Our registration stats do a pretty good job of measuring what Make’s and Model’s are the most popular in Ireland but when we were asked if we knew what car manufacturer was the ‘Cleanest’ our stats people had a little bit of homework to do.

The analysis meant we had to examine over 89,000 new cars registered in Ireland last year and work out by manufacturer the number of individual models that were put on the road.

From there it was a case of adding up the CO2 output for each car and dividing it by the total number of units. This gave us our average CO2 per Manufacturer and for the first time in Ireland a list of the Top 10 Cleanest Cars in the country was possible.

Mini Takes the Prize

Impressively it was the popular Mini that topped the pole with an impressive average CO2 of 117.12 grammes per kilometer. A mighty victory for the humble hatch given the staggering advances made in reducing CO2 emissions across the industry.

Top 10 Cleanest Cars

Related posts:

1. Mini Countryman Now Available in Ireland
2. New Car Sales Disappoint With Small Rise (4.6%) On Last Year
3. Motorcheck introduces a ‘new’ New Car Search Engine

As a consequence our parent company Benchmark Automotive has a Senior PHP Developer position open.

This is a fantastic opportunity to become part of a young dynamic team at one of Ireland’s most innovative organisations in the automotive industry.

As well as operating Ireland’s leading Car History Provider, Benchmark Automotive facilitates all manner of business requirements for Insurance Customers, Parts Distributors, Maintenance Operators…etc.

Who are we looking for?

We’re looking for someone who can take a lead role in helping us to create, extend and optimise our database(s) as well as enhance the company’s core products with innovation and problem-solving skills.

A reputation of getting things done quickly and efficiently would be great. People who work with you will describe you as a smart, get it done, make it happen person.

What skills should you have?

• Experience with OOP PHP 5.
• Strong MySQL skills (with experience working on large databases preferable).
• Comfortable working with XHTML, CSS, Javascript especially JQuery and de-bugging cross-browser compatibility problems.
• Familiarity with Apache and Unix/Linux.
• Experience developing and / or working with APIs and MVC framework are a distinct advantage.
• A number of years experience working in a similar role with a proven track record as well as a relevant third level qualification would be preferable.

Where’s the Job and What will it Pay?

Our offices are based in Swords. Hours are 9am-6pm, mon-fri. The salary is negotiable and commensurate with experience. If you’re the right person the sky’s the limit!

How to apply.

If you’re interested in throwing your hat in the ring please forward your cv by email marked for the attention of human resources to hr@benchmark.ie

Related posts:

1. Custom Reports
2. Scam Warning for Irish Motor Trade
3. Merlin Car Auctions is Ireland’s Best Managed Company

This fraud involves a seemingly genuine vehicle that has been advertised at a fantastic price. The ad will contain pictures of what we call a ‘Ghost Vehicle’. This is a car that was once genuinely advertised and the fraudster stole the pictures for later use in a fake ad.

The fraudster may even purchase a Motorcheck report for the vehicle and publish a link to it for the unsuspecting buyer to view. Normally the ‘Ghost Vehicle’ will have a very good record with Motorcheck which can give buyers the false impression that the ad is genuine.

At Motorcheck we use a variety of methods to identify these reports. If you see this page when attempting to view a report you’ve seen mentioned in an online ad you can be fairly certain that the vehicle being advertised is being used as part of an elaborate scam.

There are of course other ways of identifying a scam which every buyer should be aware of.

Further Checks

For further advice from Motorcheck on how to identify and avoid car related scams click here.

Boards.ie also have a popular scam thread on their motor forum

If you think you have come across a car related scam or would like our advice on any advertisement you can leave a comment below and we’ll be in touch.

Related posts:

1. Scam Warning for Irish Motor Trade
2. Stolen Cars Seized in Balbriggan as part of Garda Operation
3. New Car Sales Disappoint With Small Rise (4.6%) On Last Year

The fact that you’re reading this page means it’s highly likely that you have purchased a Motorcheck report and found that the vehicle you’re checking has an odometer discrepancy.

To explain what this could mean we decided to publish the following guide which should give you some ideas on how to proceed.

What does an ‘Odometer Discrepancy’ mean?

A Motorcheck report automatically alerts you to an odometer discrepancy when we find two (or more) odometer readings that conflict with each other. By conflicting we mean that one reading on your report is lower than a previously recorded one.

Is there any leeway before a discrepancy is highlighted?

Yes. We take the responsibility of highlighting possible cases of clocking seriously and prefer not to highlight cases where it’s likely that an offending reading was simply mis-entered as opposed to anything more serious.

To achieve this we take the following view – Where the difference in two readings is no greater than 2,500 Kilometers and the time between them is less than 1 year – we don’t highlight a discrepancy. Otherwise we do.

Are all mileage discrepancies proof of a car having been clocked?

None of our warnings constitue actual proof. They should be considered as a serious issue that needs to be addressed before completing a purchase.

Is it possible that there could be an odometer reading showing that’s not correct?

Of course. We rely on a variety of data contributors for our mileage data and as the majority of readings were at one point entered by a human being there’s always the chance of a human error cropping up.

Is there any way of identifying an incorrect reading?

This can be tricky as each report is different but most of the errors we encounter are easy enough to identify.

Typically they occur in the middle of an established pattern and stand out like a sore thumb. If the odometer history shows a progressive increase (as you would expect) only to be broken in the middle by one rogue entry, it’s highly likely that this record was submitted incorrectly.

What does a clocked car look like?

Usually a car that has had its odometer tampered with will demonstrate a pattern before and after the mileage was clocked. You’ll notice a significant drop at a point in time only to see the readings increase again from the lower point.

Is there anyone I can call if I have a question?

Of course. You can call a member of our help team directly at +353 (0)1 8839230 anytime between 9 and 5, Monday to Friday. We’re only too happy to look at any report you might like a second opinion on and if necessary for your peace of mind we will double check the source of any problem entry.

Will Motorcheck amend an odometer reading?

Yes of course. If we satisfy ourselves that the reading on file in the Irish National Mileage Register is incorrect we will have it amended and issue a new report free of charge.

Related posts:

1. I think my car was clocked. What should I do?
2. Car Clocking Costs Irish Consumers Up To €40 Million
3. Do You Want Free Motorcheck Reports?

Jenson Button will race his F1 Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes along the Dublin city track which starts at the Convention Centre Dublin, continues along Customs House Quay before crossing Butt Bridge, chicane’s at D’Olier Street, zips past College Green and the Central Bank on Dame Street before reaching the chequered flag on O’Connell Bridge.

Bavaria City Racing Dublin is a free public event and over 150,000 people are expected to line the streets of Dublin to enjoy the best the world of motorsport has to offer.

For those who want to get closer to the action there are three ticketed premium performance zones on the track at Customs House Quay, O’Connell Bridge and at the Main Paddock on North Wall Quay. Tickets for these areas are priced from €75.90 and are available from Ticketmaster.

Bavaria City Racing Dublin Ambassador, Eddie Jordan said “I’m hugely excited about Bavaria City Racing Dublin, this is something spectacular, something you’ve never witnessed before and I for one can’t wait”

Gavin Collins of Bavaria City Racing is equally excited, “We are delighted to be able to announce that the Vodafone-McLaren F1 team is coming to Dublin to be a centrepiece of the Bavaria City Racing Dublin experience. They are a premier F1 team and Jenson is one of the leading drivers in world motorsport. Our thanks go to the Vodafone Ireland team, at their headquarters in Leopardstown, who were instrumental in ensuring that Jenson and the team will be in Dublin next summer.”

Robert Hyland, Sponsorship Manager at Vodafone Ireland, commented, “We are truly excited at the prospect of bringing the Formula 1 experience to Dublin. Jenson is one of the sports great ambassadors and we are delighted to be able to help showcase what he and the cars can do in front of an Irish audience. It will be a massive event for the city that will be remembered for years to come.”

Patrick Cooney, Managing Director of Gleeson commented, “Gleeson is delighted to be working with Bavaria to bring Bavaria City Racing to Dublin, having witnessed the event first hand in both Rotterdam and Moscow, I am confident that this will be a great event and will be supported by the people of Dublin, from all over Ireland and we also expect a large contingent from abroad. With the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 Team onboard, this will be one of the most exciting events for Ireland in 2012.”

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3. Doldrums Season

Unfortunately we don’t see them as often as we’d like now that new car sales have shrunk to just under 90,000 but you don’t have to be a major car dealer to use NVD. They were just as happy to take my 1973 Mercedes 280CE up to Donegal for some restoration work and bring it back to Ben at Lichtenberg classics in Enniskerry for some TLC under the hood.

Cian Royston, NVD’s Sales Manger called into Motocheck HQ this week to tell us about the companies latest services and an exciting new device they have brought to the Irish market.

The ‘Heatshot’ is a heated winscreen wash system that clears ice, snow, grease, bird droppings and dead insects from the windscreen, whilst prolonging the life of your wiper blades. With predictions of a harsh winter around the corner it looks like the ‘Heatshot’ will be a on many a Christmas present list. My Merc will certainly be a client!

Introducing the ‘Heatshot’ from NVD

To order one today

The Heatshot comes supplied and fitted at €250 per unit. You can find an approved ‘Heatshot’ dealer on the NVD website here. Mention Motorcheck.ie when you’re ordering and you might manage to shave a euro or two off the price.

Related posts:

1. Winter Driving
2. Stolen Irish Cars disguised as UK Cars
3. Merlin Car Auctions is Ireland’s Best Managed Company

Motorcheck was there to experience the excitement of the world premier and we’re delighted to be able to bring you these early pictures along with the official BMW video of the iconic brand’s next generation.

We’ll be giving you our thoughts on the car in a later article but for now let’s just say that it’s going to sell like hot cakes!

Official BMW Video

Some Pictures from the Launch & Press Pack

Official Brochure Images
BMW Model Range Pricelist

Related posts:

1. Barcelona Harley Days 2011
2. Pictures from the Frankfurt Motor Show 2011
3. The Concept of Concept Cars

In an effort to see if the problem was still as bad as ever we conducted a study of 6,000 Motorcheck reports that were produced this year for Irish consumers thinking of buying a car. The results were staggering - 1 in 5 of the vehicles we reported on were returned with an odometer discrepancy and potentially clocked.

One of the reasons people get conned by car clockers is that there simply isn’t enough awareness amongst the general public about the extent of this problem. We’re now a nation of bargain hunters and when we think we’ve found the deal of the century we’re inclined to act without thinking and hand over the cash.

The amount of people who contact us for advice after handing over cash in a supermarket car park to a stranger for a car that later turns out to be clocked (or worse) never ceases to surprise me.

In the News

RTE’s Nine O’Clock News featured the results of our study on tonight’s bulletin and I’m positive that this will help. At least for the moment….but more needs to be done. Our detection rate is increasing but it’s intrinsically linked to the quantity and quality of data our researchers can gather.

More Mileage Readings Required

Since 2007 the NCT programme has tested over 4 million cars (not including re-tests) and recorded an odometer reading at each test. Our own National Mileage Register has just under 4 million readings currently available to Motorcheck customers. If we combined the two we would have a greatly enhanced and effective weapon against car clocking.

For vehicles in the UK or previously imported to Ireland our UK partners provide our customers with access to over 50 Million odometer readings and our detection rate on clocked imports is benefiting greatly as a result.

RTE’s Will Goodbody reports in the piece above that Government officials are looking into the possibility of sharing the NCT data. SIMI’s Alan Nolan supports the proposal and Motorcheck is more than willing to do the heavy lifting (technically speaking). Here’s hoping it comes sooner than later.

