Monthly Archives: June 2012

Major Improvements for New Kia Sorento

Kia’s hugely successful Sorento SUV will receive a host of significant improvements when the new upgraded model goes on sale later this year. Significant changes include a re-engineered body shell, enhanced power trains – for the best-in-class fuel economy with lower emissions, improved ride, handling and refinement, additional convenience and safety features, plus a fresh new look for the exterior.

 

“Since its introduction in 2009, the second-generation Kia Sorento has achieved more than 620,000 sales around the world. Today, it is manufactured in Korea and the USA, attracting over 130,000 U.S. customers last year to rank as the best-selling Kia model in the States for the second year in a row,” commented Thomas Oh, Kia’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the International Business Division. “We have given very careful attention to owners’ feedback, and the upgraded Sorento is not just a cosmetic exercise but a major step forward for our popular SUV.”

 

Kia’s designers have created new headlamps with LED positioning lights, a new tailgate with LED rear combination lamps, new bumpers (front and rear) with vertical-axis fog lights and a larger area of body-color surface, and an expanded choice of wheels to include larger diameter (19-inch) alloys – depending on market.

 

Inside the five- or seven-seater cabin, there are more soft-touch surfaces plus a new LCD instrument cluster, new centre stack with 7-inch display screen, and a new console featuring a straight-gate selector with a leather-booted lever on automatic transmission models reinforcing the vehicle’s more luxurious character. Offered in either black or beige cloth, or leather, the interior can be bathed in natural light through a larger panoramic sunroof (depending on version) with no centre cross beam and a powered blind.

 

Performance Improvement and Mystery Shopping Company Douglas Stafford have been working with Kia since the beginning of the year. Douglas Stafford provides key services including performance improvement through mystery shopping, customer research, performance coaching and improving business performance through tele-marketing.

 

Historic Triumph: Audi Achieves First Victory of a Hybrid Vehicle at Le Mans

Around 200,000 spectators witnessed a fascinating race with the drama and incidents that are typical for Le Mans plus an impressive demonstration of “Vorsprung durch Technik.” The four Audi R18 cars from Audi Sport Team Joest were the quickest and most reliable vehicles and after 24 hours occupied positions one, two, three and five.

 

“By achieving this further success at the world’s most important endurance race our engineers demonstrated their high technological expertise in a particularly impressive way,” commented Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management at AUDI AG, who personally watched the race on location.

 

All four Audi R18 cars had the chance to clinch what amounted to the brand’s eleventh Le Mans victory in total. After 378 laps, last year’s winners Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer  and Benoît Tréluyer  were again the front runners. Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish as the runners-up caused the all-wheel drive of the future in which the conventional drive system is intelligently combined with an electrically driven axle to record a one-two result. Audi is already testing this technology in which the drive shaft is replaced by electric cables for use in production vehicles.

 

They only had to give up the leading position to one of the Toyota hybrid vehicles for a few laps on
Saturday night. The winning car with chassis number R18-208H nicknamed “Electra” was not spared from incidents during the race. Marcel Fässler touched the track barrier twice on Saturday morning: the first time after spinning at high speed and the second time when he had to evade a GT vehicle that was standing sideways in the Mulsanne corner.

 

“This was a race of the kind you can arguably only experience at Le Mans,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, after his four Audi R18 cars had crossed the finish line. “You should never rejoice too early at Le Mans, which was obvious, especially on Sunday. The whole world was already talking about a one-two-three-four victory and all of a sudden two of our cars had accidents almost simultaneously. On the whole, I can only take my hat off to the entire squad of Audi Sport that worked extremely hard for a year to make this triumph possible. It was a very big challenge to develop a hybrid car in such a short time that is quick and able to hold up for 24 hours. This is a great day for Audi, Audi Sport and the e-tron quattro.”

 

Mystery Shopping Company Douglas Stafford believes that performance is everything. The Company has been working alongside Audi in partnership since 2005. Douglas Stafford has been providing clients with performance improvement programmes for over 22 years. It has built up a wealth of expertise in this specialist field that continually provides benefits to all of its clients.

