Saturday, 4. September 2010
If I was asked where would you least like to be in the UK, behind the wheel of your car at rush hour, my immediate answer would be in the centre of London. As I’m sure would be the answer given by most of my readers. But this isn’t the worst place to be, in fact according to Government figures it’s one of the best places to be, the worst being the West Midlands with 4 out of 5 commuters making their twice daily commute behind the wheel of a car. The national average is 10% less at 70%. The next Read more »
Monday, 30. August 2010
As local authorities look at ways to raise money, in order to fill the deepening hole in their finances, it’s the motorists who are about to get another kicking. After this coalition government said they wouldn’t use motorists as a cash cow, as had been seen previously, when things have been tight for local authorities. In the Surrey towns of Epsom and Ewell disabled blue badge holders are now being charged for their Read more »
Tuesday, 3. August 2010
What do you think the main reason is for having a row in a car? Halfords surveyed those that were on their mailing list and two thirds responded and admitted that it was poor navigation or the getting lost that led to the worst rows. Whilst 80% of women argued that it was the lack of planning by their partners that led to the row the same point was argued by 65% of men. The second biggest cause was the continuing Read more »
Monday, 19. July 2010
There are some very dangerous roads in the UK. In fact a study published by the European Road Assessment Programme showed that half of all fatal collisions occur on one tenth of all British roads. The safety report showed that 10% of motorways and trunk roads have an unacceptable high risk. Interestingly the report shows that spending money on roads would not only make them safer and save lives but also Read more »
Sunday, 11. July 2010
We all know that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. And man’s best friend is a dog (don’t even go there). But apparently after my report last week that a number of drivers would give up sex rather than their cars (mind you the research was carried out in Canada) we now have research showing that drivers regard their cars as their best friend. I kid you not. It was announced on BBC’s Radio 4 – so it must be true! So Read more »
Thursday, 8. July 2010
What a bloody surprise! After hiking up their prices last year, no less than 4 times, which coincidentally coincided with the £1,000 manufacturer’s scrappage scheme contribution, Ford are now dropping their list prices by between 6% and 15% across their smaller cars from August, after all the pipeline scrappage orders have totally washed out of the system. No wonder the biggest benefactors were the Read more »
Wednesday, 23. June 2010
As I’ve reported on several occasions following the particularly bad winter the roads of Britain are covered in potholes. Our local authority was quick to act and I’m pleased to say that the roads of West Sussex appear to be in pretty good order now which has probably avoided a lot of claims for damaged vehicles. Which is just as well because it seems that getting a payout, as a result of pothole damage, isn’t easy Read more »
Sunday, 13. June 2010
If you think you are having a bad day at work, consider the young mechanic working in a garage in New Malden. He had a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti in for an MOT after which he took it out for a road test. This lad in his early 20’s crashed the car into a lamp-post, flew over a 2 foot wall and landed in the middle of a roundabout. Severely shocked but otherwise unhurt the lad was heard to utter that his bosses would kill him. The value of the car? £218,000! Have a nice day. By Graham Hill
Tuesday, 8. June 2010
The importance of using a good car finance broker has been once again highlighted by press reports confirming a lack of money available to lend, as the effects of the credit crunch continue. In a recent article, John Lewis, chief executive of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association, pointed out that funding is still in limited supply and ‘the days of easy credit are long gone.’ He went on to confirm what I have been saying Read more »
Wednesday, 2. June 2010
Another consequence of the bad winter last winter has been the resulting shortage of windscreens. It is normally as a result of gritting that the windscreen replacement companies become very busy but this year it has been the poor conditions of our roads that has led to windscreen replacement companies, such as Auto Windscreens, running out of screens. In the past a stone hitting the glass has caused a chip Read more »