Brave Rosemary; BMW First deal; Corolla saloon; Mazda3 new era
I’VE just been reading Rosemary Smith’s new book ‘Driven’ (pictured).
Sure, it has lots of motoring, driving, famous names and achievements, but the lasting impression I came away with was the indomitable spirit Rosemary has shown over the years.
Yes, she reveals details of her amazing life, but the difference between this book and so many other memoirs is the brutal honesty she brings to the pages when it comes to her personal life.
It took courage, but the book gives insight into the heart and soul of this wonderful woman, who is so forthright about a “disastrous” marriage and money troubles, for example.
Not many people can mix triumph and tragedy with such élan and bravery.
BMW has rolled out what it is calling the first after-sales subscription service in the country. ‘BMW FIRST’ means that for a low monthly fee there are discounts on servicing costs among other things.
The eye-catching bit is that customers will also get first access to drive a range of high-performance motors, such as the M2 Competition, X3 M40i and 440i Gran Coupe, for a small rental fee. They can do so midweek or at weekends.
The concept for the whole BMW Grouphas been led by the company here. Well done.
There are three packages, from €4.90. Apparently, more than 500 customers have already signed up and the firm expects significant expansion of that. It has been trialled here for the past year.
Watch out for the 12th-generation Toyota Corolla saloon, which will be revealed tomorrow at China’s Guangzhou motor show.
It will be the third body style (I reported on the hatch and estate last week) and is due here early next year.
Like the other two, it is based on Toyota’s TNGA modular platform and will be built in Turkey.
It will have two hybrids: a 121bhp 1.8-litre and a new 2-litre 180bhp version.
The new Mazda3 range will make its world debut at the Los Angeles motor show later this month. It is an important launch for Mazda as it marks the beginning of a new generation of cars.
Congratulations to all concerned at Airside Citroën in Swords, Co Dublin, which has won the Citroën Ireland Dealer of the Year Award 2018.
I spent a nice day recently being filmed driving the Toyota Auris hybrid and Skoda Octavia diesel with Sinead McCann. It was part of the diesel v hybrid debate. In this case it was to see how far each car would go on €20 of fuel.
Thank you for your kind comments after my report appeared in Motors a couple of weeks back.
I only recently saw the video. It is amazing the amount of work involved (well done to Kevin and the gang).