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The weekend of 28 and 29 January 2012 was black. South Africa lost two talented motorsports men in unrelated incidents, to the families of Curt Alchin and Wim Pretorius, ZA Car gives its condolences.

Despite the news items, ZA Car Show isn’t sponsored by BMW or MINI, it just appears that they have the most to talk about at the moment. On that front, MINI officially announced the MINI Roadster — a convertible based on a hard top that was based on a convertible, the MINI Coupe — and it also alludes to JCW becoming a stand alone sub-brand like the recently announced BMW M-Performance range. We discuss.

The silver slats in the kidney grills give the car a 'cleaner' appearance if that makes sense? Either way, it emits less toxins, produces V8-like power and consumes fuel like a diesel. For more images (around 70 in total) click on the image to be redirected to our gallery. To view in a new tab (if you're streaming the show at the moment) right click and select 'open in new tab/window.

Christo is going to LeMans this year, that is the commitment to motoring that we have here at ZA Car Show,  and no he’s not getting sent there by a manufacturer so to the South African motoring journalists who read this, you don’t need to hound manufacturers to find out why you never got invited. He, however, was sad to see the departure of Peugeot from the LM1 class which would have left it a one-horse race. It’s also good to see that Toyota is regaining its motorsport ‘mojo’ with the announcement of the Toyota’s LM1 racer, the TS030. It will be a 3.4l V8 Hybrid. This is important becuase we cover another perfomance hybrid in the form of the BMW 5-series Active Hybrid. It’s no tree hugging hybrid like the Prius, but rather a performance hybrid that delivers diesel car-like consumption, very low emissions, and performance equal that of a V8. It doesn’t look like ‘hairy arm pit’ hippie car either, which is what tends to be the perception with the term hybrid.

Toyota will return to Le Mans with the LM1 contender, the Toyota TS030. Click on the image to be redirected to the gallery.

In other news Audi’s extremely beautiful A5 has had a nip here and tuck there and come off looking even better. It’s like taking giving Naomi Campbell or George Clooney (see we keep it relevant for everyone here) a slight make over — the blank canvas is already good so it can only get better, right?

Handsome, very handsome. It's the facelifted A5 and it is finally in SA. Click on the image to view the gallery.

Finally we wrap up the show with the ZA Car Show road test. This week it’s the Audi A6 3.0t, which is actually supercharged not turbo’d. Good car, bad car? We’re torn a little bit between good and boring, but you’ll have to listen to the show to find out why. Enjoy.

We cannot fault its looks nor the way it is built, but in creating something that is so competent Audi has removed any sort of soul, granted the words 'soul' and 'Audi' are rarely used in the same sentence in any event.

Episode 148 hi-fi download (22MB) 

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Welcome to 2012 and welcome to the first show the year for the ZA Car Show team. There are a number of big things in store for you this year as we’ve embarked on a couple of changes to the ZA Car Show product offering. Stay tuned to find out more in the coming weeks. In the mean time we kick off the year with John Beale, The Times’ Thomas Falkiner and ZACS’ Trevor van de Ven. Much like your return to work, this year has kicked off with a bang in the form of the North American International Auto Show. Tom also gives us a run down on his upcoming trip to the Yas Marina GP circuit in the UAE with Porche for the launch of the Porsche 991.  And with the start of varsity, there are a ton of new drivers on the roads. We explore what reasonably priced cars — under R140 000 — you should consider if you are planning to buy a car for your recently-left-school child. Reviewed this week are the BMW 116i Urban and controversial Nissan Juke 1.6 Tekna.

As always click on the images to go to a full gallery of that car. You will be redirected away from this page if you do so, however, so to carry on listening and still view the albums right click on the image and select ‘open in new tab’ or ‘open in new window,’ and enjoy. 

This car is one of the most beautiful mid-sized sedans. It will never sell as much as the BMW 3-series, Audi A4 or Mercedes-Benz C-Class and it remains a mystery as to why. In global markets though, this car will be a game changer for the Ford brand, we think. Let's hope that we are proved right with this.

The last time the Americans and Italians mixed this closely it took the FBI many years to find the root of the problems (and they're still looking). Let's hope the same symptoms do no befall a very good looking car which is based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

We review the Nissan Juke 1.6 Tekna in this show. It's a car that polarizes opinions, sells well and remains pretty unique in its segment. Is nissan too bold, or would you buy this car. Take a listen to find out more.

Sport and Urban, good or strange looking, you decide. We review the 116i Urban that looked identical to the blue car and walk away very impressed, find out why.

Episode 145 hi-fi download (18MB) 
Episode 145 lo-fi download (9MB)

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Too many dials, gauges and buttons can be distracting. The new Ford Focus and Renault Megane both suffer from this – buttons, button everywhere!. Sometimes… simplicity is the best. And that’s the theme for this week’s selection of wallpapers. Something plain and elegant, where the objects of our automotive desire are the main focus.

*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.

It’s been a while. We apologise. We’ve been working hard on rounding up more high quality hoonage from around the web, and the return of this regular feature sees us start off with a twist.

We’ve asked the folks from the Forza 4 thread, over at the Something Awful Forums, to let us have their best snaps from that game. The game looks great, and it has the option to output some high-resolution images (great for printing out, or using as your desktop wallpaper). So we asked some of the Forza photographers to give us their best, err, shots.

