Win a set of Calibre Alloy Wheels with Wheelwright and Wheel-Whores!
We’ve teamed up with Wheel Whores to bring you an opportunity to win a set of Calibre Alloy Wheels of your choice from the 2012 collection! The answer is hidden in our video (below) somewhere, and all you need to do is find it!
The Question: How many different alloy wheel designs are there in the 2012 Calibre Collection including colour variations?
How To Enter:
Watch the video above, or browse our site to find the answer, then visit the Competition Page here to enter!
Warehouse Team prepare to unload another Container of New Wheels
The Wheelwright Warehouse Team prepare to unload another Container of New Wheels:
Upon the arrival of our latest container delivery, we thought we would give you an insight into just how many wheels we have in stock, and how hard our Warehouse Team have to work. As you can see, Lee was looking on with little optimism at the prospect of unloading this latest delivery:
Within this container are two of our latest additions to the Calibre and Calibre Couture collections. First to be offloaded will be the stunning Excaliber from the Couture collection, finished in Premium High Gloss Silver with Polished Dish. This wheel is available in split 18” and split 19”, and is ideal for a range of premium saloons such as BMW and Audi.
Following these will be the Calibre Rapide in 15”. Having had the 17” and 18” options on the shelf for little over 2 weeks, we have been nothing but amazed by the response to this entry level multispoke. We already have orders ready for the arrival of the 15”, and once they’re offloaded from this latest delivery, we’ll be shipping them out to our network of retail partners.
This latest delivery, coupled with our German stocks, will cement Wheelwright further as the company with the highest stock availability in the UK - the warehouse is looking very well stocked indeed, ready for the summer show season.
Our Warehouse Team are continuing to unload more and more deliveries to accompany the latest arrivals, such as the Calibre Volante and Decorus which arrived early last week and have already started flying off the shelves. In fact, we delivered some to a customer just yesterday ready to fit to an Aston Martin. We literally cannot wait to see these pictures.
We wish our warehouse team good luck in getting this container unloaded today, they are confident in their ability to get this unloaded in as little as two hours - and we believe them! The new Rapide and Excaliber will be winging their way to retailers nationwide by end of play today!
Visit www.wheelwright.co.uk for more info on our new arrivals.
The Monday Morning Blog: On Tuesday 8/5/12!
The Monday Morning Blog: On a Tuesday!
Bank Holiday Weekend Events:
So, our Monday Morning Facebook news feed is often chock-full of photos featuring events from across the weekend. This is always particularly prevalent on Bank Holiday weekends.
It was great to see some pictures from the NI Jap Show this weekend, which took place on Bishopscourt Airfield Track in Downpatrick. One of our customers, Performance Alloys (Antrim), made their first trade appearance and we were happy to supply them with some our our brand new designs to demonstrate the quality of the product; as well as some freebies to be given away!
As you can see from the picture above, the most eye-catching designs include the Calibre Volante (middle wheel left hand display); and the Calibre Decorus (bottom right wheel display). We’re looking forward to getting more pics from Michael and the guys at Performance Alloys.
The show seemed to bring some excellent action, including Round 3 of the Ultimate Drift Championship - lots of burnt rubber to keep all the drift fans smiling on what turned out to be a fairly sunny day! Summer IS coming… well, we hope so, as we’d love to see more action and more of our products making appearances at shows across the UK and Europe.
What were you up to this Bank Holiday weekend? Have you been to any good shows lately? Get in touch with us on Facebook and share your photographs and experiences with us!
New Products Now In Stock:
Most of our new 2012 collection is now available from stock. The newest arrivals include the Calibre Rapide - in Matt Black and Silver. Available in 15”, 16”, 17”, 18” and 19” - ideal for a wide range of vehicles!
We now also have the new Calibre Decorus in stock - this concave design is perfectly on-trend and we expect to see it fly off the shelves.
You can now order directly from Wheelwright, and collect from your nearest retail partner - visit www.wheelwright.co.uk and search by vehicle to find the perfect alloy wheels with the perfect fit.
The Monday Morning Blog: 30/03/12
Never has a Monday Morning been so welcome. Most of the UK was thankfully waking up this morning to a much better day than faced us across this Saturday and Sunday - for once, the Monday morning had a less gloomy disposition than the weekend!
A treacherous weekend of driving.
Early April saw the introduction of a hosepipe ban across much of the UK, but the month ended up being one of the wettest Aprils on record, with above average rainfall of around 139% in the UK - with 65% above average rainfall in England alone. Record rainfall was recorded in Sheffield, who had to put up with 153.4mm of rainfall. Somerset has retained the worst of the weather with unusual wind speeds and direction for the time of year causing chaos, and rivers flooding.
