A major consumer launch for the RAC BuySure used car programme will boost the RAC Approved Dealer Network. Set to take place in mid-April, it will use the marketing strength of the RAC brand through channels such as advertising, public relations, direct mail and e-marketing to RAC members and more. RAC Head of Dealer Propositions Mario Dolcezza said: … [Read more...]
Features
Car makers step up defence of diesel engines
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has started a nationwide consumer campaign to raise awareness about the latest low-emission car technology and challenge the increasing demonisation of diesel. A Diesel Facts myth-busting guide will be available at dieselfacts.co.uk and in leaflet form via car makers and dealers. It comes as new consumer … [Read more...]
Punctures now account for a third of RAC call outs for assistance
RAC Chief Engineer David Bizley says one third of their callouts nationwide were down to repairing or recovering vehicles with punctures. This increase is due in part to many modern vehicles having no spare wheels and the worsening state of our roads with punctures and tyre damage caused by potholes. Their latest survey for the 2014 year was for … [Read more...]
Braking the rise of insurance premiums
You could apply the brakes to rising insurance premiums with some careful brochure bashing. Ferrari or Fiat 500 – everyone knows the cost to insure these cars will be as different as their performance – but few are aware that choosing a car with new auto-emergency-braking technology can cut the cost of insurance, year after year, according to a survey of … [Read more...]
New technology is killing more people
The Department for Transport recently announced that the number of deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s road rose by 4% to nearly 25,000 in 2014, with some commentators suggesting that in-car technology is distracting drivers behind the wheel. This concern is echoed in consumer research undertaken by BCA, Europe’s leading used vehicle marketplace, … [Read more...]
Safety summit called on mobile phones
“Multitasking” drivers who make business calls on the move may hope to impress the boss or close the deal – but they will achieve the exact opposite. This is the key message from Professor Andrew Parkes, chief scientist at TRL, one of the speakers to address a PACTS conference in London this month. Pacts' UK Road Safety Summit: Drink, Drugs & … [Read more...]
Worries expressed over driverless cars
The AA acknowledges that the Select Committee report Motoring of the Future poses many pertinent questions about the future of motoring but the AA maintains that neither the report nor Government yet has the vision to answer those questions. Edmund King, AA president, said, “The report rightly points to potential problems of a transition period on the … [Read more...]
Weaker Euro is helping premium brand imports
Prolonged weakness of the euro against many other currencies could be beneficial to European automotive manufacturers, although the effects will vary, says Moody's. Automotive manufacturers are amongst Europe’s largest exporters, with most exports headed to the US, as well as to other European countries and Asia.2 They have broadened their global … [Read more...]
45 penalty points and still driving – legally!
One in twenty UK drivers have taken the rap for someone else’s penalty points, according to Confused.com. Freedom of Information data obtained by Confused.com reveals nearly three million motorists currently have penalty points on their licence, with 70,158 currently holding nine points – just three points off a potential ban. Should 12 points be … [Read more...]
UK new car sales heading towards 2.3M says leading economist
Britain is likely to see an annual market of about 2.3M new cars registered by 2020, that’s the opinion of Welsh Automotive Forum Chairman and international economist Prof Garel Rhys CBE on the eve of this year’s 15-plate registrations. Speaking to WAF members at their first regional meeting of 2015 held in Waterton centre, Bridgend, this week, the UK’s … [Read more...]
