Fuel prices down

Finally some good news.

My car was low on fuel and I drove down to my favourite petrol BP station. I was really happy when I noticed the prices have gone down to 113.9p from 117.9p

As I wasn't sure how long the prices would remain down, I filled up the car - full tank. Half an hour later as I was driving past, I noticed that the prices have further gone down to 111.9p and has remained at that price since then.

If you want to find out the cheapest fuel prices in your area (in the UK) check out Petrolprices.com.

However, in order to get the details, you have to sign up for something called the Fubra Passport but that's a minor irritation.

The costliest around my area is the Texaco station at Jubilee Crescent. It is fast to increase it's prices but relaly slow to lower it. Right now the prices over there are still at 117.9p

Auto Story in Pictures Wednesday

I am starting this new meme called "Auto Story in Pictures Wednesday".

This meme is for auto enthusiasts, photographers, car owners - in fact everyone is welcome to join in. It's really simple. All you have to do is post up a picture of anything related to the auto industry that you feel tells a story on Wednesday.

Just leave a comment here or send me an email (ahoklah@gmail.com) with a link to your post and I will add you to the Auto Story in Pictures Wednesday blogroll.

I start the ball rolling with this photograph I took in Coventry. Calcott was a car manufacturer based in Coventry.

The 1937 Tatra T87

Check out the classic 1937 Tatra T87 at Jay Leno’s Garage. Designed by Hans Ledwinka, this streamlined, air-cooled, rear-engine car was built by Czechoslovakian manufacturer Tatra and was the favourite of German officers during World War II.



Check out the Wikipedia page of the Tatra T87.

Thanks for the link Michelle.

The new C3 Picasso

The new Citroen C3 family body style will be presented at this year’s Paris Motor Show and launch in the first-quarter of next year.

Despite it's small appearance, this MPV measures 4.08 m long, 1.73 m wide and 1.62 m tall with a fairly big boot space. The split-fold rear seats can be folded away with one hand in one simple movement. The new C3 allows flat loading space right up to the seatbacks in row one. That's not all. the load length can be further extended by folding the front passenger seat back down into desk position.

Check out the innovative, three-part windscreen with slim pillars. Combined with the high seats, it will give the driver a wide-angle vision.


Regarding the engine, the C3 Picasso there are four options. Either the two new-generation petrol options – the VTi 95 and VTi 120 – and two diesels, the HDi 90 and HDi 110 DPFS. As for environment fliendliness, these engines provide low CO2 emissions, with the HDi 90 unit emitting just 125 g/km.

Discounts on car rentals

One of my friends is going to Austria for a holiday and he initially had planned to drive there but later on decided to fly there. I asked him how he was planning to get around the place and found out that he planned to use public transport from moving around the city and hiring a car for going outside town.

When deciding on a car rental company, two companies usually come to mind, namely, Hertz and Avis. However, in the process we miss out on a number of other companies which provide competitive rental rates. One searching around the web, we came across Advantage Rent A Car. This car rental company is more than 40 years old and has a presence in 150 U.S. locations and 130 locations in 33 countries internationally. Yes! They are in Austria as well.

Found out that they are offering some special offers including a 50% discount on luxury cars and convertibles. Definitely worth considering when deciding on a car rental company.

New Mitsubishi Pajero Sport SUV

A new Mitsubishi Pajero Sport SUV model will be unveiled at 2008 Moscow Motor Show. the show will run from August 26 to September 7 (open to the public on August 29) at the Crocus Expo in Moscow.

The model will be known as the "Montero Sport" in South America, "Shogun' in the UK, "Nativa" in Latin America and "Challenger" in Australia. However, it will not be sold in Central and Western Europe nor in North America.


Rear


Front view

The new Pajero has a really sporty look. They are offering a choice of three engines viz.,: 2.5-litre and 3.2-litre common rail direct injection diesel units and a 3.5-litre V6 gasoline unit.

Very practical innovations include the water-repellent seats and waterproof luggage compartment floor.

According to their press release, Mitsubishi choose to launch the new Pajero Sport at the Moscow Motor Show to indicate "Russia's eminent position within Mitsubishi Motors". It's not surprising because in the last fiscal year (2007) Mitsubishi Motors sold some 100,000 vehicles on the Russian market.

New Racing Lancer

Image released by Mitsubishi

Here's the new 'Racing Lancer' developed for the 2009 Dakar Rally. It has the codename MRX09, which stands for 'Mitsubishi Rally 'Cross Country'('X'). The suffix 09 stands for year 2009.

The Lancer (known in Japan as Gallant Fortis) takes over the competition baton from the Pajero/Montero and the Pajero/Montero Evolution.

It has been developed in compliance with the FIA's Group T1 regulations (modified cross-country rally cars) which also complies with the new rules due to come into force in 2010.

The MRX09 features a new, multi-tubular steel frame and will be powered by the 3.0-liter V6 turbocharged diesel engine, which is wedded with a Ricardo manual five-speed sequential transmission.

The engine is currently being tested on qualifying rounds of the 2008 Dakar Series and the 2008 FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup.

BTW, Mitsubishi Motor has a new corporate communication tagline : 'Drive@earth'.

Toyota showcase at British Motor show

Toyota GB will be will be showcasing its entire range of vehicles at the British International Motor Show 2008.


The IQ

This includes the revolutionary Toyota iQ and the Urban Cruiser SUV.


The Urban Cruiser

The show will run from 23 July to 3 August of this year at ExCel London.

Experience with National Tyres and Autocare

I needed to change my tyres and was quite excited when I found out that National Tyres and Autocare was offering two tyres for the price of one. As they say, "if it sounds to good to be true, it usually is." Found that their promotions and offers are quite misleading.


They have two branches here in Coventry and I went to the one in Gosford Street, near Coventry University.





Found out that the "Buy one tyre, get one free" offer is not available for my car tyre size. I only had one replaced - a Barum Bravuris tyre (195 / 50 R 15 82V) costing £45/

It's not that bad considering that I had one tyre changed at the "New Cheap Tyres" shop on Stoney Stanton road. It cost the same for a no-brand Chinese made tyre (the cheapest according to them).

Coming back to the National tyres shop, I wanted to take advantage of their Wheel alignment offer - only £11 according to the coupon. However, when I asked the guy in charge, he said that it will cost me £15. Of course, it's a difference of only £4/ but I do feel like he was trying to take advantage. Another thing that reinforced this suspicion was when he told me that the 2 rear tyres needed to be changed as well. It's obvious I am a foreigner here, but I am not stupid. They still have good thread depths. The minimum legal thread depth is 1.6 mm in the UK while on the tyres on my car, they are between 2.5 to 3mm.

the only positive thing I can say is that the whole process of changing to the new tyres was that I didn't have to wait too long and it was relatively fast. I also got Tesco clubcard points.

That's another shop I won't be going back to. I am not so sure about their other branch at Spon End.

The Nissan Sylphy

One of Nissan's best selling cars - the Sylphy has finally reached Malaysia. It was launched last week by Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd, Nissan's official distributor in Malaysia.



It features an alluminium MR20DE 4 cylinder engine with continuously variable transmission (CVT).

The 2-litre executive sedan is locally assembled and is priced approx. RM112,800 between and RM116,800 on-the-road. It will be available in 6 colours.