Archive for February, 2010
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
At the Geneva Show the new styled Skoda Fabia and Roomster will be unveiled, the new front-end styling includes a change to the radiator grille and headlights and the Skoda line is that it makes the car look “more confident mature and expressive.”
Under the bonnet there is a new engine line up , the Fabia has a choice of 1.2 litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine with outputs of 60bhp and 70bhp , along side this is the 1.2 TSI petrol turbo with a 80bhp and 105bhp output. With the added 1.6 litre turbo. Manual transmission is standard on all models, but the 105bhp 1.2 TSI is also available with the Volkswagen Group’s seven-speed twin clutch semi-automatic DSG gearbox. This range apart from the 1.2 petrol version is available to the larger Roomster.
Prices have yet to be reavealed so watch this space.
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Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
After much speculation and rumour Saab has finally moved to their new owners Spyker who are a Dutch sport car manufacturer, the CEO Victor Muller said
” We are delighted Saab’s future is now secure, from today we will be concentration all of our efforts into reviving Saab and transforming it into a sustainable and profitable company with the confidence to be bold. We will reinforce the emotional experience between Saab drivers and their cars and we will focus on Saab’s historical strengths in the fields of independent thinking, aircraft heritage, ecological performance and motor-sport.”
“Today’s announcement is great for Saab’s customers, dealers, suppliers and employees around the globe, the lever of passion and support shown to Saab over recent months has been remarkable and this does bode well for the future,” says Jan Ake Jonsson, CEO Saab Automobile. ” Now we aim to get back to the execution of our business plan, starting with the introduction of the new 9-5 later this year and with continued support of our employees and business partners I am confident we will succeed.”
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Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
The second hand car trade is worth about £34 billion a year, this recently has seen a fall in light of the governments scrappage scheme designed to get new car sales moving and certainly worked they enticed the buyers through the doors with a £2000 sweetener for their old car which could have been up to ten years old, but with this scheme coming to an end it is predicted that the used car market will rise again.
Indeed great bargains can be had in the used market, particularly in models where the residual has not held, however be warned the Office of Fair Trading state that about 20% of buyers have a problem and that 86% of these crop up in the first three months and the average cost of sorting any hitch is in the region of £450 – £500. So checks are vital and more than worthwhile, getting an inspection by a mechanic is easy and the AA and RAC can point you in the right direction as is a test drive, not forgetting having insurance, to listen for any noises that really should not be there.
Data checks are another must and these can cost around the £20 mark but most firms will do multiple vehicle checks for you and this will give you peace of mind that the car is not stolen, has been written off, mileage is correct and there is no outstanding finance against it.
You must always ask to see the V5 registration document, more usually known as the log book and if you are buying privately check the address matches, the vehicle identification number should match the document and will be on the car on a metal plate under the bonnet or on the driver door sill or occasionally etched on the window, if these appear tampered or scratched in anyway run for the hills and find something else.
Finally check the MOT and service history and the mileage adds up to the age of the car and gaps should ring warning bells and again look at something else it is your money and only exchange or transfer your money once the car is delivered to you.
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Friday, February 19th, 2010
The new Polo BlueMotion is forecast to achieve 80.7 mpg on the combined cycle, making it capable of almost 800 miles on one tank, that would be enough to drive from London to Milan. This model also qualifies for free VED because its low CO2 emissions.
The new Polo BlueMotion uses technology with which you’ll already be familiar with such as start/stop system, regenerative braking, hill hold low rolling resistance tyres and mid-line multifunction computer showing recommended gear changes.
On top of this the BlueMotion will be fitted with an aerodynamic styling kit which improves fuel consumption. This comprises bespoke bumpers, side skirts and an enlarged rear roof spoiler. The exterior also features 15-inch Greenland alloy wheels and BlueMotion badging.
Comfort on the standard model includes manual air conditioning, a leather steering and cruise control, to reduce weight and thus improve efficiency the car comes with a tyre repair kit instead of a spare wheel and comes in 5 colours 2 solid 3 metallic with a brand new colour Glacier Blue. The interior comes in black “cirrus” and a two tone “Blue Merlin”.
Pricing starts at £14445 OTR for the three door and £15045 for the five door.
ef its low CO2 emissions.
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Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
The top end of the market place such as Bentleys Ferraris Daimler and Rolls Royce have seen the values tumble by up to £127,000 in the last year and that works out at a whopping £350 per day.
Whilst at the other end of the scale the average hatch back loses £3.67 a day. Models such the Honda Jazz will cost its owner £1379 in the first year as opposed to the £264.000 plus Rolls-Royce Phantoms have seen drops of around £81183.
Cars such Fiat Funky and Seat Ibiza have managed to hold their value, although it must be said that on the whole owners of the top end cars to tend to keep their cars considerable longer and if you have £300,000 in the first place may be you don’t worry too much!