In the interim, while it continues to be easy for a car clocker to modify the odometer reading on a car, it’s not so easy to explain the discrepancy when it shows up on a Motorcheck.ie report. Thankfully our detection rate is growing and we’re seeing more and more of these rogue sellers being caught out by our valued customers.

Related posts:

1. Car Clocking Costs Irish Consumers Up To €40 Million
2. FAQ – Is this car clocked?
3. Do You Want Free Motorcheck Reports?

It’s a safe little design, conservative in the best VW tradition, and will eventually have alternative powertrain systems as well as the high-efficiency petrol one at launch.

But what does the name mean? Okay so there can be advantages in having a concept car with an odd name, because people remember it. And there’s no doubt that the up! is as close to the concept we first saw a couple of shows ago as makes no difference. There’s a clue in the grades to be offered—’take’, ‘move’ and ‘high’.

Yes, the lower cases are official. So you’ll be driving a ‘take up!’, a ‘move up!’ or a ‘high up!’. Are any of those what you’d like to be answering the question ‘what do you drive’ in party-time conversation?

Daft Names

Chrevolet Luv

Anyone raised to ‘proper’ writing will have difficulties with proper names that don’t have a capital, and where punctuation marks are put in strange places. For instance, ’smart’ as a car name never seems to be right compared to ‘Smart’, and the affectation by BMW of ‘MINI’ rather than ‘Mini’ always jars on a page. As for Kia’s otherwise excellent ‘cee’d'…

Still, it could be worse. The history of naming cars is littered with stuff that is odd, daft, inappropriate, and often downright hilarious.

For instance, did you hear about the Honda Life Dunk? Or the Yamaha Pantryboy? Or what about the Chevrolet Luv? Maybe the Isuzu GIGA 20 Light Dump? Fortunately, none of them ever got to this side of the world. Though we did have the Invicta Black Prince Wentworth. (Actually, the ‘Luv’ wasn’t American spelling to the bottom, but an acronym for Light Utility Vehicle.)

Oops!

Mazda Laputa

Creating a global car model is fraught with cultural traps. For instance, Ford’s Pinto, Buick’s LaCrosse, Opel’s Ascona, and Mitsubishi’s Pajero all have sexual connotations—mostly unflattering—in some languages and even in slang in English. Which is why they are renamed (Mitsubishi Shogun, for instance) in some markets.

Even when they try to be classical—the Mazda LaPuta was actually named after a city in Gulliver’s Travels, but means something entirely different (and easily understood) in Spanish.

And when Chevrolet in the US tried to market their Nova compact car in central and south American countries, the Spanish translation into ‘Won’t Go’ wasn’t a big help in making it popular.

Getting it right

Some do work well, though. Land Rover, for instance, does exactly what it says on the sheet metal, and the model names—Defender, Discovery, Range Rover—generally been well chosen. Even the Evoque is probably pretty good for the urban market it is aimed at.

Lamborghini Diablo

Aggression helps. Nissan’s Bluebird never caught the imagination, but Plymouth’s Barracuda and Ford’s Mustang both pulled at the macho-strings of their mainly male buyers. Equally Dodge’s Viper, and Lamborghini’s Diablo (did you know that Lambos used to be named after renowned fighting bulls, such as the Murcielago which killed a matador in the late 19th century?).

Finding names for cars these days is big branding business, and there are companies which specialise in creating them, for very big money. Lippincott Mercer in New York created Infiniti as the luxury brand for Nissan, for instance. It breaks a rule that anything longer than three syllables rarely works well as a car name, but all the ‘i’s give it a flow.

There’s a story that in the brainstorming for a Toyota luxury brand, women’s names were being bandied around. ‘Alexis’ was heard by one person as ‘A Lexus’, and thus a carmaker name was born.

Toyota’s ‘Prius’ was deliberately chosen from the Latin ‘to go before’, or ‘first’, to indicate that it was the first hybrid production car. It might seem strange to use a dead language, and probably very few owners relate it to Latin. But it worked. ‘Mondeo’ also sounds Latin, but it is a totally made-up word that was designed to suggest a ‘world’ car, which the original version was supposed to be.

As a nameplate it has worked well for Ford. Which we hope up! will do for VW’s probably excellent small car.

As long as we don’t get fed up! explaining it to our friends.

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2. Car Recalls – Just How Common Are They?
3. Pictures from the Frankfurt Motor Show 2011

In advance of their conquest, BMW have announced this version as a completely new car. Certainly access to the rear seats has been improved and despite having a more sporty look the BMW design team managed to cram an additional 30 litres of extra space into the boot. Occupants will notice the extra space in the cabin width, rear legroom and luggage area but for me it’s the modified styling that really impresses.

There’s no mistaking this car in your rear view mirror as anything but a BMW. The three dimensional lines around the nose of the car serve to push the kidney grille forward and together with the broad air intake behind the number plate gives the car a rather imposing presence on the road.

From the rear the protruding wheel arches continue the cars’ sporty yet compact feel and the low position of the number plate helps to ‘ground’ the car. The profile shows off the newly lengthened wheel base which uses its short front and rear overhangs to deliver the trademark BMW driving dynamics.

Sibling Rivalry

Sitting inside you can’t fail to appreciate the quality of the BMW interior. For some reason the car feels like a teenager thats come of age and ready to take on its older siblings. The influence of modern technology design is obvious with a certain ‘iPhone’ feel to the design of the display.

After its official launch in October Irish buyers will be able to order a new 1 Series with a Sport or Urban package. Both have been specifically tuned for Irish and UK roads and have significantly enhanced standard specification over the outgoing car.

The model we were introduced to was BMW’s ‘Sport’ option which comes with a high-gloss black trim with a red accent stripe. The red accents in the the instrument panel add to the overall impression making it a car that I’m looking forward to test driving.

Pricing

The 116D Manual Sport that we saw comes in at around €31,000 (on the road) and qualifies for €104 per annum road tax. There are cheaper petrol models available but BMW expect this to be the one that Irish buyers will be attracted to.

You can get the BMW 1 Series Pricelist here.

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1. New BMW 3 Series Unveiled
2. My Two Year Old has a Bone to Pick with Renault.
3. Winter Driving

The 64th motor show, this years event is subtitled “Future comes as standard” and the new selection of concept and electric cars certainly backs up the feeling that we’re moving into a new age. Tickets start at €15 and if you’re thinking of going you’ll need to book online here.

We’ll be adding pictures to this post over the coming hours so be sure to check back often!

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2. Barcelona Harley Days 2011
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Skoda Logo

It is the fourth Skoda logo since 1926 and the third to have the winged arrow.

The original laurel-surrounded Skoda name and the badge were used in tandem from 1926, when the company founded by Václav Lauren, and Václav Klement shifted from using the founders’ names after its acquisition by the industrial conglomerate Skoda Works.

An interesting thing about the logo is that it is still shared with the current incarnation of Skoda Works, even though Volkswagen acquired 100 percent ownership of the business’s car operation in 1999. The industrial Skoda specialises in building locomotives, tramcars and trolley buses, electric drive units, and also operates a consultancy for development of railway stock.

Hood Ornaments

Anyhow, the whole thing got us to thinking about hood ornaments, the things we used to have on cars before we got worried about what they did to unfortunate pedestrians who got in their way.

Familiar ones are the Bentley ‘Flying Lady’, officially the Spirit of Ecstasy, and designed Charles Sykes in 1911.

It was modelled by Eleanor Thornton, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu’s personal secretary and lover. There are two tragic aspects to the ‘Lady’‚ the illegitimate daughter which they gave up for adoption, and Eleanor’s death in 1915 when the ship she was travelling on was torpedoed by a U-boat.

Bentley Flying Lady

Another quite beautiful one was the Austin Swallow’s ornament (title picture), depicting a swallow in full flight on the Austin 7 derivative of the early 1930s. The mascot came in a number of variations, from a very true representation of the bird to a sleek more modern iteration. The car was upmarket but good value, and in many respects was the progenitor of Jaguar cars.

And of course, the Jaguar ‘Leaper’ is a classic of its kind.

Although there was an earlier version in 1935, the true beginnings of the current version was designed by automotive artist F Gordon Crosby in 1938. It was supplied to owners as an optional extra, costing two guineas.

The leaping big cat is still available in some markets where not prohibited by safety legislation. Crosby himself began his career as a draughtsman with Daimler, and his Grand Prix art as well as his work for Autocar magazine has left one of the most important legacies of automotive art.

Jaguar Leaper

A quiet man who religiously attended the Paris Motor Salons to produce illustrations of new cars, he killed himself in 1943 following the death of his son in the war.

American Tradition

The Americans have traditionally been big into hood ornaments, and one of our favourites is from a brand that GM killed off last year, Pontiac. The famous Pontiac‚”Chief” ornament on the company’s cars of the 1940s was no less than 19 inches long, and a master work in chrome.

Obviously it related to the name Pontiac, the city the original wagon company was founded in. In turn, the city had been named after a chief of the Ottawa North American Indian tribe, and the car companys slogan as “The Chief of the Sixes”‚ referring to its 6-cylinder engine of very good repute.

Caddy Trumpet Tooter

Finally, one of the most whimsical ornaments must be the ‘Trumpet Tooter’ which was available as an aftermarket accessory on the 1929 Cadillac.

More officially known as the Herald, the statuette mounted on the radiator cap was a medieval herald blowing a straight horn to figuratively announce the coming of the car.

Pontiac Chief

It was the first hood ornament to be approved by Cadillac. A valuable item now, there are more modern reproductions floating around which don’t have the class of the original.

There’s probably a book on hood ornaments, probably already done somewhere. But after looking around at a few, the new Skoda emblem has a lot of great acts to follow. We’ll be seeing it this week on a near-production car to be shown at Frankfurt.

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2. Motorcheck Mechanics – Free Expert Advice From Ireland’s Leading Motor Mechanics
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And probably a bit annoyed, too, at the carmaker’s insistence that the Evos will never be built. The overwhelming reaction was that this four-door and very sporty car should be seen on the road.

But Evos, as Ford’s chief designer Martin Smith said, is a car designed to ‘deliver a message’ about Ford’s future style direction. It shows an evolution of the Kinetic Design which underpins the looks of all current Ford cars. There are other messages too, promising quality to challenge the established prestige cars, and on powertrains—the Evos is a plug-in hybrid.

The showcar also highlights Ford’s direction in connectivity to individual owners’ lives and lifestyles, and a significant part of the presentation was given over to pushing how a hypothetical owner of an Evos could depend on the car to manage much of his or her daily diaries. To the point that many asked ‘who’s doing the driving, me or the car?’.

Evos will certainly wow the visitors to Frankfurt, and though there will be a lot of other concepts there, it certainly won’t be lost in the scrum.

A History of Showcars

The preview prompted us to wonder about showcars generally, so we took a look at their history. They can be divided roughly into the probably practical and the downright bizarre.

1938 Buick Y Job

The idea is generally credited to an American designer Harley Earl, who worked for GM and came up with his ‘Buick Y-Job’ concept in the late 30s. The car—which Earl drove himself until 1951—previewed design and tech elements which were used by the brand through the 1950s.

Earl’s last big project was the Cadillac Cyclone of 1959, which included the tailfins that became the prestige brand’s trademark through another decade.

(The Cyclone also featured in concept a radar anti-avoidance system, which has only recently actually appeared in production cars, including Volvo and Ford everyday models.)

