LOWER DRINK-DRIVE LIMIT PROPOSED

The Government has been urged to lower the legal drink-drive limit drastically.

Reducing the limit from the current 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to just 50mg would save hundreds of lives a year, a Whitehall-commissioned report by leading academic and legal expert Sir Peter North said.

He also recommended that the 12-month driving ban – automatic for those who exceed the current limit – should be maintained for the new 50mg limit.

Sir Peter, who was asked by former transport secretary Lord Adonis to review drink and drug-driving laws, also called for police to be given greater powers to check for drink-drivers and for drink-drive procedures to be streamlined, to increase police time on the roads.

Making 51 recommendations in all, Sir Peter said that police procedures enforcing current drug-driving laws should be improved, making it more straightforward for police to identify and prosecute drug-drivers by allowing nurses, as well as doctors, to authorise blood tests of suspects.

Medium-term, he recommended early approval of saliva testing of drug-driving suspects in police stations, which would largely overcome the environmental problems in roadside use that have previously slowed technological development of so-called “drugalysers”.

Drawing on comprehensive new research commissioned from the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), Sir Peter said that as many as 168 lives – approximately 7% of current road deaths in Britain – could be saved in the first year of a reduced limit, rising to as many as 303 lives saved by the sixth year following any change in the law.

from express.co.uk – all copyrights acknowledged

How do YOU choose a supplier?

What are the main factors that help you decide upon which supplier to use?

Is price the only factor? Does service matter? Large company/small company – is size important?

McLaren announce 3 UK dealers

TUESDAY, 15 JUNE 2010 13:59 GORDON LYSTER

McLaren Automotive has announced 3 names which will make up it’s UK retail network: Rybrook in Birmingham, Jardine Motors Group in London, and Sytner in Manchester.

These three retailers will begin selling the McLaren MP4-12C from spring 2011 under the names McLaren Birmingham, McLaren London and McLaren Manchester. The UK, along with the USA, will be McLaren’s biggest market.

Antony Sheriff, McLaren Automotive’s Managing Director: “I am thrilled to announce the relationship between McLaren Automotive and its UK representatives – three of the best car retail businesses in the world. The UK is our home, and the strong demand for the 12C from potential retailers and prospects is evidence of the strength of the McLaren brand in the UK.

“British car enthusiasts are demanding; they enjoy and appreciate performance cars, and traditionally buy what’s best – not necessarily what’s British. Competing in this market will, therefore, be a major challenge for us as a new sports car company, but McLaren’s brand and experience stand us in good stead: the McLaren F1 and SLR projects were perfect benchmarks that provide us with the expertise, commitment and confidence to design, develop and build the world’s best performing and highest quality sports cars. We now have the ideal partners in the UK who have enormous experience in delivering extraordinary customer service to help us deliver on those expectations,” Sheriff concluded.

The UK retailers will join a global network of 35 in 2011 who will be responsible for selling a planned production volume of 1,000 12Cs. The European network will also be announced in June, with the North American, Middle Eastern and South African retailers confirmed this summer. The Asia Pacific market will be announced in the autumn, and a handful of retailers will then be added in other markets from 2012 as McLaren moves to a full model range of around 4,000 sports cars by the middle of the decade. McLaren Automotive’s aim is for its global network to remain smaller, more flexible, and more profitable than competitors’ networks, with a target of around 70 retailers worldwide.

Christian Marti, McLaren Automotive’s Regional Director for Europe, said: “We began our comprehensive search for the best retailers over a year ago. There was understandably strong competition to represent McLaren in the UK. As we have seen in all launch markets, the demand to be one of the first McLaren retailers was huge –we considered over 20 UK car retailers within a total of 600 potential global partners.

“During the selection process we shared our long-term business plan, innovative product line-up, and focus on what is best for the retailer – sensible investment and attention to customer service and aftersales. We have a phrase at McLaren that sums up our attitude towards the retail business: “sanity, not vanity”, and we will work very closely with Rybrook, Jardine Motors Group and Sytner to deliver great solutions for our future customers,” Marti concluded.

McLaren Automotive says it aims to deliver the 12C through retailers who understand and appreciate the company’s desire to offer cars and customer service of a higher quality than previously experienced in the performance sports car market. McLaren’s strong brand and heritage, its reputation amongst performance car owners, and future plans for a range of high-performance sports cars proved highly attractive to the three successful retailers.

