Best Selling Cars – Matt's blog

Let’s play a game of jeopardy.

They honk their horns or flash their high beams when sitting in traffic. They will speed past, changing lanes with no signal, weaving dangerously across multiple lanes. Some will speed up and block you from merging lanes while others may roar up behind you as if trying to intimidate you. Some might even give you the finger, scream out the window or pull over to fight with you!

Answer – How do discourteous drivers behave on the road?

A recent study conducted by Australian car insurance provider GIO, found that eight out of 10 motorists from the State of New South Wales have been on the receiving end of driver discourtesy or, in some case, ‘road rage’ over the past 12 months. Experiences included drivers not acknowledging others for letting you merge, playing loud music with the windows down and driving slowly in the right-hand lane.  Road rage can lead to altercations, assaults, and accidents that can result in damage to vehicles and injuries, with subsequent filing of insurance claims. What is amazing is that some people who are ordinarily even-tempered have admitted that when they put the key in the ignition they have a tendency to lose control of their emotions behind the wheel.

According to Dr Helen Cameron from the School of Psychology at Australia’s University of South Australia, “tension and driving are a dangerous combination”. Road rage triggers include preexisting stresses, such as being in a rush, traffic congestion and facing frequent road works, and even the feeling of your personal space being invaded by others. Whatever the reason, one thing is for sure; there are solutions to curb road rage and here are some suggestions:

Focus on your own driving and stay safe: Concentrate on your own driving. Others might suffer from road rad and it’s safer to not get involved.

Practice stress breathing: This is a great stress relief exercise that everyone can perform very easily. Take a deep breath, hold for three seconds and then deeply exhale. Repeat the cycle as many times as necessary to normalise your blood pressure and pulse rates.

Leave 15 minutes earlier than usual: Avoid the anxiety and impatience that comes with rushing and the thought of possibly being late. Leave earlier to give yourself plenty of time to drive to your destination, safely and more relaxed.

Enjoy your music: Listening to music that makes you happy or has a calming effect can have a major influence on the way that you behave on the road. According to researchers from the Ben-Gurian University of the Negev in Israel, the number of driver mistakes dropped by a fifth when the drivers listened to the specifically composed soothing music mix.

Avoid confrontation with other angry drivers If you become a victim of another driver’s road rage, don’t be tempted to reciprocate. According to GIO spokesman Stephen Bell, one in four NSW drivers admit to swearing or gesturing rudely at another driver, but what starts out as a seemingly harmless action can escalate and lead to something far more dangerous such as a physical confrontation. Focus on your own driving to avoid helping the situation to escalate.

Next time you’re on the road, just remember that you can’t control other drivers, only your reactions to them.

This article is presented by AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807 trading as GIO. The information is intended to be of a general nature only. We do not accept any legal responsibility for any loss incurred as a result of reliance upon it – please make your own enquiries.

Please stay tuned as BestSellingCarsBlog travels back to Australia, with a surprise city/country stopover that you will see very soon through detailed Photo Reports… Apologies for the inconvenience, I promise I will be back on deck in time for the March figures.

BMW i8

With the all-new i3, i8, 2 Series, 4 Series, 4 Series Gran Coupé, 2 Series Active Tourer and X4 hitting the roads in 2014, BMW sales are bound to progress this year, not only in the UK but in Europe as well and worldwide, with a new all-time world annual sales record in sight.

Building on sales up 6% over the Full Year 2013 to 135,583 units, so far in 2014 in the UK BMW sales are up 15% on 2013 after two months at 10,971 units. As a reminder, over the Full Year 2013 the BMW 3 Series was down 2% but remained 7th overall with 43,494 sales while the BMW 1 Series was 21% and two spots on 2012 to #9 with 41,883 units. This means 2013 was the first year in history when BMW managed to place two models inside the annual Top 10! So there are more and more BMWs on UK roads, and you may be thinking of acquiring or potentially hiring a new or used one.

BMW X4

If this is the case, what are the best ways to finance your BMW purchase? BMW Financial Services offers you a choice of car finance options to help you own or hire your BMW, handling everything from paperwork to delivery arrangements once your choice is made. There are three main options to finance your BMW purchase.

BMW Select is BMW’s most popular car finance product. It will suit you if you know you might want to change your car regularly and therefore want to keep your options open. The way it works is there is an optional final payment at the end of the agreement, so you still benefit from reduced monthly payments. At the end of the agreement, you have the flexibility to choose whether you want to part-exchange your car for a new one, keep it or return it to BMW.

