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samantha1170
Correspondent
Joined: 01 Jul 2005
Posts: 1145
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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 Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 12:21 |
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JAY & HIS NEW MOTORHOME (INCL. PHOTO)
Hi everyone, I found this article today, it doesn't say much about Jay in the article, but it does come with a photo of Jay and his new motorhome...
How the motorhome changed gear and drove up cool street
By Emma Smith of The Sunday Times
Even caravanners once derided them. But now rock stars are climbing aboard
Jay Kay is delighted with his new £60,000 Knaus C-Liner JULIAN HAYR
Across the Atlantic motorhomes have long enjoyed an adventurous rock’n’roll image. Giant RVs or Winnebagos (even the names sound cool) bring to mind heady summer road trips across rugged country and the unrestricted freedom of a wide-open highway.
In Britain the motorhome was traditionally about as glam as Bognor, with all the wild pioneering spirit of Mary Whitehouse. Our motorhomes were cheap, cramped and naff. Something even caravanners could look down on.
But now revamped modern vehicles are attracting a new generation of “cashmere campers” who crave the independence and flexibility of the gypsy lifestyle but with the luxury and style of a five-star designer hotel.
Sales of motorhomes have shot up by more than 50% in the past five years as these thirtysomething campers, disenchanted with package holidays and nostalgic for the traditional family breaks of their childhood, are overturning the image of cheap grin-and-bear-it hole-in-the-ground-toilet camping holidays.
Gone are the 1970s Formica worktops, floral curtains and plywood bunk beds. In their place are soft, sprawling sofas, muted lighting, tasteful, understated decor and king-size beds. There’s no more huddling round a crackly portable telly. Instead you can sit back and watch DVDs on the latest flat-screen television.
Standard Life bank surveyed 2,000 people and found that one in four would consider buying, or already own, a motorhome and only about one in five still regard motorhomes as cramped and uncomfortable.
“Motorhomes are increasingly popular among people in their thirties and early forties who want to experience the outdoor life — but in style,” says Ashley Ramsay, a Standard Life spokesman.
So what gave the motorhome its new mojo? One factor is hippie festivals such as Glastonbury that have become as much a part of “the season” as Ascot and Glyndebourne. Catering wagons at the festival sell Covent Garden soups, organic ostrich burgers and chilled Pimm’s and the discerning audiences aren’t prepared to put up with camping in a sea of mud.
Kate Moss, supermodel and trendsetter, took an Infinity motorhome to Glastonbury in 2004 and, as everything Moss touches turns to cool, it wasn’t long before aspirational young couples were championing the motorhome as their ticket to hassle-free camping.
Other celebrity converts include the actor Will Smith, musicians Lenny Kravitz and Robbie Williams, racing driver Jenson Button, foodies Jamie and Jools Oliver with their souped-up 1960s VW Camper, and Jay Kay, lead singer with Jamiroquai, who has just bought a 3 litre turbodiesel Knaus C-Liner with alloy wheels, futuristic metallic bodywork, ambient lighting and leather armchairs, worth £60,000.
“We have been very lucky,” says John de Mierre of the Motorhome Information Service (MIS), which represents the motorhome industry in Britain. “Celebrity owners have really given us an image boost and shown that motorhomes can be sexy and modern. But it’s also part of a wider trend for independent travel. People want the flexibility to create their own holidays, and with a motorhome you have a place you can call yours, but you can still go to a different place every year.”
The Camping and Caravanning Club, which has more than 400,000 members, says membership has increased by 10% year on year, thanks in part to a growing number of motorhomers.
As ever, the UK is following in the triple-axle tyre tracks of America, where RVs (recreational vehicles — Winnebago is a trademark) have expanded in size even more extravagantly than the waistlines of their middle-aged occupants.
Wealthy Americans are spending huge sums on giant driveable palaces where owners can relax on their reclining leather chairs, sip an ice-cold beer from the fully stocked minibar, watch the latest films on their built-in home cinema system and round off the evening with a dip in the Jacuzzi and a turn on their miniature dance floor.
Some cost as much as £500,000 and stretch to more than 32ft long with slide-out panels to add extra width. The $850,000 (£450,000) Terra Wind can even be driven through water and claims to be “the first amphibious luxury motorhome”.
“Upmarket camping has really taken off in the States,” says Ronnie Anderson of Anderson Mobile Estates, a Florida-based company specialising in very expensive custom-built RVs. “There are even campsites with their own shopping malls. People like the camaraderie of camping. It’s an environment where you can get to know your neighbours, even though you might not want to do that at home, well not in the States . . .”
Will Smith, star of Men in Black and Independence Day, recently bought a 75ft-long 200-ton two-storey RV worth $1.8m from Anderson’s company. It comes with its own dance floor, 65in plasma TVs and an automatic window-frosting effect that can be activated at the touch of a button when the star needs more privacy.
