Month: October 2011

China Knowledge reported that SAIC Motor Corp Ltd, China’s number one car maker and owner of the MG Motors brand, saw its net profit for the third quarter of this year increase 27%YoY from CNY 3.71 billion to CNY 4.72 billion. In a statement, the Shanghai-listed firm said its revenue reached CNY 97.41 billion up by 19.4%YoY from CNY 81.61 billion. Earnings per share were CNY 0.51. In the first three quarters of 2011, the vehicle maker reaped CNY 13.29 billion in net profit reflecting increase of 38.69%YoY and its revenue grew 22.71%YoY to CNY 281.28 billion. Total vehicle sales for the nine-month period increased 11.77%YoY to 2.98 million units including 722,000 units sold in the third quarter of 2011 up by 6.1%QoQ. Of the total sales, 65,000 units were SAIC Motor self-branded models, which comprise the MG and the […]

MG Motor UK Ltd has selected GMAC UK plc, a subsidiary of Ally Financial Inc., to be its preferred retail financing provider in the UK for manufacturer programmes and standard rate finance. GMAC UK will provide financing to MG customers under the MG Financial Services brand. Guy Jones, sales and marketing director of MG Motor UK, said: “GMAC is a trusted financing source in the industry. As a company with extensive experience, resources and capabilities in the UK market, GMAC will support our brand and help us grow our business. This important development allows us to offer a competitive range of retail finance products for the new MG6 GT, Magnette and following models.” “We are extremely pleased to enter this new retail relationship with MG in the UK,” commented Ed Paulat, GMAC UK managing director.  “We look forward to working […]

Exciting new material about the filming of ‘The Persuaders’ TV series has been uncovered in the Archives of the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust (based at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, near Warwick) during a major re-cataloguing project. ‘The Persuaders’ celebrates its 40th Anniversary having debuted on British TV in September 1971. The stars of the show were Sir Roger Moore and the late Tony Curtis, who drove an Aston Martin DBS and a Ferrari Dino 246 GT respectively. Sir Roger Moore was re-united with the actual Aston Martin DBS used at a recent event, to commemorate the anniversary and the release of the series on Blu-ray DVD. Photographs, film production records and correspondence relating to this classic Seventies TV series have come to light in the personal collection of the late Roger Stowers. Roger Stowers worked at Aston […]

The first Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) MG 350 family sedans will arrive in Israel in early 2012. These cars are expected to significantly change the Israeli automotive market in terms of the unprecedented dimensions/accessories/price ratio. The new car, which is produced partly in Europe and partly in China, is 4.52 meters long, 1.79 meters wide, and has a wheelbase of 2.64 meters. The SAIC car will come equipped with a 1.5-liter, gas-powered, 110 horsepower engine, with a Japanese-made automatic gearbox. The car will have high standard accessories, including electronically controlled seats, leather upholstery, and a premium stereo system. The final price has not yet been determined, but the initial target price will be about NIS 110,000, which is the average price for the category of smaller cars, such as Mazda 2. SAIC importer, David Lubinski Ltd., estimates that the […]

Citadel EFT Inc., a fully reporting US SEC Registered Company, which offers U.S. merchants credit card terminals and online, mail order and retail credit card processing services, announces today that it has purchased a 50% stake of http://www.bugeyeparts.com for 100,000 shares of its common stock. Bugeyeparts.com is a web site developed to assist people buying or selling used Austin Healey and MG parts and cars. There are thousands of people trying to sell or buy these classic cars and parts. The methods to advertise are limited and difficult. Ebay, Craigslist and AutoTrader have been primary choices but each comes with challenges of too many fees, spams and scams that are not only annoying but can be costly. Bugeyeparts.com has become the largest trading site for these items in the world. The customer base is growing and never-ending. Those who drive […]

There’s been a great deal of excitement at the Heritage Motor Centre this week as it’s been announced that they have received initial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for a new Museum Collections Centre project. This project will enable people to see the whole collection for the first time in a purpose-built facility that will also include a vehicle restoration and conservation workshop. The Centre has been awarded a first round pass by the HLF along with funding of £51,100 to help them develop plans to apply for a full grant in 2012. The complete project is expected to cost around £2.5 million. If second round funding is awarded and match funding is also obtained, building work on the new project could begin in 2013. Keep an eye here and on their website for future announcements.

As the 50th anniversary of the incomparable Jaguar E-Type draws to a close, British Motor Heritage (BMH) has been celebrating an E-Type milestone of its own – the production of its 100th replacement bonnet. Best known for the manufacture of replacement bodyshells and individual panels for the MGB, MGR V8, MG Midget, Austin Healey Sprite, Triumph TR6 and original Minis etc, BMH these days also produces bonnets for the Series 1, 2 and 3 Jaguar E-Types. Supplied exclusively to Unipart Jaguar Classic and distributed by Jaguar Classic Parts, the bonnets are manufactured using the original Jaguar tooling and the 100th one (that for a Series 1 model) was completed on September 11 by Stephen Fry, Martin Pollard, Alan Stacey and Dave Jeffs, who between can boast over 40 years’ service to BMH. The E-Type bonnet is just one of a […]