31 August 2001: The new BMW 2002 model year 318d saloon has a 115 bhp four-cylinder direct-injection diesel giving 50.4 mpg and a 0–100 km/h performance of 10.7 sec. The 318i saloon and touring and 318Ci coupé have a new engine of 143 bhp with double-VANOS and VALVETRONIC technology providing 39.2 mpg (saloon) and the 0–100 km/h in 9.3 sec, while the 318Ci convertible is a new model with the new engine. Full Story.
New supermini Citroen for sale here in Spring
31 August 2001: The new Citroen C3 will go on sale in Ireland in the spring of next year, according Paul Cregan, sales and marketing director of Citroen franchisees Gallic Distributors Ltd.
The Fiesta-targeted C3 will introduce new drivers to the Citroen marque, he said yesterday. As reported earlier this week on IrishCar.Com, the new car will be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 10 days’ time. Full Story.
Continental ties up first hybrid auto engine deal
31 August 2001: A new hybrid engine developed by the tyre giant Continental AG is to be used in two GM pickups from 2004, according to an agreement announced by the two companies yesterday. Full Story.
'Softer' touch for Renault at Frankfurt
31 August 2001: Renault is to show the results of two years of thinking about simplifying the interiors of cars in a concept vehicle to be shown at Frankfurt, the Talisman. Full Story.
NRA road accidents report published
30 August 2001: A total of 415 persons were killed and 12,431 injured in recorded injury accidents on Irish roads last year according to National Roads Authority statistics. The report “Road Accident Facts 2000” was compiled from information supplied by An Garda Siochana. Full Story.
Honda refreshes HR-V for 2002
30 August 2001: Honda’s 3- AND 5-door HR-V models are being updated for the 2002 model year. In place of the current front bumper with its single horizontal opening and ‘detached’ underguard, the new bumper design forms more of a ‘whole’ and the deeper section now has two wide horizontal openings flanked on either side by large, circular ‘air intakes’. A new honeycomb mesh grille in the style of the Civic Type-R adds a more 'determined' effect. Full Story.
Insurance campaigners welcome Hibernian scheme
30 August 2001: MIJAG - the Motor Insurance Justice Action Group - has broadly welcomed the announcement by Hibernian that they intend to enter the young driver insurance market. Full Story.
Galway Rally Sprint deferred
30 August 2001: The Galway Motor Club's rally sprint due to have been held on next Sunday at Tynagh, Co Galway has been deferred. A new date may be announced in the future.
Land Rover will expand model range
29 August 2001: Land Rover will launch five new models as part of a $2 billion investment program over the next six years, almost as many as the seven in total in its 53-year history. Land Rover is now owned by Ford. Full Story.
SEAT to show invigorating sporty concept at Frankfurt
28 August 2001: This is SEAT's sporty Tango concept, a two-seater evoking the spirit of 50s and 60s convertibles which will be launched to the public at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Full Story.
Seven out of 10 say untested drivers should not go it alone
27 August 2001: Almost three out of four drivers on Irish roads believe that untested drivers should NOT be allowed to drive unaccompanied, an RAC/IrishCar.Com survey has revealed.
The survey also showed that four out of five respondents believe Irish drivers – especially young drivers - are NOT adequately prepared to go driving.
Over half of respondents also said that newly-qualified drivers should have a speed restriction imposed on them in their first year of driving. Full Story.
New Camry launch will be Toyota's biggest in US
26 August 2001: Toyota is to begin the biggest US car launch in its history next month when it begins marketing its new Camry in the country where it has been consistently been the biggest-selling car.
The latest Camry is a complete new car, closely a cousin of the Lexus ES300 which was recently revealed in the US. Full Story.
BMW Group starts building Rolls Royce plant
26 August 2001: Earthmoving work has started on the new manufacturing plant and head office for Rolls-Royce automobiles at Goodwood, near Chichester in West Sussex. A new Rolls-Royce model will be manufactured at the plant from 2003 onwards. Full Story.
