Tuesday, 6. July 2010
As most of you know the mortgage and financial services industry are regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), for the time being at least until the new structure, as announced by the Chancellor, takes over fully in 2012. Cases of fraud are dealt with by both the FSA and the Office of Fair Trading(OFT) in conjunction with the police. However, whilst the OFT keeps a watching brief over the activities of those Read more »
Monday, 5. July 2010
I have warned before about the unhealthy state of steering wheels. Often when people clean their cars they completely forget the steering wheel, considered to hold more germs than a toilet but a new report from the Government’s Health Protection Agency suggests that there is much more to worry about. They have found that legionella, the microbe that causes lethal Legionaire’s disease, breeds in stagnant and Read more »
Monday, 5. July 2010
Thinking of getting an electric car? Many are but before you get too excited the institute of Engineering and Technology has calculated that you would need a battery weighing 1.5 tonnes and costing £100,000 fitted to a Ford Focus sized car to match the range of an equivalent diesel version (370 miles). This means that you would need a pack of lithium-ion batteries the weight of a mid sized hatchback to power – well – a mid sized hatchback for this distance. What do you think of electric cars? By Graham Hill
Sunday, 4. July 2010
This week Graham Hill’s famed car review is on the Aston Martin DBS special edition, known as Carbon Black. Surprisingly it is black, which I think is gorgeous, even though I think that black makes any car look smaller than it is! And of course the purist Aston fans that like to listen to Elton John and the Beatles in the rather expensive stereo sound system will kick up a fuss over the fact that Aston have dared to fit loads Read more »
Saturday, 3. July 2010
I saw recently in Auto Express a report on the way insurance premiums are spent on claims. Whilst I talk regularly about insurance, and how to reduce premiums etc., I thought it made interesting reading and felt I should share it with you. The average premium has risen from £354 annually 15 years ago to £616 annually, even worse if you have loyally stuck with the same insurer which they suggest would now have Read more »
Thursday, 1. July 2010
For years we’ve been very strange in this country, we like to stop our cars by the side of the road, get out a flask of tea, pack of sandwiches and Kit Kats and have a little picnic. Some will even have a gas burner and have a bit of a fry up! All of this whilst CO2 emitting trucks and cars zoom by! As creators of the picnic area in the UK the RAC has slammed UK facilities for running behind those provided in Europe. New Read more »
Tuesday, 29. June 2010
I attended the Buckingham Automotive Forum on Thursday at the University of Buckingham, the quarterly meeting at which the good and the great of the industry give us an indication as to what is likely to happen in the future and if the future is looking good or bad for the industry. In fact I was a guest speaker at the event, speaking alongside Professor Peter Cooke, Professor at the University and government Read more »
Monday, 28. June 2010
One leasing company has finally taken the initiative and decided to make inspections of vehicles at the end of a lease a little more comfortable for the drivers by arranging for a joint inspection in order to alleviate refurbishment costs. A joint inspection is carried out by a qualified and independent vehicle inspector along with the driver. Will it improve the situation? We will see. If you have had a nightmare experience why not share it with me? We can only address the problem if we know how bad it is. By Graham Hill
Monday, 28. June 2010
What would your choice be – sex or a car? Yep the question has actually been asked of Canadians. They were actually asked if they would prefer driving to having sex? Amazingly only 1 percent said they would give up driving over a range of pleasures including sex although more were prepared to give up junk food and coffee there were still a few that would give up sex as reported by the Toronto Star. Would I give up sex in place of my car? Don’t be daft – but would you? By Graham Hill
