Toyota, Australia’s leading manufacturer, importer and exporter of cars has recommended the abolition of the Federal Government’s Luxury Car Tax, following reports of a tax loophole.

Toyota’s recommendation to abolish the Luxury Car Tax is consistent with the 2010 Henry Tax Review.

Toyota Australia senior executive director sales and marketing David Buttner said the Luxury Car Tax was inefficient, punitive and poorly designed.

“Toyota is Australia’s number one luxury car brand according to the Luxury Car Tax regime. In 2010 the top two vehicles exceeding the Luxury Car Tax threshold were the Toyota Prado and LandCruiser with 15,423 and 7,273 car sales respectively,” Mr Buttner said.

“The current Luxury Car Tax was introduced in 2000 and since then the price customers are prepared to pay for cars has risen. However the tax threshold has not kept pace and customers have to pay an unfair tax on cars that exceed $57,466, a level that most people would not consider to be a luxury car.”

Toyota Australia believes the tax also penalises people who customise their vehicles.

“With an increasing number of accessories, such as roof racks, bullbars and tow bars available as vehicle extras, vehicles priced below or on the cusp of the Luxury Car Tax threshold currently creep past the threshold once the accessories are added,” Mr Buttner said.

He said the tax was discriminatory because it only applied to vehicles and no other luxury item.

“Toyota Australia and the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries have long opposed the Luxury Car Tax on the basis that no other consumer product has an additional tax applied simply because the value of the product exceeds an arbitrary threshold.”

Source: http://news.toyota.com.au/toyota-calls-for-luxury-car-tax-abolition

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It was one of the most exciting and dramatic 24 hour races at the Nürburgring. And it finished with a triumph for Porsche: In front of 220,000 spectators lining the legendary Nordschleife, Porsche works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany), Timo Bernhard (Germany), Romain Dumas (France) as well as Lucas Luhr (Switzerland) won the 39th running of the long distance classic in the Eifel with the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR and relegated their strong opponents from BMW, Mercedes and Audi to finish down the field.

For Porsche and the Porsche Team Manthey, this marked the fifth victory at the traditional race in the last six years – likewise for Timo Bernhard.

With the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR - the world’s most successful GT race car of the last years - the Porsche quartet snatched the lead on Saturday at 23.25 hours and held on to it to the flag. What followed were 16 hours and 35 minutes at the head of the field, 108 consistently fast and faultless laps under immense pressure on one of the toughest race tracks on earth – this speaks volumes about the reliability of the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR and for the skill of the pilots. The new distance record set with a total of 156 laps and 3,958.968 kilometres underlines the superb effort of the winners and their team.

“We already knew before the start that we could only win if we worked together as a team, from the drivers through to the mechanics. And this worked very well for the entire time,” Timo Bernhard said. Indeed, aside from the usual tensions on the track, there was just one truly critical situation – strangely enough in the pits. Lucas Luhr: “During a pit stop the petrol pump didn’t work. Fuel simply didn’t come out. So we had to push our car back to another pump and in doing so lost almost a minute.”The Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid also gave an impressive performance, even though its second start at the 24 hour classic did not yield the anticipated top result. Fielded by Porsche Team Manthey with Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria), Marco Holzer (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA), the innovative race car with its ground-breaking drive concept finished an impressive 28th after a breathtaking chase through the field, 17 laps behind the winner.

Source : http://www.porsche.com

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At the Porsche press conference held on the day before the Porsche Carrera World Cup and the Nürburgring 24 hour race, Porsche head of motorsport Hartmut Kristen and Porsche works driver Timo Bernhard fielded questions from journalists. Joining them in the Porsche Media Lounge at the Nürburgring were Melanie Snow and Craig Baird, the drivers of the VIP-cars at the Porsche Carrera World Cup – and as star guest, rock legend Udo Lindenberg. This is what they said.

Hartmut Kristen on the further-developed Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid: “The main priority for us was about improving efficiency. We reached this goal through targeted optimisation of the hybrid components. We reduced the weight by 50 kilograms, at the same time increasing the performance of the two electric motors from 60 to 75 kilowatts each. All of this was with the objective of improving the efficiency.”

