Cars that are Fast and Cool
Funny Audi R8 commercial from december 2008. The über cool Audi R8 ends up being in caught in a tight place in this cool Audi ad. Who said the perfect hostage? V8 version shown. Directed by Anders Wils / anders(a)twintwin.org. More Audi commercials and other funny commercials: www.andco.dk
Aston Martin is a distinctive, high quality and classy car. This luxurious car is exhilarating to drive and stylish design to behold any eyes. In many of the James Bond films Aston Martin is seeing to be featured. It is a dream car for many and people long to experience the thrill of driving Aston Martin. If you have such dreams then you can realise it by considering the Aston Martin driving experience. This experience will make you feel proud and have achieved something great in your life.
The Aston Martin driving experience let you drive the quality car of good performance and appearance that is engineering to hit the road. In this experience, the participant sits behind the wheel to experience the excitement and enthrallment. Participants are given an introduction about the car and experience by a well trained instructor who later assists in the experience. The driving experience is sure to last lifetime and can be shared with friends or dear ones. The instructor gives the basic techniques necessary for a smooth ride.
This experience of driving is much popular in UK and available in many locations. Participants are given limited laps to drive. To book the Aston Martin driving experience you have to purchase the experience voucher. Many driving institutions also arrange this experience across UK. However, all the dates are subject to availability and can be book following the instructions provided in the voucher.
Participants should meet few eligibility criteria prior booking this experience. A participant should be above 18 years; participants should hold a full manual driving license for a minimum of 1 year; participant’s height should not exceed 16 stone, maximum height 1.98m and minimum 1.52m. Persons under the age of 11 years are not allowed for Aston martin driving experience. The Aston martin driving experience is an ideal gift for person who loves to drive glamorous cars.
Find more exciting news and to book the experience instantly consider the Aston Martin driving experience. This experience is a life time excitement and is perfect gift for any person who desires to drive a glamorous car.
BMW – a reputation built on quality without compromise
As an experienced driver, you know the importance of keeping your BMW in tip-top condition. Regular servicing will extend your car’s life and identify defects before they become catastrophic.
When you consider the history of BMW and how the Company has built its global reputation for prestige and performance excellence, booking a BMW service that is conducted with care and precision is vitally important in retaining the characteristics of this prestige car.
BMW facts you may not know
BMW has its roots in pre-First World War German aviation.
Gustav Otto, son of the inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine, set up an aircraft factory and training school in 1910. However, after persistent quality problems with production, his business was bought by a consortium in 1916. The company became known as Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG (BFW) and began manufacturing aircraft under licence from Albatros Werke. It soon became the largest aircraft manufacturer in Bavaria, but at the end of the First World War demand collapsed.
Meanwhile, in 1913 an engine designer Karl Rapp had set up an aircraft engine manufacturing company, but vibration problems with their own engines meant that they switched production to Austro-Daimler V12 engines, under licence. A man called Franz Josef Popp was put in to supervise the manufacturing. He managed to persuade Karl Rapp to employ a talented design engineer from Daimler, Max Friz. Friz quickly designed a new engine and made such an impact with the investors, that Karl Rapp was ousted from the business in 1917. At this point the company name was changed from Rapp Motorenwerke GmbH to Bayerische Motorenwerke BmbH (BMW).
However, in December 1918, BMW was forced to close down by the government at the end of the First World War. However, in less than three months BMW was allowed to reopen and began designing a new array of engines, although the company was forced to cease aircraft engine production. At this point, an Austrian financier, Camillo Castiglioni, had become the majority shareholder in BMW.
In the summer of 1919, BMW began building brake assemblies under licence from Knorr-Bremse AG, and around a year later Castiglioni sold his shares in BMW to Knorr-Bremse.
Following the sale of his stake in BMW, Castiglioni became interested in purchasing BFW which he completed in 1922. On the back of this, he moved to purchase back the BMW name and engine building division from Knorr-Bremse. He was successful, and with the merger of BFW and BMW, under the BMW name, he also secured the design and management skills of Max Friz and Franz Josef Popp, plus valuable engine drawings and patents.
