http://www.maxauto.co.za/CntView.aspx?CatID=26&CntID=1418
BMW is still the world's number one premium brand but not by much. Audi sales have come very close to matching BMW's for the first quarter of this year - coming in only 1,709 units behind the Bavarian brand's.
BMW had a global sale count of 265,809 units for the quarter (January to March) while for Audi the number was 264,100. BMW sales were buoyed by demand for the new X1 model. Both automakers were helped by resurgent markets, particularly the US, where overall auto sales rose 16 percent over the same period last year.
Audi is sticking to its goal of becoming the world's top-selling premium brand by 2015 with 1.5 million unit sales per year. Audi surpassed Mercedes-Benz sales for the first time this quarter too, making Mercedes the number three premium brand globally.
But Mercedes-Benz also saw a bountiful sales increase of 26 percent for the first quarter in the US, making it the number one premium brand (ahead of Lexus) in the world's largest single car market.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consumer Reports: Avoid GX 460 - rollover risk
http://www.maxauto.co.za/CntView.aspx?CatID=26&CntID=1419
Consumer Reports has issued a warning against the Lexus GX 460, due to a potential rollover risk.
During testing, the magazine discovered the GX had problems with emergency-handling. They found that the rear "slid out until the vehicle was almost sideways before the electronic stability control system was able to regain control."
Consumer Reports believes "in real-world driving, that situation could lead to a rollover accident, which could cause serious injury or death." This caused them to release a statement urging consumers not to buy the Lexus GX.
Toyota, battered by the recent pedal recall, was quick to respond. Spokesman Joe Tetherow said "Our engineers conducted similar tests during the development of the new GX and had no issues." He added Toyota engineers have been notified and they will attempt to duplicate the problem.
The last instance of Consumer Reports recommending a "do not buy" warning was in 2001 with the Mitsubishi Montero.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One off BRABUS VANISH based on SL65 AMG Black
http://www.maxauto.co.za/CntView.aspx?CatID=26&CntID=1420
German tuners Brabus have created a new one-off sports car tuning kit based on the Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG Black Series. Named by its owner in Dubai, the Brabus Vanish has a power increase of nearly 19.5 percent.
Power on the Vanish is boosted to 588 kW, up from the 493 kW cranked out by the 6.0-liter AMG V12 engine. The increase comes from engineers installing larger turbochargers, and mating the engine to a racier gearbox and exhaust. Due to the larger turbines, the hood was replaced with a new version that includes an awkward bulge in the middle.
New Vanish-badged brakes can also be found, while inside, Brabus badging is seen throughout.
Still, for such a luxe ride, one would hope the designers would come up with something better than the tacked on bonnet bulge. Surely, such an elaborate car deserves better.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MacPherson struts go carbon-fibre
http://www.maxauto.co.za/CntView.aspx?CatID=26&CntID=1421
If you are a petrolhead, your fetish construction material has to be carbon-fibre.
In racing carbon-fibre is, well, pretty much ubiquitous in its presence on F1 cars. The reason is the combination of low mass and high strength.
It’s rather expensive though and quite labour intensive to produce, which is why you're hardly likely to see it on the new VW Vivo, for instance.
With manufacturers seeking to improve the efficiency of their cars (lowering emissions and fuel consumption), weight reduction has become a massive issue in the last few years.
One of the best ways to trim mass is by increasing the volume of carbon-fibre within a vehicle’s construction.
Whereas one traditionally expects to find carbon-fibre present in a car’s surfacing or cabin, German automotive supply giant ZF has an alternative which hides behind the wheels.
High-tech material, simple construction
Engineers at ZF have now fashioned a carbon-fibre MacPherson strut, which the company claims reduces weight per wheel corner by as much as 3kg.
In terms of construction the ZF MacPherson assembly features an integrated carrier and piston rod hewn from carbon-fibre, whilst the spring and top mount plate are fibreglass and plastic respectively.
