Things have not been going Italy’s way recently. While the Azzuri in South Africa were out drowning their sorrows after dropping out of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Italians had at least one thing to celebrate: Alfa Romeo’s Centenary.

With one soldier down – Trevor Tuck couldn’t join us, thanks to the football loss and Alfa celebration – Christo, Patrick and Trevor (van de Ven) discuss a special edition Ford Focus RS, a European sell-out success and a couple of local models.

The team also debates the cars that made the difference to the motoring world in 1981.

Very pretty Fords. You can do it yourself for much less though.

Episode 81 hi-fi download (28MB)
Episode 81 lo-fi download (16MB)

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Show notes and links after the jump.

On 24 June 2010, Alfa Romeo celebrated its 100th birthday. Trevor Tuck celebrated so much, he could not make it to ZACS for this recording. The loss of the Italian team in the FIFA World Cup 2010 might have something to do with his absence, too.

Audi cannot keep up with demand in Europe. We hope the Audi A1 comes to SA soon, so we can see what all the hype is about.

To pay homage to a Le Mans racer you can do two things. Develop a road going version of the race car – which a lot of manufacturers have done in the past – or, like Ford did most recently, put together a sticker pack for the Focus RS, and call it a limited edition. [via: Insideline]

Engine of the Year awards – every good engine is in here. Best Engines in various capacities: A few BMWs. Best New Engine: an Alfa. Best Performance Engine: an AMG.

Opel’s Corsa 1.4 variants excluding the Essentia, get a new engine and some suspension tweaks to improve, consumption and emissions while raising the power ever so slightly.

Suzuki’s Swift Sport is to Suzuki what the RenaultSport Twingo is Renault. Small, compact and huge amounts of fun in the spirit of the traditional hot-hatch. After nearly two years of promises, South Africa finally gets it.  [via: Suzuki]

Not quite a fizzled out electric storm, GM has refreshed the Spark lineup and brought forth the Spark Lite – a revision of the current Spark. It has done this in anticipation of the new Spark which South Africans will get soon. Another car to hot up the entry-level segment. [via Chevrolet]

The New Spark

In one of the slowest, emptiest news weeks of the year, a cut-down ZA Car Show crew breezes through a few short snippets before breezing on through to the Isuzu 72-hour Endurance challenge at Gerotek. The result is a pretty short – but fun – show, weighing in at just over 30-minutes.

ZACS is part of Isuzu's attempt to break a 72-hour record...

Episode 72 hi-fi download (18MB)
Episode 72 lo-fi download (9MB)

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Show notes and links after the jump.

General Motors is just all over the news, this past week:

• First it organises a huge 72-hour endurance run for its Isuzu KB300, KB250 and Corsa Utility vehicles, at Gerotek. Tuck and Christo were there, driving the cars, and will report back in episode 73.

• Then it rebrands the Opel Corsa Utility, adding a bow tie to the front grille and calling it a Chevrolet.

• And to make up for that, it says it will bring the new Opel Astra to South Africa, early next year. Engines will range from 1.4 and 1.4-turbo, to 1.6 and 1.6-turbo. Oh, and some diesels, too. Hopefully they’ll be competitively priced, and kickstart the brand’s sales, after a long hiatus for this model.

The team also talks about a report from ITWeb, which finds that more than 60% of South African motorists are uninsured. A shocking, but sobering number indeed. Are you paying for somebody else’s car crashes?

Also in the news – and a friend of the insurers – are the tracking companies. Netstar, Tracker and Matrix, who collectively represent 90% of the industry, are being investigated for anti-competitive practices, including price collusion.

Finally, our regular ZA Car Show cars of the episode’s year sees us picking the best cars from 1972. This episode’s historic trio comprises two Italians and a German: start placing your bets.

The 3-point seatbelt turn 50, saves many lives.

The space wheel shows what is used on the moon, but will it be the tyre of the future on earth?

Show notes, cool pictures and links to news after the jump…

Direct file download (27.2MB)

Good Year Spring Tyre [via Designboom]

3 point safety belt turns 50 [via Volvo Safety Microsite]

BMW X6 and 7-series ActiveHybrid

ActiveHybrid system mated to a clunking huge engine

Good to see BMW's taken the step, but others seem to do hybrid technology better

• Speculation Audi A5 pricing
• FIAT Strada 1.4
• Toyota Prius

Driven: Golf 6 TSI

This 90kw/200Nm engine powers....

...this car, and it does so brilliantly!

Driven: Opel Corsa Sport 1.6

The little devil car

Long term update: FIAT Grande Punto 1.4 T-Jet

BMW's new Z4 - driven.

More pics and details after the jump!

Direct file download (25.7MB)

Hummer’s highest bidder hails from… China!

Opel (also known as Vauxhall and Saturn) has been sold to a Russian and Canadian consortium known as Magna.

Fiat and Chrysler have finally wrapped up negotiations, announcing the formation of a new company focused on cleaner vehicles (which will hopefully make them some money).

Tuck expresses disdain for yet another minivan he doesn’t “get”: the Peugeot 5008.

Tuck doesn't luck those doors...

... but the rest of us like the pretty face.

Jaguar unveils the 2010 model year XF and XF-R.

A big, bold British bully.

BMW makes the M3 Edition models available for exclusive order in SA – only 25 units will be brought in.

A new limited-edition BMW M3 - available in yellow, too!