BMW began production of replacement engines, whilst Castiglioni did a lucrative deal with the Czechs to licence the production of BMW aircraft engines for use by their military.
During the 1920s, BMW supplied Russia with aircraft engines and Castiglioni, as well as being the majority shareholder, siphoned off a brokerage fee on every transaction to his ‘private’ companies.
Along with military engines, BMW began to successfully manufacture small agricultural engines and motorcycles, starting with the R 32 in 1923. These formed the basis of the project to design a BMW production car in 1925. Then in 1928 the company expanded into full car production with the purchase of the Eisenach Car Factory that made the Dixi (or Austin Seven manufactured under license). The car became known as the BMW 3/15 and it was not long before BMW was producing its own designs.
However, Castiglioni’s business dealings got himself and BMW into trouble. After selling a majority shareholding to Deutsche Bank in 1926, to raise personal funds, his irregular commission payments were duly revealed. He settled out of court with a large payment back to BMW and stepped down from the board. In 1929, he sold the remainder of his shared to Deutsche Bank to prop up his finances.
The Castiglioni affair had also cost BMW. The Russian government became aware of the ‘commission’ payments and demanded compensation. BMW handed over a licence to produce the BMW VI engine for free and relations with the Russians came to an end in the early 1930s.
After successful expansion of the motorcycle and car businesses in the 1930s, BMW was forced to abandon civilian production by the National Socialist Party during the Second World War and focus on the production of aircraft engines. This included the use of forced labour.
Towards the end of the war, BMW was hit hard by allied bombing and when the war ended, the sites in eastern Germany were seized by the Russians. Meanwhile, whilst BMW survived in the West, they were banned from manufacturing engines for three years and BMW car plans and their chief designer Fritz Fiedler were taken to England to begin Bristol Cars. And so it was not until 1948 that production of BMW motorcycles recommenced and not until 1952 that car production was started again.
The initial post-war car models, such as the 507 and 503, were not highly profitable and in 1959, BMW discussed selling the business to Daimler-Benz. This was an unpopular move with the workforce, and fortunately Chairman Kurt Golda increased his stake in the company to secure BMW’s independence.
During the 1960s the release of more sporty models spelt success for BMW. The BMW 1500 (that followed the BMW 700) led to the BMW 1600 and BMW 1800 models and in 1967 two door and convertible models that became known as the BMW 02 series. These developments eventually led to the creation of the famous BMW 3 series.
The company expanded, with new production facilities and a new headquarters in Munich.
Going into the 1970s, the BMW 5 series replaced the sedans, the coupes were replaced with the BMW 3 series and a new BMW 7 series was launched, thereby giving BMW three distinct sports sedan ranges that continued into the 1990s.
BMW became a global brand in prestige car manufacturing and sales increased 18 times. Production expanded from Germany and has spread to across continents, including facilities in the UK, America, South Africa and India. The company has also formed partnerships over time with Russian and Chinese producers.
In the mid 1990s, BMW bought Rover from British Aerospace. However, the company struggled to find a role for the English brands and make a profit. In 2000 it disposed of Rover to Phoenix Venture Holdings and sold the Land Rover brand to Ford. However, BMW retained the Mini, Triumph and other brands. BMW has since successfully rekindled the Mini brand and also gone on to secure full use of the Rolls Royce brand (in 2003).
From its humble origins as pre-First World War makers of aircraft and aircraft engines, BMW has survived as a result of post-war entrepreneurial spirit and grown rapidly to become a major global player in the prestige car market.
Book your BMW service with confidence
So when you book your next BMW service, you can be confident that Service A Car understands the heritage of BMW and conducts BMW servicing with the passion and precision your prestige car deserves.
Happy motoring,
Howard.
Chairman Service A Car
Service A Car is the fastest growing independent car servicing specialist in the UK with a network of over 500 garages nationwide.
Audi is one of the premier and the most luxurious manufacturers of automobile systems in Germany. They are the producers of the Audi Cars which is a famous car in the world. Besides they believe in innovation too.
