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Glove box guide
publication date: Nov 14, 2008
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author/source: Robin Roberts
New car discounts are at their most generous level in eight years and could get even bigger, according to research by What Car?.
Average What Car? Target Price savings stand at £1932, £244 more than at the beginning of the year and more than double the £974 average from 2001. That means it's already a great time to get a cracking offer, but it could get even better for buyers as dealers become increasingly desperate for business in a plummeting new car market.
There has rarely been a tougher time to be a carmaker, says a report in The Economist.
Squeezed by the credit crunch, rocked by the see-sawing price of oil and now faced with a nasty recession as the banking crisis infects the real economy, the traditional markets of North America, western Europe and Japan, already sluggish for several years, have all but packed up. Mature vehicle markets may be close to saturation, but there is huge unsatisfied demand in the big emerging car markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
Four car glass suppliers have been hit with the European Commission's largest price-fixing fine after being found guilty of illegal market-sharing and exchanging commercially sensitive information.
Asahi Glass, Pilkington, Saint-Gobain and Soliver have been ordered to pay a combined €1.4 billion, including €896 million from Saint-Gobain-the largest single fine ever imposed on an individual company for controlling prices.
The ‘speedy' and ‘thorough inquiry' into the April 2005 collapse of vehicle manufacturer MG Rover continues three-and-half-years after the Government investigation was launched.
The Times says that there remains no date for the completion of the independent investigation, which has so far cost the taxpayer £13.8 million. The investigation is seeking to establish whether the directors of the Phoenix organisation running the business at the time of its collapse acted properly and to find the causes of its failure.
Millions of European citizens troubled by road traffic noise have had their hopes of a quieter and healthier life set back by a deal between MEPs, the tyre industry and the Italian government, claim environmentalists.
The blow has come because MEPs have recommended watering down proposed legislation to make car tyres quieter and more energy-efficient according to the European Federation for Transport and Environment.
Petrol is making something of a comeback as the company car fuel of choice, according to new research - while the impact of electric and hybrid vehicles is also increasing.
The quarterly 'Company Car Trends' survey of 635 fleet decision-makers, into factors impacting the fleet sector, shows petrol is returning ahead of diesel but there's also growth in gas and electric hybrids.
Potentially lethal unlicensed drivers tend to be younger and male, driving up to a staggering 3.7 million hours a month according to a report published this week in the latest edition of Advanced Driving, the IAM members' magazine.
Neil Greig, IAM Motoring Trust Director, said that a new ten point plan is needed to prepare young people to drive safely on their own or with passengers after their test.
Drivers are underestimating the quantity of alcohol consumed in popular drinks.
A new Drink Drive survey undertaken by Morning After Breathalyser manufacturer AlcoSense, revealed that no less than 96pc of respondents underestimated the number of units of alcohol in a pint of ( 6pcABV) lager and 97pc of respondents underestimated the number of units in a 250ml glass of wine (13pcABV) .Both drinks in fact contain 3.4units.
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