Tuesday 28 September 2010
Saturday 25 September 2010
Driving a 100 Tonne Logging Truck
Ever wondered what it's like driving a 550 hp 100 tonne logging truck?
Thursday 23 September 2010
Strong sales for Volkswagen across the board, and more for the future says CEO
Volkswagen continue to prove that their ambitions for title of world largest car and vans manufacturer is not simply empty boasting. CEO Martin Winterkorn has even gone on to claim that as soon as 2018, we could see VW leading the world in both sales and innovative automotive design. VW hopes that its wide range of cars and vans for sale are set to dominate the market.
Its not hard to see why Winterkorn is so optimistic about VWC's future. A record of the first half of this year shows that Volkswagen sold well over 4 million vehicles across the periods of January to July. It only adds to the steam of good news previously attributed to its European divisions. Already the largest European automaker, their performance output rose again by 13 percent for the first half of the year. While in the month of July alone, Volkswagen had sold over 570,000 cars and vans worldwide.
Sales figures for VWC were most significant in the Asia & Pacific regions, with a reported growth rate of 42 percent percent totalling 1.23 million vehicles. China, did well with its own substantial growth of 42 percent. However, pales in comparison to India, with an increase of 121%. The home European markets were no slouch either, with figures totalling 2 million vehicles sold, maintaining its already strong holding with a rise of 2.2 percent. In the Western Europe regions there were gains of 18.4 percent to 1.15 million vehicles. However the home German market remain very low key due to the diminishing returns of the cash for clunkers schemes that took place last year.
The models which preformed the best for VWC were the various people carrying cars/vans as well as Volkswagen's more commercial oriented vehicles. The core brands went on to sell 2.6 million passenger cars and vans during the first half of the year (January to July), at an increase of 14 percent. Demand in China for the already popular models such as the Lavida, Passat Lingyu, Jetta and New Bora only increased as well.
Its not hard to see why Winterkorn is so optimistic about VWC's future. A record of the first half of this year shows that Volkswagen sold well over 4 million vehicles across the periods of January to July. It only adds to the steam of good news previously attributed to its European divisions. Already the largest European automaker, their performance output rose again by 13 percent for the first half of the year. While in the month of July alone, Volkswagen had sold over 570,000 cars and vans worldwide.
“After a very successful first six months we got off to a good start in the second half of the year. Over the coming months we will continue on our growth path with our model range and will perform better than the competition. However, this will be a challenge, given an operating environment that is again becoming difficult. Now that incentive programs have come to an end, the global automotive market is expected to decline in the second half of the year. There will not be a return to the high pre-crisis levels this year,” - Group Board Member for Sales Christian Klingler
Sales figures for VWC were most significant in the Asia & Pacific regions, with a reported growth rate of 42 percent percent totalling 1.23 million vehicles. China, did well with its own substantial growth of 42 percent. However, pales in comparison to India, with an increase of 121%. The home European markets were no slouch either, with figures totalling 2 million vehicles sold, maintaining its already strong holding with a rise of 2.2 percent. In the Western Europe regions there were gains of 18.4 percent to 1.15 million vehicles. However the home German market remain very low key due to the diminishing returns of the cash for clunkers schemes that took place last year.
The models which preformed the best for VWC were the various people carrying cars/vans as well as Volkswagen's more commercial oriented vehicles. The core brands went on to sell 2.6 million passenger cars and vans during the first half of the year (January to July), at an increase of 14 percent. Demand in China for the already popular models such as the Lavida, Passat Lingyu, Jetta and New Bora only increased as well.
Tuesday 21 September 2010
Video: The Biggest Truck in the World
This week's video doesn't technically feature a van but it is about a commercial vehicle albeit not one you are likely to see during your daily commute. This is the kind of truck that many of us dreamed about driving when we were younger, it's huge and powerful. The description says that it is the world's biggest truck, I don't know if that is true or not but it is gigantic. The wheels appear to be about 12 feet high!
Wednesday 8 September 2010
Volkswagen Provides British Gas with a New Fleet
British Gas have begun the process of replacing their fleet of 10,000 vehicles with the help of Volkswagen vans. VW have so far provided 2,000 vans to the energy supplier including Caddy, Crafter and Transporter Shuttle models in a rather fetching shade of blue as shown below.
The vehicles Volkswagen are supplying are not the normal vans for sale. For improved safety the vans are fitted with speed limiters and racking to help control any load if the vehicle has to brake heavily. In addition, the new livery includes high visibility chevrons on the rear doors. Externally, the vans still feature the iconic British Gas flame, but the new livery is also designed to have more space to communicate information and features to keep customers, and potential customers, informed.
The replacement of their existing fleet is part of British Gas’ modernization plans. The new vans feature the pale blue that British Gas now use in their branding, replacing the dark blue many associate with the brand.
“Our on-going strategic relationship with Volkswagen is very important to our business. It enables us to provide our engineers with safe and reliable vehicles, which meet highest quality standards and offer excellent value in terms of whole life costs."
-Colin Marriott, General Manager for British Gas fleet
The vehicles Volkswagen are supplying are not the normal vans for sale. For improved safety the vans are fitted with speed limiters and racking to help control any load if the vehicle has to brake heavily. In addition, the new livery includes high visibility chevrons on the rear doors. Externally, the vans still feature the iconic British Gas flame, but the new livery is also designed to have more space to communicate information and features to keep customers, and potential customers, informed.
The replacement of their existing fleet is part of British Gas’ modernization plans. The new vans feature the pale blue that British Gas now use in their branding, replacing the dark blue many associate with the brand.
“We are pleased to see that the quality, durability and cost effective running costs of Volkswagen vans have passed the formidable British Gas acceptance criteria, and above all, proud to have our vans delivering such great service to British Gas and its customers.”
-Simon Elliott, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles
Thursday 2 September 2010
Video: Yeti Concept Truck
This is one weird looking truck, the wheels are taller than the cab! It might look a little ungainly but it seems to be pretty agile - handy if you live in the frozen north.
Master fabricator Rex Bailey used the Samson™ CNC machine to build the "Yeti" (the abominable snowman), a monster truck that drives through snow more than 3 feet deep. The 76-inch tractor tires, Unimog portal axles, and modified Dodge 3500 Cummins diesel truck are all joined together by custom-designed plates that Rex made with the machine.
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