There's no Irish motor show in Dublin, but just 100 miles up the road the Ulster Motor Show is underway again this year in the King's Hall at Balmoral Showgrounds, Belfast. It opens on Monday next.
New cars making first time appearances on this side of the Irish Sea include the Renault Vel Satis, the Citroen C3, the Range Rover and the Volkswagen Polo. The show runs until Sunday February 10th. Admission charges are £7 sterling for adults, and £4 for children under-16.
Windsor motor group is Ireland's largest motor retailer, and the Taoiseach Mr Ahern has just opened its newest state-of-the-art dealership at Tallaght, Dublin 24.
According to Gerard O'Toole, executive chairman, the group, which has eight dealerships and employs over 300 people, had sales last year of over 10,000 new cars and vans: "At present all the dealerships are solus Nissan outlets, but part of our expansionary plans will be to acquire dealerships selling other marques."
Koping Motors, based at Naas Road, Dublin 12, has won the Hyundai Dealer of the year award. It was presented to Paul |Mooney, Koping's managing director by Sam Synott, managing director, Hyundai Cars Ireland.
Mazda has a new main dealership for Donegal: Padraig Kelly Motors at Port Road, Letterkenny.
Henry Ford's car for Europe was the Model Y which set a benchmark for other European manufacturers with a low price of £100. Now there's a book out on the Model Y, by Sam Roberts. It's published by Veloce Publishing and the price is £29.99 sterling. Interestingly, in the mid-1930s the Garda Síochána employed a fleet of Model Ys, with some of them fitted with loudspeakers.