Rolls Royce Phantom

The Phantom has been changed many times since its release in 1925 with the Phantom 1 to the Phantom Coupe released in 2008. The 18.4 foot long, 2,590 kilogram Phantom Coupe features a leather a wood interior, four seats, a v12 engine and 21 inch wheels. The Phantom has some customization option like different wheels, type of wood used and the colour of the leather used inside the car. A button is used to automatically close the doors when sitting inside.

Hummer H2

The Hummer H2 is available in either a 14 or 24 seat stretch limo. Featuring a Bar, DVD/CD player, stretched leather seats, 3 LCD flat screens plus more the Hummer H2 is great for going to parties and other events

Mercedes Benz S Class

The Mercedes Benz S Class are the largest largest cars built by Mercedes. A choice of standard or long wheelbase is offered as well as either a v6, v8 or v12 diesel engine or a hybrid model. The interior is lined with colour choices for the leather and wood. Now there are many features in the S-Class such as types of communication, TV tuner and media devices.

BMW 7 Series

The 7 Series is available both in long and standard chassis lengths and comes with either a v6, v8 or v12 petrol engine and leather interior . An optional Comfort feature can be added to the car doors, what this does is sense when your near the door and will automatically unlock, you can even open the boot with this feature. People are sit in the back of the car are greeted with 2 LCD screens mounted in the back of the front seats with a DVD player and a individual air conditioning system.

Cadillac DTS

The Cadillac DTS is fitted with a v8 petrol engine, electronic ignition and the license plate can also be modified. The DTS comes with all you would expect from a luxury vehicle, heated and cooled front and rear seats, DVD playback, CD/MP3 player, air conditioning. The DTS has a radio feature that should be very car, commercial free music stations and ways to listen to the best news without interruptions.

Beleaguered Toyota is hoping to draw attention away from its accelerator and braking woes with the world premiere of the production-ready Auris HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive). This model marks a milestone in the company’s programme to introduce its full hybrid powertrain technology across its entire model range by the early 2020s, though whether its current problems and admission of having ‘grown too quickly’ will affect the timescale remains to be seen.

The company will also be giving the European premiere of the production version of the Prius Plug-in Hybrid and the all-electric FT-EV II concept, along with a new version of its successful RAV4 model. Look out also for the Toyota FT-8 sports concept car.

Meanwhile, Jaguar is to unveil the latest evolution of its supercharged XKR coupé at the show. This XKR delivers a significantly raised maximum speed – up to 174 mph from 155 mph  – and bold styling changes that create an evocative and unique supercharged Jaguar (it says here).

Jaguar XKR

The XKR Coupé will have two new optional performance and styling packs – Speed Pack and Black Pack. The Speed Pack allows customers to extend the car’s top speed from 155 mph (250 km/h) to an electronically limited 174 mph (280 km/h) by recalibrating the engine and transmission. To ensure the XKR with Speed Pack remains stable at high speeds, the coupé uses a revised front aerodynamic splitter and larger rear spoiler to provide increased balance and a reduction in lift. The XKR’s computerised Active Differential Control also adjusts to reduce steering sensitivity at very high speeds, further improving stability and driver control.

The new optional Black Pack allows drivers, according to the blurb, ‘to own a bold and purposeful Jaguar with undeniable visual impact thanks to menacing gloss black wheels and exterior detailing’. That’ll be a different paint job then.

Peugeot will be unleashing its two concept cars, the ‘5 by Peugeot’ luxury saloon and the SR1 Sports Coupé. The pair will share centre stage with the Peugeot RCZ Sports Coupé, displayed just weeks before it goes on sale, together with the What Car? Award-winning duo of the 3008 Crossover and 5008 MPV.

Powered by Peugeot’s HYbrid4 diesel hybrid technology, the 5 by Peugeot produces 200 bhp and zero emissions when in electric mode. This technology also provides fuel economy of over 74 mpg and emissions of just 99 g/km without any compromise in performance or refinement.

