News Desk

The all-new Touareg has been unveiled

- a car that is up to 200kg lighter and up to 20 per cent more fuel efficient than the outgoing model. It is sharper, cleaner and yet, in hybrid form, able to out-accelerate many hot hatches while returning 34mpg on the combined cycle. The new vehicle maintains all the same virtues of space, comfort, refinement and off-road and towing ability that have led the original Touareg to build up a loyal following since its launch in 2003.

The Touareg's overall length and wheelbase have each grown by 40mm so that the new car measures 4,758mm and 2,900mm respectively. The width of the new Touareg remains as before at 1,928mm, while overall height drops by 20mm to 1,724mm.

New Options

The changes over the outgoing model extend far beyond new styling.  The new Touareg will feature an automatic eight-speed transmission as standard and, on the majority of models, start/stop technology, touchscreen satellite navigation and leather upholstery.  There will also be a choice of advanced new options, such as high beam assist that automatically dips the headlights when it senses oncoming traffic, side scan to warn of vehicles occupying blind spots, adaptive roll compensation air suspension and air conditioned, massaging seats.

The new Touareg model line-up for the UK will include the SE, Altitude, Hybird and Escape.

Engines

At the heart of the new model is a range of highly efficient petrol and diesel engines and, for the first time, a hybrid.

The new Touareg Hybrid brings together a 3.3 litre supercharged V6 petrol engine producing 333 PS and 265lbs ft (359Nm) of torque and an electric motor generating 47 PS, resulting in a total output of 380 PS and 428lbs ft (580 Nm) of torque.  The electric motor can operate independently of the combustion engine making the new Touareg a full hybrid.  On electric power alone the car is capable of travelling at speeds of up to 30mph.  Alternatively, the electric motor can supplement the V6 engine to provide a useful boost during overtaking manoeuvres and allows the car to accelerate from zero to 62mph in 6.5 seconds before reaching a top speed of 149mph.

The entry-level engine and the likely volume seller is a powerful and refined 3.0 litre V6 TDI engine generating 240 PS and 405lbs ft (549Nm) of torque while returning 38.1mpg and emitting 195 g/km of CO2 to place it in VED band J.

A new 4.2 litre TDI V8 engine producing 340 PS and 590lbs ft (800 Nm) of torque sits at the top of the new Touareg range.  Despite its substantial power and torque outputs the new engine is still capable of achieving 31mpg on the combine cycle while emitting 239 g/km of CO2.

4X MOTION

The new Escape derivative, available with the V6 TDI engine, features 4XMOTION as standard, which comprises reduction gearing, centre and rear differentials that can each be fully locked off for off-road applications and five stage control for the four-wheel-drive system.  The first stage is for on-road applications, the second is for off-road use and activates automatic control for the mechanical differential locks, stage three engages the low-range gearbox with revised mapping of the gearbox to raise the shift points and switches off the automatic upshift in manual mode.  Stage four applies the centre differential lock, and stage five adds the rear differential lock.

Refined Interior with Plenty of Leg Room

The new Touareg's plush interior is enhanced by a subtle mix of leather, wood and aluminium highlights, depending on the version.  There's more space than ever before, thanks to the vehicle's longer wheelbase.  The new sliding rear bench and reclining backrests give passengers significantly greater leg room than in the outgoing model.  The boot measures from 580 to 1,642 litres depending on the seating arrangement.

Drivers continue to ignore dangers of mobile phone use

NEW Government figures show a huge rise in the number of motorists and particularly commercial vehicle drivers in England using hand-held mobile phones behind the wheel - despite research which shows such behaviour severely impairs reactions times.

According to the Department for Transport, the proportion of car drivers using hand-held mobiles increased from 1.1 % to 1.4 % - a 27% leap - between September 2008 and November 2009. For van and lorry drivers the figure was 2.6%, up from 2.2% - a rise of 18%. An increase was also recorded in the number of drivers who appear to be using hands free mobile phones - from 0.5% to 1.4% for car drivers and from 1.1% to 2.4% for van and lorry drivers - was observed in the same period.

RAC Foundation Professor Stephen Glaister said: ‘This is very worrying. We know that drivers’ reaction times slow by almost half when they are having a chat on their mobiles.‘This is even worse than texting whilst driving - bad enough in itself - which our research has shown reduces reactions by a third. It has been illegal to use a hand-held phone at the wheel since December 2003 and yet we have still seen this increase.’ It seems a small, but growing, minority of drivers choose to flout the law.

