Author

Tony Roberts

Tony Roberts is our Features Writer and is a new addition to the team at Cars for Stars News. Formerly Tony worked as a freelance journalist and travelled the world selling stories about his adventures. Now Tony has put an end to his wandering ways and is writing about his other passion, fast cars.

Car hire bidding war hots up

The battle to take over car hire firm Dollar Thrifty is hotting up between the two main contenders, rivals Avis and Hertz.

Hertz have announced that they’ve upped their offer to take over the US car rental firm to $1.43 billion in cash and shares, which works out at $50 per share. Hertz are believed to be the favoured bidder with Dollar Thrifty as they are offering a $45 million breakup fee should the deal fail, something which Avis cannot afford to match.

Last week Avis made their most recent bid for the company which was $1.3 billion, which has now been topped by Hertz with their $1.43 billion bid.

Negotiations began in April after Hertz made an offer of $41 per share to the smaller company. At this point Avis waded in with a higher bid of $47 per share, which was later rejected.

Hertz is the largest player in the global car hire market but at present, the majority of their sales come from business client customers. Dollar Thrifty, on the other hand, is a key player in the lower end area of the market. Taking over Dollar Thrifty would enable Hertz to take a share of the domestic leisure market, an area which Hertz is keen to enhance its presence across the world.

by Tony RobertsSeptember 15, 2010no comment

Chauffeur job conman jailed

A conman who cheated unemployed people out of money with the promise of a high profile chauffeur job transporting celebrities has been handed a three year jail sentence this week.

43-year-old Mark Shortland advertised his fake chauffeur jobs on well known job websites such as Jobcentre Plus. In total 80 people were duped by the fraudster who tricked the innocent job seekers with promises of luxury cars and company perks.

Shortland, who claimed to be an airline pilot to his female victims, made an estimated £100,000 from the scam. After holding interviews across the country in Liverpool, Luton, Manchester and Castle Donnington, the trickster asked the successful applicants for a £100 retainer as a deposit for the keys of the top of the range car they’d be driving.

One victim described how Shortland, who has 18 previous convictions for dishonesty, told her that she’d receive three custom made suits as her chauffeur’s uniform, a mobile phone, and a fuel card as part of the employment package. Shortland informed the job seekers that they would earn up to £30,000 a year and could expect to chauffeur high profile names such as Simon Cowell.

Judge Alan Gioldsack described Shortland’s crime as “the most wicked of frauds” as many of the people who’d been promised jobs had been unemployed for a long time and had pinned all of their hopes on the chauffeur position which didn’t exist.

Mark Shortland, originally from Sheffield, will serve 3 years in prison for his crimes.

by Tony RobertsSeptember 7, 2010no comment

The bulletproof Jaguar XJ is unveiled

The bulletproof Jaguar XJ has been officially unveiled at the 2010 Moscow Motor Show. The luxury saloon features the very highest level of protection without compromising performance or style.

Each armoured Jaguar is made to order so no official price has been announced, although the vehicles are thought to start from £250,000.

The custom made armour which envelopes the new Jaguar is undetectable from the outside. Made from high strength steel with Kevlar backing, the armour even boasts under floor grenade protection as well.

The Jaguar Sentinel design is based on the long-wheel base XJ model and is powered by a 5.0 litre engine. The vehicle’s chassis has been specially designed to cope with the increased weight of the bodywork due to the bulletproof armour. A state of the art braking system has also been developed for use of the new Jag top cope with the vehicle’s powerful performance.

Each customer who opts for the armoured Jaguar will be assigned their own personal security consultant who will work with the client to assist and advise in the bespoke design of their Jaguar XJ. Each vehicle is also fully covered by a 3-year or 50,000 mile warranty, and comes with a driver training service as standard. For the convenience of the client, the armoured Jaguar can be serviced at any Jaguar dealership.

The armoured Jaguar Sentinel is expected to be popular with heads of states, royalty, politicians and even celebrities.

by Tony RobertsAugust 24, 2010no comment

Chauffeur driven car carrying German presidential candidate hits cyclist

A chauffeur driven car carrying a German presidential candidate knocked down a cyclist at the end of last month while travelling through the city of Munich.

The chauffeur car was carrying 70-year-old Joachim Gauck who was canvassing during the run-up to the presidential election at the time of the accident.

The incident happened on June 23^rd, just days before the election was due to take place on June 30^th. Gauck lost out in the election campaign to Christian Wulff who was named the new German President when the results were announced last week.

The car was driven by a chauffeur employed by the Bavarian State Parliament and was transporting Gauck to Munich Airport, following a meeting with state legislators in the city.

It’s been reported that the chauffeur hadn’t seen the cyclist until it was too late after the bike shot out from between two parked cars, cutting straight across the path of the car as it attempted to cross the road.

The car hit the bike, the impact of which forced the cyclist onto the bonnet of the vehicle, sending him crashing into the windscreen. The cyclist was taken to a nearby hospital where he was said to be in a critical condition.

Neither Joachim Gauck nor the chauffeur were injured as a result of the collision.

by Tony RobertsJuly 5, 2010no comment

Audi A1 with Damien Hirst paint job sold at auction for £350k

A one-of-a-kind Audi A1 which has undergone a paint job at the hands of renowned artist, Damien Hirst, was sold at auction recently for a whopping £350,000.

The British artist was commissioned to create the unique art car by the German manufacturer. One of the first Audi A1’s to roll over the factory line was delivered to the artist who then set to work creating a Hirst style paint job for the Audi car.

The white Audi now boasts a unique paint finish created at the hands of Hirst using his famous spinning paint technique. The finished result is unlike anything ever seen before on an Audi.

Once completed the Audi along with a huge painting measuring 1.8m high, also by Damien Hirst, was donated to Sir Elton John’s White Tie and Tiara Ball where it went under the hammer.

All proceeds from the celebrity auction at the singer songwriter’s annual event were donated to the Elton John Aids Foundation which helps men, women and children suffering with Aids in 15 different countries by providing them with the medication they desperately need.

Damien Hirst’s specially designed Audi raised £350,000 which went towards helping Aids suffers through Elton John’s charity.

This isn’t the first time the artist has painted cars for charity, last year Hirst turned his attention to the new Fiat 500 model and decorated a handful of these small cars with butterfly designs. The cars raised £440,000 as part of a charity event last summer.

by Tony RobertsJune 29, 2010no comment

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