Denso 234-4417 Oxygen Sensor on 2040-parts.com

Market view: why the Jaguar XJ has an uphill battle

By Glen Brooks Motor Industry 10 July 2009 16:11 It’s a sobering thought for Jaguar management that no matter how good the new 2010 XJ is, it’s never going to be a big seller. The global market for large executive saloons was in decline long before the Great Recession appeared, the buyers in this segment increasingly tempted by models as diverse as the BMW X6, Infiniti FX, Cadillac Escalade or Mercedes GL-Class crossovers and SUVs. The generation that was chauffeured in an S-class or XJ is retiring, with the owner-drivers who succeed them soon to be preferring a Porsche Panamera, Aston Martin Rapide or Audi A7.

Pink Rolls Royce FAB 1 actually has a pink vinyl ‘Wrap’

But it seems Rolls Royce must have thought much the same, as it turns out that the impressive paint job isn’t actually that at all, but a pink vinyl wrap provided – free of charge – by car vinyl wrap experts Raccoon. Raccoon chose a gloss laminated film to wrap the Ghost to make sure it looked as indistinguishable as possible from a bespoke paint job, and it worked. No one has noticed the pinks Rolls Royce doesn’t have a custom paint job and that’s down to Raccoon taking extreme care to carefully wrap not just the outside panels, but also stuff like door sills and any areas that might otherwise give the game away.

Consulatation on 20mph speed limit

BIRMINGHAM City Council has launched a public consultation on plans which could see around 90% of roads in the city given a 20mph speed limit. The authority believes the "20 is Plenty" scheme, costing around £7 million, would make residential streets safer and transport networks more sustainable. Key routes would keep higher speed limits under the long-term proposals, but public feedback is also being sought on whether the 20mph scheme should also be considered for busy high street shopping areas, around schools, leisure facilities, hospitals and public transport interchanges.