Economical and environmental concerns make buyers choose newer cars

In a recent survey carried out by Exchange & Mart, it was revealed that 84 per cent of over 1,000 buyers surveyed would like their next car to be less than five years old. This figure has increased since the same survey was carried out in 2007 and may be due to growing awareness that newer cars are more economical and environmentally friendly.

The reduced efficiency and increased carbon emissions of older cars are making the news every week, and this may be having an effect on the way car buyers think about their next vehicle. Compared to the 2007 results, it appears that whilst buyers are not necessarily looking for a brand new car they are prepared to make an investment now to save money in the longer term, by spending more on a relatively new car which will cost less to keep running. Whilst the most popular price bracket was £1-5,000, a greater number of buyers are now thinking of spending between £5,000 and £15,000 on their next vehicle.

To buy a car which is just one year old, will save you around 40 per cent of the vehicle’s original value, offering a huge saving on what is still a very economical car which remains covered by the manufacturer’s warranty, showing that choosing wisely can save you a significant amount of money.

“As the saying goes: If you take care of the pennies, the pounds will look after themselves, and you can do this by buying a nearly new car as you save not only on the price of the car, but on the running costs in the long term as well.” says Debra Healy, Digital Director at Exchange & Mart. “A newer car will cost less to keep on the road as there will be fewer mechanical issues due to age, high mileage and wear-and-tear.”

Healy concluded: “From this research, it appears that the used car buyer is becoming more aware of long term value for money and less inclined to opt for an instant bargain. Dealers need to remain responsive to this shift in buying habits and by doing so will easily avoid the risk of significant losses during the crunch.”

To see deals on new and nearly new cars, visit: SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk

 The global credit crunch has taken its toll on the automotive industry with the new car market falling by 18.6 per cent during August. However, those being hit the hardest are the manufacturers producing vehicles with the highest levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

According to research by Clean Green Cars, the four brands with the highest CO2 profiles - namely Land Rover, Porsche, Chrysler and Jeep - saw sales slide by more than half during August.

Porsche topped the rankings of the worst brands by average CO2 versus sales performance. Its CO2 average is 275.6g/km and its August sales dropped by 57.8 per cent to 119. Land Rover, featured second in the table, actually suffered a more significant sales percentage drop - with an average CO2 level of 249.6g/km, it saw sales slump by 57.9 per cent to 422.

Jeep, which ranks in third place in the table, saw its sales drop by 58.2 per cent to just 92. The highest percentage fall in the table however, belonged to Chrysler which suffered a 66.6 per cent dive to sales of 125.

There were further slumps for Jaguar (CO2 average 200.3g/km, 41 per cent fall in sales); Lexus (CO2 average 194.8g/km, 59.4 per cent fall in sales); Dodge (CO2 average 194.5g/km, 41.4 per cent fall in sales); Mercedes (CO2 average 192.8g/km, 35.3 per cent fall in sales); and Alfa (CO2 average 182.8g/km, 32.5 per cent fall in sales).

The only manufacturer to buck the trend was Subaru, which enjoyed a 12.9 per cent sales increase despite having average CO2 levels of 201.0g/km.

It seems the age of powerful performance vehicles is over and small, low-emission green cars are the future for the industry.

Earlier this week we told you how the European Parliament had adopted a legislative report on hydrogen powered vehicles. Now the decision has received widespread support among the motoring industry.

ITM Power, Europe’s largest electrolyser and fuel cell company, with a research and manufacturing facility in Sheffield, welcomed the move as it believes it will simplify type approval for hydrogen powered vehicles and will help to speed up the introduction of non-polluting cars across Europe.

The company has started test production on a hydrogen home refuelling station, which will allow homeowners to produce their own hydrogen fuel simply and cheaply - therefore helping to overcome the lack of refuelling infrastructure across the UK.

The home refuelling station relies on water and electricity to make hydrogen. With an overnight charge it can produce enough hydrogen for its converted Ford Focus to complete a typical daily commuting journey - with the option to switch back to petrol for longer trips.

Speaking about the Parliamentary decision, ITM Power’s CEO Jim Heathcote commented: “This is welcome news and shows that MEPs understand the significant advances that hydrogen-powered vehicles can make in reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.”

Would you be interested in hydrogen cars if a home refuelling station was made available? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Honda has revealed a concept of its affordable family hybrid car, to be displayed at the Paris Motor Show next month.

Honda has revealed a concept of its affordable family hybrid car, to be displayed at the Paris Motor Show next month. The production version goes on sale in Spring 2009, and will be priced significantly lower than any other hybrid car on the market, making petrol-electric technology accessible to more people.

The car will be named Insight, reviving the name of the 1999 hybrid coupe – the first production hybrid car to be sold in Europe.