Geneva will also see the unveiling of Peugeot’s e-HDi micro-hybrid technology to be launched in 2011, which provides reductions in fuel consumption and emissions of up to 15% in urban use, and the 3008 HYbrid4 plug-in to be launched in 2012, with CO2 emissions of just 50 g/km.

Finally, Audi will be debuting its new V8-powered RS 5 Coupe, the latest evolution of its Quattro technology - thirty years after the original Audi Quattro captured the imagination of the public at the Geneva show. The car goes from 0-2 mph in just 4.6 secs and has a governed top speed of 155 mph.

Expect plenty more news from Geneva over the next couple of weeks.

Out of practice?

Making the announcement, Schumacher said: ‘I was tired of F1 by the end of 2006 but in three years of absence I got back all the energy that I am feeling right now. I played around with motorbikes and I feel ready for some serious stuff now.’

Schumacher had previously considered a comeback last summer when Ferrari, whom he had been consulting for, were in need of a replacement driver but injury meant that Schumacher could not fulfil this role. Speaking of this event he said: ‘The failed comeback attempt last summer gave me reason to reconsider my situation.’

Schumacher has gone on record to say that the reason he accepted the offer from Mercedes is because he truly believes that he can win the title this year. He said he was also swayed because the offer came from director of the team, Ross Brawn, and Mercedes. Brawn was the director at Benetton when Schumacher won his first two titles in 1994 and 1995. They then moved to Ferrari together, where they won a further five consecutive titles from 2000 to 2004.

In the zone.

It was only a couple of months ago that Mercedes announced that they were leaving McLaren to purchase a controlling interest in the Brawn team. Schumacher should feel at home in his new team alongside fellow German Nico Rosberg, although Rosberg is 15 years his junior. Age is certainly not on Schumacher’s side and he will be the oldest Formula One driver since Nigel Mansell competed aged 41 back in 1995.

Mansell himself actually commented on the comeback, stating: ‘It wouldn’t surprise me if Michael challenged for another world championship.’ The last race that Mansell won was the Australian Grand Prix in 1994.

Schumacher is a legendary driver with a track record like no one before him. The problem with coming out of retirement is that he could very possibly fail to live up to his legacy. You are only as good as your last race. If he fails miserably then that is what he will be remembered for. Journalists will always write about that first before they go into details about the successes that he has had… and what successes they are. He has had 91 victories. No other driver comes close to that. Ayrton Senna only had 41 victories and Alain Prost had 51. Back in 2002 he equalled the record set by Juan Fangio, winning five titles, and then went on to smash that record by winning two more. Interestingly enough, though, Autosport Magazine conducted a survey of drivers about who they considered to be the greatest driver and Schumacher was beaten by Senna. His success clearly speaks for itself but his peers don’t seem to recognise that.

In terms of his return to Formula One he obviously has the skill. Can he really compete? Well, why not?

Yowsers! Check those teeth!

Let us not forget that there is a more sinister side to Schumacher’s driving history. Back in 1997 he had only a one-point advantage over Jacques Villeneuve who was his rival for the title and Schumacher subsequently tried to knock Villeneuve off the track. His dirty tactics didn’t work and it was Schumacher’s car that fell out of the race. Villeneuve eventually took the title. As a result of his bad sportsmanship, Schumacher was stripped of all of his points for the season. Has he learned his lesson? Probably not, because those events back in 1997 didn’t teach him anything. In his final year racing in the series he was up to his old tricks again to maintain pole position. He parked his car in the last corner which prevented anyone from completing their final lap. He was, of course, punished and sent to the back of the grid. It is never dull when Schumacher is competing.

Schumacher is also a trained mechanic. He said in an interview last year: ‘To have a car in your hands, a team working with you with which you maximize your performance, and driving finally this car at the track, and just knowing and feeling that this is the maximum that you can achieve, that has been such a thrill for all those years. I always was hungry for this.’

Brawn is certainly pleased to be working with him again, stating: ‘He’s the best judge of what he can do and I trust him implicitly, and he told me he can do it so I’m very confident. He’s always been his own best critic.’

While you’re there, don’t forget to become a fan and sign-up to our newsletter.

Crazy Taxi

1. Crazy Taxi 1999

Buy: £5 - 20

Download: N/A

You walked into your local arcade and saw a Crazy Taxi cabinet. You walked over, popped some money in and was sucked into a world of fast music and fast ass taxi drivers, real life advertisements for Fila, Pizza Hut and KFC. Your goal in all this chaos was simply to drive people from point A to point B, Swerving between other drivers, jumping ramps, pulling crazy manoeuvres, all earning you big bucks. Crazy Taxi was such a huge success that Sega ported it to the Dreamcast in 2000 using the NAOMI hardware. The arcade version had you sit in a cockpit with a steering wheel, foot pedals - even a gear stick to switch from drive to reverse. After spending all your money you could make one game last over an hour instead of three minutes. Crazy Taxi spawned two sequels and appeared on multiple consoles but it will be most remembered in the arcades and on Sega’s Dreamcast.

2. Star Wars Pod Racer 1999

Buy: between £1,000 - 2,000

Download: N/A

The main reason this is number two is because of the awesome arcade cockpit. You sat in a seat resembling a pod racer, with two levers in front of you. Pushing both levers forward you started to feel like Anakin Skywalker in his first pod race, the controls were exactly how Anakin races his, both levers forward to accelerate, left lever forward and right lever back turns right etc. The levels span most of the planets in the Star Wars universe and even featured multiplayer. The console ports of the game had some customisable options for the pod racers.

Mario Kart 64

3. Mario Kart 64 1997

Buy: £20 complete, £5 - 15 cart only

Download: Nintendo Wii Virtual console 1,000 points

Mario Kart 64 has come a long way since the days of the SNES, with full 3D environments, beautiful scenery and weapons designed to help force your way to first place. Sure, you can’t fall off Rainbow Road or collect coins to boost your speed, and most of the skills used on the SNES are lost, but Mario Kart 64 is one of the best multiplayer games ever created. From the moment the light goes green (and depending on if you gained a boost) you are hurled into a race full of homing red shells, mushrooms and lightning bolts. Head down Toads’s Turnpike and watch as you and three friends drove towards trucks and other vehicles. And there was nothing like hitting the git in first with a red shell and taking first place.

4. Burnout 3 2002

Buy: £5 - 15

Download: Xbox Originals - 1200 Microsoft points

Strap your self in and prepare to dodge traffic as other cars try to ram you. Burnout is all about speed, dodging traffic and ramming other cars to gain takedowns. The challenges in Burnout are simple but can be quite tricky to do (example: destroy however many cars to gain 100,000 points). Road rage mode is one of the better off-line modes where you ram other cars into the side of the road, into other cars or barriers to win. Burnout can be played online against five other people in race mode or seven others in crash mode. Burnout also features game equivalents of real places such as Hong Kong, USA and Europe and the soundtrack includes the likes of My Chemical Romance.

5. Wipeout 1995

Buy: £2 - 10

Download: N/A

The year is 2052 you are entered into the F3600 anti-gravity racing league. You jump into your futuristic hovering vehicle, and find yourself speeding down levels that look like a mix between bobsledding and a roller-coaster, only with hover vehicles and rockets. Wipeout was one of the first games to feature real artists in the soundtrack including The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers. The soundtrack was so good you could even buy it in shops. Wipeout featured multiplayer and has spawned many sequels, even appearing on the Nintendo 64, but has stayed strongest on the Playstation 1 - PSP.

6. Driver 1999

Buy: £2 - 15

Download: N/A

You are Tanner, an undercover NYPD cop who must use his driving skills to gather information on the crime lords of Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City. Driver has a distinctive early 70s feel and that shows in the car chases. Driver is very similar to the Grand Theft Auto series - except you cannot run around on foot or shoot civilians or cops. There’s a lot of fun to be had in Driver, nothing better than flying down a steep hill, then seeing a cop car flying upside down over your car.

