eBay and Silverstone Classic manage to rebuild the Range Rover Classic in just three days, now thats good going.

• Fergus Walkinshaw led a team of expert restorers at eBay RESTORATION LIVE

Festival goers at this weekend’s Silverstone Classic (29-31 July) experienced a once-in-lifetime chance to see a 1983 Range Rover brought back to life over the course of just three days.

eBay, the festival’s official parts and accessories partner, challenged racing driver and car restorer Fergus Walkinshaw to revive the vehicle in front of a live audience at eBay’s RESTORATION LIVE.

Starting at 7.00am on Friday morning, Fergus and his team of skilled mechanics guided the crowd through every step of the project as they renovated the iconic first-generation Range Rover using only parts bought from online marketplace eBay.

The crew worked around the clock to get the Range Rover ready for its unveiling on stage at the Mike Brewer Car Clinic on Sunday.

The project included replacing the suspension and the exhaust system, as well as a host of other jobs. The Range Rover was returned to its original condition, even sourcing rare parts such as a section of carpet covering the spare wheel and the front bumper trim.

On Sunday afternoon, the off-roader was driven onto the eBay stage for Mike Brewer’s Car Clinic in front of a crowd of festival-goers.

Mike described the breakneck restoration as “a miracle”. “If you had seen this car three days ago, you would not have believed it could have looked like this,” he said on stage, before Fergus took the crowd through the process of sourcing hundreds of parts from eBay and overhauling the car in just under three days.

RESTORATION LIVE also hosted David Newell's gloriously restored Triumph GT6 Mk3. David was one of three amateur restorers selected to take part in the first ever eBay Car Challenge. David and the owners of a Volkswagen Beetle and Riley Kestrel 1300 secured a £4,000 restoration budget from eBay and set about restoring their classics in painstaking detail in just three months.

David poured “blood, sweat and tears – literally” into his "poor man's E-Type", replacing both rear wings among hundreds of new parts. The Triumph was proudly displayed next to the Ranger Rover pit over the course of Silverstone Classic and took part in the official Triumph parade lap on Saturday afternoon.

Murray Lambell, eBay’s director of retail car parts & accessories, said, “Watching Fergus and the team bring two tons of Range Rover back to life was an amazing spectacle. As soon as they fired up the engine for the first time on the last morning, the RESTORATION LIVE crowd burst into a round of applause, which was amazing."

When Fergus handed back the keys to the proud owner live on the eBay stage, he presented him with the original sales brochure from 1983 too. Fergus was able to find every part he needed from eBay, using 80 business sellers from the online marketplace ensuring that he had everything Fergus and his team needed.  

Murray added, “It was also fantastic to have David and his glorious Triumph GT6 Mk3 with us for the festival. Having seen pictures of the Triumph before the eBay Car Challenge, he’s done a superb job to have it ready for Silverstone Classic and we’re really glad to have helped him get back on the road.”

eBay and Silverstone Classics collaborate to rebuild a 1982 Range Rover live, during the event.

• eBay announced as official parts and accessories partner  
• Show-goers to witness 4x4 classic being restored to its former glory  

The organisers of the record-breaking Silverstone Classic (29-31 July) are delighted to announce eBay, the global online marketplace, will be joining the event, for the first time, as the official parts and accessories partner.

It is a significant collaboration that will add yet another crowd-pleasing component to this summer’s staging of the world’s biggest historic motor racing festival. Demonstrating that eBay is the premier destination for car parts show-goers will be able to follow the live restoration of a 1982 classic Range Rover over the three-day event.

Hosted by eBay, RESTORATION LIVE with Fergus Walkinshaw is sure to be a hugely popular attraction for the tens of thousands of show-goers, many of whom will be travelling to Silverstone in their own lovingly restored classics.

Walkinshaw and his team will guide the crowd through every step of the project as they renovate the iconic first-generation Range Rover using only items bought from eBay. 

Whether it’s a new replacement body panel or an original piece of internal trim, finding the right pieces shouldn’t prove too tricky as there are more than eight million live listings of car parts and accessories on ebay.co.uk to buy at any time. 

Indeed, eBay is home to one of the largest collections of motoring products in the world and, thus, the ideal destination for everything from replacement parts for the family car to the final rare piece in a classic restoration puzzle.

Murray Lambell, eBay’s director of retail car parts and accessories, said: “We love the Silverstone Classic. It attracts everyone from the highly experienced restorer right through to people who simply just love their car – just like eBay does – so it’s a great event for us to be part of. 

“With such a huge selection of products Fergus and the team will easily find everything they need when they restore the Range Rover. eBay can help with everything from an everyday replacement part – to a rare component in a classic restoration.”