The torrential rain and strong winds made driving conditions especially treacherous this weekend, with many roads retaining surface water, leading to high levels of spray and slippery surfaces. It was not only moving vehicles that suffered, however. One poor car owner was unlucky enough to experience an accident whilst parked - in the form of a fallen tree due to the high winds.
Let’s hope thats the April Showers out of the way, and that automotive enthusiasts can look forward to a summer of sunshine for show and track season.
Poznan, Poland, welcomes the first round of the Kings of Europe Drift Series:
The Kings Of Europe Drift Season got off to a flying start in Poznan, Poland - with over 65 drivers taking to the track to demonstrate their flair for all things ‘sideways’; and over 8000 fans spectating the event. As always, Dotz were on hand to support teamriders using the brand new Fast 7 Drift Alloy Wheel.
After an initial wet-start. the track dried and allowed the drivers to do what they do best - burn rubber, with many of the locally supported Polish drivers hitting the track with 700bhp monsters. The field was hotly contested and our Dotz drivers gave it their all - only to come up short, with Adam Kerenyi suffering technical difficulties with his vehicle, thus being resided to using his 300bhp training car as a back up… leaving him woefully short of power agains the rest of the field.
At least his wheels looked the part on the day! As always, part of the fun with the drift scene is the social aspect, and Dotz Girl ‘Anna’ was on hand to demonstrate the new Fast 7 wheel, and meet and greet spectators and fans.
Overall, the weekend was highly successful in raising the profile of Drift racing even further, with some stunning performances from the local Polish talent. You can see more pictures and find out more about the Dotz Fast 7 Drift alloy wheel on our Facebook profile here.
The Monday Morning Blog: 23/04/12
So, it’s back! The Monday Morning Blog. After a couple of month’s hiatus as we worked on additional content on our website, amongst other things, we thought we’d do a nice round-up of the automotive news (with an alloy wheel twist, of course) from the past week.
Range Rover Evoques Revived Interest in Mini Off Roader with Victoria Beckham Edition:
We are big fans of the Range Rover Evoque here at Wheelwright HQ, the mini off-roader has revolutionary style cues and is a real head turner. The design has always been influenced by the power-celeb Victoria Beckham, but this new edition is her own signature model, and it really does look superb.
When we first heard about this design being revealed, there was concern that it would be made more feminine, softer - but we’ve been proven wrong. The front has a seemingly more aggressive grille design, with more subtle changes to the options within the vehicle.
Range Rover wanted to “create a Special Edition that extends its character in a new direction through understated, restrained colour and detail changes.”
Land Rover Design Director Gerry McGovern said: “Both Land Rover and Victoria Beckham are British luxury brands with credibility and global appeal. This dual ‘Britishness’ makes the collaboration even more exciting especially when considering the huge audience for bespoke products around the world, particularly in China, Russia and Brazil where Land Rover is growing.”
Well, seeing through the marketing blurb and just looking at the vehicle, we like it a lot and can’t wait to supply some of our new Calibre Couture wheels such as the Potentia and Altus for new owners of the vehicle.
Tyre Trade News write about Wheelwright and the Calibre Couture Collection:
We’ve been featured heavily in the industry press this month, culminating in three articles in Tyre Trade News. We’ve taken some cuttings for your perusal, but for the full articles, read their online version of the magazine here: http://www.tyretradenews.co.uk/digital/
For more information on our Press coverage, visit http://wheelwright.co.uk/about-us/press
How to make the Range Rover Sport even slicker with Calibre Potentia
The Range Rover Sport is a stunning, road-dominating vehicle on its own merit. The shapely body, superior ride height and simple modifications make this stand out from the crowd amongst its peers. The one modification which still remains to owners is to change their Alloy Wheels.
We are ecstatic to have received our first customer photographs from Safi at AutoSport in Bolton, featuring our new, powerful alloy wheel design on an equally powerful vehicle: Introducing the Calibre Potentia.
This 22” Alloy Wheel from the Calibre Couture collection looks fantastic, fills the arches perfectly and is truly well suited to this vehicle.
As you can see, the subtly detailed spoke design is typical of most designs suited to the Range Rover Sport, but this design stands out from the crowd with added embellishment including stud detailing, and our stunning deep polished dish.
Even on the grey day on which these pictures were taken, you can see the spokes and studs reflecting in the highly polished rim. This wheel really does ooze class and Auto Sport in Bolton have done a spectacular job in fitting them to this vehicle; and by being the first to get pictures of these to us.
For more information and trade enquiries on this new design, please contact our team on 01622 713 800; or to get these on your vehicle, order direct and collect from your nearest retail partner by visiting www.wheelwright.co.uk
Is the Hosepipe Ban hurting retail sales?
It’s not often our hard-working Fitting & Distribution Team get stuck into debate about the sales operation; but in an interesting discussion today, they made a quite revelationary point.