Most automotive historians credit Renault’s Espace and Dodge’s Caravan as being the first MPVs, but few people remember the Lancia Megagamma concept shown at the 1978 Turin Motor Show. It was never produced, but a lot of its design ideas made their way to both MPV and small car genres. Nissan’s Prairie was probably the first of the ‘minivans’ to adopt them.

Lancia Megagamma

Volvo’s YYC concept of 2004 was ‘designed by women for women’ and featured an engine compartment that could only be accessed in a specialist service shop, run-flat tyres so the woman driver wouldn’t have to try and change a wheel, and dent-resistant bumpers and body panels (which all say something about Volvo’s view of women owners!).

BMW’s GINA of 2001 onwards was a fabric-skinned vehicle which was designed to ‘shape-change’ according to driving conditions. Never intended to actually go on the road, it is today an interesting ‘no touch’ exhibit in BMW’s museum in Munich.

The wackiest showcar? Maybe the turbine-powered Ghia Streamline built for the 1955 Turin Motor Show, straight out of science fiction dreams of the time.

More recent ones in this category could include the Honda P-NUT shown at Los Angeles in 2009—though vehicles like this do provide valuable testing of opinion and techniques for packaging and powertrain development.

Meantime, Ford, just take the gullwings off the Evos, drop a 1.6 TDCI into the engine compartment, and roll it out as a production car. They’ll buy, believe us, they’ll buy.

Still on concepts, take a good look at the DC 100 Concept (see below) which will be on Land Rover’s stand at Frankfurt next week. It foreshadows the ideas for replacing the Defender in four years’ time. And shows that, no matter how much a car is an icon, there comes a time to let go and move on.

Further Viewing

Related posts:

1. New BMW 3 Series Unveiled
2. Pictures from the Frankfurt Motor Show 2011
3. Barcelona Harley Days 2011

Well, not exactly the stuff that comes sometimes in bottles with worms in the bottom, but ethanol made from agave. Agave is a plant found it deserts around the world, from which alcohol is distilled. In Mexico, it’s what they make tequila from, but you also find agave plantations in Tanzania, and even in Australia.

The thought prompted us to look briefly at transport ethanol figures in Ireland and now we wonder where the great biofuel buzz of some years ago has gone?

A 'Flexifuel' Focus

So far this year, ‘Flexifuel’ capable cars (ie, E85 or a mix of 15 percent ethanol to 85 percent petrol) are running at around 1.6 percent of total new car sales, or not an awful lot less than in 2008, when the figure was 1.8 percent, albeit of a much larger car market. When the market crashed in 2009, it still ran at some 1.2 percent. The big bump happened last year, with 3.3 percent of cars described as Flexifuel.

Ford was the first to introduce an FFV here, a Focus in 2005. Volvo and Saab also had them available, and indeed in 2009 nearly 17 percent of all Volvo sales were FFVs. But the CO2 changes to Road Tax signalled a death knell, as Flexifuel cars had a higher tailpipe CO2 reading than diesel and owners didn’t benefit. At the beginning of this year, Maxol withdrew E85 from its forecourts when the excise duty dispensation was abolished, and that was it. Bottoms up, tequila!

New Mercedes B-Class

New B-Class

Meanwhile, an interesting aerodynamics figure for the new-generation Mercedes-Benz B-Class prompted a look at how the company does in these things. Indeed, the 0.26 Cd for the new car is really good in anyone’s slipperiness language, and actually is also the figure for the current E-Class.

But it doesn’t get close to the Bionic concept the brand produced in 2005 with a 0.19 rating, though it is likely that they learned from that to help bring the B-Class figure down. Did you know, though, that the Bionic was actually modelled on one of the ugliest fish we’ve seen, the boxfish?

Latest from Frankfurt

Kia concept to be shown at Frankfurt

As Frankfurt now looms to within a couple of weeks’ time, there are some featuring cars that we’re particularly looking forward to seeing in the metal. One is a 4-seat sports coupe from Kia, a rear drive model which could bring Europe’s fastest growing brand into contention with the likes of the Audi A5 or A7 and similar if brought to production.

At the other extreme, the new generation of Bentley’s Continental CTC will certainly attract attention. Always one of the most elegant of the current crop of super-luxury cars, with a 575hp engine that offers 700Nm of torque, the new version of this big car can accelerate to 100km/h in 4.8 seconds. The car can run on E85 biofuel, petrol or any combination of the two fuels. Hmm … maybe Maxol were a little premature in opting out of the ethanol market?

Vokswagen introduces a ‘Service Promise’

Volkswagen Service Promise

With most of the car sales for the year now done in Ireland, the dealerships who want to keep their staff busy are all doing their best to get customers in for aftermarket services. Volkwagen Ireland is one case in point, and they’re offering owners of post-2007 VW cars a €99 service deal for an oil and filter change, with a 34-point ‘health check’ of the car, and a check for upgrades to any parts under warranty.

The 10-point ‘Service Promise’ also provides free fitting of replacement bulbs and wipers, a free car wash and vacuum, and a promise to match any ‘like for like’ written quotation from a service operation within 10kms of any Volkswagen Service Centre.

Come out, come out where ever you are!

It’s a good time to have such ideas too, as over the next couple of months those coming in to take advantage of them will no doubt be going through the showrooms, which could just start them thinking that replacement might be possible next year. In the Tiger Years, changing a car was spontaneous and instant; now it is the long sell. Like a good fisherman, the car salesmen today have to spread the bait carefully, and wait for the right opportunity to reel in.

But the river is getting darker as the sun slips away from us, and it’s getting harder to see where next year’s fish are going to be plentiful, if at all?

Related posts:

1. Mini is The Cleanest Car in Ireland
2. Clocking costs UK car buyers more than £500m a year
3. First Electric Car From Mitsubishi Arrives In Ireland

It’ll be interesting to see how this new ‘urban’ Rangie takes off. Because that’s the market it’s aimed at, denizens of the not-quite-so-rich-anymore better parts of Britain and Ireland’s cities will have a chance to roll out in something that doesn’t reek of carbonised environment. And which doesn’t have intimidating bulk (although it’s only 12cm shorter than the original Range Rover, and is wider).

It’s the style that will help swing it. There’s nothing like it in the small SUV game, and certainly there is nothing with the Range Rover cachet in either size or price. Never mind that the running gear is essentially the same as the Freelander 2 and coming in around ten big notes more‚ it’ll be some time before anything eclipses the Evoque in smart cafe talking points. And it leaves a lot more coffee money in the back pocket than does the Range Rover Sport.

Evoque is coming at a good time for Land Rover Ireland, which seems to be shaking off the recession more than we’d realised. With two-thirds of the year gone, and most of the buying for 2011 done anyhow, the brand is up a healthy 60 percent in units over the whole of last year, to 352. That aforementioned Freelander 2 is mostly responsible, with a small five units assist from Discovery. But full sized Range Rovers have also sold more than four times more, to 22, suggesting that not every big spender here is living in NAMA. Range Rover Sports are down by a third, though, to just 43 units. And we’re wondering if those lost customers, and probably more from other luxury brands, are hanging in for the Evoque?

Range Rover boss in Ireland Eddie Kavanagh is bullish anyhow, as he told the Irish crew last week that interest in the car has been ‘phenomenal’.

Saab Pull Out of Frankfurt

There’s nothing quick about the death of a thousand cuts for Saab, which looks increasingly in a terminal condition following the beginning of debt collection proceedings in the middle of last week. Interestingly, the Swedish state does the debt collecting, at the moment looking for around half a million euro on behalf of a brace of suppliers. And there are more coming out of the wings to place their claims.

The factory hasn’t produced any cars since early June, and the company pulled out of the Frankfurt Motor Show. Very sad for a brand that drove out its first car in 1947, and soon earned reputations for reliability and motorsport competitiveness. Of course, the name remains strong on the no-longer-connected aerospace and defence systems original company.

Other New Cars

Lexus GS

Lexus is showing strength too in its new design direction, floated at the end of the week by the new generation GS at trendy Pebble Beach in California. Having totally embraced the hybrid ethos, the company will be showing us the 450h version at Frankfurt.

At the same show we’re getting the production versions of the Astra GTC sporty coupe and the Zafira Tourer, both of which up the game in both looks and performance, if the pictures and the promises are anything to go by. But don’t you really hate the PR piffling teaser of them also bringing a ’surprise’ to the show, of ‘an experimental car that will emphasise the company’s passion for driver-focused vehicles’. I mean, every carmaker claims that kind of thing, let’s have a little more direct talk here, guys. Is it a new sports car, or a Mars rover?

Zafira Tourer

At least Jaguar has given us a decent drawing of its new sports car, the C-X16 which is widely considered to be the 21st century resurrection of the E-Class. We’ll see the real thing at Frankfurt, and close to the production car too. Good timing, after the very successful 60th anniversary celebrations of that latter. Still sexy after all these years!

Something Different?

As also is the more than a century old Silver Stream spotted on a rare outing at the Harley Davidson & Vintage Rally at Crookstown, Co Kildare. This one was for a long time in Denis Lucey’s collection in The Museum of Irish Transport in Killarney. The 18/22hp Roi-de-Belges Tourer was built in 1909 by an engineer in Carnalway, Kilcullen, one Philip Somerville-Large.

Silver Stream

He fancied himself as an Irish Henry Royce and bought the best parts he could find. It was sold in London in 2007 for ¬£130,000 and isn’t seen much. It was a present-day Kilcullen man, Ronan Murphy, who snapped it (and isn’t the resolution of his iPhone 4 pretty sharp?).

Rate the Stream against an Evoque, would you? Will there be any Evoques driving around in 102 years’ time?

Related posts:

1. Citroën Introduce New Range of ‘Designer’ cars
2. Doldrums Season
3. Tequila Fuel Sunset in Ireland, The Smooth Taste of the New B-Class and Fishing for Next Years Buyers

Though there was actually a small drop in the average price of a car, pretty well everything else had gone up. Insurance a little bit, servicing a bit more, financing (when you could get it) also pricier.

But fuel is the big culprit, up from an average of €2,000 a year to €2,301 (did you realise that you’re sloshing that much go-juice into your tank over 12 months? Definitely time to invest in a Motorcheck Topaz Fuel Card).

Got us to wondering where we sit on the fuel price league? We surely must be near the top, right? Well, hey, feel better‚ Ireland is actually 15th out of 28 countries in petrol prices. Ours is on average 1.52, Norway the most expensive at 1.84, and Estonia the cheapest at 1.25 (figures courtesy AA Ireland). And for diesel, well, we’re 13th at 1.43, against Norway at 1.73 and Luxembourg at 1.19.

(Please do NOT tell Minister Noonan, who might slap on a bucket of extra tax to get us in the ‘douze points’ position over Norway!)

Meanwhile, it’s nice to know that Toyota is thinking of us poor motorists and the stress we’re suffering day by day. Among a list of new safety technologies being developed by the Japanese company is a health monitor built into the steering wheel, aimed at giving us advance warning of heart attacks and other nasty events.

Bill Ford visits Cork

Certainly looking like he doesn’t need anything in that line is Bill Ford Jr (William Clay Ford on his birth cert), who took time out while on a private trip to Ireland to unveil a plaque in Ballinascarthy, Co Cork, commemorating the Ford family’s connection with the village. He had lunch with locals and some relatives. And since he was only down the road, Ford Ireland’s boss, Eddie Murphy, motored in to toot a Model T horn. And to remind us again that the Cork company is the only Ford business in the world left with the founder’s full name.

