Xzibit does Skoda Yeti commercial - Pimp my ride style

Alvin Nathaniel Joiner, better known as Xzibit, is an American rapper who most people know as the host of MTV's television show Pimp my Ride.

Known for his outlandish 'Rags to Riches' custom car conversions, Xzibit applies the Pimp my Ride approach to this Skoda Yeti advert.

The commercial manages to throw in a couple of it's own jokes, particularly the 'Czech Coast Customs', that plays on the real Pimp my ride shop called West Coast Customs. Skoda is based in Czech Republic although it is owned by Volkswagen.

Source Worldcarfans.com

BMW RECALLS 1.3 MILLION 5 SERIES AND 6 SERIES

Battery cable cover could be a fire risk, says BMW.

If you own an E60 BMW 5 Series or E63/E64 6 Series built between 2003 and 2010, expect a letter from BMW. The luxury carmaker is recalling 1.3 million vehicles worldwide over fears that some models could catch fire.

"In some remote cases, the battery cable inside the boot may be incorrectly mounted," says BMW. "This can result in the electrical system malfunctioning, the vehicle failing to start and, in some cases, to charring or fire."

But while that sounds alarming, BMW says that fewer than 1 per cent of the vehicles it has checked have exhibited any signs of the trouble. Just nine cases of the wiring issues have been reported and BMW says no injuries or fires have resulted - but it's enough to trigger a recall.

The recalls will be undertaken by dealers and are expected to take between half an hour and an hour. There will be no charge.

The numbers for the recall are pretty vast, though; 109,000 vehicles in the UK, 102,000 in China, 283,000 in Germany and 368,000 in the US.

Source www.pistonheads.com

THE BUDGET 2012 ACCORDING TO SELECT CONTRACTS

Osborne's been showing off his big red box again, but what does it mean to the Select Contracts vehicle user?

With its focus elsewhere this year (stamp duty, tax avoidance), the government's budget doesn't hold all that many nasty surprises - or indeed pleasant gifts for the motorists, but there are a few things to note from Mr Osborne's third budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Here's our bluffer's guide to what you need to know:

Fuel dutyAs expected, the 3p increase in fuel duty will go ahead on 1 August, but no other increases are currently planned.


VED
No major changes here, but the road fund licence will be increased in line with inflation across the board.

The Chancellor did announce, however, that the government is to look at reforming the VED in the 'medium term' so that all motorists contribute what the treasury sees as their fair share to public funds, and to continue to encourage the use of 'efficient' vehicles. Make of that what you will...
In helpful news, there are also plans to set up a direct debit for VED so as to help motorists spread the cost over the course of a year

Company car tax rates
Cars emitting more than 75g/km CO2 will see the percentage of their list price subject to tax increased by 1 per cent, up to a maximum of 35 per cent in 2014-15. After which a 2 per cent rise will be implemented, moving up to a maximum of 37 per cent.
The three per cent diesel supplement on company car tax will be dropped from April 2016, bringing them to the same tax levels as petrol cars.

Toll roads
Mustn't forget these... as revealed earlier this week, the government is to undertake a feasibility study into new ownership and ?nancing models motorways and A-roads... but don't call it privatisation...

Scource www.pistonheads.com

RECESSION? WHAT RECESSION?

Luxury brands coin it in while mainstream ones flounder - what's going on?

This really is a head-scratcher. We're in the middle of a prolonged financial slump and yet the makers of expensive cars are absolutely minting it. Meanwhile, many companies selling more reasonably priced motors are barely breathing.

So here are the success stories. Audi posted a record profit in 2011, and makes so much money for VW that it accounts for half the group's income.

Porsche is another. Thanks to demand for the Cayenne, the company's biggest seller in many markets, including the UK, the maker posted record profits of 1.7bn last year.

BMW, the world's largest maker of luxury vehicles, tried and failed not to crow about its record 2011 profits by saying it expects to surpass them this year as the new 3 Series hits showrooms.

Ferrari also joins the luxury record breakers by selling 7,195 cars last year, more than ever before. It also announced that it sold 10m worth of branded red tat (not Ferrari's description...) at the store within the new Abu Dhabi Ferrari theme park last year.

The list continues with Jaguar Land Rover, which said the last three months of 2011 were the company's most profitable ever.

Bentley rather let the side down by failing to beat its 2007 record of 10,014 cars sold worldwide, but did say that the 7,003 figure last year was back at pre-recession levels.

Meanwhile the mainstream brands struggle to make any money at all. PSA Peugeot-Citroen said its core car business was in the red last year. It's worse at Vauxhall/Opel, which made a loss of 355m in 2010, and, without its budget Dacia brand, Renault wouldn't have been profitable.

So what's going on? China is helping of course. A fanatical desire for luxury labels, especially European ones, has added pounds to the premium makers' bottom line, giving them those desirable upward curves that get financial officers hot under the collar. China is now Audi's biggest market, for example, while the country now accounts for a third of all Bentley sales.



The top-end companies are also giving us cars we want to buy, an obvious, but important point. "The premiums will be able to maintain their market share because of product expansion, " says Jonathon Poskitt, head of European sales forecasting for JD Power Automotive Forecasting. "They're filling gaps."

A typical premium range 10-20 years ago was barely six cars strong. Now look at them. BMW has 19 different models to choose from, including four SUVs.

Right now one in six cars sold in the UK is either a BMW, Audi or Mercedes. In a country still doubled up from a combination of bankers' excesses, a weak pound, and euro debt pains, that's pretty telling of the premiums' ability to make desirable cars.

Source Pistonheads.com