Tina Turner, a rock icon, was also Jaguar cars lover

Rock and Roll icon Tina Turner who died on Wednesday May 24 at her home in Switzerland at age 83, left many legacies behind beyond just her epic music career.

She was an automobile enthusiast too, owning and loving premium cars throughout her life.

“One of my favourite escapes was driving my Jaguar,” she wrote in her autobiography.

She became one of those celebrities who had one of the biggest influences in the car world.

Turner always found solace in automobiles, notably her white Jaguar XJ6, which she received as a gift from Sammy Davis Jr.

The late icon’s Jaguar XJ6 and a Jaguar E-Type gave her a much-needed taste of freedom, car.com.au notes in a report.

According to the Nation World, Tina Turner’s love for high-performance luxury cars began way back in 1971, when Sammy Davis Jr. got a Jaguar XJ6 as a special gift in the name of sport. The car had a 4.2-litre inline six-cylinder engine, delivered a power of nearly 250 horsepower and offered 384 Newton-meters of torque.

Another Jaguar car, XK-E, was gifted to her by her ex-husband and musical collaborator, Ike Turner.

The XK-E bore a “1 Tina” licence plate and became a point of contention during the couple’s divorce in 1978, according to a report by Car & Driver, an online auto reviewer.

“To my relief, the judge ruled in my favour,” Turner wrote in her 2018 autobiography, My Love Story.

“So I walked out of that courtroom with just my name. Oh, and two Jaguars—cars that had been given to me personally.”

Following the divorce, Turner reinvented herself and her career out of necessity. In 1984, her album Private Dancer was released and became a huge commercial success, selling 10 million copies globally.

Turner became a regular name on the pop music charts with songs like “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” “Better Be Good to Me,” and “Private Dancer.”

With her star on the rise and three new Grammy awards in her trophy case, Turner starred alongside Mel Gibson in the third instalment of the post-apocalyptic Mad Max film series, Mad Max beyond Thunderdome.

She recorded two new songs for the film, one of which netted her a fourth solo Grammy award.

She would ultimately win eight over the course of her career, with one early in her career shared with Ike for their hit song “Proud Mary.”

As her musical and film success pushed her star ever higher, Plymouth tapped Turner for a series of television commercials for its lineup of cars, including the Acclaim sedan and the Laser sports coupe, a car that won a 10Best award from Car and Driver in 1989.

While not exactly Jaguars, Turner’s love for the cars and her on-camera joie de vivre made for some compelling marketing for Plymouth.

In her trademark purr, she was pictured in the rear seat of an Acclaim saying: “Now this car is built for comfort. I wonder what else we have in common.”

Turner lived her life out loud and used music to share her personal struggles, making her a relatable rock star unlike any other.

Her automotive enthusiasm is something she cherished and shared too, even though she will be remembered mostly for her contributions to the entertainment industry.

China becomes world’s biggest exporter of cars, overtakes Japan

China has become the world’s biggest exporter of cars after overtaking Japan in the first three months of the year.
China exported 1.07 million vehicles during the period, up by 58 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2022, according to a BBC report.
Japan’s vehicle exports stood at 954,185.
China’s exports were boosted by demand for electric cars and sales to Russia.
Chinese automakers, including Geely, Chery and Great Wall, saw their market share in Russia jump after rivals including Volkswagen and Toyota quit the country following the invasion of Ukraine.
Last year, China overtook Germany to become the world’s second largest car exporter.
China’s General Administration of Customs said the country exported 3.2 million vehicles in 2022, compared to Germany’s 2.6 million vehicle exports, the BBC reported.
The first quarter exports of new energy vehicles (NEVs), which includes electric cars, rose by more than 90 per cent, compared to a year earlier.
Tesla’s China arm, SAIC — the owner of the MG brand — and BYD, which is backed by veteran US investor Warren Buffett, are among China’s top exporters of NEVs.
Elon Musk’s electric automaker Tesla has a huge manufacturing plant in Shanghai which exports to regions including Japan and Europe.
Tesla’s ‘Gigafactory’ is currently capable of producing 1.25 million vehicles a year, and the company is planning to further increase capacity.
Last month, it started making Model Y sport utility vehicles for export to Canada, the BBC reported.
China has also seen exports to Russia surge since the start of the Ukraine war, as Western countries imposed trade sanctions on Moscow.

China becomes world’s biggest exporter of cars, overtakes Japan

How to address logistics, transportation challenges, by Ex-FRSC boss Oyeyemi

An immediate past Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, has advocated more investment in logistics and transportation infrastructure.

He also stressed the need to encourage higher institutions to produce excellent graduates who would address challenges facing logistics and transportation industry.

Oyeyemi made the call on Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at the University of Lagos while delivering a lecture with the theme – Logistics and Transportation Academics: Fulcrum for Sustainable Development of Industry and Society.

He specifically sought the need to encourage students “by providing them with grant and scholarship that will motivate them”.

Oyeyemi who is the author of many books on Logistics and Transportation, added that “Considering the fact that L&T (Logistics and Transport) are dependent on each other, the need to invest in the L&T infrastructure among which is academics cannot be overemphasised.”

The former Corps Marshal who spoke at the launch of Academics in Logistics and Transport (ACALOT) event, said there should be innovation within the infrastructure development cycle of logistics and transportation.

According to him, Nigeria requires a national logistics strategy focused on the areas such as transportation and distribution industry, transport and distribution workforce, road infrastructure and road congestion.

He gave other areas of interest that should be focused on in the advocated national logistics strategy as road conditions, interstate highway access, vehicle taxes and fees, railroad access, water port access, and air cargo access.

He said, “A survey conducted by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) indicates that the Nigerian economy lost an estimated annual revenue of 3.46 trillion naira ($8.4 billion) due to poor infrastructure, poor implementation, and corruption at the ports, of which N2.5 trillion ($6 billion) are corporate earnings losses across the various sectors of the economy.”

The event also witnessed the introduction of the interim Executive members of ACALOT.