News - Page 2375

THE Institute of Trading Standards Administration has called for more powers to prevent clocking as the DVLA considers tightening up the rules on transfer of vehicle ownership.

THE Fleet Driver Training Association has taken a major step forward with the establishment of minimum qualifications for instructors. From the start of next year, all defensive driver trainers must be Approved Driving Instructors as a minimum.

LEASE Plan has more than doubled its business with printing to videos company Tektronix in a leasing deal which offers evidence that pan-European business is on the increase.

BRITAIN'S big four car manufacturers could offer three year/60,000 mile warranties for no more than an additional £100, according to Fleet Management Services. The Shrewsbury-based company, which last year initiated a campaign against delivery charges, wants franchised dealerships to pressurise car makers into the move.

FUTURE European emissions legislation could spell the death knell for diesel as the oil and motor industries struggle to meet new standards set for early next century.

FLEET News on the Net, a new, fast-access, up-to-the-minute, electronic news, data and archive service available free to information-hungry fleet managers on the much vaunted Internet, is now up and running.

NEW research has proved that cars with automatic transmissions suffer fewer rear end shunts than manual cars. Lease Plan's analysis of its 30,000 strong accident management fleet shows that manual cars are twice as likely as automatics to be hit from behind.

THE fleet car of the future could be powered by hydrogen combined with oxygen in a fuel cell to drive an electric motor - and it could be on sale in just 10 years' time.

BIG fleet bills for replacement catalytic converters could become a thing of the past as the result of a pan-European discovery. British company Timax joined forces with Rosi of France and Ansa of Italy to develop a far more robust cat with a metallic monolith instead of one made from fragile ceramics. The metal construction also enables the cats to be more easily recycled and results in faster light-up times.

CITROEN is hoping to attract smaller fleet buyers with a string of special summer offers.

PERRY Contract Hire has won a half million pound order to supply expanding computer systems integration company Compel with cars. The Ruislip-based contract hire company has already supplied 38 cars to Compel on full service contract hire.

ACCIDENT management company VELO has issued a list of tips for fleet drivers travelling abroad this summer in a bid to avoid possible problems. VELO suggests travellers' cheques are the safest form of money, although European cashpoints increasingly take British cards.

NISSAN is about to host the UK's single largest car launch at a cost of £4.5 million at its Sunderland plant. The company has reserved 6,000 hotel rooms in Newcastle during August and September and dealers will be coming from all over Europe to see a new exhibition planned for the launch of the new Primera.

FLEET operators might moan that cars cost too much and are cheaper in other countries - but it isn't the dealer who is making the money and it could all be good news for those with a three-year-old car to sell.

MOTORWAY Tyre and Auto Centres has announced three new 'freefone' service numbers to help its customers.

MITSUBISHI Motors and United Dominions Trust have launched a joint finance company. Finance Mitsubishi will provide both corporate and retail finance, and will continue to use the Shogun Finance name. All finance packages will be available, from leasing based products to outright purchase type arrangements.

EAST Anglian rental group Willhire is forging ahead after its £20million management buyout with a £10.5 million investment in new vehicles, product and rental centres.

TOYOTA has launched a summer special range of Solair SE models featuring air conditioning and enhanced specification. The Corolla Solair SE has colour-keyed bumpers, mirrors, door handles and side mouldings, white dials and new seat trim. For the first time in its 30 year history, a Corolla now features air conditioning as standard.

TLS has opened its first rental outlet in London, adding to the existing network of 18 branches. The company will offer cars, light and heavy commercials on everything from short term hire to contract hire, from the new site at Park Royal NW10.

ESTATE agent Townends has confirmed an order for 90 VW Golf and Polo models, all in the company's corporate colour Dragon green.

THE Chelmsford Cab Company and its subsidiary, Stansted Airport Taxis, has signed a fleet deal with Volkswagen for 60 Sharan MPVs a year over a three year period.

THE Renault Trafic panel van range will be sold with Vauxhall badges as from next year. The vans will also be sold with Opel badging in Portugal and, later, in Germany.

FOR the first time in 63 years of publication, Glass's Guide has quoted a trade value for a used car higher than the current list price. Following the first auction sale of MGF sports cars - which sold for up to 115% of retail price - Glass's has valued the MGF 1.8i at £19,500 retail for a 95N, 11,000 miles example.

ZURICH Insurance's commercial division has established a national team of account executives dedicated to providing specialist insurance cover and advice to fleet operators. The move reflects Zurich's growing presence in the fleet market and will be followed up by further fleet targeted initiatives later this year.

FLEET driver training has once again received strong backing from the Government. Steven Norris, Minister for Road Safety, reiterated his commitment to driver education at the presentation of awards at the Company Car Driver of the Year Competition, sponsored by Lease Plan and The Times.

A VAUXHALL Vectra company car driver has battled for 5,000 miles with a car that makes more road noise than his old Cavalier. Nevan Kitchen, a safety manager with construction company Laing, knows just how noisy his car is - he has measured it with a decibel meter! At motorway speeds his Vectra produces 78-80 decibels, while a control test with a Cavalier recorded just 72 decibels.

BRITAIN'S largest chauffeur company Miles and Miles has ordered Fleetway Systems' CONNECT booking system to help manage its 60-vehicle luxury car fleet. The system provides complete automation from booking through to invoicing and management reporting to the company, which handles all Avis's chauffeur requirements in the UK.

CITROEN is offering small fleets a free sample of its new fleet management software package - Auto Manager - for a limited period. The offer provides small businesses running less than 50 vehicles with the chance to trial a demonstration Auto Manager package for 30 days free of charge. Thereafter, the first 1,000 applicants will receive a fully operational disc of the complete system free of charge.

INDUSTRY 'heavyweight' Nick Brown has triumphed in his slimming battle and in the process raised more than £10,000 for charity. Brown, who was recently appointed joint managing director of newly-launched leasing and fleet management company First Service Management, a subsidiary of United Dominions Trust, started his sponsored slim on March 3.

A COVENTRY-based manufacturer of industrial chemicals has signed a solus contract hire and outsourcing agreement which could see it cut fleet operating costs by £20,000 a year.