us, the buying public, 2015 will continue to be huge for recalls, with the two examples above to carry on well into the New Year.

The Motoring World Blog has seen some really big numbers, which surprised us a great deal, although this month (December) has seen a dip, and no matter what we do the numbers have failed to grow, we have great hopes for 2015, but back to 2014, the biggest read news Story is not on a car, infact it is a Yamaha Bike, and can be read >>HERE<< it is followed by three Stories on Skoda and one from Porsche, the top ten is rounded off with two on MG, one of recalls of 2014, our Goodwood festival of Speed (GFoS) 2013 and the BMW i3.

The United States remains our #1 port of call for readers with over 125,000 hits follwed by the United Kingdom, Germany, France, The Ukraine, Turkey, Russia, Canada, Poland and last in the top ten, India with 2190 hits, and many many more inbetween, Firefoz, Chrome and Internet Explorer take the top three browser platforms, Operating Systems from Wndows, Macintosh and Linux take the top three.

28,123 hits in October was our biggest month to date, followed by September, November and March, all 2014, so this year has been huge for the worldwide Motoing industry and for us too, I really hope you enjoy my little blog, and that we have achieved, what we set out to do, and thats to inform, enjoy and offer our own take on all things wheels.

So, Thank you all so very much, from the bottom of my heart without you guys taking time out of your busy lives to spend a part of it here, reading our posts, offering your own comments and allowing me to be a small part of your time, makes me proud.

I will continue to offer more news, reviews and updates next year, and with 2015 looking so far to be a good year for the automotive industry, hopefully we can break some records too, so, from me to you all, Have a very Merry Christmas, and no matter how you celebrate, or how you spend your time over the last week of the year, have a happy and peaceful time, and for 2015, i hope you all achieve all you set out to do.

And lastly, Thank you all so very much

Kia brings in the new year with some great retail offers.

• Up to £2,000 off selected models
• Care-3 for just £99 on new VR7 range
• Existing cee’d owners eligible for up to £3,000 loyalty offer
• New 2014 Sportage available to pre-order

Kia Motors (UK) Ltd is starting the New Year with a range of customer offers across the entire line-up including newly introduced models.

All customers can save up to £2,000 on selected models across the range. The pocket sized Picanto is available with up to £1,250 off the retail price, meaning the entry level ‘1’ three-door starts from just £7,795. The Rio hatchback has up to £1,000 customer saving and the Venga B-MPV has a £1,600 saving on the entry level ‘1’ and ‘1 Air’. All other Venga’s have a £1,000 saving. The Soul is also available with a £1,000 customer saving across the line-up meaning the entry level 1.6 GDi ‘1’ starts from just £12,800.

Kia’s large SUV, the Sorento, starts at just £24,695 with a £2,000 saving (this £2,000 is available on all models). A top-level ‘KX-4’ 2.2 CRDi 194bhp six-speed auto seven-seat model has been added to the popular SUV line-up. With 19-inch alloy wheels, Parallel Park Assist, driver’s memory seat, two rear sun blinds and a silver front grille as standard, this standout model is also available with a £2,000 customer saving and starts from £34,495.

Savings on the cee’d family are equally generous with an up to £1,000 saving for new customers on the cee’d five-door, pro_cee’d and Sportswagon, whilst existing Kia customers are entitled to a loyalty offer of up to £3,000 in lieu of all other offers. The cee’d line is eligible for a £1,000 deposit contribution with the 4.9 per cent PCP deal from Kia Access. All these offers exclude the GT and GT Tech models.

Special edition VR7 models are now available on the Picanto, Rio and cee’d family line-ups. Standard features across all models include air conditioning, alloy wheels, reversing sensors, Bluetooth connectivity and leather trimmed steering wheel and gear shift as well as electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors, USB and AUX ports and front and rear electric windows (except on 3-door models). All models across the VR7 range are available in white, silver, black and red.

Not only do these models offer a great level of specification but also a great deal – with prices starting from just £8,795 for the Picanto 3-door, with a £750 customer saving. To top it off all VR7 models are available with Kia’s Care-3 all-inclusive servicing package that includes the first three services for just £99.

The new 2014 Sportage is available to pre-order from January with vehicles arriving in dealerships from February. They feature a revised grille design and a rear combination light restyling that offers enhanced illumination and therefore better visibility. New-style alloy wheels and a shark-fin antenna finish off the exterior changes.

Inside, the model benefits from a new soft ‘nano’ paint finish on the dash and centre console as well as new-style instrumentation and a premium Infinity audio system fitted to high-end models.

New technical features have also been added to the 2014 Sportage – Trailer Stability Control is fitted as standard and Kia’s Flex Steer system and Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) is fitted to selected models.

The Carens 7-seat MPV is available with a range of customer offers. All derivatives are available with 4.9 per cent Kia Access PCP and Conditional Sale finance offers. A £750 deposit contribution is available to new customers whilst all petrol models get £1,500 off the list price and diesels get £1,000. Current Kia owners benefit from an up to £3,000 loyalty offer.

To make getting into a new Kia even easier there’s 4.9 per cent PCP from Kia Access, as well as 4.9 per cent Conditional Sale finance across the entire range and even zero per cent finance available on Venga and Soul models. Picanto and Rio ‘1’ models are eligible for a £250 and £350 Kia Access deposit contribution respectively.

TMW - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all at The Motoring World.

As 2013 draws to a close, we can look back on a number of huge stories in the motoring world, The Jaguar F-Type, Corvette Stingray, Viper, the continued dominance of the VAG group and the unsteady state of Peugeot Citroen and the return of DATSUN.

SAAB has made a return, MG continues to fail in the UK, the Chinese have proved they can build great cars, along with a new brand Qoros, the new MkIII MINI, Golf MkVII, FIAT's continued takeover of Chrysler along with the stunning Alfa 4C.

Just a tiny amount of news and its only just the start, 2014 is looking like a massive year for the automotive world, we should get first looks at at least three brand new cars from Jaguar Land Rover, BMW's hybrid sports car the i8, The Bentley SUV, New Lambo SUV, and a number of exciting developments from Mercedes, AUDI, Lotus, Citroen and Nissan, again, just a tiny hint of what is to come.

So, from The Motoring World, thank you for taking a few minutes of your valuable time to have a read of my blog, and all things motoring, and please where ever you are, who ever you are, and what ever you do, thank you and have a great Christmas Holiday and I wish you all a great 2014.

Jon Mower