The Vauxhall Astra is the UK's favourite used car according to Motorpoint. The perennially-popular small family car, which arrived on our roads in 1980 with the current version (the mark 5) being the clear winner in terms of used car sales between July and September 2009 at the car supermarket giant, which sells 44,000 new and used vehicles a … [Read more...]
Sales rise for Jaguar Land Rover
November 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Jaguar Land Rover had seen its sales rise 23% in the second quarter after its new models were well-received. Owner Tata Motors said new products such as the upgraded Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Discovery 4 had had successful launches. Although Jaguar Land Rover made a net loss of £60m in the July-September quarter, it was much less than … [Read more...]
Some motorists are deferring routine car maintenance
November 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Consumers are responding to rises in motoring costs and challenging economic conditions by deferring routine vehicle repair, servicing and maintenance jobs, according to a survey carried out this month on www.glass.co.uk - the Glass's Guide used car valuation website. Findings from the survey revealed that almost half (46 per cent) have deferred … [Read more...]
JLR help TATA swing back to profit
November 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment
India's leading vehicle company, Tata Motors, reported Friday it had swung to a consolidated quarterly net profit, helped by a better performance by its premium car marques Jaguar and Land Rover. Tata Motors' net profit, including British motoring icons Jaguar and Land Rover, totalled 217.8 million rupees (4.65 million dollars) for the quarter … [Read more...]
Mercedes and Renault in collaboration deal
November 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Mercedes-Benz and Renault are to co-operate on a new modular small car platform and two separate engine ranges that will form the basis of a new range of Smart models and a new line of Renault city cars. The platform is a rear-engined, rear-drive chassis already under development by Mercedes. It will be used in the next Fortwo, due in 2013, and … [Read more...]
Vauxhall job cut plans unveiled
November 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Job losses at Vauxhall's two UK plants will total 354, according to proposals outlined by owner General Motors (GM). Under the plans, all these jobs would go at the carmaker's Luton plant, and there would be no job losses at its Ellesmere Port plant. On Wednesday, GM said it would cut 9,000 jobs across Europe as part of its restructuring plans, … [Read more...]
Can non-main dealer servicing be a false economy?
November 26, 2009 By 1 Comment
During an economic cool off the focus of most buyers’ attention will be on value for money, making cost savings and generally obtaining the best all round package. It is no wonder that, with the inevitably large financial outlay associated with car buying, that these factors now come powerfully into play. Deciding what is a cost saving and what, … [Read more...]
Autoquake appoint Dermot Halpin as new CEO
November 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Autoquake.com (www.autoquake.com), the UK’s largest online used car retailer, today announced that former president of Expedia Europe Dermot Halpin has joined Autoquake.com as its CEO. Whilst at Expedia, Dermot had overall responsibility for Expedia Europe, which included the Expedia, Hotels.com and Expedia Private Label businesses. Expedia … [Read more...]
Koenigsegg pulls out of Saab deal
November 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The sale of General Motors' Swedish unit Saab has been called off after the would-be buyer pulled out of the deal. Swedish sportscar maker Koenigsegg said it had "come to the painful and difficult conclusion" that it could no longer carry out the acquisition. Saab spokesman Eric Geers said the company was disappointed by the development. "We had … [Read more...]
Toyota attempts to finally cure pedal fault
November 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Toyota says it will make changes to the accelerator pedals on 3.8 million already recalled vehicles in the US. In September, the car giant advised drivers to remove their floor mats after it warned the pedals could become jammed under it and the alteration, in which dealers will shorten the accelerator pedals while Toyota develops a replacement, is … [Read more...]
GM to keep all German Opel plants open
November 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment
General Motors has said that it will not be closing any of Opel's four plants in Germany as part of its restructuring plans. The US carmaker also said it would be cutting between 9,000 and 9,500 jobs in Europe, slightly fewer than the 10,000 it had originally estimated but it gave no details about Opel and Vauxhall plants outside … [Read more...]
Disgraced MG Rover chiefs bank an extra £11m
November 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The five disgraced former directors of failed carmaker MG Rover are to receive an £11 million-plus payout. Their windfall will bring to £42m the amount of money they have extracted from the collapsed company in one of Britain's biggest business scandals. The five - John Towers, Nick Stephenson, John Edwards, Peter Beale and Kevin Howe - … [Read more...]
HPI asks whether dealers have lost their appetite for scrappage
November 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment
At a time when no news is good news, dealers should be pleased to hear that the government has boosted the scrappage scheme by £100million, offering retailers another chance to lure customers back to the forecourt. HPI's Prospect Leads offers dealers a cost-effective way to get the best out of the scrappage scheme and renew their enthusiasm for … [Read more...]
Industry leaders discuss UK’s automotive future
November 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The future of the UK motor industry is being discussed today (24 November) by more than 120 industry leaders, government and stakeholders at the first Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) International Automotive Summit at the QEII Centre in Westminster. "The SMMT Summit provides industry with a unique and valuable opportunity to … [Read more...]
Volkswagen to increase production
November 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Volkswagen (VW), Europe's biggest car company, has announced plans to invest 26bn euros ($28.5bn; £15.8bn) over the next three years to boost production. It will also invest 4.4bn euros in China through joint ventures. The firm has said it plans to overtake Toyota as the world's biggest carmaker by 2018. VW executives also signed contracts … [Read more...]
Serman reviews the new Lexus LFA supercar
November 22, 2009 By 1 Comment
The country is bankrupt the streets are flooded, the government’s corrupt and the nights are drawing in but it's the weekend so what better time for a supercar review? This time “Serman” get’s his hands on the new Lexus LFA and takes it for a spin around the Nurburgring GP circuit. What is it? The Lexus LFA is the Japanese firms' … [Read more...]
Decline in car output rate smallest this year
November 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment
UK car production fell by 6.7% in October amounting to 106,400 cars. Compared with a year earlier this represents the smallest annual decline of the year, figures just released by SMMT have shown. The continuing impact of the government's scrappage scheme and a recovery in global markets is helping to drive production, the SMMT said. But it … [Read more...]
Cost is biggest cause of couple conflicts when buying a car
November 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Couples argue more about the price when buying a car together, than any other purchasing consideration. Research by online used car retailer Carsite.co.uk, found that in more than one in four cases (25.7%), money was the number one reason for getting into a dispute with their partner over what car to buy. Second most frequent cause for … [Read more...]
Latest falls complete prestige sector “price correction”
November 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Last month's fall in trade prices for prestige-brand used cars should allay growing concerns amongst dealers about unsustainably-high prices, suggests Glass's. "This decline had to happen but the trade had grown nervous about the timing and extent of the price falls," comments Richard Crosthwaite, Prestige Car Editor at Glass's. "We believe prices … [Read more...]
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