Farming Monthly National August 2016 | Page 66

| Motors

Volvo XC90 takes home Car Dealer Power’ s Car of the Year award

The Volvo XC90 has been named the Car Dealer Power Car of the Year 2016, as voted for by dealers across the UK.

T he Car Dealer Power Awards, held each year at a prestigious black-tie event at the top of the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, are the only awards where franchised and independent dealers get to have their say on what they think of suppliers and their manufacturers.

Car Dealer receives hundreds of responses from dealers throughout the UK, and the awards celebrate those voted best in the country by their customers.
Andy Entwistle, Managing Director of Blackball Media, publishers of Car Dealer, said:“ When it was launched, the all-new XC90 shone as a ringing endorsement of the hard work Volvo has put into replacing what was already a very accomplished car, while also launching the brand into a new style direction.
“ The Car of the Year category isn’ t just about franchised dealers voting for their favourite car from their manufacturer; it also gives independent dealers a chance to say what they think is the best car out there. Car Dealer saw nominations from a variety of independents and franchise holders for the XC90, with one nomination quoting they felt‘ the new XC90 was easily best in its class’,” he added.
Jon Wakefield, Acting Managing Director of Volvo Car UK, said:“ We are absolutely thrilled that the XC90 has been recognised by dealers in the UK as their Car of the Year in the Car Dealer Power survey – it’ s a testament to the car to have won such a respected industry award. To be voted for by both independent and franchise dealers alike demonstrates the
huge popularity the XC90 has brought Volvo since its introduction to dealers in June last year.”
The award comes as Volvo Car UK announces its plans to invest in the UK motor trade industry with the launch of its Sponsored Dealer Programme. This gives talented motor trade professionals the opportunity to set up their own Volvo dealership, with support from Volvo Car UK, and become advocates of the brand.

1983 Range Rover brought back to life in record time at Silverstone Classic

Fergus Walkinshaw led a team of expert restorers at eBay RESTORATION LIVE.

F estival goers at the recent Silverstone Classic( 29-31 July) experienced a once-in-lifetime chance to see a 1983 Range Rover brought back to life over the course of just three days. eBay, the festival’ s official parts and accessories partner, challenged racing driver and car restorer Fergus Walkinshaw to revive the vehicle in front of a live audience at eBay’ s RESTORATION LIVE.

Starting at 7.00am on Friday morning, Fergus and his team of skilled mechanics guided the crowd through every step of the project as they renovated the iconic first-generation Range Rover using only parts bought from online marketplace eBay.
The crew worked around the clock to get the Range Rover ready for its unveiling on stage at the Mike Brewer Car Clinic on Sunday.
The project included replacing
the suspension and the exhaust system, as well as a host of other jobs. The Range Rover was returned to its original condition, even sourcing rare parts such as a section of carpet covering the spare wheel and the front bumper trim.
On Sunday afternoon, the offroader was driven onto the eBay stage for Mike Brewer’ s Car Clinic in front of a crowd of festivalgoers.
Mike described the breakneck restoration as“ a miracle”.“ If you had seen this car three days ago, you would not have believed it could have looked like this,” he said on stage, before Fergus took the crowd through the process of sourcing hundreds of parts from eBay and overhauling the car in just under three days.
RESTORATION LIVE also hosted David Newell ' s gloriously restored Triumph GT6 Mk3. David was one of three amateur restorers selected to take part in the first ever eBay Car Challenge. David and the owners of a Volkswagen
Beetle and Riley Kestrel 1300 secured a £ 4,000 restoration budget from eBay and set about restoring their classics in painstaking detail in just three months.
David poured“ blood, sweat and tears – literally” into his " poor man ' s E-Type ", replacing both rear wings among hundreds of new parts. The Triumph was proudly displayed next to the Ranger Rover pit over the course of Silverstone Classic and took part in the official Triumph parade lap on Saturday afternoon.
Murray Lambell, eBay’ s director of retail car parts & accessories, said,“ Watching Fergus and the team bring two tons of Range Rover back to life was an amazing spectacle. As soon as they fired up the engine for the first time on the
last morning, the RESTORATION LIVE crowd burst into a round of applause, which was amazing."
When Fergus handed back the keys to the proud owner live on the eBay stage, he presented him with the original sales brochure from 1983 too. Fergus was able to find every part he needed from eBay, using 80 business sellers from the online marketplace ensuring that he had everything Fergus and his team needed.
Murray added,“ It was also fantastic to have David and his glorious Triumph GT6 Mk3 with us for the festival. Having seen pictures of the Triumph before the eBay Car Challenge, he’ s done a superb job to have it ready for Silverstone Classic and we’ re really glad to have helped him get back on the road.”
66 | Farming Monthly | August 2016 www. farmingmonthly. co. uk