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Tell you what, being young was brilliant. Yes, I know I’m only 24 now, but I’m talking about when I was six or seven and could play with my toy cars, build vehicles that defied the laws of physics out of Lego and race my dad on Scalextric. Sitting in the cinema recently I watched Speed Racer (I believe I make up exactly 100% of the world’s population that has viewed said film) and I really rather enjoyed it. Set in the future, the crux of the film revolved around a lad handily called Speed Racer who raced around a full size Scalextric track in a futuristic car. Many gravity defining minutes later, with bright neon lights whizzing past my eyes I was hooked – the drive home never seemed so slow and boring.

This got me thinking, is it socially acceptable for a 24 year-old man to push toy cars around the floor? Or how about digging out some Lego again? After much deliberation I decided against this as I hope to hold on to my latest girlfriend and crying to her over swallowing a Lego brick isn’t attractive. Finally then I opened the dust covered box to my Scalextric and I’m not ashamed to say I spent all weekend assembling, tweaking and then racing around and around until my trigger finger went numb. The collection of cars I’d amassed surprised me too, I have everything from NASCAR, Formula One, super cars, British Touring Cars and Le Mans racers. Despite this clearly showing I was spoilt rotten when I was a lad, it also drove home the point that the only car I can remember was not the shiny Ferrari or limited to 100 edition of the Jordan Formula One car, but the 1991 Renault powered Benetton Formula One car with the front wing missing due to a high speed collision with my dad.

I think it’s the circumstances surrounding me acquiring the car that made it my favourite. Having been dragged from car dealership to car dealership with my parents I finally found a nice seat to be bored on at a Renault dealer. In front of me stood a glass cabinet towering upwards and halfway up I could see this brilliant toy. The Renault dealer knew the score and struck up a deal that involved me getting the car and my dad parting with lots of pictures of the Queen for a turbo-charged Renault 25. Even now when I think of that story I regress back to being a seven year old and long for something socially acceptable to feel like this all the time. Seventeen years later and it appears the local Renault dealer is on hand to make this story come full circle.

Due to the success of Renault in Formula One in recent years and that their production cars are selling like hot cakes thanks to creative styling, competitive pricing and good reliability some bright spark in marketing thought up a way of combining the lovable Clio with Fernando Alonso and co as they tear up the track around the globe. Welcome to the RenaultSport Clio 197 F1 R27 – catchily named it’s not. Aimed squarely at men wanting to regress to childhood and competing against the likes of the Honda Civic Type R, Mini Cooper S and Golf GTi, the hot Clio has a lot to contend with to be successful.

I like to remain impartial when reviewing a car, but put simply the R27 looks so jaw-droppingly awesome that even if the rest of the car was rubbish it wouldn’t matter. Finished in the brightest yellow, fitted with a wide-arch body kit, more air vents than a skyscraper, Recaro racing seats, unique graphite alloy wheels and the most gorgeous F1 inspired rear diffuser, the R27 instantly sent me back to 1991. The fun however doesn’t stop on the outside as the R27 sits on Renault’s latest racing chassis which is 27 percent stiffer at the front and 30 percent at the back than previous sport versions and makes the car feel like it’s on rails, turning every road into a giant Scalextric track.

The driving experience gets better when you consider why it’s got 197 in its name – that’ll be the amount of horses crammed under the bonnet. A six speed gearbox helps get the power to the road as quickly as possible although you’ll want to drive as slowly as you can, not only to show off your racing decals but to conserve petrol as it’s probably rocketed another ten pence a litre as I write this.

Only 500 will be made available in the UK through your Renault dealer, with equally limited availability worldwide meaning a £1,500 ($3,000) topping up of the price. Put simply this car made me feel seven again and that – to quote a well known television commercial – is priceless.

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The Lost Skeleton Returns Again

With the economic climate fast-approaching the nightmarish hell the media have been harping on about for the past six months, there are certain consumer goods being left on the shelf. One major casualty is the motor industry, because let’s face it, having to choose between keeping warm, fed and watered or having a new car but dying of pneumonia is not really a choice at all. It’s perhaps odd then that your Mitsubishi dealer will be unveiling a new car this summer – presumably to an empty showroom.

What’s even more odd is that Mitsubishi are known best for two things. Firstly the Shogun which is not only a great 4×4, but an aggressively styled fashion accessory for any bouncer, body builder or just builder. A combination of being stylish, spacious and good on the rough stuff is helped enormously by the fact that the Shogun is turbo-charged so you can go everywhere in a blur whilst having passers by think they’ve seen the world’s fastest elephant.

The second car Mitsubishi is known for is of course the Lancer Evolution range. In essence a space rocket with another aggressively styled car taped to it, the Evo is now in its tenth incarnation and is showing no signs of slowing down in its old age. Popular in equal measure with car thieves and rally drivers the Lancer is a bone fide supercar beater with the latest version completing the 0-60mph dash in a dizzying 4. 1 seconds.