Yet their actionscan have tragic consequences. In 2008 the use of a mobile phone was a contributory factor in 16 fatal road accidents and many more where people were seriously injured.’ Police must be given the resources to tackle this menace and drivers persuaded that what they are doing is potentially lethal.’

Simon Elstow, head of training at the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: ‘It is clear that, despite wide publicity on the risks, people are still choosing to ignore advice and use their phones in their vehicles. This is a generally worrying trend, but it seems drivers of commercial vehicles are particularly bad at this. ‘All drivers should resist temptation of using their phone whilst driving. Transport managers, and those responsible for transport should ensure their drivers resist calling whilst driving, even with hands-free kits, which although technically legal are still a major distraction. And that can mean creating a culture where by staff who are out driving are not

rung routinely by their office.’ Along with consistent and high profile policing, drivers need to be educated about how, and why driving on the phone is so dangerous. 26 ‘Deaths and injuries linked to mobile phone use wreck lives and are completely avoidable.

The majority of road users deserve to be protected from an irresponsible and selfish minority and enforcement is, in our view, the key weapon against them.’

Each year since 2002 a mobile phone survey has been carried out at 30 sites in the South East of England. Surveys take place throughout daylight hours and involve observers recording mobile phone use by drivers in free-flowing traffic, aided by a mobile phone detector. Meanwhile, the Department’s survey of seat belt use in England reveals that the proportion of car drivers observed ‘belting up’ increased slightly since the 2008 survey, from 95% in 2008 to 96% in 2009.

The proportion of car front seat passengers observed wearing seat belts or child restraints decreased slightly from 96% in 2008 to 95% in 2009. The proportion of car rear seat passengers observed wearing seat belts or child restraints rose to 90% in 2009 from 88% in 2008. (DfT/RAC Foundation/IAM: February 4).

Audi A1 set for late 2010 UK arrival

THE long-touted Audi A1 will reach UK customers late this year following the compact hatchback’s debut at next month’s Geneva Motor Show.

The three-door model - five-door and cabriolet versions will follow - will be positioned below the Audi A3 and will be available to order in the UK from May with prices expected to start from £13,000.

Initially, the UK range will be powered by a choice of three TFSI and TDI engines, all featuring engine start-stop and recuperation technology. The 1.2 TFSI 86 PS petrol unit returns 55.4 mpg on the combined fuel cycle and has carbon dioxide emissions of 119g/km; the 1.4 TFSI 122 PS petrol engine has identical fuel and emission figures; while the 1.6 TDI 105 PS diesel powerplant returns 72.4 mpg and has emissions of 102 g/km.

Full UK specification has yet to be revealed, but standard features on the familiar SE, Sport and S line trim levels will include alloy wheels, air conditioning, single CD audio system with MP3 compatibility and ESP with latest differential lock system. Luggage capacity is 267 litres (the A3 by comparison is 350 litres) or 920 litres with standard split rear seat folded (A3 1,080 litres). (Audi: February 10).

Van registrations stable with firms reluctant to invest

NEW van registrations continued to reflect a weak economic recovery and businesses reluctant to commit to new investment, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders as it released the first sales figures of 2010.

A total of 11,546 light commercial vehicles were registered last month, down 1.7% on January last year’s 11,745 vehicles. Sales of both light and medium-weight vans increased in January - light van (up to two tonnes) volumes were up 24.9% to 3,244 units and medium van demand increased 29.8% to 1,366 units. However, demand for heavy vans dropped 6.3% to 5,827 units. Sales of 4x4 utility vehicles increased 9.7% on small volumes of 284 registrations with pick-up registrations down 31.4% to 1,109 units. (SMMT: February 4).

More employers should ensure that they carry out DVLA driving licence checks on employees who drive for business, according to AA president Edmund King. Speaking at the Association of Chief Police Officers/Police Federation National Roads Policing Conference during a debate on medical standards for drivers on Wednesday, January 20, he said that 19% of AA members knew someone who had driven while suffering from a medical condition knowing they should not have driven.