Henry Whale, Managing Director at Rybrook, McLaren’s franchise in Birmingham said: “With their incredible passion and total professionalism, McLaren has already established a world-beating brand through its Formula 1 activity.  We are confident it will replicate this success as it launches its eagerly awaited sports car company, and that the 12C will redefine the sports car driving experience. We are delighted to be representing McLaren at the launch of this exciting project and we believe this appointment further enhances Rybrook’s position as a leading retailer of prestige motor cars in the UK.”

Simon Everett, Group Operations Director for Jardine Motors Group, McLaren’s representative in London, said: “Jardine Motors Group is ideally placed to support McLaren’s new sports car company. We are one of the UK’s leading motor groups and operating predominantly in the premium and high luxury sector – a natural champion of McLaren’s passion, skill, and experience. Representing McLaren in its very important home market in London is a great opportunity for the group and we are looking forward to working with them to establish this exciting new brand through a unique business model that delivers the highest levels of customer service.”

Jon Crossley, Sytner’s Managing Director for its McLaren franchise in Manchester said, “Our enthusiasm for prestige motor cars is coupled with a great passion for motor racing and particularly Formula 1.  This announcement is terrific news for my team who have a great understanding of, and appreciation for, the supercar market.  They are very excited by the new McLaren’s close relationship to motor racing technology and its world-leading carbon innovation. We are really looking forward to introducing the new McLaren to our customer base and being a part of a very exciting future with such a prestigious brand.”

The McLaren 12C makes its public world debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. This follows a series of private viewings to prospects in Düsseldorf, Brussels, and Zurich in June, and immediately prior to similar events planned for UK McLaren retailers and prospects at the company’s award MTC headquarters in Woking, Surrey.

Following the 12C’s Goodwood debut it will continue its world tour, being presented to select audiences, and taking in every city in which the car will be sold, from Sydney to San Francisco. Further public presentations will provide a wider audience with the opportunity to see McLaren Automotive’s innovative new sports car, such as the Pebble Beach Concours in California in August.

A brand-new manufacturing facility, the McLaren Production Centre (MPC), began construction on March 1 2010 adjacent to the MTC in Woking. It will begin to build cars for the UK from spring 2011. The very first UK customers will have their cars built in the first months of 2011 in the MTC, prior to the opening of the MPC. This planned manufacturing programme will ensure the same unprecedented quality that McLaren delivered on the SLR is transferred onto all future McLarens.

Of the 19 countries, and 35 retailers, launching McLaren Automotive, the UK, USA, and Germany will be the company’s biggest markets for the 1,000 12Cs planned for production in 2011. Between 300 and 400 cars are planned for North America, 400 to 500 for Europe (70 per cent to UK and Germany), and 100 to 200 each for the Middle East/South Africa and Asia Pacific regions.

Following the March 2010 McLaren Automotive press conference, The Launch of a New Car Company, over 2,500 potential customers have now expressed a ‘serious intention to buy’ the 12C. The first 12Cs will be delivered to customers in Europe, followed by a phased distribution to retailers in the Middle East, South Africa, North America and Asia Pacific.

Prices for the 12C will be confirmed at a later date, but the car will sit in what McLaren terms the ‘core’ sports car segment of cars priced between £125,000 and £175,000.

Reprinted from motortradenews.com with acknowledgement to all copyrights

Employee car ownership schemes due to come back into fashion

Zenith Provecta is predicting a return in popularity for employee car ownerships in April 2012 because of changes to the benefit-in-kind tax band.

Group development director Nick Sutton said ECO scheme interest had slowed but goes in “waves” – for example, when the tax band tightens again in April 2012, Sutton expects to see a rise in uptake. He admitted the financial benefits of ECO schemes is not as strong as it used to be thanks to manufacturers producing more CO2-efficient vehicles. However, Sutton thinks such programmes will always be around: “We are committed to it as an organisation.”

The company’s growth sector continues to be salary sacrifice schemes, which are expected to make up a third of its business in the future. At the moment, sal-sac accounts for around 8% of Zenith’s 28,000-strong fleet – compared with ECO schemes, which currently take up around 30%. Sutton added that sal-sac is set to grow: 70% of Zenith’s inbound calls are regarding such programmes. Last year, from these customer enquiries, 80% took up sal-sac. But this pace has now slowed, which Sutton attributes to increased competition – players such as Leaseplan and Venson are among those to have launched similar schemes this year.

If you require  a quotation for a Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) or a Personal Contract Hire (PCH) please email me at john@121vehicles.com

Is your business at risk?

Their accident – your responsibility whilst driving at work.

