Kwik-Fit believes it may have stumbled upon Britain’s most expensive cup of tea – and it reports that the few watery sips one receives costs even more than afternoon tea at the Ritz. This claim has been made following a mystery shopping exercise conducted by the fast-fit chain, and it says results show the nation’s costliest brew is served by….your main car dealership.
As we enter 2008, Tyremen’s is seeking new trade partners to distribute CMS light alloy wheels. Having traded as tyre and wheel specialists for more than 40 years, Tyremen has been importing quality wheels since 1998. “Our European supplier is a company called CMS, which is based in Germany,” explained Phill Carlin of Tyremen. “As firm believers in the quality of these products, we’re very excited to be able to promote CMS wheels to potential trade partners.”
A leading manufacturer of light alloy wheels, CMS develops and exports more than 3 million wheels every year. As well as supplying companies such as Tyremen with high quality wheels for the aftermarket, CMS manufactures original equipment for top motoring names including Bentley, Peugeot, Renault, Seat, Toyota and Volkswagen.
Following the relocation of two of its regional distribution centres to larger premises and the opening of a brand new warehouse, Stapleton’s has expanded its fleet of delivery vans. The 20 Renault Master and six Isuzu 7.5 ton vans will join the 40 vans that were introduced at the end 2006, bringing the Company’s delivery fleet to 179 vehicles. Commenting on the additional vans, Steve Parker, Stapleton’s trading director says: “By relocating stock to larger facilities and commissioning a brand new warehouse in Biggleswade, we have increased our capacity and improved stock levels. With increased stock, we can offer customers improved availability so it is vital that we are able to continue to deliver a fast, efficient and reliable delivery service with greater flexibility in terms of delivery options.” Stapleton’s fleet of vehicles offers nationwide deliveries on a twice-a-day, same-day or next-day delivery basis depending on individual customer requirements. Steve Parker continued: “During the warehouse moves, we also implemented new technology and picking systems further improving efficiency and delivery turnaround for customers.”
Following the successful launch of the Force 36 3.6 tonne electro-hydraulic 2-post lift, Maywood has announced it will be adding the Force 60 to its range. The Force 60 is an electro-hydraulic two-post lift with base frame. It compliments Maywood’s range of lifts for large and heavy cars as well as the light truck market. Within this range Maywood offers the Hofmann 5 tonne two-post lift, which has vehicle manufacturer approval from Ford, Volkswagen, Renault and many others. Maywood believes the Force 60 can now give a workshop even greater capacity at the same price, and offers convenience through removing the necessity for a vehicle owner to empty the vehicle before the lift is raised. Therefore this lift is ideal for “Transit” like vehicles, but is also capable of lifting the majority of vehicles available in the UK.
Falken recently invited 40 of its top performing dealers from around the country to spend the day at Palmer Sport at the Bedford Autodrome. The unique track day involved driving and racing cars ranging from Caterhams to single seater Formula cars and off-roading.
The day began with Renault Clio Cup Racers and Porsche 911. The pocket rocket Clio’s minimal weight and maximum power made for a hair raising way to start the day while the growling power of the 911 certainly woke some people up!
Amtel-Vredestein’s Russian subsidiary OJSC Amtel-Vredestein has signed an exclusive contract to supply Amtel tyres for Renault Logan passenger cars produced in Russia. Amtel-Vredestein will be the only Russian tyre producer to supply OJSC Autoframos with original equipment.
The majority of the tyres will be manufactured by Amtel’s Amtel-Povolzhye tyre complex (Kirov). It is projected that the company will supply between 30,000 – 35,000 tyres per month, and will supply a total of 480,000 OE tyres by the end of 2008. According to the company, preparations leading up to the contract took three years.
ING Renault F1 Team, 2005 and 2006 world champions, have converted their entire fleet to Bridgestone tyres. This means the Warwickshire-based tyre giants will now supply tyres for not only the team’s Formula 1 cars but also all the team’s support vehicles. Last season, Bridgestone supplied a number of F1 teams with tyres but this year saw the remaining teams also transfer to Bridgestone. As a result many team support vehicles are now following suit, converting to Bridgestone tyres from other leading brands.
Truck Point dealer Tructyre fitted over 300 new tyres to the Renault F1 Team fleet mainly utilising Bridgestone’s latest generation of highway tyres encompassing the R249 steer-axle, M749 drive-axle and R168 trailer-axle. Tructyre was recently awarded Expert Level recognition by Bridgestone UK for their high levels of customer service and administration to fleets.