 

Bring your Honda home with the Honda Price Promise

Honda has launched a brand new price match proposition, the ‘Honda Price Promise’, where Honda dealerships promise to match any like-for-like quote for servicing, repairs, new tyres or MOTs from any garage within a 10 mile radius of the site.

 

This new customer proposition addresses the unfair perception that franchised dealerships are more expensive than independent workshops or national fast fit chains, a perception recently registered by a survey carried out by Impetus Automotive. The report found that over 66 per cent of the 1,250 people questioned believed that a franchised dealer was ‘always more expensive’ than an independent workshop.

 

This new Price Promise initiative encourages customers to bring their Honda home to the people who know it best for all their repair and servicing needs. All dealership technicians are expertly trained by Honda and only use guaranteed Honda genuine parts. These Honda professionals will even give the car a free health check while it’s there.

 

This initiative will be running until 31 March 2013. To take Honda up on this offer, all customers need to do is get a quote in writing from another garage and take it into their local Honda dealership.

 

Performance Improvement and Mystery Shopping Company Douglas Stafford work in Partnership with Honda UK and have been providing clients with performance improvement programmes for over 22 years. They have built up a wealth of expertise in this specialist field that continually provides benefits to all of its clients.

 

The key services provided by Douglas Stafford include performance improvement through mystery shopping, customer research, performance coaching and improving business performance through tele-marketing.

 

All of its clients are provided with an interactive on-line reporting web facility; DSInsight™, providing a comprehensive suite of reporting tools including video and audio streaming that can be downloaded.

 

New Generation Hyundai i30 is Britain’s Best Value Hatchback

The New Generation i30, launched in March, has been awarded ‘Best Value Hatchback’ in the annual Practical Caravan, The Camping & Caravanning Club & What Car? Towcar Awards 2012.

 

The New Generation Hyundai i30, which can tow up to 1,500kg, was commended by the judges after a series of grueling tests designed to find Britain’s Best Towcar. Tests included high-speed stability, braking, emergency lane change, hill starting and overall practicality.

 

Nigel Donnelly, Haymarket Outdoor Leisure Group’s Editor in Chief – Digital, said of the Hyundai i30: “We’d happily tow long distances behind the wheel of the i30. It has a very agreeable ride and is a stable towcar. There’s plenty of cabin space and the boot swallowed all of our holiday luggage. It also comes with a five-year warranty and five years’ breakdown cover which, together with the keen list price and long list of standard kit, earns it the ‘Best Value Hatchback’ award.”

 

Tony Whitehorn, President & CEO at Hyundai Motor UK Ltd, said: “It is fantastic that the New Generation i30 has been recognised by the Towcar judges. It is a true testament to the style, refinement, efficiency and all-round practicality of our new family hatchback.”

 

The new generation i30 has also recently been awarded ‘Car of the Year 2012’, as well as ‘Best Family Car’ by leading car review website, CarBuyer.

 

Performance Improvement and Mystery Shopping Company Douglas Stafford has been working in partnership with Hyundai for over 4 years. The key areas the company specialises in are Mystery Shopping, Market Research, Training and innovative Tele-Sales Programmes. Douglas Stafford has built up a wealth of expertise in these specialist fields that continually provide benefits to all of its clients.

 

An Icon – Steve McQueen’s 275 GTB4

Ferrari Classiche recently took delivery of one of the most interesting cars ever to leave the factory – a 275 GTB4 that originally belonged to legendary American star, Steve McQueen, who took delivery of the car in San Francisco when he was on the set filming Bullitt.

 

The new owner brought the car to Ferrari Classiche for the company’s authenticity certification process, knowing that at some time during the 1980s, when under previous ownership, the car had been converted to a Spider. Because of the provisions of the certification process, a Ferrari can only be authenticated if it is to exactly the same specifications as when it left the factory. To this end, the new owner wisely decided to return the car to its original coupé form and Ferrari Classiche has undertaken the restoration reproducing the roof and buttresses with hand-beaten steel panels.

