Hume: London Mayor Boris Johnson says bikes civilize cities - Toronto Star
The Lord Mayor of London, England, Boris Johnson, wants to make it clear that until Friday morning, he had never been to Toronto, and never heard of Rob Ford.
With that out of the way, the great apostle of urban bicycling does have a message for Toronto.
“Bicycles,” declares the man who rides one to work every day, “civilize cities. Closing bike lanes; that’s not what we’re doing in London. In fact, I’m very proud that bicycle use went up 15 percent last year. Bicycles put the village back in the city. It’s not a war on motorists. I’m a motorist, too. We’re going to keep going, extending bicycle routes all the way out to the suburbs of London.”
In town to flog his latest book, Johnson’s Life of London (Harper Press), the shaggy-haired blonde is, by his own account, having the time of his life. Fresh from an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman — “How long have you been cutting your own hair?” — Johnson likes what he has sees.
“Toronto looks beautiful,” he enthuses, with apparent sincerity. “You have some lovely old buildings. The quality of life is obviously very potentially high.”
Johnson smiles nervously. As the use of the word, “potentially,” indicates, he knows things are seldom what they seem. Still, he insists, cities are where nations will succeed or fail:
“I keep on telling the government that if it wants the economy of the U.K. to grow and grow fast, it has to invest in London. We should be investing where it creates jobs. In Britain, for example, things are pretty sharply divided; there’s what’s happening in London and what’s happening everywhere else.
“My general view is that cities are where the world’s going to be in the future. I believe in cities. People who live in cities live longer, they have better health and they are better educated. Only in cities can we find the praise we all seek. Cities are where we find other people to impress. Cities are fame’s echo chamber …”
Suddenly, a bright red London double-decker bus drives by and Johnson falls momentarily silent.
“My God,” he splutters. “There’s an old Routemaster. They only made about 6,000 of those buses between 1956 and 1970, but they’re everywhere.”
“I’m also a believer in mass transit,” says Johnson, who points to the recent royal celebrations in the British capital and the changes unfolding in London’s East End due to the summer Olympics. “The Jubilee went well. We ticked a lot of boxes there. The crowd was huge, about 1.3 million, but transit worked well. We have a new LRT in East London, new train lines and thousands of new houses.”
In Toronto, Johnson would be dismissed by some as just another Don Cherry-style bike-riding pinko. But keep in mind he is a former Tory MP and a disciple of what he calls “compassionate conservatism.” He attended Eton and Oxford — on scholarship, mind you — and could easily be mistaken for a pillar of the British establishment.
He is also an author. Johnson’s Life of London, his sixth book, tells the story of the “City That Made the World,” from Roman times to the present, Emperor Hadrian to Keith Richards. Like the man, it is clever and quick, learned but not stuffy.
Then Johnson, a former journalist, has a few questions of his own. He wants to know about municipal politics in Toronto, federal politics under Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the “cottages” to which Torontonians escape every weekend.
Oh, yes, and one more thing: “Do you have bears here?” he asks. Not in the city, comes the answer, but up north, behind the cottage.
Christopher Hume can be reached at chume@thestar.ca
London 2012: Selection 'a fairytale' for Mohamed Sbihi - BBC News
Mohamed Sbihi has described his selection in the men's eight boat for the London Olympics as "a dream".
The 24-year-old took up the sport nine years ago after being discovered through a talent identification scheme while at school in Surbiton.
He told BBC London 94.9: "An opportunity has become a dream and the dream has started to become a reality.
"I feel very fortunate. It's almost like a fairytale. If I hadn't gone into school that day, I wouldn't be here."
The Molesey Boat Club member was identified after British Rowing's World Class Start programme visited Hollyfield School in south west London.
"They wanted all the tall kids in the year to go to a special PE lesson," Sbihi added.
"I didn't really want to go because I wanted to play football but my PE teacher pulled me back and told me that as I was the tallest guy in the year, I had to go.