BMW 4 Series

BMW Hire Purchase will suit you if you like to make fixed regular payments throughout your agreement. This way you can spread the cost of your car over time so it’s easy to budget. And because your monthly payments are fixed, you’ll always know exactly how much you’re spending.

BMW Contract Hire is for you if you’d rather hire a BMW than own one. This way you can drive the BMW you want without worrying about depreciation. Then, as long as the vehicle is within the agreed mileage and in good condition for its age, you will have nothing more to pay at the end of the agreement. This is a popular choice with business customers because VAT registered businesses can reclaim up to 50% of the VAT on their rentals.

So now for the million dollar question: what BMW will you choose?

The automotive industry is big business in the Middle East, where the highways gleam with the world’s sexiest and most powerful super cars. Saudi Arabia leads the way when it comes to the size of its automotive industry, closely followed by the UAE. It should come as no surprise, then, that car enthusiasts and others have their sights constantly set on identifying the fastest cars available. We reveal some of the contenders.

The Fastest Street-Legal Production Car

The Bugatti Veyron has been causing a serious stir in the world of super cars, and has been adopted by the police force in Dubai. It’s known to be the fastest mass-produced, street-legal car in the world. The mid-engine sports car has a top speed of 431.072km per hour. Dubai’s police force is renowned for its collection of super cars, which also includes a Lamborghini, a Ferrari FF and an Aston Martin One-77.

A Surprise Contender

Surprisingly to some, the modest-looking Alpha Performance Logic Nissan GT-R is claimed by many to be the fastest car in the Middle East. 1200 horsepower gives the car the ability to travel 400 meters in just 8.234 seconds, a feat the car achieved when tested earlier this year on the Marina Circuits Drag Strip in the UAE.

New Models at the Dubai Motor Show

At the Dubai Motor show, the region’s largest automotive event, speed is everything. The most recent event showcased several cars that are competing to be the world’s fastest. Of these, the Devel Sixteen manufacturers make the biggest claims, stating that their ‘made-in- Dubai’ car has an expected top speed of 560 km/h. The claim remains to be tested, since the car company is yet to discover tires that can handle that kind of velocity. Also at the show were several other models in the running to become the world’s nippiest super cars, including the Venom GT, McLaren P1, Aston Martin’s CC100 Speedster and Bugatti’s Meo Constantini. With new production and custom-built models being brought to the Middle Eastern market all the time, competition remains hot in the world of super cars. Which of these contenders would you most like to take for a spin?

Image by Schen, used under Creative Commons license.

Do you want to buy a new car? Or maybe you want to exchange your new car? Whatever will be the answer it is very necessary to clarify for yourself what car you wish to get and set the budget. A very important thing is sticking to your fixed budget. You should know what amount will be the maximum that you are able to invest in the purchase of your vehicle. If your budget is limited do not go overboard trying to raise it – you should know your own limitations. It is possible to get a new and very expensive vehicle by using a loan facility. But you should be aware that this can harm your finance potentials in the future if you cannot pay on time your premiums. You vehicle can get impounded or you can pay huge interest which may empty your pocket.

If person search through the market he or she will find a lot of options of cheap used cars for sale. Many of these vehicles are impounded or repossessed by the government and sold at very low rates. People can seek for these auctions in their area to find these cheap vehicles. People can also pay attention that there are a lot of second hand cars dealers.  They attend this auction and buy these vehicles and repair them changing some car parts and then sell these cars off at expensive rates. You can attend the auctions and buy second hand cars. A great variety of car parts are simply available in the car market. So, you can use a work of a mechanic that would refurbish the whole auto. This procedure would be troublesome but the final result is excellent. You can buy second hand cars at low rates and which can offer perfect quality.

If person is very serious of buying a used vehicle the UK he or she can look through local newspapers with ads. But, if you can feel that you cannot to locate any of such ads in the local newspaper or car magazines you can turn to the banks and government agencies. If person is lucky enough he or she can get information as for the vehicles, which are going to be sold. You should contact the right person and reach at the proper time to buy these cheap cars.

The other reliable and important source to get information about cars is online services. Nowadays advertising through the Internet is very popular and acceptable. Person can look through the sites that are devoted to car advertising and learn about information as for the car sale and auction. You are able to browse for the models of cars for sale in your city.

Once you look at the car website you are able to meet a lot of quality cheap second hand british cars for sale that could be bought by you.