During his speech he highlighted that a recent DVLA check carried out by AA DriveTech for a ‘high profile blue-chip company’ flushed out drivers who did not hold a valid driving licence. He said that only a small proportion of employees were checked in the pilot programme but it had uncovered:

• Five drivers that had their licence revoked (one medical reasons, others for not notifying the DVLA of a change of address)

• One driver who had a live drink/drive offence

• One employee who had been driving illegally since early March 2006.

King said: ‘Employees need to be more vigilant in checking driving licences and carrying out DVLA checks on staff that may have had licences revoked for medical reasons or they might be liable.’

The AA survey of more than 20,000 members indicated, according to King, that up to six million drivers may drive when they know they shouldn’t for medical reasons. Drivers, he said, needed to be aware of the risks that they were taking and the consequences of getting caught. He added that recent Government research indicated more needed to be done by the healthcare profession in terms of advising patients correctly when they should not drive.

Saul Parsonson, Managing Director of logical™ agreed, “I am not at all surprised by the comments from the AA. A good number of our existing fleet management customers already follow best practise by outsourcing their risk management to us. But we are aware of many companies who don’t do this. We can use our driver licence check, on-line facility, to connect directly with the DVLA. This is by far the most effective arrangement as it is live and direct with the authorities mainframe. At the very least, we recommend the checking of the paper licence or card and counterpart as a minimum.” If customers would like to know more about the logical™ driver licence checking facility, or the fully comprehensive logical™fleetman corporate fleet management facility for all sizes of fleet, please go to info@logicalvm.co.uk for more information and a no obligation quote.

logical™ has launched a fully outsourced driver licence checking service for users of its logical™fleetman200 Corporate Fleet Management product.

The current driver licence checking service with the DVLA is expected to ease the administration for fleet decision-makers as they battle to reduce their employers’

risk exposure to at-work driving. Previously, before electronic licence checks could take place, each driver had to sign a three-year mandate authorising their employer to check their licence with the DVLA and a hardcopy had to be sent to logical™ to comply with the DVLA’s auditing requirements.

logical™ Managing Director Saul Parsonson said: ‘Driver licence checking should be a vital component of every company’s occupational road risk management policy. However, feedback from some of our customers has highlighted that they would prefer a fully outsourced service because they find the current mandate process an administrative burden.’ Parsonson continued, "we have listed an extract from the AA's Edmund King speech to ACPO outling the concerns that many corporate bodies do not check Driving Licences as fully or as frequently as they should." (See news item on this page titled : AA chief calls for more employers to undertake DVLA licence checks)

Although some specialist driver licence checking companies already offer a fully outsourced service, some might consider that the weakness of their offering is that they don’t provide fleet management software so the licence information gleaned from DVLA records cannot be collated with other vital information such as driving patterns, fuel consumption and vehicle usage, especially if the driver frequently changes vehicles. Parsonson said: ‘Our unique proposition is that we will handle all matters around the drivers’ mandate including issuing reminders to them; obtaining information from the DVLA; alerting fleet decision-makers to all licence issues that are uncovered; and uploading the information into our Fleetplus Vehicle Management software on behalf of the client. ‘This means that not only is the administrative burden around driver licence checking completely removed from customers, but they will have all information on drivers and their vehicles held in one central database, building a combined intelligent profile and highlighting exceptions. We truly offer a complete one-stop shop driver licence checking solution.

The SMMT has revealed its final figures for car sales in 2009 and it's been a year of mixed blessings. The top five sellers in the UK remain fairly static, the Ford Fiesta taking the number one spot with 117,296 sales, followed by the Ford Focus with 93,517, Vauxhall Corsa with 84,478, Vauxhall Astra with 67,729 and Volkswagen's Golf - with 57,187 - in fifth place.

Vauxhall might have a strong showing in the top five with both its Astra and Corsa appearing but its overall sales in 2009 were down by 20% - Ford in comparison doing better with a smaller 2% drop. Vauxhall's performance can partly be attributed to the change-over from the old to new Astra late in the year, the Luton firm managing to better its Ford rival in the family car marketplace with its Insignia outselling the Ford Mondeo.

Interestingly, the BMW 3 Series remains a firm favourite among D-segment buyers, the premium badged machine beating both the Vauxhall Insignia and Ford Mondeo in the sales charts with 39,029 sales in 2009.

