Nissan LEAF

RCS, a Nottinghamshire based printer, is reducing its transport emissions with fleet of six new Nissan LEAF EVs and using the new ABB rapid charger, this allows the LEAF to be charged to 80% capacity in less than 30 minutes. The company is also using solar panels and other energy reduction strategies to reduce their annual energy bill by £78k, thereby charging the LEAFs for free

“The environment forms a key part of our company ethos and our fleet of Nissan LEAFs build on our vision of becoming the UK’s most environmentally friendly printer,” explained Michael Todd, MD of RCS. “The LEAF is the first practical five door, five seat EV on the UK market and our staff have embraced all aspects of the car which is why we kept adding them to our fleet.”

Volkswagen Caddy Match

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has just launched a new special edition Volkswagen Caddy, called the Caddy Match. The Caddy Match is only available until the 30th April 2012 and features additional specification over the standard model as follows.

• Air conditioning
• Bluetooth connectivity
• Trip computer
• Electric windows
• Electrically heated and adjustable door mirrors
• Cruise control
• Body-coloured bumpers and wing mirrors
• Wheel trims

It is available in the standard Caddy and the long wheelbase Caddy Maxi (except 4MOTION and EcoFuel models) and has a range of Euro5 emissions compliant 1.6-litre or 2.0-litre TDi engines plus Bluemotion technology.

Paul Vissian, Product Manager at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said,”It’s great to start the New Year with an outstanding special edition for one of the UK’s best-selling compact vans. We’ve studied the market carefully and chosen some of the most popular options to give Caddy Match an unbelievable standard specification and probably the best value for money model we’ve ever offered”.

New Kia Optima saloon

The all-new Kia Optima goes on sale on the 1st February as Kia targets the business fleet car market with this new model, with a diesel-only line-up. The car is available in six-speed manual or automatic transmissions with four trim levels available – all with a very high level of standard specification. The new Kia Optima offers class-leading space and CO2 emissions as low as 128g/km of CO2 and a combined mpg of 57.6, so is an ideal shortlist for any company car driver.

The Optima was unveiled at the New York Auto Show and became Korea’s top-selling car within a month of going on sale. To date nearly 300,000 Optimas have been sold worldwide and the car was designed by Kia’s Chief Design Officer (Peter Schreyer) and his team.  

Kia Optima

It now joins the Kia family of Sorento, Soul, Venga, Sportage, c’eed, Picanto, Rio and provides Kia a full range of vehicles to offer across a fleet company car policy.

The UK model line-up and pricing  

Vauxhall Vivaro

Vauxhall Commercial Vehicles has reported that it sold more vans at retail in 2011 than any other commercial vehicle manufacturer, according to the figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The Luton-based manufacturer sold 11,436 vans to small businesses last year, with sales up 28.05 per cent in a market up 8.32 per cent.  The Vauxhall Vivaro was the best selling van in the retail medium van segment with sales up 58.05 per cent year-on-year.

“Last year proved to be an excellent year for Vauxhall van sales,” said Richard Collier, Vauxhall’s National Commercial Vehicles Sales Manager.  “It’s fantastic news for Vauxhall that despite the uncertain economic outlook there’s still strong demand for fuel efficient, high quality vans with low running costs and excellent manufacturer support.”

The latest edition to the Vauxhall Commercial Vehicles range, the all-new Combo, is due next month and Vauxhall contract hire is on the site now on all the current van range.

The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) 2012, together with MGM Grand Detroit, will once again feature über-luxury and performance vehicles at The Gallery.  Now in its fifth year, this exclusive motoring event will be held at MGM Grand Detroit on Sunday, the 8th January, 2012.

The Gallery will feature some magnificent luxury vehicles from Aston Martin, Bentley, Corvette, Falcon, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Lexus, Lincoln, Lingenfelter, Maserati, Morgan, Porsche, Range Rover, Rolls-Royce, and some of the finest motorcycles. 

Many of the vehicles on display at The Gallery will not be shown at the NAIAS, for example the Aston Martin One-77, Lamborghini Aventador, Rolls Royce Ghost and Jaguar XKR-S will be on display exclusively at The Gallery.

A YouTube promotional video can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ19OgGWZK0&lr=1&feature=mhee).

Sat Nav with no visual impairment

Ford has joined forces with Cambridge University to gain a better understanding of visual impairment issues that come with an ageing society and to use various digital tools to better design vehicles for those drivers with vision problems. The special software enables Ford’s engineers to see instrument clusters through the eyes of someone with vision impairment

The World Health Organisation has reported that 285 million people worldwide suffer from some form of visual impairment. Of these, about 65 per cent are aged 50 and over, and with a rapidly ageing population, the number of visually impaired is expected to grow.

Sat Nav with Red Green Colour Blindness

As you get older, the ability to see fine details deteriorates, as does the ability to see in the dark. This means that many drivers can struggle to read the vehicle instrument cluster while driving, unless they have bifocal or varifocal glasses. Other eye conditions, such as glaucoma, cataracts and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), are also prevalent among those at 50 years of age and older.

“Visual impairment is a natural part of ageing and affects many millions of people around the world,” said Angelika Engel, ergonomics attribute specialist at Ford of Europe. “But because it is such a gradual process, it can often go unnoticed for many years. We tend to subconsciously look around the problem until it reaches a point where it is so severe that it can no longer be ignored. Even conditions like AMD and glaucoma can come on very slowly.”

Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid model

Volvo has released the details of their new, technically advanced, V60 Plug-in Hybrid model which is an electric car, hybrid car and muscle-car all rolled into one. With the touch of the button you choose which one of these cars you want to drive. 

In Pure mode the car is powered solely by its electric motor as much as possible, with a range of up to 32 miles with zero emissions. The Hybrid setting is the standard driving mode for the car, with the diesel engine and electric motor working in tandem. CO2 emissions are 49g/km and the range in this mode is up to 621 miles.

However if you opt for Power Mode, the car technology is optimised for maximum performance and the 2.4-litre diesel and electric motor’s combined power of 285bhp (215+70) offers you a 0-62mph acceleration time of just 6.2 seconds. The car also has an AWD button that activates the electrical four-wheel drive (diesel power to the front wheels and electrical power to the rear). Due to the electric motor’s lower power the AWD (all-wheel drive) system can only operate up to speeds of 75mph, however if you are driving in the snow or mud this is probably fast enough.

Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid model

The V60 Plug-in Hybrid can be fully charged from a regular power outlet (230V/6A, 10A or 16A) at home and recharging times will vary with amperage. A full charge takes 4.5 hours on a 10A outlet and this is cut to 3.5 hours with 16A, or if you only have access to 6A then the charge takes 7.5 hours.

The indicative price for the world’s first plug-in hybrid with a diesel engine starts from £45,000 to £50,000 in the UK, minus of course any government Plug-in Car Grant for electric cars. Initial production will start with 1,000 vehicles in November 2012 and these vehicles will be offered with Pure Limited specification which includes the highest SE Lux trim level.

It will also be launched in one colour, Electric Silver, and also comes with aero-designed 17-inch alloy wheels, integrated exhaust tailpipes and various gloss black body features for example on the grille and spoiler. Other standard equipment includes parking sensors front and rear, High Performance Multimedia DVD audio system with eight loudspeakers and seven-inch screen, Bluetooth phone link, electrically adjustable driver’s seat and speed-dependent power steering.

The car also features a D6 badge, the first Volvo to carry this emblem, plus chromed Plug-in Hybrid badging on the tailgate and front wings. Inside the car you get a black leather upholstery covered steering wheel and other distinctive features like the specially designed floor mats and a gear knob with integrated indicator.

A special feature of the car is its Save Mode which conserves the battery charge for driving later in Pure Mode. The aim of this feature is to always ensure you have enough battery power for around 12.5 miles on pure electricity driving alone which may be useful when driving into an urban green zone.

Parent Driver of the Year

Tesco Cars has just announced that Bristol mum, Sharon Appleyard, has just been voted its inaugural ”Parent Driver of the Year” award, which was a nationwide competition to find the parent that provides the ultimate parent “taxi” service.  The research was conducted by OnePoll.com and a total of 2,000 responses were collected and analysed.

Tesco Car’s study showed the average parent will make three trips per week, covering 50.2 miles to transport children to various events and activities. It also found that Dads will drive their children 10 more miles per week on average than mums, and that parents in Wales recorded the highest average mileage driven at 65 miles.

Sharon, who was nominated by her daughter Amy, chauffeurs her three children to a wide range of after-school clubs and weekend activities and will now be the lucky winner of a £1,000 Tesco voucher prize. She said,”I would like to say a big thanks to my daughter Amy for nominating me and to Tesco cars of course for making this Christmas a bit more special!”.

Tesco Cars specialises in re-marketing quality for customers who want to buy used ex-fleet leased vehicles with all cars being refurbished and inspected by the RAC.

Volkswagen Caddy

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has just picked up three awards for their Caddy and Transporter vans, plus the overall title of Fleet Van of the Year (for the Transporter), at the Fleet Van Awards 2011. This follows on from winning three van categories in the 2012 What Van? Awards.

The Caddy was voted Small Van of the Year by Fleet Van and the Transporter, Medium Panel Van of the Year with Trevor Gelken, editor of Fleet Van, commenting,”With new engines, a range that the others can’t match, rock solid residual values and superb dealer back-up, the Volkswagen Caddy knocked last year’s winner of its perch into second place”.

Volkswagen Transporter

On the Transporter, he said,”Such is the legendary might of this van, which dates back to the 1950s, that it wins Medium Van of the Year again- as it has done every year since our awards began. The judges could find nothing to touch it in the sector”.

Alastair Hemmings, National Fleet Manager at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said,”What more can I say? With no less than six awards for our vans in one week, I’m sure these will prove to even more fleet managers that Volkswagen’s efficient and desirable range of commercial vehicles make very good sense for every business”.

We have contract hire prices available now for the whole trage of Volkswagen commercial vehicles.

ESP installation chart

Electronic Stability Control (ESP) must now be standard on all new cars and light commercial vehicles in the EU from the 1st November 2011. ESP will also become compulsory in all new EU vehicles from 31st October 2014 and this is part of the European Commission strategy to improve road safety.

Bosch developed ESP and in 1995 it was the first company worldwide to start series production. By 2010, 41 per cent of all cars and light commercial vehicles weighing less than six metric tons worldwide were equipped with the innovative safety system.

The Electronic Stability Program uses intelligent sensors to check 25 times per second whether the driver’s steering input matches the direction of travel and if it detects the vehicle is likely to become unstable, it intervenes by reducing the engine torque in order to restore stability. If that doesn’t correct the issue, it then additionally brakes individual wheels and also incorporates with the functions of antilock braking (ABS) and traction control.