News - Page 2290

VAUXHALL plans to have bi-fuel versions of its core car range available next month to meet the burgeoning fleet demand for alternatively fuelled vehicles. The car maker has developed engines which can run on both liquefied petroleum gas and unleaded petrol for the Corsa, Astra, Vectra and Omega, complementing its compressed natural gas powered Combo van which was launched at last year's London Motor Show.

LEX Vehicle Leasing has supplied 300 cars, vans and minibuses to Primary Management (Aldershot), which supplies a transport service to the Aldershot Garrison - the 'home of the British Army'. Under the Government's competing for quality initiative, the deal is part of a complete facilities management contract that supports the Aldershot Garrison providing cleaning, catering, property management stores, distribution, primary medical care and administrative transport.

SOVEREIGN Fleet Services is taking over management of parent company Alliance & Leicester's mixed-badged fleet of about 1,000 vehicles. The move will result in Godfrey Davis Contract Hire, which has been running the Alliance & Leicester operation since it was outsourced in 1994, losing one of its biggest customers.

FORD has began delivering the first of its 50-strong fleet of gas-powered cars and vans to companies - with the first going to Fleet NewsNet sister publication Fleet News for a six-month trial. The manufacturer announced its gas demonstration fleet programme at last year's London Motor Show with rival manufacturer Vauxhall also launching a major gas fleet programme on the back of revealing that its gas-powered Combo van was now on sale .

BUSINESSES must do more to minimise the environmental impact of company cars, junior transport minister Glenda Jackson has told Fleet NewsNet. In a letter responding to the 'Driving Business Forward - the future of the company and business transport' report Jackson also said she 'wholeheartedly' agreed with the report's conclusion that dialogue was needed between the fleet industry, the Government, transport experts and environmental groups where existing problems and new ideas could be discussed in a co-operative mood.

THE Government is not planning a massive tax assault on the company car in next month's Budget, Transport Minister Gavin Strang told a major motor industry conference in London. Strang said impressions that the Government would introduce 'big brother draconian solutions' aimed at Britain's three million company car drivers were unfounded.

JUST 807 of the 45,251 cars given roadside emissions tests by the Vehicle Inspectorate between April 1 and September 30 failed to meet required standards. Transport minister Glenda Jackson has also revealed that of 787 cars checked for roadworthiness, 374 failed.

THE Government has conceded that it does not know how many lives will be saved as a result of its tighter standards for fuel and vehicle emissions. Despite respiratory diseases regularly featuring in the vanguard of anti-traffic arguments, Baroness Jay of Paddington said the impact of cutting local pollution was not yet known.

SPECULATED Government plans to tax vehicles entering the M25 have been condemned by John Lyons, managing director of Godfrey Davis. He said such a scheme would simply add to the tax burden born by drivers and companies, but reduce neither traffic nor pollution levels.

ROAD pricing and charging for employee car park spaces might be acceptable in central London, but it would be impractical in outer London where congestion would continue as there is little alternative to car use, according to a new AA report 'Transport in the Capital'.

INTERNET network provider Planet On-Line has taken delivery of 80 Rover cars worth £1.4 million. The vehicles, which include 620ti, 420GSi, 200vi, VVC Coupe and Vitesse Coupe models, were supplied to Planet On-Line - the largest independently-owned Internet network provider in the UK - by Appleyard of Leeds.

THE battle for fleet business in the key upper medium sector continues to hot up with Vauxhall announcing free additional specification on the Vectra worth almost £500. The offers, which come into effect on March 1 and continue to January 31, 1999 make the Vectra the 'best specced car in the sector', according to Vauxhall fleet director Mike Bonner.

FORMER RAC director Jim McDonald has been appointed managing director of Rover Cars UK. McDonald takes over the reins of the company from commercial director Peter Jones, who has left Rover Group to become chief executive of Sanderson Bramall Motor Group. The company did not previously have a managing director.

FORD is recalling almost 67,000 Fiestas and Courier vans to rectify a problem with the brakes. The manufacturer issued the recall, which affects new-shape Fiestas built between July 1995 and June 1996, after 20 customers reported cases of partial brake failure.

THE Metropolitan Police is advising fleets to treat car keys with the same care and respect as cash or credit cards. Detective inspector Keith Brayne, vehicle crime prevention officer, said car security systems were now so sophisticated that thieves were moving away from breaking into cars, and instead trying to gain access by stealing keys.