As it happens, in Ford of Britain’s current series of historic pictures to commemorate the company’s centenary, there’s the 1902 Ford 999 that the same Ol’ Henry used to race and break speed records in. Lotus supremo Colin Chapman is aboard in the pic, no stranger to speed stuff himself.

Connacht Rugby moves into the Fast Lane

Mazda moved west with its moneybags to announce the investment of €1.5m in sponsorship into Connacht Rugby. The company’s transport was a suitably-liveried MX-5, and though its toughened suspension was well able to manage the loot in the boot, there were some sharp intakes of breath when three of the Connacht heavies loaded onto the 2-seater for the photoshoot. We hear there were four definite impressions in the sod when the whole thing was over!

New Cars Launched this Week

A couple of local launches last week had kissing cousin connections. The first was Kia’s new Picanto, looking a lot more car than its predecessor and possibly going to bump upwards the brand’s already respectable 11 percent share in the city car segment.

Then there was Hyundai’s new i40, with the local distributor’s MD Stephen Gleeson at its presentation reminding that his brand also owns Kia. (Wonder what the conversation is like when he and Kia Ireland’s James Brooks sit down over a game of poker? “I’ll see your Veloster and raise you a Rio.”)

The i40 is a serious tilt at the hegemony of Avensis/Passat/Mondeo/Insignia in the D segment. It’s a tough dogfight, but the 66mpg and 113g/km give the Korean a decent shot coming out of the sun. And then there’s the 5-year Triple Care scheme, against which none of the current top guns fly close.

Top Gear Caught Tinkering

Flying very close to the sun, however, is BBC’s Top Gear programme. Not content with angering Mexican car workers in February, Clarkson & Co have most recently made Nissan furious by ‘nobbling’ a Leaf EV so that it would run out of charge in the middle of nowhere. (Well, in the middle of Lincoln, which is probably the same thing.)

They got caught because the Leaf was automatically recording and transmitting to Nissan what they were at. We wonder if our learned friends are sharpening their quills, like they did in 2008 over TG’s treatment of the Tesla?

Meanwhile, Frankfurt looms ever closer. We’re breaking in a new pair of walking shoes.

Related posts:

1. Car History People Look to the Future
2. Citroën Introduce New Range of ‘Designer’ cars
3. Electric Vehicle Incentives Raise a Few Questions

If you’re operating as a service provider in the Motor trade please be extremely careful when receiving unexpected orders from Walden Leasing (or any other fleet management company).

We have already heard of one company falling victim to a similar scam that involved 5,000 Euro worth of tyres.

Please consider passing this information along to your colleagues.

Related posts:

1. Fake Garda Warning in Circulation
2. Rise in Online Car Scams
3. BOSI Motor Finance to Withdraw from Irish Market

Who? - The mayor of Vilnius wanted to show how tough he could be on luxury cars parked in cycle lanes. Cue pictures of recent models Rolls Royce and Ferrari doing just that. Enter cycling mayor, saying ‘a tank is needed’. Zoom in on said mayor in APC, wrecking an offending scrappage-qualifying Mercedes-Benz parked in an otherwise totally empty street.

The ‘owner’ whose hand the triumphant mayor shook as he came back to his crushed pride and joy was the hammiest of caricatures. But the YouTube of the staged event has attracted almost 2m views so far‚ and now we all recognise Arturas Zuokas, described as a former war journalist, who clearly knows his publicity opportunities.

What’s coming to Frankfurt?

Otherwise we’re in the run-up to the biggest motor show of the European auto year, Frankfurt, and there’s a lot of teasing and pulling back a bit of the coverings of cars that will debut there.

Such as the new generation Honda Civic hatchback, promoted with pictures of the ‘chassis development team’ peering at a heavily disguised version. The car rolls into showrooms early next year, promising most room and boot space in the compact segment.

And Mazda’s CX-5 compact crossover, taking aim at the likes of VW’s Tiguan and here in the spring, it’s really the first showcase of the Japanese maker’s much-touted SkyActiv fuel-saving technologies and its future, stronger ‘face’. The rather manic ’smile’ of the current look won’t be missed.

BMW isn’t at the back of the posse either, pushing out interest in two close-to-production concepts from its new ‘i’ Series electric/hybrid division. These will be guaranteed crowds at Frankfurt, not least because they look real.

Could this safety initiative work here?

Away from the beleagured halls of the financial capital of Europe, here’s a really good idea for our ageing motorists profile. Back in Connecticut a decade ago they set up a ‘Yellow Dot’ programme which involves a sticker for the rear screen of a car that alerts emergency rescue workers to the fact that the driver’s medical data is kept in the glove compartment. It’s now beginning to roll out in other states in the US, and we would suggest it as a low-cost initiative for this country.

We could even use a version to mark the ‘ghost’ cars along our motorway network which are costing our seriously depleted taxpaying pockets a fortune every day. As one James Nix noted in The Irish Times last week, deals made with our toll-keeper private roadbuilders provide them with guaranteed top-ups if the numbers going through their gates don’t reach targets set by the Celtic Tiger. First, zombie banks. Now zombie motorists? Time to put the brakes on.

And in future we might only have to think about it and it will happen. According to a paper in the Journal of Neural Engineering, linking our brainwaves with the car’s braking system could cut four metres off stopping distances. But what would happen if you’re the indecisive type?

New car sales still fragile

Well, SIMI isn’t quite sure yet about this year’s car market, following the end of our extended scrappage scheme. “Year to date quite positive,” says the organisation’s DG Alan Nolan, “but the overall market remains fragile.” Yep, though at least for this year the highly front-loaded shape of Ireland’s annual car sales profile is an advantage, giving the trade a relatively quiet six months to get over the Scrappage Hangover. (Now, why didn’t SIMI come up with the idea of having its current President crush the last scrappage trade-in with an Irish Army APC?)

Finally, we rather like the new idea thought up by an Intel engineer to deal with those pesky parking lot door-dingers or worse. With all these onboard cameras on high end cars, the company is looking at having video of the offenders’ vehicles pumped straight to your smartphone in real-time. Now, could the system be adapted to spot parking wardens far enough down the street to give you time to rescue your steed from ticketing? Or even from being crushed by an angry APC?

Hey, it’s August. The month of wild imagination. And Arturas Zuokas.

Related posts:

1. Renault Dealers On Top With 286 Sales Per Dealer
2. Scrappage Scheme Costing Dealers Millions
3. Two More Main Dealers Forced to Close

At home, Ford confirmed that its new generation Focus was making an impact in the registration figures, with over 1,200 units getting their plates since its introduction in March, boosting the model back to the top spot in the Irish market.

It’s a highly competitive space, and Ford Ireland chairman Eddie Murphy will be pleased to have knocked Golf off the spot the company has long believed is ‘owned’ by Ford.

Sticking with the Blue Oval, let’s give a big thumbs up to Dooley Motors in Carlow, the dealership that won the Ford of Europe Chairman’s Award for customer service.

Frankfurt Motor Show

Frankfurt Motor Show is looming, and amongst the pre-event teases we hear that a brand new Lexus GS will grace that company’s stand in the biggest European automotive salon. The current model previewed a new style direction for the Toyota luxury label when it was itself launched, and they’re using it again to showcase a bold new look for all future Lexuses. With some 30,000 sales in Europe last year, the brand is only a little more than halfway to where it had hoped to be by now.

(By the way, expect to see a lot of Lexus badges tooling around Dublin centre in early October: the Irish company is the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival’s transport partner.)

New VW Beetle

Frankfurt will also show us direction from several other key makers, with VW finally rolling out its Up! city car that goes on sale later in the year. But many will be spending time there in the new Beetle, a much more ‘masculine’ car that goes on sale in Ireland in January. Showgoers will also be checking out the new generation BMW 1 Series, currently on international press launch, and finding it a more substantial car. And Renault will offer a new ‘face’ with a mid-life revision to its Twingo baby car.

Honda might have its next CR-V there, which in pictures released this week has a much more bumptious look. The US gets it first, in the autumn, and European versions with more efficient engines are promised for 2012 launch. It’s a company that needs to find a new direction just now, and hopefully the next Civic might help.

Happy 50th Birthday!

Looking back, it was a great week for one of the most iconic luxury sports cars, Jaguar’s E-Type, which celebrated its 50th birthday in some style at Silverstone.

Jaguar E-Type

More than a 1,000 owners brought their pride and joy to the event, and most of them took part in what had to be the world’s biggest Jaguar traffic jam on the track.

Taking the long view to the future, Opel is said to be looking at trying for the large car business again with a luxury level crossover above the Insignia. Don’t hold your breath, though—it won’t happen until around 2016, as the brand has its new Junior city car and some Astra derivatives to roll out first. The company’s large car record is spotty since the good old days of the Senator and Diplomat. Sigma, anyone?

Irish rally enthusiasts are looking forward to the Jim Walsh Cork Forest Rally Mallow 2011 on August 13. It will be Round 5 of the Valvoline Forest Championship 2011 and the Roundabout Inn Hotel will be abuzz with high-octane rally chatter.

Meanwhile the overall automotive business chatter shows a steep decline in car sales in Europe, post-scrappage, something which we’ll be watching here with interest now that our one is done with. Then there’s the onward Marchionne march towards total Chrysler domination, with the Fiat boss setting up a new management team responsible for both the Italian and US brands in the merging group.

Rumours just won’t stop about the possibility of Opel being sold, the latest putative suitor said to be VW, the idea rebutted strongly by GM boss Dan Akerson. A big lossmaker for GM, there’s a lot of ‘restructuring’ going on to cut costs there.

Saab loan approved

Saab Warned against links to Organised Crime

And then there’s Saab. Or will there be Saab? It’s the continuing sad saga of a brand revered by aficionados but cast adrift by that same GM after decades of costing it big money. Lack of investment, not enough models, and not enough money to pay suppliers.

A Russian red knight is still in the wings waiting for the right lines to be spoken by the European Investment Bank before coming onstage but thursdays announcement that the a loan has been approved on condition Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov does not take over throws a spanner in the works.

Antonov, a former shareholder in Saab’s new owner Spyker is a controversial figure because of concerns over his business dealings and rumours of ties to organised crime.

At the moment, the EIB seems stuck on just one line: “Pay me my €217m.” What is it they say, when money raises its head, relationships die? Somebody, somewhere, may already be fashioning the headstone or planning to make the EIB an offer they can’t refuse!

Related posts:

1. Range Rover Evoque to Rival ‘Ordinary Saloons’
2. Tequila Fuel Sunset in Ireland, The Smooth Taste of the New B-Class and Fishing for Next Years Buyers
3. The ups and downs of car names

In a previous article Motorcheck outlined the possibility of terminating a hire purchase agreement under the ‘half rule’ but when Michelle and Noreen Gabriel from Togher, in Cork attempted to return their Renault Clio to GE Money the company refused to take the car back until half the full four-year value of the hire purchase was paid.

By all accounts the finance house ignored Michelle Gabriel’s letter in which she stated that she wanted to hand the car back and terminate the agreement. Their reason being that as Ms Gabriel had not yet made half the hire purchase payments she was not entitled to hand the car back.

This differs from our understanding of the half rule. We believed that an individual was entitled to hand the car back at any time provided either;

• half the hire purchase amount was already repaid or
• the customer returned the car with a payment that when added to the amount already paid would be equal to or greater than half of the hire purchase amount

The Gabriel’s agreement, to buy a 2006 Renault Clio, provided that the total cost was to be €18,151, inclusive of the €3,200 cost of credit. At the time GE Money refused to take her car back they had already made repayments totaling €7,019. Just €2,058 shy of the half way mark.