History and Origin: The origin of the company can be traced to 1899 and the founder is August Horch. The founder had problems with the company that he was working with. So he was forced to leave the company and he soon started his own brand under his own name. But copyright issues were raised and he was forced to remove the family name in his brand. There he christened the name as Audi for his automobile company. The word Audi actually means in Latin to listen.
They initially started with Audi 2612 cc and they subsequently increased the efficiency more and more. They were mostly used in sporting events. Thus the brand of cars started developing over time and today we are seeing an entirely different world of cars being manufactured by Audi!
Auto Union: An Auto Union was formed when Audi entered in to collaboration with Horch, DKW and Wanderer. This Union was responsible for the production of the Audi Badge that we see today. These were used in Auto Racing Cars with different brand names. As the technology became more and more complex, more and more models were designed. These engines were used by Germany in the Second World War. The other vehicle which was used for the same purpose is the Kraftfahrzeug (KFZ 11) or the Horch Type 80 which was again used by the military.
Audi Logo: The logo consists of four overlapping rings which represents the four marques of Auto Union. Their logo reflects the fact that they are merged with Horch, DKW and Wanderer. The logo is beautifully crafted in such a way that the first ring represents Audi, the second one represents DKW, third one represents Horch, and the fourth and last ring represents Wanderer.
Earlier Times: After the second world war the Auto Union was heavily bombed. The Audi factory then turned into the socialist company “VEB Automobilwerk Zwickau” (AWZ). Post the World War II, many companies like Volkswagen and others rose and started the Auto Union again. By 1960 customers were attracted towards Four Stroke Engines and they became popular. The brands like Audi 72, 75 were invented when Volkswagen renamed their brand as Audi. Until 1972 models from Audi like Audi 60, 70, 80 and Super 90 were developed and they came back again in to the picture very strongly.
In 1969, the Auto Union saw the entry of one more member NSU, which was one of the world’s largest producers of motorcycles. They went on to produce new small cars which are light in wait and safe to drive but still had some problems in their rotary engines.
The Modern Audi: The period after 1970, especially years after the Second World War saw the emergence of Audi as a really competitive brand. It was first introduced in the United States in the post 1970 era. In 1968 saw the entry of the brand Audi 100. It was soon followed by another one in the name of Audi 80/Fox and Audi 50 in 1974. The Audi 50 was very popular in those days as it was invented on the basis of the Golf/Polo concept and it was a huge success all over the world because of its unique design and it is still very much remembered.
The inventions at that time and a proposal from a Chassis Engineer Jorg Bensinger, who promised to develop four wheel technologies. Soon it replaced the Audi brand cars and the racing cars too. The performance car which was developed in 1980 was named as Audi Quattro. Also it was the first German large-scale production vehicle which featured with permanent all-wheel drive through a center differential.
It is commonly referred to as Ur- Quattro in German, where Ur in German means original and unique. Also this prefix is used for other Audi Brands like S4 and S6 brands called as Ur4 and Ur6. These cars were used fro rallying and racing purposes and they soon became very famous. This marked not only the entry of Audi, but also advances in the Automobile World!
In 1985 the companies like NSU and the Auto Union fell and Audi came to be known as Audi AG. In 1986 the Audi 80 brand started developing a very good model which was famously called as the Grandfather’s Image in those days. The great thing about that model is the fact that it sold extremely well in no time. However the engine in the car was not that great even though it had great interior design and good performance. So to counter the shortcomings, Audi came up with a new model Audi 90 which had a superior design and was regarded as a good and an efficient model.
In Early 1990s the sales of the model Audi 80 declined as it said that some basic construction problems was not like by the buyers. This according to a US survey was due to unintended acceleration which happened when the break pedal was pushed. Many say that this problem was mainly attributed to the closeness of the accelerator and the break pedal. However this problem was not raised in any of the European countries as they had the experience of driving in the cars like that and their counterpart’s inexperience to drive in such cars.
