Kylie is siren on StreetKa
28 March 2002: Ford's new European roadster - the StreetKa due for launch at the Paris Motor Show in September - is teaming up with pop music's hottest property, Kylie Minogue. Full Story.
Honda Civic diesel detailed
28 March 2002: The Honda Civic range will soon be broadened by the availability of a diesel engine, a new 1.7-litre 100 PS common-rail, direct-injection turbodiesel. The new models allow Honda to take advantage of the increasing demand for diesel power across Europe. Full Story.
Discovery gets Range Rover treatment
27 March 2002: The latest Land Rover Discovery, unveiled at this week's New York Motor Show, features a new look echoing the new Range Rover, a revised interior with new trim colours and a number of significant technical enhancements. Full Story.
Ferrari F1 car for Irish Fiat dealers
27 March 2002: To coincide with the opening/redevelopment of four Fiat dealerships around the country (Counties Cork, Limerick, Galway and Dublin) a Ferrari Formula 1 car will be going on display in each of the four new showrooms for a very limited period starting Friday 5th April in Millstreet, Co Cork. Full Story.
Vectra makes first Irish appearance
27 March 2002: Opel's new Vectra was unveiled to Irish drivers at the motor show in association with the Ideal Homes exhition over St Patrick's weekend. Pictured taking the wraps off the car is Ide Aukema, MD of Opel Ireland. The Vectra will reach dealers here at the end of April, with prices starting at 23,950 euros.
World Rally Experience at Punchestown
26 March 2002: The World Rally Experience will be held this year at Punchestown Racecourse on Sunday 21 July. The event brings some of the biggest names and teams from world rallying to Ireland. Full Story.
Audi A4 gets UK fleet award
26 March 2002: The UK Fleet News magazine has voted the Audi A4 the ‘Best Premium Upper Medium Car’ in its Fleet News Awards for 2002, knocking the BMW 3-Series from the position. Full Story.
MG Rover and China busmaker team up
25 March 2002: MG Rover is establishing a joint venture with China Brilliance Industrial Holdings under which they will design and develop new ranges of medium and small cars, to be built in both the UK and China. Full Story.
Volvo owner heads for two-millionth mile
25 March 2002: Next Wednesday, a Long Island native and retired science teacher is expected to reach a unique milestone - driving two million miles in the same vehicle. Full Story.
UK may colour-code cars for 'greenness'
22 March 2002: Cars in the UK could soon carry colour code labels showing buyers just how 'green' their new vehicle is. Full Story.
RAC slams mobile phone report
22 March 2002: The RAC has condemned research suggesting mobile phone use by motorists is more dangerous than drink-driving. Full Story.
Ford develops pedestrian-safe bonnet
21 March 2002: Ford researchers have developed a new pop-up bonnet which they say will save the lives of pedestrians who are knocked over. The bonnet lifts off the engine in an accident, softening the impact on the victim. Full Story.
Getz can be got from autumn
21 March 2002: Hyundai’s entry into the supermini sector, the Getz, will go on sale in Europe in the autumn. It was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. Full Story.
100,000th A8 produced
21 March 2002: German carmaker Audi has rolled out its 100,000th range-topping A8 eight years after the first Audi A8 was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. The car was an Audi A8 L 6.0 quattro. Full Story.
Mini Cooper S has heated performance
21 March 2002: The new Mini Cooper S, soon to be available in Ireland, will have a 163bhp version of the 1.6-litre engine already used in the Mini One and Mini Cooper versions. Full Story.
Mazda6 Irish details announced
20 March 2002: The Mazda6 replacement for the 626 will arrive in Ireland in June, powered by a choice from three petrol engines and a pair of common rail turbodiesels. Full story.
New Merc SL on sale in Ireland
19 March 2002: The latest version of the Mercedes-Benz SL has gone on sale in Ireland with a 145,235 euros price tag. Full Story.
C3 launched in France
18 March 2002: The innovative Citroen C3 has been launched in France, fitting into the range between Saxo and Xsara. The distinctive profile is created by the curves that dominate its styling. Full Story.
