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Top Tips To Ease Traffic Congestion
In a recent article – http://www.privatefleet.com.au/congestion/ we suggested several ways we can collectively help reduce congestion on our (mainly) city streets.
Do you agree? What other suggestions do you have? Let us know below…
Rego Revolt
Last month we revealed plans from the NSW State Government to follow the lead set by the WA and SA governments by ceasing to send out the annual windscreen rego sticker, as it was no longer necessary. Other states are expected to join them. We looked at the pros and cons and called for your reaction.
The initiative has been billed by the respective premiers as an efficiency measure that will save money and please the public. They expected the motorist to agree, and warmly welcome the move.
But, gauging the reaction from our readers, that may not be the case! We’d heard of rumblings from the West with some motorists lobbying to ‘restore the sticker’, and it is apparent now to us that they are not alone in arguing for its retention.
Gay lives in WA, where the sticker was withdrawn a couple of years ago. But she has left her old sticker on the windscreen “so I still get the reminder of the month it is due every time I drive”.
More disturbing was Russell’s tale of woe. He relates that his daughter was fined $600 by the Victorian police for not displaying a rego sticker- but she, and her car were from South Australia, so didn’t have one. Obviously an error was made but it still takes time and effort to correct it.
Chris worries about the poor guy who services the unregistered car, takes it for a test drive, has an accident (that may not be his fault), but he still cops the liability as he is (unknowingly) driving an unregistered car.
The Police Force seems to have problems with the doing away with the rego sticker. David is a serving Highway Policeman in NSW. He thinks it’s a BAD idea. It makes it harder to detect unregistered vehicles. He sympathises with drivers who have to drive vehicles that are not their own, as they now have no real proof-or even indication, of liability, and feels the label itself is a final reminder for ANYONE.
David also tells us that the vast majority of police vehicles is not, and will not be equipped with number plate recognition equipment (ANPR). So he believes the unlawful use of unregistered cars will increase wherever the sticker is withdrawn. That, of course could wipe out any potential savings to the state. It seems that police in NSW have been against this ever since it was proposed by the RTA.
David is strongly supported by other serving and ex police officers on our blog.
On the other hand there are some votes in favour.
Daniel lives in WA and he thinks the arrangement works well, that it saves money, and he wants to say goodbye to the wretched sticker for ever.
He is supported by BrianH who would love NOT to replace that ‘infernal’ and ‘ugly’ sticker every year. He thinks there will be enough reminders put in place to ensure the ‘forget factor’ is overcome.
ShaunH is from SA, has not had to take off/put on a sticker for a couple of years and sees no problems with this.
But perhaps the last word rests with David the Policeman who relates this very sobering tale.
“I attended an accident about 10 years ago involving a mature woman who ran up the back of a tradies’ ute. Not a particularly serious accident, but unfortunately this woman had moved 2 years before and not let the RTA know. The rego renewal, along with a 1 month later “If you’re not going to register it where’s our plates” letter went to the old address and her rego label from when it was last renewed (when her BMW X5 was new!) was still firmly attached to her rego papers out of sight in the glovebox. Now initially the two tradie types in the ute seemed fine and both said they were uninjured. But somewhere after I had told the woman that as her car was unregistered, she had no greenslip insurance, and her comprehensive insurance, although current, wouldn’t be honoured by her insurer as her car was unregistered, and they, seeing that she garaged her BMW in a nice north shore address, these two tradies came down with a bad case of ‘Mediterranean Neck’. This was apparent, as I recieved a summons to give evidence at a civil claims court hearing about 5 years later, and it seemed that they could no longer work due to some pain in both their necks and backs. The amount offered by the Motor Accidents Autority’s fund was insufficient for them, and each now sought some astronomical sum to compensate them for not ever working again. I asked the woman’s solicitor to keep me posted on the outcome of the court case and I understand this poor woman lost her house.
This is one reason why registration and taking care of your personal business is important.”
Nuff said.
What do you think?
Is The Day Of The Dealer Dead?
Subaru have dropped a bombshell on their dealers with the launch of their new sports car-the BRZ.
They’ve told their dealers that they can’t sell it, as it’s only available over the internet.