"Before I knew it, I was in the top four out of 10,000 kids who had been tested in our area. I didn't like it to start with but then it slowly hooked me.
"I feel honoured and proud to wear the GB flag. I have to thank everyone who has been involved in my development."
London 2012 Olympics: Aaron Cook's Games dream over as BOA ratifies nomination of Lutalo Muhammad - Daily Telegraph
“The results are plain for everyone to see, he is world No 1, European champion and has beaten 10 of the top 15 athletes in the Olympic rankings in his most recent fights. It makes a mockery of the taekwondo -80kg competition in the London Olympics.”
Cook would have been selected if the criteria was on performance, one of the GB Taekwondo selectors, Dr Steve Peters, said. Peters sat in all three meetings but did not vote because he said his role was as an ‘athlete advocate’.
“We all agreed that if world ranking and success in tournaments were the only selection criteria, then Aaron would be selected as he’s an outstanding athlete who could get gold at the Olympics,” said Peters. “All we’re saying is that there are two athletes who can achieve this.”
Peters said Muhammad was ultimately chosen several compelling reasons: he was improving at a rapid rate, including a victory over Cook (although Cook beat his rival soon afterwards) and that his height and flexibility give him an advantage to double tap and earn extra points for headshots in fights.
“People have been confusing the issue, thinking there is something secret or underhand or another agenda and it is nonsense. The fact Aaron is working outside of the academy has never come into the meeting, it is not an issue,” said Peters.
However the BOA has reserved the right to reconsider Muhammad’s selection – an unlikely situation – subject to the findings of an inquiry instigated by the World Taekwondo Federation. Last night Cook was considering his legal options.
The BOA chief executive Andy Hunt said: “After a thorough review, the panel is now sufficiently satisfied that the agreed selection procedures have been followed, and it is on that basis we are ratifying the nomination.”
London Olympics 2012: Ex-Goldman CEO, Paul Deighton climbs Olympic hill with a smile - Economic Times
For all the mighty symbolism, the torch can't shield Deighton from the sceptical audience gathered one evening in March to hear how they can profit from this summer's Olympics, The hall is filled with about 200 small-business owners, and a gloomy mood prevails as Britain struggles through its first double-dip recession since the 1970s.
One woman waves a London 2012 brochure and asks why it was printed in China when the games should be helping British businesses. "I'll look into it," Deighton promises. He gently reminds her that 95% of London 2012 contracts were awarded to British firms. Another man asks about a feared shortage of portable toilets in the Olympic Park.
Deighton politely reassures him that they've got that one covered. It's fitting that a former Goldman Sachs banker is running the business end of the Olympics - and getting dumped on by cantankerous Londoners.
In the Public Eye
Deighton, 56, says his 22-year career at Goldman didn't prepare him for being quizzed about such nitty-gritty details by a cynical British public. "When you're in investment banking, you're pretty much under everybody's radar all the time," he says.
Together with London 2012 committee chairman Sebastian Coe, the only man to have won 1,500-metre Olympic gold twice, Deighton is overseeing everything from transport to security while making sure he's got enough of those portable toilets. Surely his is one of the toughest jobs in the world right now?
"The best job in the world," Deighton says, smiling.
While the games will take place in an age of austerity, they won't be austere. In 2007, after underestimating the cost of cleaning up the site and constructing sports venues, the Blair government more than tripled the original spending plan, to 9.3 billion ($14.3 billion).
In addition, Deighton's LOCOG, has a separate 2.2-billion budget. For a country still reeling from the financial crisis, the money amounts to a backdoor Keynesian stimulus. Plus, Deighton says, the total outlay guarantees London a boost in tourism.
Dancing Nurses
Although the spending pales in comparison to the $67 billion China lavished on the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the government of Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron is doing what it can to make Britain cool again.
