Carmakers all over the world are finding it necessary to ‘up-size’ their offerings as a result of the ever expanding global waistline. Over the last fifty years, the average family car has become more than a foot wider and almost double the weight. The problem has become so acute that BMW has actually recruited a team of some 800 volunteers for a study on how obesity affects driving, in a plan that has been dubbed ‘Plump my ride’ after the TV show with a similar name.
Luxury car manufacturer, Rolls-Royce, has just received a phone call a little like that from Stephen Hung who has just shelled out US$20 million in the biggest single order ever received by Rolls-Royce. For those of you who don’t know Stephen Hung, he is…well… rich and somewhat flamboyant, and the owner of the Louis XIII gaming complex in Macau. This venue has been dubbed the most luxurious and extravagant hotel and casino in the world.
Celebrating 60 years of selling cars in the US of A, Ferrari has unveiled their homage to the achievement in the form of the F60 America.
Effective September 2014, parallel import of vehicles into China, that is, bypassing the official distribution channel and thus eliminating the middleperson, was made legal. The result of this legislation is that imported cars is now much cheaper than those sold by local distributors.
..and falling. What does this mean for the oil industry and consumers? Automologist, MAC, ventures to explain.
“Global oil prices take a tumble and are set to fall further.” If I had written that headline six months ago, you would have thought that I had shuffled off my sanity-trolley and was certifiable, but that was what happened this week.
There was a time, many years ago, when the USA produced all the energy it needed domestically for its citizens. Then they all went out and bought cars as big as whales and the rest is history. The USA now accounts for about 20% of global energy consumption, although China is currently the world’s biggest consumer. Each American uses about three and a half times more energy than the average Chinese person.