Just A Car Guy: 7/11/10
BMW currently owns BMW, Mini, and Rolls Royce. Bentley is currently owned by Volkswagen. Daimler AG owns Mercedes-Benz, Maybach and Smart. The Fiat Group now owns: Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Fiat, Lancia and Maserati. They also own Chrysler and Dodge plus a 20% share in Jeep. Ford Motor Company now owns Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo and a 13.4% share of Mazda. General Motors Corporation owns Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC. They also have a controlling interest in Daewoo whose cars are currently only available in Viet Nam and South Korea. GM also owns Opel and Vauxhall in Europe, and Holden in Australia. Pontiac is said to be discontinued for now. Honda owns Honda, and their upmarket brand Acura. Hyundai owns Hyundai and the fellow Korean marque, Kia. Hummer is still owned by GM and they are considering offers to sell the brand. Koenigsegg is a Swedish super car manufacturer. Lotus is currently owned by Malaysian car company Proton. Mitsubishi is responsible for 100% of their own company, a rarity these days! Pagani is an Italian car company who makes the Zonda supercar. Peugot the French car maker also owns Citroen. Porsche owns their own brand as well as a majority stake in Volkswagen. French company Renault owns Nissan who also makes their upscale brand Infiniti. Saab is now owned by the Dutch car company Spyker. Saturn is owned by GM, but production has stopped and assets are being liquidated. Suzuki took over Daewoo jointly with GM but now only uses their manufacturing facilities. They have now gone to engineering completely new cars rather than rebadging Daewoo's with cars like the new Suzuki Kizashi.
Spines tingling. Throughout our history, our iconic vehicles have delivered some of the most emotive driving experiences on the road. Today, with increasing demand and ever-growing ambition, we鈥檙e seeking the next generation of innovators who will capture the hearts and minds of customers in every corner of the world. Our expanding graduate and undergraduate programmes reflect our commitment to finding and developing the future leaders of our business. Nationally recognised and covering all areas of our organisation, we have opportunities across our Engineering and Manufacturing disciplines, and throughout our Commercial and Business areas too. Whatever your role, you鈥檒l discover our dedication to developing excellence runs throughout the business. Your innovation and creativity will be challenged every day, as you develop a rigorous and commercially focused approach to your work. And with ongoing support from industry-leading experts, you鈥檒l quickly realise the schemes have been designed to be just as inspiring as the pioneering vehicles you鈥檒l help produce. As you鈥檇 expect from one of the world's most revered organisations, an outstanding range of rewards and benefits await those who have the vision and drive to continue our global success - including a competitive starting salary. All this and more makes Jaguar Land Rover an excellent place to start your journey and put your excellence in motion.
Land Rover have unveiled their new Range Rover limo which they are claiming is the most expensive and luxurious Range Rover ever created by the British 4X4 firm. 200鈥?00 this SUV is targeted at royalty, Hollywood variety, politicians and top sporting stars. Despite its name, it will also be available in white and other colors, as 鈥楤lack鈥?is a term used in the automotive industry to denote a prestige model. The Range Rover Autobiography Black will be making its world debut at the Dubai International Motor Show on November 5 and will be available in long wheel-base form only in the UK. This new Range Rover limo has been designed and engineered by Jaguar Land Rover鈥檚 new Engineered To Order division to combine luxury, design and 4X4 performance. Land Rover said: 鈥楾he first Range Rover long wheel-base in 20 years will cater for a growing group of consumers looking for the ultimate sports utility vehicle and a unique alternative to the traditional long wheelbase saloon cars. Range Rover is already the car of choice for celebrities arriving at red carpet events and film premieres and Jaguar Land Rover hope the long wheel-base and Autobiography Black versions will be 鈥榚ven more appealing鈥? Daniel Craig arrived at the Skyfall Bond premiere in a Range Rover. Also recently Hollywood actor Chris Hemsworth arrived at the Thor premiere in one. Brad Pitt is currently filming in the UK and has been spotted being driven to and from Pinewood studios in a Range Rover.
If it aint broke then don鈥檛 fix it seemed to be Land Rover鈥檚 design philosophy when approaching the Series II Discovery. The Series II Discovery range was launched in autumn 1998. Despite looking the same as the earlier car, the only common body panel was the rear tailgate pressing. There was an all-new Td5 in-line, five-cylinder 2.5-litre turbodiesel engine and a 4.0-litre V8 in place of the 3.9 - the slow-selling two-litre Mpi petrol model was dropped. Trim levels were S, GS, XS and ES. Much more impressive road manners came courtesy of Self-Levelling Suspension (SLS) and Active Cornering Enhancement (ACE) but these were standard only on plusher variants. Other driving aids included Four Wheel Electronic Traction Control (ETC), Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD) and, most notably, the Hill Descent Control (HDC) first introduced on the Freelander. There was also a new dashboard layout and much more supportive seats with the third row now forward, rather than side-facing, together with improved security, safety and nice touches like a 'curry hook' on which to hang your takeaways.