Now this is the part where you have to read carefully: we want you to vote for your favourite wallpaper in this week’s selection. Voting will close at 23h59 on the 30th of November. And we’ve arranged a nice, game-related prize for the winner. See? We do like giving back to the community that supports us.

So get with the downloading and voting, as you feast your eyes on these.

Cinque, by AK Gara

 High res download

Javelin, by biglads

High res download

512, by Cute as Heck

 High res download

DBR1, by Ether Frenzy

High res download

Coronet, by I said come in

Z, by Kilonum

 High res download

Pantera, by Sunday Punch

High res download

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Alright peeps we’ll kick the week in the teeth with brand new Jeep to make Otto Diesel proud. Stepping out from the crowd is most certainly allowed in the new Peugeot 508 while you’ll not be late in the great Nissan that the GTR badge ate. We round this bad rhyme up with a review of the new BMW (640i) and give a shout out to the dudes at Su-bar-u. Yup it’s true, you might find that the Outback Diesel and Forester Diesel might just be the cars for you.

Bad rhyming aside, we must abide to bring you some great pictures and fun, so go ahead, take a listen to what craziness you might have been missin’

Quite a handsome little tyke

Trevor van de Ven is weak at the knees just looking at this picture. The chances of it being released in South Africa are slim, though, but for a full gallery of the very pretty sedan, click on the image. It will redirect this page to another website, so consider right clicking on the image and selecting 'open in new tab.'

It's not handsome, but it's not exactly pretty either. The 640i has the 3.0 Twinpower Turbo engine too which leaves the team with some mixed opinions. Take a listen to find out why.

Episode 140 hi-fi download (18MB) 
Episode 140 lo-fi download (9MB)

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We’re two-up so there is just enough space for this week’s ZA Car Show crew of Christo and Trevor in the new MINI Roadster. It’s the sixth model in the MINI range and and looks better than the Coupe at least. Christo, however, disagrees.

It's actually quite a nice looking car, sleek and sporty. Some say it's there to lay the smack down to the Mazda MX5 brigade, but the reality lies firmly in the positioning of this car. A quick look at the press shots (which you can see by clicking on this image - right click and select open in new window/tab for best results) show it very much as an urban hipster runabout, which is not quite the same market that the MX5 attracts.

In Episode 139, we also get feedback on the local launch of the Nissan Juke, introduce ourselves to a facelifted friend, the Volkswagen Tiguan, and talk about one of the most significant models to be launched this year and it’s a pick-up truck, the Ford Ranger. Want to hear more about the Chevrolet Sonic? Well that’s in this episode too.

Handsome: check. Tastefully styled: check. Decent equipment levels: check. This Chevrolet Sonic seems to be a decent car entering into the Hyundai i20/Ford Fiesta/Mazda 2/Volkswagen Polo battle and it looks like a good alternative. Take a listen to find out what more. Click on the image for a full gallery.

The show is rounded off by two car reviews that surprise – good or bad – and delight. You’ll have to take a listen to find which and hear more about the Mazda 5 people mover and Renault’s Megane CC 1.4 tCe.

One of the best Mazdas bar none. No questions, no debate. To find out why take a listen to the show. Click on the image to view a full gallery.

Christo gives you the low-down on the local launch of the Nissan Juke. Click on the image to see a full comprehensive gallery of this car.

It seems to be a prevailing trend, but two-tone hard tops look quite daft. Have a listen to the review of the Megane CC in this episode to find out what we have to say or click on the image for a full gallery of images for this car.

Episode 139 hi-fi download (18MB) 
Episode 139 lo-fi download (9MB)

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We’re joined this week by our friend from TimesLIVE and Sunday Times motoring, Thomas Falkiner. Together he, John Beale and Trevor van de Ven go back to the future with the DeLorean EV; talk about the local launch of the BMW 1-Series (F20); South African launch of the Nissan Juke and Tom gives us the low-down on the brand new BMW ///M5 (F10) having been one of the select few to drive it in Spain earlier this month.

Finally, if you’ve always considered buying something outside of the mainstream models and have not been able to bring yourself to do so, you should probably take a listen to our review on the Volvo V60 and S60 T6 R-Design that the crazy three got to drive. Go on, take a listen, download the file to listen later, or better yet, subscribe on our iTunes page to get the new episode automatically each week.

Never mind going back, this IS the future. One of the coolest cars of our time has been reengineered to run on pure electric power. Click on the image to go to a full gallery of the DeLorean EV, including a picture of the Flux Capcitor, er, sort of.

Want some more information on this car? Click here.

Sport and Urban, good or strange looking, you decide. Click on the gallery to see a gallery or listen to the podcast to hear what the team thinks.

Looking for more information on this car? Click here.

Want the spec sheet in PDF? Click here. (3.6Mb)

Pricing you will find if you click here.

Weird photo? It's of the new M5's engine and rightfully so, this is the star of the show. Click on the image to see what the metal that wraps around this powerplant is all about.

Looking for more information on this car? Click here or here for the international website.

Care to download the brochure? Click here.

It's love or hate and there is an abundance of both in episode 138 of the podcast for the Nissan Juke. Click on the image to see a full comprehensive gallery of this car.

Looking for more info? Click here.

Other specs including the price can be found here.

There is no mistaking this car. It is pretty and agressive at the same time and if you want to hear about its performance, then take a listen to the podcast. For a full gallery of pictures, click on this image.

For more information on this car, click here.

Episode 138 hi-fi download (18MB) 
Episode 138 lo-fi download (9MB)

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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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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.