The only traditional construction part of the ZF MacPherson strut equation is its steel damper tube. In its current state the ZF carbon strut is only rated to suspend cars with a mass of less than 900kg. Essentially the ZF carbon strut is limited to lightweight British sportscars for the moment.
Interestingly, ZF says the carbon strut’s fewer parts and reduced assembly complexity brings it into a pricing alignment with traditional suspension technology.
All we know is this: it looks extraordinarily cool.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kids left in car at strip club
http://www.maxauto.co.za/CntView.aspx?CatID=26&CntID=1422
A suburban Dallas man faces child endangerment charges after police say he left his 3-year-old and 9-month-old children locked in the car while he visited a strip club.
Thirty-six-year-old Michael Galloway of McKinney was in the Dallas County Jail on Tuesday on bonds totalling $10 000.
Dallas police say a tow truck driver discovered the children late on Friday across the street from Pandora's Men's Club, according to The Dallas Morning News. The car was parked illegally. Police say the windows were up and the doors were locked.
According to police, Galloway said he was inside for 20 minutes. Witnesses told police he was drinking inside for at least an hour.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Company car tax boon
http://www.maxauto.co.za/CntView.aspx?CatID=26&CntID=1423
Recipients of company cars may see an increase in their take-home monthly pay, consultancy Ernst & Young said on Tuesday.
In a statement Vedika Andhee, director for tax, said the provision of a company car had a fringe benefit tax attached to it.
"It was announced earlier this year that the SA Revenue Service (Sars) will be reconsidering the value of the fringe benefit.
"Currently, company cars are taxed at a rate of 2.5% of the 'determined value' of the motor vehicle," she said.
The concept of 'determined value' was comprehensively defined in the Income Tax Act but would generally be the original cost of the vehicle to the purchaser.
"The original cost of the vehicle excludes any finance charge, interest, VAT etc.
"In the current economic environment, when acquiring a motor vehicle from a dealership, it is a common selling point that the vehicle comes with a three to six year warranty and a maintenance contract."
Andhee said the vehicle's selling price would therefore have this maintenance contract built in.
The fringe benefit
"One way of reducing the tax on a company car is to reduce the determined value of the car or to reduce the percentage points applicable to the determined value."
She said that as an illustration, where the employee did not receive a travel allowance and bore the full cost of maintaining the company vehicle, the value of the private use of the company car - or the fringe benefit - had to be determined by deducting 0.18% from 2.5%.
"The fringe benefit is calculated at a rate of 2.32% of the determined value of the vehicle on a monthly basis," she said.
Arguably, in situations where a maintenance contract was included in the purchase price, the determined value should be reduced by the cost of the maintenance contract.
Andhee said the reduction in the percentage points could not, however, be used as it only applied in instances when the employee bore the full cost of maintaining the vehicle.
"Assume that a company purchases a car for R250 000 (excl VAT etc).
'Smiles on their faces'
"The car has a three-year maintenance contract which costs R40 000 and this cost is built into the purchase price.
"The determined value to be utilised in computing the fringe benefits tax would be R210 000."
Andhee said that this amounted to a reduction in the fringe benefit of R12 000 per annum or R1 000 per month.
"There are those who would argue that the determined value cannot be reduced in this way.
"However, it appears that Sars approves of the method," she said.
"They have specifically stated in the Employer Guide that where a motor dealer includes a maintenance contract in the purchase price of a vehicle, the value of the maintenance contract should be excluded from the calculation of the value of the benefit received by an employee when the right of use is granted to such employee."
Andhee said in light of Sars's ratification of the method, it would be wise for employers to request that the dealership provided them with a breakdown of the purchase price separating the maintenance contract from the actual cost of the motor vehicle.
"The fringe benefit will therefore be much lower once the maintenance cost is removed.
"At the end of the day, recipients of company cars may have smiles on their faces as they will be seeing a greater take-home pay on a monthly basis," she said.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment