Leading motoring magazine goes carbon neutral

Posted on December 29, 2011 by admin

The onus on the motoring industry to be more sensitive than others towards carbon emissions has been illustrated once again this week, with the announcement that one of the UK’s leading motor magazines is planning to go carbon neutral.

What Car? magazine is well known throughout the UK and its road tests on new models has influenced many motorists on deciding exactly which vehicle they go out and get a motor insurance quote for. The magazine announced yesterday that it is teaming up with Carbon Neutral Investments (CNI) to ensure their carbon emissions are offset in the future.

What Car? Editor Chas Hallett described the decision as important to the motoring industry, explaining: “What Car? Has led the motoring media industry for many years, and this new move to carbon neutrality by offsetting all our road tests will keep us one step ahead in 2012.”

The magazine will offset its emissions by supporting a hydro power project in the Maharashtra region of India and says its commitment to carbon neutrality will bring big social and economic advantages to the people in the Maharashtra region.

CNI Chairman James Brown, who has already managed to make one of the leading Formula 1 team’s carbon neutral, confirmed the statement saying: “The majority of emissions from What Car? come from road testing, so it is a logical step for us to start off-setting the emissions from these activities. With some 13 magazine issues per year each containing around 20 road tests there is a lot of work to do but we and What Car? are committed to continued leadership of the industry with our new carbon neutral offering.”

GMP determined to keep the city centre safe

Posted on August 15, 2011 by admin

Police in Manchester have confirmed that they used number plate spotting technology to keep known criminals away from Manchester for three days after the riots. Police Officers were stationed at key routes on the cusp of the city limits checking registration plates against a number of national databases.

Known criminals who were caught trying to get to the city centre were intercepted and ordered to turn around. On Wednesday evening, fifty cars were stopped from entering the city by officers who were determined to keep the streets as trouble-free as possible. Seven officers were injured in Salford on Tuesday night after a mob bombarded them with breeze blocks, paving stones, bottles and bricks. Cars were set on fire and damaged; meaning residents had to claim on the policy they took out after getting a motor insurance quote.

Chief Constable Peter Fahy said: “Quite a number of those turned away had serious previous convictions. We are capitalising on the public’s mood – one of being appalled at what has happened. People are now talking to us who have never done so before. But there should not be a knee-jerk reaction away from neighbourhood policing – that is still the best way to gather intelligence and keep in touch with the community. The number of police on the streets will remain high throughout the next week. We are on top of the situation and the policy will be repeated if trouble flares again.”

Greater Manchester Police have also been showing the faces of suspected looters on huge screens as they tighten the net on the rioters and looters. The ‘Shop a Looter’ campaign has just been launched by Police who will drive round with digital images of suspected looters. The pictures will also be projected on to the cities giant screens in Piccadilly Gardens. The Police have also confirmed that everyone captured on CCTV would be getting a visit very soon.

New battery for electric cars will cost almost as much as the vehicle

Posted on August 5, 2011 by admin

The current drive to try and get more drivers to get motor insurance quotes for an electric vehicle has had a worrying setback after it has been revealed that a new replacement battery could cost the owner a whooping £19,000.

A lithium ion battery is made up of 48 modules which would each cost £404 to replace. It is this type of battery that powers the world’s best-selling electric car, the Nissan Leaf. If the entire 48 modules all need replacing at the same time it would cost £19,392 to get the car back on the road.

Andy Palmer, Nissan’s senior vice-president in the United Kingdom, said “The battery could last a decade providing the driver makes relatively short journeys each day. However, it may need replacing much quicker if motorists frequently use the fast-charge points which only takes three hours, as opposed to a standard 13 amp socket that takes 10 hours for a full charge. Driving in extremely hot or cold weather will also reduce the life of the battery significantly.”

Nissan is only recommending the Leaf to those who are likely to be driving less than two-hundred miles a day. It is still ideal for the 33% of all UK drivers who never drive more than 80 miles in one day but negative news about zero emission vehicles seems to be coming in thick and fast at the moment. The news comes in the same week that Nissan have been involved in a row with the BBC motoring show Top Gear whom they claim deliberately ran down the battery prior to testing the car.

Some good news for Nissan is that they have just unveiled a prototype system in Japan this week which can be used to supply electricity to a house during a power cut. The device used to charge the car can be reversed to feed power back into the household circuit. The lithium ion battery in the Leaf can store up to 24kWh of electricity, which Nissan say would be more than enough to power an average Japanese home for about two days.

Electric F1 to be seriously considered

Posted on April 8, 2011 by admin

There will be more and more drivers asking for a motor insurance quote for an electric vehicle in the next few years and now the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) look set to work together with the European Commission and create a brand new racing series specifically for electric cars, in an effort to raise worldwide public awareness of the new technology vehicles.

According to a report FIA president Jean Todt has already set up an EV commission which will be fronted by the former BMW director Burkhard Goeschel, with the commission examining the feasibility of electric car single-seater and go-cart categories. With serious plans to make the electric series global, there is a real prospect of a competition similar to F1 but using electric vehicles.

Jean Todt and the FIA are extremely keen to promote green activities through F1; KERS have been re-introduced and there are also advanced plans to switch cars to a new greener engine in two years time. Todt admits that some teams need to be talked round to the idea of bringing in new technology. The comments from the FIA president come at the same time as Silverstone announced they will hold an event for electric cars in May.

The Greenpower Corporate Challenge will see fifteen schools from throughout the United Kingdom compete in a competition against fifteen corporate entries. The event will see teams design, build and race an electric car all within a four hour period and the event will feature teams from Bentley Motors and Jaguar Land Rover.

Silverstone Managing Director, Richard Phillips, said “We are delighted to be sponsoring the Greenpower Corporate Challenge this year. At a time when the motor sport industry is trying to up its game and improve its green credentials, events like this are a great way of showing what is possible. Silverstone is also a great supporter of education, so having schools competing head-to-head with some of the biggest vehicle manufacturers in the world, and racing on our National Circuit, is a fantastic opportunity.”

New MG6 saloon car unveiled by MG Motor UK

Posted on February 18, 2011 by admin

MG has revealed the launch date for its MG6 hatchback, their first all new car for 15 years. The car will go on sale in the United Kingdom from late May with the saloon version following two months later.

The Chinese owners at Longbridge have taken the wraps off the new car as the rebirth of the Birmingham car factory starts. Shanghai Automotive also revealed that the new five-seater MG6 will be priced between £17,000 and £20,000 and they say this will give the car a unique position in the United Kingdom market as a very competitively priced sports car. The saloon version will be the second car produced at the factory as full car manufacturing finally gets under way again for the first time in six years. Nanjing bought the assets of MG Rover for £53 million in 2005 and then were taken over by the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation.

Guy Jones, marketing director, said “We have been building a little part of a new global automotive business here in Birmingham. We have the backing of the largest manufacturer in the world’s largest market. SAIC had already pumped in £45 million worth of capital investment into Longbridge along with hundreds of millions of pounds in new product development. The strategy at MG can be summed up in one word and that is quality. Part of the magic of MG is the great love people have for the brand.”

Pre-production work on the MG6 sports hatchback is already under way in advance of a full launch in the spring. Full production targets have yet to be released but the firm is looking at producing several thousand cars when they get the assembly lines up and running. The firm anticipate plenty of motorists getting a motor insurance quote on the new model as soon as it hits the showrooms. Almost 40 United Kingdom dealers are already in place and MG Motor UK has also unveiled their new badge and logo.

Electric motorists in Oxford can refuel for free

Posted on January 14, 2011 by admin

A network of electric car charging points have been installed in eleven car parks throughout Oxford which allow green drivers to recharge for free.

Users of electric vehicles can now plug into the twenty recharging points in city centre and park and ride car parks. The network will also be linked to a “sister” network in Milton Keynes and motorists will be able to charge vehicles at either location. Green campaigners have welcomed the move and they support any initiative that makes electric car driving more convenient. They hope such schemes will encourage more drivers to get a motor insurance quote for an electric vehicle.

The re-charging points were installed by SEPD (Southern Electric Power Distribution) and are the first network of its kind to be installed in Oxford. They can be used by anyone driving an electric vehicle as long as they have registered with the scheme operator; Chargemaster.

David Densley, head of sustainable transport for SEPD, said “As well as being a practical resource for people already using such cars, we hope they will spark people’s interest in electric transport and the environmental benefits it could bring in the future.”

Scientists have worked out the new electric Mini can save a motorist up to £1,300 on the cost of fuel over a 12 month period. The cars have a range of 155 miles from a full battery charge and will cost less than 2p per mile with the battery having the capacity to be fully charged in just three hours. The new charging points mean drivers can come into Oxford in their electric vehicle, plug them in to charge and then spend the day looking around the city. Two groups of local volunteers have been conducting tests on the prototype Mini E for six months at a time and experts have been testing the technical, social and psychological aspects of using the electric cars.

Councils asked to facilitate the use of Plug-in points

Posted on January 10, 2011 by admin

At long last the Government is waking up to the fact that electric cars have captured the imagination of the public.

In a move that will incontrovertibly lead to more motor insurance quotes on electric vehicles, Central Government has sent the message out to local councils that electric cars should be catered for in new development sites.

The message to local councils is that plug-in points for the new generation of cars are essential if the new technology is to be expanded. Whitehall is asking local authorities to ensure the recharging stations are placed in streets and car parks without the hindrance of planning permission. Furthermore they are asking builders to make sure plug-in points feature in the design of new developments.

With the price of fuel at an all time high, and a £5,000 grant available for purchases of zero emission cars, the Government has realised that the current situation presents a golden opportunity to get the public to change over to the new generation of vehicles.

Over £400 million has been put aside to encourage drivers in the UK to embrace the new technology with much of it being used to promote the “Plugged in Places” scheme.

