So you want to look for a new car but can’t seem to make your finances stretch far enough? Or maybe you’ve already found the car of your dreams, but know there’s no way you’ll ever be able to afford it. You’re not alone – the car industry has been hit hardest of all by the recession and car sales have reached an all time low. It seems no one can afford to think about purchasing a new car right now.

But don’t let that discourage you – there is still another option. There is a way you could still get the car you want, without even having to pay upfront for it. Car contract hire or leasing agreements are a great way to choose the exact car you want and you only have to pay one manageable monthly fee.  

I know what you’re thinking, there has to be a catch, right? Well, in fact, no there really isn’t. Yes you have to sign a contract but you get to choose from any car on the market, including those that would normally be out of your price range. In fact, the more desirable the car, the better deals you can get. It’s not like buying a new car where the value decreases with time, most contract hire agreements are based on your projected usage so they take wear and tear into account and when the contract ends you can trade it in for a newer model.

Choosing contract hire will usually also help with the running cost of having a car – often the road tax and servicing costs are thrown in to the monthly instalments so you won’t find yourself suddenly landed with huge repair bills. And it’s less likely to break down as you can trade it in every couple of years, so you’ll always have the latest new model.

Basically, it’s a great way of getting a new car without any of the worries of buying outright – and it really does make sense, especially now when times are hard. And who knows, you might end up with that dream car after all!

Technorati Tags: car contract hire, cars, contract hire, credit crunch

Originally, it started as an engineering concept at the turn of the 21st century. Gas-Electric “hybrid” cars were the dream of the modern society and they were displayed at auto shows to gauge public reaction and market potential. Yet within a few years alone ( a small wink in the vehicle industry), hybrids have evolved into one of today’s most important automotive trends. Electronic components have really developed over the last ten years and are now more geared than ever to accommodate for the ‘greener solutions of our time. Every bit of a car from basic fuses to solenoids have been updated and modified to be friendlier for the environment. Numerous other components have come into play in the advancement of this technology, but one element in particular, copper, has been indispensable in helping to propel the growth of hybrid vehicles.
According to GM (General Motors) Chief Engineer, Time Grew, “Copper has two important roles in hybrids: It runs the electricity, so you have large amounts of copper in the motor and battery, and, more importantly, the copper technology is making hybrids viable commercially”. Fortunately enough, hybrids have come into the market in a big way. People are more than keen to get their first hybrid car and contribute to saving the world’s energy resources.
These days there are not many cars that are not hybrids. Car companies have a responsibility to now be far more conscious about polluting the planet. It is interesting to try and comprehend where technology will be this time in a couple of years. Will our vehicles be even more energy efficient? Only time will tell but I am sure that automotive technology will have a lot of surprises for us. It simply depends on what is going to be viable from a commercial and marketing point of view.

Technorati Tags: cars, fuses, hybrid cars, solenoids

Over the last couple of weeks the UK has been hit with some of the most extreme weather we’ve seen in a long time. The first week of February brought the heaviest snowfall we’ve seen for 18 years, causing hundreds of schools to close and leaving over 6 million people stranded unable to get to work. Most public transport was disrupted or cancelled and many roads were deemed unsafe due to the icy conditions and closed off.

The continuing bad weather is a real worry for drivers, with an increased risk of accidents on the icy roads as well as other problems caused by the extreme conditions. There have been a number of incidents of sudden heavy snowfall causing trapped drivers to have to be dug out, while in other parts of the country the melting snow has been replaced with heavy rains and severe flood warnings have been issued.

All this is bad news for car owners, not only because the personal risk of driving on the roads is higher, but also because a damaged car can be a costly business. With the recession, most people really couldn’t afford to splash out on a new car if something happened to theirs. And that is the real problem with owning a car. It’s brilliant until something goes wrong, but then it can just become really expensive. You might think it won’t apply to you, that you’re a careful, safe driver who won’t get into that sort of situation. But as the last few weeks have proved, you can’t predict what will happen on the roads, and there’s nothing you can do to prevent it.

The problem is that once your car is paid for, it then becomes entirely your responsibility. Then the older the car gets the more likely it is to go wrong, especially in extreme weather conditions, and the more money you’ll have to shell out when it does. And even when you get it fixed, it still won’t be worth half what you paid for it in the first place as a car only ever decreases its value over time.