As for the Range Rover, once it is restored to its former glory, it will appear on stage during the Mike Brewer Car Clinic on Sunday at the Classic, with Mike and Fergus answering questions and sharing their experience of the complex project.

“We are understandably enthused to be partnering a company of eBay’s global esteem and importance,” said Nick Wigley, CEO of Silverstone Classic organiser Goose Live Events. 

“All the more so as eBay will be helping us to add yet another fascinating new dimension to this summer’s festival. A large number of our visitors are no strangers to restoration projects, and I’m sure they will really enjoy seeing a 34-year-old Range Rover being restored to its original grandeur.”

All tickets for the 2016 Silverstone Classic must be purchased in advance.  Adult admission starts at just £42 and sticks to the Classic’s widely-praised ‘access all areas’ policy, thus providing admission to both National and Wing race paddocks, trackside grandstands, the vintage funfair, air displays and the live music concerts which this year include chart-toppers The Boomtown Rats, Reef and The Stranglers.

New TV Advert from Vauxhall to showcase the Mokka crossover, a car for all occasions.

Vauxhall Motors proudly launches its new Mokka campaign. Underpinned by the message of, ‘Mokka. Life Ready’, the campaign saunters through everyday eccentric British family life in a light-hearted and humorous way with the Vauxhall Mokka at the heart of each scene.

The ‘Mokka. Life Ready’ campaign is a whistle-stop tour through relatable situations, whether it be your child needing a perfectly timed wee on the side of the road; a father slowly backing out of the driveway upon hearing his teenage daughter and wife arguing; or the perils of the M.A.M.I.L*, a ‘creature’ often seen struggling up deserted country roads on top of his bike.  

The campaign sound is the carefree, bluesy track; ‘Be Brave’ by The Strange Boys with Game of Thrones star, Iain Glen providing the voiceover.

The ad was filmed on location across a wide range of British locations, from the stunning Honister Pass to the suburbs of Manchester, illustrating not only how beautiful and diverse the UK is – but also further demonstrating how the Vauxhall Mokka is ready for any situation.

This new UK campaign will be rolled-out across TV, cinema, online, poster, print, CRM, social and PR.  

The TV campaign will launch with a 40 second ad aimed at raising awareness of the Vauxhall Mokka with primetime spots secured across Coronation Street and Emmerdale, as well as movie slots in Casino Royale and Bourne Supremacy. 

Cinema activity will commence on Friday 21^st August 2015 with a 60 second ad playing before titles such as Fantastic Four, Inside Out and Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation.

The campaign will encompass a strong digital presence throughout Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.  

Taking some quirky questions by Revoo customers asked online such as: ‘Can I fit two large dogs in the boot?’, ‘Can I fit a tall man in the back?’ and, ‘Is it easy to put a kayak on the roof?’ these are answered in a British tongue-in-cheek, dead-pan style and will be played online throughout August until mid September.

On the intentions of the campaign, Chris Hawken, Director of Brand Marketing, said: “The ‘Mokka. Life Ready’ campaign encapsulates how Vauxhall fits in with family life and not the other way around.  

The Vauxhall Mokka is ready for your life and everything you throw at it.  We were adamant to get something that truly celebrates the unique nuances of British life; as well as Vauxhall’s distinct and innovative solutions to them.  

We’ve produced something different from the average car ad which snakes around a mountain and drives into the sunset with some chiselled character at the wheel.  Instead, Vauxhall is presenting something much more realistic and relatable such as rescuing your old dad as he wheezes up a hill on a bike in his mid-life crisis!”

The campaign was created by advertising agency McCann UK.  Paul Dean, Managing Partner, McCann, said, “We used realistic and humorous moments of everyday life where Mokka can really help.  The Mokka is great to look at, but it isn’t just for admiring, it is ready for the realities of modern life – those times that we build connections with our cars and they almost feel like they’re part of the family.”

The Vauxhall Mokka combines the handling of a sports hatchback with the road presence of a 4x4 SUV.  Its bold, expressive design and technology injects a sense of adventure back into everyday life.  Priced from £16,474.

Skoda takes two awards at carBuyer awards ceremony 2015.

• ŠKODA scoops Best First Car and Best Tax-Exempt car in the 2015 Car Buyer Awards
• Octavia Estate and Citigo add to their growing trophy cabinets
• Citigo praised for its running costs and sophistication
• Octavia Estate wowed judges with its low CO₂ emissions and class-leading space

The ŠKODA Citigo and Octavia Estate have secured yet more silverware courtesy of car review website CarBuyer. The online giant handed the Best First Car award to the Citigo and bestowed the honour of Best Tax-Exempt Car on the Octavia Estate.

