Ducati Diavel vs Audi R8

Nice little race!

Selling private cars 'including tax' to become illegal

From 1 October 2014, car owners who want to sell their vehicles privately will be unable to offer the 'unexpired tax' incentive to potential buyers, the AA has warned. The proposed switch from relying on the display of a paper tax disc to a solely electronic record will end the transfer of the balance of car tax to the car's new owner.

With 2.73 million used cars sold privately in 2012, the proposal is intended to protect buyers who may be misled on the vehicle's tax status. Without a tax disc in the windscreen, it would become more difficult for a buyer to verify a seller's claims, and the value of the vehicle.

AA support

"The AA supports the switch from a paper tax disc to a purely electronic system, enforced by real-time records and ANPR detection. It is supported by 46% of AA members who are in favour, versus 28% against (AA-Populus survey, 21-25 January 2013). However, there are potential obstacles and the current transferability of car tax is one of them," says Paul Watters, head of AA Public Affairs.

Easier to forget?

The December 2013 AA-Populus survey also found that 47% of AA members think that not having a disc will make it more likely that they will forget to renew.

Watters adds: "It is good that reliable, real-time records now exist which have made the tax disc largely redundant. However, when it is abolished in 2014 the sting in the tail will come with unexpired months of tax no longer being transferable to a car's new owner. Millions of motorists are familiar with the tax disc and having months to run on it can sometimes be a deal maker or breaker for someone looking to buy or sell a car privately.

Cancelled

"Instead, the balance of tax will be cancelled (for a refund from the DVLA) and the new owner must buy new car tax. This will be an added inconvenience for motorists who are changing vehicles, but we appreciate that this is to ensure that no-one is unknowingly put at risk of driving an untaxed vehicle.

Losing out on part-months

"The Government should also consider looking at the current refund arrangements - at present refunds are only given for complete unexpired months, leaving many more drivers to lose out if a disc is cancelled early in a month. 

Monthly payments

"The plan to also introduce the option of paying car tax (VED) by monthly direct debit was welcomed by 55% of members in the AA-Populus poll as they think it will make motoring budgeting much easier. However, the 5% surcharge for allowing this may not be so popular."

Worried about driving untaxed

Drivers are already very nervous of inadvertently driving an untaxed car once the disc disappears. In an AA-Populus poll of 17,629 AA members between 12 -17 December 2013, 70% said they are worried that they may drive a friend's, relative's, rental, company or recently bought used car unaware that the vehicle is untaxed and therefore illegal to drive on the road.

The non-transferability of VED (car tax) forms part of the cost-cutting measure ending the tax disc requirement, which dates back to 1921. The clause in the draft Finance Bill 2014 is being consulted on by the DVLA.

Source: AA Public Affairs

Claims for pothole damage in 2013 = £729m

Worst pothole season ever; claims for pothole damaged cars increase 22% in 2013 at a total cost of £729m

.  Perfect storm for worst pothole season ever in UK

.  Claims for pothole damaged cars increase 22% in 2013

.  Total repair bill for pothole damaged cars in UK rises to £729 million

.  Menace of invisible potholes rising

The recent wet weather storms and risk of freezing conditions towards the end of the month, threaten to deliver the worst pothole season ever seen in the UK, according to Warranty Direct's road campaign website, Potholes.co.uk.

Potholes traditionally appear on Britain's underinvested road network in greater numbers between January and April. 

In 2013, Warranty Direct, which insures motorists against mechanical damage, estimated that pothole related vehicle repair bills cost almost £730million – a 159% rise in three years.

The Met Office reported that parts of southern England experienced around twice the average amount of rainfall normally expected in December. With local authorities calculating a road network pitted with 200,000 potholes needing repair, persistently heavy rain and flood water has now created the perfect storm for a new plague of potholes.

"The worst is yet to come," says Rory Buckley of Warranty Direct's potholes.co.uk. 

"This wet weather will be saturating roads right across the UK with existing potholes channelling water to weaken the road's substructure, literally paving the way for even more potholes and defects to arise."

