Daily Archives: June 28, 2012

More councils to insist on permits for roadworks

June 28, 2012   simon   No comments
More councils are going to introduce permits for utility companies before they can start digging up the road. The idea is to improve co-ordination between utility companies, so they might actually do work at the same time – a radical idea. Four local councils in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex will join the existing participants in Kent, Northamptonshire, London, St Helens and Yorkshire.

The scheme, will give four councils more powers to co-ordinate road works and take tough action against companies who break the rules – including issuing fines of up to £5,000. The scheme requires anyone carrying out road works to apply for a permit in advance and allows councils to set conditions on timing, co-ordination and the amount of road space left available to road users.

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Next Mondeo to offer inflatable seat belts

June 28, 2012   simon   No comments

The dividing line between a car interior and a bouncy castle gets ever thinner. Ford is to offer inflatable rear seatbelts on the 2013 Ford Mondeo, which instantly become a kind of mini-airbag in the event of an accident. Ford says that the inflatable belt disperses the energy of a crash across a body area five times larger than would a conventional seatbelt.”We’ve tested the system extensively using our entire crash test dummy family and it offers extra protection over the standard rear seatbelt system,” said Joerg Doering, core engineering seatbelts engineer, Ford of Europe. “Bringing together the attributes of an airbag and a seatbelt is a significant development. This technology isn’t currently available in Europe.”
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Fuel price freeze welcomed

June 28, 2012   simon   No comments

Pasties, static caravans, charities and now fuel: clearly if we make enough fuss about a new tax, the government runs away and hides. FairFuelUK, the campaign backed by the Freight Transport Association (FTA) which has been lobbying the Government for the past year in order to stop planned fuel duty increases has welcomed the “delay” in the fuel duty rise.

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Skoda Rules at Auto Express Awards

June 28, 2012   simon   No comments

Skoda won four gongs at the Auto Express New Car Awards, more than any other manufacturer.It also won the overall prize for New Car of the Year for the Skoda Citigo, the slightly lower-cost version of the VW Up! The other Skoda winners were the Superb for both Family Car and Estate Car and the company also won the Driver Power Award for Customer Satisfaction.Auto Express editor-in-chief, Steve Fowler, commented: “These Car of the Year Awards are proof that Skoda’s now a big league car maker – and in many ways it’s outshining parent brand VW!”
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New Hyundai Santa Fe details announced

June 28, 2012   simon   No comments

Hyundai has announced pricing and specification details of the new Santa Fe off-roader, which will start at £25,495 The Santa Fe will be the only Hyundai that has a name rather than the new i numbering system – i10, i20, etc. Hyundai feels that Santa Fe is such a strong brand, it would be a waste to throw it away.

The new Santa Fe will be powered by an uprated version of the familiar 2.2-litre CRDi engine which develops 194 bhp and 311lb ft of torque. The 2WD version returns 47.9mpg on the combined cycle and emissions fall below the benchmark 160g/km level for the first time (155g/km) making it much more appealing for company car buyers. The 4WD manual Santa Fe also falls below the benchmark figure, with a combined fuel consumption figure of 46.3mpg and 159g/km. The automatic model delivers 41.5mpg and 178g/km.

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