In 1948, Maurice Wilkes, technical director for Rover Cars, starts designing a British agricultural vehicle based on American army 4x4s. The Land Rover came equipped with distinctive bodies that were lightweight and rustproof, and designed to be field-serviced, giving the vehicles a reputation for longevity in tough conditions.
Lotus has been riding a relative wave of success in the past nine months, as its overall sales volume has increased a respectable 54 percent. Of course, considering last year’s sales totaled just 1,565 units worldwide, pushing the percentage upward by that much is a little less impressive. Still, any sign of life in Lotus is a good thing for true sports car enthusiasts, even if it is only a 551-unit jump.
On top of moving more cars, Lotus also expanded its dealership network by 25, with plans to add another 50 dealers by the end of 2015. That would push its total outlets to 213 by the close of the year.
With all of this success, it is no surprise to hear that Lotus is primed to unveil an “exciting” new car at the 2015 Geneva Auto Show in March.
The details surrounding this new car are still under wraps, but it is not a closely guarded secret that Lotus is readying a revised Evora. Chances are that this is exactly the car that we will see in Geneva, and it will feature an updated body, likely a slight power boost, and some new amenities within the cabin.
For now all I can do is speculate that this is the model in question, but it seems like the most logical situation at this point. Despite its sales growth, Lotus is in no situation to release an all-new model. That takes a huge financial toll on an automaker, and finances remain a sticking point for Lotus to date, despite things starting to look up for the once-doomed company.
In 1903 – The Rover brand starts life as a bicycle – Starley & Sutton Co’s Rover Safety Bicycle replaced the unstable penny farthing bicycles of its day.
Drivers in Lincolnshire are being warned that the tax disc changes in October 2014 could see their cars clamped.
As you may already be aware, in October 2014, the DVLA introduced new rules which means that motorists are no longer obliged to display a tax disc on their windscreens.
From this date, police cameras check a car’s licence plate to establish whether the tax has been paid.
According to Horncastle News, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of vehicles being clamped and this could suggest that drivers are unaware of another change which took place. When a car’s ownership changes, the tax is automatically cancelled.
Therefore, if you have bought a used car, its your personal responsibility to tax your new vehicle at the same time as you take ownership. One of the perks of purchasing a second hand car used to be that you could benefit from the tax that’s already been paid. Sellers can no longer sell the vehicle with “six month’s tax” available.
What happens now is that sellers get a refund for any tax paid.
Before the new legislation, agencies working on behalf of the DVLA clamped about 5,000 vehicles a month. This has now soared to almost 8,000 – with some towed away without even a warning letter.
A DVLA spokesman said: “The changes have been widely publicised and we write to every vehicle keeper to remind them of the new rules before the vehicle tax expires.
“We also write to every new vehicle keeper when they buy a used vehicle to inform them that they must tax the vehicle before they use it.
“In addition, if a driver does not tax their car we will send a warning letter to remind them to tax as they are at risk of enforcement action.”
You can look up the tax status of any vehicle by using DVLA’s Vehicle Enquiry System