Toyota to evaluate diesel emissions system
18 March 2002: Toyota is to undertake an 18-month programme to evaluate the performance of its DPNR diesel emissions purification system, prior to introducing the system to Europe. Full Story.
Bill Ford to star in ad campaign
18 March 2002: Henry Ford’s great-grandson Billy plans to revive the company's fortunes the American way - by appearing in his own television advertising campaign. Full Story.
Special Irish Ferries deals for over 55s
18 March 2002: Irish Ferries are targeting the over-55s with a series of discounts on their services to Britain and France. Full Story.
Management changes at Hyundai Ireland
18 March 2002: Eugene O’ Reilly has taken full control of the Hyundai franchise in Ireland. Hyundai Cars Ireland Ltd was founded in 1995 by Mr O’ Reilly and his partner Danny Keaney. Full Story.
New Opel Vectra to Irish premiere at RDS
14 March 2002: The new Opel Vectra will make its first public appearance in Ireland this weekend at the Spring House Interior & Garden Show in the RDS Simmonscourt. It can be seen from Friday at 2.30-10pm and from 10am-6pm on Sat/Sun/Mon.
New Fiat dealer for Co Kildare
Pictured after signing the agreement appointing Paddy Corcoran Motors as Fiat Main Dealers for Co Kildare are Paddy Corcoran (left) and Michael Howe, Managing Director, Fiat Auto Ireland.
14 March 2002: Paddy Corcoran Motors Ltd has been awarded the Fiat franchise for Co Kildare and is opening for business in Monasterevin as Main Dealer for both Fiat cars and Light Commercials. The company may be new but it is headed up by one of the best-known and most respected figures in the Irish motor industry. Full Story
Appointed MD of Gowan Distributors
14 March 2002: by Brian Byrne. David McConnell has been appointed Managing Director of Gowan Distributors Limited, the distributor of Peugeot vehicles in Ireland.
A UCD commerce graduate, he gained extensive experience in the motor and oil industries at senior/general management levels in Ireland, Africa, Canada and the Middle East before joining Gowan Distributors Ltd in 1979.
In his previous position of Sales/Marketing Director, David played a pivotal role in the development of the Peugeot franchise in Ireland, which has seen Peugeot’s car market share increase from 2.5% in the early 1980s to its current level of 6.6%. Full Story.
MPV meets luxury in Espace
12 March 2002: Renault showed a brand new Espace Concept show car in a world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show. The car is described as having ‘a strong personality’, with the distinctive Renault stamp the company embarked upon with Vel Satis. Full Story.
Toyota p.o.d is a smiler
12 March 2002: Put away your prejudices. Take a journey into the near future with Toyota and p.o.d – a car that thinks, talks, smiles…. and yes, even cries, with you. Full Story.
2.1-litre X-Type Jag goes on sale in Ireland
11 March 2002: A 2.1-litre Jaguar X-Type with front-wheel-drive will go on sale in Ireland this week at some 2,500 euros less than the current entry-level model. Full Story.
Irish Government is anti-EU (Opinion)
11 March 2002: It is ironic and bitingly just that the EU Commission's plans to unleash the wind of free competition through Europe’s car salesroom should lay bare Ireland’s dark anti-EU underbelly. Full Story.
Picasso parade takes to the road
11 March 2002: Citroën have taken to the road with their new Xsara Picasso in a promotional road show. Full Story.
Volvo XC90 for Ireland in October
GENEVA 7 March 2002: The Volvo XC90, the company’s first SUV-type vehicle and a competitor in a segment dominated by the Mercedes ML and the BMW X5, will arrive in Ireland in October, says Volvo Ireland MD Alan Cousins. Full Story.
Smashing start to Maybach
GENEVA 7 March 2002: So, what do you do when your carefully orchestrated unveiling falls apart in an embarrassing crash of champagne glasses? You say: ‘we planned it that way’, said DaimlerChrysler board member Jurgen Hubbert at the behind-glass launch of the company’s new luxury brand Maybach in Geneva. Full Story.
