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So you’ve been out and got yourself a nice environmentally friendly electric car for driving around London. Not only do you avoid congestion charges but also you get free parking. Oh no you don’t! Bonkers Boris has suddenly decided that by giving free parking to these little electric cars it discourages the use of public transport, walking and cycling so from the end of 2008 you no longer get free parking in an electric car. This will now cost those who hold free parking cards £2,000 as well as wiping 50% off the value of their cars. I agree with the spokesman from electric car manufacturer Nice who described the decision as ‘Barmy’. And we thought Ken was clueless.

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 »

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 »

When it comes to fuel saving the RAC Foundation has pitched in asking commuters to car share. It said that 25 million people commute daily to a fixed place of work, 71% of whom use a car (bloody big car that’s all I can say – the old ones are always the best). “Car sharing has the potential to reduce the financial, environmental and congestion costs associated with some of these 18 million work-related journeys” it said. Look, I know that’s pretty obvious but it’s not me who’s treating you like a moron – I’m just reporting what they said! Good grief!

There has been a great deal of talk recently about extending the use of tachographs to all vehicles used for business as it seems unfair that the driver of a commercial vehicle is covered by European driving hours directives whilst sales people and service engineers driving small vans or cars aren’t but are just as likely to fall asleep at the wheel. However, many are not aware that the law already applies if the car, or 4×4, plus trailer plated gross weight exceeds 3.5tonnes. If this is the case the vehicle should be fitted with a tacho and drivers Read more »

With fuel prices constantly hitting record highs Peter Hollinshead, head of vehicle finance at HSBC Bank, has provided the following advice to motorists and companies in order to try to contain the soaring fuel costs.

•  Is the journey necessary? It could be that meetings can be carried out via video conferencing or webinar – a web based seminar or presentation.
• If the journey is unavoidable work out the shortest route to the destination before leaving. Read more »

If you are a regular reader of my newsletter you will know how I love the way the press and various bodies roll out statistics that are totally meaningless but are meant to enlighten us drivers – well I have a great set of stats this week which may well change your mind over the colour of the next car you will drive. Apparently white cars are more likely to be stolen than any other colour according to someone who has access to the police national computer and far too much time on mis hands! And even better, Read more »

Staying on these two misleading articles they also point to the dangers of taking finance on cars and the problems faced by those who want to get out of their current large or gas guzzling cars and into smaller more efficient cars but are unable to because of the negative equity position with the settlement costs being far in excess of the resale value of the car on finance, ie. negative equity. The drivers are therefore left with cars that they don’t want to drive because they have no way out of the finance. Again this is a generalisation that simply isn’t Read more »