The government even found an extra p41 million in public money to mount Olympic spectacles, including Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle's secrecy-shrouded opening ceremony, which somehow will merge Shakespeare's The Tempest, a play about a shipwreck, with dancing National Health Service nurses, singing schoolchildren and Paul McCartney.
Spending on security has risen to more than 1 billion as the government tries to guarantee a trouble-free Olympics.
The Shard, London, view described as awesome! Defying vertigo, Robert Hardman climbed to the top of the highest building in Europe - Daily Mail
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The only other human beings any higher than me anywhere in Britain - or Europe for that matter - are in aircraft or up mountains. I really am the king of the castle up here.
In fact, I can see a castle down below but it looks so puny that its toy soldiers are invisible. It’s just the teeny-weeny Tower of London.
It’s a pity that haze has descended, because visibility today is down to just seven or eight miles. So I can see London’s Olympic stadium to the east, Hampstead Heath to the north. But on a really good day, you can see as far as Southend and the North Sea in one direction, Berkshire in the other.
This is the best view in Britain for those without helicopters. From up here, it really is the London of a Lilliputian miniature village
In a year or so, everyone will be able to come up here to the 72nd floor of The Shard, the European Union's tallest building, and look down on the capital of the UK
Sometimes, of course, this place is just too tall for its own good. During much of Sunday’s Thames Jubilee pageant, for example, it had its head in the clouds. Literally.
In a year or so, everyone will be able to come up here to the 72nd floor of The Shard, the European Union’s tallest building, and look down on the capital of the United Kingdom. For now, though, it is still work in progress.
Some poor soul has yet to clamber out and dismantle the crane which has just finished attaching the last steel girder to the top of this 1,016ft stalagmite. Inside its glass walls, a thousand workers are still beetling away on the wiring and plumbing.
But the outside is virtually finished. And a month from now, the red carpet will be unfurled for a grand royal inauguration. The Duke of York is coming to do the honours, along with the Prime Minister of Qatar, the tiny Gulf emirate which is busy buying London as a second home (the Stock Exchange, Harrods, the Olympic Village . . .).
The outside is virtually finished. And a month from now, the red carpet will be unfurled for a grand royal inauguration
This is the best view in Britain for those without helicopters. From up here, it really is the London of a Lilliputian miniature village.
You can stare at an empty road and see how quickly congestion breaks out. It only takes one van driver doing a spot of unloading. Who’d have thought that the metamorphosis of a traffic jam could be so absorbing?
At this altitude, you realise what a lot of boat traffic there is on the River Thames, how much green space there is in South London, how lots of red buses aren’t red on top.
The tranquillity is astonishing. The viewing deck is open to the elements, yet it sounds like the countryside — without birds. The pigeons don’t venture this high. Train-spotters and model railway enthusiasts will be glued to the comings and goings on the rail-sprawl below.
True, this thing would not greatly impress the average New Yorker. Plonk it in Manhattan and it would be just another face in the crowd. But, in Britain, it is monumentally different. It isn’t even finished and already has the ‘iconic’ tag slapped on it for evermore. You need only write ‘The Shard’ on an envelope and your letter will get here.
Considering the size of it — 32 acres of floorspace protruding from an area smaller than a football pitch — one might have expected more controversy. This is by far the most prominent landmark London has ever seen. There were certainly angry voices during the planning stages a decade back.
But while organisations like English Heritage argued that The Shard would diminish the dominance of other historic buildings, public opposition has never really taken off.
The Prince of Wales, who is not without views on architectural matters, has confined himself to the observation that it looks like ‘an enormous salt cellar’. ‘He hasn’t had much to say about us really,’ says Irvine Sellar, the man behind it. ‘But his brother, the Duke of York, has always been a great supporter.’
Sellar, 72, has been eating and breathing this project for 14 years now. He is the veteran property developer who bought Southwark Towers, an unprepossessing office block on the south bank of the Thames, in 1998.
And then he had a spot of luck. Within weeks, the Blair Government decided on a new policy of encouraging major new developments attached to transport hubs. And Sellar’s new building was slap bang on top of London Bridge Railway Station.
