With the all-new Touareg, Volkswagen are spoiling us!
This is the new Sports Utility Volkswagen – a bit like the bionic man, here – it is longer, wider and when the 4.0 V8 turbodiesel and the 336bhp 3.0 petrol engine arrive (towards the end of 2018), it will be faster than its predecessor. Entry level prices are a snip at €66K – but the R-line model (with panoramic sunroof, 20” alloys and a sportier look) is the pick – despite parting you with well in excess of
This stunning concept 'Boxter' is Porsche’s celebration of their 70th birthday!! It is quite a motoring journey for one of the most famous manufacturers on the planet. Founded in 1948 in the aftermath of World War Two, their first production variants were essentially Volkswagens, hence the almost familiar "Herbie Goes To Montecarlo" love bug vibe, that has over the decades become the hallmark of the marque. The very first Porsche was the totally gorgeous and maybe legendary P356, with its
Abarth might answer this eternal question. Grand designs?
Just LOOK at it - !! This is the Fiat 124 Abarth – an upgrade version of the ‘'as standard’’ Fiat 124. Or if you are in the know - maybe even a better alternative to its "sister’’ car, the Mazda MX5. It comes with the 1.4 litre Fiat MultiAir turbocharged power plant - tweaked to 168bhp - so it is slightly faster than the MX5 2.0 litre to 60mph (6.8 seconds). It also comes with its own soundtrack –
This major Tesla shareholder is getting restless:
Sometimes-maligned electric car manufacturer Tesla have announced immediate plans to lay off 9% of their workforce – just over 4000 units, then. For some stock marketeers, it is a sign of what they have been saying all along – Elon Musk’s endeavours are pie in the sky. Indeed there was a brief tumble in the share price; although it stabilised not least because of Musk’s announcement 24hrs later that he was buying a further
Magnifique sur le Peripherique - viva la difference, as Peugeot relaunch:
The European Car of the Year 2018 is the Peugeot 3008. The Irish Car of the Year is the Peugeot 3008. In other words the French manufacturer’s entry into the fastest-growing segment in the EU market is an entirely competent machine. Also available is the 5008…now here at CBG HQ we actually think this is the better car - !! Both are jammed with technology – almost all the mod cons you can think of: p
Our NTA are in the news, having announced plans for 16 "quality’’ bus corridors in the capital city.
The National Transport Authority’s (NTA) ‘Bus Connects’ revealed the SCHEME last month – which include the removal of footpaths and front gardens for almost 1300 homes across Dublin. No doubt certain legal beagles will be looking forward to years of battling compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) and the respective fees garnered, given their respective experiences in
Jurgen Klopp with his twin brother Klippety (pictured, left)
The new owners of Opel (and Vauxhall) PSA, have announced several key decisions in an attempt to move the company back into profitability. One bold step is the intention to have electric or plug in hybrid options for all of their range by 2024, all to be built on two highly adaptable platforms. A new engine range is also being developed at their Russelheim HQ – all of the aforementioned in conjunction with last year’s
(pictured: maintaining Dublin Bus diesel engines was always a headache)
We are all familiar with the ‘’Volkswagen diesel emission scandal’’ and the huge multimillion pound, euro and dollar fines that put such a dent in the company’s fortunes, in the EU, the UK and the United States. At the time several shrewdies made the simple point that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Now it seems they were right: last month the German government ordered Mercedes to recall alm
Cities across Europe have banned certain diesel engines, including Copenhagen and Paris (pictured)
Ireland’s government-incentivised love affair with the turbo diesel engine continues. While the motoring public are beginning to look at the alternatives, the tendency to resist change persists even if the writing is on the wall. Take ‘The TRUE initiative’, recently launched by The International Council on Clean Transportation in conjunction with an FIA (the motorsport body!) lobby
Car-nage? With this bust up (left) the answer is probably YES!
IMPOTUS Trump tweeted (on the longest day of the year!) that he was going to slap a 20% tariff on European car imports to the US market – in retaliation to Brussel’s announcing of their intention to tax – amongst other things – US goods such as bourbon (in turn, because of US sanctions against the international steel industry!!). Because of this twit twittering, shares in several European auto manufactures such