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New car reviews should be taken with pinch of salt!

January 30, 2012 By

Whenever you read a new car review, they’re generally balanced. The writer points out a few good points about the car, a few that he or she is less than completely happy with – then usually apportions some sort of final score across different parameters.

Now such reviews can be very helpful in helping you decide what car to buy or what to look out for when buying a second hand model etc. But personally, I take them all with a healthy dose of salt. It isn’t that I don’t trust them – it’s that I don’t trust certain makes as much as others. My view is that if you start with the best make you can find – using data which has been independently and objectively generated and analysed – then you shouldn’t go too far wrong with choosing the right model for your individual needs.

And when it comes to choosing that make, my decision is very easy; it’s always Honda. That’s mainly because Honda has been voted the UK’s most reliable carmaker for an unprecedented six years in a row in the What Car? And Warranty Direct survey of UK motorists – and you can’t really ask for much ore. I have now been driving exclusively Hondas for 12 years and have never had a single unforeseen problem – so my personal experience is completely borne out by this independent annual survey. If that should change, well maybe I’ll think again. But until then, I’ll start with the actual manufacturer first and let others do the talking about minor differences in models etc.

I’m particularly impressed with the new honda civic 2012 version. Honda’s aim was to balance impressive performance with the Civic’s unmistakeable design (though the new car is a little toned down from its predecessor which was needed in my opinion) and flexible interior space.

Apparently, it took the company four years of experimentation and 20,000 miles of real-world testing to design the latest Honda Civic. And for a company with a reputation as good as Honda’s, that’s certainly good enough for me.

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Getting the best car insurance for your company

January 24, 2012 By

Vehicle insurance is one of the absolute essentials for your business. For a start it’s a legal requirement, but you also need good cover for the protection of staff members and the cargo that may be in the vehicles.

‘Named driver’ policies tend to be cheaper than ‘any driver’ policies and so this is what many small business owners choose as the most effective and cheapest option.

This option may work for most businesses for most of the time, as you usually have the business owner and a couple of people who work full time for the company on the policy. However, it could turn out to be more expensive than an ‘any driver’ policy if you have a number of temporary staff working for you.

Insuring temporary staff as named drivers quickly adds up – for a week or two’s cover – compared to making it possible for anyone to drive the business vehicles, at any point during the year.

Often the difference between a named driver policy and an ‘any driver’ policy is not that great. It makes more sense to do it this way.

It’s still worth taking some time to research this though. Insurers offer a variety of policies and although an ‘any driver’ policy might work out to be the most economic option for your business with one insurance company, it might not be the case with another.

The best idea is to get two quotes from each insurance company and then compare the lot. Remember to also ask how much it would cost to add an extra person to the ‘named driver’ policy for a short period of time.

Other things can affect your insurance premiums – including whether any of your business vehicles is a hybrid car. Some insurers reduce premiums for these eco-friendly cars, while others increase premiums because of the expense of the parts needed to repair hybrids. The make and model of a car can also affect the premium – a Honda CR-V will cost more to insure than a Ford Fiesta, for example, as although the CR-V is a safer vehicle to drive, it can cause more damage to another vehicle in a collision.

 

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New Honda Civic better than ever on fuel economy

January 6, 2012 By

While anyone considering buying a new car will no doubt think about performance and looks, the likelihood is that most prospective purchasers in 2012 will place fuel economy highest on their list of priorities when deciding on a make and model – particularly if they’re looking for business transport.

Honda fans will be spoilt for choice on fuel economy with the arrival of the new Honda Civic.  All of the civic 2012 models have improved fuel efficiency on the outgoing models.

Buyers in the States will have five Civics to choose from.  The most fuel efficient of them all is the Civic hybrid, which can achieve 44 mpg with its 2.4 litre i-VTEC engine and electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery – a first for Honda hybrids.  Close second is the Civic HF – which stands for high fuel economy. This all petrol version gets an incredible 41 mpg on the highway, and offers a perfect solution for those who want great fuel economy, but aren’t looking to own a hybrid.

There’s also the sedan and coupé Civic which get a respectable 39 mpg on the highway, and the sporty Si – in sedan and coupé – which can achieve 31 mpg.  The Civic Natural Gas is great on mileage – with an average of 27 mpg in the city and 38 mpg on the highway. Drivers will save about a third on fuel costs compared with petrol.

But the new Honda Civic isn’t just about fuel economy. It’s a classy ride, with a sporty aerodynamic body and a high-tech feel to the interior.  The two tier dashboard adds to its futuristic styling and the i-MID (intelligent Multi-Information Display) on the LX and above can tell drivers at a glance what song they’re listening to, what turn to take next and display information on fuel consumption, as well as displaying family photos as its wallpaper. It also has Bluetooth technology to pair with the driver’s phone for hands-free calls. You’ll have so much to do inside your new Civic that you won’t want to leave it!