Timo Bernhard on his second 24 hour race in two weeks: “It’s quite exhausting obviously, but we’re trained for it. That’s our job. Both Le Mans and the Nordschleife are unbelievably demanding circuits. We’re driving both the 911 GT3 R and the 911 GT3 RSR here. The race cars are not that different in their handling, they’re both 911s after all. The 911 GT3 R is built more for top speed, the 911 GT3 RSR for more downforce. Because the competition is incredibly strong this year, our team boss Olaf Manthey decided that we should test both vehicles and then decide which one we’ll finally drive for the race. Many regard us as favourites because we won four consecutive times between 2006 and 2009. As far as I’m concerned, the most important factors are the reliability and speed of the 911 as well as having Olaf Manthey as an ingenious team boss and strategist. He lives only three kilometres away from the track and knows it and the Eifel like no other.”

Source : http://www.porsche.com

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As the best-placed Porsche team, Porsche works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany), Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) take up the 24 hour race on Saturday with Lucas Luhr (Switzerland) from the fourth grid row. At the wheel of Manthey Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R, they concluded the final qualifying for the long distance classic in the Eifel on eighth place.

The further-developed Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid (Version 2.0) with drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria), Marco Holzer (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) posted the eleventh quickest time. The Porsche works drivers were able to improve on their first qualifying session by three places, but the gap to the top was just over seven seconds.

On the 16th grid spot are Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Lucas Luhr in the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR that the Manthey Racing team fields parallel to the 911 GT3 R. Directly behind them is Porsche factory pilot Wolf Henzler (Germany) as well as Peter Dumbreck (Great Britain), Martin Ragginger (Austria) and Sebastian Asch (Germany) in the Porsche 911 GT3 R of Falken Motorsports on position 17.Marc Lieb (No. 11/18, Manthey Racing): “I drove the GT3 but didn’t manage to find an optimal lap because I had to wait too long at the pit lane exit and was therefore too late. All in all I have to say that I couldn’t do much more. But we now have 24 hours ahead of us.”

Timo Bernhard (No. 11/18 Manthey Racing): “I only conducted function tests after changing crucial components like the engine and gearbox. It was all good. The car feels great.”

Romain Dumas (No. 11/18, Manthey Racing): “Our timing wasn’t perfect. When we wanted to push, it started to rain. But we’ve made huge progress in our set-up and that was our main goal for. It’ll be a long race and anything can happen.”

Joerg Bergmeister (No. 9, Porsche Team Manthey): “We obviously made the right decision and went for top times when it was dry right from the start. It worked and I got in a clear lap. Our car is handling very well.”

Source : http://www.porsche.com

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Delivery Magazine has awarded the 2011 Mercedes-Benz Vito as “Best Van of the year”.

Delivery magazine Editor Mr.Chris Mullett said, “Mercedes-Benz has significantly improved the Vito product to the point that it is now the best specification ever offered from the German manufacturer. With new engines and transmissions plus revised rear axle ratios these latest vans are more fuel efficient and offer greater safety inclusions than ever before.”

Dr. Kolja Rebstock, Managing Director Commercial Vehicles, Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific Pty Ltd said, “With the one millionth Vito just having been produced it’s fantastic to top that milestone off with this prestigious award as Australia’s best van.

With Euro 5 engines the Vito is kind to the environment and with its five star ANCAP rating the Vito is the safest van in Australia that sets the benchmark for workplace safety.

“We have worked hard to provide the best van in Australia and this award clearly recognises this, the Vito truly is the Mercedes-Benz of vans,” said Rebstock.

Source : http://www.mercedes-benzsa.co.za

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Esorfranki Civils, a business unit of the benchmark, and listed, civil engineering and construction group Esorfranki, is in the process of upgrading and expanding its fleet of Mercedes-Benz Axor trucks in a deal worth R100-million and involving no fewer than 65 units, consisting of tippers, crane trucks watercars, concrete mixers and truck-tractors.

Most of the vehicles are to be used in major road projects such as Sanral’s Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), the Bakwena Platinum Corridor Concessionaire’s N4 Highway between Brits and Sun City, and other civil engineering projects.