Takeo Fukui, President and CEO of Honda Motor Co. said: “The original Honda Insight launched in 1999, was the pioneer of hybrid technology in Europe and remains an iconic symbol of Honda’s environmental innovation.

“This new Insight will also break new ground by providing an affordable hybrid to an expanded number of customers craving great fuel economy and great value.”

More information on the car will be revealed at the Paris Motor Show, but here’s what we know about the new Honda Insight at this time:

Positioning
• It will be significantly lower in price to any other hybrid on the market, although aren’t telling us more than that.
• By offering a more affordable hybrid that’s accessible to more people, Honda hopes to attract a new section of the market to petrol-electric technology – those car buyers who have never considered a hybrid car before.

Specification
• The car will be a 5-door family hatchback, capable of carrying five people
• It will be smaller than the Honda Civic Hybrid
• The Insight is based on a completely new platform
• The car takes many exterior styling cues from the FCX Clarity, Honda’s hydrogen-powered fuel cell car, which is currently being leased to customers in the United States
• The control unit and battery for the IMA system are mounted beneath the boot space to give the Insight both a low centre of gravity and the practicality of a conventionally-powered hatchback.
• The Insight has a unique function to assist more fuel efficient driving – helping drivers to maximise their real world fuel consumption

Predicted sales
• Honda aims to sell 200,000 Insights a year, globally
• Over the next few years, Honda will also launch a sporty hybrid (based on CR-Z), a Jazz Hybrid and a new Civic Hybrid
• With these four hybrid cars, Honda will sell over 500,000 hybrids globally per year
• 10 per cent of global sales will be hybrid by 2010

Production
• Production costs will be significantly reduced. Honda has further advanced the equipment and processes used to produce the electric motor.
• A new production line will be added to the Suzuka factory, in Japan, to double the per hour production capacity
The 1999 Honda Insight
• The first Insight was a two-seater hybrid coupe launched in 1999
• It was the first mass produced hybrid to be sold in Europe
• Honda sold 17,000 Insights worldwide and 400 cars in Europe
Honda hybrid sales
• Total sales of Honda hybrid cars in Europe, 2000: 208
Total sales of Honda hybrid cars in Europe, 2007: 10,507

Titan Environmental are a pioneer in the manufacture and supply of storage solutions for oil, fuel, lubricants, adblue, chemicals, biofuels and water. Titan’s range of tanks and containers provide the best option for every situation whether domestic, commercial, industrial or agricultural.

We spoke to them recently to ask them about the safe storage of biofuels, what they think biofuels can offer, the effect the production of biofuels will have on traditional fossil fuels and what the future holds for Titan Environmental.

Titan Environmental interview

The EPSRC, on behalf of the Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform (LCV-IP), has made a call for information on existing research projects of relevance to low carbon vehicles that have involved academic partners. The call aims to highlight the existing ’state of the art’ research of relevance to the LCV-IP, in order to identify the most relevant projects for adoption into this major programme.

This is not a call for new research proposals. Research projects included in the programme will gain from significant industrial exposure and interaction, the chance to inform and shape the progression of the programme and the opportunity to access future funding. Submissions should be returned to idp@epsrc.ac.uk by 10th September 2008. More information is available via the associated link.

Source: http://www.lowcvp.org.uk

 There have been many reports in recent weeks about increased demand for green cars from customers hiring vehicles. As a result, several rental companies have been forced to re-evaluate their approach to operations - and one company is attempting to go the extra mile to secure environmentalists’ custom.

National Car Rental has committed to a range of activities aimed at reducing its environmental impact and supporting customers’ environmental needs. These include:

In France:

National operates a green fleet programme meaning that 65 per cent of its fleets at 80 per cent of locations emit less than 140g/km of carbon dioxide (CO2).

In Spain:

National’s partner ATESTA is working in partnership with the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving, and the Department of the Spanish Industry Ministry in starting a study to assign CO2 emissions to car types. Information has also been added to its website regarding green driving.

In Italy:

Its fleet of diesel vehicles have been fitted with particle filters.

In the UK:

The Toyota Prius has been added to the fleet and diesels now make up 35 per cent of the fleet. National was also the first vehicle rental brand to add CO2 emissions for each car group, helping customers to make environmentally friendly choices.

Neil Summerville, franchise director at National Car Rental, said: “Our goal is to provide travellers with a service that is convenient, cost-effective, safe and environmentally friendly.”

What do you make of these steps? And how important are environmental credentials in your decision-making when renting or hiring a car? Leave a comment with your thoughts.

 Another month, another motor show - and yet more green car concepts ready to be introduced to the world.

The Hanover International Commercial Vehicle Show will play host to Iveco’s line-up of new vehicles designed to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The company has a 3,700sq m stand in Hall 16 of the show where it will display a number of vehicles powered by alternative fuels.

