| Oh, to be in the land of antiques | | Posted Monday, October 30, 2006 2:47:11 PM by Blog57 Team | | WE might not be British to our bootstraps any more, as the long-reigning 1960s Liberal prime minister Sir Robert Menzies once fantasised, but England is still the main source of the antiques we collect. Last year, Australia imported £28.5 million ($71 million) worth of antiques and art from Britain, according to UK customs figures, while we, believe it or not, exported £15.4 million to England. So Britain is very much on the map for collectors visiting Europe - a big drawcard being its wealth of major galleries and institutional collections, and its huge network of metropolitan and regional auction centres. Most visitors choose summer for their trip, of course, so as to take advantage of relatively kind northern hemisphere weather to combine a little antiques-hunting with the more orthodox tourism pursuits - but it's sensible to choose with care.... | |
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| | | EuroBike Day 2: Germany's Haus Brands | | Posted Thursday, September 14, 2006 10:46:44 AM by Blog57 Team | | The droning thud of an incessant techno beat, bounced throughout the halls of the Eurobike exhibition in Friedrichschafen, Germany, on Friday, the second full day of the show. The electronic sounds so loved by many Germans, added a challenge to the task of gathering manufacturer information. It would be the anthem of the day, one that turned out to be filled with German engineering. German culture is known for its advanced design and precise production. German bicycle manufacturers are no exception, many of them compete directly with manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz and BMW for national awards - surprisingly they are quite competitive. Quality brands are abound, from tire manufacturers like Schwalbe and Continental to major bicycle manufacturers like Merida. Then of course there are smaller niche brands like Nicolai, which packs an engineering punch yet has plenty of soul.... | |
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| | | A Tough Ride for Japan's Carmakers | | Posted Saturday, September 09, 2006 12:46:20 AM by Blog57 Team | | It's not easy to sell a foreign car in Japan. While German marques dominate Japan's luxury sector, domestic brands rule the overall Japanese market—the world's second largest—in a way that GM (GM) and Ford (F) execs can only dream about. Toyota (TM), the market leader, has a 46% market share, and Japan's domestic auto makers combined account for 95% of unit sales. .... | |
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| | | Jaguar puts gr-rr-owl in the XK | | Posted Tuesday, August 15, 2006 12:46:00 AM by Blog57 Team | | SAULIEU, FRANCELess than a year after launching its all-new 2007 XK sport coupe and convertible, Jaguar will be unleashing an upgraded version of this cat that brandishes considerably sharper claws. The 2007 XKR coupe and convertible will hit the Canadian market in early 2007. No pricing has been announced, but you can probably count on spending a small Korean car's-worth over the $103,000 and $113,000 of the base model XKs for the privilege of owning the top dog, er, feline. First and foremost on the XKR's check list is the upgraded engine. The 4.2-litre DOHC AJ-V8 in the R is Eaton-supercharged, developing 420 hp at 6250 r.p.m. and 413 lb.-ft. of torque at 4000 r.p.m. That's up 120 hp and 110 lb.-ft. over its naturally aspirated sibling.... | |
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| | | Vehicles hit the scrap heap | | Posted Sunday, August 13, 2006 2:45:45 PM by Blog57 Team | | Fewer people than expected have been taking advantage of the "Junk Your Jalopy" program organized Friday and Saturday by Mendocino County Planning and Building. The program allowed people to discard vehicles they no longer wanted without the need of a pink slip or a registration fee. Vehicles were being processed at Ukiah Auto Dismantlers on Friday and Saturday. "This is the slowest it has ever been," said Gail Harrie, a code enforcement officer at Planning and Building. A rise in the price of scrap metal in recent years may be to blame for the low turnout as some car owners take their junker vehicles to scrap dealers to pick up some extra money, Harrie said. The program processed about 40 vehicles on Friday and expected to process as many as 100 more on Saturday, Harrie said.... | |
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| | | BMW 330d - a true driver's diesel | | Posted Sunday, July 23, 2006 12:46:07 AM by Blog57 Team | | There was a time when talking about your diesel car wouldn't have impressed the lads around the braai but a diesel Audi winning last weekend's Le Mans 24 Hours squashed any lingering doubts about using the words "sport" and "diesel" in the same sentence. OK, Audi gets the official bragging rights, but its victory was great PR for diesels in general and rubs off on rivals such as BMW's 330d. If I'd told you a week ago that the 330d gets from 0-100km/h in only 6.9sec and that its top speed was 246km/h you'd have said hmm, not bad. But now that you know a diesel car's won the legendary Le Mans, those numbers get a bit more attention .... | |
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| | | WestLB Reiterates Volkswagen At Reduce | | Posted Friday, June 30, 2006 4:45:51 AM by Blog57 Team | | 1001 GMT [Dow Jones] WestLB keeps Volkswagen (VOW.XE) at reduce with a EUR49 target after the company said about 1,000 workers have accepted a severance deal. Notes voluntary packages are more attractive for the company than early retirement, as cost savings will be realized the moment the employee leaves. However, expects VW to shed 16,000 jobs via early retirement and 4,000 by volontary packages. Expects momentum for the latter to slow down in 4Q as workers will receive the EUR54,000 premium only until September. Shares trade -0.5% at EUR52.93. (JUM) Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. .... | |
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