New study reveals women are better parkers than men

After years of heated debate, it's official; Women are better at parking cars than their male counterparts!

That's according to a new survey from car park operators NCP which ranked 2,500 random drivers on a range of aspects, including technique, accuracy, and time taken to park a car. These were used to tally a final “parking score” out of 20.

In technique, accuracy and time taken parking, women scored 13.4 out of 20, compared with 12.3 for men.

Although female drivers are slower, with an average of 21 seconds compared with 16 for men, they did better on finding a space, positioning the vehicle, reversing into the space, and ensuring central placing of the car.

Men, on the other hand, regularly 'missed' available spaces in car parks by driving through them too quickly.

The study found more than one-third of women reversed into spaces, which instructors prefer, but only just over one-quarter of men used this method, although men were happier with the position of their cars once parked in a space. Of these, only 29% opted to reposition their vehicle.

Surprisingly, while the women fared better than men in most areas of scoring, only 18 per cent of the women questioned thought they were better parkers than men, perhaps reflecting just how pervasive this gender stereotype has become when it comes to buying cars and driving them.

Rolls Royce post record annual sales

Booming demand from China has led to Rolls Royce bucking the global trend by posting the best annual car sales in its history!

The recently released figures for 2011 reveal that the UK brand - owned by Germany's BMW - were able to sell a car to 3,538 cars to customers in 2011 which represents a 31 per cent rise on 2010 figures.

Demand for the flagship model, th Rolls Royce Phantom and the Ghost, helping to drive sales throughout 2011, particularly in China

In the official figures Rolls Royce revealed they’d sold 3,538 luxury cars over the course of 2011 which is the most it’s ever sold in the which has now overtaken America as its biggest market.

Since 2003, the US has been the biggest consumer of Rolls Royce cars, however the Asian and Pacific market grew by a massive 47% throughout the 12 months of 2011, helping China into the top spot as the biggest buyers of Rolls Royce products for the year.

In Europe, Germany and Russia were Rolls-Royce’s biggest growth markets, and the brand’s UK sales were 30 per cent higher last year than in 2010.

Rolls Royce has already announced plans to expand its manufacturing plant in Goodwood, Sussex and are already hatching plans to build on the success of 2011 by branching into as yet untapped markets for the renowned car manufacturer, including South America.

MotorMouth UK: Car sales fall in 2011 but exceed expectations

MotorMouth UK: Car sales fall in 2011 but exceed expectations: Year-end figures have shown that new car sales fell 4.4% in 2011 compared with 2010. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SM...

Car sales fall in 2011 but exceed expectations

Year-end figures have shown that new car sales fell 4.4% in 2011 compared with 2010.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have revealed that a total of 1,941,253 new registrations were recorded last year, compared with a figure of 2,030,846 for 2010 when many people were incentivised into buying and selling cars by the Government's scrappage scheme.

SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt revealed that, though the figures were slightly ahead of industry-wide predictions, 2011 was going to be a "challenging year" for the UK motor industry.

"Weak economic growth will make trading conditions tough in 2012, but record numbers of new and updated models, significantly improved fuel efficiency and exciting new technologies will help to encourage consumers into showrooms."

One of the more encouraging aspect of the figures was the fact that, in the second half of 2011, sales fell just 1.1% compared with the July-December 2010 period.

Registrations in 2011 were supported by fleet sales, with the private market recording a drop in volumes.

Diesel and alternatively fuelled cars took record shares of the market in 2011, with diesel volumes surpassing petrol volumes for the first time.

Once again, the Ford Fiesta was the best-selling new car in 2011, with the Volkswagen Golf the best-selling diesel model.

The supermini segment remains the largest in the UK, with a market share almost unchanged on 2010 at 36.3%. The executive, luxury saloon and dual-purpose sectors all recorded growth in registrations in 2011.

Former Man Utd ace jailed for selling stolen car parts

One-time Manchester United star Ronnie Wallwork has been jailed for his part in an elaborate car buyer scam.

The 34-year-old was sentenced to 15 months in prison by Preston Crown Court after admitting three counts of handling stolen cars.

Wallwork's crimes were inadvertantly discovered by undercover officers as part of 'Operation Solomon' who were trying to track down a gang of armed robbers who had shot a security guard in Preston's Tesco supermarket!

While checking out local scrapyards, officers soon discovered Wallwork had his own, entirely separate, criminal enterprise in operation.
It emerged he had sold a Volkswagen Touran engine and parts from a BMW 318i on eBay, while he was observed driving a Mazda Furano into the scrapyard three days after it was stolen from a car dealer.
The three stolen vehicles he was linked to were worth more than 43,000 pounds in total, the court heard.
The court was told how the former West Bromwich Albion midfielder had fallen into financial difficulties following his retirement from football and two failed business ventures and police believe he got caught up in the criminal sub culture of Newton Heath.
Wallwork - who was lucky to escape with his life when he was stabbed in a Manchester bar five years ago - played enough games for Manchester United to earn a Premiership winners' medal in 2000-01.

SELL A CAR

Motoring costs continue to soar

New research from the RAC has shown that the cost of motoring has soared by 14% over the last year, meaning car buyers are paying an average of £128 per week to run a new family car.

All told, the cost of running a new car for the year was found to be £6,689 a year, which compares unfavourably with the figure of £5,870 only 12 months ago.

The hike in costs is made of a 12.4 per cent rise in fuel prices compared to last year, while the average maintenance costs increased by 8.8 per cent.

Average insurance premiums have risen 14.38 per cent, car finance is now costing 9.85% more, while depreciation (decreasing car valuation) was the factor to rise the most – 16.67 per cent.

The cost index was based on a pool of 17 new cars with the results weighted by their level of ownership. Even taking depreciation and car finance out of the calculations, the day-to-day running costs were up 11.1% to £2,743.

"This year’s cost index highlights the tough conditions being faced by Britain’s motorists,’ said RAC motoring strategist Adrian Tink. ‘With the annual cost of motoring approaching £7,000, the price burden of car ownership is hitting drivers hard.
The increase of almost three times the rate of inflation is crippling drivers’ wallets and something needs to be done to stem the tide."

Leading 'car-buying companies' branded rip-off merchants

An investigative piece of journalism from The Sun has seen the newspaper brand a number of Britain's best known car buying companies as rip-off merchants!

The detailed 'expose' involved The Sun getting an independent valuation on a wide-range of vehicles from motor industry experts Parkers, then comparing those figure with what the car buying companies could offer on each car.

Among the most shocking results was Trademymotor.co.uk's offer on a  Audi A4 Cabriolet which was more than £3,500 below the recommended value and a paltry offer from wewillbuyyourcar.com which fell over £3,000 less than the estimated private sale price for a modest Peugeot 207.

The Sun was also particularly critical of those companies which charge a 'transaction fee' (which they take out of the price they offer), including the well-known webuyanycar.com.