He decided not to go big, but huge. And he soon had the backing of the new Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone.
‘Luck is an evenly dispersed commodity, but you have to make the most of your opportunities,’ he says. As someone who built up one property empire and lost the lot — in the early Nineties — and then built another, Sellar knows about risk. ‘Back then, I had the Rolls-Royce, the plane, the big house and it was a long fall,’ he says. ‘But I had a few loyal friends, I got lucky with a couple of deals and if you have bad news and you’re fit and healthy, then you just have to say: “Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life”.’
Sellar’s first fortune was born out of Carnaby Street fashion in the Sixties and Seventies (his wife, Elizabeth, is a former model). His second fortune, rooted in commercial property, puts him in 395th place in the latest Rich List with an estimated worth of 190 million. London-born and bred, he divides his time between homes in London, Surrey and the Sussex coast. No bolthole overseas in the sun? ‘I’d never go there enough. It’s a waste of time.’
A tennis-mad grandfather who does not even include his birthday in the slimmest of Who’s Who entries, he doesn’t do politics and says London has been ‘very lucky’ to have both Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson as mayor. But he is no fan of the coalition system. ‘We need strong leadership,’ he says.
Having bought his plot at London Bridge, he wanted to plant something distinctive and historic on the skyline. But he says that, from the outset, aesthetics rather than size was the dominant factor. So, he recruited the distinguished Italian architect, Renzo Piano, an odd choice, perhaps, since Piano disliked tall buildings, finding them ‘arrogant’ and inaccessible.
But Piano saw the opportunity to do something new. The Shard is not a City skyscraper. It peers down on the bankers from across the water in the relatively deprived South London borough of Southwark. Piano took his inspiration from ships which used to populate the Thames and from the profusion of churches dotting the old London skyline. He wanted to create a new spire, but this one would be full of light.
Modern skyscrapers are rather like celebrities, always in sunglasses whatever the weather. This building would not be clothed in dark, reflective glass. The Shard would remove the shades.
In an early Press conference, while struggling to find the mot juste, Renzo Piano likened his vision to a ‘shard of glass’. The name stuck.
‘I wanted to call it LBT — London Bridge Tower,’ says Sellar. ‘But the marketing people talked me round. They said: “The Shard’s a great nickname. Let’s keep it”.’
London's world famous Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament overlook the river, with giant Waterloo station on the southern side
Landmarks: The London Eye is clearly visible from the top of the Shard, as is the vast expanse of Waterloo Station adjacent to it
The BT Tower stands tall in front of Regent's Park in the background and the bright green domed roof of the British Museum in the foreground
Sellar says he wanted to build a ‘vertical town’ as opposed to an office block. The average skyscraper is all about cramming in the optimum number of worker bees. But if you set out to build something which includes offices, restaurants, a hotel and some very grand apartments, then each section will have different needs.
Hotel guests and residents need to look out of the window in a way that office workers don’t. Therefore, you make the residential floors smaller so that everyone is nearer the outside. Office grunts can stare at the wall. That’s why this thing tapers from a large base to a pointy top.
The fatter, lower section is all offices until three floors of restaurant space kick in from floors 31 to 33. Above that, it is a five-star Shangri-La hotel all the way to the 53rd floor. The upper section will be among the most expensive and unusual apartments in Europe — each with an estimated price of more than 30 million and a 360-degree view of the metropolis.
But the residents will still have the likes of you and me clomping around above them. Because floors 68 to 72 will be observation decks like the one I am on now. The uppermost levels (rising to the equivalent of a 95th storey) will house plant and machinery in what surely constitutes Britain’s most spectacular attic.
The very top consists of several shards of glass which simply taper off into thin air. This a clever optical illusion, since it fools the human eye into carrying on upwards, suggesting that the Shard is even taller than it actually is.