The people who manage to avoid these worries are those who opt for a car contract hire deal instead of buying a car outright. It doesn’t mean the car’s not yours, it just means that you pay for it in regular monthly instalments and often you get extra benefits thrown in as well like road tax and servicing costs. So if something was to happen, you wouldn’t have to foot the whole bill yourself. And the best thing is that when the contract hire expires after a couple of years you can trade the car in for a new one, meaning you’ve always got the latest updated model. And as you’ll always have a new car, it won’t have had time to wear out and is less likely to break down in the first place!

Technorati Tags: car contract hire, cars, contract hire, driving

It has certainly been interesting to learn that there is a new Jaguar model that has been modeled straight right out of the body of a popular Hollywood Actress. Yes, there is a Jaguar that has been modeled after Kate Winslet of the Titanic fame’s curves.

According to a source from Jaguar, the company has been working on a new vehicle that is sleek and powerful. However, the exterior design of the new Jaguar vehicle is claimed to have been created with the body of curvy Kate Winslet in mind. Yes, the designers at Jaguar have modeled the vehicle’s design after actress Kate Winslet.

There are various sources of inspiration when designers and engineers make their creations. Perhaps some 1967 Jaguar 420 body parts were modeled after a racing event or anything to that effect. Or perhaps that vehicle parked beside your car has been created with a shark in mind. However, this new Jaguar is one of the most unique ways the auto world has ever heard about a car design’s inspiration.

Does Kate Winslet already know about this? Well, it seems like the actress has not only known and heard about the vehicle but it looks like she has already even seen it with her own eyes. She was able to do so when she was a guest at The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last week. Upon learning about the Jaguar vehicle modeled after her own body, the actress looked quite impressed. She was recorded to have said, “Apparently, the man who designed this car decided that I, for whatever reason, was his ideal woman so he, I guess, was inspired by the shape of my body.”

However, impressed as Winslet may seem to be, the actress still has insisted that she wanted some changes made to the vehicle. That is, if she was to be involved in the whole design process. She shares, “The headlights aren’t big enough. They’ll have to go. They never called me up and said, ‘Would you mind if I did this…?’ It’s kind of flattering… but I would have liked to have been involved.”

Jaguar’s United Kingdom sales surged, thanks to the marvel of XJ and XK vehicles. Jaguar XJ saloon is the flagship vehicle of the automaker while XK is its highly-acclaimed sports car.

Jaguar UK reported earlier that in the month of September it has accumulated a total of 4,421 sold vehicles. Sales of the XJ Series increased by 155 percent. It has more than doubled its previous year’s September volume. According to analysts in the industry, the increase can be accounted to the introduction of the groundbreaking 2.7 twin-turbo diesel version. In fact, said feature of Jaguar vehicles contributed for nearly 67 percent of the total sales. The overwhelming acceptance of the market of the automaker’s 2.7 liter twin-turbo diesel XJ proves that it is now recognized in the premium F Segment diesel sector.

Another remarkable vehicle that made it big in the UK auto market is Jaguar XJ. The automaker sold about 2,000 models so far this year. Said figure includes more than 50 percent diesel versions.

All Jaguar parts are being subject to detailed and careful designing and manufacturing so as to cater to the car enthusiast’s utmost needs. Recently, Jaguar announced its upcoming long wheelbase XJ diesel. It is due to wow fanatics from early next year.

“We are particularly pleased that our UK sales volumes continue to increase at an unparalleled rate in an increasingly competitive market environment,” said Jaguar UK’s Managing Director, Geoff Cousins. “Important new models, such as the XK sports car and XJ diesel models, are major factors in attracting new customers to the Jaguar brand. It is also encouraging that the S-TYPE Diesel is already establishing itself as the car of choice in the corporate market.”

“I also regard our year to date September sales of the XJ (up by over 31% on 2005) as an even bigger achievement than our XK success. By focusing on the XJ and the new XK though, both the brand and our dealers are making good margins which support our premium niche strategy and business,” Cousins concluded.

Jaguar car parts and accessories are again proving its worth in the industry. The supercharged version of XKR is now hotter on the heels. In fact, the automaker recorded 1,500 advance orders of said model globally.