Fuel Prices to Remain Constant

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Steve

If you are a keen motoring enthusiast, like we are here, then you probably won’t have missed the news regarding fuel prices recently. Well the latest on this issue is that the government has now decided to further postpone the scheduled three pence rise in fuel duty that was intended for January.

A Welcome Change

This announcement, which has been welcomed by motorists across the UK, was part of the Autumn Statement by Chancellor George Osborne. He also announced that the planned rise of 5p in August has been lowered to 3p. So, expect fuel prices to remain fairly constant for at least the next eight months!

Of course fuel prices will still vary from one location to another, just driving home I see variances of two pence from one borough to the next, however, we can’t exactly stop companies from competing with one another.

Mr Osborne’s statement has also explained that taxes on petrol will be 10 pence lower in August 2012 than they would have been as a result of action taken in this year’s Budget. This will, hopefully, see families saving around £144 on average next year. A sizeable saving for sure!

Roads to Improve

Further pleasing news for us motorists was that the National Infrastructure Plan was announced. This is the plan to improve roads, rail and airports among other things. £5 billion of additional public spending will reportedly be pumped into more than 500 projects over the coming years.

The big improvements for the roads are, currently, likely to be upgrades to the M1 and the M6 in the Midlands as well as the Bristol link road and the A380 bypass in the South West. The toll charge for the Humber Bridge that connects Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire will also be halved. The cost will therefore be £1.50 for a single crossing instead of the rather extortionate price we have to pay now.

The price it costs these days to run a car from day to day is quite astonishing, especially if you add it all up, not forgetting motor insurance quotes of course, along with road tax, car maintenance and services, and of course, fuel! It is at least pleasing and quite relieving to see that the government are, to some extent, helping us out. Long may that continue, and hopefully they will do a u-turn on the proposed price increase in August.

Forecourt fill up set to cost £100

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Steve

As the cost of motoring seems to become more expensive by the day, a leading financial “Think Tank” have warned drivers in the UK that they may well be paying over £100 to fill their car with fuel in the not too distant future.

Experts warn of rising costs

It is no secret that fuel prices, maintenance costs and car insurance cover are at their highest rates ever, but a report by the ITEM club suggests we ain’t seen nothing yet! According to the financiers, residents of the UK may benefit from a fall in fuel prices next year due to the turning back on of the oil industry in Libya, but by 2015 they expect the price of petrol to be over £1.50 a litre in mainland Britain. The simple mathematics confirms that filling a 70 litre tank up would indeed cost over £100.

Public will follow the debate

Already the present Government intend to put a delayed 3p rise in fuel duty on the cost of petrol and diesel in January with a further increase forecast to be announced in the budget. A debate at Parliament next week in the House of Commons may well prove to be something of an embarrassment for many Coalition MPs. On November the 15th the FairFuel campaign group will hear the debate on fuel prices that their 100,000 signature petition secured. The eyes of the public will be on their MPs and where they stand. Motorists all over the UK hope that the debate will result in lower duties that will encourage more people to get a motor insurance quotes on a vehicle and get back on the road, however, with the parlous state of the Government coffers they perhaps shouldn’t hold their breath too long waiting!

Enjoy it while you can

In fact according to the ITEM club we should all make the best of next year whatever duty the Government impose on petrol because it is going to be much better than the ones that follow. They predict that food, oil and petrol will all fall in price next year bringing inflation closer to the Governments target of 2% rather than the 5% it is now, but the experts also say the relief will be short lived and by the time we reach 2013 demand for oil from all over the planet will drive prices up once again. Not at all good news for the consumer but perhaps a bit of light relief for manufacturers of electric vehicles, whose future may suddenly seem brighter again.

A Tale of Two Counties

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Steve

Potholes are never far off the top of any list compiled about a motorist’s pet hates, and the stark contrast in how local authorities deal with the problem throughout the UK has been amply illustrated this week.

Difference in approach

It is no secret that motorists hate potholes, they are responsible for thousands of motor insurance claims every year and as such add to the cost of motor insurance quotes on a grand scale. As winter approaches, the quality of work carried out by many local authorities after the nightmare conditions of last year will soon be put to the test, but even before winter bites the attitude between different councils has been very noticeable.