In a change to previous years, the CarBuyer judges looked at some of the most requested searches on its site, and chose these as the categories. Having won a number of CarBuyer awards in the past for its best in class models, ŠKODA also triumphed under the new procedure – reinforcing their overall appeal with buyers. 

Commenting on the Citigo’s award for Best First Car, CarBuyer Editor Stuart Milne said: “The Citigo is fun, sophisticated and cheap to buy and run. In the closely fought small-car market ŠKODA's reputation for great customer service sets it apart.”

As many newly-qualified drivers have already discovered, the Citigo’s intuitive controls, great visibility and compact dimensions make it the ideal car for first-timers. To highlight this, ŠKODA is a partner in the Young Driver programme – a scheme that provides driving lessons for children aged 11 to 17. 

With access to a fleet of Citigos, The Young Driver programme uses 30 specially designed training facilities across the country to give the next generation of drivers the best possible start to their driving careers. To date, more than 100,000 lessons have been delivered by instructors.

At the other end of the size scale, CarBuyer also judged the Octavia Estate to be its Best Tax-Exempt Car, with Editor Stuart Milne saying: “The Octavia Estate is a big car with a massive boot, which makes it all the more incredible that some versions emit so little CO₂ that they're free to tax.”

A total of six models in the Octavia Estate range have CO₂ outputs low enough (Band A – up to 100g/km) under to qualify for zero rated car tax. This includes the generously equipped Octavia SE Business GreenLine III (£21,170) that features Amundsen satellite navigation, acoustic parking sensors and alloy wheels.

USA - All New FIAT 500 X is now available to configure online.

• U.S. customers can now configure their 2016 Fiat 500X
• Pricing for the all-new crossover begins at $20,000 MSRP
• The latest addition to the FIAT lineup, the Fiat 500X offers an available advanced all-wheel-drive system, functionality and an array of comfort, convenience, and safety and security features
• The 2016 Fiat 500X will arrive in FIAT studios in the second quarter of 2015

On the heels of the FIAT brand’s return to Super Bowl advertising, FIAT fans can now configure the 2016 Fiat 500X at www.fiatusa.com. Pricing for the all-new crossover, which will arrive in the U.S. market in the second quarter of 2015, starts at $20,000 MSRP.

“The Fiat 500X is the next step of FIAT expansion in the North American market,” said Jason Stoicevich, Head of FIAT Brand North America, FCA US LLC. “Personalization is a big part of who we are as a brand, so we are giving our customers a chance to jump-start the process and customize a Fiat 500X that fits their own needs and personality. Also, FIAT fans can now visit a studio to reserve a vehicle and be one of the first to own the Italian-made Fiat 500X.” 

The all-new Fiat 500X combines iconic Italian style with functionality, performance and available all-wheel-drive confidence. The vehicle is available in five trim levels. The Street series models, including the Pop, Easy and Lounge, feature the refined Italian style and design of the FIAT brand with a more urban appearance. The Trekking and Trekking Plus models feature a more aggressive and athletic look with unique front and rear fascia designs and satin silver accents. The base Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for the 2016 Fiat 500X starts at $20,000 (excluding a destination charge of $900, taxes, title and registration fees):

• Pop: $20,000
• Easy: $22,300
• Trekking: $23,100
• Lounge: $24,850
• Trekking Plus: $27,100

The Easy, Trekking, Lounge and Trekking Plus models are all available with the Fiat 500X’s advanced all-wheel-drive system for an additional $1,900.

About the 2016 Fiat 500X

In the United States, the all-new Fiat 500X is available with the fuel-efficient 1.4-liter MultiAir Turbo engine paired with a six-speed manual transmission, with an output of 160 horsepower and 184 lb.-ft. of torque. The available 2.4-liter Tigershark MultiAir2 engine produces 180 horsepower and 175 lb.-ft. of torque, and is paired exclusively to a nine-speed automatic transmission on all-wheel-drive and front-wheel-drive models.

A disconnecting rear axle allows for reduced parasitic loss when available all-wheel-drive capability is not needed, improving fuel efficiency. The Dynamic Selector system allows the driver to choose from three modes (Auto, Sport and Traction +) for the most suitable vehicle configuration for different driving conditions.

The 2016 Fiat 500X offers up to 70 standard and available safety and security features.  Available features include Forward Collision Warning-Plus with full stop, LaneSense Lane Departure Warning-Plus, Blind-spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Path detection. Electronic stability control (ESC) with Hill-start Assist and electronic roll mitigation is standard on all models, as are seven air bags.