Ok you say, so Mitsubishi are known for the above, but why is this odd? Well when you see what they’re fighting the economic avalanche with all will become clear. Called the i MiEV, the new car is small, not aggressively styled, and is battery powered. Have Mitsubishi lost their marbles? In short no. Despite the car looking like a toy car, the engineering behind it is anything but child’s play.

Mitsubishi have been quietly working on battery powered cars since the mid nineties and the MiEV (Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle) is the fruits of their labour. Even the smallest details appear to have been meticulously designed, with passenger space unimpaired with the batteries underneath the floor (where the fuel tank would normally live) and the motor itself under the rear seats.

The i MiEV has been built to comply with the strictest emissions regulations on earth – the Japanese K-car guidelines. The K-car policy promotes smaller, more efficient cars in return for cheaper tax and insurance. That means the i MiEV is less than 4ft 10in wide (a full 10inches narrower than a Fiesta) and looks even narrower due to its lofty styling. Crucially it’s a million miles better than the G-Wiz which will be the Mitsubishi dealer’s main rival when looking to clinch a sale.

There’s room for four adults and a decent boot is another vital plus over the G-Wiz. Handling is surprisingly assured despite it being tall and narrow, although having no engine noise takes some getting used to! The best aspect though is that despite only housing 67 horses, the i MiEV has no trouble keeping up with traffic thanks to it having about the same weight as a supermodel. Even when you’re approaching the 87mph top speed on the motorway, you don’t feel exposed as you would in the G-Wiz, where even dual carriageways are a no go area.

Now the really crucial fact – battery charge. Yep, all electric cars fall foul of the reality that you cannot go anywhere near the distance an internal combustion engine will allow you and the i MiEV is no different. Mitsubishi say it’ll cover 100 miles between charges but on a cold, frosty day in Britain you’d be looking at 50 miles tops. For a commuter however this is perfect – the cliental this car is squarely aimed at. The little car makes the business of recharging easy too, either plug it into your household socket for a full recharge in six hours or have an 80% charge in just 30 minutes using a £3000 optional extra charger from Mitsubishi themselves.

Mitsubishi estimate an electricity cost of £45 per 10,000 miles, in contrast to the £750 per year spent fuelling an average family hatchback. The lack of emissions also mean road tax and the congestion charge (if you’re in London) are worries of the past as it’s exempt from them all. 200 will be available for lease this summer costing £750 a month. Once production speeds up in 2010, expect the price to drop to between £15,000 – £20,000 to purchase. The long-term savings and the fact the i MiEV isn’t just a very good electric car, but a very good car explain why your Mitsubishi dealer won’t be worried about the

Kia warranty is a guarantee given to a car buyer buying his/her vehicle from an authorized Kia dealer. Kia Motors, the Korean Kia vehicle manufacturer while providing this warranty states that the car is reliable and free from known defects. Further upon detection of defective parts such parts will be repaired at no charge by the manufacturer within a given time limit under certain conditions.

Kia Motors promise that great enjoyment and service can be derived from their vehicles. Their contention is that Kia vehicles are subjected to stringent quality checks prior to leaving the factory and comprehensive pre-delivery inspection by authorized Kia dealers. The warranty is provided against defects in material and workmanship and it is subject to certain terms and conditions. An authorized Kia dealer will explain the terms and conditions to the buyer. The authorized servicing dealer will be taking the responsibility of carrying out the necessary repairs in case any defect of warrantable concern arises.

There are a number of warranties which are provided for every Kia vehicle. For vehicles sold by Kia Motors, U. K. there is a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty, a 3 year roadside assistance package which covers the buyer across mainland Europe as well as in the UK. , a six year anti perforation warranty and a 3 year paintwork warranty. Besides the annual bodywork inspection is also provided in which case some charge may be levied. Kia warranty terms may be even extended to 5 years for some models. It has also been reported that Kia has provided a 7 year warranty on its newly introduced Cee’d range of vehicles. Kia is also known to provide a 12 month warranty on all genuine Kia parts and accessories from the date of purchase of the item(s) from an authorized Kia dealer.

The Kia warranty does not however cover certain items. These relate to the damages owing to factors which lie beyond the control of the manufacturer, costs associated with scheduled maintenance, damage due to lack of proper maintenance or due to use of wrong fuel, oil or lubricants, normal deterioration and any damage caused in the event of using a non genuine Kia part or through repairs or replacements by some other concern who is not an authorized Kia dealer.

The extensive warranty being provided by Kia Motors on their vehicles has been perceived as a welcome move. It is expected to further boost up sales of these vehicles in the days to come.