Among them will be a Daily Van, which benefits from a battery electric and diesel electric parallel hybrid drive system. There will be a hybrid Eurocargo and a hybrid Daily Tourys minibus along with a prototype diesel hydraulic parallel hybrid urban bus named the Irisbus Hynovis.

The company will also showcase two natural gas powered vehicles. These will be the Daily CNG, which boasts a new Fiat Powertrain Technologies 3.0 litre 136 hp natural gas engine, and the Eurocargo CNG, which uses the tector 200 hp dedicated natural gas engine and will enter production in 2009.

The designs represent a major step by the company, which markets light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles, along with off-road vehicles, city and intercity buses and coaches and specialist vehicles, towards green vehicle production.

The Hanover Show runs from September 25-October 2.

Parliament adopted a legislative report on hydrogen powered motor vehicles today. MEPs point out that the successful introduction of hydrogen-powered vehicles on the European market will also depend on whether the appropriate hydrogen filling station network can be established in time. The Commission, says the House, should, therefore, look into measures to support the establishment of a Europe-wide filling-station network for hydrogen powered vehicles.

The purpose of this proposal is to lay down harmonised technical provisions for the type-approval of hydrogen-powered vehicles for the first time. There is a need to introduce EU-wide approval criteria for such vehicles, to safeguard not only the operation of the single market but also a high level of safety and environmental protection. Since hydrogen-powered vehicles are not at present included in the EC type-approval system, Member States may grant approvals for such vehicles on a one-off basis without having to lay down new laws. In such a practice there is a risk that every Member State will draw up its own approval conditions, resulting in distortion of the single market. This would lead to high costs for manufacturers, create safety risks and also considerably impede the spread of hydrogen technology in the EU. For these reasons the rapporteur regards the Commission proposal as an important step towards obtaining alternative fuels for the transport sector.

In other parts of the world – such as in the United States or the Asian economic area – work is also proceeding on the development of hydrogen-powered vehicles. Here too the question of type-approval comes up. The EU’s negotiations at international level for approval conditions applicable worldwide are bound to take some while yet. An EU type-approval regulation could point the way forward for an international approval system.

Arlene McCarthy MEP (PES, UK) said: “At a time when petrol prices in Europe have doubled and with ever growing concern about the effects of climate change it is clear we need new hopes for future fuels.”

Sale of alternative fuelled vehicles in the UK alone has grown from just a few hundred in 2000 to over 16′000 last year. Arlene McCarthy MEP added: “Sales of electric cars and other alternatives have soared but hydrogen cars are only on the cusp of large scale production. This new law will boost the development of these vehicles while ensuring they are reliable and safe”.

Pure hydrogen in the future
In the future, hydrogen powered vehicles should be vehicles propelled by pure hydrogen produced as far as possible from renewable energies. Use of mixtures of hydrogen and natural gas/biomethane to propel vehicles must be no more than a transitional technology say MEPs.

Motorcycles
The regulation’s scope should also be expanded to include motor-cycles. And she also favours ensuring that rescue services are able to identify the hydrogen power source of such vehicles. For this purpose there are, in addition to the labelling scheme to be introduced initially, various longer-term options such as eCall (which automatically sends a signal to rescue services from the vehicle in the event of an accident), or a central database in which the vehicle’s technical data are stored independently of the vehicle’s owner and can be interrogated by accident rescue services.

 
Emergency services
The European Parliament also says that it must be possible for rescue services to identify the hydrogen power source of a vehicle. The legislative report was adopted with 644 votes in favour, 2 against and 11 abstentions.

A do-it-yourself hybrid has been unveiled by U.S design company, Robert Q. Riley Enterprises. The XR3 Hybrid is a two passenger, three wheeled, hybrid capable of 225mpg and a maximum speed of 80mph.

Weighing just 671 kilos, the plug-in hybrid, it can drive on battery power alone for up to 40 miles. The car (pictured) is also stylistic statement, claims designer, Robert Riley;

 “Once we decide on the basic architecture of the vehicle, styling is the first thing that’s done,” says Riley. “It’s the most intangible quality of the design, but it provides a visual marker for what we are trying to achieve through mechanical design. Styling makes an implied promise, and then it’s up to the mechanical designers to deliver on that promise.”

Safety should not be an issue either, as the front and side portions of the car are foam filled.

Construction instructions, the XR-3 Deluxe Plans Package costs $200 and will show customers how to build their own.  Construction costs vary as mechanics can adapt plans to suit their budget. A hybrid would cost around $25,000 (£14,074) but a diesel only version can be constructed from $10,000 (£5,631). 

Plans can be ordered from www.rqriley.com