Loaded with technology and convenience, the Fiat 500X is available with features like Uconnect 6.5 radio with a 6.5-inch high-resolution touchscreen and navigation, Bluetooth streaming audio, Uconnect Access Via Mobile, a 3.5-inch color thin-film transistor (TFT) cluster display, Keyless Enter ‘n Go with remote start, and heated front seats and steering wheel.

The all-new Fiat 500X is crafted at the Melfi plant in Italy.

Volvo to dump the majority of world motor shows in favour of "online marketting" - oh dear, really ?!?!

Volvo Cars said it will start selling vehicles online as it rolls out new models to compete with German luxury rivals BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz.

The Swedish carmaker, controlled by China's Geely, will gradually introduce web sales and spend more on digital advertising, the company said today as it outlined changes to its global marketing strategy.

"The plan is to have all our car lines in all our markets offered digitally," Volvo sales chief Alain Visser said in an interview.

"We know from research that more and more of our customers are ready to buy online," Visser said. "The reason why they are willing to buy is not to get a cheaper price, but to avoid the hassle around negotiating the deal."

Few manufacturers have tried selling directly online. A notable exception is Tesla, whose electric car sales have cut out traditional dealers, leading to conflict and effective exclusion from parts of the United States.

But Volvo has assured its 2,000 global dealerships, half of which are in Europe, that it has no such plans.

"If you say the word e-commerce, initially dealers get nervous," Visser said.

"We don't see a car distribution network without dealers in the foreseeable future," he said, adding that vehicles sold online "will still pass through the dealer network" for delivery.

Volvo raised its 2014 sales goal in August as it launched a revamped XC90 crossover, the first vehicle developed under Zhejiang Geely Holding Group ownership.

With its flagship SUV and other models to follow, Volvo is ratcheting up the gadgetry and glitz to woo Chinese customers without losing sight of core attributes including safety and uncluttered Scandinavian design.

Volvo said it would not follow rivals into city-center boutique dealerships of the kind increasingly used by BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi. "We're a different brand with limited financial means," Visser said. "We don't believe in building these big palaces."

Some 80 percent of Volvo customers already shop online for other goods, the sales chief added, and research suggests many will do the same for cars in future.

But some analysts such as Stuart Pearson of Exane BNP Paribas remain skeptical, citing weak orders from experimental online sales of the BMW's i8 hybrid sports car. "BMW has tried it in Germany, but they really haven't had a huge amount of volume," Pearson said. "People still want to go into dealers."

Fewer auto shows

Volvo is also shifting its focus from auto shows to market more directly to buyers. Starting next year, the company will take part in just one motor show per region: Geneva in Europe, Shanghai or Beijing in China and Detroit in the U.S.

"We have been doing what is expected in the car industry so far, and we're going to do things that are unexpected," Visser said. The carmaker needs to "stand out and challenge things," just as its products will, he said.

Volvo's decision to leave some key auto shows, including Frankfurt and Paris, contrasts with the desire of German competitors BMW, Audi and Mercedes to show off. Interest in such shiny and sometimes extravagant affairs is especially high in emerging markets, where car ownership is soaring.

Audi attends all the major international shows including Paris, Geneva and Shanghai. At the last two industry events in Frankfurt, Audi constructed temporary free-standing exhibition halls to display its latest models and seek to one-up rivals. In 2011, that meant spending more than 10 million euros ($12 million) on an indoor test track.

"When we go there, we try to be the best," said Luca de Meo, Audi's sales chief. "We see them as very important platforms," he said, especially in growth markets like China, where car shows are proliferating.

Small player

Volvo's Visser said: "Let's be honest about it: We're still a relatively small player. We have an 800,000 volume forecast by 2020, which means that our budgets compared to our some of our competitors are still going to be relatively small."

Volvo will probably sell about 465,000 vehicles in total this year, Visser said. By comparison, BMW is set to deliver more than 2 million autos this year, a record, after handing 1.9 million over to customers from January to November. Audi sold 1.59 million cars over the same period, also setting a record. Daimler delivered 1.49 million Mercedes-branded vehicles.

REPORT HERE

MG launches new graphics packs for MG3, god they are awful, would you want your car to look like this ?

• MG Design display at London Design Week - Tent, Superbrands 18-21 September
• First showing of MG Personalisation Design Concept
• MG also launches new expanded personalisation collection
• Designed in UK by young British female designer, Louise Thorburn
• Follows highly successful launch of MG3 and personalisation collection
• MG3 offers affordable British style with top model only £9,999 or  PCP available from £99 a month

MG revealed the marque’s latest MG3 personalisation design concept, alongside the latest additions to join the MG3’s one million personalisation options, at Superbrands London tonight as part of London Design Week.

