It’s rumoured that one of the best-selling parts ordered from BMW dealerships is that shiny M badge with the red, blue and violet streaks next to it. So how can you tell if your car is the real deal?
Brands / Other / Tech
Brand History: in bullet points
We give you a very brief history (in short paragraphs) of the most popular car companies:
Five-cylinder engines
The fantastic five
A gruff, off-beat sound usually accompanied by a whistling turbo charger can only mean one thing: five cylinders. With even numbers being the preferred stencil for engine manufacturing, the five-pot is just as quirky and potentially unbalanced as those little three-cylinders.
S-Class turns 40
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class turns 40
As an automotive media company we get hundreds of car-flavoured press releases a month. Most make it onto our website, some get sent around the office for further discussion and very few give birth to their own story. This time it’s the turn of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class which is celebrating its 40th birthday.
Peugeot wins again!
This was the caption of an advertisement in the British magazine, The Motor, in May 1962; fifty years ago.
The reason for this jubilation was that Peugeot – again – won the East African Safari. And they did have reason to be over the moon since they finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the 1600-2000 cc class in one of the most gruelling endurance rallies at the time. The winning 404 was driven by local driver, the Kenyan Nick Nowicki with Paddy Cliff as his co-driver.
Happy birthday, car!
Mercedes-Benz: 125 years of innovation
Don’t you just love birthdays? The cake, the presents, the smiles of loved ones. Do yourself a huge favour and go to the garage / driveway and wish your car a happy birthday, irrespective of what make it may be. Give it a wash, change its oil or just smile at it for a while.
2011 DAKAR Rally
2011 DAKAR Rally
On a sunny Sunday afternoon in mid-January this year, the world’s toughest rally concluded in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The 2011 (and 32nd) Dakar rally concluded after 13 gruelling stages through Argentina and Chile’s amazing but demanding scenery.
Porsche Museum
Saliva gland torture
Let’s face it. You’re not a proper petrol-head unless you had a poster of a whale-tail Porsche 911 on your bedroom wall and knew the difference between a 924, 944 and 968. You might prefer the dramatic Italian offerings or brute American muscle, but any car fundi should entertain a sizable amount of respect for the Stuttgart sports cars.
Mercedes-Benz Museum
The double-helix treasure chest
Late in the 19th century the nosy neighbours of a fellow called Daimler alerted the Stuttgart authorities to the questionable goings-on in the neighbouring property’s greenhouse. Expecting to bust an unlawful minting operation, the German cops snuck in at night and were surprised to find nothing but seemingly senseless machinery.