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Truth About Managing People, The (2nd Edition)

Too often when it comes to auto-leasing, people get so dazzled by the myriad terms and the jargon thrown their way that they end-up paying through the nose, relying on a dealer’s “help” than their own informed decision.

Here is a look at some of the tricks dealers use to pad their profits and leave the customers shelling hundreds of dollars more than the deal should be worth.

Trick 1 : Leasing always a better deal than buying

Dealers use the lure of lower-monthly payments to entice customers to sign for long-term loans, with terms stretching for five years or more, making the payments even lower. There are two catches with such lengthy contracts: higher mileage, exceeding the prescribed limit, and hefty repair costs.
With leases charging on average 10 to 20 cents a mile for any extra mile over the agreed amount in the contract, and warranties only covering three years, you leave yourself wide open for hefty charges for excessive mileage and wear and tear.

Trick 2 : Cheap 2-3% APR rate on your lease

The dealer is not quoting the interest rate you would be paying on your lease; he’s rather giving you the lease money factor. Whilst similar to an interest rate and important in determining your monthly payment, a more accurate rate is calculated by multiplying the money factor by 24. For example a “cheap” 3% money factor is 24 X 0.003 = 7.2%. This gives you a better sense of what your annual interest rate on your lease contract is.

Trick 3 : Stress-free early lease termination

Dealers know consumer driving needs change and they would like to have the option of getting out of a lease commitment sometime down the road, before their lease ends. Truth of the matter is, when you sign for a lease, you are effectively saddled with monthly payments for the remainder of the lease term and there is little-choice of getting out early. Lease contracts carry hefty financial penalties for either defaulting on monthly payments or terminating the lease earlier than the scheduled term.

To avoid being on the receiving end of such tried-and-true tricks, educate yourself about leasing. Get down to the nitty-gritty and understand what the leasing terms used by dealers mean. Crunch the numbers along with him and understand how they arrived at the monthly payment figure. Don’t sign anything until you’ve understood all the terms and your numbers much those of the dealer. Do not let the dealer pressure you into signing; you are the one to determine whether the agreement is right for you.

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Fallout

Suzuki is one of the leading multinational automotive companies in the world with production plants scattered from Asia to Europe and with dealership in almost all corners and nooks around the globe. In America, it was awarded as the fastest growing automotive company in 2000 and in Australia; it has a significant market share in the industry. Suzuki Motor Corporation The company got its name from its founder and first president, Machio Suzuki who traces his roots in the coastal town of Hamamatsu in Tokyo area. It would be astonishing to know that this multi-national company started as a loom business; very far from its current business type.

Suzuki-san started as loom business manufacturing textiles and eventually grew and was a big success. The automotive aspect of Suzuki came when its founder needed a reliable mode of transportation for his loom business. And as the clich goes, œthe rest is history€. Suzuki in Australia After the introduction of the Suzulight, Suzuki’€™s first mass produced car, the company grew and conquered the international market.

Suzuki first ventured in Australia in 1980 but their main product were generator motors instead of automotives. With Sydney as its first local branch, Suzuki’€™s investment progressed into what it is best known today automobiles and motorcycles. One of the most popular model vehicles of Suzuki are Swift, Grand Vitara, SX4 and Jimny Sierra. Suzuki dealership in Macarthur Macarthur Motor Group is a trusted car dealer in Australia that gives the locals in the countryside a taste of world class automobiles. With their strong reputation in the community, there is no doubt why the company takes Suzuki under its wing; dealing with the best Suzuki automobiles for a number of years. Suzuki cars are compact, reliable, affordable perfect for anyone living in the area and Macarthur effectively gives these Suzuki cars to the community for a long time already with positive feedbacks from their clients. As part of Macarthur’€™s general services of pre-owned vehicles, Macarthur Suzuki is the best place to find the best pre-owned Suzuki cars.

Macarthur Suzuki vs. other local Suzuki dealers With more than twenty other local dealers of Suzuki vehicles in New South Wales Area, Macarthur is still one of the leading car dealers. Other dealers cannot be at par with Macarthur Suzuki’s excellent customer services and dealership financing arrangements. Macarthur has the most well-trained and knowledge staff that sets them apart from other dealers in the area. With outstanding staff, customers of Macarthur are always assured with quality service in getting a Suzuki vehicle. They have a service center that caters special needs for customers’ Suzuki cars like wheel alignments, and other maintenance. As for car financing, with Macarthur Suzuki the process is fast and very affordable. Customers will be happy to avail Macarthur Suzuki’€™s financing arrangements like low interest, no deposit, insurance and reliable quotes.

To end up, with all the facts presented above, there is no doubt why Macarthur Suzuki is Australia’s top local car dealers. Everyone who wants to own a Suzuki vehicle should pay Macarthur Suzuki a visit.

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MacArthur