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It’s not often that I feel the urge to support our French neighbours but their government recently made a proposal to reduce fuel taxes to ease petrol and diesel price increases across the EU, something I feel is urgently needed. However, the finance ministers within the Eurogroup – those countries that insist on using Euros rather than very sensibly sticking to their currency of origin like us Brits, have blocked the proposal. I’m sure our government would have blocked it also but they weren’t invited to participate as we don’t conform to Read more »

As the economy tightens and fuel prices continue to increase now may be the time to consider leasing as a cash flow alternative to purchasing whilst also taking out the risk and uncertainty of outright purchase or using a purchase scheme. For around £250 per month including VAT you can lease a £17,000 car that would cost nearly £200 per month more out of your cash flow, if hire purchased over 4 years then to find that the vehicle has negative equity in it if sold after say Read more »

You couldn’t make this up. Apparently in the USA where fuel prices have rocketed to about 30p per litre, thefts of fast food fryer oil has run out of control. It is now being traded on the commodity markets at $2.50 a gallon. The oil can be turned into fuel for cars and trucks using a conversion kit. Recently, police arrested a man for stealing Read more »

The Government has announced that it will not be adjusting the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAP) which are paid to 4 million employees who drive their own cars for work even though we have seen some swingeing increases in fuel costs since the rates were introduced at the current level 6 years ago. After a 12 month review HM Revenue and Customs announced that the rates would remain the same at Read more »

For those that lease diesel cars they aren’t aware that the cost of a diesel car is generally still more than a petrol equivalent as the higher cost of the car is more than offset by the much higher resale value of a diesel car at the end of the lease making the diesel cheaper in monthly costs than the petrol equivalent. However, we are starting to see a change as used diesel cars fall out of favour as the difference between petrol and diesel at the pumps continues to increase. Backing this up is research by EurotaxGlass (Glass’s Guide) which shows Read more »

Car driving in the UK can be some of the toughest in the world as a result of the spectacular differences in road conditions. Our cars and tyres have to cope with sub zero temperatures in the winter to road temperatures of 35C in the summer. Sudden bursts of rain can cause aquaplaning and the temperature can move by 10C in an hour and yet we expect our cars to cope with all this and never let us down. The sad truth is that the cars can and do let us down as was proven by a recent analysis of breakdowns carried out by the RAC on company car drivers. They also pointed out that Read more »

Deliveries are becoming a nightmare, I have today been given a further delay on a VW Golf with the new 1.4 engine that was ordered on the 1st February 2008 with an estimated lead time of 12 weeks. Delivery is currently expected to be end of August to the dealer. Whilst this situation is exceptional, explained by VW as being the result of amazing International demand for the smaller engine that can be tuned to produce 170 BHP, long lead times are not uncommon. However, most funders will Read more »

This week’s unusual fact is that you can inflate tyres with nitrogen instead of traditional compressed air. Tristar Worldwide Chauffeur Services does exactly this with it’s fleet of 630 chauffeur cars. They have done this because of the inert properties of nitrogen and its resistance to expansion or contraction as tyre temperatures fluctuate making it safer than air. According to police statistics 86% of car crashes and major incidents, tyre pressure has been found to be a contributing factor. The company is predicting a 5% cost saving on fuel and tyre life in addition to the safety and environmental benefits. On the other hand Read more »

I can’t believe I’m writing this piece but I felt it should be included. It’s to do with pregnant women and the wearing of seat belts. Volvo, who is the only car manufacturer to have a pregnant test dummy (look – leave it – I’m just reporting it OK) called Linda, it’s true, the bloody dummy is called Linda – good grief. Anyway, Volvo, on a very serious point says ‘car safety for unborn children is rarely documented as foetal injury and deaths often do not show in statistics.’ As a result of extensive tests with Linda they have found Read more »

As any of you that have become readers of my weekly ramblings would know I am a great supporter of the safety system ESP developed by Bosch. I believe that it should be fitted in all new cars as it is relatively cheap and would save more lives than ABS. Well, the good news is that Bosch have started work on a new version that will hopefully move them closer to having the system fitted in all cars. The new version integrates sensors for Read more »