Transport Minister Philip Hammond said, “Electric cars have the potential to revolutionise motoring in the 21st Century allowing us to have the benefits of a car without damaging the environment. This Government recognises that cars are a lifeline for many people – and that by supporting the next generation of electric and other ultra-low emission vehicles, it can enable sustainable green motoring to be a long-term part of Britain’s future transport planning.”

Electric SLS demonstrates what Mercedes can do

Posted on December 30, 2010 by admin

Many motoring fans will have watched the Top Gear Christmas Special this week featuring the Mercedes SLS in competition with a Ferrari and Porsche racing across the USA.

Well motoring fans of Mercedes will soon have the chance to get a motor insurance quote on the Mercedes SLS AMG E-cell.

On the outside there is very little difference to the £150,000 snorting monster that the Top Gear boys drove, except of course there is no exhaust pipe. There is no snorting noise from this electric supercar, in fact there is hardly a whisper as the four electric engines power this machine from 0 to 60mph in four seconds.

The Mercedes SLS AMG E-Cell is Mercedes statement about what can be done using “green” technologies. The result is stunning. This model looks every inch a supercar and its demonstration of power is impressive if somewhat eerie. The new phalanx of electric cars will by law have to emit some sort of noise to alert pedestrians and having experienced this car in action it is totally understandable. Perhaps the silence of the engines inspired the Mercedes engineers to come up with the colour for this demo model, it is a lurid mango colour which can without doubt be described as loud.

The inside of the E-Cell is dramatically different to its petrol driven sibling as it has different instruments including one indicating the mileage left in the battery charge. The gear box is obviously automatic and has just three modes, Drive Park and Reverse.

Mercedes Smart Fourtwo is its main forerunner in the electric car stakes and the SLS E-Cell at this point is nothing more than an exercise in demonstrating what can be achieved. It is an impressive insight into the future.

Toyota promises new or redesigned hybrids within the next few years

Posted on November 22, 2010 by admin

This week Toyota showed off their prototype of the highly anticipated new RAV4 EV at the Los Angeles Auto Show. On the other side of the ocean, Toyota executives have made a number of intriguing new announcements about their electric vehicles.

Perhaps the most striking announcement is that they plan to release eleven new or redesigned hybrid models by 2012. Toyota currently sell eight hybrids in the USA which are split between the Toyota and Lexus nameplates, and in September they reiterated their commitment to releasing six brand new models by 2012. They believe that many people will be getting a motor insurance quote for a Toyota hybrid vehicle.

One of the new releases includes a small hybrid with fuel economy which Toyota say is currently delivering a whopping 94 mpg during testing. It’s far too early to know how that number will translate to United Kingdom standards, but it is expected to beat all other current hybrids.

Another new model will be the 7-seat Prius V which will make its début in January 2010 at the Detroit Auto Show. Hybrids work by switching between a petrol engine and an electric motor and Toyota’s Prius is a top seller. A plug-in hybrid is much cleaner than a regular hybrid because it is able to travel further as a zero-emission electric vehicle. Toyota claim that an electric vehicle will be mainly for short distances and petrol-electric hybrids will remain the standard green vehicle because drivers will not have to worry about running out of electricity while on the road.

In a statement Toyota pledged to continue to improve the fuel efficiency of its conventional combustion-engine cars, which account for the majority of its sales, while raising performance, reducing costs and expanding the company’s product line-up.

A spokesman said “Within these efforts, hybrid technologies—consisting of the basic technologies necessary for development of various eco-cars—are positioned as key technologies to achieve both high fuel efficiency and driving performance, and to facilitate the use of various fuels with the aim of creating a low-carbon society through response to the need to diversify energy sources.”

New analogue radio in-car conversion kit set to be released

Posted on October 22, 2010 by admin

Drivers will soon be able to listen to digital radio in their vehicle without having to install a new stereo, after high street store Halfords launched the first-ever analogue radio conversion kit.

The kit, which will cost under £100 will go on sale Nov 8 and will enable anyone to listen to digital radio stations in their vehicle.

The government still has not set a precise date for the radio digital switchover; however, 2015 has been set as a target for at least half of consumers’ radio listening to be on DAB radio. Drivers have been disappointed that digital radio has so far been inaccessible in cars and this has been a major stumbling block in achieving the digital switchover.

Ford Ennals, Digital Radio UK’s chief executive, has been speaking at the Radio Festival in Manchester, saying “I hope Halford’s new kit will be the first step to changing the listening habits of all drivers, who account for 20% of all radio listening.

The launch of the new Sonichi in-car digital radio from Halfords is a vital step in ensuring that drivers can take advantage of all the benefits.”

Drivers who wish to upgrade the in-car stereo over to digital will have to buy the Sonichi S1000 In-Car Digital Radio Adaptor. It works by using an external antenna which is attached to the windscreen of the vehicle, and auto tune technology which finds the best signal. It will feature 36 DAB and four FM station presets, so that drivers can change between the two. Motorists should remember to inform their insurance company of any modifications to their car when getting a motor insurance quote.

The signal for digital radio covers the majority of motorways and roads. The coverage will begin to get patchier while driving on B roads. Ennals is keen to point out that transmitters are being added all the time.