Public complaints

After the end of one of Lancashire’s worst winters in decades, the state of the roads in the county were appalling. The local authority came under pressure not just from motoring organisations but from all and sundry. Newspapers launched a campaign encouraging readers to pinpoint the worst potholes in their area and the flood of contributions from leaders proved an embarrassment for local leaders.

Potholes permanently fixed in Lancashire

Lancashire County Council Highways Department have taken to the task of repairing potholes with a vengeance. Already the council have increased their road repairing budget by over £2 million and have vowed to not only patch up the surface, but actually make a permanent fix. So far this year the council claim to have permanently fixed 10,000 holes near Blackburn, Lancashire and promise to fix another 10,000 before the winter is over.

Patched up in Devon

The situation in Devon could not be more different. Businesses across the county complain of losing thousands of pounds each year due to the poor conditions of the roads, and motorists and pedestrians alike complain about potholes. At the end of the winter, Devon’s roads were in an awful state and local councils came under great pressure to launch an initiative to repair the damage. Local authorities have indeed repaired potholes, but in the main, have concentrated on patching up roads instead; they claim they just do not have the money to carry out permanent repairs.

Policy will come under the spotlight

Of course Devon along with other West Country counties has special problems. The influx of millions of tourists combined with the effects of coastal weather and erosion puts extra pressure on the roads, of which many are small country lanes. However, business leaders say they cannot afford to have poor quality roads because it prevents investment in the area. Already Devon has announced they will be cutting back on the number of roads they grit when severe weather conditions for the county are predicted, and with a population that in many cases live in isolated spots, the wisdom of their policy will be under close scrutiny these coming months.

Who didn’t win an award?

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Steve

The Scottish car of the year show took place over the weekend and if motorists north of the border were wondering exactly what sort of car they should get motor insurance quotes on, then they may be more confused than ever after attending the show.

List of winners was endless

The list of winners seemed endless and anyone looking to purchase a new vehicle really was spoilt for choice. Should they opt for the new Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet, which took the open top car of the year award, or maybe they should consider the Range Rover Evoque which won the SUV/Crossover section. Going down a gear or two motorists looking to get car insurance cover on a supermini could easily have fallen for the charms of the Kia Picanto, the winner of the best small car prize. The best family car award went to the all new Ford Focus, and no, that is not the end of the role of honour. Seat also managed to win two awards, the Ibiza E Ecomotive taking the best car in the ECO section and the SEAT Alhambra winning the MPV car of the year accolade.

And there’s more

John Murdoch, the President of the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers, presented many of the awards at the ceremony which was held at the Thistle hotel in Glasgow and by the end of the night his hand must have been aching from all the handshakes. On top of those awards already mentioned the Hyundai i40 tourer was named best estate car of the year and the Peugeot iOn voted the best electric car of the year.

Don’t forget Jaguar

It is amazing that all the bouquets managed to be handed out on the same evening because I may have forgot to mention that Jaguar also won a best car of the year award, well three actually. The JaguarXF was named best diesel car of the year, the Jaguar E-type, the most iconic car of the last 50 years, and the Jaguar XKR-S managed to throttle away with the best sports car of the year prize. Of course there also had to be an overall best car of the year award, which went to the Range Rover Evoque.

Will hydrogen cars be the answer?

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Steve

With the future of the new breed of electric cars in the balance, many industry insiders are now questioning whether hydrogen fuelled cars rather than electric battery models will hold the key to our motoring future.

Public not impressed

There is no doubt that the launch of cars such as the Nissan Leaf has captured the imagination of the press, but do seem to have left the general motoring public seriously underwhelmed. Other manufacturers who are now getting ready to release their mass produced models on to the market are furiously trying to think of advertising ploys that will attract drivers in their thousands to get motor insurance quotes on zero emission cars.

Four faults

There are four clearly identifiable problems for today’s motorists when they considers buying an electric car. First of all, the price. Even with the Government subsidy of £5,000 the cars are more expensive to buy than regular equivalent models. Even taking into account the savings on fuel, the deal is not overwhelmingly appealing. Secondly, the range of a fully fuelled car is still well under 100 miles. This is proving to be a worry for motorists that manufacturers cannot dispel. Thirdly the lack of charging stations is proving difficult to overcome. Motorists, at the moment, would have to spend long hours planning a route across the UK where they could be safe in the knowledge that they could re-charge the vehicle when needed. Which brings us nicely onto the fourth problem? The amount of time the battery takes to charge. A full charge can take up to 6 hours which is obviously no use for anyone thinking of travelling any distance in one day.