We have noticed time and time again that seasonal fluctuations exist in our market; with Summer season bringing stronger sales as the Show Season begins (and the natural high of a bit of sunshine in the UK increases people’s positive outlook on high-value purchases), however, with the dry winter & spring this year, a new variable may have been brought into play - the Hose Pipe Ban.
Although seemingly only affecting the East / South-East at the moment, the hosepipe ban is none-the-less affecting around 20 million water customers. Without the use of hosepipes, those choosing to wash their own cars at home will have dwindled, despite the perfect weather for it over the Bank Holiday / Easter period. Our Warehouse Operative, Laurence, made an excellent point - as people aren’t washing their cars, they aren’t seeing damage to their existing wheels or getting motivated to make modifications, such as purchasing a new set of alloy wheels.
We’re open to discussion on this, but it does seem like there could be a modicum of truth in this theory.
What do you think? Would you consider new variables, such as the hosepipe ban, in judging your Alloy Wheel sales?
Join the debate on our Facebook Profile…
Not fussed by this theory? Still interested in a new set of wheels? Head over to our new and improved website and check out our range!
The Ethos of the Wheelwright Alloy Wheel Brands - in Music
We are often asked to describe the ethos of our alloy wheel brands - Calibre, Dotz, Dezent and AEZ. Whilst we can do this in words, and will do below, we thought it might be easier to demonstrate it using music. So, here’s our quick reference to our four core alloy wheel brands.
Calibre Alloy Wheels:
Calibre was created in 2009 to encompass the niche designs that we wanted to bring to the UK market, and for the 2010 season, the Calibre brand proved to be extremely popular to several market sectors, bringing them the designs they craved in the fitments that just weren’t offered by other manufacturers.
From the start of the 2011 season, Calibre went from strength to strength, winning Fast Car Magazine’s Alloy Wheel Award for 2011 - with designs such as the Vintage, Dub and XCaliber really taking centre stage across Euro, Jap and VIP scenes alike. They praised Calibre for the “affordable retro, nu-cool, motorsport and VIP rims”.
The Calibre Wheel brand has generated a huge amount of interest in the motoring industry, gaining Press attention from the likes of Fast Car, Performance VW, Banzai and Autosport - and, more importantly, gaining momentum in the scene, featuring on some of the UK’s finest cars, vans, SUVs and 4x4s.
New for 2012, Calibre has released its new Couture line of premium alloy wheels for prestige vehicles, including the Calibre Potentia (ideal for Range Rover and other premium SUVs); and the Calibre Volante (ideal for Japanese Executive Saloons).
So… the music represents “modern diversity”:
Dotz Alloy Wheels:
Dotz is not just a wheel brand, but a lifestyle brand - speed, style, expertise and tuning - all words to describe the Dotz ethos. The company’s background is rooted in a passion for cars and high quality manufactured rims. Dotz’s outstanding product line is married with super-fast delivery and distribution to build a well rounded offering.
Dotz was integrated into the Wheelwright product programme to offer a design-lead product range, positioned between AEZ and Calibre, quickly established itself as a top tuning name across the UK and Europe. The design team are based in the Austrian town of Hirtenberg, producing race-oriented wheels for Europe’s speed junkies and modding scene. As a result, Dotz wheels have been named after famous high-speed race circuits such as Mugello.
Dotz customers will be owners of rims that are not only designed for speed, but have also been put under examination with regard to their roadworthiness: The German Technical Inspection Authority, TÜV, has inspected all wheels produced at the Neuenrade site for driving properties and stability.
With the purchase of a Dotz wheel, you are buying a high-quality product and a statement for your vehicle. At the Hirtenberg design center, Dotz’s European headquarters, the wheels are created by a young team of dynamic experts who pool their inspiration from important markets such as the USA and Japan. Always working with new styles, colors and shapes, Dotz stands for individuality and independence, regarded as one of the continent’s alloy wheel trendsetters.
So… the music is “high-drama lifestyle” oriented:
Dezent Alloy Wheels:
Dezent Leichmetallräder has its origins in the Sauerland region of Germany, which is the hub of the metal-working industry for the German automobile accessories market. This is where quality criteria and engineering standards are developed - with Dezent Wheels, the fact they are “made in Germany” really does offer quality assurance.
In the last decade, alloy wheels had been considered a luxury item for high-end, luxury cars. Dezent’s broad product portfolio, coupled with a fair price policy have helped make our alloy wheels affordable for cars of all makes, models, sizes and classes; as well as a means for customers to express their individuality through their cars.
From the extremely popular wheel design “F”, which creates a sporty and elegant look for any car, to the Dezent “RB”, featuring a dynamic spoke design, you can be assured of a suitable wheel for your vehicle. The Dezent “M” and “R” alloy wheels meet the needs of modern SUVs, whilst our Dezent “V” gives even smaller cars a powerful motorsport style. A great range of our wheels, such as the “V”, also comes in a “Dark” version, featuring a black/polished finish. Many designs are manufactured with our specially developed Nano-tec finish, making it easy to clean, and robust - this wheel, along with the RE are ideal winter wheels.
