My gadget of the week is a smart fob that transfers data onto your iPhone. It collects data from the car every time the driver switches off the engine, recording things like trip information, mpg, fuel level and tyre pressures. It also includes maintenance alerts and can even warn you if you leave a window open. If the driver then holds the fob next to the phone whilst running the app the information is transferred wirelessly Read more »
The Department for Transport has revealed the top ten reasons why people crash. The top reason was failure to look, accounting for more than a third of  all smashes. Failing to look properly was the reason for 38% of crashes but this differed in regions with this reason being cited in London for 57% of smashes but in the Midlands this dropped to 32%. Failing to judge other motorists speed was next followed by careless Read more »
If you are illegally using a disabled badge when you pop into town in order to park closer to the shops, beware, as local authorities take a stronger stand. Research in Leeds and Newcastle found that the illegal use of the blue badges was now out of control. Research found that 60% of disabled badges used in Leeds were illegal and more than half of the badges in use in Newcastle were similarly illegal. Around Read more »
Years ago car number plates were screwed to the body work by two or even four screws making it a bugger of a job to remove a plate but these days even prestigious cars have their number plates fixed on with a couple of strips of double sided tape. It was hardly surprising then to see a warning from the Retail Motor Industry Federation about theft of number plates. Thefts have doubled over the last 3 years with the Read more »
Insurance premiums are being secretly increased by the application of admin fees according to research firm Defaqto. In 2004 the admin charge on an insurance policy was 2% of premium but that has now increased to 7% in 2010. The insurance industry, like the finance industry, has realised that people ignore the terms and conditions attached to contracts and simply focus on the lowest rate so they use stealth measures to increase the return without touching the premiums. Mike Powell, Read more »
The motor finance industry was to see a potential new broker association being formed that would concentrate on providing benefits to consumers and small business operating predominantly in the retail sector. The NACFB (National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers) offered their support to any such initiative but when this came to my notice, as an ex director and president of the association, I saw a huge potential for the association and immediately got to work with the chief Read more »
I have issued another general warning about the lack of money available to lend and the subsequent repercussions. I have had many people writing to me explaining that they had strong credit but have been declined for loans on several occasions and are now being told that they have dropped into the sub-prime category, which means they will pay high rates of interest if they are able to secure finance at all. The reason for this is the fact that whilst there are still lenders willing to offer low rates Read more »
Whilst all fatalities on UK roads dropped last year the figures are still too high. 2,222 people died on the roads of Britain last year, down 12% on 2008. Car occupant deaths fell 16%, pedestrians 13%, cyclists 10% and motorcyclists 4%. Whilst speed awareness courses are often not taken seriously by drivers who have been caught speeding and prefer to attend a course rather than suffer a conviction, the courses have been known to improve drivers’ attitudes towards speeding. This is particularly Read more »
Graham Hill’s in depth review of a new car gives the new Jaguar supercar the C-X75 the once over. Whilst I’ve never been a big fan of the big cat even I have to say that the car, being showcased at the Paris motor show, looks absolutely amazing. The car is driven by two gas turbines with a hybrid combination consisting of four electric motors. In fact the car has a battery only range of 68miles. The car can reach 205mph from 970bhp and accelerates from a standing start to 62mph in a staggering 3.4 Read more »
