Posts filed under 'cars'
The third-generation Toyota Prius T-Spirit has had a great write up in The Times Online.
Previously seen as being a bit boring, the new Prius is now more powerful, less thirsty and more environmentally considerate yet with the basic concept being unchanged. Autocar.co.uk are saying that the Toyota Prius is ‘the world’s best-selling hyrbid’ with good reason. It corners well, has had its power steering retuned, 6mm more headroom due and even soft-touch finishes for the dash and door tops.
If you live in London having a car with a hybrid engine means you will be exempt from the congestion charge, saving up to £1,250 a year. Owning a Toyota Prius whilst living in London means you can drive around not worrying skirting around the outskirts of the city. It is also apparently one of the least expensive cars to maintain.
The only downsize I can see to the Toyota Prius is the price. Starting from £21,210 it puts the car out of reach for many families.
June 17th, 2009
New research from online car insurer swiftcover.com shows that Male drivers cost motor insurers more in car insurance claims because of aggressive hunter-gatherer behavioural traits that hark-back to stone-age man.
This is why men usually face higher car insurance premiums, despite constantly claiming to be better drivers than women.
Swiftcover’s own data shows that male drivers accounted for 52% of the total claims costs in 2008, despite actually making fewer claims. Women made 52% of claims, but only accounted for 48% of total claims costs. This means women tend to make lower value claims for small knocks and scratches, whilst men claim more for larger more expensive incidents.
Data shows that men are also more likely than women to speed and goverment figures show that men are four times more likely to be convicted of driving and speeding offences. This could be down to the survival instincts developed by stone-age man according to a study by Oxford academics. Men are more likely to be aggressive and take more risks. ‘Stone-age man’ behavioural traits are still evident today when men defend their territory - their cars - from other drivers on the road.
Whether you are a male or female driver make sure that you compare car insurance prices as you could be paying over the odds.
For more information on this article visit the press release at swiftcover.com.
June 11th, 2009
Travel disruption affected at least a million people today as a 48 hour strike hit the tubes.
The two day strike, starting at 7pm yesterday, has been very shaky with half of London Underground’s 20,000 drivers, station and maintenance staff arriving for work according to The Times.
It hasn’t only disrupted commuters. Ticket-holders attending tonight’s football international between England and Andorra at Wembley are anxious as to how they are going to get to the game. They have been told to check the TfL website.
Many people with car insurance have had to turn to their car today leading to much of London being gridlocked.
The dispute is over pay but it is reported in The Telegraph that the RMT have agreed to put an offer of a two year deal to a referendum of its 9,000 members, so an end may be in sight. However, according to RMT the deal was scuppered at the last minute blaming Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, as having a change of heart. This was denied by Kulveer Ranger who insisted it was RMT that walked out without giving any time for the proposal to be considered. He said:
“London Underground made the very reasonable request that the RMT suspend strike action so that this could be worked through. However, the RMT leadership refused to continue or give the talks more time, and walked out.
“Londoners will be infuriated by their behaviour and will join us in calling for the RMT to suspend this strike immediately and return to negotiations.”
June 10th, 2009
The current economic climate has hit many companies, but one of the worst hit industries has been car manufacturers.
Vauxhall owner, GM Motors, is on the brink of collapse due to huge debts. They are currently trying to sell its European operations in order to restructure and renegotiate its debts before the deadline on Monday which has been set by President Obama.
Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, is trying to help save the Vauxhall plants in Luton and Ellesmere Port which together employ 5,000 people. He met with GM’s chief executive and management team indicating that the UK Government may be considering financial support.
If the company is not able to restructure effectively the US Goverment could emerge as the majority shareholder. The Guardian are reporting that only a small number of holders are expected to agree to swap unsecured debt for a 10 percent equity share of a recapitalized GM. If the agreement is not met (which is a requirement of President Obama) then the company could be made bankrupt.
May 27th, 2009
The Kia car manufacture has urged motorists to cut out unnecessary car journeys and walk instead.
Not only will this reduce your cars emissions but it helps you to stay healthy as well as potentially reducing your car insurance premium due to less mileage.
People are also advised to make sure that their cars are fully prepared for any long journeys, particularly with the Bank Holiday approaching.
Continental Tyres Spokesman Tim Bailey stated:
“It’s important to make sure that your car is fit to do the journey - after all you don’t want to spend time broken down at the side of the road.”
Research by Continental Tyres showed that 65% of motorists fail to check screen wash before their journey and 50% do not check their tyre pressure.
Whether you are going on a long journey or a short journey you would benefit by keeping your car in as good a condition as possible as it will maximise its resale value.
May 21st, 2009
The Telegraph is reporting that the Government is tipped to introduce a £2,000 incentive to encourage people to scrap their old cars and buy new ones.