 

A considerable contribution to the interest for classic Ferraris in recent years has come from the company’s direct involvement, with its dedicated department providing certificates of authenticity which testify to the originality of a car. Set up in 2006, Ferrari Classiche has to date processed over 3,300 certification requests using the company’s exhaustive archive records and original designs.

 

Lexus receives Innovation Award for New Air Conditioning Technology

Lexus has received an industry innovation award for new air conditioning technology that uses much less power to deliver the level of comfort expected from a luxury vehicle. The S-flow system, introduced in the new GS 450h full hybrid saloon, has been recognised in the first honours to be presented by the Automotive Interiors Expo.

 

The unit, featured in the standard specification of the flagship GS 450h Premier, is designed for performance and efficiency. And thanks to new nanoe technology, it can also deodorise the cabin while at the same time moisturising the skin and hair of anyone on board.

 

At the moment it is available in just a single version of the GS 450h, but the award recognises the fact that this is a technology that could easily be transferred to more models in the future. The system uses sensors to detect when the front passenger seat is occupied; if it isn’t, it automatically closes all the vents serving that seat. The same applies to the rear seats, when the S-Flow button is switched on.

 

It measures the ambient temperature outside and inside the car to determine the optimum level of air conditioning required, and also calculates a target airflow volume for each seat. When the system has to work hard – when cooling down in summer or heating up in winter – it operates all around the cabin until the desired temperature has been reached and stabilised. At that point, it then adjusts automatically to focus heating or cooling only around the seats that are being used.

 

Another innovation in the system’s design is the use of air purifying nanoe technology. This operates automatically when the system is switched on, releasing minute nanoe particles – negatively charged ions wrapped in water molecules – through the driver’s dashboard air vent. These nanoe ions can clean the air and eliminate odours by attaching themselves to airborne particles and molecules. They can also deodorise the seats and roof lining to create a cleaner cabin environment. And because nanoe moisture content is about 1,000 times that of conventional ions, they can also have a moisturising effect on human skin and hair.

 

Lexus received the Production Vehicle Interior Innovation of the Year Award at the Automotive Interiors Expo in Stuttgart, Germany on the 12th June.

 

Performance Improvement and Mystery Shopping Company Douglas Stafford has been working alongside Lexus in partnership since 2005. During its 22 years of business Douglas Stafford has consistently been at the forefront of technological advancements and works with many national and international organisations from its Head Quarters in Portsmouth.  The company has built up a wealth of expertise in this specialist field that continually provides benefits to all of its clients.

 

Renault Returns to the Goodwood Festival of Speed

After a short absence, Renault – one of the Goodwood Festival of Speed’s earliest supporters, will be returning to the world’s largest celebration of motor sport and car culture next week, as the 2012 Festival and Moving Motor Show (28 June – 1 July) gets underway.

 

Renault has chosen the 2012 Festival of Speed to celebrate 110 years of its engine expertise, and to debut a number of interesting and important new models and concepts.

 

Renault will be displaying some of the French marque’s most iconic vehicles at Goodwood, including the Type K which won the Paris to Vienna race in 1902, as well as the 1935 Viva Grand Sport, the legendary Alpine A110, plus the contemporary Megane Renault sport and Clio Renault sport. Renault’s all-electric ZOE will be making its British debut, and its new electric Twizy urban commuter will also get its UK public airing in the Goodwood Moving Motor Show.

 

Other exceptional Renaults are due to participate actively, driving up the 1.16-mile Festival hillclimb. These will include the British premier of the brand new Renault Alpine A110-50 concept, built to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the famous Alpine A110 Berlinette, along with the RS01 and RE40 Formula 1 cars and the rally-winning R5 Maxi Turbo. These vehicles will be driven by Carlos Tavares, Chief Operating Officer of Renault, as well as Alain Prost, Jean Ragnotti and other well-known Renault drivers.