Robert Hardman experiences life on the 72nd floor of the highest building in Europe, The Shard in South London
Some poor soul has yet to clamber out and dismantle the crane which has just finished attaching the last steel girder to the top of this 1,016ft stalagmite
And so it would have been, had it not been for the Civil Aviation Authority. The original plan was for something 1,400ft tall, but the custodians of Britain’s skies decided this represented a hazard to air traffic. Piano’s plan was cut back to 1,000ft.
Needless to say, the process was not straightforward. Sellar was preparing his initial planning application when terrorists brought down the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001. Suddenly, no one was keen on new skyscrapers. When he finally got his planning permissions, there were strings attached — not least a requirement to give the paying public the viewing platform on which I am now standing.
A full decade after Sellar had bought the site, he had not even started building when the 2008 banking collapse stopped the project in its tracks. Along came the Qataris with their bottomless shopping trolley and ended up with 80 per cent of the equity.
Even now, it is unclear who is going to rent all this office space or pay 30 million for a flat in Southwark. But London has plenty of bored trillionaire non-doms. The hotel portion of the tower has already been leased and there are said to be several takers for the various restaurant spaces.
It is self-evidently a bold addition to the London skyline. I like its originality. And it is an eloquent riposte to those dreary modernists who spent all last weekend moaning that Britain is stuck in the past. But there will be some people who hate it, just as many people regarded, say, St Paul’s Cathedral as an eyesore when it opened.
They might care to follow the example of the French writer, Guy de Maupassant, who hated the Eiffel Tower so much that he ate in its restaurant every day. When asked why, he explained that it was the only place in Paris where he didn’t have to look at it.
Our Cars: Vauxhall Ampera - June - News - What Car?
Week ending June 8
Mileage 5030
Driven this week: 180 miles
My brother-in-law is a dyed-in-the-wool petrolhead. The list of cars he's owned includes a Fiat Barchetta, Toyota Celica and VW Golf GTI. His current car is a 1996 Mercedes E240. He thinks electric cars are just a fad.
However, that changed after a half-hour passenger ride in our Vauxhall Ampera.
He liked the instant acceleration, the refinement, and was pleasantly surprised by the fit and finish of the Vauxhall. The range-extending petrol engine wiped out any concerns he had about electric cars and their range.
This total change of mindset bodes well for Vauxhall if it can convince enough people to at least test drive such cars.
I'm not sure that my brother-in-law's next car – or even the one after that – will be an electric car, but at least the acorn that one day he could own one has been planted in his mind.
What we didn't appreciate was the decidedly non-futuristic recharging mechanism. When the car has finished recharging, your hands get covered in dirt and crud as you wind-up the power lead. Some kind of retractable lead, such as that in a vacuum cleaner would be more user friendly, but Vauxhall says the lead can't be coiled when the car is being charged because it will get too hot.
Iain.Reid@whatcar.com
Week ending June 1
Mileage 4850
Driven this week: 100 miles
Now that the fun of having a new car is beginning to wear off, I've started to notice a few issues with our Vauxhall Ampera. It's great to drive through town – there's nothing quite like the smoothness you get from electric motors – and you get just as much attention as you do in, say, a Range Rover Evoque, but there are a couple niggles.
The first is that the incredibly low front diffuser scrapes on every speed bump. Bearing in mind that the car is badged a Vauxhall and, by virtue of its electric powertrain, destined for a considerable amount of town use, it's frustrating that it doesn't seem to have been tested in London, a city full of speed bumps.
The second thing I'm surprised about is that, although there's a fully functional Bluetooth phone connection, there's no Bluetooth audio to allow you to play music from your phone without plugging it in. In any other car, you wouldn't give it much consideration, but in the top-spec version of what would appear to be the UK's most technologically advanced car it's a strange omission.
Ed.Keohane@whatcar.com
Vauxhall Announces Pricing For Upcoming Mokka SUV - The Auto Chanel
LUTON, UNITED KINGDOM – June 8, 2012: Vauxhall will expand its already broad range later this year with the addition of the Mokka SUV, which is available to order from today at a starting price of just 16,995.