Esorfranki Civils specifically focuses on road building, mining and township infrastructure work, water and sewerage reticulation contracts and building projects for government, major mining houses and the private sector in South Africa. It also provides local and cross-border back-up services to other divisions in the group which deal mainly with sub-surface foundation engineering work, such as for pipelines.

The success of the group can be measured by group annual turnover having snow-balled from R100-million 35 years ago to close to R2-billion last year.
Eleven of the vehicles were handed over at Esofranki’s head offices in Germiston recently by McCarthy Kunene, the Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles dealership in Witbank, which negotiated the deal, with finance provided by Mercedes-Benz.

This first handover consisted of seven Axor 3335K tippers, two Axor 2648/45 water cars (normal base) and two Axor 3335K/36 concrete mixers. The tippers are equipped with 12-m3 Meiller tipper bodies and the water cars with 14 000 litre tanks, all supplied by TFM of Olifantsfontein.

Esorfranki Civils was created out of the Patula group of companies, which the Esofranki Group acquired in November 2008 to introduce new sustainable revenue streams by expanding services from sub-surface foundation work to include above-surface civil engineering, backed by Patula’s impressive 15-year track record Esorfranki Civils, headed by MD Richard Maynard, now employs over 1 100 employees ranging from artisan to management level and boasts a comprehensive plant inventory.

Source : http://www.mercedes-benzsa.co.za

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At the Lausitzring, Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) starts from pole position for the third time in four races of the current DTM season and for the tenth time in his career
108th pole position for Mercedes-Benz in DTM
Three C-Class drivers in the Top 5: Bruno Spengler and Jamie Green on the front row, Gary Paffett in fifth
Mercedes claim eleventh pole in 13 DTM races at Lausitzring

Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) will start from pole in the fourth 2011 DTM race at the Lausitzring on Sunday (race start: 14:00 - broadcast from 13:45 onwards on ARD TV). The Canadian driver posted a time of 1:19.119 in the individual time trial at the end of qualifying. It’s his tenth DTM pole and his second at this track since 2007. For the 108th time, a Mercedes-Benz driver is on pole position in DTM - it’s the eleventh Mercedes pole at the EuroSpeedway track since its debut in 2000.

Mercedes-Benz team-mate Jamie Green (AMG Mercedes C-Class) will start alongside Spengler on the front row. The British driver posted the second fastest qualifying time in the fourth segment – 1:19.524.
With a time of 1:19.151, Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO AMG Mercedes C-Class) missed out on the top four in qualifying by just 0.079 seconds. The two-time Lausitz winner starts the race from fifth on the grid.
Qualifying 1: In the first part of qualifying, Gary Paffett posted the fastest C-class time - 1:19.395. David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:19.737), Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class /1:19.785) and Ralf Schumacher (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:19.818) finished in positions 15 to 17. The gap between best time and 17th was just half a second in this highly competitive first qualifying session.

Qualifying 2: With a time of 1:19.044, Gary Paffett secured the second fastest time of the second part of qualifying. Christian Vietoris (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class) finished in P10 in 1:19.234. Renger van der Zande (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:19.502) and Susie Stoddart (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:19.577) will start the race from P13 and P14. The gap between P1 and P14 again amounted to just over half a second.

Source : http://www.mercedes-benzsa.co.za

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All hail the monster - Driving his modified 2011 Monster Sport (Suzuki) SX4 Hill Climb Special, Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima broke his own former world record, as well as the seemingly unattainable 10-minute mark, all while capturing his sixth consecutive overall win with a time of 09:51:58 at the 89th Annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

On a fiercely competitive day, Monster conquered the climb decisively, mastering the Peak’s winding and perilous path to the top. Team Monster Sport’s SX4 Hill Climb Special was unyielding, making full use of its racecar chassis and 900-plus horsepower.

Monster Tajima first challenged Pikes Peak, North America’s second oldest motorsports event, in 1988. His first win in the Unlimited division took place in 1993, followed by his second overall title in 1995. Fast forward to 2006, and his overall win that year primed the pump for a record-breaking run of 10 minutes and 1.41 seconds in 2007.

In his pursuit of victory, Monster defeated several worthy competitors, the most formidable being Rhys “We Fear No Monster” Millen, who drove an aggressively modified Hyundai Genesis. Millen placed second in the race this year with a time of 10:09:24.

