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Our friend and contributor John Beale needs a new car so Thomas Falkiner, Christo van Gemert, Trevor van de Ven, Patrick Gearing and journalism student Dean Venter put their collective heads together to show what sensible options can be thought up if you crowd source.  The team, without Mr Beale who was eating sushi without us, also review the new Honda Accord 2.4 automatic and give you the low down on the motoring news from the past week.

The rebirth of the exciting Toyota. This flat four developed in conjunction with Subaru looks as if it has all the right ingredients to steal customers from the hot-hatch market. Click on the image to see a full gallery (you will be redirected away from this page).

Machbach is dead, Merc is pulling the plug. They are not the most handsome or striking cars but Trevor van de Ven still gets a bit teary eyed knowing that he will not see another all-white Landaulet again.

Patrick and Trevor love wagons. They also love Jaaaaags, so this car should put them both in a flat love-induced coma.

The new Honda Accord sports a dramatically revised front-end even if it's only the hawk-eyed that will spot the changes. Under the skin, this car is phenomenal. Take a listen to the show to find out what we think. Click on the image to view a full gallery (you will be redirected away from this page).

Episode 142 hi-fi download (18MB) 
Episode 142 lo-fi download (9MB)

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Arrr, we be hittin ya wit a whole lot ‘a aRRRRRRRRRR cars this turn ‘o tha week, most importantly mateys, arrrr the reviews of the Porsche Cayman (like the pirate islands) R by o’er favourite deckhand from ye Sunday Times, Tom Tom Falkiner an’  also the lane lubbin’ Volkswagen Scirocco R.

Christ’o Nobeard gets excited abou’ all manner ‘o Toyboaters an’ what they be doin’ in Dak to the arrrr. The team ‘o salty dogs also talk about the new Toyboater Yaaaar-is an’ the vulgar display [of pow'aar] that BMW X5M and X6M owners can display with thar new Individual package.

Already a display of bad taste, the BMW has now opened its Individual styling options pack to X5 and X6 M buyers.

Roundin’ it up Shipmate Tom Tom updates ye all on the new Mercedes Benz C63 and new E63 5.5 Bi-turbo engined wee-beastie. Just ta keep ‘em greenie meanines happy tankard Trevor, gets all excited abo’t a 1-litre engine for a Ford Focus.

No longer a hunking lump of 6.3 litres of V8 in this one anymore, it now features a 5.5l V8 Bi-Turbo. Good for 700Nm and 410Kw. Click on the image to view a full gallery.

A very masculine and handsome car this new C63 is, but is it still just a quarter mile king? Take a listen to find out. Click on the image to see a full gallery of the C63 range.

For the price of the 1.3 3-door you could get into a MINI One and still have change. What would you prefer? Click on the image to see a full gallery of the new Toyota Yaris

Thomas Falkiner reviews the Porsche Cayman R. We are secretly jealous, but when you hear his enthusiasm in the reivew we can't be jealous of him for long.

Episode 141 hi-fi download (18MB) 
Episode 141 lo-fi download (9MB)

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What a week. With the start of the Johannesburg Motor Show kicking off at the NASREC show complex on 6 October, there is a lot to get excited about. Brent Ellis, a freelance motoring journalist and photographer, is a the special guest this week and he joins Trevor van de Ven, John Beale and Patrick Gearing (who isn’t on twitter so his name isn’t underlined) for the 135th recording of South Africa’s only dedicated motoring podcast. They discuss the local launches of the Jaguar XF 2.2 Diesel, a sub-R500 000 entrant into the Jaguar model lineup that is sure to throw the [leaping] cat amongst the pigeons (do you see what we did there?) and the local launch of the Audi RS3 Sportback a sub-5 second 0-100km/h smack upside the head the bigger, quick hyper-saloons.   Finally they wrap the show up with road tests of the 2011 Mercedes Benz C250 CDI Coupe and the 2011 Suzuki Kizashi manual.

Is that the handsome Jaguar XK? No, it's the updated XF and if you thought it could not get any more handsome, it just did. Click on the picture to see a full gallery of the updated Jaguar XF.

Sit back, think about the fact that is replaces the three-door hatchback CLC and then marvel in how much better it is in every respect, from looks to performance and more. Click on the image to go to a full gallery of this handsome car.

Objects in this picture appear are much larger than they appear. What did the team think of the new Suzuki Kizashi? Listen to find out. Click on the picture to see a full gallery of this car.

Episode 135 hi-fi download 
Episode 135 lo-fi download

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In ZACS 134, John, Patrick and Christo discuss the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show - each picking their personal highlights from the many awesome vehicle on display.

