THE VEHICLES OF WAR - REMEMBRANCE DAY SPECIAL

While people head to memorial ceremonies today in their air-conditioned, leather-lined, MP3-playing, 268-bhp midsize sedans, The Good Car Guy thought some perspective was in order.

Less than three hours before a ceremony at the Grand Parade cenotaph not far from where I live, it dawned on me that, from GoodCarBadCar.net's angle, there was much that was different in the era of my grandfather. Feel as free as you like to remember the terrifying sounds; horrifying immigration stories; the hatred of Kristallnacht; and the wonders of D-Day. But the pictures in this post cause me to wonder, just a little bit, at what the rest of a soldier's time must've been like in the south Pacific or western Europe - if this is what they were forced to drive in. 

The Fox Armoured Car is above to the right. At the top, the Rolls-Royce Armoured Car. The Otter light reconnaissance vehicle and the Universal Carrier are below. Think of that the next time you slide behind the wheelof your 3-Series and head off for the law office. They fought for somethin'.

ACROSS THE POND SALES STATS

The GoodCarBadCar Numbers typically lets you in on North American sales statistics or interesting figures relative to a car or manufacturer. Today, these Numbers from Across The Pond - or ponds - are simply an amalgam of facts from abroad that may surprise you.

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22,000 - sales of the Land Rover Range Rover Sport in Russia during the 2007 calendar year

17,600 - approximate sales of the supercharged version of the LR Range Rover Sport out of the total 22K

35,000,000 - total gallons of fuel saved by the 700,000 BMWs which will be sold in Europe this year with Efficient Dynamics, BMW's system of engine stop-starting and regenerative braking

24,897 - total Porsche sales outside of Germany & North America in the first half of its current fiscal year, a figure that's up 30%

17,000,000 - total cost, in euros, of Porsche's new offices and dealership in Moscow

52,862 - total new Honda sales in China in March, a figure that's 72% higher than March of 2007

16 - percentage increase in SUV sales for the first quarter of the year in Australia

9206 - total new Ford sales in Australia in March of this year, less than half of Toyota's numbers and a couple thousand behind Holden, GM's Aussie outpost

16 - total sales of Rolls-Royces by Abu Dhabi Motors, BMW's importer in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, in September of 2007

890 - square metres of showroom space for Abu Dhabi Motors' new Rolls-Royce showroom in Umm Al Nar to be opened in 2010

LAND OF OWNERSHIP: BRITISH BADGES

Brits still tighten the lugnuts and stitch the leather. The pride is still resident in the United Kingdom. In some ways, so much has changed. Viewed another way, the story hasn't been altered.

Lotus. Aston Martin. Bentley. Rolls-Royce. Rover. Jaguar. Land Rover. These are the most prominent automotive badges that Britain exports in 2008. In most cases, "export" is even the proper terms, as mentioned in line one of this post. The difference now is simply the Indian influence that wasn't present previously.

Interestingly, the new owner of Jaguar and Land Rover, Tata Motors, held some sway in Britain before. Rover sold its own version of the Tata Indica. Rover and Land Rover are terribly separate now, but use of the term ironic is awfully appropriate.

Rover's pieces are in Chinese hands. Of course, it was British at its beginning and the rights to its name are now in Tata's hands. Yes, it strikes as obvious that a country that was once in British hands now holds not just one, but three of the UK's most famous automotive fixtures. Even Honda (Japan) once held some measure of control over Rover, long before Germany's BMW had complete control and botched the whole shebang. 

Asia and Germany are in quite the battle to dominate the British brand marketplace, come to think of it. Lotus is a member of Proton's little empire. That'd be Proton, the Malaysian manufacturer of the Satria, which has been showcased here on GoodCarBadCar. Land Rover and Jaguar were bought for a tidy sum by a massive Indian conglomerate. Rolls-Royce and Bentley were caught in the midst of a humourous German battle. BMW owns the former (as well as Mini); Volkswagen the latter. Oh, and don't forget that Aston Martin is heavily backed by a group of Kuwaiti investors. 

Where does that leave American involvement? After Ford Motor Company's recent dismissal of Jaguar and Land Rover and last year's dropping of Aston Martin, major American shareholding is considered a thing of the past with equally large British motor companies. General Motors and Lotus? Nope. Not anymore. 

AUTO NEWS VIA QUOTES

"Mercedes-Benz is the taxicab of choice in Germany, which shows if you have the right products, being the airport car won't hurt you." Ford President of the Americas, Mark Fields, speaking to the fact that Lincoln could attain limo+cool status.

"America has never been more ready for a car like this." smart USA President, David Schembri, speaking at the delivery to one of smart's first American customers.

"I think Chrysler has cut a lot." United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger believes that new labour agreements should be enough to stave off more cutbacks at American automakers.

"...we know what we're doing when it comes to combining industry-leading safety with industry-leading value." John Krafcik, a Hyundai VP, after noting that Hyundai produces more IIHS Top Safety Picks than BMW, Mercedes-Benz, or Toyota.

"I feel more than happy with today." Former two-time F1 champ Fernando Alonso after his first day of testing back at Renault.

"We are in discussion with Tata Motors on dealers and distribution of these brands. We are looking at an interesting set up." Alfredo Altavilla, Vice-Chairman of Fiat India speaks of Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Ferrari being introduced in the world's second-largest nation.

"Everyone wants to pollute less; that's a no-brainer. What we've heard from our customers is if Bentley can be socially responsible that would be a positive.'' Bentley spokesman David Reuter figures the ultra-rich are about as socially conscious as the rest of us.

"Everybody at Rolls-Royce is delighted with this tremendous result which marks our fifth anniversary in the best possible way." Rolls-Royce's CEO, Ian Robertson, appears to ignore the multiplicity of decades prior to BMW's Rolls-Royce, but is happy with a worldwide sales increase of 25% and total Indian sales of eleven.

"We don't look at this as a car ad as much as we look at it as a statement." Scott Keogh, VP of Marketing at Audi, plays up the importance of Audi's Paramount Pictures-produced Super Bowl ad.