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Press Centre > CAPtivate > CAP Blog
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Author: |
Martin Ward |
Created: |
Friday, March 07, 2008 |
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Welcome to Martin's Blog |
By Martin Ward on
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
24th June 2009 - This weeks manufacturer news
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By Martin Ward on
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
It is a bit confusing because we don’t really know what to call the new Estate model from Renault. The official price list clearly describes it as the new Megane Sports Tourer but in the press pack they gave us, it is described as the new Renault Megane Estate. There could have been a breakdown in communication between Renault UK and their French colleagues but whatever it is called, the new Sports Tourer is probably the best looking load lugger available on the market today. It should stay that way for some time to come as there is very little in the pipe line that will beat its styling. However, there is a trade off between style and load capacity as the plunging roof and sloping rear door does mean that interior space is lost.
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By Martin Ward on
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Every now and again a manufacturer introduces a new car to its range that makes complete sense. Some add them because they feel they have to, others are added to make up the numbers and some think they will have a demand but simply fail.
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By Martin Ward on
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Renault has introduced the 5 seat version after the 7 seat which is already on sale. This is an unusual way to do it but now both the Scenic and Grand Scenic are available.
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By Martin Ward on
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
This is the second car we have had on test from Volkswagen Financial Services. It enables us to see what a typical three year old car, direct from the user is really like in terms of quality and if it has suffered at all from usage during its time as a fleet car.
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By Martin Ward on
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
17th June 2009 - This weeks manufacturer news
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By Martin Ward on
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
It was last summer when I first saw and drove a very early pre-production Prius near Barcelona at the IDIADA test track. We had hours of technical presentations by Toyota’s engineers and these were mostly in Japanese. We learnt how they had improved the hybrid system and they told us how it was more fuel efficient, had a lower Co2 output and the weight had been reduced wherever possible. We were shown the old model’s workings, which were then compared to the new and they showed us the old electronic components and demonstrated how much lighter the new ones were. This was all very impressive and wholly believable. We had the chance over a two day period to understand how the Toyota hybrid system worked and what measures had been taken to improve it.
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By Martin Ward on
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
I think it is a fair statement to say that the IS250C is not the prettiest car in the world, nor is it the worst Coupe Cabriolet, but the back end does look out of proportion. Like all manufacturers, Lexus had to make the decision to either have a folding hard top or have a cloth folding roof, like the Audi A4 and A5. By using cloth it reduces weight and can be folded into a much smaller area and doesn’t need a complicated boot opening system. To have a multi-piece metal roof does have its advantages such as security, safety and reduced noise levels but the design has to be compromised to make it all work and fold away into the boot.
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By Martin Ward on
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
10th June 2009 - This weeks manufacturer news
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By Martin Ward on
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
We went to the Skoda factory 60km north of Prague to drive some pre-production Yeti models. Full production starts very soon on left hand drive versions with an on sale date of 17th September in the UK. Skoda expect to sell 3,000 units next year.
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