1954-1956 Buick Hood Insualtor Retainer. Sombrero on 2040-parts.com

Top Hyundai UK Dealers honoured

Hyundai’s top UK dealers have been honoured with awards at an event in Frankfurt. Bristol Street Motors, Monaghan Brothers, Sandon Road Hyundai and J T Hughes won awards. There are lots of threads to making a brand succeed, and Hyundai’s stellar rise from budget ‘dofor’ to mainstream beating has meant weaving those threads together like a seamstress on a fine tapestry. From advertising to PR to product to showcase, the brand will only work if all the elements combine properly to convince car buyers there’s substance to the product.

Lotus Exige LF1 Limited Edition – one for every Lotus F1 victory

Lotus Exige LF1 Limited Edition – one for every Lotus F1 victory It’s a nice idea to build a limited edition car – the Lotus Exige LF1 – to celebrate very one of the 81 victories Lotus has enjoyed in F1, but it does make you wonder if Lotus has done it because they’re never likely to win again (and if they do, do they produce another LF1?). Still, Lotus has pulled out the icon JPS livery for the Lotus Exige S (from the days cigarettes could be advertised) to give the LF1 a pretty paint job of black and gold (with added red bits) including a black and gold Lotus badge up front and a contrast stitched interior with F1 logos on the seats. Also interesting is that each car will receive a plaque commemorating each individual victory, from the 1960 win at Monaco with Stirling Moss behind the wheel to the last in Australia in 2013 with Kimi Raikkonen.

UK car manufacturing jumps 12%

CAR PRODUCTION is accelerating ahead, driven by demand from Europe, according to the latest figures. A total of 142,158 cars were manufactured in the UK in March - a 12% rise on the March 2013 figure, the Society of Motor Manufacturers (SMMT) said. Last month's figure brought the 2014 production total to nearly 405,000 - a 2.9% increase on the January-March 2013 total.