Baby Rolls Royce will come to help sales

Rolls Royce is currently sealing 2000 units a year; but in the next year they are expected to grow with 25%. The main reason is the strong demand for its Phantom Drophead Coupe which was launched this year. But in the next three years the company wants to double its sales. To do this they will launch a new smaller car towards the end of 2009. Dubbed the baby Rolls, the saloon will be priced at £160,000 to £180,000, which is £70,000 to £90,000 less than the Phantom and in the same price bracket as the Bentley Continental

The company says that it has yet to experience any impact from the credit squeeze. Ian Robertson, Rolls-Royce’s managing director, said that the danger is not so much in the spending power of its customers, who are generally very wealthy, but in sentiment. “In the Florida region, we didn’t sell a car for six or seven weeks after Hurricane Katrina. I think people didn’t feel it was right,” Mr Robertson said.

JD Power, the automotive analysis company, is tipping the top-end luxury market to be weaker next year because of the credit crunch, while 2009 is predicted to be flat and 2010 a year of modest growth. It adds, however, that the market is hugely swayed by new products, because there are relatively few models to buy, so the baby Rolls is expected to be very influential in shaping the market

2009 Ford Mustang to be unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show

Like the speed of the car itself, the soon-to-be-released 2009 Ford Mustang was the inspiration for a fast-developed new glass roof option that maximizes automotive consumers’ growing desire for more natural light.

America’s favorite muscle car, the Ford Mustang, will make its 2009, 45th- anniversary public debut at the North American International Auto Show with an unique alternative developed by Webasto Roof Systems, Inc. — a factory-installed fixed glass roof.

The new roof will be an option available on both the Mustang GT and the V-6 Mustang beginning in the summer. It provides consumers a third roof option — one that’s less expensive than a convertible, yet still lets in natural light without compromising the coupe’s head room or versatility.

"We believe this project truly speaks well to Webasto’s ability to deliver complex engineering capabilities in a very short time frame while still meeting our customers’ strong engineering demands for their product’s safety, durability, and styling," said Andreas Weller, Vice President Business Development at Webasto. "It was a remarkable achievement that, along with Ford, we brought this program from concept to ’parts on the road’ in just 70 weeks — about half the time normally taken on an automotive project of this complexity.

"Such success started with our close working relationship with Ford Motor Company but it also reflects Webasto’s competence and level of expertise and know-how in designing, engineering and proving out large, high-quality and innovative roof systems."

The assembly process for the fixed glass roof option vehicles includes a full, invisible interface with the body shop at Automotive Alliance International’s Flat Rock, Mich. plant which assembles the Ford Mustang.

"While we produce and deliver several fixed transparent module roofs (FTM’s) in Europe and Asia, this is the first fixed module in the United States market," Weller added.

Components are produced and shipped to Flat Rock from two different Webasto locations, in Livonia, Mich. and Rochester Hills, Mich.

"What really brought this project together between Ford and Webasto was our ability to fully integrate the glass roof with the Mustang’s structure — to provide a design that did not cause any compromise to any structural rigidity of the vehicle, while still offering a very unique option for the end consumer," Weller said.

Honda Civic SE+

Honda launched a new version of the Civic in UK with enhanced exterior styling that represents excellent value for money. Called the SE+, the new model’s distinctive 16-inch alloys, body-coloured skirts and spoiler give it sporty looks, designed to appeal to the Civic’s increasingly youthful customer. It is powered by Honda’s 1.4-litre i-DSi engine and costs just £14,900 on-the-road.

“The market has responded well to the new Civic, and the 5-door is drawing a younger audience than ever before, but customers wanted a higher spec, entry level model that looked even more sporting,” said Tom Gardner, Head of Marketing, Honda (UK). “The SE+ looks great, offers fantastic value for money and represents the success of our UK manufacturing plant at Swindon, where all European Civics are built.“

In 2007, Honda of the UK Manufacturing (HUM) reached its full production rate of 250,000 units per annum, of which 140,000 were Civics. Last year in the UK, 30,772 Civic 5-doors were sold.

On top of the standard SE grade specifications, the new Civic 1.4 i-DSI SE + includes:


16-inch Atlas alloy wheels
Image pack
Painted front, rear and side skirts
Painted rear spoiler
Metallic paint

Great parade of 20 Lamborghini

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