Ombudsman Bill Prasifka

Ombudsman mistake

Believing that they were entitled to return the car the Gabriel’s sent their case to the ombudsman, Mr. Bill Prasifka.

Mr. Prasifka believing that they had not complied with an obligation under the Consumer Credit Act, to pay off half of the agreement, €9,077, before they could terminate it made his decision in favour of GE Money.

However, MABS (the Money Advice and Budgeting Service ) and the Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC), supported Michelle Gabriel in appealing Mr Prasifka’s decision to the High Court .

Mr. Justice Hanna ruled that Ms. Gabriel was entitled to terminate the agreement. He said that Mr. Prasifka had fallen into significant error when he decided that all liabilities must be discharged before an individual may terminate their hire purchase agreement.

Will this help other consumers?

Today’s independent carries the headline “Firms face deluge of car returns after ruling” and FLAC director Noeline Blackwell, director general of the Free Legal Aid Centre, is quoted in the Examiner as saying -

Noeline Blackwell

It is worth noting though that the judge also said the finance firm was entitled, through separate proceedings, to have all liabilities met by the hirer. This means that the finance house can follow the hirer for the difference between the amount already paid and half of the hire purchase price.

Yesterday’s ruling means that a finance house can’t ignore a termination letter and must accept the car thus terminating your agreement. This will have the effect of ending your monthly repayments but you will still be liable for half of the hire purchase amount.

If you are thinking of returning a car you can no longer afford the repayments on read our previous article first. It is crucial that you follow the steps outlined to return under the half rule. If you sign anything that could construe your termination as a voluntary surrender it could cost you a whole lot more.

Related posts:

1. Settling Early on a Hire Purchase Agreement
2. Are Dealers Still A Credible Source For Car Finance?
3. Scrappage Scheme Rules Relaxed for Spouses

Comparing figures for July 2011 with that of 2010 we can see that the market has dropped 32% demonstrating the importance of the scrappage scheme to the market last year. The question is what will happen next?

Can the industry hold on to the 2,200 jobs created by the scrappage scheme or are we likely to see further closures as sales dwindle?

Daily Registrations

What do those on the ground think?

I asked a selection of industry insiders for their view on the current state of the market.

Nigel Brennan

Robert Bradley

Bill Keary

Padraic Mooney

Related posts:

1. Strong Sales under Scrappage
2. Scrappage Scheme Costing Dealers Millions
3. Budget 2010 – Scrappage Scheme, Should YOU buy?

The Barcelona Harley Days festival took place in the Plaza España and attracted thousands of Harley enthusiasts from all over Europe.

The small Irish group I travelled with  clocked up over 3,000 kilometers in the saddle to be there but it was worth it when we witnessed the amazing selection of bikes on display. Enjoy the pictures!

Related posts:

1. New BMW 3 Series Unveiled
2. Pictures from the Frankfurt Motor Show 2011
3. Irish Classic & Vintage Show 2011

This year the lead charity is St. Francis Hospice in Raheeny. St. Francis’s will receive two thirds of the day’s proceeds with a further one third going to The Children’s Sunshine Home (this charity will be featured as the lead at next years show).

The annual event has raised in excess of 2 Million euro for deserving charities and by the attendance I witnessed today the 2011 show is going to make a real difference to the folks at St. Francis’s.

There was a huge selection of makes on display. Veteran, Vintage and Classic Cars and Motorbikes as well as Kit and Custom Cars, Sports and Super Cars. Here are some pictures I took earlier. Feel free to drop us a comment below with your favourites.

Related posts:

1. Pictures from the Frankfurt Motor Show 2011
2. Barcelona Harley Days 2011
3. New BMW 3 Series Unveiled

A tenner a head for entry made it a bit expensive but it served as a nice appetiser for the upcoming Irish Classic & Vintage Motor Show that’s taking place in Terenure this weekend.

Here are some snaps from the day.

Related posts:

1. Pictures from the Frankfurt Motor Show 2011
2. Irish Classic & Vintage Show 2011
3. Motoring Show Revs up on TV3

In its report the BBC points out that the Northern Ireland Trading Standards Authority (the Northern Ireland equivalent of our National Consumer Agency) confirm that clocking is on the rise in the provence. The authority said that “We would be hard pushed to identify a town or city where there isn’t a clocker or a number of clockers operating”.

The threat to the Irish consumer continues to rise as buyers opting to import a car from Northern Ireland or mainland UK risk falling victim to the illicit practice. In 2011 alone there have been more than 19,000 passenger cars imported into the Republic.

BBC Consumer correspondent Martin Cassidy said the evidence was that for an increasing number of cars in Northern Ireland, the mileage you see is not the mileage the vehicle has actually done.

The undercover investigation targeted a car dealer who had been the subject of previous prosecutions for clocking. They visited Seven Towers Autos near Ballymena and test drove a peugeot car that had been advertised with 117,000 miles. A closer look at the cars history uncovered that it had previously been recorded at an MOT test with over 182,000 miles.

In November 2009 Motorcheck assisted RTE’s consumer show ‘Buyer Beware’ in a similar undercover operation. The results from the BBC investigation almost mirrored our previous findings proving that amongst dishonest traders, clocking is still alive and well.

Motorcheck Calls For Release of NCT Data

This example highlighted the significant contribution MOT records can make to the buying decision. In the UK if you have the MOT test number or V5 certificate number  you can obtain the previous MOT test results and their mileage readings free of charge online (click here).

Motorcheck strongly believes that the readings recorded by the Department of Transport in the course of an NCT examination could prove to be a significant addition to its National Mileage Register and we continue to lobby the Department of Transport for access to this data.

Our National Mileage Register currently holds in excess of 3.3 Million readings. Readings obtained from private trade sources as well as industry partners make the register the largest of its kind in Ireland with more unique readings from trusted sources than any other database.

We have helped thousands of people avoid the pitfall of buying a clocked car but would continue to advise that no matter what the result on its Motorcheck history check a thorough examination of the cars service history is vital in establishing its true mileage.

For further tips on how to avoid buying a clocked car click here.

Related posts:

1. Car Clocking Costs Irish Consumers Up To €40 Million
2. Clocking costs UK car buyers more than £500m a year
3. Motorcheck.ie Highlights Car Clocking on RTE News

The front windscreen was badly needing replacement and with W114 donor cars being fairly thin on the ground Autoglass volunteered to have one made for it at the Pilkington factory.

It turned out to be less than half the price of an original one from Mercedes Benz so when we started work yesterday I was a little nervous about how it would fit.

The new rubbber seal came from a specialist provider on eBay so it was fingers crossed all round.

Definitely a job for the professionals Michael struggled a bit at the start to get the rubber in position. I didn’t realise that the glass in the W114 is held in by the rubber moulding alone and the fit needs to be perfect to ensure a weather tight seal. Once it started to bed in though everything came together nicely.

Unfortunately the chrome strip that fits into the rubber was too kinked to go back in without risk of breaking the glass so I’m back online scouring the internet for some replacement pieces.

Turns out the rear window isn’t too hot either and will need to be replaced. I already have the rubber moulding but will need to order a new glass asap.

A quick stop into my Mechanic John at Milford on the way back and the car’s now booked in for a thorough going over next week.

We’ll be replacing the points with an electronic ignition and going through the braking system with a fine tooth comb.

I’m still hopeful that we’ll get a run out before the end of the summer.

Related posts:

1. Autoglass Irish Finals Take Place Today
2. Alfa Romeo Giulietta – Irish Launch
3. Troublesome Oil Leak Failed the NCT Test

Fans of the luxury car manufacturer would have noticed the brand amongst the security detail assigned to transport Queen Elizabeth and President Obama on their recent visits to Ireland.

Whilst the cars responsible for transporting the likes of David Cameron and President McAleese looked like normal BMW’s they were actually products of a specialised line of ‘High Security’ vehicles manufactured by BMW for those of us that require more than remote central locking.

Austin Behan of BMW Ireland took some time to show me a High Security X-5, one of the vehicles used in the recent VIP visits before it returned to active duty in the UK.

Austin Behan shows Motorcheck an X5 High Security

Related posts:

1. Car Recalls – Just How Common Are They?
2. Mitsubishi Pajero defending our shores!
3. Do You Want Free Motorcheck Reports?

If you fancy something that’s a bit of a head turner and value your leg room then a Hummer H2 Chrystal Limo could be just the job!

Costing €160,000 when first registered these Hummer H2 Limos have very low mileage and come with a Full Service History, Electric Windows, Central Locking, Front Fogs, CD / CD Changer, Automatic, Cruise Control, Full Leather, Heated Seats, Electric Seats, Phone Kit and Parking Distance Control………

This exclusive trade only auction continues until 3:00 pm on Monday the 30th May. Unfortunately members of the public are not able to bid but there’s nothing stopping you finding a trader to bid on your behalf!

If you’d like to make an offer – leave a comment below and we’ll put you in touch with someone who’s registered to bid on your behalf.

Lot 1

If you’d like to make an offer – leave a comment below and we’ll put you in touch with someone who’s registered to bid on your behalf.

Lot 2

Reserve:	NONE
Finishing at:	30-05-2011 at 15:00hrs
Year/Registration:	07 [W]
Make / Model:	Hummer / Pink Playboy Limo
Details:	EW, CL, AW, FF, CD, ACC, CC, HS, PDC
Exterior Rating:	Very Good
Interior Rating:	Very Good
No. of doors:	5
No. Owners:	1
Colour:	Pink
Mileage:	27k    [ KM's: 43k ]

Related posts:

1. Tequila Fuel Sunset in Ireland, The Smooth Taste of the New B-Class and Fishing for Next Years Buyers
2. Car Clocking Grips Northern Ireland
3. Car Clocking Costs Irish Consumers Up To €40 Million

There’s a small town on the Costa Blanca named Rojales that I like to visit whenever the family trip to the sun falls due. It’s a short forty minute drive from Murcia airport but visits to the beach and local towns mean that a rental car for the duration of the holiday is a must.

Normally, we book our car hire with international operator Carjet.com but this year a search on Argus Car Hire seemed to offer better value so we confirmed a booking at €131.97 for a Fiesta size car – all in.

What I didn’t notice at the time was the dodgy ‘Fuel Policy’ buried in the terms and conditions.

Centauro Car Hire - Fuel Policy is a Rip Off

Fuel Policy
Pick up full, return empty.
Fuel charges are payable at the rental counter.
Your vehicle will be supplied with a full tank of fuel and must be returned empty. No refunds will be given for unused fuel.

Now is it just me or is it more or less impossible to return the car empty? I suppose I could have tried to drive more on my holiday.  Instead of going to the beach perhaps I should have persuaded the family to spend a day enjoying the view from a local motorway? Such was my frustration at returning the car half full that I was actually tempted to produce a hose and siphon the tank at the drop off point!

Sneaky Charge

It wasn’t really the amount involved. All told – Spanish operator Centauro got an extra 30 Euro or so from me but being forced to pay for something I couldn’t use struck me as a ‘bit Irish’. I’d wager that Centauro (and any other company with similar conditions) enjoy significant profits on their fuel charges.

I’ve written to Argos and asked if this is a policy they condone or simply a devious method used by some of their rental partners to make their initial rental rate appear more competitive than it is. They do after all claim on their website that they offer a service with ‘no hidden charges’.

