Daily Archives: April 11, 2012

Ferrari collection could net well over €15m

1957 Ferrari 625 TRC Scaglietti Spider
There’s just over a month left until the forthcoming RM Auctions sale, with 22 of the rarest and most beautiful Ferraris expected to sell for more than €15 million. Headlining the sale at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on 11-12 May will be one of only two 1957 Ferrari 625 TRC Spiders ever built. A rich racing history is part of this beautiful car’s appeal, having achieved second place at the very first Laguna Seca race in 1957 and other podium finishes at Pebble Beach, Pomona, Hawaii and Santa Barbara.

Universal DAB radio adapter launched


Alpine has unveiled the EZi-DAB, which despite sounding like something you’d find in a first aid kit, is a clever little device that changes any car stereo into a DAB digital radio.

Skoda Yeti voted UK’s best car by owners

The Skoda Yeti has taken the top spot overall in the 2012 Auto Express Driver Power survey – the biggest car owner survey in the UK. In fact, Skoda took three of the top four spots, with the Superb in second and Octavia in fourth.
The top five places were rounded out by the Mercedes E-Class in third place and the Jaguar XF in fifth spot. In terms of in-car technology, the cars rated most highly by their owners were Nissans, with the Qashqai in first place and the Juke in fourth. Nissan does major on providing more technology per pound than its main rivals, so it is interesting to see that customers appreciate the fact.

Car Makers Warned: Leave Iran – or leave the USA

US lobbyists are claiming that they are forcing car companies out of Iran – on pain of becoming toxic brands in America. Last week Peugeot announced it was stopping supplies to its Iranian joint venture, which was more important than you might imagine. Iran was basically put on wheels by the Hillman/Chrysler Hunter in the 1970s and, when Peugeot bought Chrysler, it took over the deal and supplied Peugeot 405 and 406 models (the orange car above is the Hunter). The total number of Chrysler/Peugeots supplied now runs into the millions. The pull out is expected to cost Peugeot £750 million a year in lost turnover.

Hyundai followed Peugeot’s move, with the lobbyists claiming they were instrumental in the Korean company’s decision. A spokesman for United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) told industry website just-auto from New York, “We were the ones that announced Hyundai had ended its business in Iran. Our extensive consultations with Hyundai are confidential – that should give you an idea of how informed we were.”