Vans, Cars and Leasing

Four out of five motorists are giving left-hand drive lorries a wide berth for fear of being side-swiped according to a survey by Motorpoint.David Shelton, Motorpoint MD said: “The seriousness of this issue for the driving public is reflected in the numbers who took part in the poll with some 5,500 drivers making their views known – that’s a rate of more than a thousand a day.”

It is estimated there are in excess of 10,000 heavy goods vehicles from mainland Europe driving on British roads every working day.

The options also include two roof bases and two roof heights, as well as well as one petrol engine and three diesel engine options. These new diesels are smooth in their power delivery and relatively vibration-free. The lower powered option is mated to a dash-mounted five-speed ‘box while the 100 bhp version gets a six-speeder, which provides a slicker gear change action.

The vehicle was a product of the joint venture between General Motors (Manufacturer of Opel and Vauxhall) and the French Auto Manufacturer Renault. It is also sold by the Renault Traffic and by their partner Nissan, as Nissan Primaster. The commercial vehicle is manufactured at GMM Luton Vehicles previously known as IBC, in England and also by Nissan at their plant Zona Franca facility in Barcelona.

The vehicle apart from being a high performer in the mid size commercial carrier segment, it is also highly distinguished by its luxuriously designed flamboyant front and overall looks. Compared to other vehicles in the same segment such as the smaller version of the Ford Transit and Volkswagen’s Transporter, Vauxhall’s Vivaro stands out as an obvious choice for any business owner.

The Vauxhall Vivaro Van won the prestigious award from the Professional Van and Light Truck Magazine as the Van of the year 2006.

GM and Renault are definitely not scared to be radical in any way. Their joint venture of worth £430 million for the front wheel Traffic or the Vivaro van looks distinctly different from the rivals in the same segment of 1.0 tonne carrying capacity. And it is certain to captivate every sophisticated heads turn at least.

As usual Vauxhall never had a serious contender beside it, as a result it continued to be the market leader for well past several decades.

As a result, the marquee will be quite a captivating thing for many a small and big business owner, and as always will keep fascinating sales for some several more years to come. Other biggies of the industry includes Mercedes Benz (Vito) and Ford Transit which are already suffering a run for their money for the latest offering from the house of the Vauxhall.

Now with the present van market getting in more and more players, most of whom are biggies in the automobile industry; chances are there, that not a long time from now, all of them will be ready to chunk out a good deal for every buyer of the vehicle. And who knows, the day might come when they would start tailoring your vehicle as per your desire or specification and deliver it to you. Wouldn’t that be a true deliverance? Indeed it would be. Sounds like a great compact Van to buy this year right?

But for the time being indulge yourself to explore the sophisticatedly crafted wonderfully engineered vehicle, which is nothing but a wonder piece from the house of Vauxhall. It’s the Vauxhall Vivaro Van folks.

Written on behalf of Total Fleet Van & Car Leasing
Vauxhall Leasing - Vauxhall Vivaro Leasing

The MINI was the UK’s slowest depreciating car in 2007.
According to annual research from Parker’s Car Guides, a MINI bought in January last year will have lost an average of £1,388.

The runner-up was the Honda Jazz, the only car to have featured in the top five of the report every year since its launch in 2002.

It lost an average of £2,017 over the year

Small cars make up the entire top 10, and demand for them is unlikely to drop in 2008.

Other models in the top spot include the Citroen C1/Toyota Aygo/Peugeot 107, the Perodua Kelisa, Proton’s Satria Neo and the Hyundai Amica.

Parker’s editor Kieren Puffett said: “Demand for small cars has never been stronger.

“Now that buyers can bring their annual road tax bill right down to nothing and with a CO2-based London congestion charge on the cards for next year, we can only see it getting stronger.”

The Government received a stark reminder that it needs to improve public transport if it is to achieve its target of cutting CO2 emissions from cars.
According to a recent Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) survey, over 50% of motorists said they would like to reduce their car use but said there are no practical alternatives available to allow them to do so.

However, highlighting just how far there is still to go in influencing changes in car use, while the majority of motorists said they wanted to reduce their car use, half of the respondents said: “When I get ready to go out, I usually don’t think about how I am going to travel, I just get in the car.”

Changing this attitude that car use can continue without questioning the need for each journey is a major challenge for the Government.

Environment Minister Joan Ruddock, said: “We all need to do our bit to tackle climate change.

“Most people want to do something but sometimes don’t know how.

“This report will help Government and stakeholders reach people and empower them to make changes in their lives today that will make a big difference tomorrow.”

The report identified 12 ‘headline behaviour goals’ including the use of more efficient vehicles and encouraging people to use their car less.

However, when met with figures such as 55% of people saying it would be hard for them to reduce their car use – a figure that rises to 66% in rural areas - Defra has a challenge ahead.

Especially when there was a fairly even split of opinion over the statement “It is important to build more roads to reduce congestion” with 39% of respondents agreeing, and 37% disagreeing.

Men aged 16 to 29, and men aged 65 or over were more likely to agree with this statement.

A quarter of respondents also agreed that “For the sake of the environment, car users should pay higher taxes” although only 8% strongly agreed.

A greater proportion disagreed, with over 25% strongly disagreeing.

The report concluded that the more challenging behaviours, such as avoiding unnecessary flights or reducing car use in rural areas, are those where there is relatively low willingness to act.

For this to change, Government and local authorities need to provide viable alternatives to car use.

As Stephen Hale, director of the Green Alliance, said: “2008 can be a landmark year for Government action to help every one of us reduce our environmental impact. Government has a critical role in enabling us to act.”