The new model will enter the growing sub-compact SUV B-segment, but despite its compact 4.28 metre length can accommodate five adults in comfort. Its key rivals will be cars like the Skoda Yeti and from Nissan, the Juke and Qashqai. Like all Vauxhalls, the Mokka comes with Vauxhall Lifetime Warranty.
Available in three trims – S, Exclusiv and SE – the Mokka comes with generous levels of standard equipment, including DMB (Digital Media Broadcast) radio, air conditioning, Descent Control System, cruise control, aux-in and a multi-function trip computer.
Three engines, ranging in power from 115 to 140PS, will be available from launch. The 1.6-litre petrol produces 115PS and 155Nm of torque, and with its standard Start/Stop system delivers a combined 43.5mpg. With 140PS, the 1.4-litre turbo is the Mokka’s most powerful petrol engine and brings with it standard four-wheel drive and sub-150g CO2 emissions.
The Mokka has a choice of two diesel models, both of which use Vauxhall’s 1.7 CDTi 130PS engine, with CO2 emissions as low as 124g/km. In front-wheel drive form, the 1.7 CDTi is available with a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission, and with all-wheel drive the Mokka comes with the six-speed manual only. Like the petrol-powered cars, all manual models have Vauxhall’s fuel-saving Start/Stop system as standard.
“The Mokka takes its design cues from larger SUVs and integrates them into a compact, yet modern form,” said Duncan Aldred, Vauxhall’s Chairman and Managing Director. “We are now growing a compelling and diverse range of products that appeals both to retail and fleet customers, and the Mokka will complement this perfectly.”
Front- or four-wheel drive transmissions
The Mokka has been designed to perform efficiently in urban environments, but with the ability to be driven off-road when the need arises. Both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive models are available, with the AWD system being fully adaptive. When the vehicle’s being driven on smooth, dry surfaces all drive is sent to the front wheels for maximum efficiency. But when the road surface is slippery, as much as 50 per cent of the drive automatically and seamlessly is diverted to the rear axle. The entire AWD system weighs just 65kgs, benefitting handling and fuel economy.
Mokka brings wide range of new tech to sub-compact SUV segment
A variety of state-of-the-art driver-assistance systems will be available in the Mokka. The Vauxhall Front Camera – first seen in the latest Insignia, and also the new Zafira Tourer – gives drivers access to Lane Departure Warning, Traffic Sign Recognition, Forward Collision Alert, as well as a rear-view camera, which works with park-assist sensors front and rear.
Reinforcing its role as a recreational car for families, the Mokka also has the option of Vauxhall’s latest generation FlexFix rear bicycle carrier. The carrier is fully integrated into the rear bumper, and slides out like a drawer to accept up to three bicycles at a time. The system even allows easy access to the tailgate/cargo area when the bikes are on the carrier.
Standard on all Mokkas is a comprehensive package of safety systems, including Electronic Stability Control, Traction Control, Hill Start Assist and Hill Descent Control, providing drivers with reassurance, no matter if they’re on or off-road. HDC is an excellent ally when a driver is descending a steep hill, when it determines and limits the speed of the vehicle, meaning that the brakes need not be applied.
Adding further still to the Mokka’s comprehensive safety armoury is Vauxhall’s Advanced Adaptive Forward Lighting (AFL+). This technology automatically adapts the Mokka’s lighting to suit its driving environment, whether it be motorway, country, urban, adverse weather, increased full beam, or cornering beam. The system is also equipped with High Beam Assist, which adjusts the high beams automatically so that oncoming traffic isn’t dazzled.
Bold SUV design combined with generous functionality
Muscular and attractive, the Mokka incorporates Vauxhall’s signature ‘blade’ on the body side, sweeping towards the rear. The Mokka’s stance is reinforced by its higher ground clearance as well as a 1540mm track and 18-inch wheels on most models.
