Audi A1 hatchback

The unique Audi A1 hatchback was created into a work of art for Elton John’s White Tie & Tiara Ball by Damien Hirst and was auctioned off for an impressive £350,000. Close to 700 VIP guests attended the event at Windsor to support the largest annual fundraiser for Elton’s AIDS foundation.

The Elton John AIDS Foundation manages over £14 million in programmes across 15 countries and supports men, women and children with life saving medication, shelter and support

Alfa Romeo Giulietta

Alfa Romeo has celebrated its 100th anniversary after the company was founded in Milan in 1910 on the 24th June. The city of Milan will now pay homage to this iconic sports brand with a series of four days of events.

More than 3,000 Alfa Romeo cars from around the globe are expected to arrive in Milan from over 45 countries to celebrate the event and will parade through the streets this weekend. This programme of  events with the City Council, Fiera Milano Expo, Monza Race Track and the Alfa Romeo Museum, also coincides with the UK launch of the new Alfa Giulietta which is finally available on UK shores.

New Ford Mondeo

The new Ford Mondeo will be unveiled to the public at the Moscow Motor Show on August the 25th and will be on sale in the UK in October. The new Mondeo has a restyled exterior, uprated interior and comes with the new high-efficiency Ford EcoBoost petrol and TCDi diesel engines, that have appeared in the new Ford S-MAX and Galaxy models earlier this year.

Key changes include a new grille, new front bumpers, LED running lights (front and rear), revised rear lights, new flow-through centre console design, revised door treatment and new overhead console. The specification now includes a satellite navigation system, Premium Sound System with 17-litre subwoofer.

Jaguar XKR 75

The exclusive Jaguar XKR 75 makes its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on July the 2nd, with only 75 models going into full production. The XKR 75 has a higher performance than the standard XKR reaching 0-60 seconds in only 4.4 seconds and a top speed of 174mph.

Mike O’Driscoll, managing director of Jaguar Cars, said,”The XKR 75 will provide owners with exclusivity, excitement and a hint of Jaguar’s great heritage. This is a fitting way to celebrate the sporting credentials of the XK marque in the 75th year of the Jaguar name”.

Skoda GreenLine 11 Estate

The new Skoda Fabia GreenLine 11 Estate goes on sale next week and is the most environmentally friendly Skoda ever built for the UK market. The car is powered by a new three-cylinder turbocharged 1.2 TDI CR 75bhp common rail diesel engine which returns a whopping 83.1mpg on the combined fuel cycle and emits only 89g/km of CO2 making it extremely tax efficient.

On a single tank of fuel the car covers around 932 miles (combined cycle), which is the same as driving from Prague to London in one go. The car also comes with a stop-start system, cruise control, ESP, tyre pressure monitor (TPM) and an alarm with tile sensor which are additions to the standard specification. The Fabia GreenLine 11 hatchback will be out in October. Skoda contract hire prices should be loaded shortly.

Ford at Wimbledon

Hertz has chosen a range of Ford vehicles to move tennis stars around Wimbledon over the next two weeks, like Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and the Williams sisters. The fleet is made up of top-of-the-range Ford Galaxy, S-MAX and Kuga models – all finished in blue and silver, in line with the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s requirements.

Neil Cunningham, General Manager UK & European Strategic Projects, Hertz UK Ltd said,” We were delighted to partner with Ford again for the Championships; having a spacious and reliable fleet is essential to provide the very best service to players and coaches”.

Last year, over 15,000 journeys were made over the two weeks, covering an estimated 228,000 miles, which is the same as driving round the globe a remarkable nine times. Hertz is hoping to save circa 2 tonnes of CO2 compared with previous fleets by using the latest CO2 efficient Ford models.

BMW X1 diesel

BMW has been awarded three honours at the Environmental Transport Association’s Green Car Awards 2010. The BMW 320d Touring topped the large family car category, the BMW X1 was awarded greenest off-road car and the BMW 740d the best luxury car.