Citroen C3 to debut at Frankfurt show
24 August 2001: Citroen will unveil their new C3 hatchback at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show prior to it going on sale in 2002.
Slotting between Saxo and Xsara, the new Citroën C3 style features two arches running the length of the body. The rounded, flowing roofline creates a seamless continuity between front and rear, while drawing attention to the height of the vehicle. Full Story.
BMW new generation Compact arrives
23 August 2001: BMW are hoping to attract a whole new audience with the introduction of its 3 Series Compact 316ti and 325ti launched to the Irish market yesterday. Full Story.
Ford drives away with top honours in UK magazine
23 August 2001: Ford has taken top awards in the Autoexpress New Car Honours 2001. The Mondeo won the Best Family Car award, with the Focus taking Best Compact Family Car and the Galaxy scooping the Best MPV category.
The Mondeo was praised as a ‘winner to the core’. "Strength in depth was the key to victory and the Mondeo has it in spades," concludes the magazine citation.
For the third year in succession the Focus won the ‘Best Compact Family Car’ category and ‘its grip on the family car market shows no sign of loosening’ according to Autoexpress. Full Story.
Satellite tracking of young drivers 'a propaganda stunt'
22 August 2001: The idea of insurance company AXA sponsoring a trial of a Satellite Tracking System for young drivers has been slammed as 'a propaganda stunt' by MIJAG, the Motor Insurance Justice Action Group. Full Story.
Guide to MPG and emissions is produced
22 August 2001: Now you will be able to tell at a glance how much fuel your new car uses and the level of emissions it produces. Detailed under the latest EU regulations, the new information will be available to consumers in a number of ways - either as 'poster' information on the vehicles for sale or electronically via the web. Full Story.
New Polo on sale in Spring
21 August 2001: The first pictures of Volkswagen’s new Polo have been revealed. The fourth generation Polo, which will make its world debut at the Frankfurt Show next month, features an all new body structure and appearance, as well as a host of new engines and technological enhancements. Full Story.
Paddy Corcoran to retire from Fiat Auto Ireland
21 August 2001: Fiat Auto Ireland has announced that Managing Director Paddy Corcoran (left), one of the best known and most respected figures in the Irish Motor Industry, is retiring from the company at the end of October to pursue new personal endeavours.
The company has also announced that Michael Howe is to join as Commercial Director from Toyota Ireland with effect from 1 September.
Announcing these changes Fiat Auto Ireland CEO Paolo Gagliardo said that Paddy Corcoran’s commitment and contribution to the company and the Irish motor industry had been outstanding and he praised both his tireless enthusiasm and continuing pursuit of excellence. Full Story.
Jaguar producing special XJR, XKR
20 August 2001: Jaguar is marking the centenary of the company’s creator, Sir William Lyons, with limited editions of its XJR performance saloon and XKR sports car models.
Named the XJR 100 and XKR 100, both combine the sporting and the luxurious in the tradition that Sir William established as Jaguar’s hallmark. Full Story.
Michael Schumacher world champion driver again
20 August 2001: Michael Schumacher has become World Champion for the second time in a row with his winning of the Hungarian Grand Prix yesterday.
He cruised home in a race that went all his way from the start when team-mate Ruebens Barrichello outaccelerated David Coulthard to take second place from a third position on the starting grid, thus giving Schumaker a clear field to build up an unassailable lead.
In the press conference afterwards, Schumacher was uncharacteristically lost for words as he came to terms with the fact that with five races to go in this year's championship, it was all over as to who was going to be top driver of the year. Full Story.
MG Rover key sponsors to London Irish
20 August 2001: MG Rover has become a key sponsor of the London Irish rugby club who visit Ireland next week to take on Munster in Cork. The MG Rover Group becomes the club's official shirt sponsor. Last year London Irish sold over 20,000 replica team shirts. Full Story.
Keohane fails to score at Knockhill washout
20 August 2001: At Knockhill in Scotland yesterday, where racing had to be cut short as a result of heavy rain, Cork's Michael Keohane fell victim to the extreme track conditions when he spun out of the 19th Round of the British F3 Scholarship while lying in second position. Full Story.