Nonetheless – next time I’ll be renting from a company with a reasonable fuel policy. In my opinion “Pick up full, Return full” is the fairest for all concerned. It gives the customer a chance to pay for what they use whilst the rental company has the right to levy a pre-agreed surcharge for any refuelling it needs to do later.

Either way it pays to read the small print.

Related posts:

1. New Car Registrations Rise 90%
2. Court Rules on Side of Consumer Against GE Money
3. Want to Impress Your Neighbours?

Helping consumers to make a more informed choice when buying a car is what Motorcheck.ie is good at so we decided to see if there was anything we could do to help those of you looking to buy a new car as well as our car history customers.

Using our new service car buyers can search for a new car under headings that were never before available. For example, someone interested in a city runabout that’s cheap to fuel and tax could perform a search for any car in ‘Band A’ that does ‘at least 60 miles per gallon’.

You can view and search every new car available in Ireland by its VRT band, price range, fuel economy, safety rating or warranty cover. You don’t have to have a specific make and model in mind – the search engine finds everything for you!

Unique Feature

Another unique feature of the service is that Motorcheck visitors can leave comments on any particular car that interests them and we hope that over time this will become an invaluable resource for buyers who will be able to read the comments and feedback of other owners outlining their own personal experiences with the car.

As well as the innovative search engine the service provides detailed information on over 3,000 makes and model of cars. We’ve included with each listing vehicle pictures, pricing information, technical details and a complete list of standard specification. Videos are already available on a large number of the cars and plans are underway to include reviews from professional Irish journalists.

Every Make & Model in Ireland

Together with Jato our search engine includes every current make and model on sale in Ireland:

• See all Alfa Romeo models
• See all Audi models
• See all BMW models
• See all Chevrolet models
• See all Citroen models
• See all Daihatsu models
• See all Fiat models
• See all Ford models
• See all Hyundai models
• See all Jaguar models
• See all Kia models
• See all Land Rover models
• See all Lexus models
• See all Mazda models
• See all Mercedes models
• See all MG models
• See all Mini models
• See all Mitsubishi models
• See all Nissan models
• See all Opel models
• See all Peugeot models
• See all Renault models
• See all Sabb models
• See all Seat models
• See all Skoda models
• See all Subaru models
• See all Suzuki models
• See all Toyota models
• See all Volkswagen models
• See all Volvo models

Why don’t you give it a try and let us know what you think below?

Related posts:

1. Motorcheck.ie Introduces New VRT Calculator
2. Motorcheck & Jato Dynamics Join Forces
3. A New Way of Looking at Vehicle Statistics…

All Ireland Hurling Champions Eoin Kelly, Brendan Cummins, Padraic Maher and Conor O’Mahony were on hand to showcase the new strip and discuss Tipperary hurlers prospects of defending their All Ireland crowns as the 2011 championship season approaches.

New Tipperary hurling manager Declan Ryan, Tipperary GAA County Board Chairman Barry O’Brien, County Secretary Tim Floyd and Raymond Leddy, Marketing Manager, Skoda Ireland as well as Paul Fitzgerald, George Hannigan, Brian Mulvihill and Hugh Coghlan from the Tipperary Senior Football team alongside manager John Evans were also in attendance.

Three Year Deal

The full sponsorship of Tipperary GAA covers both the hurling and football codes and includes all grades from minor to senior inter-county teams over the next three years. As part of the sponsorship agreement, the new look Tipperary jersey was unveiled displaying the Skoda brand name.

Commenting on the sponsorship agreement, Barry O’Brien, Tipperary County Board Chairman said, “Tipperary County Board is delighted to be able to announce this sponsorship deal with Skoda Ireland. An innovative and challenging car marque Skoda will bring a new dynamic to the promotion of Tipperary GAA both within and outside of the county. The Skoda brand name will adorn all our county jerseys from minor to senior in both Hurling and Football. We are looking forward to working with our new partners and we have no doubt that our clubs and supporters will fully support Skoda and their fantastic model range.”

Marketing Manager, Ray Leddy of Skoda Ireland detailed Skoda’s excitement at getting behind the reigning All Ireland Senior and U21 Hurling champions, “The opportunity to become the sponsorship partner with Tipperary GAA was simply too good to turn down. A powerhouse in hurling, Tipperary teams have always played with a style and passion that can be appreciated by all sports fans. We see tremendous potential in the current Tipperary teams, including the footballers who have been building solid foundations at U21 level over the last number of years.”

Leddy continued, “Skoda has also been building over the last number of years and since our launch in 1993 we have become a feature amongst motorists throughout Ireland. Like Tipperary we too have ambitious plans and we aim to become a Top 5 best-selling car brand in Ireland by 2016. We already achieved a record 5.6% market share in 2010 and with our network of 19 retailers employing 200 people across Ireland we are ready to push on into 2011 reinforced by our new Skoda logo and corporate design which we launched in March.”

Related posts:

1. Jenson Button to race on the streets of Dublin
2. A Fabulous Fabia
3. Strong Sales under Scrappage

Motorcheck witnessed Dean’s skill first hand at Citywest last summer and we were delighted to hear that the talented driver has joined Samuel Hübinette Racing in his assault of the 2011 Formula DRIFT series in the United States.

The man from Jokkmokk, Sweden, known as the “Crazy Swede,” will field his Samuel Hübinette Racing (SHR) Dodge Motorsports Challenger, with 2009 European Pro Drift champ Dean “Karnage” Kearney as driver of the SHR V-LEDS / Federal Dodge Viper SRT10.

Dean Kearney

Kearney, who’s more than ready to join Hübinette in the spotlight said “I cannot wait to get out to LA and meet up with my new team SHR and get to grips with the SHR Dodge Viper. Im thrilled that i can continue for a second year running with my title sponsor V-LEDS who i am truly blessed to have supporting this program, with new sponsors such as Federal Tyres coming onboard too it really is shaping up to be a great year for all involved. I have a busy 2 weeks in the run up to Rd1 in Long Beach where i plan on gathering as much data and information from both Sam and Brad about the Viper and its characteristics. Come race weekend we are aiming to hit the ground running and make an instant impact for SHR, V-LEDS and Federal Tyres.”

“Dean will fit right into the SHR family,” said Hübinette, who along with his wife Stina recently welcomed baby daughter Stella into the Hübinette household. “With drivers nicknamed “Crazy Swede” and “Karnage,” you can bet we’re going to be one of the most exciting teams on the FD Series. It’s going to be must-see drifting.”

If you’d like to follow Deans progress throughout the US season you can visit his (busy) facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/DeanKarnage. Best of luck Dean!

Related posts:

1. Prodrift Drivers ‘Shock and Awe’ Motorcheck at Citywest
2. Irish 17 Year Old Set For Racing Stardom
3. Reckless Driving With Fatal Consequences

A four speed manual gearbox that had a ’sport’ and ‘overdrive’ feature it had more plastic than metal on the body. A real ‘boy racer’ effort with air horns, painted hubcaps and furry dice the only downside was that it burned oil and returned a miserable 80 miles on a full tank.

I remember regaling the late Gerry Ryan on 2FM one morning with a story involving the car, a family christmas and a dead donkey. The prize was a three day trip to Donnington race track which I subsequently won and enjoyed tremendously at the time.

It was seven years later as sales manager for a fleet management company that I opted for something with a great deal more in the way of ’street cred’. A black 1.8T 3 Door VW Golf GTI (the Mark 4) became my company car and for two years it cost me a fortune in BIK and Autoglym Car Wax.

I still remember the whistle of the turbo as I enjoyed full throttle on the 147 bhp petrol engine. My favourite car for years after the Golf seemed to have it all, great looks, awesome handling and buckets of power all wrapped up in a very comfortable ride.

Fast forward 8 years and I’m enjoying a Renault Fluence for a completely different set of reasons. Now it’s less about power and performance – and more about child seats, fuel economy, road tax, cheap insurance – etc. Boring I know!

Skoda Surprise

However, I do have a certain penchant for the smell of a new car and when Skoda called to see if I’d like to drive one of their new Fabia’s for a week I was happy to take them up on the offer.

I’ll be honest – looking at the car’s specification on the Motorcheck New Car Search Engine didn’t set my pulse racing. The 1.2 Active model comes in Band A and delivers 85 horse power for the competitive price of €15,750 and yes while it looks like a tidy little car I wasn’t exactly rushing to set it as my screensaver.

All that changed however when last Monday morning Skoda handed me the keys of their Skoda Fabia 1.4 TSI RS DSG. An entirely different animal altogether, up close and personal the car had a genuine sporty look. The model being entrusted to me was resplendent in an eye-catching blue and with its white roof, alloy wheels and front fog lamps I felt a little awkward at having drawn some modest conclusions earlier.

Inside the cabin the car felt spacious. I’m six foot one and generously proportioned myself so ’spacious’ for me is generally ‘massive’ for others. The bucket seats were comfortable without feeling constrictive and the three spoke steering wheel had a nice sporty feel to it. Raymond Leddy walked me through the functions (Bluetooth, iPod connection, etc.) and proudly demonstrated the DSG gearbox with its paddle shift options behind the steering wheel.

All the tech was impressive but it was when Ray told me that the 1.4 Super Charged AND Turbo Charged engine would deliver 180 bhp that things really got interesting. I’d been meaning to get up to Donegal to check on the status of my Mercedes rebuild and now seemed like the perfect opportunity for a spin!

The first thing that struck me about the RS was the engine note. Very different to the whistle of my previous Golf GTI the Fabia was much more intimidating. It grunted with the kind of rasp that you’d expect from a rally car with a genuine feeling of power behind it.

And what power! The 180 bhp seemed almost too much for the modest body. Thanks to the traction control and DSG gearbox I wasn’t spinning out of control but a little encouragement on the accelerator from a slow start brought on some fascinating torque steer. It was almost as if the engine wanted to jump out of the car and I was holding it back by the steering wheel.

Overtaking on the motorway or long stretches of lorry-ridden national roads was a real pleasure and my three and a half hour journey to north Donegal passed quickly. In fact I only spent 45 minutes looking at the Mercedes before I jumped back in the Skoda to make the return journey. One pit stop for a coffee and I arrived back in Swords as fresh as when I left. A great testament to the overall ride.

So to sum up. The Fabia was great fun and I enjoyed driving it in a way that brought me back to my youth. In terms of its performance as a ‘hot hatch’ I’m not qualified to make any comparisons but in terms of value for money  a quick search on the Irish market for a Hatchback under €24,000 that gives at least 180 bhp puts the RS in a class of its own.

Of course there’s no harm in seeking a second opinion….

Related posts:

1. Motorcheck & Jato Dynamics Join Forces
2. New Band A Cars Qualifying for Scrappage Scheme Discount
3. Skoda announced as new GAA sponsors of the Premier County

Unfortunately a significant number of the cars mentioned in the video make their way to Ireland and end up being sold to unsuspecting buyers here. While not illegal, Car-Clocking is a very dangerous practice that can compromise the safety of a car as well as making it very difficult to sell on in future.

With over 3 million readings already in the Irish National Mileage Register, thankfully the number of clocked cars identified daily by Motorcheck is rising but there are still buyers parting with hard earned cash without checking a car’s history.

Related posts:

1. Car Clocking Costs Irish Consumers Up To €40 Million
2. Car Clocking Grips Northern Ireland
3. Motorcheck.ie Highlights Car Clocking on RTE News

I had an opportunity to get up close and personal with the DS3 and DS4 models (there was a DS3 Racing model on show – sadly not registered for road use) but the one that caught my eye was a distinctive ‘Orla Kiely’ DS3.