BMW’s EfficientDynamics programme was also praised for offering customers outstanding fuel economy and low CO2 emissions, without compromising on driving enjoyment. Andew Davis, director at Environmental Transport Association said, “With the price of petrol (and diesel) at record levels and greater understanding about the threat to the environment there has never been a more important time to make fuel efficiency a deciding factor when choosing a car”.

The Super Shopper contract hire engine on the site allows you to select a manufacturer (or a combination of multiple manufacturers), your preferred combined mpg and the CO2 range you are trying to achieve, plus best of all you can also see the contract hire rentals too.

Click for the quote engine

The Chevrolet Spark 1.0i 5-door hatchback is available on the site on Chevrolet business car leasing from only £138.21+VAT per month. This small city car returns 55.4 combined mpg and emits only 119g/km of CO2 making it an ideal car about town for any small business.

The Chevrolet business car leasing deal is based on the following;

- Business car leasing on a non-maintained contract over a three year term at 10,000 miles per annum.

- 3 months rental in advance followed by thirty-five subsequent rentals (38 equal payments in total)

- “With maintenance”, metallic paint and other vehicle options can be added at an extra cost.

- The image shown may not represent the exact model.

- Pricing is subject to change at any time and must be verified directly with each vehicle leasing supplier

Yesterday, George Osborne, delivered one of the toughest budget’s in living memory, to tackle the country’s £155 billion deficit. The five year programme aims to eliminate the hole in public finances and to re-build the British economy. The major items that affect Britain’s SME fleet and company car drivers are below.

VAT rises from 17.5% to 20% on the 4th January 2011

As forecasted the increase in VAT went ahead and the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) has estimated this will add around £300 to the price of the average new car. However, when a contract hire company purchases a vehicles to lease, they can recover the VAT on purchase. They also account for VAT on disposal as well. This still ensures contract hire is a method of vehicle finance that is still attractive for small businesses as the amount to finance takes into account the leasing company VAT recovery.

VAT is also added to any contract hire rental and if there is any private use of the vehicle, there is a 50% restriction on the VAT you can recover on the finance element of the rental. The VAT applied to the maintenance element is still 100% recoverable.

On an average non-maintained contract hire rental of say £250 before VAT, the changes in 2011 will add approximately £3.13 to the effective rental ( the true cost of what you will be paying after VAT is taken into account).

Fuel duty

The Chancellor announced there would be no further increases over and above those already announced by the previous Government in the March 2010 budget. This means that there will be a 1p per litre rise in duty on the 1st October 2010 and a further 0.76p a litre rise on January 2011.

The Chancellor also said that fuel duty would increase by 1p a litre above in inflation in 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15. He also announced that he has asked the Office for Budget Responsibility to undertake an assessment over the summer of the effect of oil price fluctuations on public finances and will examine options for a “fair fuel stabiliser”. The Government is also going to consider a fuel duty discount for motorists who live in remote rural areas.

Company car tax

The Chancellor also confirmed the coalition Government intends to press ahead with the company car benefit-in-kind tax threshold changes that it inherited from the previous administration -see the table below. It is now even more important than ever to choose your new car with a low CO2 emission if you are looking to save money. The Super Shopper quote engine allows you to choose the type of model you are looking for and also set the CO2 range you are trying to achieve, so do give it a go as it will save you time and money.

G/km of CO₂

• Add 3% for diesels up to a maximum of 35% (2012/13 unconfirmed)

Hylton Treisman

Lewis Day, the leading courier and passenger car services company, has in the space of just four years, built up a hybrid fleet of over 250 Toyota Prius cars. The company renews its cars every three years and has just taken delivery of 100 of the new Toyota Prius model.

Lewis Day Fleet Director, Hylton Treisman, said,”We are keen to reduce our carbon impact so Prius’s low emissions were of particular interest to us. We have found it to be the most reliable vehicle on our fleet and, servicing aside,these cars rarely need any repairs”. Lewis Day operates a fleet of more than 1,800 vehicles from its 17 offices nationwide and offers a range of transport services from dispatch bikes and parcel vans to chauffeur driven cars and HGVs.