Two-wheel transport an alternative to gridlock?
20 August 2001: An alternative to sitting in gridlock could well be the EBike, which is battery assisted and allows the user to travel upwards of almost 30 kilometers on one charge.
The EBike can be used by all ages without restriction of licence or compulsary insurance. It is silent running and produces zero emissions and was officially launched on to the Irish market last month. Full Story.
56mpg Corsa coming next year
18 August 2001: An Opel Corsa capable of 56.6mpg in normal driving will be shown at at the International Frankfurt Motor Show next month.
The Corsa ECO follows hot on the heels of the Astra ECO 4, which is proving popular in the UK and the rest of Europe. Full Story.
Saab to show rare concept car at Frankfurt
18 August 2001: Saab's 9X concept car to be shown at Frankfurt next month is only the third concept car ever to be produced by the company. The last one was in 1985 when it showed the EV-1 sports coupe.
The car is designed to show elements of future models from the GM-owned Swedish carmaker, including perhaps hints of a revived Sonett sports car, a model which was discontinued in 1974. It could also have cues for a series of other cars, including a coupe, saloon and pick-up. Full Story.
PT Cruiser diesel from M-B
18 August 2001: The diesel engine scheduled for use in the European-built version of the Chrysler PT Cruiser from next year will be sourced from the Mercedes-Benz division of Daimler Chrysler.
The arrival of the diesel will strongly increase marketing options for the funky US vehicle, with the increasingly strong percentage of diesel use in Europe. Full Story.
Esso station is first to go euro in pilot project
17 August 2001: A Dun Laoghaire Esso service station has become the first petrol station in the country to go 'euro live'.
The Esso West Pier Station is now quoting all petrol sales to its customers in euro. It marks the beginning of a pilot conversion project at a number of Esso company-owned sites across the country. Full Story.
LCV sales 'sign of buoyant economy'
16 August 2001: The light commercial vehicles market in Ireland has shown a slight drop in sales compared to last year - from 30,562 units down to 29,995 - but sales are 24% ahead of the same seven-month period of 1999, which confirms an overall steady upward trend in the Irish market. Full Story.
Mazda Ireland launches website
15 August 2001: Mazda Ireland has launched a new website for its Irish operation and owners. The site is available at www.mazda.ie and has a full listing of the brand's cars, as well as full Irish specifications and a listing of the 34 Mazda dealerships nationwide.
Call for oil industry to explain price variations
15 August 2001: The Automobile Association has called on the oil companies to explain why there are such variations in prices around the country. Full Story.
Opel Signum II for Frankfurt shows future shape
14 August 2001: A new Opel concept car that has all the comforts and amenities of home and office – including an on-board espresso bar – will be unveiled at the Frankfurt International Motor Show next month. The Signum II hints at the ideas and solutions that will shape the face of future Opel models. Full Story.
New A4 Cabrio coming next year
14 August 2001: A new Audi A4 Cabriolet will go into production in both left- and right-hand drive versions early next year. The official unveiling will be at next month's Frankfurt Motor Show, and the car doesn't share a single exterior panel with the latest A4 saloons. Full Story.
Citroen asks dealers to contribute to motoring archive
13 August 2001: Citroen franchisees in Ireland, Gallic Distributors Ltd, has asked all its dealers to donate photographs, brochures, posters, books and any other memorabilia of Ireland's motoring history, for an archive on Irish Motoring set up by the RIAC.
Gallic has become a patron of the archive and its managing director James Wyse recently presented an original copy of a 1926 programme of Motor Car races held in the Phoenix Park to add to the archive collection. Full Story.
Truck Show at Mondello this weekend
13 August 2001: The annual Truck Show lines up at Mondello on the weekend of the 18th & 19th of August. The two-day event will be bigger and better than ever with the new paddock facilities at the circuit taking the event onto a new level.
