Father Vs Son

Petch family go head to head.

As well as the battle for overall supremacy in this weekends grand finale of the 2006 ANCRO Rally Championship, the Bulldog Rally, the gathered crowds will have a slightly different, but just as intense family battle to witness as well as County Durham rally driver Stephen Petch Junior goes head to head with his father, the retired rallying ace Steve Petch Senior.

Stephen Petch Junior, who heads to this weekends rally safely assured of 2nd overall in the Mitsubishi Evo Cup standings will be contesting the rally in his usual SG Petch Motorsport run Mitsubishi Evo IX, a car he has campaigned all year long. Despite a run of bad luck Stephen has frequently been a front runner in the championship and is looking to end the season on a high.

Joining Stephen in the 2 car SGP Motorsport Rally Team will be his father, a former National Champion himself. Although Steve Petch Senior is now officially retired from rallying he has been out competing on the odd occasion in 2006, including guiding a Hyundai Accent World Rally Car to a closely fought victory on the recent Trackrod Clubmans Rally. Steve will be at the wheel of one of the teams Subaru Impreza rally cars and is looking forward to the event, and the opportunity to go head to head with his son in similar cars.

Father and son finished 1 position apart on the 2005 Bulldog Rally with Steve beating his son by 11 seconds. Stephen is keen to reverse that this weekend and intends to push from the start.

"It’ll be great to go up against Dad in similar cars but I’m just terrified the old man beats me – I’d never hear the end of it! The young County Durham driver quipped.

Steve Petch Senior is competing on the event as a tribute to retiring Clerk of the Course John Trevethick who has been clerk of the course for this renowned event for 25 years now.

The 2006 Bulldog Rally consists of 70 miles of some of the finest rallying stages in North Wales and is based in Oswestry.

For more on SG Petch Motorsport please visit www.sgpmotorsport.co.uk

Mitsubishi Introduce New L200 Club Member

The Club Cab is the latest addition to Mitsubishi’s already extensive line-up of L200 pick-ups. Initially launched in March 2006, the new L200 featured single and double cab versions and, with the introduction of the Club Cab, the options and versatility of the L200 range increases yet again.

The Club Cab’s two-door with rear bench seat configuration provides the flexibility of either being able to carry four adults or providing additional space for secure stowage of tools and equipment. It also boasts a load bed 1.8 m long – 48 cm longer than that of the double cab. These features, combined with the L200’s car-like ride, handling and manoeuvrability, make it a perfect choice as a day-to-day working partner.

Available in 4Work, 4Life and Warrior variations, all Club Cabs feature a 2.5-litre turbo-diesel engine and come with easy-select four-wheel-drive plus rear diff-lock across the range, ensuring they’re competent performers, whatever the road surface.

Whilst the 4Work Club Cab includes EBS with EBD, driver and passenger airbags and even a CD player with MP3 player facility, the 4Life sees the addition of air-conditioning, electric front windows and central locking.

In keeping with other Mitsubishis that carry the Warrior identity, the top of the range Club Cab features everything the 4Life offers, as well as leather seats, 16” alloy wheels, front fog lamps and rear stainless steel bar with step. It’s also fitted with a host of external styling additions, which means it looks as purposeful as it performs.

Prices start at £12,797 CVOTR (£15,010.58 OTR) for the 4Work, £14,179 CVOTR (£16,655.58 OTR) for the 4Life and rise to £16,249 CVOTR (£19,066.68 OTR) for the Warrior.

Mitsubishi Business Links: Mitsubishi L200 Warrior Contract Hire

Dealers Beware

Your Customers Know The Market!

• Over 50 per cent of used car buyers research purchase online
• Customers better informed than ever before
• Knowing the market is crucial to dealers
• Used car prices can vary wildly
  

EurotaxGlass’s reports that the internet has revolutionised car buying and is providing consumers with the ultimate research tool prior to purchasing a used car.

Over 50 per cent of car buyers now use the internet to research a used car purchase; up by a staggering 30 per cent since 2003. Most dealers now broadcast their stock on the web utilising a number of popular broadcast mediums such as Auto Trader, Exchange&Mart, Yahoo! and Fish4Cars. Websites such as these offer powerful search facilities that enable users to locate numerous vehicles in a specific location at a specific price and with a particular specification. These powerful tools provide a rich source of intelligence to consumers, the like of which they have never had before.

The core issue for most car buyers is price, so it is fundamental that dealers offer their stock at prices that are in line with the competition. Failure to do so will result in a significant loss of business. Although buyers of more expensive cars take greater interest in specification, no buyer will pay more than what they perceive to be the fair market price.

“We believe that over 75 per cent of all used cars offered by dealers are being advertised on the web,” says Adrian Rushmore, Managing Editor at EurotaxGlass’s. “These listings provide a very easy reference point for consumers and used car buyers have the ability to make better decisions than has ever been possible before.”

He continues: “The other side of the coin is that dealers have never been more exposed, particularly in the critical area of price. Sales staff also need to be better informed because they are increasingly facing customers who are fully armed with information sourced from rival dealers.”

It is unlikely that most dealers spend enough time researching whether their asking prices are set in line with the competition and ensuring that these prices continue to be competitive for as long as the car is in stock. Research reveals that the price disparity on specific models advertised on the internet can be extremely high, with asking prices for similar cars sometimes varying by thousands of pounds.

These observations tell us several important things. In a market that is obsessed with securing a good price, both dealers and customers will benefit from thorough market research. If dealers remain well informed as to their local market, they can be sure of selling vehicles rapidly and more profitably, while buyers can make significant savings if they are prepared to spend a little time researching their purchase.

“In the future pricing used cars will have more to do with the science of research rather than the art of ‘gut feel’, “concludes Rushmore.

A Winter Holiday From Nissan

• Buy now, pay nothing until March 2007
• £1000 customer saving on Micra Sport
• Free Birdview™ sat nav on X-TRAIL Columbia
• Free Technology Pack on Pathfinder Sport
  

Nissan is offering its customers a holiday of up to six-months this autumn/winter – a payment holiday that is! Customers buying from a wide range of Nissan models, including the recently revised Micra range, NOTE and Pathfinder, before 15th December, can drive away in their new car without paying a single penny.

The Micra Initia and Sport models, which start from £8995 and £9495 (with the £1000 customer saving) respectively, are both available to drive away from the dealership without parting with a single penny. So too are the Urbis and Sport models in the Micra C+C range which are priced at £13,250 and £13,995.

The award winning Nissan NOTE S and SE grades, plus the X-TRAIL Columbia and the Pathfinder Sport are also available to buy now and pay later. So, plenty of cash to splash around in the pre-Christmas sales, or even a last minute winter holiday.

Nissan’s generosity continues with complimentary DVD sat nav worth £1200 on the
X-TRAIL Columbia. The Columbia features a host of standard spec including sunroof, rear privacy glass, climate control air-conditioning, heated and electric leather seats and 17’’ alloy wheels.

Pathfinder customers also get a free gift – a Technology Pack worth £2000 on the Sport grade. The Technology Pack features Nissan’s acclaimed DVD sat nav system, colour rear view parking camera, audio with MP3 compatibility, Bluetooth mobile phone connectivity with voice activation, cruise contol, Nissan’s Intelligent key, rain sensing wipers and auto headlamps.