Omitec, the diagnostics equipment manufacturer, has released Version 13 Software of its OmiScan (handset based) and OmiPro (PC Based) scan tools. Version 13 features software application updates to: Alfa Romeo, Citroën, Fiat, Ford, MG Rover, Peugeot, Renault, Vauxhall as well as intensive application additions to BMW.
Smart Repairs are a smart option for those wanting to restore the appearance of their vehicle without sinking a large sum of money into the process – and an even smarter option for those in the automotive refinishing industry. This is a fact well known to Ayce Systems, a leading UK supplier of smart repair systems, consumables and aftermarket support. And given that this company’s client list includes some well-known names – the UK operations of Renault, Peugeot and Fiat are but three – it’s safe to say Ayce Systems knows a thing or two about the smart repair business.
The company’s product range is sizeable and includes numerous smart repair systems for vehicle bodywork and interiors, but the Ayce Systems display at Brityrex, naturally enough, focused upon their alloy wheel repair line-up, including the WheelRite Pro, an item Acye says incorporates everything needed to repair and refurbish kerbed, scratched and corroded alloy wheels up to repainting stage.
The Renault Trafic van was voted ‘Best medium van’ for the fifth consecutive year at the Fleet World Honours 2007 awards ceremony in London recently. The awards are presented to manufacturers who, in the opinion of the panel of judges, have achieved the highest levels of excellence in their sector. The judging panel is made up of industry experts, including the editorial team from Fleet World, members the leasing industry, fleet managers and representatives from residual values guides.
Michelin has disclosed that, in the year following its introduction, its Primacy high performance tyre has been approved as OE on no less than 13 new cars. These OE agreements cover everything from saloons to minivans to sports coupes, and every vehicle category in the 2007 car market features at least one model equipped with the tyre.
The Michelin Primacy HP is fitted as original equipment on the Audi A3, A4 and TT, the Citroën Picasso, the Ford Mondeo and Galaxy, the Kia Cee’d and Opirus, the Lexus GS, the Peugeot 607, the Renault Laguna, the Toyota Auris and the Volvo S80.
The tyre has received a fair amount of press due to the claim it provides at least 25 per cent longer tread life than any competitor in the same premium range, according to the findings of a test conducted in the third quarter of 2005 by German technical services firm TÜV SÜD Automotive.
Yorkshire based Ayce Systems has seen sales of Wheelrite Pro, the company’s new all-in-one alloy wheel repair kit, grow dramatically since it was introduced last year. Managing Director Ron Rae puts the success down to the flexibility of the machine. “Unlike some systems on the market Wheelrite Pro uses automatic pneumatic clamping so that it can handle all designs of car and motorcycle wheels up to 20 inch diameter, with or without a central hole. Because of this adaptability it is proving particularly popular with independent repair workshops”, he enthused.
Yorkshire based smart repair supplier Ayce Systems is returning to Brityrex, and – thanks to the success it experienced at Brityrex 2005 – has doubled the size of its stand. Ayce will exhibit a cross section of products from its extensive range but the centrepiece will be their highly successful Wheelrite Pro, an all-in-one alloy wheel repair kit.
Unlike some systems on the market, Wheelrite Pro uses automatic pneumatic clamping, which Ayce reports can handle all designs of car and motorcycle wheels up to 22-inches in diameter, with or without a central hole. Because of this adaptability Ayce says the Wheelrite Pro is proving particularly popular with independent repair workshops.
Disc-Lock Europe, maker and European distributor of the award-winning Disc-Lock Safety Wheel Nut will launch its new campaign, Think Safe, Think Disc-Lock! at the CV Show 2007. The firm says this highlights the fact that truckers think wheel loss is the leading vehicle safety issue while truck makers continue to ignore their concerns. Demonstrations on the Disc-Lock stand will show how a standard two-piece Daf, MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Scania or Volvo wheel nut can be shaken loose in less than one minute on a Junker vibration test machine, while the Disc-Lock Safety Wheel Nut remains secure. According to reports, the firm hopes this will draw attention to truck makers apparent lack of concern.
(Akron/Tire Review) Former Michelin North America chief Carlos Ghosn has stepped down as CEO of Nissan North America, which recently relocated from Los Angeles to Nashville. Ghosn will retain his posts as CEO of both Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA.
Ghosn is the second top Nissan North America executive to step down in recent weeks, and the second former Michelin executive to do so. Jim Morton, vice chairman of Nissan and former PR chief at Michelin North America, announced his retirement in late February.
Automotive observers praised Ghosn’s move, saying the company needed more focus in North America, and hinted that further shake-ups at Nissan may be in the offing.
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