Prices no bar to hot sales

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Dec 15, 2006

Byline: By Steve Hughes

The tidal wave of new cars coming to market is quite relentless despite the best efforts of a vociferous minority to banish all forms of personal transport or at least to milk them for as much money as possible.

While the notion that charging slightly more, yet again, for the fuel that we put into our vehicles will deter us from using them is obviously groundless, the Government has got away with it once more.

The increase may not seem a huge amount but when you multiply one and half pence per litre by hundreds of litres a year and then multiply that by tens of millions of motorists you realise that it is an absolute fortune.

If the real reason was to prevent us from using our cars in what is now a police state the Government would simply slap a pound a litre on petrol and diesel and be done with it.

The trick is to generate a fortune in revenue by raising prices in the name of the environment while swanning around themselves in Ministerial limousines and private planes.

Even mild-mannered women drivers are falling prey to the revenue raisers as record numbers are caught on camera.

According to this week's survey of more than five million motorists by insurer confused.com, the number of women with speeding convictions has doubled in just three years.

For this reason alone their insurance premiums have soared to the point where they are now just 3% less expensive than those of men.

Nonetheless the rate at which car companies introduce new models continues undeterred as illustrated by this week's newcomers.

They include the Ferrari 420 Dino, Maserati Quattroporte Automatic, more powerful Porsche Cayennes and the stunning new Ford Mustang. Audi has lifted the lid on its drop-top TT Roadster, Lexus has introduced a new range-topping luxury limousine and Jaguar has shown us its new S-Type saloon.

Real-world newcomers include the Volkswagen Golf Match and Touran R Line, the new Ford C-Max, the next-generation 100mpg Toyota Prius, Nissan Qashqai, Peugeot 207 CC, Toyota Auris, Kia Cee'd and the Renault Megane R26.

Not bad for a week's work.