Inside, the Mokka has 19 storage locations, 60:40 split rear seats, and an all-up load space of 1,372 litres with the rear seats folded down.
British team play integral role in RHD chassis development
Gerry Baker, Vauxhall’s manager of vehicle dynamics based at Millbrook, has been involved with Mokka chassis development from an early stage. “Early prototype cars were tested in the UK during 2011, to establish if bespoke damper settings were required for cars sold in Britain,” said Gerry.
“We’ve also been evaluating a RHD steering tune for the car, which is important, given the unique road conditions British drivers have to deal with. Finally, a large part of the Mokka’s durability testing has been carried out at Millbrook, here in the UK.”
There’s been great emphasis on the Mokka’s dynamic performance, both on- and off-road, The front MacPherson suspension has been fitted with side-load compensation springs to improve damper reliability and consistency. At the rear, a U-section compound crank is mounted ahead of the rear wheels, angled to suit either FWD or AWD set-ups, and ensuring that both on- and off-road dynamics are not compromised.
Vauxhall has adopted a state-of-the-art Electric Power Steering (EPS) system for Mokka, which provides more speed sensitive assistance for drivers, no matter what model they opt for. The specific settings for the steering will be tuned to suit the UK market.
Retail launch later this year
Customers can order the Mokka from today through the Vauxhall retail network. The car will arrive in UK showrooms in November this year.
London hotels persist with Olympian price hikes - Daily Telegraph
This week JacTravel, which provides wholesale accommodation for inbound tour operators, said its London bookings were down by 35 per cent during July and 30 per cent during August, compared with the same months last year. By contrast, it said that bookings for summer holidays to Barcelona and Berlin had grown by more than 100 per cent.
JacTravel found that some four-star London hotels were charging up to £415 per night for stays during the Games, nearly four times more than usual.
A second hotel booking website, Hotels.com, found that the average price for a room during the Olympics had fallen slightly by five per cent since March, to £202. However, this is still 93 per cent more expensive than the same period last year.
A spokesman for Hotels.com said that some cheaper rooms could still be found if travellers were willing to look to outlying districts.
Vauxhall Mokka SUV pricing announced - easier.com
Vauxhall will expand its already broad range later this year with the addition of the Mokka SUV, which is available to order from today at a starting price of just £16,995.
The new model will enter the growing sub-compact SUV B-segment, but despite its compact 4.28 metre length can accommodate five adults in comfort. Its key rivals will be cars like the Skoda Yeti and from Nissan, the Juke and Qashqai. Like all Vauxhalls, the Mokka comes with Vauxhall Lifetime Warranty.
Available in three trims – S, Exclusiv and SE – the Mokka comes with generous levels of standard equipment, including DMB (Digital Media Broadcast) radio, air conditioning, Descent Control System, cruise control, aux-in and a multi-function trip computer.
Three engines, ranging in power from 115 to 140PS, will be available from launch. The 1.6-litre petrol produces 115PS and 155Nm of torque, and with its standard Start/Stop system delivers a combined 43.5mpg. With 140PS, the 1.4-litre turbo is the Mokka’s most powerful petrol engine and brings with it standard four-wheel drive and sub-150g CO2 emissions.
The Mokka has a choice of two diesel models, both of which use Vauxhall’s 1.7 CDTi 130PS engine, with CO2 emissions as low as 124g/km. In front-wheel drive form, the 1.7 CDTi is available with a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission, and with all-wheel drive the Mokka comes with the six-speed manual only. Like the petrol-powered cars, all manual models have Vauxhall’s fuel-saving Start/Stop system as standard.
“The Mokka takes its design cues from larger SUVs and integrates them into a compact, yet modern form,” said Duncan Aldred, Vauxhall’s Chairman and Managing Director. “We are now growing a compelling and diverse range of products that appeals both to retail and fleet customers, and the Mokka will complement this perfectly.”