The firm is working on a similar model for Robert De Niro, which will include a dining room for 30 guests, 11 plasma televisions, a roll-down cinema screen and a private study. Other celebrity clients have included the rapper Ice Cube and Ben Stiller, star of Starsky & Hutch. “Nicole Richie borrowed one of our vans the other day and Mariah Carey loves them,” says Anderson. “She likes the cosiness and the comfort.”
European motorhomes remain smaller than their American counterparts, with prices starting from about £8,000 for a refurbished “splittie”, the original split-windscreen VW camper, or from £24,000 for a new coach-built motorhome. In an increasingly lucrative market, British suppliers such as Swift and Autosleeper are fighting to stay ahead of German rivals like Knaus and Hymer. Volkswagen recently launched the California (with prices starting at about £34,000), a modern alternative to the camper which lacks the charms of the original but makes up for it in mod-cons.
There are an estimated 131,000 motorhomes currently in use in the UK and annual sales have increased from about 5,000 five years ago to around 11,000.
“I think European manufacturers have now succeeded in making better-looking, sexier motorhomes, offering more comfort and space, but which are still small enough to cope with anything from narrow Cornish country lanes to winding Pennine mountain roads,” says de Mierre. “They’re no longer the poor relation.”
Source: http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22750-2308673,00.html
Enjoy 
SAMANTHA
Last edited by samantha1170 on Sat Sep 20, 2008 03:16; edited 1 time in total |
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FRA
Jamily Coach & Correspondent
Joined: 07 Aug 2004
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Location: London don
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mr.az
Joined: 01 Sep 2005
Posts: 2421
Location: rallying
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| Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 19:13 |
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i like the style
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funkadelic
Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 73
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| Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 20:12 |
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OOOOOO i LOVE this!!!
i saw some picatures of the inside too...
 wowzers! it is LOVELY!!!
i wouldnt mind taking a ride with him in it 
jessie
xxx |
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Cosmic Pumpkin
Joined: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 113
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Supersonic1
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 773
Location: Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 21:49 |
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Jay...your grill looks like a metallic clown.
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"...I feel that Jamiroquai needs to be taken to another stage now. It really does. Otherwise, I have to be honest, I can see a situation where...there is a possibility that you become lost in the annals of acid jazz history." -- Jason Kay |
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funkadelic
Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 73
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| Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 22:02 |
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| Supersonic1 wrote: |
| Jay...your grill looks like a metallic clown. |
LMFAO at that!!!
hahahahahahahaaaaaa
xxx |
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deesh
Joined: 23 Feb 2002
Posts: 2717
Location: +001
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| Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 14:10 |
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Nothing interesting..just another mention of Jay and his motorhome:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/travel/story/0,,1868725,00.html
How caravans became cool
Gemma Bowes
Sunday September 10, 2006
The Observer
It's official: caravanning is now cool. Style magazines have long been celebrating the retro charms of the caravan, but figures from the Caravan Club seem to confirm that holidays on wheels are enjoying something of a revival. More new members joined the Caravan Club last month than ever before in its 100 year history, with a record breaking 7,210 people signing up, compared to the normal monthly average of 5,600 new members.
Nikki Nichol of the Caravan Club said the heatwave in July and the security crisis at UK airports in August were contributing factors to the recent surge in popularity. She also cited the influence of high-profile Club members such as Margaret Beckett, Mark Owen of Take That and Lorraine Kelly.
However, it's the new generation of enthusiasts such as Kate Moss, Jenson Button, Sean Penn, Nicole Richie, Jamie Oliver and Lenny Kravitz, who have helped give the hobby an image makeover, opting for revamped VWs and luxury motorhomes that can cost up to £500,000.
'Caravanning has become very fashionable,' said Nichol .'Young couples who want to go surfing or travelling are trying it, as are families and retirees, and it's been made stylish by the revival of the VW Campervan and designer Airstream caravans, which were recently adapted for narrow European roads,' she said.
Jay Kay, singer with the band Jamiroquai, recently purchased a Knaus C Liner, an ultra-hip motorhome that resembles a luxury car, with leather seats, alloy wheels and metallic body.
'It's new launches like the C-Liner or the Airstream that are helping change the perception of motorhomes and opening up a whole new audience,' said Sam North, manager of the International Caravan and Motorhome Show. 'It is no longer Carry on Camping, bad cabarets and tin boxes on wheels.'
Caravanning is now the most popular paid-for UK holiday and accounts for 17 per cent of all vacations taken in Britain - the Caravan Club now has around 936,000 members.
'More people are realising that you have total freedom on a caravan holiday: you don't need to worry about hand luggage and airport security, and the good weather this summer has certainly encouraged people to enjoy their holidays in the UK,' said Nikki Nicholl.
Manufacturers are now incorporating cutting-edge technology such as satnav and power showers into the wide range of motorhomes on the market.
In 2005, some 8,800 new motorhomes were registered in the UK, and a further 10,000 drivers are expected to purchase their first motorhome this year.
The boom is part of a trend for holidays that were once considered naff but have been given a fashion makeover - the past two years have seen the introduction of designer-labelled tents, boutique narrow-boating and a chic new Butlins hotel.