Source : http://media.suzuki.com/

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Driving his modified 2011 Monster Sport (Suzuki) SX4 Hill Climb Special, Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima will pursue his sixth consecutive overall win and a shot at breaking the elusive 10-minute barrier at the 89th Annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on Sunday, June 26. Team Monster Sport will compete in the Unlimited class, and will be hosted by McCloskey Suzuki of Colorado Springs during the two weeks of race preparations.

Monster Tajima first challenged Pikes Peak, North America’s second oldest motorsports event, in 1988. His first win in the Unlimited division took place in 1993, followed by his second overall title in 1995. Fast forward to 2006, and his overall win that year primed the pump for a record-breaking run of 10 minutes and 1.41 seconds in 2007.

Monster will again be defending his title against several worthy competitors, the most formidable being Rhys “We Fear No Monster” Millen, who will drive an aggressively modified Hyundai Genesis. Millen placed third in the race last year.In the world-famous climb to the clouds, it’s all about power and piloting prowess. To that, may the best man (or monster) win.

Based on a Low drag and High down force concept developed for the Pikes Peak race and following exhaustive tests in the Monster Sport wind tunnel facility, the Monster Sport SX4 Hill Climb Special has undergone extensive aerodynamic changes to adapt better to the modified road surface, which now consists of more smooth tarmac and less gravel than was present during last year’s race. The car is powered by a 3100cc Twin Turbo Monster Special V6 powerplant, boasting an impressive 910 horsepower.

Source : http://media.suzuki.com

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2011 is an important year for Mercedes-Benz as the company celebrates 125 years of innovation. It was on 29 January 1886 that Carl Benz filed an application in Berlin for a patent on his three-wheeled motor car. This date has since been considered the official birthday of the motor car. At the same time as Benz, Gottlieb Daimler was developing the first four-wheeled motor car. In this way, working independently of each other, the founding fathers of Daimler AG and its globally successful Mercedes-Benz core brand laid the foundation stone for all present-day passenger cars, commercial vehicles and buses.

Ten years later, a second important chapter of history of motorised transport opened: in 1895 the first motorised bus in the world went into service, and in 1896 Daimler delivered the world’s first motorised truck. In terms of its payload capacity – 1500 kg – this by standards would be regarded as the first van.
The van incorporated influences from both passenger cars and trucks. This has remained the case to this day; the typical modern van aims to combine car-like speed, comfort and handling with the payload capacity and load volume of a truck.

The company that invented the motor car has since that time gone on to shape its development more diversely and enduringly than any other motor vehicle manufacturer - in all relevant areas, from drive technology to comfort and safety through to design.

In celebration of these 125 years, a number of events and exhibitions are underway throughout the year, incorporating an element of pageantry around this important milestone. One of the major exhibits includes a display of the first car, the Benz Patent Motor, and the Benz Velo, the first car in South Africa.
These vintage displays are being placed in various Mercedes-Benz dealerships throughout Southern Africa – a roadshow that has been underway since 29 January 2011.

Transporting this precious cargo is no mean feat and, thanks to the Mercedes-Benz Vans division, a Sprinter 518 CDI XL panel van (extra-long version) has been made available especially for this purpose.
The livery on this Sprinter clearly depicts the cargo: “South African motoring history: Exhibit Number One - proudly driven by Mercedes-Benz Vans”.

“As the vintage cargo is precious and invaluable, we wanted a reliable and spacious vehicle with solid service support to transport these classics throughout the country. The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter has the track record to meet the requirements and we look forward to many a successful exhibition and event as they move through the extensive schedule,” says Nicolette Lambrechts, Brand Manager, Mercedes-Benz Vans.

The 3-litre, V6 Sprinter 518CDI XL panel van comes standard with a host of safety features including enhanced braking and stability via ADAPTIVE ESP, ABS, BAS, ASR, EBD and Start-off Assist.
In addition to the usual parameters of ADAPTIVE ESP, this system is now also able to determine the mass and the centre of gravity of the load. This and other new functions allow ADAPTIVE ESP to intervene with even greater sensitivity and precision in critical situations.

Source : http://www.mercedes-benzsa.co.za

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