FLEET management specialist VELO has foiled an attempted car theft by a fraudster. The crook phoned VELO asking for the identification number of the key to a car, claiming he had bought it from a VELO customer and had since lost the key.

VAUXHALL has pledged to continue to invest heavily in vehicle security after securing a BVRLA Security Award for the sixth time in 11 years. Chris Gubbey, Vauxhall's director of manufacturing, said the company had spent more than £75 million developing and implementing measures to prevent car crime, and would continue to spend a similar sum annually to outwit thieves.

THE British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association is considering a change to its prestigious security awards to focus more on mainstream fleet cars. Differentiating between the security systems on luxury cars has become so difficult that the association feels its awards would be better targeted at more budget-conscious models.

FLEET management software company Car Fleet Control has recorded its best yet January sales month. The beginning of 1998 saw a quartet of orders in the first full sales month for the newly-launched Contract Manager, two new blue sales fleet sales and more than 35 orders for the Fleetbase 3.0 system, which became available late last year.

GLOBAL Self Drive has ordered 100 LDV vehicles worth £1.8 million at showroom prices for its national commercials rental business from LDV main dealer Marshall of Cambridge. The order consists of 67 LDV 3.5t Convoy Hi-Loader vans, 16 factory tippers, three dropsides and 14 LDV 13-seat 3.1t Convoy minibuses. A further 50 2.5t Convoy hi-roof minibuses will complete the deal in early spring.

PERRYS Contract Hire has delivered its latest batch of vehicles to Darwen-based wallcovering giant Borden Decorative Products - giving it £1 million of business with the company. Perrys Contract Hire managing director Alan Carroll said the latest delivery was made up of Volkswagen Passat SE saloons. These would join Borden's mixed-badge fleet of more than 100 vehicles, about half of which are supplied by Perrys.

MOTORISTS are 'dazed and confused' and are being 'taken for a ride' over motoring taxes by the Government, according to an AA/NOP survey of 501 drivers. With a month to go before the March 17 Budget and the Government pledged to increase fuel prices by at least 6% above inflation - a minimum of 6p a litre/27.2p a gallon in real terms - most drivers don't realise they pay 80% in tax at the petrol pump, according to the survey.

AUTOMOTIVE Leasing has become the first leasing company to outsource its maintenance management to a third party in a unique deal with Halfords. The public sector leasing specialist has set up a Halfords implant at its Sussex headquarters to manage maintenance on behalf of a 1,200 nationally-based fleet.

THE AA has signed a new contract to use Glassmatix, the computerised collision repair estimating system developed by Glass's Information Services, to audit repair costs within its 6,000-strong fleet.

TOYOTA has unveiled its new Landcruiser Amazon - the most powerful version of the off-road flagship to date. A new V8 petrol engine and revised six-cylinder turbodiesel will power the restyled and repackaged off-roader when it reaches UK showrooms in April.

INSURANCE giant General Accident has signed a sponsorship deal worth £2,500 with the Fleet Driver Training Association. The money will be used to help raise quality standards within the driver training industry and to promote the value of fleet driver training to a wider audience.

ANGRY pleas from the motor industry for the Government to abandon proposals for a £25 first registration fee appear to have fallen on deaf ears. Following a meeting with Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency civil servants officials have told the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders they are unwilling to make changes to the proposal.

SUPERMARKET giant Kwik Save has signed up with VELO Motor Accident Management for its 600-strong car fleet. Marlow-based VELO won the deal from a rival after Kwik Save decided its incumbent supplier of accident management focused mainly on the standard of service delivered to drivers, but did not provide sufficient risk management information.

PEUGEOT has increased 106, 306 and 406 prices by an average of 1.18% and introduced a range of 306 specification enhancements including air conditioning as standard on GLX models. Two new automatic versions join the 306 Estate range - the LX 1.8 Automatic at £15,545 on-the-road with sunroof or £15,895 with air conditioning in lieu, and GLX 1.8 Automatic at £16,645 on-the-road.

THE Ford Puma is now available with a 1.4-litre 16-valve Zetec-SE engine, as used in the Fiesta range. The new engine, which joins the Puma's existing 1.7-litre unit, will take the car from 0-60mph in 10.8 seconds. The 1.4 model is available in one trim and costs £13,200 on-the-road.