The International Caravan and Motorhome 2006 (08701 288 288; www.caravanshows.com is at the Birmingham NEC, 17-22 October. It visits London, Manchester and Glasgow next year.
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samantha1170
Correspondent
Joined: 01 Jul 2005
Posts: 1145
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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| Posted: Sun May 13, 2007 11:39 |
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Hi everyone, here's another article I found today about Jay's new motorhome...
Jay Kay goes on the ride of his life
When Live visited Jay Kay recently, we couldn’t help but notice that he seemed somewhat distracted.
And while he enthusiastically showed us around his palatial Buckinghamshire mansion and enviable car collection, it increasingly became apparent that there was something on his mind.
Jay Kay has a penchant for fast cars and women
Only later did we discover that the Jamiroquai frontman was anxiously awaiting delivery of perhaps the most exotic motor in his fleet, a monster that would put his Ferraris and Lamborghinis in the shade.
The Knaus C Liner is a motorhome – always the favoured choice of celebs at festivals – but one with a difference: £63,000-worth of difference, to be precise.
And Jay Kay was the first person in the UK to order one.
Not only does the C Liner have a shower with four wall-mounted jets of water to massage away moshpit aches and pains, it also has a 100-can capacity fridge, ambient lighting, a flushing toilet, a flatscreen satellite TV and a sunroof that automatically closes when it rains – basically, this is like a Knightsbridge bachelor pad on wheels.
Well, it would be except it has a pretty serious 150hp diesel engine in the back, ensuring you can feel at home tearing down the outside lane of any motorway.
"Jay Kay chose this mainly because it was so car-like – it has a bit of sex appeal," says Matt Greening, sales manager of UK importer Lowdham Leisureworld.
"Most motorhomes are functional, but this is the type of thing you can bomb around in, go up to London in, and pull women in."
The hybrid vehicle is also about as exclusive as it gets: there are only two in the country – the one sandwiched between Jay Kay’s supercars, and another on display at Leisureworld.
No other motorhome, Winnebago or caravan offers this level of head-turning potential.
Built with a low-to-the-ground chassis, it has electronically controlled, air-cushioned leather seats that ride up and down with the suspension, just like a lorry driver’s seat.
Almost one-third of the C Liner’s space is given over to a comfortable double bed, while the cab seats swivel around to form a lounge and dining space with a concealed table sliding out from beneath the kitchen’s fully equipped worktop and ceramic gas hob.
Blinds cover the windscreen and the side windows at the touch of a button.
A 15in flatscreen TV drops down from a concealed space above the kitchen, and you can slot your DVDs into a dash-mounted player, which can be upgraded to include a Pioneer sat nav and a reversing camera.
And if you want to catch a movie on Sky before heading over to the Pyramid Stage on a Sunday afternoon, just fire up the digital satellite TV system, with a roof-mounted dish that rotates around to find a signal.
If you want a C Liner with all these extra toys, you’ll need to part with £63,000 – the basic model, without satellite dishes, massaging water jets and DVD player is a "mere" £47,500.
And depending on whether you plump for the standard 2.5-litre, 120bhp engine, or the 150bhp upgrade, you could gladden your dog-on-a-string neighbours’ hearts with an economy figure as high as 30mpg.
And you don’t even need a special driving licence.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/live/live.html?in_article_id=454183&in_page_id=1889
SAMANTHA
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DiscoStu
Joined: 14 Apr 2007
Posts: 363
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
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| Posted: Sun May 13, 2007 18:27 |
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Hey... I want one too!
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mr.az
Joined: 01 Sep 2005
Posts: 2421
Location: rallying
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| Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 17:32 |
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i know the knaus c-line(there's alot of lines)are the ''coupe of the motrhome market'' and i know this motorhome have a award at the best motorhome design, soon i will put the link of the official site and the pdf of a test(i think)and more images of this sexy motorhome
in fact i must recognize the style catch me alot 
get ready cars fans¡¡¡¡¡
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mr.az
Joined: 01 Sep 2005
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Lydster
Joined: 25 Jul 2005
Posts: 335
Location: Out.
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 14:28 |
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Sexy?   Ähem...well...but it has a cute face! Awww...hehe...it's smiling at me. Reminds me of Knut. Or my cat.
But the design sensors of my eyes tell me this is not going to win the Red Dot award... |
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DiscoStu
Joined: 14 Apr 2007
Posts: 363
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 14:50 |
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Looks cool, but I'd like to see some more of the inside... and thanks for the pics mr.az
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FunkyDonkey
Officer
Joined: 15 Jun 2004
Posts: 1680
Location: Milan, Italy
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 15:38 |
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| Lydster wrote: |
| Sexy? Ähem |
Yeah, I imagine a a girl would be happier to receive a lift with this one instead of a "weird" Ferrari Enzo:
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Last edited by FunkyDonkey on Tue Sep 23, 2008 14:28; edited 1 time in total |
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