HARDSHOULDER:THE IRISH Museum of Modern Art is playing host to the BMW 3.0 CSL art car painted by Alexander Calder until June 21st as part of an exhibition of his work.
The car, which laid the foundations for the BMW Art Car Collection, is the first of the firm’s 16 art cars to be shown in Ireland.
Other cars were decorated by artists such as Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, AR Penck, David Hockney, Olafur Eliasson and Jenny Holzer. The car itself was driven in the 1975 Le Mans 24-hour race.
High sales for Honda Insight
THE NEW Honda Insight is selling three times faster in its home market than the Japanese brand predicted, despite the recession.
It’s the most affordable hybrid car currently on the market and analysts say its early success proves there’s a big market for hybrid cars among buyers.
The sales surge has seemingly caught Honda by surprise. Its Suzuka factory is building 600 Insights per day and recruiting more staff to get up to full production speed. The car is due here in September.
Irish launch of Insignia sports tourer
OPEL HAS introduced the estate or sports tourer version of the Insignia to Ireland. Starting at €29,095 for the 1.8-litre petrol version, it offers between 540 and 1,530 litres of boot space, along with the sleek lines of the award-winning family car.
The Insignia was voted European Car of the Year for 2009. The new car’s arrival coincides with the introduction of a new 1.6-litre 180bhp turbocharged petrol engine to the Insignia range.
It manages a 0-100km/h time of 9.2 seconds with an emissions rating of 186g/km. It will be available on all four-wheel-drive versions of the Insignia.
VW introduces diesel Golf GTD
VOLKSWAGEN HAS introduced a high- performance diesel version of its recently launched Golf.
The Golf GTD uses VW’s new 2-litre diesel engine with 168bhp. It’s not the first time the Golf has featured a GTD diesel: the tag first appeared on Golfs in 1982.
The new model will manage a 0-100km/h time of 8.2 seconds with a fuel consumption figure of 5.3l/100km (53mpg) and an emissions rating of 139g/km, putting it in the second- lowest band for VRT and road tax of €156.
The car features a six-speed manual or six-speed DSG gearbox.
Ford set to make loss on Volvo sale
FORD MAY get between $1 and $2 billion for Volvo Cars, less than a third of what it paid 10 years ago, as it conducts sale talks with more than three bidders, a source said. Shedding the Swedish automaker, the last piece of Ford’s strategy to boost profit with European luxury brands, may take six months.
The source wouldn’t name the potential buyers, but it’s believed discussions are furthest along with China’s Geely Automobile Holdings. Ford is also believed to have approached China’s Chery Automobile and Chongqing Changan Automobile.