Gran Turismo

7. Gran Turismo 1997

Buy: £2 - 10

Download: N/A

Gran Turismo is one of the most realistic and successful racing games of all time. This game is as close to driving a £200,000+ Ferrari as you’ll get without spending serious cash. Sony spent months accurately reproducing each car used in the game. This, plus some of the nicest graphics ever seen and the official Gran Turismo racing chair makes it most memorable car racing experience you can get all in the comfort of your home.

8. Test Drive Unlimited 2009

Buy: £25 - 40

Download: Xbox Live - 1200 Microsoft points

Test Drive Unlimited is like being in The Fast and The Furious. You have over 1,000 miles of Hawaiian islands to explore in over 125 licensed sports cars and motorbikes. When you first start the single player game you choose your car then hit the sunny roads of Hawaii island O-ahu. Using your sat-nav you can find people to race to gain money to tune up your car or bike. Sounds simple right? Wrong - you can’t just speed to each race, you have to take note of the speed limits. Any wreckless driving and you may get pulled over by the cops and even get a fine. Take Test Drive online and you’ll enter a world of hundreds if not thousands of other real life players. Make sure your car is nicely tuned up before challenging anyone.

9. Metropolis Street Racer (MSR) 2000

Buy: £5 - 15

Download: N/A

MSR is based around Kudos. Kudos is earned by drifting around corners, winning without bumping any cars or barriers, and handbrake turns. MSR is one of the Dreamcast’s most successful racing games. The cars, scenery and weather look great. The radio features Will Smith, Barry White and others - there are even DJs talking between songs. There is some basic car tune ups in MSR such as engine power, suspension, brakes and car colour, nothing too deep though. The Dreamcast rumble pack is supported and there’s a two player mode to race a friend.

10. Wave Race 64 1997

Buy: £5 - 25 complete, £5 - 10 cart only

Download: Nintendo Wii Virtual console 1,000 points

Get ready to hit the water on your Yamaha-licensed jet ski. Wave Race 64 is a fairly decent single-player game. To obtain more speed you have to go left when approaching a yellow buoy and right at a red buoy. Each buoy missed loses you power. There are also ramps you can drive up to pull off stunts. The water and environment in Wave Race 64 is beautiful and vibrant. There are also night levels.

We've come a long way.

Ferrari was the first team to unveil its new challenger, the F10, and early signs in testing show that they’ve hit the mark. Felipe Massa, making his return after his dreadful accident in Hungary last year, was straight on the pace in the new car during the first day of testing. He will be partnered at the team this year by double-world champion Fernando Alonso.

McLaren was the next team to show its latest challenger – the MP4/25, which will be driven by the reigning world champion Jenson Button and his immediate predecessor Lewis Hamilton. That’s one strong driver line-up.

The new cars came thick and fast with Renault, BMW-Sauber, Mercedes, Williams and Toro Rosso all unveiling their 2010 challengers. Renault has lost its major sponsors and announced Russian driver Vitaly Petrov alongside Robert Kubica. Early signs are that the new R30 is not on the pace yet.

Rumours are this is Ferrari's ace-in-the-hole car.

The biggest interest in the pit lane surrounded the return of seven times world champion Michael Schumacher in the new Mercedes (nee Brawn) W01. The German quickly showed that he has lost none of his speed during his three year sabbatical and was third quickest on the first day of testing, half a second faster than his team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Surprisingly on the pace straightaway was the BMW-Sauber team with its C30, driven by Pedro de la Rosa and Kamui Kobayashi. Surely this isn’t going to be the Brawn of 2010 is it? A team faced with extinction, saved at the last moment and then streets ahead of everyone else? It’s a pretty unlikely scenario but good to see the team fighting with the big boys, though whether that will last into the season remains to be seen. Incidentally, although the team is still named BMW-Sauber, it is really just Sauber since BMW pulled the plug at the end of last year. The cars actually run Ferrari engines but the name had been registered as the entrant and so it stands.

