The good oil: Family get-together for big cats

Jaguar's 75th birthday model C-X75. Photo / Supplied

Jaguar's 75th birthday model C-X75 won't be there, but the line-up of Big Cats will be spectacular nevertheless. That's the Jaguar get-together at the Viaduct tomorrow, a tribute by the Auckland Jaguar Drivers' Club to the marque's 75 years. Expect pretty much every model to be represented, from reproductions of Jaguar's first model, the 1935 SS, to the latest XJ saloon. The display runs from 11am to 4pm.

Lotus Downunder deal almost done

NZ Automotive News broke the transtasman story in the Herald on October 7, that expat businessman Neville Crichton's company Ateco Automotive is likely to be the new New Zealand and Australian distributor for Lotus. The Australians took it a step further this week, saying that Ateco is set to look after Lotus Downunder from next March. The Sydney-based importer of Citroen, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Fiat, Ferrari and Great Wall vehicles is in the final stages of negotiations with the Malaysian-owned British sportscar brand, but Australian dealers and staff have been told it is a done deal. Ateco spokesman Edward Rowe is staying mum.

China roves into Israeli car market

A car built in China and based on the British Rover 75 platform is being sold in Israel. A batch of 160 Roewe 550 compact sedans made by Shanghai Automotive Industry Co is China's first automotive export to Israel. The Roewe 550 sedan will be sold for $52,500 in the Jewish state, according to China's Ministry of Commerce. The Roewe 550 is built on a shortened Rover 75 platform and powered by a 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol engine. After SAIC bought Rover in 2007, it adapted Rover platforms and powertrains for the Roewe brand.

Skoda posts best-ever sales month

Skoda sold 75,790 cars worldwide in September, its best-ever month. Sales of 568,990 cars for the first nine months of the year are up 12.8 per cent on 2009. Sales in China, Skoda's fastest developing market, jumped by 65 per cent over nine months to 134,470 units. Skoda is the Czech Republic's second-largest company by sales, with revenue equivalent to 5 per cent of the country's gross domestic product. Meanwhile, it is not happy with parent Volkswagen's effort to reposition Skoda beneath the VW brand in Europe. VW's management believes Skoda has moved too close to its main brand and is luring its customers away from VW. VW CEO Martin Winterkorn said the company will reduce Skoda production costs by cutting back on equipment levels. "We cannot have a [Skoda] Fabia with a higher value instrument panel then the [VW] Polo," he said at the Paris motor show.

Porsche gets precious with secrets

Porsche has moved to block employees' access to social-networking platforms such as Facebook to shield it from industrial espionage. It is concerned that foreign intelligence services may be spying on workers posting "confidential" information on Facebook and other web-based services, exposing the carmaker to unwanted observation, said Dirk Erat, a Porsche spokesman. "These services imply a certain threat potential," Erat said.

We are the world

Missouri farmer David Jungerman put a sign on his tractor-trailer denouncing "parasites" who "always have their hand out for whatever the government will give them." The Kansas City Star checked Jungerman out and found that he had received more than US$1 million ($1.3 million) in US government crop subsidies since 1995. Jungerman defended his sign, saying a "parasite" pays no taxes at all yet seeks handouts. By contrast, he said, he pays his taxes.