The overall figures reveal some big winners and losers in 2009, with many firms benefiting from the scrappage incentive introduced in May. The value brands fared best, with Kia boasting a 62% increase in sales, its sister company bettering that with a quite extraordinary 102% increase in sales over 2008.

Big losers in the charts include Saab with a drop of 53% and Chrysler with a 52% decrease. Specialist firms also suffered badly, with Hummer seeing a 74% drop in sales and Bentley a 51% reduction, though Corvette managed some 36 sales in 2009 - a 177% improvement over 2008.

With VAT now back at 17.5% and the end of the scrappage scheme in February, early predictions for 2010 sales are down on those for 2009, the industry bracing itself for another tough year.

The 2009 Pre-Budget report highlights as they affect motor vehicles for business and personal use.

Click here to go to the logical™ 'library' to view the report.

The logical™ incentive scheme that has been developed to reward the loyalty and efforts of our customers who recommend our business to a friend, member of their family or a work colleague has been extended for the rest of 2010.This means that our customers are helping logical "spread the word" about our excellent products and services and high quality service delivery.

logical pay £50 for each recommendation leading to an order. All the friend has to do is quote the name of the recommending customer and their vehicle reg number and we will pay the customer when their friend's vehicle has been delivered. 35% of our consumer customers have recommended people, who have since gone on to order a car from logical since launch in early 2009.

We thank everybody for their support!

Vouchers can be chosen for the following stores:

• Next
• M&S
• Selfridges
• House of Fraser
• Apple

There is no limit on the amount of vouchers that can be claimed - one customer has claimed 3!

Car and van registrations forecasted to rise

A confident Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has revised its new car registration forecast for 2009 up by 100,000 units since the last quarterly revision in July 2009, to reflect the positive impact that the Scrappage Incentive Scheme is having on new car registrations.

Total new car registrations are now anticipated to be down 9.6% for the full year with a further decline expected in 2010.The outlook remains challenging for vans but stability should occur over the next 12 months with further recovery in 2011 but volumes will remain below pre-recession levels, says the organisation.

Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive, said: ‘The Scrappage Incentive Scheme has had a demonstrably positive impact on new car registrations in 2009 and will continue to do so into 2010. SMMT’s latest forecasts confirm that the recovery remains fragile and government needs to continue to give priority to measures that support consumer and business confidence.’

The next forecast is due in January 2010. Pre scrappage, which was introduced in May, the lowest forecast for the 2009 market was 1.658 million units.Last year 2,131,795 new cars were registered and 289,463 vans - 11.3% and 14.3% respectively down on 2007 volumes, which were 2,404,007 cars and 337,741 vans.This year the SMMT predicts that 1,928,100 cars and 182,800 vans will be registered with the latter down 36.8% on last year’s volumes. Sales next year are estimated to be 1,777,100 cars and 187,200 vans rising to 1,858,700 and 213,300 respectively in 2011. (SMMT:October 22).

See the new 5 Series pictures - just in .......!!!  Click here to take you to the logical™ 'library' to view the new BMW.

When it comes to reliability with a car, which names normally spring to mind – Audi BMW, VW maybe? Well you may be surprised to learn that following recent research conducted amongst the contract hire sector backed up by surveys that went out to companies across Britain the results came back as Honda. The survey which was completed by the country’s largest fleet operators who run more than a million vehicles between them saw the Honda Civic reign as number one in the most reliable fleet car beating the second placed BMW 3 series.

These results will come as no surprise to Honda who has continued to create reliable cars over a number of years and this was proved through them taking the third sport with the Honda Jazz and fourth with the Accord. Their work sometimes goes unnoticed by some in the fleet market and these results will only go on to help push the Honda brand as creditable fleet supplier and will act as a major endorsement for them.

While Honda dominated the most reliable category, it was BMW who scooped the title of Most Reliable Car Manufacturer for the second year in a row closely followed by Honda. Insiders say it was down to a “photo finish” between the two manufacturers with Honda narrowly missing out. The two manufacturers both finished with equal ratings but more of Britain’s biggest leasing companies nominated BMW hence they secured top spot.

The results below only go on to back up the widely thought belief that it is the Germans and Japanese who make the most reliable cars. Will we ever make  the top 10, answers on the back of a postcard please. 