Scuderia Toro Rosso has Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari driving its new STR5, while Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg will handle the latest offering from Williams, the FW32.

All of the new designs bear more than a passing resemblance to last year’s Red Bull, which was so successful in the hands of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. The team will reveal its RB6 car on 10 February while Force India has yet to confirm when its launch will be with drivers Adrian Sutil and Tonio Liuzzi.

A new challenge this year - the pits are in outer space.

Which leaves the new boys in town. Virgin, which has Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi on board, will unveil its car this week while Lotus will do the same on 12 of February with drivers Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen, the strongest line-up in the new teams. The other two – Campos and US F1 – are still unknown quantities at the moment and it is uncertain if either of them will make the grid, despite having named one driver apiece in the form of Bruno Senna and Jose Maria Lopez respectively.

So there you have it. Expect the usual suspects to be fighting at the top – Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull, with the others not far behind. Refuelling is banned for this year so the drivers will have to adapt to changing handling of the cars as the fuel load lightens during the race. Tyre stops are still permitted though.
It’s going to be a fascinating season.

A heads up to those of you who don’t know: Car Rentals UK now has a Facebook page and a Twitter page. Here you will find links to the latest car news, blog articles and advice, and there will be some competitions to enter too. You should definitely join, it’s well worth it and it’s the easiest way to keep up with all Car Rentals UK news.

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Alex

The beleaguered Japanese motor manufacturer Toyota is having to recall millions of vehicles worldwide after concerns about sticking accelerator pedals.

Earlier this week the company announced it was recalling over seven million vehicles in the US and the problem has now spread to Europe and China.

Apparently there have been instances of accelerator pedals sticking down or only slowly returning to the idle position. In November last year the company recalled 4.2 million vehicles in the US because of problems with floor mats coming loose and causing pedals to stick. The new problem is thought to be caused by wear to the mechanisms.

No announcement has been made yet about recalls in the UK but Toyota has confirmed that it will be recalling models in this country when it has worked out exactly which are affected, although there is speculation that the US-built RAV4 will be included. The models affected in the US include the 2008-2010 Highlander, the 2009-2010 Corolla, Venza, Mtrix and Pontiac Vibe. Toyota has suspended production of eight models in total at its US factories, but does not intend to do the same in Europe.

Motoring groups in this country are advising Toyota owners to contact their local dealers if they are experiencing any problems.

The situation could not come at a worse time for the Japanese manufacturer which suffered its first full-year loss in the 2008 financial year. The company pulled the plug on its Formula One operation at the end of last season in an effort to save money and the latest news has sent shares tumbling.

Toyota has also announced that around 750 jobs could be lost at its Burnaston plant in the UK by August this year.

Many would say that the answer is to persuade people to leave their cars at home and use another form of transport. Twenty-five percent of all car journeys are less than two miles in length and thus it should be easy to use another form of transport. In terms of the environment, travelling on foot or by bicycle is the optimal form of transport because no fossil fuels have to be burnt. Using these forms of transport is possible if the journey is fairly short and you don’t have much to carry. However, provision for bicycles is still fairly patchy in this country and this puts many people off using them. Train operators also do not provide enough spaces for bicycles and with the demise of the guard’s van often the only bicycle that can be taken on public transport is a folding one.

'Wrong kind of train. Thanks for trying. Next!'

Trains, buses and coaches are all better choices than the car as it is not only necessary to consider how much carbon each form of transport produces, but also how much per person in the vehicle. Thirty-eight percent of car journeys are made with a single occupant. Of course, given the current problems that one frequently hears on the news, particularly for those who commute into London, it may be that if everyone were to switch to using the train or the bus the system would be unable to cope. At peak periods it is not unusual for especially busy tube stations in London such as Victoria to have to close because of the sheer number of people on the platforms. Could we all switch to using public transport? There are a number of possible problems. Capacity is one, but also there is the problem that public transport may not take people to where they want to go or it may be inconvenient. For example, it is not unusual that if a person’s home location is not on a direct train line they will have to change trains several times to get to their place of work or travel into a city only to come out again to complete their journey. Carrying around tools or heavy loads on public transport is also not ideal. For years the government has allowed companies and supermarkets to build their premises on large industrial estates outside towns and they all generally have large car parks. Often the easiest way to visit these parks is by car.