Front- or four-wheel drive transmissions
The Mokka has been designed to perform efficiently in urban environments, but with the ability to be driven off-road when the need arises. Both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive models are available, with the AWD system being fully adaptive. When the vehicle’s being driven on smooth, dry surfaces all drive is sent to the front wheels for maximum efficiency. But when the road surface is slippery, as much as 50 per cent of the drive automatically and seamlessly is diverted to the rear axle. The entire AWD system weighs just 65kgs, benefitting handling and fuel economy.
Mokka brings wide range of new tech to sub-compact SUV segment
A variety of state-of-the-art driver-assistance systems will be available in the Mokka. The Vauxhall Front Camera – first seen in the latest Insignia, and also the new Zafira Tourer – gives drivers access to Lane Departure Warning, Traffic Sign Recognition, Forward Collision Alert, as well as a rear-view camera, which works with park-assist sensors front and rear.
Reinforcing its role as a recreational car for families, the Mokka also has the option of Vauxhall’s latest generation FlexFix rear bicycle carrier. The carrier is fully integrated into the rear bumper, and slides out like a drawer to accept up to three bicycles at a time. The system even allows easy access to the tailgate/cargo area when the bikes are on the carrier.
Standard on all Mokkas is a comprehensive package of safety systems, including Electronic Stability Control, Traction Control, Hill Start Assist and Hill Descent Control, providing drivers with reassurance, no matter if they’re on or off-road. HDC is an excellent ally when a driver is descending a steep hill, when it determines and limits the speed of the vehicle, meaning that the brakes need not be applied.
Adding further still to the Mokka’s comprehensive safety armoury is Vauxhall’s Advanced Adaptive Forward Lighting (AFL+). This technology automatically adapts the Mokka’s lighting to suit its driving environment, whether it be motorway, country, urban, adverse weather, increased full beam, or cornering beam. The system is also equipped with High Beam Assist, which adjusts the high beams automatically so that oncoming traffic isn’t dazzled.
Bold SUV design combined with generous functionality
Muscular and attractive, the Mokka incorporates Vauxhall’s signature ‘blade’ on the body side, sweeping towards the rear. The Mokka’s stance is reinforced by its higher ground clearance as well as a 1540mm track and 18-inch wheels on most models.
Inside, the Mokka has 19 storage locations, 60:40 split rear seats, and an all-up load space of 1,372 litres with the rear seats folded down.
British team play integral role in RHD chassis development
Gerry Baker, Vauxhall’s manager of vehicle dynamics based at Millbrook, has been involved with Mokka chassis development from an early stage. “Early prototype cars were tested in the UK during 2011, to establish if bespoke damper settings were required for cars sold in Britain,” said Gerry.
“We’ve also been evaluating a RHD steering tune for the car, which is important, given the unique road conditions British drivers have to deal with. Finally, a large part of the Mokka’s durability testing has been carried out at Millbrook, here in the UK.”
There’s been great emphasis on the Mokka’s dynamic performance, both on- and off-road, The front MacPherson suspension has been fitted with side-load compensation springs to improve damper reliability and consistency. At the rear, a U-section compound crank is mounted ahead of the rear wheels, angled to suit either FWD or AWD set-ups, and ensuring that both on- and off-road dynamics are not compromised.
Vauxhall has adopted a state-of-the-art Electric Power Steering (EPS) system for Mokka, which provides more speed sensitive assistance for drivers, no matter what model they opt for. The specific settings for the steering will be tuned to suit the UK market.
Retail launch later this year
Customers can order the Mokka from today through the Vauxhall retail network. The car will arrive in UK showrooms in November this year.
Caiteag25...... Typical comment from a scots! Who cares!! - Millsy, Kent, 8/6/2012 Typical comment from an English person.
- John McCorquodale (Income Tax paying Scots ex-pat ), Ft. Erie. Canada., 09/6/2012 03:32
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