Alongside the Truck competitions, Manufacturer exhibits, Commercial vehicle displays and trade area will be the world’s fastest and most powerful truck, the Jet Truck, at Mondello for the first time. Gary Rothwell returns to perform his motorcycle stunts. Other attractions include Model Car racing, a children’s play area and live entertainment by Country singer Sean Cuddy and his band.
First picture of Skoda Superb
10 August 2001: Skoda Auto today released the first photo of its newest car, named the Skoda Superb.
A wheelbase of 2800mm and an overall length of 4800mm mean that the Skoda Superb is an executive-sized car, competing at the top end of the upper medium segment. Full Story.
V8 Volvo on the cards
10 August 2001: Volvo is believed to be going offer a V8 engine in a new off-roader next year based on the Adventure Concept Car (ACC) shown for the first time in Detroit in January.
The production model of the ACC will look like a tougher version of the V70 Cross Country and will come with the choice of in-line 2.8- and 2.9-litre six-cylinder engines.
It will be similar in size to BMW’s X5 and Mercedes-Benz’s M Class which also offer V8 engines. The Volvo V8 is likely to be a Ford unit, or from other Ford companies such as Jaguar. Full Story.
Strawberry Queen gets Skoda for a year
10 August 2001: Pictured at the County Wexford Strawberry Festival is Miley Carroll, Vice-President and PRO of the Festival and Managing Director of Aughrim Motors, with this year's Skoda Strawberry Festival Queen Colette Darcy and An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern TD who officially opened the 34th Festival. The Festival Queen receives a new Skoda Fabia for her twelve months' reign, a Holiday Voucher for £425, £300 in cash and the Skoda Perpetual Crystal Trophy.
Fiat Multipla is 'Used Car of the Year'
10 August 2001: Fiat Auto's Multipla six-seater mini-MPV has just been named Used Car of the Year 2002 by Used Car Buyer magazine.
Used Car Buyer is Britain's only dedicated used car magazine and this is the third year that it has run these special Awards. Multipla not only won the top prize - Used Car of the Year 2002 - beating 10 other category winners in the process, but also Best Used MPV as well. Full Story.
Toyota website adds services, wins another award
10 August 2001: Toyota Ireland's award winning website, www.toyota.ie, has announced the launch of a new personalisation service called My4wheels. Full Story.
Go shopping with Citroen
9 August 2001: Citroën in Ireland is offering a £500 voucher for any shop or travel agent with the purchase of any car from the Xsara range including the Xsara Picasso. Full Story.
Cherokee problems 'not for recall'
8 August 2001: Chrysler Corporation says a number of accidents reported relating to automatic transmission faults on Jeep Grand Cherokees 'do not warrant' a recall.
There have been 145 complaints of the vehicle lurching into reverse unexpectedly while idling, and these have resulted in one death which the company says was related to an assembly problem. The company has has settled four lawsuits related to the incidents. Full Story.
GM goes for 69-year-old 'whizzkid' to lead product development
8 August 2001: There's hope for us all when the world's biggest carmaker hires a 69-year-old to rebuild its image and the cars it will produce in the future.
But that's just what General Motors has done, hiring former Chrysler whizz-'kid' Bob Lutz on a three-year contract as vice chairman for product development. Full Story.
Coconuts underpin Brazil A-Class passengers
8 August 2001: Mercedes-Benz A-Class cars in Brazil are different to anywhere else in the world in one respect: their seats are stuffed with coconut fibre.
The selection of the material for the locally-built small Merc came after a lot of testing and was led both by an attempt to cut import costs and a wish to do something environmentally-friendly. Full Story.
Galway Motor Club back on the road
8 August 2001: After a six-month layoff from motorsport in Galway as elsewhere to support the farming community during the foot and mouth scare, this weekend sees a resumption of activities in the west. Full Story.
Upgraded M-Class has more than 1,000 modifications
7 August 2001: Mercedes-Benz has unveiled an updated M-Class with a more dynamic body style, new technical innovations and over 1,100 modified components. It's the first major change in the vehicle since its introduction in 1997.
