We’re trying some new things on ZA Car Show and one fo these is brevity. Take a listen to the compact episode 156 of ZA Car Show and let us know if you like it. As always we are open to feedback, suggestions on subjects for Wallpaper Wednesdays, tips on some crazy cars for sale, and any other things you would to share with us. Click on these black words to submit your feedback, we’d appreciate hearing from you.

The SL 65 AMG generates a full 630 PS (463 kW / 621 hp) from its 6.0-litre V12 biturbo engine that is mated to AMG’s Speedshift Plus 7G-Tronic transmission system. This enables it to accelerate from 0-100kph (0-62mph) in just 4 seconds before hitting an electronically limited top speed of 250kph (155mph).

463kW; 1000Nm; 0-100km/h in under 4s; these are the figures for the recently announced Mercedes Benz SL65. While it’t not a new engine, it does get some technical updates. It’s quite a looker.

New B-class

Meriva

GTC

Review:

VW Tiguan

There was a time where Americans had to wait until Big Game Day to see what the country’s most creative marketers had been working on to air in the singularly most expensive advertisement slots on prime-time TV. But with that ‘internet thing’ you can’t keep anything under wraps anymore. A full couple of days ahead of the big day most of the adverts are available online so there isn’t really any reason to have to hang in there and watch the game unless, of course, you like the American version of  rugby. We’ve collected and put all of the auto manufacturers’ Superbowl 2012 ads right here in one place. Aren’t we a nice bunch? Be amazed, be appalled, be disappointed. Let us know what you think?

It looks as if Toyota invests as much creativity in its ads as it does in designing dull and boring family cars. The one’s titled ‘It’s Reinvented!’ but we’re still trying to figure out what, you can’t reinvent boring obscure rubbish.

Another one from Toyota although, as with its cars, Lexus is more exciting than its parent, if only just a little bit. Lexus has even gone as far as calling its advert, ‘Beast,’ in the way that people ironically call their lapdogs ‘Beast.’ Very edgy for Lexus.

Hyundai: Hey, it’s different we guess. Hyundai has included people from its plant in here, so it gets a couple of points for company involvement, but the alignment to ‘Rocky,’ yeah, we’re just not so sure.

Hyundai, then, provides us then with a the perfect segue into the adverts involving movies, movie references and old movie stars. No one seems to have realised that if  they’d include Ryan Gosling, ladies will be in the dealership while the men watch the game.

Honda’s piss-take on Ferris Beuller’s Day Off gets Matthew Broderick clearly looking 25 years older than he did in the original Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and and places him in an ad that he will surely regret  one day.  What are out-of-work actors supposed to do, we suppose? We’d certainly fake an illness to spend a day in a Ferrari 250, notsomuch in a Honda CR-V.

Honda redeems itself (only slightly) with this remotely funny advert involving the Saab-loving, in the Seinfeld series at least, Jerry Seinfeld and car-nut funny man, Jay Leno. But it’s actually only the sound of the NSX that makes this advert worth watching — a pure tease.

Volkswagen’s ‘The Force’ advert last year with mini-Darth took the ad world by storm (49 million views on YouTube to-date) and went viral by virtue of the fact that it was cute and clever. VW had some pretty big shoes to fill and showed some promise with the teaser, “The Bark Side”…

…but ultimately let the side down with, “The Dog Strikes Back.” Poor form after last year’s great success.

Volkswagen shows that its alright to use pets, and so Suzuki also gets in the action with some pooches, these being some huskies in for a head-bopping time…

These are the ones that are actually quite good. Cadillac is first up with ‘Green Hell,’ a reference to the Nurburgring that unashamedly punts its performance credentials and actually communicates the values of the car. Imagine that? There’s the crafty inclusion of the advertising boards stating “Wir sind Opel,” “We are Opel” for the english types, which is important because this is the BMW 3-series/Mercedes-Benz C-Class/Audi A4 competitor. It’s clearly intent on telling the Germans that Cadillac is no longer a fat American pig and it’s roots, in fact, lie very close to home.

The former king of Superbowl ads, Budweiser has once again produced a hit and it only gets a mention here because there’s a car in it, a very famous car. And that’s what makes it funny and causes a smile to crack across even the most hardened 30 year-old’s face. The younger kids probably won’t get it, though.

Vampires are the rage. Everyone loves them, don’t they? Even Volvo. Audi pulls off a clever ad and actually ties it into one of its product’s selling features, the LED headlamps. Amazing what sticking to the basics can do, of all the leaked adverts so far, this is one of the best in our opinion.

Update: Chevrolet has held out until now so showcase five ads for Big Game Day and all of them are BRILLIANT, well four of them are. In our humble opinion, of course.

Chervrolet Sonic’s Bug Advert hits the cute spot with this one…

Chervrolet’s Volt advert gets the message across succinctly, “Smartest car in the galaxy” while dispelling the myth that electric cars have a very limited range. Clever.

Hitting the youth market and doing something clever, simple and effective but more of a teaser for the full new Chev/OK Go video on Sunday.

A very funny graduation video for Chev’s Superbowl Sunday madness.

Very emotive, brilliant. Very Clever. The advert for the Chevy Sonic.

Follow us on Twitter, here.

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

64kbps stream Download audio file (zacs136.mp3)

32kbps stream Download audio file (zacs136_low.mp3)

The Johannesburg International Motor Show kicked off for the public at NASREC in Gauteng, South Africa on 8 October. We attended the press days two days prior to the public show, and came away very impressed. In episode 136, John Beale, Christo van Gemert and Trevor van de Ven discuss the highlights and the surprises of the of the show. If you’ve not attended yet, perhaps this might prompt you to make a turn past there, and if you already have, maybe you disagree. Let us know what you thought about the show.

