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Prepare for winter weather now

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011

With the great majority of motorists experiencing their first week of night driving on the way home from work this year, after the clocks were turned back an hour at the weekend, the realisation that winter is upon us will suddenly have hit home. Many drivers in the south of the country found themselves trying to manoeuvre theirs cars in snow and ice for the first time last year and the experience was not pleasant.

Warm weather can end any time now

Although temperatures are still more like early autumn, the fact that Bonfire night is this coming weekend should be enough to remind drivers that winter weather can now be upon us at any time. After last year’s miserable, freezing winter that caught many motorists out now is the time to be prepared for the coming months.

Breakdowns can happen to anyone

First of all motorists should check they have breakdown cover, most car insurance brokers can now arrange for breakdown cover to built into a normal motor insurance quote, but if it isn’t on yours make sure you arrange cover with one of the big motoring organisations. After last year’s winter, many motorists will now realise that breaking down can be entirely out of their own hands but it still won’t hurt to prepare for all eventualities.

Check, check and check again

Drivers should check their tyres, oil and fuel levels before each journey, they should let someone know where they are heading if bad weather is forecast and their car should contain several important items, including; warm clothing, a torch, mobile phone, and some sort of food and drink, a flask of soup is ideal. In the boot of the car the driver should have a shovel of some kind, many drivers found themselves in snowdrifts last year. De-icing kits and scrapers are a must and Wellington boots or some other sort of strong footwear should also be carried. Spare oil and fuel will also be carried by some.

Be prepared

It does seem a lot of fuss just for a car journey but just cast your mind back to last winter and the number of people who were stuck in their cars overnight and remember most of these items apart from the perishable goods only need packing once.

Tags: Breakdowns, Cars, snow, Temperatures, winter weather
Posted in Car Insurance, Motor Insurance, Motor Insurance Quote | No Comments »

Vehicles will become much lighter in the future

Friday, August 6th, 2010

Millions of people each year get a motor insurance quote, most will drive the vehicle everyday and have no idea about its weight, or that it has been getting heavier in recent years. Most of the weight on cars today comes from steel. Only a few years ago the average car contained 2,400 pounds of steel. Now, consider that most cars weigh around 3,000 pounds, that’s a lot of steel. In cars, it is steel that is used to create the underlying chassis underneath the body. This forms the skeleton of the car and will protect the driver and passengers in the event of a crash. Doors, roofs and even the body panels made during manufacturing on most cars today are made of steel. Steel is also used in a number of different areas throughout the vehicle. Even the exhaust will often be made from stainless steel.

The manufacturing of steel has evolved massively, enabling carmakers today to be able to use different types of steel for parts of the vehicle. However, it still remains a fact that in order for us to get better mileage and lower emissions in the future, vehicles will have to lose some weight. That will not be easy with drivers demanding more creature comforts inside the vehicle. It would be a bad business move on the manufacturer’s part to stop offering the latest technology that make for a comfortable drive. Yet it is the technology that makes cars heavier.

One answer would be to make body parts out of lighter materials like carbon fibre-reinforced plastic, which is often abbreviated as CFRP. Like many other auto innovations, this one started out life in the racing world for a long time before seeing it in the consumer marketplace. CFRP works pretty much like fibre glass which sees the carbon fibre spun into long strands and then arranged into a weave for strength. A plastic material (the polymer) is soaked into the carbon fibre around a mould. When the two harden, the result will be both strong and quite light (50% lighter than forming the part out of metal alloy). This is very expensive, and because of this it is still uncommon on vehicles that are mass produced.

Chevrolet already makes limited use of carbon fibre on some of its factory models. Lexus is using CFRP extensively on its LF-A to be released next year, and they say more carbon fibre cars will be released in the future. BMW have used carbon fibre for the roof of its M3 sports car, and they have plans to use it on a wider scale for its eco-friendly city car which is expected around 2015.

Tags: Cars, driving, Motor insurance, vehicle insurance
Posted in Car Insurance, Car Safety | No Comments »

BMW – the perfect mid-range manufacturer?

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

When I first passed my driving test I had very little money but a burning desire to get mobile , so I invested extremely unwisely in a Morris Marina of dubious legacy, and even more dubious reliability. This affair, as you may guess did not last long – the only good news being that when I did write it off I escaped unharmed.

There followed a sad succession of awful cars most of which bit the dust in one way or another but at least the wrecks that I could afford to buy were getting slightly newer, and thus less prone to massively expensive repair bills. They also had features like working brakes(!), and silent exhausts.

Finally into my thirties I at last had an income with a modicum of disposability and I was in the market for a decent car and my heart was set on a BMW. After ages searching the press and trawling round local garages, these being the days before the internet could show hundreds of models at the touch of a button, I found a 3 series just 2 years old in immaculate condition with automatic transmission and just within my price range.

It was love at first sight and for the first time in my life (apart from the occasional drive of someone else’s decent motor). I was driving something quiet, comfortable and reliable and I relished every moment. This was a car that did everything it promised and did it in style. At that period I was travelling a lot for work and as a motorway cruiser it is still the best car I have ever driven, we also drove it to the French Alps for a ski holiday after taking out any driver car insurance and even after completing a journey that included travelling through the night it still felt comfortable to be in.

The only drawback as I’m sure any BMW owner will confirm were the high motor insurance and servicing costs – especially as at that time only authorised dealers could reset the annoying service warning indicators, and other relatively minor jobs like cam belts required a special tool that, you guessed it, only the dealers had. Sadly then at around 120,000 miles the financial pains were starting to outweigh the pleasures so we had to part company. I was delighted and also a little saddened to be overtaken on the motorway a few years later by my old Beemer still looking good and obviously living up to the reputation of , in my opinion, the best car manufacturer in the world.

It’s just sad that I can’t afford another one

Tags: BMW, Cars, Motor insurance
Posted in BMW, Car Insurance, Car Types | No Comments »