Ford Ranger Offers New Advancements For 2009

The Ford Ranger has been a popular choice in the one-tonne market for over 25 years. For 2009 the Ford Ranger line-up will be further enhanced with new styling features, and an upgraded interior.

The new Ranger has undergone extensive development under extremely severe testing conditions by engineering teams at proving grounds throughout the world, to confirm its Built Ford Tough heritage.

In design terms, the 2009 Ranger has been enhanced with an even more muscular and distinctive look. The horizontal three-bar grille embossed with Ranger lettering, the functional twin black vertical nostrils, the new hood and power dome design and the large headlamps that wrap around each front corner effectively establish a new design benchmark for the one-tonne segment. It is a fresh transformation that highlights perfectly the strong character of Ranger.

The interior ambiance has also been updated. The instrument panel now features the contemporary and relaxing appeal of red illumination of its three large, individual gauges – each set within its own binnacle – ensuring excellent visibility day and night and also giving the Ranger’s interior a dynamic feel.

The Ford Ranger is available in 4×2 and 4×4 drivetrains. The popular Ranger 4×2 Hi-Trail offers a unique combination, being 4×2 and using the robust components and the higher ground clearance of a 4×4, it offers a great deal of versatility.

Single Cab, Super Cab and Double Cab models continue to be on offer. The Super Cab is a unique four-door system providing freer access to the cabin by featuring two forward-hinged doors and two rear-hinged access panels. The Super Cab provides unobstructed access to the spacious interior for ease of entry and cargo loading and an uncompromised side-impact safety structure that replaces the centre pillar of a traditional Double Cab.

The Ranger has become known for its true 4×4 capabilities, its 1.8 tonne towing capabilities and its payload, which is in excess of one tonne. Whether at work or at play the Ranger is perfectly equipped for the task.

-Source: Ford

2010 MAZDASPEED3: TAKING SIBLING RIVALRY TO THE EXTREME

Exterior

• Design based on the all-new MAZDA3 5-Door, evolved for a sportier, more aggressive appearance
• New air intake to optimize intercooler efficiency
• Front fender and front bumper designs exclusive to MAZDASPEED
• The front grille and lower bumper sections share the same black metallic paint finish
• Wedge-shaped, curving character lines on the side panels and side under spoiler for a lower-looking center of gravity
• New, large floating rear spoiler
• New 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels with the same three-dimensional design theme as the Mazda RX-8 R3 wheels

Interior

• Driver-oriented dashboard design gives a roomy, wrap-around, sporty feel
• New tachometer with red MAZDASPEED logo
• New LED turbo boost gauge between the driver meters
• Semi-bucket front seats with superior fit
• Seat upholstery in black base color with a red graphic design and red stitching
• Black interior color with an organic red graphic design throughout the cabin and red stitching for the steering wheel, shift boot, door trim, center console

Powertrain

• Acclaimed MZR 2.3L DISI Turbo producing high power of 263 horsepower at 5,500 rpm, and 280 ft.-lb. of torque at 3,000 rpm
• In-cylinder cooling effect from direct injection realizes ca. 10 percent more torque compared to conventional-intake turbo engines
• Top speed of 155 mph
• The world’s first single-nanotechnology catalytic converter helps to reduce the amount of precious metals needed
• Advanced boost pressure control suppresses sudden torque peaks for linear torque development
• Left and right drive shafts optimized to minimize torque steer
• Torque-sensing conical limited-slip differential (LSD) standard
• Specially-designed, 6-speed manual transmission with wider gear ratio than before
• Triple-cone synchronizers for first, second and third gears and a double-cone synchronizer for fourth gear for optimized gearshift operation
• Low-viscosity transmission fluid reduces shift effort when the engine is cold

Chassis & Safety

• Special reinforcements inside the front cowl member gussets and a large tunnel member for increased body stiffness
• Modified coil spring rates for MacPherson strut front suspension and multi-link rear suspension
• Larger diameter stabilizers with longer mount spans achieve greater roll linearity
• Special dampers with increased damping strength contribute to higher roll stiffness
• Now three highly rigid steering gear mount bushings instead of two used on the previous model for improved response to steering wheel action
• New wider Dunlop 18-inch tires with improved grip, more rigid sidewalls and damping strength for more direct steering feel and a stronger one-with-the-car feel
• Electro-hydraulic power assisted steering (EHPAS)
• Large diameter 12.6-inch ventilated front disc brakes and 11-inch rear solid discs, 8+9-inch tandem brake booster and 1-inch large diameter master cylinder for powerful and stable braking
• Newly-introduced electronic brake assist added to four-wheel ABS and DSC as standard equipment