 

Performance Improvement and Mystery Shopping Company Douglas Stafford have been working alongside Renault in partnership for over ten years, and has established a close working relationship with their team. Douglas Stafford has been providing clients with performance improvement programmes for over 22 years. They have built up a wealth of expertise in this specialist field that continually provides benefits to all of its clients.

 

EN61 AND Sells to Passionate England Supporter

With the start of the European Championships, one passionate England supporter “couldn’t resist” the opportunity to show his true colours by buying the personalised registration EN61 AND – for £15,600.

 

Brian Brody, 66, of St John’s Wood, London, struck gold during the early moments of the Olympic-themed auction being staged by DVLA Personalised Registrations at the City Hall in London. The supporter, who owns a series of pubs in London as well as his own brewery, believed it to be the perfect way to show his support for the forthcoming event.

 

DVLA Personalised Registrations’ Olympic-themed auction got off to a flying start and not surprisingly, it was EN61 AND and BU11 DOG which proved to be in most demand, selling for £15,600 and £16,400 respectively.

 

London 2012 ambassador Iwan Thomas showed his support as the sale was granted official licensee status for the 2012 Olympic Games. The former athlete who won silver in the 4×400 relay during the Atlanta Games in 1996, took to the stand and auctioned two rather apt registrations, REL 44Y and RUN 3R, which fetched £730 and £2,548.

 

PR11 NCE and HA12 RRY were among the hundreds of personalised registrations which went under the hammer during the three-day event. Lots 1431 and 1331 carry a £2,000 reserve.

Look No Hands

Customers buying a new Volkswagen Polo will now get value worth talking about, thanks to the addition of standard Bluetooth hands-free phone connection kits on all models above S specification.

 

All Polo models from the BlueMotion up will now come fitted with the Touch Phone Kit, which was previously a £245 option. The Touch Phone Kit adds a 2.8-inch colour touch screen to the Polo’s dashboard. This can display a phone book, call lists, reception status and more, depending on the make and model of the phone to which it is connected.

 

The Touch Phone Kit also offers voice control, functions including dialing and answering, and can even ‘read’ out text messages and emails that are received. Two telephones may also be connected at the same time.

 

But it’s not just the Polo that customers will be calling home about. Bluetooth is also standard on all High up! city cars; all Golf, Golf Estate, Golf Plus, Jetta, Touran, Tiguan and Sharan models above S specification; and all Golf Cabriolet, Scirocco, Eos, Passat, Passat Estate, CC, Touareg and Phaeton models.

 

Performance Improvement and Mystery Shopping Company Douglas Stafford have been working alongside Volkswagen in partnership with the company for over 7 years. The Mystery Shopping Company has been providing clients with performance improvement programmes for over 22 years. They have built up a wealth of expertise in this specialist field that continually provides benefits to all its clients.

 

Goodwood to Reach New Heights at the 2012 Festival Of Speed

In just under three weeks time the peace and tranquillity of Goodwood Park will be wiped out by the American racers and Pikes Peak specials as the 2012 Festival of Speed gets underway.

Class acts from the famous Pikes Peak hillclimb – based in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado – will descend on Goodwood. A 1979 AMC Spirit Pikes Peak racer will be a rare sight in the UK, as will the Donner-Chevrolet DD3. The undoubted star of the Pikes Peak class though is set to be the multiple record-holding Kenworth T2000 truck, making its Festival of Speed debut and being driven by truck-racing legend Bruce Canepa.

Other forms of American motor sport will also be represented at the Festival, with a diverse range of competition machinery due to tackle the 1.16-mile Goodwood hillclimb. These vehicles will include the 1962 Thompson-Buick Special and 1969 Eagle-Offenhauser representing the Indy 500, plus the McLaren-Chevrolet M6B ‘McLeagle’, Ty Dillon’s 2011 Chevrolet Silverado, and wild man Jesse James in his latest Trophy Truck.

Tickets and further information for the 2012 Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival can be found on the Goodwood website (www.goodwood.com/motor sport/) or click the links above.