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Saturday, September 4th, 2010

2011 Volkswagen Touareg – Wow Has The Golf Grown Up

Looking somewhat like an overgrown Golf and sporting a much more stylistic roofline the Volkswagen Touareg 2011 model is ready to hit the market in Australia soon. The new model isn’t just a facelift of the older version this car has been remodelled completely from the new swish roofline right down to the contact with the road.

The diet has worked a charm, unlike the diet I have been on for the last 2 years, and the new model hits the road at more than 200kg lighter than the previous model. The chassis has been made stiffer and this provides a better ride and significantly improves the handling. I was impressed at the total lack of vibration, although being brand new it is hard to tell as sometimes vibrations take a while to develop.

Volkswagen Touareg 2011

Photos by Jonathon Ramsey / Copyright ©2010 Weblogs, Inc.

There is a range of power options available but here in Australia we will only see the petrol and diesel versions. The Touareg hybrid, similar to the Porsche Cayenne, unfortunately will not be available here simply because the petrol and diesel versions are so incredibly fuel efficient.

2011 Volkswagen Touareg

Photos by Jonathon Ramsey / Copyright ©2010 Weblogs, Inc.

The interior of the Touareg didn’t just get a facelift, it got the full on face transplant and reminded me of the luxurious interiors of the Audi Q7 and the BMW X5. This vehicle could slot into the luxury on-road category with no trouble at all but it is a very capable off road vehicle suitable for the punishment dished out to vehicles that dare to leave the road and head into outback Australia. The “Terrain Tech Package” that will be available elsewhere may also be made available in Australia.

The lighter weight of the new model together with sleek body style changes make this tough little off roader look like it can go fast and when the opportunity is there to get the pedal to the metal this car does not disappoint the driver.

2011 Volkswagen Touareg

Photos by Jonathon Ramsey / Copyright ©2010 Weblogs, Inc.

I am a big person and I need plenty of room to be comfortable when I am driving and I continually find that I would like to have a little more room to move in the driving position but in this case I found the leg room to be absolutely perfect. And then when I packed some gear in the back to head off-road I discovered that there is more than enough load space for anything that you may require.

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Sunday, July 11th, 2010

Not Bad For A Number Two Driver

Did Red Bull Really Get The Results They Wanted?

With a touch of “understatement” Mark Webber fired both barrells at Red Bull management as he crossed the finish line of the British Grand Prix earlier today. The seven word statement summed up the the situation of the previous two days that had obviously been simmering since parts were removed from Mark’s car to be put onto his teammate’s car. The support team for Webber was also of the same opinion because they were seen waving the “old” front wing removed from Webber’s car at Vettel’s  mechanics.

The win at Silverstone takes Mark to 128 points in the World Championship,  just 17 points behind the leader Lewis Hamilton.  Hamilton was the only competition for Webber during the race, remaining close behind the race leader, but unable to overtake at any point. Silverstone was a track that Hamilton particularly wanted to win on because it would be considered to be his home track.

Mark Webber accepting the winners trophy

All Australia is proud of you Mark

The win, from second place on the grid, was relatively incident free compared with the death defying crash Mark had at his previous outing. At the first corner Vettel attempted to squeeze Mark to ensure he maintained his lead into the first corner but Webber was already in a position to take the corner and Vettel had to run wide into the rough where he got a punctured tyre. Only a safety car period allowed Vettel back into the race to gain some valuable points. Vettel is now in 4th place in the championship with 121 points, 7 points behind Webber.

Mark was seen speaking with Sterling Moss, the legendary 80 year old British racer, and this may well have been some inspiration for Mark to get the best start I have ever seen him perform. I have been critical in the past of Mark’s race start as it appears to me that he is slow to get the car moving and gives away about 4 or 5 positions before the first corner.

The winning smile of Mark Webber

The winning smile of Mark Webber

Martin Brundle made the comment before the start to “look out for the fun at the first corner” and it has been reported that Mark Webber said “You bet there will be some fun at the first corner”. I think Mark carried a lot of passion into this race and if he drives this well when he has the passion then maybe we need something to create this passion before each race. I am not suggesting to Red Bull management that they keep this silly bias towards Vettel going – there should be equality between the two drivers and the team concentrating on beating the McLaren team who may well take out the constructors championship and are still in good position to win the drivers championship.

After the race Mark said that he enjoyed the race and in partcular the good fight with Lewis Hamilton. In answer to a question about the first corner Mark said “I made a good start and I was very keen to make it my corner and it worked out well for me.”

My personal opinion is that Mark was bullied by Vettel at the start and managed to show that he would resist such tactics and Vettel went away and sulked for a sort time. Earlier in the season Vettel tried to bully his way past Webber and took them both off the track. Red Bull management should see this behaviour as detrimental to their efforts, as a team, to win the constructors championship. Also thre is this ridiculous situation where their number 1 driver appears to feel so threatened by their number 2 driver that he continually wants to jeopardise his chances of completing a race. This can only result in both drivers missing out on achieving the necessary points to win the championship and both of them are capable of winning this year.

Everything seems to be in the correct order here

Everything seems to be in the correct order here

Hey Mark, your fellow Australians are  proud of you and in particular I am very proud that you have now won your third race this season. I know that this is your year to win the championship, so keep a cool head in spite of team bias and let your ability take you to the winners podium.

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