However the aftermath was so severe that the US people did not buy Audi cars at all and the sales came down very badly. This led to the renaming of the affected model by Audi as 100/200, but the real name of the company was 5000. Audi had even planned to remove their models but sales went up again in the mid-1990s. The sales began to go on a upswing, thanks to a new model from them A4 in 1996 and the subsequent releases of the models like A4/A6/A8 series, which was developed in collaboration with VW and other sister brands of that time. So dozens of cars were coming from the innovative Audi.
Their Confidence to rule the world in automobile industry grew to such an extent that they started to claim world records, like Top Speed Endurance. The company had always maintained its premier racing game, The Silver Arrows. Even today their sales are in the skies as it is touching new heights day by day.
Audio enthusiasts visit our Audi forum to discuss topics from performance to styling of your favorite model.
The Aston Martin is the English alternative to the Bugatti and Ferrari. The company was founded in 1913 by mechanical engineer Robert Bamford and wealthy Lionel Martin. The two had met in 1905 as members of a cycling club and progressed during the Edwardian era to classic trials and hill climbs using the Singer sports car.
Bamford thought he could improve the car, and soon began to build cars which took the Aston Martin name (from Martin’s exploits at the Aston Clinton hill climb in Buckinghamshire).
However, the partnership was not to last and Martin bought out Bamford in 1922. Soon the company being asked for replicas, but being English, they didn’t like to make a profit from their friends and the firm nearly went bust in 1925. It was saved by Lord Charnwood and Hon. John Benson, who appointed Italian born Augustus Cesari Bertelli as Managing Director.
The many wealthy and often aristocratic customers would breeze into the works greeting him with “I say, Bertie, old chum….”
The company built the Ulster between 1934 and 1935 which had an in line 4 cylinder 1495cc, single overhead camshaft which featured an advanced dry sump engine. It produced 80bhp at 5250rpm, had a top speed of 100mph, and named after the Ulster TT road race. The Ulster was the best performing of the pre war Astons.
Following the war, many manufacturers were suffering financial difficulties. David Brown (famous for tractors) acquired Aston Martin in 1947 for £20,500, and in 1948, purchased Lagonda for £52,000.
He made something of a false start with the underpowered four cylinder Aston Martin DB1 in 1948.
Despite the cars appreciation in value, the company was often financially troubled. In 1972, it was sold to a company called Company Developments Ltd, backed by a Birmingham based consortium and chaired by William Wilson. The company was then resold in 1975 to Peter Sprague and George Minden. The new owners pushed the company into modernising its line.
In 1980, Aston Martin had plans to buy MG, which did not materialise.
As worldwide sales of Astons shrank to three per week, Alan Curtis (chairman) together with fellow shareholders Sprague and Minden, had almost chosen to shut down the production and concentrate on service and restoration. Curtis attended the 1980 Pace sponsored Stirling Moss benefit day at Brands Hatch and met Victor Gauntlett.
Gauntlett bought a 12.5% stake in the company for £500,000 with Tim Hearley of CH Industrials taking a similar share. They then took over 50/50 ownership at the beginning of 1981, with Gauntlett as executive chairman. He also led the sales team, and after some development and a lot of publicity, was able to sell with success the Aston Martin Lagonda to Persian Gulf States.
They continued sponsoring racing events and all Aston Martin Owners Clubs events.
As trading became tighter in the petroleum market, and Aston required more time and money, Gauntlett agreed to sell his company ‘Pace’ to the Kuwait Investment Office in September 1983. He also agreed to sell his share holding to Peter Livanos.
September 1987 saw Ford take a share holding in the company. They placed Aston in the Premier Automotive Group, and substantially invested in new manufacturing and quickly ramped up production. In 1994, they opened a new factory at Banbury Road in Bloxham.
In 2006, under mounting pressure, an internal review of costs and realisable value on investment led Ford to consider divesting itself of parts of its Premier Automotive Group. After suggestions of selling Jaguar, Land Rover or Volvo, Ford decided to sell Aston by auction. At the end of August 2006, Ford announced that it would be willing to sell all or part of Aston.