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Monday, February 15th, 2010
Despite a clampdown the number of drivers using their mobile phones at the wheel has doubled over the last two years, it is thought that about one million drivers across Britain regularly flout the law and continue to use their phones illegally, this has been based on a London study there were 33 sites set up to monitor the usage and this showed that 2.8 % of car drivers were spotted on their phones and this was an increase 1.4% from 2007.
Further the percentages for van driver rose from 1.4% to 4.5% and for cab drivers a rise from 0.7% to 1.6% this report was carried out by the Transport Research Laboratory shows.
The penalty for getting caught is 3 points, a £60 fine and court charges may be applied, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents described the rise as “extremely disappointing” and the AA stated “There has been a 20% reduction in traffic policing in recent years. A lot of drivers think motoring law is something you don’t get caught breaking”
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Friday, February 12th, 2010
The new Touareg is due to be revealed in May and boasts being nearly 200kg lighter and 20% more efficient than its fore-bearer and whilst producing 34mpg on the combined cycle it still has the capability of out accelerating many of its hatch competitors.
This new model has an interior of a mix of leather wood and aluminum, the cabin comfort is great with the rear bench slide and reclining seats and you get from 580 to 1642 litre boot space depending on the seat placement.
The engine range is both petrol and diesel and a hybrid.
The Touareg Hybrid couples together a 3.3 litre supercharged V6 petrol engine and an electric motor generating 47ps which give a total output of 380PS and 428 lbs ft (580Nm) or torque. It is able to operate independently of the combustion engine thus making this model a full hybrid. On the electric power alone the vehicle is able to reach 30mph or the electric motor can supplement the V6 engine to provide a useful boost during overtaking and can produce from 0 to 62mph in 6.5 seconds before reaching a top speed of 149mph.
The new Escape derivative comes the V6 TDi engine features 4XMOTION as standard, which comprises reduction gearing , centre and rear differentials that can each be fully locked for off road application and five stage control for the four wheel drive system. The first stage is for on road usage the second is for off road use and activates automatic control for the mechanical differential locks stage three engages the low range gear box with revised mapping of the gear box to raise the shift points and switches off the automatic upshift in manual mode. Stage four applies the centre differential lock and stage five adds the rear differential lock.
The changes with the new Touareg go far beyond a simple re-styling and the new model will include an automatic eight speed transmission and on most models there will be the start/stop technology touchscreen satellite navigation and leather upholstery. Added to this there will be options such as full beam sensors so the lights dip when they sense on coming traffic , side scan to warn of traffic, roll compensation, air suspension and air conditioned and massaging seats.
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Thursday, February 11th, 2010
This model will not be revealed until next month when it will appear in the Geneva show, but Nissan has given a taster of the Juke which will be in the shops in October.
The Juke styled mainly in London and is going to be built in Sunderland alongside the Micra Note and Qashqai, under its quirky dramatic look it does in fact share the same platform as the Micra and Note and the 1.5 litre engine is shared with both of them.
The petrol 1.6 litre is a further development on an existing unit, the Juke will also be available with the new direct-injection turbo petrol and the ultimate version will also use this engine with CVT gearbox and four wheel drive, the rest of the fleet are front wheel drive and the majority have manual gear boxes.
The Juke does provide underfloor storage but even with this the luggage capacity is the same as the Micra but less than the note and the underfloor storage is sacrificed in the four wheel drive, the full details and prices will surely be available soon prior to the October launch
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Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
Britain’s business car fleets made impressive progress in reducing their carbon emissions last year, according to the latest figures from the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association.
The BVRLA’s leasoing members who operate a combined fleet of around 1.6 million cars saw the average CO2 emissions of vehicles brought on fleet in 2009 fall to 144g/km. This represents a fall of about 4% from the 149.9g/km reported for vehicles added to fleets in 2008 and 9% on the 2007 figure.
The reductions obtained by BVRLA members continue to outstrip those seen across new registrations as a whole. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, average new car emissions in 2009 fell to 149.5g/km.
“Our members continre to lead the way in lowering road transport emissions and disproving the myth that company cars are gas guzzlers” said BVRLA cheif executive, John Lewis.
The government’s emissions-based tax regime has given fleets and their drivers a great incentive to drive cleaner cars and the message is clearly getting through.
Leasing companies aslo reported a 2% fall in the average contract mileage for cars added to fleets in 2009, down to 19,183 miles from the 19,617 seen in 2008. The decline in average mileages has lost some of the momentum seen in earlier years, perhaps as a result of some fleet vehicles being driven more in the recession.
Valuable Customers
Accourding to BVRLA estimates, the association’s leasing members were responsible for nearly half of all new fleet car registrations in 2009, spending around £7b with car manufacturers. New cars brought on fleet in 2009 had an average retail list price of £19698.
“The high-profile scarppage scheme has provided a valuable boost to the car industry in its time of need, but it is a one off” said John Lewis
“These figures show just how vital the leasing market is to carmakers and explains why they are all investing so heavily in their fleet sales operations this year”
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Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
As Peugeot enters it bicentenary year and marks it with the re-launch of its brand it has been rewarded with seeing sales soar by almost 46% year on year and leading it to boast of a 5.76% market share.
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