JCB skid steer loaders, built at the company’s North American headquarters in Pooler, have received a 2019 EquipmentWatch Highest Retained Value Award.  The award recognizes JCB machines for commanding higher resale values than competing skid steers after five years of ownership.

Garrett Schemmel, vice president at EquipmentWatch, explained that the annual awards help buyers understand the best performing machines.

“The program is also designed to recognize manufacturers for building these higher quality, durable, and cost-friendly machines that power our industry,” said Schemmel.
Richard Fox-Marrs, president and CEO of JCB North America, credited the company’s 600-strong, Pooler-based workforce for the recognition.

“It takes skilled and dedicated people to build and support construction machines that excel on tough construction projects and in harsh conditions, and then command high resale values. This award is testimony not just to the JCB team’s expertise, but to the care and attention they put into every skid steer that [...]

From www.automotiveworld.com: Suzuki GB PLC has been ranked as the best car brand in the Institute of Customer Service’s UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) for January 2019. A national measure of sentiment across the country, the research asks 45,000 consumers to rate their experiences of dealing with nearly 260 different companies across 13 sectors, including those in the motor industry.

With an improved overall Index score of 83, compared to 81.5 last year, this allowed Suzuki to climb 29 places versus the 2018 Index to 15th position across the 259 Companies measured and to 1st place for any of the 24 vehicle manufacturers listed. The average Automotive CSI score was 78.9 placing Suzuki way ahead and it is also Suzuki’s best ever result since the customer satisfaction barometer made its debut in 2008.

From www.AutomotiveWorld.com: The Mercedes-Benz A-Class has won two prizes at the 2019 Company Car Today awards. The new A-Class was named the ‘Car of the Year’, as well as the ‘Premium Lower Medium Car of the Year’.

The A-Class was praised for its interior comfort, innovative technology and low running costs.

Paul Barker, editor of Company Car Today, said: “The A-Class will break new ground in the company car marketplace this spring when the tax-busting efficient new RDE2-compliant engines join the range, but they build on the foundation the new A-Class has already established in terms of classy design, high-quality cabin, advanced technology and top-line residual values.

“It’s a powerful combination that has set new levels for premium small cars, and the fact that Mercedes is the first company [...]

From www.usatoday.com:  DETROIT – Shortly before the North American International Auto Show opened to the public Saturday, Chevrolet gathered a crowd of local students for the unveiling of its first LEGO Silverado.

The students clamored around the Chevrolet space on the auto show floor, curious about the surprise hidden under a black sheet. "We want to see it!" a student from the excited group yelled out.

The sheet was lifted to reveal a bright red LEGO replica of Chevrolet's 2019 Silverado 1500 LT Trail Boss.

"We are thrilled to reveal the LEGO Silverado, said Sandor Piszar, the marketing director for Chevrolet Trucks. "This is a totally realistic replica of our all-new 2019 Silverado LT Trail Boss, and it's the first time that a full-sized Chevy vehicle has ever been made with LEGO pieces."

He also announced Chevrolet will be featured in a cameo role in the upcoming film, "The Lego Movie 2: The Second [...]

From www.topgear.com:  Now, we love the new Suzuki Jimny – we gave it a Top Gear award and everything. But it looks like Japan really luuuuurves the adorable off-roader. For this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, every tuner and their dog seems to be modifying the titchy SUV to be either bigger, butcher or a tiny bit faster. Sometimes they’re doing all three at once. Being cheap to buy and a doddle to strip down, it’s not hard to see why the Jimny’s homeland has gone potty for them. Saying that, we never thought a Jimny monster truck was possible. Or a two-seat load lugging pick-up. Then again, Japan never ceases to amaze.

So, go forth and get drunk on Jimnys, then tell us what you’d do to modify one if you had the opportunity.

Photography: Mark Riccioni

From Top Gear: Just when Santa’s gone and plopped all the presents on our Christmas list down the chimney, Suzuki comes along and teases us with this: the Jimny Sierra Pickup Style.

It’s one of two rugged, adventure-based concepts that the Japanese firm will be taking to the Tokyo Auto Salon next week and, as we’ve missed Christmas, has rocketed straight to the top of our birthday present list.

Based on Suzuki’s adorable 4x4 (a Top Gear Magazine Award winner, no less) the Sierra Pickup maintains the same boxy silhouette but has had the back seats ripped out and an angle grinder applied to the roofline to make room for a practical bed. More than that, they’ve swapped out the front grille and stamped an old school Suzuki logo on it, [...]

From Road Show by C-Net:The 2019 A-Class will serve as Mercedes' new entry-level offering. But make no mistake, there's nothing entry-level about it.

The CLA-Class (that the A-Class does not replace, by the way) was a car designed to hit a sub-$30,000 price point, and those budget bones plagued even its most expensive trims. So rather than go that route a second time, Mercedes isn't simply striving to hit some low, low price with its new A-Class sedan. The end result is a car that's a bit more expensive, to be sure, but actually delivers a properly luxurious experience in a subcompact footprint.

From AM-online: Suzuki has emerged as the most reliable car brand in the UK as What Car? published the results of its annual vehicle reliability survey.

The Toyota Yaris hatchback and Suzuki SX4 S-Cross jointly claim the top spot in the car models category both achieving perfect 100% scores as Suzuki emerged as the most reliable manufacturer with a rating of 97.7% overall for vehicles up to four years old.

From May 28th to June 1st this year, the Caribbean’s first Suzuki Service Qualification System (SSQS) took place at Simpson Motors. This international program is designed to raise the skill level of Suzuki technicians around the globe in all aspects of vehicle repair.

From Australia news.com: ANOTHER week, another super ute. But there is one thing that sets this version apart from the others.

ISUZU has unveiled a monster truck that towers over other super utes such as the Ford Ranger Raptor and HSV Colorado SportsCat, but there is just one catch: it’s not coming to showrooms anytime soon.