Hydrogen option not just hot air

Enter the hydrogen cell car. Hydrogen powered cars depend on a fuel cell in the vehicle extracting oxygen from the atmosphere and mixing it with hydrogen from a tank in the vehicle. The resulting electricity turns motors that produce power for the car to move. The beauty about this system is that the car can be filled with hydrogen in the same time as it takes to fill a car with petrol, in fact the first hydrogen pump has already been installed in the UK. The range of a hydrogen powered car on a full tank is around 300 miles. Because of the lack of a mass produced model at the moment it is difficult to compare prices with an electric battery car and the same applies to car insurance cover, however, just like its electric counterpart the hydrogen car will be emission free and will comply with all the green requirements of today.

New Jaguar plant will create thousands of jobs

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Steve

The news that Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) are to build their new plant in Staffordshire will be a great shot in the arm for the West Midlands economy but at the same time will prove a disappointment for those in South Wales.

Skilled and unskilled opportunities

The announcement by JLR yesterday that they are to build a new £355 million factory on the outskirts of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands will provide the area with 750 skilled jobs, a total that will dwarf the creation of skilled jobs in the area over the last 5 years. Not only will skilled craftsman be delighted with the news but thousands of secondary jobs will be created in areas around the factory by companies who will supply the JLR production line.

Change in fortune

The new plant will be the biggest motor manufacturing plant built in the UK for the last 20 years and will produce the new four cylinder engines that are persuading motorists all over the world to get motor insurance quotes on JLR vehicles. It is only just over a year ago that JLR were looking to close a plant in the West Midlands and the rapid change in fortunes can be put down to the popularity of JLR vehicles all over the world, and China in particular.

Venture into the Far East

In fact around 25,000 Chinese motorists organised car insurance cover on a JLR vehicle last year which accounted for roughly 10% of the company’s sales. It is now confirmed that JLR are in talks with a Chinese automotive partner to further advance their progress in the far Eastern market. Ralph Spef, the Chief Executive, has been at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week and has certainly discussed plans with a Chinese delegation on their next moves, but it is anticipated that any partnership would need the approval of the Chinese Government and so will not come about for at least 12 months.

Disappointment for Wales

The announcement that the plant will be built in Staffordshire came as a blow to a couple of sites in South Wales who were hoping the new factory would be situated close to Bridgend where Ford currently manufacture engines for JLR. However, the plant could easily have gone abroad and that would have been disastrous news. The plant will take two years to build and should be finished by Christmas 2013.

Barcelona practice sets the scene for New Year of Formula 1

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Steve

Although the Formula 1 season has gone off like a damp squid due to the postponement of the Bahrain Grand Prix, the official practice sessions that started in Barcelona this week are proving to be as intriguing and interesting as ever. Nothing as boring as motor insurance quotes being discussed in the pits this week, it’s more about who will get off to a winning start.

Red Bull quick off the mark

After last year’s glorious season it seems that the Red Bull team are raring to go once again. The first day of practice saw Australian Mark Webber clinch first place for Red Bull, while team mate and World champion Sebastian Vettel took the honours on day 2.

Hamilton hopeful of improvement

Former world Champion and main hope for the UK, Lewis Hamilton finished a respectable fourth overall but played down his chances of regaining his crown in 2011. He said his McLaren car was improving, performance wise, but was not a car at the moment that would win a World championship. He said that the team, including partner driver Jensen Button would be happy enough to scrape a few points together in the first few races and hope the engineers would gradually turn the car into a real contender.

Di Resta causes a stir

The second fastest UK driver in practice came as a bit of a surprise, Paul di Resta driving the Force India car and making his debut in Formula 1 this year came out of practice in sixth position. It is not that long ago that the 24 year old Scot was in Formula 3 but now Force India are looking at splashing out on insurance for new driver and hopeful he will be the perfect foil for Adrian Sutil the German driver who will be in his fifth season with the Force India team.

The Ferrari team in the guise of Felipe Massa could only come in fifth, with Red Bulls sister team Toro Rosso clinching second place with a great drive from Sebastien Buemi, Vitaly Petrov brought his Renault through in third fastest with Nico Rosberg coming in eighth for Mercedes.