Created by MG Designer Louise Thorburn, the concept display car will be on show at Superbrands from 18-21 September, alongside the latest three designs to join the MG3 personalisation range. Louise, a recent graduate of Dundee University’s Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, with an honours degree in Textile Design, is the latest addition to the MG Design team. 

After various magazine features and exhibiting her graduate work at London based exhibition, New Designers in 2012, Louise completed two internships, one at MG and one at iconic shoe designer, Jimmy Choo, before returning to MG as Colour and Materials designer, a role created as part of MG’s growing investment in UK design talent acquisition and facilities.  Louise will join Vice Design Director, Martin Uhlarik in the Supertalks Design Exchange event on the future of design and transport design, on the 18 and 19 September respectively.

The Superbrands event, now in its eight year, will run from 18-21 September in central London, and features the very best in global contemporary design, providing an anchor for the London Design Festival. Last year over 21,000 visitors attended the Superbrands event, which is part of the Festival programme, made up of over 300 events and exhibitions staged by hundreds of partner organisations across the design spectrum and from around the world.

The latest collection of MG3 personalisation graphics, named the Autumn Additions Collection, will join the existing range of more than one million options currently available in the MG3 range, starting from just £39.00 fitted. MG3 personalisation options have already been phenomenally successful for the Midlands based manufacturer as, since the supermini’s launch last year, over 40 per cent of orders have featured at least one specified design addition.  All current options can been seen on the MG3 configurator at www.mg.co.uk/mg3/configurator. The three new designs have been added to the configurator following the launch yesterday, 18th September.

Launched in September 2013, the MG3 benefits from an ultra low 4E insurance group, strong residuals of up to 61 per cent, exceptional interior and boot space, class leading chassis and driving dynamics and high levels of equipment on all specifications as standard. There are also over one million personalisation options and exceptional value for money aftercare packages to choose from. The MG3 is priced from only £8,399 to £9,999, or on PCP with zero  deposit or from only £99 a month.

Over 280 companies from 29 countries will be represented at Superbrands this year, grouped into four 'trends': Raw (exposed textures and revealed processes), Bold and Beautiful (big colours and arresting visuals), Frame (geometric and arrestingly simple designs) and Refraction (optical effects and Pop Art stylings). Among the notable appearances will be glassware from the Crafts Council of Ireland, a Tokyo Designers Week retrospective and artisan creations from Korean Traditional Craft 2014.

HPI calls for car dealers to be ready for DVLA changes

As of 1 October 2014, the Driving Vehicle and Licensing Agency (DVLA) will make the widely publicised move from paper tax discs to online. Vehicle information provider, HPI, is warning dealers to ensure they don’t get caught out with fines for a car they no longer have on their forecourts.

After the paper tax disc is abolished, dealers will no longer be able to purchase vehicles with a tax disc in force; tax discs will not be transferable when a vehicle is sold. Dealers can either use trade plates, provided that the vehicle is used within the conditions for use of trade plates, or obtain new vehicle tax, if the vehicle needs to be registered in a dealership’s name.

Dealers and vehicle testers still need to apply and pay for a new trade licence once it needs renewing, but there will no longer be a paper trade licence to display with the trade plate. The new rules no longer require a trade licence holder to display a trade licence, however the rules for trade plates will not change in October.

The new rules also put the onus on used car sellers to inform the DVLA, when they sell their vehicle.  Importantly, under the new rules, used car sellers, including motor dealers are responsible for notifying the DVLA and then they will receive a refund for any months left on the vehicle tax. Dealers who fail to inform the DVLA, could be fined and they will still be liable for vehicle tax on a car they don’t even own anymore.

Car owners still need to have vehicle tax to drive or keep a vehicle on the road, but now the DVLA is taking payments online, including Direct Debit payment options or motorists can visit their local Post Office branch. Instead of using paper tax discs to spot tax evaders, police cameras will automatically check a car’s number plate.

Phil Peace, Commercial Operations Director for HPI comments, “We remind motor traders to always send the V5C to the DVLA, rather than relying on the buyer to do it. And always apply for a Certificate of Destruction (CoD) from an authorised treatment facility (ATF) for vehicles that are scrapped. We’re hoping that the new DVLA initiatives will make it harder for drivers to head out on the road untaxed. It’s easy to check if a vehicle is taxed by heading online at the Vehicle Enquiry Service, making this the first step for dealers and consumers alike who want to avoid the risk of fines.”