Lamborghini Veneno Roadster

If you’re thinking about buying a car, you’ll most likely be working out what car fits your lifestyle and most importantly, your budget. What if budget was no factor? What if your wish of owning one of the best cars in the world came true? This is the guide to your dreams: the top 5 most expensive cars in the world.

Note: All dollar values are in US dollars.

5. Porsche 918 Spyder

One of Germany’s iconic automotive brands, Porsche, starts our list of the world’s most expensive cars. The 918 Spyder is one of the most innovative roadsters on the market, incorporating hybrid electric technology into its powertrain. The heart of the car is powered by a 4.6 litre V8, delivering 661 horsepower (HP) or 492 Kilowatts (kW.). Deserving of a “most expensive” title, the Spyder’s starting price is $845,000.

4. Hennessey Venom GT

If you want a car that’s also a world-record holder, look no further than the Hennessey Venom GT. It holds the Guinness World Record for fastest time to 0-300km/h: 13.63 seconds! The body is based on the Lotus Elise roadster, but the engine is an all-powerful 1,244HP (927kW) 7 litre twin-turbo V8. The price tag? $1.2 million.

3. Koenigsegg Agera S

If you want the basic Agera S with “only” 1,030 horsepower (768 kW), your starting price is $1,520,000! It’s the only roadster-style “hypercar” that boasts a detachable hardtop. The Swedish car maker has a new “One:1” version in the works, which ups the power to 1,400hp, giving it a 1:1 power-to-weight ratio. When it comes out, it’s expected to retail at $2.8 million.

2. Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse

Dubbed “the fastest production roadster in the world,” this impressive 8-litre, 16-cylinder road burner tops the speed charts at 363km/h. It shoots to 0-100km/h in a lightning fast 2.6 seconds. It’s not a car for the feint hearted.  Or the light of wallet, either. You’ll have to part with $2.5 million to get behind the wheel.

1. Lamborghini Veneno Roadster

For a cool $4.5 million you can own Lamborghini’s futuristic Veneno Roadster, the world’s most expensive production car. The Italian car powerhouse only plans to build nine of these state-of-the-art vehicles, carefully put together with cutting-edge carbon-fibre materials. Light and powerful, it can fling you from 0-100km/h in 2.9 seconds and has a top speed of 355km/h.

This professional post is brought to you by Savvy Finance.

As announced last month, the new Citroën C4 Cactus will be a revolutionary step in not only the production of cars but in the way customers buy and pay for them. The new Cactus is nothing short of spectacular in the way it will be put together, right from what the car has under the bonnet to what technology is included inside the cabin that provides the entertainment required for you to enjoy your journey and the technical and engineering achievements made on this car show that Citroën have lost none of their creativity in producing a car that is different to anything else within the price and size ranges.

However, it is the way that Citroën plan on marketing this car that has also caused some stir. The French carmakers have announced that not only will they be changing the way you buy and subsequently pay for your car but also the way in which they’re choosing to sell is remarkably similar and can be classed as easy as purchasing a mobile phone. On the basis of that claim, you could be forgiven for thinking, “What on Earth could make that possible?”

This means in effect the customer will essentially enter into a contract like you would do for a mobile phone, however, Citroën have not released exact details stating whether the contract would be for a certain length of time e.g. 24 months, 36 months etc. or if it is simply till the customer has finished the repayment plan. The quirk with this idea is that Citroën have essentially put the customer in charge of purchasing their car with added benefits. Insurance, finance and other costs such as that of maintenance, servicing and repairs all included within the monthly-price-plan to allow for accurate budgeting. In theory, this plan could be become an essential factor in whether you choose to buy, not only a Citroën buy any production car on offer in the future. A further plan of pay-per-mile is also rumoured to be in the offing that customers could choose; consequently this would be an excellent plan for the casual road user rather than the business traveller.

Citroën’s view has been that, while keeping cards close to their chest regarding the final RRP of the C4 Cactus, the cost of the C4 Cactus will be what has been labelled as “…not low cost but competitive.” Citroën have cut production cost immensely with the Cactus; simplified interiors and the use of lightweight materials has cut out unnecessary added costs when added to the overall price. Furthermore, the engines planted in the car will all be extremely frugal and clean thus cutting costs of re-fuelling, tax and insurance.

Citroën have always done things their own way (and we all know that Citroën definitely have their own way of doing things!). The Cactus could herald a new era in not only the way cars are produced but also marketed. One thing is for sure; Citroën have lost none of their creativity out of the production factory either.

This post was written by Tom Howell, keen writer and Citroën enthusiast working at Contract Hire A Car.