The gorgeous, but confused, new Z4 is driven by Christo – he reports back on the Cape Town launch.

Is this the future of motoring? We hope not...

...this is more like it.

Direct file download (28.9MB)

Click here for some shownotes and extra links to some interresting news:

In this Episode  30 we discuss:

• GM and Segway partner to develop some ridiculous concept featured above; GM should rather be developing products that will help it through the slump
• First pictures of the Nissan 370Z Roadster
• BMW oficially unveil the BMW X6 and X5 M-models
• Tata Nano
• GM in South Africa cut a great deal of models from its price list; leave buyers with little choice in the Opel range
• South African launch: VW Scirocco
• Car gadgets reviewed by the team
  • http://tinyurl.com/H2Hbreath – breathalyser keychain
  • http://tinyurl.com/solarbt – Solar Bluetooth car kit
  • http://tinyurl.com/incarmp4 – in-car MP4 player
• Garmin  ecoRoute – free ecological route planning software for Garmin Nuvi 2(x)5 and 7(x)5 models www.garmin.com/ecoroute

Christo was dissapointed...listen to the show to find out more

Shocking: a very pretty electric car

More show notes and links to news after the jump

Direct file download (22.8MB)

In this episode we discuss:

Tesla Model S Saloon

Very pretty, a little bit of Jag XF in those rear flanks

Almost perfect from every angle

Mercedes-Benz E Class Global Launch (thanks motoring.co.za)

As exciting as getting a new hearing aid

Subaru Legacy first pictures (thanks to UK Car Magazine)

It aint going to win any design awards, but it aint going to grab much attention either

Aston Martin DB9 S4 Super Sedan  (Thanks Wheels24)

South African sees the launch of the Opel Corsa Sport – a turbo powered compact that doesn’t step on the OPC’s toes

Ford refreshes its Bantam ‘half-ton’ pickup and Ford Focus hatch and sedan

Sales figures, the looming fuel crisis in SA and more…

This week the ZACS team tackle the European Car of the Year, have a look at the vehicles eligible for South African of the year and discuss GM’s fate – the American auto-builder is looking for a bailout from the US government.

In this episiode:

• Chrysler South Africa offers Flex-Fuel vehicles with the 2009 Dodge Journey 2.7 V6.
• European Car of the Year 2009, these are the nominees: Alfa Romeo MiTo, Citroën C5, Ford Fiesta, Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, Renault Mégane, Škoda Superb, Volkswagen Golf.
• And the cars that didn’t make it: Audi A4, Audi Q5, BMW X6, BMW 7 Series, Chevrolet HHR, Chrysler Grand Voyager, Citroen Berlingo/Peugeot Partner, Citroen Nemo/Fiat Fiorino/Peugeot Bipper, Dacia Sandero, Dodge Journey, Ford Kuga, Honda Accord, Honda Jazz, Hyundai i10, Hyundai i800, Jaguar XF, Jeep Cherokee, Lancia Delta, Mazda6, Mercedes-Benz GLK, Mitsubishi Lancer, Nissan Murano, Opel Agila/Suzuki Splash, Renault Kangoo, Renault Koleos, Seat Ibiza, Subaru Forester, Toyota Land Cruiser 200, Volkswagen Scirocco, Volvo XC60
• South African Car of the Year speculation: ZACS guesss which might be the picks from local manufacturers, hedges bets and will check when the announcement is made 28 November 2008.
• General Motors Deathwatch – with a request to the US Government for a financial bail-out, what will happen to porfitable regions like that in which South Africa finds itself.

And more…

Direct file download (23MB) ]]> http://www.zacar.co.za/za-car-show-episode-14/feed 2 http://www.zacar.co.za/episode-3 http://www.zacar.co.za/episode-3#comments Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:23:03 +0000 admin http://www.zacar.co.za/?p=24 With the crew back in full swing for episode 3 we tackle the following topics:

• The world’s prettiest cars according to a top 10 list provided by Jalopnik, including Alfas, Astons, Audis and others.
• Audi’s new A4 Avant arrives.
• Car-buying costs – how dealers are shafting us.
• Ridiculous option lists and how they bite you in the ass when selling.
• Audi – again – with the RS6. Who’d pay a million bucks for an Audi? (R8 excluded)
• The big three from Germany. How are Audi, BMW and Mercedes Benz stacking up, today?
• Some talk about the 2006 Auto Africa Expo, and tips from us for the next expo…
• Speaking of Auto Africa -  we mention a little surprise for Johannesburg International Motor Show (JIMS, ex Auto Africa).
• Power! We think some cars have way to much power. What do you think?
• We ponder whether hot hatches have lost the plot. We talk about the Civic Type-R, Focus ST, Golf GTI and more.
• Tuckie shares some Opel love. And Trevor van de Ven admits to lusting after a BMW.
• Trevor and Christo talk about the SEAT Leon Cupra, which they’ve driven, and we talk about the SEAT range overall.
• Trevor spotted the face lifted Focus ST in traffic, which leads us onto the Focus RS and LSDs in front-wheel drive cars.
• Tuckie laments the demise of Subaru’s Impreza sedan, which they’ve now replaced with a hatch. He compares its shape to a potato, and mentions how the new Evo X looks a lot hotter.
• Patrick tells us about his atrocious service experience at a certain Alfa dealership. We might make this a regular spot. Not because his car’s always at the dealership, but because there’s always some clutchplate messing things up for motorists.

And more…

Direct file download (29MB)