One of the first to be built in collabration with Irish artist Orla Kiely, Paul Hunt, marketing manager at Citroen took a moment to explain the unique appeal of the limited edition car.

Thanks to our New Car App you can check out all the specs for Citroën DS3 models.

Related posts:

1. Range Rover Evoque to Rival ‘Ordinary Saloons’
2. Best Selling Cars of the Decade
3. Beware of Cloned Cars From the UK

Included underneath is an email I received from one of our customers last week. Claire believes her car was clocked and is in the difficult position of negotiating with the dealer she bought it from nearly a year ago.

Hi Shane,
I am emailing to ask for your advise following a check I conducted on my car using Motorcheck.ie

I bought a car 06###### Volvo S40 from a dealer in Dublin in June 2010. The dealer is SIMI registered and I was issued with a 3 month warranty. During that time the car had only one problem which thankfully the garage covered under warranty (after an initial NCT failure the car was repaired and passed the NCT in August 2010).

During the first few months subsequent to buying the car I had quite a few correspondances with the sales man to get a jack, second key and service book sent to me. The latter was never made available to me.

Since then I started to have trouble with the car and have had to spend quite an amount of money repairing the car. I then heard about Motorcheck.ie and decided to check my car’s history. The report showed a mileage reading for my car in 08 at 112,807km, however when I bought the car the mileage was 104,022km! I did some further detective work of my own and indeed spoke to a previous owner who confirmed the mileage of the car in Feb 2009 was 127,000km.

I took the car to a main Volvo dealer who estimated that the repair work needed for the car would come to €1,300. The car has been deemed unsafe to drive by the garage and as I live in West Cork this is a significant inconvenience to me.

I have contacted the dealer and discovered the salesman who sold me the car not longer works there. However the dealer has accepted that the mileage of the car is inaccurate and offers his apology for selling me this car. While this is a start I am currently in the awkward position of having to borrow a car to get to work and all this investigative work carried out on my own accord has made this a very stressful situation. Currently the car is parked at my home and I am reluctant to finance the repairs for a car I have discovered has a mileage history discrepancy.

I would appreciate any help and advice you can offer me to achieve a prompt solution to my problem.

Regards,

Claire.

Hi Claire,

I’m very sorry to hear about your trouble. ‘Car clocking’ is one of the most common frauds we see perpetrated against innocent buyers on a daily basis and one we’re trying hard to increase our detection of it with our own National Mileage Register.

It looks like you have some very strong evidence to back-up your suspicion that the car you have was clocked. I’m glad that the dealer who sold you the car has accepted that fact and I can see why you’re reluctant to drive the car. Why he’s slow to resolve the issue is a bit of a puzzle though. No professional dealer wants to be associated with ‘car clocking’. Frequently the dealer turns out to be an innocent participant having been conned by a previous seller but in terms of responsibility they are certainly liable. Indeed we have a trade system on Motorcheck specifcally for this purpose. It allows a dealer to check a car’s history including its odometer reading before offering it for sale and I’m sure if the garage who sold you this car had a run a Motorcheck report on it they would have seen the mileage discrepancy themselves.

Thankfully the garage you purchased the car from is an SIMI member. The society takes a very dim view of ‘car clocking’ and I’m sure they will be pleased to help you. I suggest that you make contact using their complaint form here. They will in turn contact the dealer in question and hopefully bring the matter to a successful conclusion for you.

One other option open to you would be the National Consumer Agency. You can complete a consumer complaint report here. The Agency is familiar with ‘Car clocking’ and will know exactly what part of consumer law has been broken and may be able to persuade the dealer to do the right thing.

I hope the above is of use to you. Please let us know how things progress.

Regards,

Shane.

Related posts:

1. FAQ – Is this car clocked?
2. Car Clocking Costs Irish Consumers Up To €40 Million
3. Car Clocking Grips Northern Ireland

Another great milestone reached at Motorcheck HQ today.

We’ve just finished linking over 65,000 vehicle data types with 25 million individual records to our automotive database.

This newly linked data service is the product of over 15 years of intensive research by our good friends at Jato Dynamics and marks another first for Motorcheck.ie.

Another First For Motorcheck

Founded in 1984, Jato provides the world’s most timely, accurate and up-to-date information on vehicle specifications and pricing, sales and registrations, news and incentives.

Motorcheck.ie is the first and only car history company to obtain a licence for Jato’s current and historic data and we’re very excited about the delivery of their data alongside our VRM (vehicle registration mark) lookup.

What does this mean for our customers?

Customers of Benchmark Automotive, the company behind Motorcheck.ie can now access the Jato specification and pricing information that relates to any vehicle registered new in Ireland since 1994.

This means that we are able to provide our customers with data that includes original information from the manufacturers brochure such as

• The vehicle’s original list price
• Actual pictures of the model
• Up to 350 items that came as Standard Equipment
• A complete list of the Optional Extras and their prices that would have been available on the car

Case Study – Autodirect.ie

The first company to utilize this data in Ireland will be the online car supermarket Autodirect.ie. Each advertisement on Autodirect.ie is compiled by the vehicle registration number to deliver a feature list unlike anything seen on any other website.

Autodirect.ie

Commenting on the impact this has made to their business Anthony Gaffney at Autodirect said “Customers choose AutoDirect.ie because of our low prices, excellent customer service and crucially, the remarkably high level of vehicle information available to them on our award-winning website.

The days of walking around a car with a clipboard, taking down the specifications and extras are gone – through Benchmark Automotive we can be sure we are giving our customers accurate and specific data for every one of our cars, helping them to make a fully informed decision about their next car purchase“.

Innovating with data

Visitors to Motorcheck.ie will soon be able to experience Ireland’s first new car search engine that allows the user to find a new car under a plethora of new search options.

The service will deliver all kinds of interesting ways to navigate the new car market and promises to be another market leading innovation in automotive data. It’s in beta testing at the moment with an expectation of going live this month.

Sample Advertisement

The following information was taken from an advertisement on Autodirect and shows just how rich our data can be for a used car listing. If you’re interested in finding our more about this data or would like to learn more about the suite of services available from Benchmark Automotive you can visit us online at www.benchmark.ie or call us directly at 01-8839230.

Specifications

Below is a list of the key specifications.
MAKE Opel
MODEL Astra
VARIANT Exclusiv 1.4I 16V 5DR
BODY TYPE Hatchback
TRANSMISSION Manual
FUEL TYPE Petrol
COLOUR Grey
YEAR 2008
MILEAGE 53,785 miles / 86,559 kms
ENGINE SIZE 1.4
NO. OF DOORS 5
NO. OF OWNERS 1
REGISTRATION NUMBER 08D#####
NCT DUE DATE 13 March 2012
TAX EXPIRY 31 January 2011
CO2 RATING (G/KM) 146 g/km
CO2 TAX BAND C
CAR TAX PER YEAR €302

Top Features

Alloys
Antitheft System
CD player
Central Locking (Central locking – remote)
Cruise Control
Front Fog Lights
Heated Seat
Immobiliser
Isofix
Metallic Paint
Multiple Airbags
Power Steering

Equipment

Driver and passenger power heated body color door mirrors
12v power outlet: front with 1 outlet(s)
Leather covered multi-function steering wheel with tilt adjustment and telescopic adjustment
Front power windows with two one-touch
Power steering electro-hydraulic
Front / rear power windows: Front power windows with two one-touch @Available
Electrically adjustable / heated door mirrors: Driver and passenger power heated body color door mirrors @Available
Power steering (vehicle speed proportional): Power steering electro-hydraulic @Available
Tilting adjustment / telescopic adjustment Steering wheel: Leather covered multi-function steering wheel with tilt adjustment and telescopic adjustment @Available
Central door lock operated by: remote
No of speed: 5

Comfort

Bucket driver seat with height adjustment , bucket passenger seat
Seating: five seats
Manufacturer’s own RDS audio system with AM/FM and CD player CD player reads MP3
Luxury trim alloy look on center floor console and alloy look on dashboard
Facia trim: alloy look
Central console trim: alloy look
Height adjustable driver / front passenger seat: Bucket driver seat with height adjustment , bucket passenger seat @Available
Rear seats type: bench
Rear seats folding: asymmetrical

Exterior

Center high mount stop light
Gloss paint
Rear view mirror
Part galvanized non-corrosive body
Body side molding
Body color front and rear bumpers
Windshield wipers
Front fog lights
Fixed rear window with intermittent
Tinted glass on cabin
Coefficient of drag: 0.32
Front and rear conventional tires with 205 mm tire width, 55% tire profile and H tire rating official brochure tyre size
Front and rear steel wheels with 16 inch rim diam, 6.5 inch rim width and structure wheel wheel covers
Front tyres: 205/55 HR 6.5×16”
Rear tyres: 205/55 HR 6.5×16”
Bumpers: painted
Door mirrors: painted

Safety

Four disc brakes including two ventilated discs
Driver and passenger front airbag
Four-wheel ABS
Electronic brake distribution
Isofix preparation
Brake assist system
Front side airbag
Height adjustable 3-point reel front seat belts on driver seat and passenger seat with pre-tensioners
Twin projector beam lens halogen bulb headlights
Headlight control with internal height adjustment and time delay switch-off
Cornering brake control
Height adjustable 3-point reel rear seat belts on driver side with pre-tensioners , height adjustable 3-point reel rear seat belts on passenger side with pre-tensioners , 3-point reel rear seat belts on center side
Two height adjustable active head restraints on front seats , two height adjustable head restraints on rear seats
4-wheel ABS : Four-wheel ABS @Available
Brake assist system: Brake assist system @Available
Electronic brake distribution: Electronic brake distribution @Available
Cornering brake control: Cornering brake control @Available
Disc brakes (ventilated): 4 ( 2 )
Halogen Headlights: Twin projector beam lens halogen bulb headlights @Available
Front fog lights: Front fog lights @Available
Front fog lights: Front fog lights @Available
Driver Front Airbag / Intelligent: Driver and passenger front airbag @Available
Passenger Front Airbag / Intelligent: Driver and passenger front airbag @Available
Front side airbags: Front side airbag @Available
Roof Airbags: Front and rear roof airbag
Front seat belt pre-tensioners: Height adjustable 3-point reel front seat belts on driver seat and passenger seat with pre-tensioners @Available
Active Front head restraints: Two height adjustable active head restraints on front seats , two height adjustable head restraints on rear seats @Available
No of Rear seats head restraints: 2
3-point center rear seat belt: Height adjustable 3-point reel rear seat belts on driver side with pre-tensioners , height adjustable 3-point reel rear seat belts on passenger side with pre-tensioners , 3-point reel rear seat belts on center side @Available
Isofix preparation: Isofix preparation @Available