So, the music is “classy but with impact”:
AEZ Alloy Wheels:
Continuous growth has been part of the AEZ story since the company was founded in the mid-1990s. We have long since exceeded the million-wheel mark in annual production and sales.
The success of this brand is based on strong designs, innovation and excellent product quality, as well as our commitment to excellent customer service. The impressive product range includes classically styled wheel designs, as well as exclusive models and wheels for SUVs and off-roaders.
AEZ Leichtmetallräder is one of the few wheel manufacturers on the market to offer super lightweight wheels under the “Lite tec®” brand. In 2006, AEZwas the first company to begin serial production of alloy wheels featuring its exclusive Nano tec finish - ensuring the wheels are protected and the most durable on the market today.
AEZmakes quality assurance a high priority. All AEZ wheels undergo numerous tests and are rigorously examined and German TUV certified.
The AEZ success is best described as: high-quality products designed with careful attention to detail, manufactured with an eye to perfection and marketed with enthusiasm.
So, the music… well, we think the music in our Bond Movie is about right…
To find out more about our range of Alloy Wheels, visit the Wheelwright Website here:
Wheelwright’s new website featuring revolutionary ‘Click & Collect’ system is now LIVE!
Wheelwright, the UK’s leading alloy and steel wheel house, has announced a radical change to its website, offering the ultimate in online convenience for anyone looking to enhance their vehicle. The system truly is the ‘best of both’ worlds, allowing you to ‘order’ directly from the manufacturer, but have your order fulfilled by your local specialist or retailer. A process the company neatly encapsulates with the phrase, ‘See, Shop, Ship & Install!’
After conducting research that revealed that over a third of online consumers would like to order directly from the manufacturer, but have their order delivered locally, the Kent-based firm has spent the last 12 months developing a digital sales solution in conjunction with Shopatron™, the US-based software company. After extensive success with consumers in its domestic market, Shopatron™ is now here in the UK - and Wheelwright is one of the very first distributors to offer it to end-users, in order to enhance their buying experience.
Whilst complex and capable in its abilities, Shopatron™ is blissfully simple in its operation. Purchasers simply shop online as with any e-commerce store, choosing their items and checkout via the fully secure payment system. Orders are then fulfilled by Wheelwright’s approved dealers - either satisfying the order via courier, or where appropriate, booking the car in to have the wheels and tyres fitted at their premises. The system automatically allocates the order to the appropriate dealer and ensures that the customer gets to speak to a real human being whilst their purchase is being processed.
Commenting on this innovative development, Wheelwright managing director, Kevin Greer said, ‘After a lot of development we are now ready to launch this system to enhance the sales process for our end-users. Shopatron™ solves the conundrum that every brand has; namely, ‘How do you provide a clear, centralised e-commerce resource for your customers, whilst maintaining the all important relationship with their local dealer?’ With this system, we can provide the very best information, images and warranty credentials in one convenient site, while ensuring that any individual requirements that each customer has can be precisely met. Our customers are not ‘one size fits all’ people. This is the perfect solution to allow them to enhance their car their way.’
The system has gone live on 31st March 2012. Use the new “Click & Collect” system by Shopatron™, allowing you to search for wheels suited to your vehicle, then order online for collection from your nearest Accredited Retail Partner! Genuinely revolutionary! Check it out… http://www.wheelwright.co.uk/
Alloy Wheels can Save you Fuel - ideal during a fuel tanker strike!
The world and his monkey (well, the UK) seems to have gone crazy over the prospect of fuel shortages at local service stations, with tales of pensioners fighting on forecourts and people jerry-canned up to the eyeballs! Politicians (somewhat accidental) scaremongering around the potential for a strike by tanker drivers over pay and conditions has raised the pressure as people look to fill up for fear of not being able to make it to the beach this weekend (it’s the weather for it!).
Car brands everywhere are shouting about the benefits of their vehicles’ fuel efficiency as a result: but one of the contributing factors is the make up of the vehicle’s component parts.
Did you know that Alloy Wheels can actually make your vehicle more fuel efficient?
Alloy Wheels reduce the unsprung weight of your vehicle. The unsprung weight of your vehicle directly influences fuel efficiency. In addition, many consumers who purchase new wheels do so as a “package” with new tyres. Correctly inflated tyres with good tread will also increase the vehicle’s fuel efficiency.
So, if you have Wheelwright Alloy Wheels on your vehicle, and whilst the world around you crumbles, bask in the knowledge that your vehicle is a little more fuel efficient and remember the omnipresent slogan of now: “Keep Calm, and Carry On”!
(Or you could always use Pedal Power - featuring the Calibre Decorus)