Christo backs Germany and picks three not quite road-legal cars; Patrick chooses three Italians; and John tips his hat to three English arrivals. To make sure all bases are covered, our intrepid trio also selected some “pity cars” – vehicles that are noteworthy, but didn’t quite fall into their “we want one now” criteria.

The Lambo LP 570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale. Click here for a gallery.

The Landy DC100 concept - a possible Defender replacement. Click for gallery.

The Ferrari-engined Maserati Kubang is a Jeep underneath. Click for a gallery!

After all that mega-horsepower excitement, they try cool down by reviewing the Volkswagen Passat. The consensus is that it’s not a bad car. But also not one you’ll remember having driven or owned. Listen to the show for all the details.

Episode 133 hi-fi download (20MB) 
Episode 133 lo-fi download (10MB)

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A friend of ours, Jesse Adams from Star Motoring, once had an off. After seeing him at the side of the road – he collected it nicely and the car remained intact – he said, “There’s no ESP in the world that’ll save you when all four wheels are in the air”. Or something to that effect. The point is: when you’re going hell for leather in a car and airtime is achieved, your bum clenches and your heart jumps into your throat. Quite how rally drivers do it, with alarming regularity, is why we regard them as the ballsiest sportsmen in the world.

And this brings us to the theme for this Wallpaper Wednesday: maximum air. A selection of some stomach-in-throat photos where the drivers were, no doubt, relieved to reunite with mother earth, in one piece.

*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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131 is an iconic FIAT that both Trevor and Patrick would love to have in their garages one day in Ralaye form. It also had a Spanish twin in the form of the SEAT 131. But of course it’s also the latest episode of ZA Car Show.

What a week of beautiful cars it was too. We talk about the Ferrari 458 Spider, KTM X-Bow with a hardtop kit, the Porsche 911 (991), the Mercedes-Benz A-Class AMG, Toyota FT86′s twin the Subaru BRZ, New Mercedes-Benz SLK and Hyundai Elantra. You can’t disagree with that that, or can you? Hmmm, have a listen to find out.

If you’re considering a new SUV, something like an BMW X5, then do yourself a favour and take in the review of the 2011 BMW X3 2.0d before you make your choice. We might just sway your decision.

Not quite as pretty as an Alfa 8C Spider, but still in the ZA Car Show team's top three most beautiful convertibles. For a full gallery of the Ferrari click on the image.

Very sleek, very sexy, very Porsche. What do you think of the new 911 (991). Click on the image for a full gallery of this car.

The Subaru collaboration with Toyota on this car has spawned a model for each manufacturer, the Subaru has been quite shy though. At least we know it will be called the BRZ, but click on the picture and you can see what the Toyota looks like.

"The best SLK to-date" is what a lot of motoring journalists are calling it. It's certainly the most beautiful. Click on the image for a full 50+ image gallery showcasing many of the new technologies in this car.

In the compact sedan segment we're used to boring or awkward, rarely ever beautiful, have a look at the gallery by clicking on the picture and let us know what you think, we think it's a bit OMG jaw on the floor stuff!

Episode 131 hi-fi download (19MB) 
Episode 131 lo-fi download (9.5MB)

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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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Sometimes a car has to bare it all for us to see what really makes it so appealing. That machine under the bonnet (or bootlid, in Porsche’s case) can be responsible for stomach-churning acceleration, hair-raising wails and many joyous victories. And sometimes – just sometimes – they can also be pretty spectacular to behold.

So here’s to the internal combustion engine. May its many thousands of explosions per second continue delivering thrills for the next few decades.

*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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It’s an eclectic (and electric) mix of cars this week  from BMW’s I to Lexus’new entry-level hybrid, the CT 200h. Christo, Trevor and John Beale discuss these launches while also looking at  the  the Merc C-Class coupe, Jeep Compass and review two hatches all of them had driver, the Opel Astra and Volkswagen Golf R. Who could have thought there could be so many varying opinions?

Menacing and fuel efficiency creds to outdo any current car, this is BMW's i8. Click on the image for a link to a full gallery of the BMW i cars.

The world's first luxury hybrid coupe. Probably its only one too. Very good looking indeed. Click on the image to view a ful gallery of the car at its launch in Cape Town

It looks more like the bigger Cherokee and less like the old Patriot, thankfully. Click on the image to view a full gallery of the new Compass.

Trevor and Christo drove the 1.4 Enjoy+ and John the 1.6 Turbo Sport. Very differing opinions as to which one is the one to get. Click on the image for a gallery on the new Opel Astra.

Episode 128 hi-fi download (13MB) 
Episode 128 lo-fi download (7MB)

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