Performance

3-way catalytic converter
Multi-point injection fuel system
Front-wheel drive
Strut front suspension independent with stabilizer bar and coil springs , torsion beam rear suspension semi-independent with stabilizer bar and coil springs
Emission control level EU4 – carbon dioxide level (g/km): 146
Performance: maximum speed (mph): 111, maximum speed (km/h): 178 and acceleration 0-100 km/h (secs): 13.7
1,364 cc 1.4 liters in-line 4 engine with 73.4 mm bore, 80.6 mm stroke, 10.5 compression ratio, double overhead cam and four valves per cylinder Z14XEP
Power: 66 kW , 90 HP EEC @ 5,600 rpm; , 125 Nm @ 4,000 rpm
Fuel consumption: ECE 99/100 urban (l/100km): 8, country/highway (l/100km): 5, combined (l/100km): 6.1, urban (mpg): 29, country/highway (mpg): 47 and combined (mpg): 39
Engine liters / cc: 1.4 / 1,364
Engine configuration: in-line 4
Number of valves per cylinder: 4
Gearbox: manual
Number of speeds: Manual five-speed transmission with shift lever on floor, 3.73:1 first gear ratio, 2.14:1 second gear ratio, 1.41:1 third gear ratio, 1.12:1 fourth gear ratio, 0.89:1 fifth gear ratio and 3.31:1 reverse gear ratio manual @Available
Transmission type: manual
Driven wheels: front
Fuel: unleaded
Maximum speed (km/h): 178
Maximum speed (mph): 111
Acceleration 0-100 km/h (s): 13.7
Fiscal HP: 0
Maximum power hp/PS: 90 @ 5,600
Maximum power kW: 66 @ 5,600
Maximum torque ft lb: @ 4,000
Maximum torque Nm: 125 @ 4,000
Carbon dioxide level CO2 (g/km): 146
Emission control level: EU4
ECE 99/100 urban fuel economy (l/100km): 8.0
ECE 99/100 country fuel economy (l/100km): 5.0
ECE 99/100 combined fuel economy (l/100km): 6.1

Dimensions

Load restraint hooks
Rigid cargo area cover/rear parcel shelf
52 liter, 13.7 gallon main fuel tank for unleaded
External dimensions: overall length (mm): 4,249, overall length (inches): 167.3, overall width (mm): 1,753, overall width (inches): 69, overall height (mm): 1,467, overall height (inches): 57.8, wheelbase (mm): 2,614, wheelbase (inches): 102.9, front track (mm): 1,488, front track (inches): 58.6, rear track (mm): 1,488, rear track (inches): 58.6, curb to curb turning circle (mm): 10,850 and curb to curb turning circle (feet): 35.6
Fuel tank capacity (l): 52
Fuel tank capacity (US gal): 14
Overall length (mm): 4,249
Overall length (in): 167.3
Overall width (mm): 1,753
Overall width (in): 69.0

General

Anticorrosion warranty: duration (months): 144 or distance (miles): unlimited, distance (km): unlimited
Road-side assistance warranty: duration (months): 24 or distance (miles): unlimited, distance (km): unlimited
Full car warranty: duration (months): 24 or distance (miles): unlimited, distance (km): unlimited
Powertrain warranty: duration (months): 24 or distance (miles): unlimited, distance (km): unlimited
Paint warranty: duration (months): 24 or distance (miles): unlimited, distance (km): unlimited
Standard delivery charges: 0
Main service: distance: 30,000 and period (mths): 12
Five-door hatchback body style; RHD GM 3300
Trim level: EXCLUSIV
RetailPrice: €21,495.00

Related posts:

1. Are the Upcoming Changes to the NCT Really Necessary?
2. Winter Driving
3. Motorcheck.ie Introduces New VRT Calculator

Merlin Car Auctions hold auctions three times weekly in their Naas and Kylemore premises with over 1,000 cars up for auction. Every car is checked by Motorcheck prior to auction and the auction website at http://www.merlincarauctions.ie carries a Motorcheck certificate for every car sold.

Highest Levels of Business Performance

Recognising indigenous Irish companies across the island of Ireland that are operating at the highest levels of business performance, the Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards Programme seeks to identify best-managed companies through an evaluation process that extends beyond financial results.

Merlin Car Auctions underwent a number of phases in the competition and benefited from the advice and feedback from coaches from Deloitte and Irish Life Corporate Business during the process.

Merlin were also singled out among the 20 winning companies and awarded a diploma from the Irish Management Institute. Each IMI diploma is a nationally recognised qualification, accredited and awarded by University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork.

Announcing the special award Dr Tom McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Irish Management Institute (IMI) said, “Each year we try to identify one company from among the 20 Best Managed that shows in a practical way how they embody the current theme of the programme and award them a place on one of the IMI’s suite of Postgraduate Diplomas. These courses range in subjects from Management, Strategy & Innovation, Leadership, Strategic Human Resource Management, Business Finance, Marketing with Digital Marketing to Executive Coaching and allow these already high performing companies continue to develop their people and ultimately their organisation’s management capability.

This year we looked at how the companies had worked to reassess their business models and worked to transform those models in order to grow the company in a sustainable way through the difficult operating conditions they currently face and beyond. As in previous years, the task of identifying one company from among the winners was not an easy one.

Innovation a key source of future growth

Merlin Car Auctions showed that they had re-evaluated their business model, focusing on innovation as a key source of future growth as well as developing their talent strategy to help them identify the right people from the start, bringing them into the business and developing them and in turn the company, as they progress. It is the way in which Merlin Car Auctions were able to put a mirror to the company and identify these key areas to prioritise that made them stand out and allow them develop a crucial advantage in developing and growing their company in a sustainable way.”

This is the third award that Merlin has received in recent months. The company received the Innovation of the Year award at the Irish Motor Industry Awards in November. This was for the introduction of the Merlin Live Online facility to their website which has revolutionised auctioneering by allowing interested parties to log on from anywhere and partake in the auction taking place in Naas or Kylemore.

David Byrne

Merlin Car Auctions Managing Director, David Byrne said, “We are delighted to have received this prestigious award. We have been working hard to keep our company operating at the highest standards for our customers at all times. We continue to push the boundaries of innovation. Just last week we held our first exclusively online auction which was a fantastic success. Our objective for our online sales is to extend our service to reach more people and make buying a car online a simple and convenient purchase.”

He went on to say, “The Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards programme is unique in that it recognises the efforts of the entire company, not just one individual. Our success has been achieved through the hard work of our team over the past few years to deliver an exceptional service to our customers.”

Deloitte’s Ronan Nolan, who acted as Merlin’s mentor in preparation for the awards commented, “I was most impressed with Merlin’s management style from our very first meeting with David Byrne and his colleagues. They demonstrated a very clear approach to planning and communication, and in particular have a great ability to adapt to challenging business conditions. I believe they are very worthy winners of the Deloitte Best Managed Companies Award.”

Related posts:

1. Audi R8 to Go Under the Hammer
2. Motorcheck.ie Shortlisted at 2010 Blog Awards
3. The Future of Electric Motoring in Ireland…

Xccelerate will be roaring onto Irish screens for its third season launching on Tuesday 8th March 2011 at 10.30pm on TV3. The only motoring programme on Irish television, Xccelerate is produced in Ireland, with Irish cars, Irish locations and Irish presenters – while keeping the Irish road user firmly in mind. With series one and two proving to be very popular with viewers in 2009 and 2010 the new line up for 2011 will continue to bring fresh and local flavour to motoring in Ireland.

Presented by highly respected Irish Times motoring journalist, Paddy Comyn, alongside well known TV3 sports broadcaster Kirsteen O’Sullivan and broadcaster Alan Ennis, Xccelerate will deal with all types of vehicles from the affordable and practical to the most desirable models to hit the Irish streets in 2011.

The new series will feature an action packed challenge with the Irish Naval Service, a look into the underworld of stolen cars in Ireland and a trip to Sweden for the MX5 ice race.

Bringing the fun back into motoring and making every day cars enjoyable to watch is what Xccelerate is all about.

Episode 1

Episode 1 kicks off in style with Paddy Comyn visiting the home of Aston Martin and Kirsteen taking a look at what the VW Passat has to offer as a family car. Alan puts the BMW X3 through its paces and Paddy feels he has drawn the short straw with the Hyundai IX20 – but you will have to wait to hear his final verdict.

Xccelerate airs Tuesday 8th March 2011 at 10.30pm on TV3.

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2. The Future of Electric Motoring in Ireland…
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If you’d like to get your hands on a free pass simply like this post on facebook. Tickets are issued on a first come, first served basis but if you’re outside the Dublin area we’ll need to get them in the post for you tonight so don’t delay, ‘like’ us now.

There’s going to be lots to do and see at the show. Of course a visit to the Motorcheck stand to collect your free history check is something you wont want to miss but there’s a whole lot more to see.

More Than Just The Brands!

Get in gear now for The Irish Times Motor Show 2011! With something for everyone whether you are a car enthusiast or trying to find that perfect new car, The Irish Times Motor Show is a great day out for the whole family! Come along and check out the latest models from top brands in the automotive industry, see every type of car from family cars and high powered vehicles to hybrids and electric cars.

See what’s in store for the future by browsing the latest prototypes and concept cars from world renowned car companies. Check out The European Car of the Year and Irish Car of the Year 2011 at The Irish Times Features Area, and bring the kids along to drive on the special kid’s track where they can earn their very first driving licence. Also, if you are learning to drive or new to driving come to the show and our instructors will teach you the basics and help you to drive for the first time!

Get a firsthand look at all the latest cars on the market for 2011 as some of the biggest brands in the automotive industry from all over the world unveil their new models with something for everyone from passenger cars to high powered sports models and electric and hybrid vehicles.

The Irish Times Feature Area

For all the latest motoring news with practical and experienced advice and reviews of the top new cars on the market the Top class advise from the experts of Ireland’s leading Motoring supplement, “Motors” every Wednesday in The Irish Times. The Irish Times Feature Area will display The European Car of the Year and The Irish Car of the Year 2011, come along and see the winning cars for yourself!

Free Car History Checks from Motorcheck.ie

Drop along to the Motorcheck stand (H13 & 14) and get a free certificate for any car registered in Ireland or the UK. Our experts will be on hand to answer all your car history enquiries and advise you on the do’s and don’ts of buying a used car.

My First Licence!

Something for the kids! The Irish Times Motor Show is a great day out for the whole family! Children under 16 go free and any child aged 4-8 years can come along to the show to try out our fun kid’s track in our specially designed kid’s cars. After they complete the track they will earn their very own personalised first driving licence.

Feature Car Theatre

Some of the incredible cars you will be able to see include…..

♦ Audi R15 TDi, Le Mon winning car
♦ McLaren Mercedes SLR
♦ Ferrari 612 scaglietti
♦ Ferrari 430 spyder
♦ Porche 356 speedster
♦ 1899 Sperry Cleveland electric car
♦ Fiat 500 abarth
♦ Volkswagen Scirocco R
♦ Seat Leon Cupra R.
And as many more again to surprise you on arrival

See how the imagination can be stretched with concepts using every new technology available from lightweight materials such as carbon fibre, futuristic powered batteries, electric motors, alternative cooling systems and other fantastic new design features. Look at how the latest avant-garde designs cross the boundaries of conventional car design into unknown territory where there are no limits to the imagination. Come to the Irish Motor Show and let these fantastic cars break all the rules and see the cars from all your gas-fuelled fantasies!

Electric Avenue sponsored by ESB

Come and see the latest electric car models at the show and witness how the motor industry has faced the up to the challenges of the environment. Manufacturers are now pouring investment into electric cars with the first mass produced electric cars to emerge on the market this year. All electric cars have a range of up to 100 miles and once the infrastructure is in place will be a viable, greener option for the future.

With the advent of newer technology electric cars have become faster more high performance and more attractive to car buyers. This year the big car brands will be introducing electric cars to the mass market, come to the Motor Show see the latest models available in 2011!

Get Started with Early Drive!

Can’t wait to get behind the wheel? Learning to drive? Come Along and Try Driving For the Very First Time. Free of charge as a guest of the show!

Your Future on Wheels is Just around the Corner. Learning to drive for the first time can often be a daunting process, come down to the Irish Motor Show and get your first lesson from one of our professional instructors, learn the basics and try driving for the first time before you get ready to hit the road!

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