SellMyCarSurrey

As competition out there gets stiffer, carmakers and manufacturers are having to produce ever-slicker models to ensure they are getting a look in an ever shrinking market place.  The latest to sharpen its focus is Lexus with the GS450h.  The car has new styling tweaks including a new grille, new wheels and wider range of colours and there’s an upgrade to the GS’ Pre Crash Safety system with new, inflator-operated active headrests in the front seats to protect the head and prevent whiplash in a rear-end impact.  The changes that were announced back at the Frankfurt Motor Show also include 18-inch alloys whilst the 3.5-litre V6 rear drive hybrid system stays untouched.

Have you ever been to Oxford Circus on a Saturday and tried to get around the circular junction in the middle? It’s almost impossible to do and I guarantee you won’t be able to do it at peak time and still keep your temper. The area has been even worse in recent weeks as a result of roadworks and it turns out these roadworks have all been in aid of creating a brand new ‘X Crossing’, influenced by similar designs in Tokyo. The crossing cost an eye watering £5 million to set up and is already Britain’s busiest diagonal crossing. The aim of the crossing is to ease overcrowding in the area by allowing twice as many people to cross the road at once.

As the scrappage scheme continues to provide a much needed boost to the car manufacturing industry, it turns out that October saw the biggest increase so far this year with 168,942 new cars registered last month, an increase of 31.6% on figures from this time last year. Apparently the scrappage scheme has accounted for more than 20% of the new car sales – probably quite a lot more I imagine! The massive increase has also been boosted by car buyers wanting to avoid the VAT increase scheduled for January of next year. Apparently the Ford Fiesta is holding the top of the podium as the best selling model this year, with the Ford Focus following close behind. According to Howard Archer from Global Insight, apparently this additional purchasing power has also been generated by sharply reduced mortgage payments, lower utility bills and a moderation in inflation.”

With a rise in VAT imminent on 1 January retailers across the land are trying to tempt customers into their establishments early to take advantage of current rates before things head skyward.  However, Vauxhall are taking a rather different approach by taking the VAT headache out of the equation altogether.  Between now and the end of November 2009, if you are planning to buy a Vauxhall model then there’ll be no VAT at all to worry about as Vauxhall has decided it will cover the 15 per cent equivalent to the VAT cost of any new car, provided it is registered before the end of 2009.

Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers announced at the Conservative party conference this month that the party has plans to halt the spread of cameras and traffic lights and promised more power to locate authorities to innovate through regional traffic schemes.  Villiers also said that speed cameras have ‘reached their high-water mark’ and a future Tory government would not fund any more of the devices.  Traffic lights, roadworks and slow accident clean ups also came in for criticism from the transport secretary, although it wasn’t exactly clear to this blogger how these would be dealt with other than the system of fines and penalties already under discussion by the current administration.

In response to a study that has shown that as many as 55% of the UK’s motorists do not know the legal minimum tread depth of their tyres, Skoda launched a ‘Life Saver in Your Pocket’ tyre safety campaign on 1st October 2009 which shows motorists how to check their tyres using a 20p piece.  The initiative is aimed at showing people how to use a 20p piece to check if their tyres are illegal or unsafe, simply by using the coin as a convenient tyre tread depth gauge.  There were 36 tyre-related deaths on the UK’s roads in 2008 and the maximum possible fine for each illegal tyre is £2,500 so it really is worth working out how to put your loose change to good use like this.

There were heightening fears for the Aston Martin brand early this month as the Kuwaiti sovereign reference fund that owns half the company admitted it was struggling to deal with levels of debt in the current economic climate.  Apparently the fund has signed an agreement with creditors and investors to freeze claims and buy it more time to try and agree a deal.  Despite a slight recovery in oil prices, the fund – Investment Dar – is one of many Kuwaiti financial institutions to run into trouble.  Aston Martin was sold by Ford in 2007 but like many carmakers has struggled in the recession and had to cut a third of its workforce.

The first sketches to be revealed of the brand new Nissan Micra show a stylish, speedy little vehicle, a little more streamlined that the bulkier version you can buy on forecourts at the moment.  The new model will be branded as a global compact car and is designed to be sold cheaply around the world.  As with the current range of Micras the new car will keep the simple front-engined, front-wheel drive set up but this time there will be a range of fuel efficient engines including a 1.2-litre petrol engine and a 1.5-litre diesel to entice in a slightly different market.  In keeping with its global nature the car will first be launched in Thailand in 2010.

The Frankfurt Motorshow was the launch pad for a range of concept cars this year, among them the Renault Zoe ZE a zippy little number aimed at convenience and speed.  The car has an electric engine, which can take it to a top speed of 140kph.  The concept is aerodynamically designed and has a retractable spoiler which emerges when the car reaches speeds of over 90kph to make a further contribution to Zoe ZE Concept’s aerodynamic efficiency and also acts as a brake light.  The dashboard has touch screen controls and displays navigation info, the charge indicator and the remaining range.

The Frankfurt Motorshow has literally been awash with electric cars as the future of environmentally friendly supercars looks set to arrive on our streets very soon.  Two of the most high end are the BMW Vision and Audi e-Tron, the Audi being fully electric and the BMW a diesel hybrid.  The e-Tron does 0-62mph in 4.8 seconds, 37-74mph in 4.1 seconds and has a top speed of 124mph with a range of 154 miles between charges.  The BMW car has a 1.5-litre diesel engine and two electric motors that can take the car from 0-62mph time in 4.8 seconds and an average fuel economy of 75.1mpg.  It is wise to remember that this is a concept car and the translation to reality may vary the figures somewhat but on the upside the BMW looks like the cars from Tron which would probably be enough motivation for many.