Brand expects its new supermini to contribute 50 per cent of its UK sales in the year ahead Alfa Romeo is pinning hopes on the Mito supermini to give its fortunes a much needed shot in the arm following the sudden departure of chief executive Luca de Meo this month coupled with a European sales slump triggered by the credit crunch. Fiat Group stalwart Sergio Cravero was rapidly installed to replace de Meo and UK managing director Christopher Nicholl insisted the brand would not be distracted from its task of steering a steady course through the economic storm. “Our job in the market doesn’t change,” he said. Alfa Romeo’s new car sales in the UK dropped 19 per cent in 2008 to under 6,000 units as business slumped in the last quarter. “Until September we were on track,” Nicholl said. He claimed the turning…
Has anyone got a gun, I drove the most hideous car in the whole of my career yesterday. It drove like a bag of very wet cement, the ride was harsher than a cheap Cuban cigar, and the interior was as well appointed as a cell in solitary confinement. There are no redeeming features on this rot box, other than the extremely low pricing. You can buy a 2008 for well under six grand, for this you get a 1400cc, five door, family sized vehicle with all this specification: ABS, Adjustable seats, Adjustable steering column/wheel, Air conditioning, Central locking, Driver airbag, Electric windows, Head restraints, Passenger airbag, Power assisted steering, One Owner. Insurance Group 4 and the one I drove only had 4,000 miles on it. You might think this is good value but beware, I have seen a 2003 model with 40,000 miles…
The best small car ever? We simply love the new Fiesta. This is the best small car ever produced; it even beats my other all time favourite the Peugeot 206. The Fiesta drive well, is remarkably well built, reasonably priced and above all looks absolutely fantastic. If you’re looking for the ultimate city car and do the odd long journey, look no further. Don’t bother driving anything else, it’s just not worth it. I have been in the car industry for over 13 years now and pound for pound this is the best car I have ever driven. The model I drove was the 1.25 Zetec (£11,353), it’s got loads of power around town and you might even squeeze 50mph out of it. If you are looking to do longer journeys, I would recommend the 1.4 petrol (£11,842) or the 1.4 TDCi (£12,300). Classy…
How long will we be seeing this XK produced for? The government is in talks with Jaguar / Land Rover to help bail out the troubled car giant. Peter Mandleson is heading up the talks and will be looking to secure the future of the manufacturer. Indian mega company Tata actually own Jaguar / Land Rover and employ 15,000 people in the U.K alone. Things are looking very murky at the moment, with Tata laying the blame elsewhere for the trouble at J/LR. We are not sure whether a bail out will be required at this stage, but things are going to get worse before they get better, so watch this space.
HPI, the UK vehicle provenance and services company, has been acquired by Audatex parent Solera for £94m. The price is well under the £120m publically listed Aviva paid for the business in 2004. HPI supply lots of crucial information throughout the motor industry, we do not expect any problems with their service due to the takeover.
Taking these two identical models and then comparing them, we will determine which model gives best value over a three year period. Using a standard industry three year change cycle, two different mileage uses 10k & 20K per year, we will also take tax and residual values in to account. We will be using unleaded price of 95p and diesel at 108p. The results should be interesting. Ford Mondeo Edge 2.0i 5 speed manual (dealer list price) £17,195.00 Available on: Edge, Zetec, Ghia, Titanium, Titanium X CO2 emissions: 189g/km Annual vehicle excise duty: £210 Fuel efficiency (combined cycle): 35.8mpg Unleaded petrol, 10k per year, 30k total mileage = £3591 Road Tax @ £210 per year, 3 years £630 = £630 Depreciation lost after 3 years based on dealer p/x = £11870 Total cost over a 3…
Here at A1 we love Fords, they are great cars and have come along way since the dark days of the late eighties to late nineties. They were of course complete pants back then and if you bought one then shame on you. Since the launch of the first Focus back in 1998, Ford have been going from strength to strength. In my opinion they have the best overall range of cars, better than any other manufacturer in the world. There is one thing that really lets them down though and that is styling. The new Mondeo is ok, but take a look around the range and you will find some painfully ugly motors. The current Fiesta, Fusion, Focus and C-Max’s are total pigs, aesthetically hideous in every way. If you buy one, it will be because of the view and feel from inside, certainly…
If your looking for a car in the new year, it may not be worth you holding on. With Christmas usually a quiet time of year for the trade, there are some huge savings to be had. Add the credit crunch, new car sales way down and used car values on their knees, you could be in for a real bargain. Best value cars to buy are executives, 4 x 4’s, convertibles and anything nearly new. So if you’re looking and waiting for more downward movement in the market, it might not happen. I am predicting a tough year for the trade in 2009, but things can’t get much worse and we will be looking at a slight recovery of values at some point. So go forth and buy bargains! Kevin