The existing engine range continues, apart from the removal of the ML 430. A five-litre V8 petrol engine powers the new ML 500. Developing 292 hp at 5,600 rpm and 440 Nm of torque from 2,700–4,250 rpm, it completes the existing line-up of the ML 270 CDI, ML 320, and ML 55 AMG. Full Story.
New car sales continue ahead of 1999 - Ford on top
7 August 2001: In the seven months to the end of July 141,464 new cars have been registered in Ireland and 12,235 of those were registered in July alone. While those figures are down when compared to the same periods of 2000 they are ahead of the 1999 result which is regarded as the more realistic comparison. Full Story.
'Pay-as-you-go' car tracking devices looming
7 August 2001: The Dutch Government has approved a plan whereby up to 10 million motor vehicles in the country will be equipped with tracking devices by the year 2006. The idea is that the state will then tax cars on usage and locations of use, on a 'pay-as-you-go' system using GPS to monitor the vehicles. Full Story.
New Lexus points to new Camry shape
6 August 2001: A revised Lexus model not available in Ireland is believed to show strong hints about the shape and specification of the next Toyota Camry.
The latest version of the Lexus ES300 was shown in the US last week, and has been developed under chief engineer Kosaku Yamada, who has been called 'the God of the Camry'. The ES300 has traditionally been based on the Camry and in markets where it is sold, it slots under the GS300. Full Story.
Kia upgrades Sedona MPV
6 August 2001: Kia is set to launch its 2002 model year Sedona before the end of October.
A revised line-up of three models will include a new 143bhp common-rail direct injection diesel engine, making it the most powerful diesel MPV on the market. Removable seats will also be fitted for the first time. Full Story.
High-power Seat Leon unleashed
3 August 2001: Seat has launched its top-of-the-line Leon 20VT Sport which they're promoting as 'the most powerful new car available for under £20,000.
The 180bhp under the bonnet gives the car a 0-62mph of 7.7secs, which is respectable in any circumstances, and the drivability is underscored by the fact that maximum torque is available all the way from 1950rpm to 5500rpm. The power is kept under the driver's leash with full traction control, while ABS with EBD is standard. Full Story.
New lighter, safer Mercedes SL class
3 August 2001: Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the fifth generation of its SL-Class range, which has been the marque's the definitive luxury-sporting roadster for almost 50 years. It comes with a hard-top cabrio roof split into three sections – the aluminium roof panel, the strengthened C pillars, and the rear windscreen, made of four millimetre-thick safety glass. Full Story.
Volvo V70 loads up awards
3 August 2001: The Volvo V70 has won the Auto Express 'Best Estate' section of the magazine's annual awards. It's the second year running the big wagon has taken the title.
The judges also commended the Volvo S80 in the 'Executive Car' category. Full Story.
New Ford coupe on the Pininfarina stocks
2 August 2001: A new Ford Focus based coupe is likely to be on the road by the end of 2003, bridging the gap in this niche segment between the Fiesta-based Puma and the Mondeo-based Cougar. The new car is being designed by Pininfarina, and will be built to European tastes from the start. Full Story.
Ford is top carmaker brand
1 August 2001: Ford is the top car company in a list of top 100 international brands published by Business Week magazine, coming in at Number 8. BW comments that 'the Firestone and other quality gaffes' have hit the world's Number Two carmaker, and its 'brand value' has dropped 17% to just under $31 billion. Full Story.
Opel's new Astra Cabrio here
1 August 2001: The new two-door, four-seater Opel Astra Cabrio is now available in Ireland. It is the first convertible in its class to offer an automatic soft-top as standard, and comes with optional remote control. Full Story.
Irish Ferries new fares offer
1 August 2001: Irish Ferries have launched a new 11-day summer season short break to France on sailings from August 11-19 inclusive at a cost of £449 return for car plus two adults - a saving of up to £129 on brochure prices. The offer includes up to eight nights in France plus two nights on board ship. Full Story.
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