The first round of the auction closed on 30 November 2006. On 12 March 2007, a consortium led by Prodrive chairman David Richards purchased Aston for £475m/$848m. Prodrive had no financial involvement in the deal, and Ford kept a stake in the company valued at £40m/$70m. The consortium also consisted of John Sinders and two Kuwaiti investment companies.
On 19 July 2007, the last car, a Vanquish S was produced at Newport Pagnell. Nearly 13000 cars had been produced their and all production was concentrated at Gaydon.
In January 2009, Aston announced that it would be entering the 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours race as a factory team in the LMP1 division. The company finished 13th.
Dawn has been interested in classic motors since an early age. She has commenced researching different vehicles and manufacturers and has started a website to share this research.
All of her published research will be placed on her website CMH Members Area
Jeremy gives his opinions on a Lamborghini murcielago and we see how fast it can make it round the Top Gear track with Captain Stig at the helm. Another free episode of the fast new automobiles featured on BBC Worldwide’s Top Gear.
2010 Audi S4 vs. 2009 BMW 335i Comparison Test: www.insideline.com 2008 BMW M3 @ the Track Video: www.youtube.com Given all the praise heaped on the BMW 3 Series over the years, we can’t blame you for thinking there’s more to the story. We’ve heard all the conspiracy theories, most of them involving checks in large denominations from Munich. This might seem believable to a certain segment of the population, but there’s a far less interesting truth behind all those wins: The BMW was the best …
Audi Servicing And Maintaining Engineering Excellence
Audi – a reputation built on engineering innovation and quality
As an experienced driver, you know the importance of keeping your Audi in tip-top condition. Regular car servicing will extend your car’s life and identify defects before they become catastrophic.
When you consider the history of Audi and how the Company has built its global reputation for quality and performance, booking an Audi service that is conducted with care and precision is vitally important in retaining the characteristics of this prestige car.
Audi facts you may not know
Audi is one of Germany’s oldest car manufacturers with the Audi name originating in 1910 as Audiwerke GmbH.
Audi began in 1889 when August Horch established A Horch & Cie and launched the first Horch car in 1901. In 1904 the company issued shares in order to raise capital for expansion, but this ultimately led to August Horch leaving the company in 1909 following a dispute with the board.
Horch set up a new company in 1909 and created the Audi brand in 1910, under his new company Audiwerke GmbH. The Audi name is the Latin translation for Horch, that in English means hark.
The Audi brand was created, because Horch lost a legal dispute with his former company on the use of the Horch name.
In 1912 Audiwerke test drove their first car, the Wanderer, which had a four cylinder engine. After successful trials, the car went into production in 1913 and in 1914 Audi won the Alpine Challenge Trophy, one of the most famous races of the era.
In 1921, Audi launched the first German manufactured left hand drive car, the Audi Type K. The improved driver visibility meant that left hand drive cars became well established by the end of the decade.
In 1928, the Audi name was effectively bought by J S Rasmussen, who acquired a majority shareholding in Audiwerke AG. Four years later Audi merged with four other German car manufacturers from the Saxony area. Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer all became Auto Union AG in 1932. The larger company was able to supply passenger vehicles across the market, from motorcycles to luxury saloons.
The Audi logo, consisting of four rings, symbolised the joining of these four historic names in German motor manufacturing.
However, the Audi name was in danger of disappearing in post-war Germany. In the 1930′s Auto Union AG developed and produced military vehicles and during the Second World War, civilian production was halted and the company exclusively manufactured military vehicles.
Post-war, the Soviet administration dismantled the production plants of Auto Union in 1945 as reparations and, in 1948 Auto Union AG was removed from the Commercial Register.
However, backing by the Bavarian government and Marshall Plan aid meant that the Audi name survived. In 1949, Auto Union GmbH Audi was formed in Ingolstadt and in 1950 the new company produced its first car, the DKW Meisterklasse.