The reasoning behind it is that old cars are less fuel-efficient and so more damaging to the environment. There are likely to be stipulations regarding the car being road-worthy, of a certain age, taxed and owned for a certain period of time to stop opportunists from just buying an old banger and immediately trading it in.
Apparently Britain and Poland are the only major European countries not to have a ’scrappage’ scheme. However, the Government appear to be concerned about the possible cost of such a scheme and are looking at different ways of financing this. For example, according to The Times Online, “The Treasury is understood to have suggested that the industry match a taxpayer bonus of £1,000″, or slant the scheme towards costlier models. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders believe that diluting the scheme would set it up for failure.
Details of the scheme are expected to be announced on the 22nd April in the Chancellor’s budget but hopefully it will help boost the car market.
April 15th, 2009
Recently Lord Mandelson urged the car manufacturers to cut back on over production and invest money in future markets and future products.
Presently people don’t have the money to buy new cars but Lord Madelson believes that car manufacturers need to keep thinking and planning for the future. In November 400 jobs were cut at Jaguar and the Honda plant in Swindon is closed until April. Sales of new cars in February were 22% lower than a year earlier according to a report on The BBC website. However, the belief is that the car industry will survive and we need to be in a position to move forward.
Apparently two areas that are doing quite well during these hard times is the ’small car’ market and also ‘green cars’. Sales of small cars rose by 47.3% in February year on year, and manufacturers are now more interested in green cars and the environment. Lets just hope that prices of green cars comes down too so that we can all do our bit for the environment.
March 31st, 2009
Do you look after your car? Now is a good time to take advantage of the nicer weather and do a bit of a spring clean on your car.
The Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF) has advised vehicle owners to ‘give their cars a good clean and check to see if any further work needs to be done’.
RMIF director Sue Robinson commented: “Motorists may not have thought to check this during the winter months and they may be driving with illegal tyres without realising.”
According to an article, vehicle owners who ensure their tyres pressure and tread depth are always at the correct levels may reduce their chances of being in an accident, thereby protecting their cheap car insurance premiums.
Online car insurance company swiftcover.com report that drivers could be wiping millions of pounds off the re-sale value of their cars by not keeping them in good condition.
As well as watching your mileage and keeping your car in good working order, car insurance online company swiftcover.com also recommend the following:
Clean your car - stop dirt and grim from turning into irreparable stains
Get your car serviced regularly - keep your log book stamped and follow the manufacturer’s servicing schedule
Investigate warranties - extending warranties, shop around for the best cover to make sure it is worth the expense
Change parts - change parts when necessary keeping your car at its best
Find a good garage - don’t leave minor problems to get worse, sort them out with a reputable garage
March 26th, 2009
This week saw the launch of the World’s Cheapest car. The Tato Nano, costing just £1,366 (100,000 rupees) will go on sale in India in April.
Ruta Tata, the chairman of the Indian Conglomerate Tata Motors, conceived the idea with the aim of getting poorer Indian families off of unsafe motorcycles and into safer cars.
The car itself is just three metres long and has a top speed of 65 miles per hour. The basic model is exactly that. It has no airbags, no air conditioning, no radio and no power steering. It sounds like the sale of these cars is going to be done through a ballot where people have a set timeframe to apply to buy a car and then 100,000 people selected from all applicants with deliveries starting in July.
After the launch in India, Tata plans to roll the model out into other markets elsewhere in the world, starting with the US and then moving into Europe.
Tata has high hopes for The Tato Nano predicting that sales could hit one million units a year, however due to a dispute a new factory capable of producing 250,000 Nanos has been delayed until next spring. The Times are reporting that waiting times could stretch to 2012 and by that time other projects would have launched, for example a joint venture between Renault-Nissan and Bajaj, the two-wheeler manufacturer which is planning a Non-type super-compact car by 2011.
A lot of families in India also have high hopes. For some the thought of being able to afford their own car was a distant dream, now it is within touching point for many.
March 26th, 2009
At the moment we are all looking for ways to cut our expenses, whether this is changing our buying habits at supermarkets or shopping around for better deals online.
One of the biggest savings that we can make is on our car insurance. Some people save hundreds of pounds by shopping around when their car insurance is due for renewal.
One of the cut backs that people are also making is buying a used car instead of a brand new one. If you are looking to buy a used car then you need to be wary. The auto information group have issued a warning following a survey by the company saying that people need to be wary of criminals selling on dangerous or stolen vehicles, and ones with outstanding finance.
Nick Lindsay, director of HPI said:
“We advise buyers not to get too fond of their intended and name their car until they have conducted an HPI check and are sure about what they are buying.”
If you are looking to spend less than £1,000 on a used car then you will be able to find some great car insurance deals for third party fire and theft.
March 12th, 2009
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