-Source: Mazda Media

Honda announces revised CV-R with more upmarket looks and first ever diesel auto

New features:

Cleaner, more powerful 2.2-litre diesel engine
Automatic gearbox now available for diesel models
Revised, more premium styling
Built in Britain at Honda’s plant in Swindon
A new-look Honda CR-V will go on sale in January 2010, with a new diesel engine and an eagerly-awaited automatic gearbox for diesel models.

The CR-V has consistently topped the SUV sales tables since launch in 2007, with its ample cabin and large, split-level boot offering useful practicality and its low centre of gravity giving the CR-V ‘car-like’ handling characteristics.

For 2010, the CR-V’s popular looks have been refreshed to incorporate a distinctive new front bumper and grille, a revised rear bumper, and colour coded bumpers on EX grades. There are newly-designed 17-inch (SE) and 18-inch (ES and EX) alloy wheels and upgraded fabrics and plastics inside, giving the CR-V interior an even more premium finish. A new audio console design has also been introduced, while improved sound deadening around the engine and cabin makes the CR-V an even quieter and more relaxing car to drive.

The revised version of the CR-V will continue to be built at Honda of the UK Manufacturing in Swindon, where British workers proudly produce the SUV for over 60 countries.

New i-DTEC and diesel auto transmission
Honda’s 2.2-litre i-DTEC diesel engine, which debuted in the latest Accord in 2008, will be available in the new CR-V. The diesel produces 150PS at 4000rpm (up 10PS) and torque of 350Nm at 2000rpm (up 10Nm). It can be paired with either manual transmission or the new 5-speed automatic gearbox that has been manufactured in-house by Honda.

The smooth and refined diesel automatic transmission is available on all CR-V model grades from launch in 2010 and all engines in the CR-V line-up are designed to meet Euro 5 legislation.

Advanced safety technologies

Two active safety systems continue to be available on the CR-V and are unique to the SUV segment. Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) is a radar-controlled cruise control function which maintains a set distance to the vehicle in front, while Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) predicts collisions and warns the driver, before applying braking and retracting the front seatbelts if the situation becomes critical. These systems are optional on EX models.

Full specifications, pricing and the exact on sale date will be announced later in the year.

-Source: Honda

Cars.co.za top 3 most searched for car brands (August 2009)

With thousands of searches being made for new and used cars on the Cars.co.za portal, here are the top 3 most searched for car brands.









While car sales world wide have been hit by the recession, the worst is seeminly over as these top 3 brands have all shown strong figures and are recovering month to month. And sales in the local and used car markets are on the up from figures earlier in the year.

BMW notes that: “The decline in sales slowed for the fifth consecutive month” and that: “We are heading in the right direction – since April we have continually regained ground month-on-month” according to Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Sales and Marketing. – Source BMW group

VolksWagen’s August stats have shown a similar trend, and South African car buyers have shown there has been no drop in popularity for VW’s mainstays, as noted by Mike Glendinning, Director of Sales and Marketing at Volkswagen of South Africa: “the Polo range sold 1 621 units and Citi Golf 1 162, spearheading our market dominance”. – Source VW South Africa

Toyota rank as the most popular searched for vehicle make on the Cars.co.za database. Entrenching themselves in the South African market, Toyota’s wide range of cost effective and fuel efficient cars, have proven to be the most popular choice among South African’s looking to buy new and used cars.

WASA monthly statistics updated

The Website association of South Africa recently released their updated statistics for the month of August and www.cars.co.za is sitting in 115th position. Each month Wasa updates the list, displaying the top sites in the country and their various demographics and statistics, you can follow the progress of Cars.co.za at: http://www.wasa.co.za/sites/p/v/cars/437

The CMH group added to www.cars.co.za

Further adding to our already comprehensive stock of new and used cars; www.cars.co.za now includes the CMH group. CMH has 80 dealerships across the country and have added over 2200 vehicles to the cars.co.za database.

The cars database now exceeds 2500 vehicles, ranging from new and used cars, bikes and leisure vehicles. Further more, the list of privately owned used cars on the database continues to expand with more and more vehicles being added every day.