New Citroen MPV debuts
GENEVA 6 March 2002: Citroen’s new full size MPV, the C8, has a clean exterior design and an interior which is in line with a number of 21st-century trends in simplicity of ergonomics and placements of information systems. Full Story.
MX-5 rises to luggage rack
GENEVA 7 March 2002: Mazda showed a special ‘Phoenix’ version of its world-record roadster MX-5 at the Geneva Motor Show, with both the basic 1.6-litre 110bhp engine and a 1.9-litre motor outputting 146bhp. Full Story.
Toyota fuel cell hybrid testing advanced
GENEVA 6 March 2002: Already well known for its petrol-powered Prius hybrid motor car, Toyota is now well into real road trials of its fuel cell hybrid, and the FCHV-4 SUV was shown at Geneva. Full Story.
Autonomy-based cars 'in production by 2010'
GENEVA 6 March 2002: Production cars based on GM's revolutionary Autonomy fuel cell car platform are likely in another seven years, according to the company's vice-president for Research and Development Dr Larry Burns (pictured above with Opel Ireland's marketing manager Micheala Dennehy). Full Story.
Fusion here in December
GENEVA 6 March 2002: The fast turnaround from concept to production is very well represented by Ford's Fusion urban mobility car, which was first shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September and will actually arrive as a production vehicle in Ireland in December. Full Story.
Suzuki launched two new cars at Geneva
GENEVA 6 March 2002: A new saloon version of the Suzuki Liana will be launched in Ireland in May, along with the new version of the Suzuki Alto small car. Full Story.
Mazda6 for Ireland in June
GENEVA 5 March 2002: The new Mazda6 will be in Ireland in June, according to John Coffey, MD of the Mazda division of MDL, who have the Irish franchise. He's pictured below with Robbie Dunne, sales manager of the division, at the launch of the car in the Geneva Motor Show today. Full Story.
New compact BMW concept unveiled
GENEVA 4 March 2002: "I want 150 of these for Ireland," quipped Motor Import boss Frank Keane in Geneva tonight as the BMW CS1 concept car was unveiled to an invited gathering of the world's motoring press. Full Story.
Peugeot SW combines wagon and MPV
4 March 2002: Peugeot’s new 307 SW wagon, due in Ireland in May, has a wheelbase 10cm longer than that of the 307 hatchback. Full Story.
Diesel for Yaris
4 March 2002: Toyota is soon to add a 1.4-litre option to its Yaris range as the Yaris D4D and the Yaris Verso D4D. The new diesel engine uses a turbo specifically developed by Toyota utilising an air-air intercooler to produce 74bhp at 4,000rpm, and 170Nm of torque available from 2,000-2,800rpm. Full Story.
Ford leading in sales
4 March 2002: Ford car registrations have risen by over 9% to date in 2002, in spite of an overall fall of 2.4% in car sales. Full Story.
Young drivers face stricter drink-drive limits
4 March 2002: Motorists who have just passed their driving test in the UK could face tougher drink-drive rules and lower speed limits than other road users, under new plans. Full Story.
New Range Rover in Ireland
1 March 2002: The new Range Rover goes on sale here this month at a price range of 84,415-124,620 euros. There are two engine options - a 3-litre turbodiesel and a 4.4-litre V8 petrol, both matched to 5-speed automatic gearboxes. Full Story.
Two Volvo debuts for Geneva
1 March 2002: The Volvo XC90, the brand's first foray into the premium SUV market, makes its European public debut at the Geneva Motor Show. And it will share its stand with the world debut of the Adventure Concept Car 2 (ACC2). Full Story.
Picasso Parade takes to the roads
1 March 2002: Citroën have taken to the road with their new Xsara Picasso in a promotional road show. Full Story.
Suzuki electric concept wins award
1 March 2002: A compact electric vehicle built by Suzuki has won the Concept Car of the Year Environmental Award organised by Automotive News. Full Story.
Mercedes tops 'dream machine' poll
1 March 2002: Men and women drivers in a survey have named the Mercedes-Benz brand as their dream car. Full Story.
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