How To Overcome Fuel Prices And High Car Insurance Premiums

The news that fuel is on the increase yet again is everywhere. It’s not so long ago that there were strikes and shortages in a bid to shake the government into reducing the tax on oil products and yet here we are, just a few short years later, looking at over-inflated prices for our petrol and diesel. Car insurance is on the increase to cover the amount that companies pay out for when immigrants flout the insurance laws and do damage to other peoples vehicles. With these two facts coming together it’s a wonder anyone can afford to keep a car anymore.
But all is not lost. Car manufacturers are constantly working on electric vehicles to replace the petrol ones but it’s been slow coming. The problem has been that consumers are disappointed with the performance of electric cars but one company at least are overcoming this.
With a top speed of 125mph and doing 0 – 60mph in 3.9 seconds, the Tesla Roadster is an electric sports car to be proud of. Faster than a Lotus and as sleek as a Ferrari, this car should leave the competition standing. It is fast becoming the must have in Hollywood for those who are eco conscious, including George Clooney and Matt Damon, and is about to be released to the UK public who want to either reduce their carbon footprint or reduce their vehicle expenses.
Electric cars have always been much cheaper to run and car insurance companies favour them but, at best, they have so far managed a 48 mile range. That’s easy mileage to do just poodling around town, let alone on a long journey. They also need lead-acid batteries which have their own implications for the environment and need replacing every three years at a cost of 1,300 pounds each! Needing eight hours to fully charge, the whole idea that an electric car would be feasible has much with a good deal of opposition.
For some reason, manufacturers have struggled to make an electric car look anything other than silly. In fact, most of them look like the type your children pull back and then watch whiz across the floor. The hybrid vehicles, which run on a combination of petrol and battery have been the better looking option that are still cheaper to run than a complete petrol engine.
However, if you are concerned about the environment and you want to do your bit, if you’re interested in keeping down running costs and car insurance and if you are in the market for an electric car that costs almost 80,000 pounds you should at least be able to command that your car look more like a serious statement rather than a toy.
British engineering has come together with entrepreneurs from the US and PayPal founder Elon Musk, all with further investments from the founders of Google to bring the sleekest, sportiest, highest performance electric sports car invented to date. Battery recharging takes a mere three hours but will now last a much more impressive 220 miles.
So, how have they done this? To keep it simple they’ve used a different type of battery to the norm. Essentially, it is a much bigger version of a mobile phone battery and produces a stunning performance with a lifespan of 100,000 miles. Current orders of the Tesla have outstripped demand until 2009 in the US so let’s hope all the hype is justified, but more than that, let’s hope it brings an end to fuel tax keeping us over a barrel and car insurance forever rising.

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Vauxhall Omega — All Car History Volume 19

VAUXHALL OMEGA

Produced from 1994 – 2003, the Vauxhall Omega was an executive car available as a saloon or an estate; its design was intended to rival other conventional prestige cars including the Ford Granada/Scorpio & the Rover 800.

The Omega had a good reputation; spacious, comfortable, well-equipped & built for strong performance.  Unfortunately, this & other similar models were discontinued due to potential buyers being lured away by the ‘better’ reputation of rival brands like the Audi A6 or the BMW 5-Series.

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European Cars Push the Envelope of Performance

Did you know that many of the car manufactures are based not in the United States but rather in Europe? Prestiges car brands such as Bentley, Lamborghini and BMW all come from European countries. When cars first began to be made in the late eighteenth century, they were predominantly created in the U.S. As time went by many cars began coming out of Europe and today the European car brands dominate the entire car/truck market.
This is because European cars are superior to cars made in other parts of the world say many. Style, design and function of European cars far exceed other car models. That is why so many people are will to spend extra money to have a European car imported to their country. In terms of pop culture, European cars have been given a level of mystique which pushes the population to a point of wanting them over other brands. It’s not uncommon to see European cars used for racing and luxury vehicles in television and movies. This article will provide some information of some well known European cars in addition to listing other lesser known models.
Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz started Mercedes-Benz in 1880. Since then, this car brand has produced some of the best and fastest vans, luxury cars, buses, SUV’s, and trucks that have ever been made in the world. The Mercedes-Benz has become synonymous with wealth, class and social status. For this reason many replica cars have been designed throughout the years to resemble the Mercedes-Benz. In America many musicians and stars get a Mercedes-Benz as a way of telling others that they have made it in terms of success. The same goes for professionals such as doctors and lawyers.
Audi is Germany’s oldest-automobile manufacturer with over one hundred years in the business. They were also the first German car company to produce left hand drive cars. Today, left hand drive cars are commonly made by European car companies. Often cars are strictly made left hand drive by manufactures. This innovation alone has established Audi as a premier European car brand.
For the people who have the money and like speed, having a Porsche is the way to go. Often this car is associated with men going through a mid-life crisis because of its speed and cost. However not everyone who buys a Porsche is shallow with something to prove. What’s rarely discussed about the Porsche is its quality and endurance. New Porsche models can cost well over $80,000 while speeds average out at around the 190 mph mark. It is estimated that there are over one million Porsche’s on the road today.
Volvo is a Latin word which means “I roll. This eighty year old car company has been “rolling” out Volvo’s in the form of cars, trucks and construction equipment at a steady pace. In 2001, Volvo acquired Renault Trucks and the Mack Trucks companies and the Japanese truck manufacturer Nissan Diesel in 2007.
European Car Brands
Alfa Romeo/ Aston Martin/ Audi/ Austin/ Autobianchi/ Bentley/ BMW/ Bugatti/ Citroen/ Dacia/ DAF/ Daimler/ Donkervoort/ Ferrari/ Fiat/ Innocenti/ Jaguar/ Jensen/ Lada/ Lamborghini/ Lancia/ Land Rover/ Ligier/ Lotus/ Maserati/ Maybach/ Mercedes-Benz/ MG/ Mini/ Morris/ Opel/ Peugeot/ Porsche/ Renault/ Rolls-Royce/ Rover/ Saab/ Seat/ Skoda/ Smart/ Triumph/ TVR/ UMM/ Vauxhall/ Volkswagen/ Volvo

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