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2015 European Car of the Year shortlist announced

So if you are thinking of a new car next year, you might want to wait until the results of the 2015 European Car of the Year have been announced.

The shortlist is out, whittled down to seven from thirty one new cars and to qualify all contenders must have sold or be expected to sell at least 5,000 vehicles. Those who made it through to the grid are the BMW 2-series Active Tourer, Citroën C4 Cactus, Ford Mondeo, Mercedes-Benz C-class, Nissan Qashqai, Renault Twingo and Volkswagen Passat. And there’s quite a crowd to pass judgement as 58 jurors from 22 European countries will consider the cars based on design, safety, comfort and value for money.

Last year’s winner was the Peugeot 308 but we’ll have to wait until March 2015 on the eve of the Geneva Motor show to hear which is the European car of the year 2015. To read up on the hopeful winning features of the line-up take a look here  http://www.caroftheyear.org/

P.S. if you can’t wait that long and need to dispose of your old car now we can scrap a car anytime and offer free scrap car removal……….

Have you made your car ‘Winter-ready’ yet?

As at last we begin to feel the temperatures dropping spare a thought for your car and your safety.

According to many of the motoring organisations, winter call-outs roughly double as the icy weather hits. There is plenty of advice around about keeping your car  in best running order and probably we all know much of it already – but don’t forget to check before you get stuck in that snowdrift!! Here are just a few reminders:

  • Antifreeze – Make sure you have topped up the coolant system with the right ratio of cold temperature antifreeze.
  • Screen wash – Don’t get caught out peering through frosty panes. Make sure you have filled up with winter temperature screen wash in the right proportion. You can buy pre-diluted if you’re not sure about volumes.
  • Windscreen, rear and side windows – winter sun can make visibility difficult. Minimise glare by cleaning the glass inside and out.
  • Battery – If it’s more than five years old think about having it checked. Batteries are the most common cause of winter breakdowns.
  • Fuel – it’s wise to keep topped up in case you’re held up in traffic or by the snowplough!
  • Lights – salt on the road, slushy driving conditions can lead to dirty headlights more so than normal so check and clean headlights, brake lights, indicators and reversing lights.
  • Tyres – Make sure you have at least 3mm of tread for winter driving. Winter tyres are not compulsory in the UK but are designed to be good at gripping wet, cold roads – below 7 oC.

Drive safely,

Autobreaker.com

Scotland England drink driving limits differ

Ahead of the Christmas season, the legal blood alcohol level in Scotland has been reduced from 80mg to 50mg per 100ml of blood.

 

The new limit of 50mg of alcohol per 100ml blood, which is effective from 5th December 2014, is in-line with Northern Ireland and much of Europe, the limit in England and Wales is unchanged at 80mg.

Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice secretary, commented that there was broad support to reduce the drink-drive limit in Scotland, with a previous government consultation showing that close to three quarters of the public backed the proposed change. 

This lower limit means drivers are in danger of breaking the law if they have drunk even a small glass of wine or one pint of beer.

MacAskill added: “The support comes not just from the police and law enforcement. It comes from those involved in road safety.”

This move has been welcomed by many organisations including RoSPA, a safety charity that has been at the heart of accident prevention for nearly 100 years http://www.rospa.com/news/releases/detail/?id=1341