Take a look at the gallery of highlights from Day 1 of the Johannesburg Motor Show…

This Honda CRZ despite being labeled a 'Concept' was built in South Africa to prove that hybrids need not be boring. Click on the image to see the modifications under the hood of this car and some of the other highlights of Day 1 at the Johannesburg International Motor Show.

…and a gallery of Day 2′s highlights.

Another concept on show at the Johannesburg Motor Show, the awesome little Suzuki Swift Sport Concept. The real deal will be coming to South Africa soon, but click on the picture to see what the highlights of day two were.

The J, C and T also review the Land Rover Discovery TDV6 HSE and the Opel Corsa Colour Edition, a good value car for the youth or not? Listen to find out more.

We review this car in this episode, click on the image to view a complete gallery of the details that grace the Corsa Colour Edition

A rare sight is one of these cars off-road, but it's equally good on-road so we don't mind that, that is where most of them will reside. Click on the image to go to a full gallery of some magnificent photography of the Landrover Discovery TDV6 HSE that ZA Car Show had on review.

Episode 136 hi-fi download 
Episode 136 lo-fi download

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

64kbps stream Download audio file (zacs128.mp3)

32kbps stream Download audio file (zacs128_low.mp3)

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)

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

64kbps stream Download audio file (zacs114.mp3)

32kbps stream Download audio file (zacs114_low.mp3)

It’s no economic crisis in China, judging by some of the vehicles that were unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show, but it’s brands like Lamborghini and Rolls Royce that seem to impress the most in this (if we can we call it) emerging economy. ZACS also looks at a special model – the E63 AMG – from the New York International Auto Show too. The special cars from Brabus, Opel and Porsche that really impress.

In this show we also discuss the impending launch of Nissan’s New Micra;  the virtues of a notoriously unreliable brand like Land Rover sponsoring the Rugby World Cup 2011 and SA players, Bryan Habana and John Smit; a mini MINI bicycle and a review of the surprisingly pleasant Renault Sandero Stepway.

So very pretty (compared with the old one)

Well that's impressive...

A little less impressive is what it looks like once it has been unfolded.

Episode 114 hi-fi download (15MB)
Episode 114 lo-fi download (7MB)

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

64kbps stream
Download audio file (zacs100.mp3)
32kbps stream
Download audio file (zacs100_low.mp3)

Well it’s finally here, our ton; centenary; landmark or one hundredth show. It’s been a great ride for two and half years and we’ve had some great rides too thanks to support from a select few motor companies who started to believe in this ‘internet’ thing; thanks go to Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW, FIAT, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Land Rover, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Renault, Suzuki and Volkswagen — some pretty conspicuous absences there. Still, we could do better to offer you, our loyal listeners and social media followers more in-depth reviews, opinions and feedback on the South African motoring landscape.

This is why in the New Year, ZA Car Show will go live with episode 101 and deliver a ZACS 101 show together with a new website (which does look quite tasty, if we have to say so ourselves)  — for now we’re not going to try and regurgitate the same stuff that the multitude of other online SA motoring website do so you can look forward to some unique content. Yay!

Sadly, Patrick Gearing was not present for the 100th episode, but the two Trevors and Christo were. In this episode they discuss the South African launch of the MINI Countryman (click to launch the microsite) – the four wheel-drive, four door MINI which left Christo in awe of the R400 000 machine. We also cover the Opel Corsa Colour Edition which successfully targets with youth/young buyers with interesting OEM options like black wheels and dark windows.

South Africa also saw the introduction of a face-lifted Nissan X-Trail, and also arrived at the North Pole in the form of the South African-built Arctic Trucks Toyota Hilux.

In other news, the Lexus IS250C gets a fully-specced limited edition, the Fiat 500 launches in the US, Ford launches a Fiesta Sedan and Audi announces its next rennsport model, the RS3.

So there you have it. We will be off line until January 2011 where you will see all the new stuff and an interview with Hyundai SA.

If you have any questions for Hyundai SA, feel free to send them to us – our contact details are below!

Episode 100 hi-fi download (30MB)
Episode 100 lo-fi download (15MB)

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

64kbps stream
Download audio file (zacs91.mp3)
32kbps stream
Download audio file (zacs91_low.mp3)

Good things come in threes, and this episode is no exception. With Christo away getting technology updates, the Trevors and Patrick explore the virtues of the Alfa Romeo MiTo MultiAir, Suzuki Vitara V6, Crazy Lamborghini theories and the death of the V6.

Nothing new here, move along...

...whoa, but look inside. Those crazy Ities know how to bad design descisions look awesome.

Trevor van de Ven was also one of the very few non-celebrities to attend the launch of a Ferrari 458 Italia in South Africa and despite considering a good deed, gets flack from the two opportunists trying to snap up freebies.

Do the desert war crawl up in here...

Episode 91 hi-fi download (32MB)
Episode 91 lo-fi download (17MB)

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

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.

Choose your weapon.

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

64kbps stream
Download audio file (zacs81.mp3)
32kbps stream
Download audio file (zacs81_low.mp3)

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

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

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]

New hotness!

64kbps stream – Download audio file (zacs72.mp3)
32kbps stream – Download audio file (zacs72_low.mp3)

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)

Follow us on Twitter, here.
Join the ZA Car Show fan group on Facebook, here.

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.

Download audio file (zacs46.mp3)

The team tries hard this week to make sense of hybrids, hydrogen and fuel saving technology. In a world that is changing, is it slowly heralding the death of the petrol engine? One might think just that, but then the Volkswagen Golf TSI comes along; probably one of the most astounding cars to come along this year, but Trevor van de Ven won’t buy it, why?

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