The top 10 most reliable cars

o    1. Honda Civic

o    2. BMW 3 Series

o    3. Honda Jazz

o    4. Honda Accord

o    5. BMW 5 Series

o    6. Audi A4

o    7. Mercedes Benz C-Class

o    8. Mini

o    9. Toyota Avensis

o    10. Volkswagen Golf

The top 10 most reliable car manufacturers

o    1. BMW

o    2. Honda

o    3. Audi

o    4. Toyota

o    5. Volkswagen

o    6. Mercedes-Benz

o    7. Ford

o    8. Mazda

o    9. Nissan

o    10. Skoda

The European Commission has proposed a tough new law to cut average CO2 emissions from vans.The motor industry remains committed to the continued reduction of road transport emissions and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has urged European policymakers to make the legal framework more supportive and realistic in a move towards a low
carbon economy.

The Commission wants to set van makers a fleet average target of 175 g/km of CO2 or 42.8 mpg from 2014, phased-in to 2016. With seven-year product development cycles in the van and light commercial vehicle market, the industry feels the lead-times are too short to allow the delivery of affordable products to the market. ‘Vans are an integral part of the European economy and at a time of economic downturn and belt-tightening, businesses do not have the capacity to invest in new products,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive. ‘Industry needs sufficient lead times and reasonable
targets to provide affordable products. These must be fit for purpose as business tools. In the current economic climate, the EU regulation must maintain the sector’s diversity while encouraging innovation and the move to low carbon models.’

Across the EU, demand for vans fell 35% this year. UK demand is down 41% in the first nine months of 2009 and is forecast to end the year 37% down on 2008. Any new legislation should take the economic situation, as well as the diversity of the sector and its specific characteristics into account, say vanmakers. The industry will now work with the European Council and Parliament to develop the proposal into a workable piece of legislation that delivers for the environment as well as for the economy.

A period of uncertainty for the UK Banking Industry has led to a number of the UK Banks reviewing their core business strategies. In some cases this has led to mergers and adjustments to current business strategy and, in some cases, the disposal of business assets.

These actions have been notable recently in the UK Leasing market. RBS (the government owned Bank) has announced a series of non-core business disposals and Lombard Vehicle Management (LVM), the leasing arm of the Bank, has been identified as a non-core business in its current form. This has led to the announcement that LVM will withdraw from the UK broker market with immediate effect.

Following the merger of HBoS and Lloyds into the new business Lloyds Banking Group, the leasing arms of both businesses have been merged into one business, now branded LexAutolease, with a huge fleet size in excess of 400000 vehicles. LexAutolease have also announced a streamlining of its broker network and over 70 broker businesses have been terminated following a review of quality and/or suitability of fit with LexAutolease future strategy.

Leaseplan, owners of the Network brand, have culled over 48% of its existing broker network, following a review of broker quality and suitability. Network is committed to an on-going review of broker standards and where performance levels are not to the required standard, broker relationships will be terminated.

Commenting on the recent changes, Saul Parsonson, Managing Director of logical™ said “whilst many might view the recent announcements as a negative view of the broker market, I see the decisions taken by LexAutolease and Network in particular as positive steps. I believe that these changes are overdue in the industry and I am sure they can only enhance the perception of brokers by business. We are obviously delighted that our business has been identified by both LexAutolease and Leaseplan as a quality business they are happy to partner and we look forward to growing with all our partners in the future”.

Parsonson went on, “For too long, a number of brokers have followed a price only approach to sales and this has led to standards being lowered. All too often we have seen headline prices, which we just know cannot be achieved, to learn that the customer has been told a car is no longer available. Worse still, some customers have told us that their exact spec choice for the car was not provided and in some cases the wrong car was delivered to achieve the low prices. All of which leads to completely unacceptable standards for customers and undermines their confidence in the industry.”

He continued “For me, it is vital that our funding partners see us a quality business. We strongly believe in high standards. We all know that price is critical. However, our customers want low costs, but they also need high quality as well. We prefer to be recognised as a high value provider as opposed to a low price provider. In practise, there is no question that the former is the better route for business in the longer run.”

As ex-Managing Director of Lombard Vehicle Management, Parsonson stated, “I find what is happening at LVM is sad. However, businesses change and we cannot forget that the banking crisis has not been seen before and it is inevitable that certain bank owned business channels will be deemed as non-core moving forward.”