ZA Car

The current Honda Civic has been successful in bringing fans back to the brand after a pretty dull seventh-generation of the model. The futuristic styling of the eighth-generation Civic did a lot to endear it to a younger buyer and, by and large, this strategy worked. So it’s great when we see that the 2012 model bears such a striking face, familiar with the design cues we see on the Insight Jazz and CRV Concept. It’s a litte more future proof by toning down the “futuristic-styling” part of the current, eighth, generation without making it too geriatric.

Looks familiar, a bit Honda Insight-ish. Less future, more long term good-looker.

Honda says that the designers of the new Civic wanted to keep the sporty and advanced elements of the car’s character but tailor them to communicate the new model’s more dynamic feel.

Not sure about this marketing colour, but it does show off the new curves better.

Nearly all of the body components on the new Civic have been redesigned with particular focus on ride and handling, reduced CO2 emissions, design and interior quality, while retaining the cabin, boot space and practicality – something which we can attest to. It is one of the most spacious and versatile packages in its segmenet despite a profile that suggests otherwise.

Like the current Civic 5-door, it has been designed and developed specifically for the European market and will hopefully arrive in showrooms early next year. With any luck there might even be one at the Johannesburg International Motor Show in October this year.

Sometimes the selection of colours from a manufacturer doesn’t quite cut it. If it’s not bland, it’s just not crazy enough. Since those who love cars see their vehicles as an expression of themselves, it only makes sense for them to be a little custom…

We’re not talking about “Fast and Furious” levels of insanity, here. Just a nice paintjob, or vinyl wrap for those who don’t have the balls to permanently drive around in a pink Bentley. Today’s selection of wallpapers shows off some of the eye-catching finishes on some exotics and a few limited-availability paint options on some other cars. What colour would you paint your car, given the chance? Sound off in the comments, on Twitter or join us for the discussion on Facebook.

*All photos are property of their respective copyright holders. If you see a photo that is yours, please get in touch and we can credit you, or remove it from this posting.

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John Beale in a Lexus joins Christo in a Mercedes Benz and Trevor in a Suzuki to talk about new Lexus’, new Mercs and small VWs. We also tackle the eternal question “What to buy if you have R300 000.00″ to spend and the results are quite surprising.

Join the team this week for more fun, news and reviews of the 2011 Honda Jazz 1.3 Comfort and Citroen DS 1.6 THP. Go on, have a listen or better yet, subscribe by clicking here and you will have ZACS delivered to iTunes every week without the hassle for free.

Cute little car. For a complete gallery click on the image.

This is the angle that you'll mostly see but very magazines seem to show. Still awesome looking. Right click on the image and click "open link in new tab" for a full gallery of the SLK55 AMG

Cars don't get better than this when looking at practicality versus space versus price. Click on the image to be transported to a full gallery of images.

Trevor loved it, Christo not so much and John was on the fence. Find out why by listening to the podcast. There are few things prettier than this picture.

Episode 130 hi-fi download (25MB) 
Episode 130 lo-fi download (12MB)

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We love special cars at ZA Car Show and there are quite a few in this week’s episode featuring Christo, Trevor, Patrick and John Beale. Expensive Bugattis get more expensive, BMWs get more strange, fast Mercs get faster and VWs bakkies get a little more agricultural, and more… go on, have a listen or just click through to the galleries below.

A Bugatti filled with fine German porcelain. Hold on that doesn't sound right does it? Click on the image for a full gallery of this one-off car...

It really is one of the best looking convertibles on the plant. That is until someone decided that a two-tone car was a good idea. Click on the picture for a link to the full gallery of this and the Limited M-sport edition.

The cat's out the bag. And it's a might fine looking cat. Click on the image to see a full gallery of the Mercedes Benz C63 Coupe Black Series

The most handsome BMW got more handsome, can such a thing happen. Trevor quite likes the Individual, but best of all he likes that it's available with a diesel engine. Click on the picture to see a full gallery of the M-Sport and Individual models.

Then just to bring things back down to earth or to bring the earth back down the construction site, the VW Amarok Single Cab. Click on the link to see a full gallery of this pickup.

Also in this episode, a full review of Honda’s lovely Insight hybrid. Trevor, Christo and Patrick give their opinions on this eco sedan – including explaining the differences between full and mild hybrid technologies.

Episode 124 hi-fi download (24MB)
Episode 124 lo-fi download (12MB)

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It’s an insightful week in the ZACS studios with Patrick Gearing and Trevor van de Ven running the show. From some special one-off cars, the duo – well, maybe just Patrick – also give you a good history lesson in exotic cars and badging and also update on the recently launched Nissan Micra, Bentley Continental Supersports SSR, and  review the Honda CRV 2.4 Auto Executive.

In this episode the show covers:
Mercedes-Benz’s SLS Roadster [via: TopGear]

Roadsters - good for a bit of sailing too.

Lamborghini’s super-expensive supercar, the Siesto Elemento. There are only 20 and they will cost 20 million Euro a piece. [via Autoblog]

Very very pretty, but oh so very expensive.

Alfa Romeo TZ3 which ia built on a Dodge Viper platform – it was commissioned by a wealthy German collector. [via NetCarShow]

Not bad for a Dodge Viper

Trevor van de Ven gets very excited about the diesel Porsche Panamera [click for a link to the website for price and specs]

A huge car, but it looks better and better each time we see one. Click on the for a wallpaper gallery of the Porsche Panamera

The Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible ISR is one very fast, very bold and pimping Bentley which is…very un-Bentley-like.

Bentley meets Porsche in a back alley in Boksburg. Click on the image to be transported to a wallpaper portal of this car.

April South African sales figures for NAAMSA and TransUnion’s new and used car price inflation index.
ZACS Launch Drive: 2011 Nissan Micra (click for a link to the model page for detailed prices and specs)

For its price it is the only entirely new car in its class. Not a rebadged old model

ZACS Review: 2011 Honda CR-V 2.4 Executive Automatic

Episode 115 hi-fi download (24MB)
Episode 115 lo-fi download (12MB)

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Join the ZA Car Show fan page on Facebook, here.