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Renting out your car now possible

January 5, 2012 By

Have you ever thought of the value tied up in your own car when you aren’t using it? The opportunity cost of it standing idle?

Well now it looks like you’ll soon be able to unlock some of that value thanks to a creative idea from the founders of easyJet and Lastminute.com.

Sir Stelios, the founder of easyJet, and Mr Hoberman, co-founder of Lastminute.com, are set to re-launch the car rental firm easyCar. As well as the normal rental car business, the new company will also allow people to book their neighbours’ cars by the hour via their smartphones. The new scheme will be trialled in London early in 2012.

As Sir Stelios puts it: “Rather than having to buy the cars to be rented and pay the ownership costs, this business model relies on the fact that there are plenty of under-used cars on the road already, and that is lazy capital that can be put to work again.”

In the USA, there is already a similar car rental operation going on via US company, Zipcar. With Zipcar, “Zipsters” as they are known – can book and pay by the hour using their mobile phones or their Zipcards. Apparently, there are an estimated 10 million drivers living within a 10-minute walk of a Zipcar vehicle, and the service is reputed to cut the average cost of driving and owning a car by somewhere in the region of $7,000 each year.

As things stand, there are only around 8,200 “Zipsters” across 15 US cities and 230 colleges and universities. But the idea certainly has potential if things take off.

So the same may happen in the UK. At the moment, it’s difficult to see how the practical difficulties will be ironed out, though.

If you have a smart new reliable 4×4 off-roader like a Honda CR-V, for example, and a neighbour brings it back a little shall we say “tarnished” as it’s clearly done a little off-roading, but there are no really stand-out bumps etc., how are you going to react?

Still, the founders aren’t stupid and will have thought through the details. The move could also be a good one for the environment and for congestion. One giant car –sharing scheme cuts down the need for us all to buy the kind of eco cars UK drivers are searching for. One car, even if conventionally fuelled, will still do less damage to the planet than 10 eco cars.

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Eco-friendly transport choices for your business

November 10, 2011 By

If you own a business, you’re more than likely to need some kind of transport for that business, especially if you have merchandise to move around or deliveries to make to customers.

Apart from economic considerations, you might also want to think about the effect your business transport choice will have on the environment. There are different environmentally sound options available to you:
1.    Use a courier service
Realistically, will the costs of buying or leasing a car or van be covered by your business in a reasonable length of time?  If not, it may be a more sensible decision to use a courier service when you need to move goods around or get them delivered. It also means that there will be one less vehicle on the road, adding to carbon dioxide emissions. Many couriers now also have greener fleets – using electric or hybrid vehicles. Check out their green credentials when you’re comparing prices.

2.    Buy a hybrid
If you decide to buy a vehicle for your business, then a hybrid car could save you money on running costs.  Hybrid cars have an electric motor that provides power to assist the engine, meaning that the engine burns less fuel, so you’ll have to fill up less frequently.  Full hybrids can operate solely on electric power whilst travelling at low speeds around town or when stuck in traffic.  Also, as they produce low carbon dioxide emissions, hybrid cars qualify for lower road taxes, as they do less damage to the environment than conventional cars.

3.    Lease a low emissions vehicle
If your business hasn’t got a strong enough cash flow to warrant buying a vehicle, you can always opt to lease a car or van. Leasing companies are beginning to offer low emissions vehicles more widely now, so shop around to find something that suits your budget and helps protect the environment at the same time.

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Choosing a freight forwarder

September 1, 2011 By

A freight forwarding company arranges the safe and effective movement of goods for importers and exporters. Freight forwarders will analyse the  delivery requirements of the business and then work out the most efficient method of transport – say, whether to use road or rail operators, use shipping lines or airfreight providers. Sometimes the freight forwarder may provide the service itself. Freight forwarders do differ in size and services: some may offer a full range of national and international services and some may offer niche services, dealing with particular types of goods or offering services only in certain countries.

If your company is new to international trade then choosing a freight forwarder may be the most crucial decision you will take. It is worth while consulting either your own trade association which should be able to advise you of freight forwarding companies servicing your sector if specialist. It is also worth contacting UK and International Freight Forwarding organisations to find companies. It’s also a really good idea to contact companies in your own sector that are already exporting to ask if they can recommend any particular companies. Make sure that any specialist needs are taken into account such as

  • Goods that are fragile or
  • Perishable and/or  goods needing refrigerated transport
  • Hazardous materials
  • Live animals
  • Goods of an unusually large size or weight

If research turns up a number of alternatives it is worth while comparing at least three companies by their charges for the services you need.

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