The question is if we are to keep our cars what can we do to reduce our impact on the environment? The first thing that people should think about is whether they really need to use a car for their journey. For single people, travelling by train or coach can often be cheaper than using the car. If the journey is short then walking or cycling are reasonable alternatives.

For commuters, think about whether you could share a car with a colleague who lives near you. Employers could also help by permitting more workers to work from home where possible. For those who only need a car occasionally, using taxis or using a car from a car pool may not only be environmentally friendly but also make more financial sense than buying a car.

Routemaster proved an ironic name.

When you purchase a car, think about the carbon emissions. Many car manufacturers are designing and producing cars that use less fuel as well as introducing innovations such as regenerative braking systems. Such systems reduce the speed of the car by converting some of the kinetic energy into a form that can be stored and re-used rather than dissipating it as heat. Selecting a small car or a hybrid with a good environmental rating will reduce your impact on the environment.

Finally, think about the way you drive. There are a number of websites which give advice on how to drive in order to reduce your fuel consumption. Simply changing the way you drive by eliminating harsh braking or rapid acceleration can have a significant affect on fuel consumption.  Reducing your speed on the motorway from 70 mph to 50 mph would reduce CO2 emissions by up to 25%. Servicing your car regularly and ensuring that the tyre pressures are correct also helps.

What about the future? Will it be possible to produce cars that don’t damage the environment? There are a number of technologies that are being considered.

Biodiesel was once hailed as the new green fuel. However, recently its image has been sullied as the growing of crops for bio fuel has resulted in a reduction in food production in certain parts of the world. Even worse, if peat bogs are drained or virgin forest is cut down to grow the crops, the emissions saved by using the fuel to power cars is more than offset by the emissions created by the destruction of the forests and peat bogs. Some scientists are now looking at algae which could be used to synthesise bio fuel without any loss of agricultural land.

Electric cars have been around for a while. Long considered to be little more than glorified milk floats, the electric car has been improving. Tesla have produced an electric sports car and in 2009 EV Innovations introduced a new electric sports car that they claimed could do 0 to 60 mph in five seconds. However, the problem with electric cars is that the infrastructure does not exist. Electric cars have a limited range and so they are good for around town, but less suitable for long journeys. Petrol stations are located all over the country, but there are few recharging points. This will need to change if electric cars are to become accepted by the general public. The other problem with electric cars is that although their emissions are low they can’t really be described as green if the energy used to power them is obtained from fossil fuels.

The Tesla. Sweet!

Hydrogen powered cars have also been around a while. The technology has always promised much but delivered little. Hydrogen is an attractive fuel as a single tank of hydrogen would allow a car to complete a journey far longer than any possible with an electric car. The waste from hydrogen powered cars is simply water vapour so it is a truly green fuel. The main problem with hydrogen is storing it and this has limited developments in this area. To be safe hydrogen has to be stored at low temperatures and high pressure. Also the production of hydrogen takes a lot of energy and if this energy is produced by fossil fuels then nothing has really been gained. As for electric cars there is also the problem of a lack of infrastructure.

An alternative to cars in some areas could be the Personal Rapid Transport (PRT) pod, which is already used at Heathrow for transporting passengers between Terminal 5 and the car park. No driver is required as the pods are guided by lasers that follow a guide-way. They are powered by battery packs and thus have no emissions. Obviously these could not be used for all journeys, but Daventry in Northamptonshire is investigating the possibility of using pods to ferry people around the town.

Even if we do manage to develop cars with zero emissions, this will do nothing to solve the problem of congestion. In 1996 there were 27 million cars on the road, but by 2007 the number had risen to 33 million. In the future we may see many more congestion zones and road pricing.