They call it a ‘World First’. The BRZ will be the only car not to be sold through a dealership, as the potential customer is ‘able to complete the entire purchase on-line’ said Nick Senior, MD of Subaru Australia. About half the established dealers will be allocated a demonstrator, and a delivery fee will be paid to the suppling dealer, but customers still have to book their test drives on-line. And what happens if they aren’t on the internet? Subaru says they will have to borrow a connection or go into a dealership and use theirs. But what if they have a trade-in? Well, says Subaru, the on-line purchasing process will allow buyers to arrange a trade-in valuation if required.
In fact the whole process will be completed on-line by the customer, including choosing a colour, specifications, and choice of preferred dealer to arrange collection or delivery.
This is a very brave initiative by Subaru, and is clearly taken from a position of strength, in that there is very limited supply of the new and fashionable BRZ sports car.
But there is a very close competitor in the wings. The Subaru BRZ is virtually identical to the new Toyota 86 GT. They are made in the same factory in Japan by Subaru and are only distinguishable by cosmetic differences and varying specifications.
Toyota sells its basic model for just over $34,000 on road. The Subaru BRZ sells for $37,150 on road but is equipped with a number of extras such as auto on/off headlights, alloy pedals, dual-zone air-conditioning and 17″ alloy wheels to justify the premium. Topping out the range is the Toyota 86 GTS, which also boasts sat/nav and other goodies, and comes in at around $40,000 for the auto.
But the Toyota is sold in the normal way through nationwide dealerships (but still in very limited stocks for the short to medium term).
Other manufacturers, franchise holders, dealerships and importers will be looking on very keenly to see if this game changing step by Subaru works. Initial reaction has been incredibly successful, and the Subaru marketing team will be basking in their own success, having seen the whole of this year’s allocation of BRZ’s selling out to an eager public in 3 hours, even though buyers had to overcome website glitches that occurred due to very high traffic.
If it does continue to work (and this is an ominous start), will that mean that discounts, deals and car brokers are a thing of the past?
Does that mean that that you never need to talk to Private Fleet to get the best deal? Jeez, are we out of a job??
Or is this just a passing fad, used to get a bit of publicity for a car that’s virtually unobtainable right now anyway?
Have they shot themselves in the foot? Are Subaru dealers happy? Will it catch on and is it a sign of the future? And are you happy to miss the dealer experience? Oh, and what’s going to happen to the 50 demonstrators that some dealers will have on their forecourt, but with no cars to sell?
Let’s have your say below.
Two Eerie Test Drives
Two fully electric cars are now available on the Australian market, The Mitsibishi i-MiEV and the Nissan Leaf.
We’ve just come back from a test drive in each of them, and it’s an experience we’ll remember for a very long time.
As soon as you start the engine you know it’s different! The press of a button or the turn of a key and it’s ready to go, but the only way you’ll know is a light on the dashboard. No starter motor, no engine revs, just an eerie silence.
Press your foot on the accelerator, though, and Whoosh, you’re off, though still in eerie silence, but somehow, now that you are moving, the silence seems more comforting. Apart from quietness, both cars perform almost like normal cars. There’s no gear shift, so no jerkiness whatsoever, and the electric motor packs a pretty fair punch, and, once it’s got away from a standstill, you can certainly feel a push in the back as you depress the pedal. So much so, in fact, that they give much more torque than the vast majority of small cars on the road.
They are certainly not for everyone, and command a significant price premium, particularly as our government, unlike others, offers no assistance or incentives to purchase these zero emission cars.
The i-MiEV (which stands for Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle) is the smaller of the two, though is still a four-door, four seater. Its recommended retail price before on-road costs is $48,800.
It can be plugged in at home using a 15 amp power point and will take 7 hours to charge up for a range of 150kms. Alternatively it can be plugged in to a dedicated charging station (of which there are very few around) and you’ll get an 80 percent charge (good for around 120kms) in 30 minutes.
The Nissan Leaf is slightly larger and is $51,000 plus on road costs, but these on road extras can be quite substantial, and can lift the car to well over $60,000 before you leave the showroom, particularly if you purchase the recommended $2750 fast charging system. The Leaf seems quicker away from the lights, and has more storage space, is not so distinctive on the road and is ultra smooth.
So what do we think?
Right now it’s a quirky purchase and won’t suit every motorist. Want to drive to Canberra from Sydney or Melbourne? Sorry, you just can’t with either of these vehicles as there are no charging stations in between. Hopefully that will improve in time, and the local shopping centres will offer free charging stations, as they do in the USA. But if you are happy to pay the premium, want to make a statement on zero emissions, and restrict your driving to commuting distances, then go ahead- you’ll enjoy it.
Level 2, 9 Help Street