Imagine if one of your employees had a serious accident, even a fatal one, driving in their own car whilst on the way to the post office to drop off a late parcel. In the past your condolences would have gone out to them and their family. Today, sympathy isn’t enough. That accident could result in your business facing unlimited fines and possible jail sentences for Directors and Line Managers.

Here are some of the questions the Police will be asking you

• Was the vehicle insured for business use?
• Was it maintained to the manufacturer’s service schedule?
• How many hours had the driver been working that day?
• Were they on the safest route they could have taken?
• Were they taking any medication that could effect their driving?
  These are just the tip of the iceberg

If you can’t answer these, and many other questions, supported with written evidence you and your company could face prosecution and you could go to jail.

ROSPA’s view is “Considering the human, legal and economic implications…. it is clear that managing Occupational Road Risk may be the greatest Health and Safety issue you (as an employer) face”

Penalties – The full force of a police investigation and an HSE prosecution can have a devastating effect on both businesses and individuals within the business. Substantial fines, loss of reputation, and imprisonment are all likely consequences

Doing nothing is not an option – protect your business, your employees and your liberty

1000 Mile BMW

BMW’s most fuel-efficient and greenest-ever 3 Series completes record-breaking journey on one tank of fuel

BMW’s cleanest and greenest 3 Series ever has just completed a record-breaking journey from the UK to Munich and back – on one tank of fuel.

Filled up at the Channel Tunnel, the new BMW 320d EfficientDynamics Saloon made it to Munich, then as far as Lille on the return leg – a staggering total of 1,013 miles on a single tank of fuel – before needing to be refuelled.

To put it in a UK geographic context, the distance achieved would have meant being able to drive from Land’s End to John O’Groats, and still having 200 miles range left in the tank.

Just as impressive was that the intrepid driver – motoring journalist and TV presenter Tom Ford – didn’t use efficient driving techniques such as coasting, or drive deliberately slowly for the trip, coverage of which appeared in yesterday’s Sunday Times newspaper.

Although switching the air con and radio off as a concession to fuel saving, Tom managed a reasonable motorway pace all the way there and back, proving that in the real world, the new BMW 320d EfficientDynamics Saloon delivers what its promises on paper – an official combined figure of 68.9mpg and CO2 emissions of only 109g/km.

On the way to Munich, Tom achieved highs of 75.9mpg, and didn’t dip below 65mpg for the entire trip. With an average speed of 59.3mph, the car achieved 68.9mpg overall.

He said: “I was prepared for this car to fail in the real world. I was wrong. Although I did try and be careful and drive in a feather-footed manner, I did cruise at a reasonable 65ish mph on the autoroutes and autobahns, so faster than the usual economy run pace.

“Think about it in the context of everyday motoring: comfortably more than 1,000 miles on one tank of diesel means just 12 fills a year for the average motorist – and even driven normally I still think you’re looking at 750-800 miles per fill. BMW’s EfficientDynamics: it does what it says on the tin.”

The BMW 320d EfficientDynamics Saloon develops 163hp between 3,500rpm to 4,200rpm and 360Nm of torque from 1,750rpm to 3,000rpm. This equates to a zero to 62mph time of 8.2 seconds and a top speed of 137mph ensuring that while it might be extremely efficient, it still offers sporting performance – a fact not lost on Tom.

He said: “It’s difficult to tell the difference between this model and a standard 320d in terms of driving performance which is brilliant. It means that as well as the obvious financial advantages, this special 320d is a car for the environmentally conscious who still want a car that drives superbly.”

For drivers choosing the BMW 320d EfficientDynamics Saloon, there is no VED to pay for the first year of purchase due to its low CO2 figure and a 13 per cent benefit-in-kind company car tax rating and sporting ability thanks to its 163bhp. For a business buying one, the sub 110g/km emissions mean 100 per cent first year writing down allowances, allowing the model’s full first year depreciation against to be offset against Corporation Tax.

The BMW 320d EfficientDynamics Saloon comes with the existing suite of BMW EfficientDynamics technologies, including Auto Start-Stop, Brake Energy Regeneration and Electric Power Steering for optimum performance. However it also achieves its class-leading emissions with the addition of innovative engine construction, a longer transmission ratio, lowered suspension and the use of specially designed aerodynamic alloy wheels with Michelin EnergySaver tyres.

To watch a short video of the Sunday Times 1,000-mile drive log on to:www.facebook.com/sundaytimesingear

reprinted from BMW.co.uk with acknowledgements to all copyrights