News - Page 2228

SUBARU unveiled its new Legacy saloon rival at the Geneva Show which it says will rival such sector luminaries as the BMW 3-series, Audi A4, Volkswagen Passat and Alfa Romeo 156. Powered by Subaru's established 2.5-litre 154bhp engine featured in the already-on-sale Legacy estate and Outback, the new saloon will be available next month as a 2.5 GX all-wheel-drive with manual, automatic and luxury pack options. A 2.0-litre version goes on sale in the autumn.

MERCEDES-BENZ gave world debuts to two cars at the Genava Show - the flagship CL coupe and the CLK 55 AMG. The new CL will be available with a choice of two engine options - the CL 600 has a new 6.0-litre 367bhp 12-cylinder engine and the CL500 has a 5.0-litre 306bhp V8 engine. The CL500 will enter UK showrooms at the end of this year and the CL600 in spring 2000.

A NEW hi-tech common rail diesel engine is to appear in the V-class - Mercedes-Benz' people carrier - which made its debut at Geneva. And, simultaneously, all V-class models receive enhancements to both the interior and exterior along with additional safety and comfort features as standard.

MITSUBISHI unveiled its new compact sports utility vehicle which will go on sale in the UK in spring next year at the show's press day on Tuesday. The 4x4 Pajero Pinin, already nicknamed the 'baby' Shogun, will take on the likes of the Land Rover Freelander, Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 in the UK.

RENAULT unveiled a concept car at the Geneva Show which it says provides a strong hint towards a range-topping vehicle to be launched next year as a replacement for the ailing Safrane. The concept Avantime is a spacious grand tourer coupe powered by a 250bhp 3.0-litre V6 engine with six-speed manual transmission.

A DELIBERATE withdrawal from unprofitable fleet business has helped boost profits and turnover at Sanderson Bramall Motor Group to record levels. The expanding dealership, leasing and rental group has announced a 30% rise in turnover to £832 million for the year to December 31, 1998 (1997: £642 million) with pre-tax profits before exceptionals increasing 21% to £17.05 million (1997: £14 million).

UP to 30 new jobs are expected to be created following the arrival of BMG Rover in Chelmsford.

HIGH-performance Ford Mondeo estates are being adapted by Ford Special Vehicle Preparations for use as fast-response police dog units.

PHS is replacing its sales force fleet of Peugeot 106 cars with the new 206 in a contract hire deal worth £150,000. Initially 18 206s are being supplied to the 100-strong PHS fleet by Ryland Multifleet on a three- year/60,000-mile full maintenance contract.

PEARL Assurance is looking for a new fleet manager after its award-winning incumbent Peter Carson left the insurance company 'for personal reasons.' Both parties described his departure as 'amicable,' but it leaves Pearl without a fleet manager for its 2,300 company cars, 1,750 of them BMWs.

FOUL smells in air-conditioned cars have been traced to organisms which may carry potential health threats, warns the AA. The source of the problem is improper or irregular servicing of the air-conditioning units.

CENDANT Claims Plus is introducing the Motor Vehicle Repairers Association's QA Bodyshop standard to its 240-strong network of repairers.

VEHICLE and rental contract hire specialist TLS has expanded its 50-plus network of branches.

TWO new bodyshops have been added to the Acoat Bodyshop Services network taking the total to 107 - Hit and Miss in Yeovil and Bamptons in Swindon.

FLEET operators, emergency services, hardware and software manufacturers, legislators and those involved in fleet, highway management and crime prevention will be travelling from around the world to the Telematics Automotive 1999 National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham for the event which takes place on April 13-15.

SUSSEX-based vehicle leasing and fleet management specialist Automotive Leasing has donated two electric indoor wheelchairs to the new Sussex Rehabilitation Centre at Southlands Hospital to mark the 50th anniversary of the NHS.

TOYOTA has scooped three top positions in the five car categories of the 1999 German reliability survey Technische Uberwachungs Vereine (TUV).

IMPROVEMENTS in the rate of decline of used car values were maintained last month, according to latest figures from CAP Motor Research. CAP's used car values index - the automotive equivalent of the 'Footsie' - based on a basket of 98 cars at three years/45,000 miles showed trade prices fell 3.8% year-on-year in February, the same rate as January but a significant improvement on the last four months of 1998.

USED Japanese imports have adversely affected one-in-four franchised dealers, according to new research from the Retail Motor Industry Federation. These 'grey' imports are affecting not only Japanese franchises such as Honda and Toyota, but also some European marques like Vauxhall and Volkswagen.

NEWS of today's Budget is now available on this site following Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's speech to the House of Commons.

FLEET managers and drivers are ready to heed environmental messages in Tuesday's Budget, but will not turn their backs on company cars. A Fleet News/ Kwik-Fit Fleet survey has revealed a strong, long term commitment to the company car, despite a widespread feeling that Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown is planning to increase benefit-in-kind tax.

A POWERFUL cross-party parliamentary committee has called for the Government to scrap business mileage tax breaks for company car drivers. The influential Environmental Audit Committee questioned leading politicians and received submissions from 'green' lobbyists such as Friends of the Earth and London First before reaching its stark verdict.

THE Government must remove any tax which disincentivises employers from introducing green commuter schemes for their staff, according to the Environmental Audit Committee. Its call came less than a month after news emerged that Boots faced a back-dated tax bill of £500,000 to cover the benefit-in-kind liability of staff who have taken advantage of corporately-sponsored buses to get to work, rather than use their own cars.

CHANCELLOR of the Exchequer Gordon Brown is under pressure both to consider an environmentally-based car purchase tax, and to introduce a graduated vehicle excise duty in his Budget on Tuesday. The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee made the introduction of a graduated reduced VED one of the key recommendations of its fourth report.

SUBMISSIONS to the Environmental Audit Committee reveal the conflicting arguments over what fuel duty measures would actually make a difference to air quality. Calor Gas, for example, argued that cars powered by liquefied petroleum gas could help to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 25% compared to petrol models, and also had considerable advantages in terms of their nitrogen oxide and particulate emissions.

VOLKSWAGEN has announced the pricing for its new Bora four-door saloon which can be ordered from the middle of this month. At around £1,000 below the Passat and about £1,000 more than the Golf the Bora slips in between the two and VW is looking to sell 15,000 units per year by the end of next year - of these Volkswagen expects about 70% to go to fleets.

THE Treasury is continuing to review duty on liquefied petroleum gas as part of the Government's drive to encourage cleaner emission vehicles. In the run up to Tuesday's Budget, Patricia Hewitt, economic secretary to the Treasury, confirmed that the issue of duty on LPG, petrol and diesel is far from over.

ARRIVA Automotive Solutions is up for sale again, just three months after its parent Arriva plc abandoned plans to sell the contract hire and fleet management giant. Arriva's new chief executive Bob Davies has outlined a fresh strategy for the group in which Arriva Automotive Solutions has no long term role.

THE Government has said it will work with BMW to guarantee the future of Rover's troubled car plant at Longbridge. BMW has already pledged to build the Mini replacement at Longbridge, but the future prosperity of the factory and its 14,000 workers depends on it winning the battle to build the mid-size replacement for the Rover 200 and 400.

A 17.5% growth in corporate business helped Avis Europe increase its pre-tax profits by 44.1% last year, despite its fleet costs outstripping any rises in rental rates. Europe's largest car hire company successfully targeted small and medium sized businesses across the continent as part of its growth strategy, and this sector played a major role in growing Avis' number of rental days by 9.7% across the continent.