The Ford Transit Vans Centenary Tour
The British section of the Ford motor company has been celebrating its one hundredth birthday this year. Last year the company’s top selling cars accounted for almost 15% of the UK’s total car market sales, showing just how popular their products have become. Not only is Ford famous for its Cars, its commercial vehicles have also become household names around the world with the Transit van model becoming the most popular Commercial vehicle within the UK for just over 45 years.
To celebrate the centenary of the company, Ford have been touring the country with an exhibition that charts its history and shows off many models of both vans and cars that is has manufactured over the past 100 years. Travelling throughout the UK to locations such as London, Scotland and the South West to many different venues such as dealers and Ford manufacturing plants, the mobile exhibition also aims to promote its motoring leadership in the United Kingdom since its humble beginnings. As you would expect, visitors to any of the tour dates caught glimpses of some fantastic and extremely rare Ford vehicles from all ages of the company, it also included a collection of commercial vehicles too.
During the tour, Southampton got the chance to view the fabulous vans from the show, what is thought to be the most comprehensive collections of classic Ford commercial vans ever seen The eleven differing Transit vans ages added up to a grand age of 315 years and offered visitors the chance to see how dramatically the third best selling vehicle in Ford of Britain’s history has changed over the years. Members of the Ford transit van club were on hand to view the collection including the founding member, Van enthusiast and former employee Peter Lee who owns a total of nine Transit vans including one called ‘Motown Gold’. The 1980 Mark II SWB model has plenty of personalised features including heart shaped windows and a wonderfully decorated interior incorporating signed Motown records and even a drinks cabinet!
The finale of the tour was held at the Goodwood Revival 2011 festival. Goodwood of course being one of the UK’s most popular racing venues during its active years and was the ideal venue for historical motor celebrations. A 100 vehicle cavalcade concluded the Centenary tour at the revival event and organisers celebrated the success of the tour which was started off during August by the Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans. Not only did the general public get the chance to view and browse cars and vans of yesteryear but also view some of the latest additions from Ford.
To celebrate the centenary of the company, Ford have been touring the country with an exhibition that charts its history and shows off many models of both vans and cars that is has manufactured over the past 100 years. Travelling throughout the UK to locations such as London, Scotland and the South West to many different venues such as dealers and Ford manufacturing plants, the mobile exhibition also aims to promote its motoring leadership in the United Kingdom since its humble beginnings. As you would expect, visitors to any of the tour dates caught glimpses of some fantastic and extremely rare Ford vehicles from all ages of the company, it also included a collection of commercial vehicles too.
During the tour, Southampton got the chance to view the fabulous vans from the show, what is thought to be the most comprehensive collections of classic Ford commercial vans ever seen The eleven differing Transit vans ages added up to a grand age of 315 years and offered visitors the chance to see how dramatically the third best selling vehicle in Ford of Britain’s history has changed over the years. Members of the Ford transit van club were on hand to view the collection including the founding member, Van enthusiast and former employee Peter Lee who owns a total of nine Transit vans including one called ‘Motown Gold’. The 1980 Mark II SWB model has plenty of personalised features including heart shaped windows and a wonderfully decorated interior incorporating signed Motown records and even a drinks cabinet!
The finale of the tour was held at the Goodwood Revival 2011 festival. Goodwood of course being one of the UK’s most popular racing venues during its active years and was the ideal venue for historical motor celebrations. A 100 vehicle cavalcade concluded the Centenary tour at the revival event and organisers celebrated the success of the tour which was started off during August by the Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans. Not only did the general public get the chance to view and browse cars and vans of yesteryear but also view some of the latest additions from Ford.
New Mercedes CL Coupe Unveiled During the Goodwood Festival
Mercedes unveiled the new incarnation of the Mercedes CL Coupe at their flagship Mercedes Benz World, based at the historic Surrey racing circuit at Brooklands. It will come as no surprise that the unveiling was booked to coincide with one of the biggest motor shows on the UK calendar, The Goodwood Festival of Speed.
There are relatively minor changes to the external styling, such as updated lights, bumper and bonnet, and the interior styling changes are relatively modest too; better quality upholstery materials, intuitive controls and mood lighting amongst the styling enhancements. But the main upgrades are primarily technology-based, geared towards under-the-hood improvements for driver assistance.
These technological additions include two new safety systems – Active Lane Keeping Assistant and Active Blind Spot Assistant, both of which offer the potential to active intervention, in addition to the existing warning systems.
The new line up ranges from the entry level CL550 4matic, with a 4.6litre direct-injected engine and 7-speed transmission, capable of 0-60mph in just 4.9 seconds, to the CL600 with its twin turbo 5.5litre V12 engine, which can achieve 0-60mph in 4.5 seconds. The AMG range is as impressive as ever – for example, the L65 AMG comes equipped with a V12 engine, capable of delivering 621bhp and 738lb/ft of torque.
The latest CL Coupe badge may, however, be somewhat misleading. That is not to say that the CL Coupe badge is not deserved; on the contrary, there are many new features, increased efficiency upgrades to whet the appetite, such as the smaller but more efficient bi-turbo V8 engines with increased torque (CL 500 Blue EFFICIENCY models). But the ‘C’ in CL does not signify a Mercedes C Class group (compact), but in fact refers to the Coupe badge as the CL Coupe is actually an S-Class (luxury) sized car.
The new upgraded Mercedes CL Coupe will become available in 2011.
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Green Cars Go Festive!
Everyone can be part of the Green Car and Transportation Festival. Starting at twelve o’clock noon up until five in the afternoon, people can roam about the event’s area and learn more about being green and environment friendly. Interested parties can simply troop to Ipswich, Massachusetts’ Town Hall.
This green festival would actually be a venue for auto manufacturers to show off their environment friendly cars. In fact, the festival already has in store a huge array of the now familiar hybrid cars as well as electric cars. There are even some cars that are a combination of both hybrid and electric. There are also vehicles that show off cutting edge technologies which could already be in the market or are just in the late stages of development. Information on these vehicles would also be provided like data on Land Rover cooling system parts or other car features that could enhance a vehicle’s performance without sacrificing the environment.
Production vehicles that you could feast your eyes on would include Honda hybrids Accord, Civic, and Civic ICE. Toyota hybrid vehicles Highlander, Camry, and Prius would also take part of the festivities. You can also find compressed natural gas cars like the Crown Victoria, Honda Civic GX, and the Ford F150 pickup truck.
Aside from cars and hybrids, the Green Car and Transportation Festival would also be the host for other exhibits where participants, visitors, and guests could learn more about being green. There are exhibits that would provide information on transportation agencies, environmental organizations, and advocacy groups. These, of course, would have to be those groups and organizations that are working towards lessening pollution and reducing the country’s dependence on oil imported from other countries.
There would also be presentations that would be given by experts in the automotive industry. The topics would range from global warning, hydrogen fuel, solar energy, and even biodiesel fuel.