Other motors news in brief
Ferrari California Spyder sells at auction for record price
British television and radio personality Chris Evans has spent €7,040,000 on a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder at the RM Auctions' second annual Ferrari Leggenda e Passione event in Maranello. The car, which once belonged to actor James Coburn, is an evolution of the 250 GT Tour de France and is one of the best-loved 12-cylinders ever built. The price reached is an all-time record for this model and was twice the estimated price.
New marketing manager for Land Rover
Land Rover Ireland has announced the appointment of Damian Hughes as marketing manager.
He will be responsible for managing the marketing activities associated with Land Rover's complete range of premium vehicles: Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Freelander 2, Discovery 3 and Defender.
Hughes has extensive experience in the marketing of leading international brands.
Since 2006 he has been employed as senior brand manager with Danone Ireland.
Prior to that, he held senior marketing positions with Masterfoods, Cadbury and Unilever.
A native of Belturbet, Co Cavan, Hughes holds a BA in International Marketing and Languages from Dublin City University and a Higher Diploma in Marketing Practice from the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business.
He is also a graduate member of the Marketing Institute of Ireland.
SIMI elects new president
Paul Flanagan of Castrol Ireland has been elected the new president of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) at the annual general meeting in the Radisson SAS Hotel, Dublin airport. Flanagan takes over from outgoing president Ian Macneill (both pictured above).
In his inaugural address, Flanagan noted the confusion among consumers regarding the vehicle registration tax and road tax changes due to take place in July.
He advised consumers who are thinking of buying to shop around now, rather than wait until July, even if they want the car delivered in July. "Visiting SIMI's recently launched Guide to VRT and Road Tax changes at www.simi.ie will clear up any confusion and the online VRT and simple road tax calculator featured on the site allows consumers to gauge the extent of the changes for their selected vehicle in advance of shopping around," he said.
"The news is actually very good for consumers; there are great deals out there at the moment. We would encourage consumers to do the research now and shop around the dealerships in their area to get the best deals on offer."