A MERSEYSIDE dad has spoken of his pride this week after his son landed a dream job designing a Chinese car company's latest models.Jeff O'Brien, from Thornton, told Life On Cars that after impressing car industry executives with his design flair his son Alex has now jetted off to Shanghai to help design vehicles for Qoros, a joint Israeli-Chinese firm which will be launching its first cars in the UK next year.Mr O'Brien said yesterday: "Alex's designing and sketching skills are out of this world, and after completing the car design course at the University of Coventry he impressed a lot of design executives for different companies, who all saw what he'd come up with and wanted to take a look. One of them was a manager at Qoros, who spoke to Alex and was absolutely delighted with him."Alex wanted to work with Qoros because it's a new company, and they're really keen to use some of his design skills in their models."The model which former Manor High School pupil Alex created to conclude his design course, a sports car design aimed at supercar builders Bugatti (pictured above), attracted attention from car industry executives at an exhibition, used to showcase the UK's latest car design talent, held in Coventry last year. Father and son worked together on the car, with Jeff, a retired Craft, Design and Technology tutor, helping to fashion the wheels for the model of Alex's sports car design.Although work commitments in Shanghai meant Alex was unavailable to speak to Life On Cars, a Qoros spokesperson said of its new range of cars: "Qoros is a fresh, new brand without legacy. It is driven by a passionate international team of expert designers, engineers and marketers who are united in their desire to develop sophisticated and highly individual products."The company is dedicated to meeting an ever-increasing demand for cars that are highly differentiated from other products within a crowded automotive marketplace. In addition to design that is both elegant and functional, Qoros products will be distinguished by a strong focus on state-of-the-art technology, with high levels of user-friendly in-car connectivity and vehicle safety standards which compare to the best in Europe."The first Qoros car to be sold in the UK, an as-yet-unnamed four door saloon, will make its European debut at the Geneva Motorshow next March.
IN THE classic gangster film Get Carter, the villains drove a Jag MK2. In The Long Good Friday, the vehicle of choice was an XJ6.This automotive star of this year's gangster film - The Sweeney - was a Jaguar XF. Having clocked one parked up in a Southport side street today, it's not hard to see why.I've already driven the 2.2 diesel version of the Brit saloon and can tell you that from a driver's perspective it's excellent; one of the best new cars I've tried this year, in fact. But what I could see from the Stratus Grey example I saw, with its understated alloys and meshed grille, was that it looked the part too. In cinematic terms, it's exactly the sort of quietly menacing motor an assasin would drive.Until this year I would've argued the best looking Jag is in fact the big XJ - there's something about the challenging styling, which stands out next to all the other luxobarges, that I love - but now I reckon the smaller XF's caught up with it. After being wowed by the stunning C-XF concept car of all those years ago, I know I wasn't the only one to be a bit dissapointed with the production version that followed - far too much in the way of gloopy headlights and not enough in the way of visual treats.The facelifted version, though? That really is a treat for the eyes.In fact, I'd go as far as to say it's the best looking saloon on sale today. Better than a Maserati Quattroporte or a Merc CLS? I'd reckon so...
Wald International Closure package prepared for the Toyota GT 86 and our shows. It costs 2,090 euros and has called Sports Line consists of a new front bumper, inflated fenders, new side spoiler, vented hood, spoiler, diffuser and quad exhaust tailpipes.
Rolls-Royce announced today vorgsestellt at Pebble Beach in the U.S., the first meeting of 35 Phantom Series II Coupe Aviator Collection. The exclusive items are inspired by Inspired by Charles Stewart Rolls and the victory of the Supermarine S6B in the Schneider Trophy. The sea plane was powered by a Rolls-Royce engine and helped that Rolls-Royce simultaneously held three world speed records: on land, sea and air.
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| The 2012 Ford Explorer. |
One of the maddening things about car buying these days is the wide price range for the same vehicle. It's caused by multiple trim levels. Case in point: The Ford Explorer. You can get it in four different levels...Explorer, Explorer XLT, Explorer Limited and Explorer Sport. And from the Explorer to the Explorer Sport, there's an $11,585 price spread. That's a chunk considering the base price of the base model is $29,135 (we're comparing 2-wheel drive models here. 4X4 costs extra). 13 months ago, we reviewed the Explorer and said "The price is right."For that one, it was. It was a four-wheel drive XLT, which started at $33,190 and with options rang in at $37,505...a fortuitous price point for Ford, since it was $580 below the Jeep Grand Cherokee that charmed its way into the TireKicker Top Ten Cars (So Far) the month before and still is on the list.
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