LAND ROVER ROBS SOME OF RYDER LIMELIGHT: Although BMW won the overall provision of official courtesy cars to the Ryder Cup, and imported scores of 5-Series vehicles for that purpose, an important niche "goal" was scored by another brand.
It seems that nobody had picked up on the work to ferry the thousands of people who will arrive by helicopter at the special helipad on the site and need transportation to the K Club building.
Land Rover's MD in Ireland, David Harpur, promptly filled that gap, and a fleet of half a dozen Range Rovers are being used to shuttle visitors who are probably among the most important and wealthiest of the golfing international fraternity.
BATTLE OF THE VANS: Ford's new Transit has been named 'International Van of the Year 2007'. The 'Van of the Year' jury, which comprises commercial vehicle journalists representing 19 European countries including Ireland, awarded the new Ford Transit the 2007 trophy.
There was praise for the fact that in the new Transit the cab interior has been brought up to a level approaching that of a car.
The Transit scored 60 points, three points ahead of jointly-built models from Peugeot/Citroën/Fiat, and the Mercedes Sprinter scoring 50 points.
PRESTIGE MOTORS AT AUCTION: Premium car buyers were given a rare chance to bag a bargain when Merlin Car Auctions held a special sale of liquidated stock from the prestige Dublin car dealership, Parkwest Autopoint, which went into receivership earlier this year. Yesterday's auction saw 20 cars from the bankrupt dealer, including two Mercedes-Benz CLKs, a Porsche Carrera and a 4.4-litre V8 Range Rover HSE, go under the hammer. A reserve price was set on all cars: those unsold will go to auction on Saturday, with a lower reserve, and any left will be sold by sealed bid.