Dear readers, I am calling for your help regarding 3 major European markets that either have dropped off the monthly list or remain incomplete in spite of all my efforts to build a regular and detailed database. Your help can be anonymous and will be greatly appreciated, and rewarded.

Czech Republic

Monthly data by brand and model from the sda-cia.cz website is now only available to members of the Czech Car Importers Association. I have tried to obtain even a paid access to no avail. This means at this stage there won’t be any Czech Republic data on BSCB anymore. If anyone has access to even a portion of this data, could you please contact me here. Czech Republic has the most urgent and significant need for data on BSCB right now.

Belgium

Brands data is available each month for Belgium, however the FEBIAC charges a few thousands of euros a month for a Top 10 models which is way out of BSCB’s budget. If anyone has access to monthly models data for Belgium, even say for a Top 10 models, could you please contact me here.

Slovakia

Monthly data has been patchy for over a year in Slovakia, since the source website zapsr.sk has closed free data. Skoda120 has been of wonderful help by supplying all the data published by local car magazine Auto Motor a Šport, however it is not regular and misses brand data. If anyone has access to regular detailed data for Slovakia, could you please contact me here.

BMW 3 Series

Boosted by the 6th generation now in full gear, the BMW 3 Series sold 201,224 units in the whole of Europe over the Full Year 2013, earning it a 9th position overall. As I mentioned in my Europe Full Year 2013 Report, this is the first time the 3 Series finishes the year inside the European Top 10 since 2008. But let’s have a look further down to the track to really take stock of this performance. In fact, the 3 Series had not ranked that high in Europe since all the way back to  2001 when it was the 8th best-selling model on the continent.

Volume-wise, as you know if you are a regular BestSellingCarsBlog reader, the main word in Europe right now is frag-men-ta-tion! So absolutely all models see their volume decrease as a long-term trend, which is not to say they are any less successful. It’s just that there are more and more models available each year in Europe and as a logical result, volumes per model decrease. Case in point with the 3 Series which has now been split between 3 Series and 4 Series for the first time in the nameplate’s 38 year career.

However in spite of that, 2013 is the first year the 3 Series is back above 200,000 annual European sales since 2009. Prior to that, it spent 18 consecutive years at 200,000+ units per year, even crossing the 300,000 mark for 3 years in a row between 2000 and 2002, something only the VW Golf has managed in 2013! Different times indeed. Another record the BMW 3 Series has broken in 2013 is its monthly ranking, reaching #4 in August.

BMW 3 Series sales 1991-2013:

There is nothing worse than spending your hard earned money on a second hand car and finding out that it’s a lemon! The best way to avoid this happening is to make every effort to ensure that you do not let other people’s problem become your problem. Here are some ways of spotting that lemon before you get it home and need to start pouring money into it

Research

The fact of the matter is that it may actually not be a lemon, it might just be that the model of the car is a bit of a trouble maker. Doing your research extensively before you decide to purchase any car will assist you in making the right decision for you. Some make and models have defects that are just a natural part of the car and may make them susceptible to issues, so it pays to be informed.

Take a Mechanic

Your trusty mechanic will be your best defence against the attack of the lemon, so make sure you take him or her along with you to look at the car. If you don’t have a friend that is a mechanic then at least pay your regular mechanic to meet you there and check over the car for you. He/She will be able to tell you exactly what condition the car is in, by checking things that you may not know how to check.

Check All Panels Are Original

One way of knowing if the car has been in an accident is to check if all the panels on the car are the original ones. If you find that there are obvious places where the panels are not the same, it could indicate that the car has been in an accident, which means that you have no real idea about how bad the damage was. There could be internal damage that does not show up easily.

Check Inside

Apart from checking if everything inside is in order, that the seat belts are not frayed and that it is clean, you will also need to have a good smell of it. The smell of mildew present could indicate that it has been in a flood, which could mean that there are issue with the electrics or other things in the engine. If you suspect that it has water damage then you might want to get your mechanic to have a good look at the engine and look for any sign inside the bonnet.

Check Under the Hood

While the mechanic is looking under the hood he will be able to see if there are any marks where there has been water, or evidence of corrosion. Check the oil and see if there is any grit or particles in it. This could indicate that there is a small engine leak somewhere, which if not fixed could cause be very costly down the track. If you have accidentally bought a lemon and you aren’t in the best financial situation, you may be able to get a bad credit car loan so that you can buy another car that won’t end up financially ruining you.