In 1958, Daimler-Benz acquired Auto Union and in 1966 the company was bought by Volkswagenwek AG, and this saw production focused on the four-stroke engine, as developed previously under Daimler-Benz. In 1965, this engine was married with the DKW F 102 and launched under the Audi name.
In 1968, the Audi 100 was launched. This quickly became a top seller amongst upper mid-sized cars, and became the building block for a new Audi range. In 1972 the Audi 80 was launched.
The Audi 80 became a huge success and over one million were built within six years and its four cylinder engine was adopted by the Volkswagen Group.
In 1974, the Audi 50 was launched into the small car market. Six months later, production synergies were exploited with the Volkswagen brand and the VW Polo was launched, based on the Audi 50.
In 1980, the now famous Audi Quattro was launched, as the first performance car with four-wheel drive.
The company officially became known as Audi AG in 1985, which is testimony to the success of the Audi brand.
Audi has a history of engineering innovation and quality, and their design-led strategy has enabled Audi to challenge BMW and Mercedes in today’s prestige car market.
Book your Audi service with confidence
So when you book your next Audi service, you can be confident that Service A Car understands the heritage of Audi and conducts Audi servicing with the passion and precision the car deserves.
Happy motoring,
Howard.
Chairman Service A Car
Service A Car is the fastest growing independent car servicing specialist in the UK with a network of over 500 garages nationwide.
Lamborghini, or Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. as it’s officially called, produces some of the most exciting sports cars in the word. Some of the newer Lamborghini models are the Countach, the Diablo, the Gallardo and the Murcielago.
Fact 1: Lamborghini is named after the founder of the company Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916-1993). Ferruccio Lamborghini founded the company in 1963 when he was 47 years old. The factory is located in a small Italian village called Sant’Agata Bolognese near Bologna.
Fact 2: Ferruccio Lamborghini was a successful tractor manufacturer before he got interested in sports cars. His interest in sports cars made him buy many different high-performance cars including both Maseratis and Ferraris, but he was never really happy with any of them and therefore decided to built his own, perfect sports car,
Fact 3: Lamborghini used to be an independent company, but today it is a subsidiary of the German company Audi AG. Audi AG became the owner of Lamborghini in 1998. Lamborghini went bankrupt in 1978 and was sold to Chrysler a long time before Audi AG became the sole owner of the company.
Fact 4: The fastest Lamborghini is the Le Mans version of the Murcielago R-GT model. It has been reported to have a top speed of 370 km/h. The fastest street model from Lamborghini is the Murcielago LP640 with an estimated top speed of 340 km/h. Both of the models have a V12 engine with more than 6000 cc.
Fact 5: Several of the newer Lamborghini models feature the familiar Lamborghini scissor doors that rotate up and forward on a hinge near the front of the door. The Countach, the Diablo and the Murcielago all have scissor doors, but the Gallardo does not. Both the Countach and the Diablo are no longer being produced, so the Murcielago is the only current model with scissor doors.
Fact 6: No Lamborghini have ever been produced with less than a V8 engine. Most of the Lamborghini models throughout the history of the company have come with the legendary Lamborghini V12 engine, but the newest model, Gallardo, only have a V10 engine. No Lamborghini models with a V8 engine have been since production of the Silhouette stopped in 1989.
Fact 7: The first Lamborghini was the 350GTV from 1963. It was extremely fast for its time with a top speed of 280 km/h. In 1964 a smaller version of the 350GTV appeared. The smaller version was called 350GT and had a top speed of 240 km/h. The Countach from 1974 was the first Lamborghini to go faster than 300 km/h.
Fact 8: In 1975 did Walter Wolf, a rich Canadian businessman and F1 racing team owner, persuade Lamborghini to produce three super powered Countach models. The Wolf Countach had the same engine as the orginal Countach prototype and were able to reach a top speed of 315 km/h.
Lamborghini must be considered one of the world?s most exciting sports cars. If you are in any way interested in Lamborghini, you should go and check out the popular website Lamborghini-Wallpaper for more information.
See the new Audi R8 V10 in action.
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