Current conditions are also treacherous for drivers with the growing threat of 'invisible potholes' – filled with rainwater and much harder to spot, particularly in the dark winter commuting hours. 

Analysis of over 150,000 Warranty Direct policies between 2010 and 2013 found that, on average,6.6% of cars suffered axle or suspension damage linked to potholes or road defects.

However, in 2010 axle or suspension damage made up just 4.0% of all claims, in 2013 this had increased to 10.1% – a 159% rise in cases.

With around 29.4 million cars on UK roads in 2013 and an average repair bill of £247, the total annual cost for the estimated 2.9 million cars struck by axle and suspension damage was calculated to be £729 million. The figure excludes commercial vehicles.

Heavy rainfall undermines the lower, structural layers of the road creating cracks, fissures and more potholes – which are then enlarged by a daily procession of vehicles widening and deepening the craters.

Buckley adds: "Potholes and other road defects can cause sudden jarring or regular jarring which accelerates wear and tear to axle and suspension components, often leading to failure. Damage to wheel rims and punctured tyres are also a common fault of potholes."

While the average repair bill for pothole-induced axle or suspension damage is £247, Warranty Direct and Potholes.co.uk have identified recent claims as high as £2,700. 

The average cost for a council to repair a single pothole is only around £50.

However, with almost 2million potholes filled over the last year at a cost of £99 million, the shortfall in annual road structural budget is calculated to be £741 million.

Source: Warranty Direct

Speed cameras on M25 have not worked for 5 years

Speed cameras on M25 have not worked for 5 years

- Cameras tell drivers to reduce speed to 60, 50 or 40mph at certain times

- However they only work on a three-mile section from junction 2 to 3 in Kent

- Cameras were installed without approval that images could be used in court

- Monitoring responsibility has changed hands between police forces

Drivers who break the speed limit on the M25 are in very little danger of being slapped with a fine - because many cameras monitoring the road have allegedly not worked for five years.

The cameras are behind overhead signs telling motorists to reduce their speed to 60, 50 or 40mph at certain times - but officials have failed to switch them on since their installation started in 2009

The only stretch of the 117-mile London Orbital road on which the overhead cameras ­currently work is the 3.2 miles ­between Junctions 2 and 3 in Kent.

Average speed cameras at roadworks also operate.

The bad news is that the digital cameras on the sections between the A3 at junction 10 in Surrey and the M40 at Junction 16 will be working by this summer, the Highways Agency promised.

However, the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety's executive director, David Davies, said the fiasco of switched-off cameras was a 'cock-up' that needed to be resolved.

He told the Sunday People: 'It's poor that it's gone on for so long. It's also a waste of money. The National Audit Office should have a look at this

A Highways Agency spokesman told MailOnline: 

'Sections of the M25 where mandatory speed limits are displayed in red rings have continued to work effectively to reduce congestion and smooth traffic flow, and have operated well without fixed camera enforcement.

'We are working with Surrey Police, who are taking responsibility between junctions 10 and 16, to resume enforcement. The speed limits are enforceable by the police and the cameras will be operational by summer 2014.'

Edmund King, president of The AA, added that successive transport secretaries have spoken of changing the speed limits on motorways – which is 'ironic' considering the speed limit is not enforced on sections of the M25.

Laura Woods, from the road safety charity Brake, told MailOnline:

'Speeding kills: the faster you are travelling, the less chance you can stop in time for an emergency, and the more damage you'll do in a crash. 

'Speed cameras are an essential tool for discouraging speeding on motorways, and catching drivers who take this appalling risk.

'It is therefore very concerning that these speed cameras have been left switched off for such a long period, meaning that many drivers who have risked lives by breaking the speed limit will have got away with their dangerous and selfish actions.'

Extracted from ABP Club

Jaguar's New 3-Series competitor

Jaguar - new 3-series competitor, all-aluminium X760

The design of Jaguar's new small saloon, X760, has been signed off ahead of its expected reveal towards the end of 2014 according to a report in Autocar.

Underpinning the X760 saloon is Jaguar's new rear-drive all-aluminium architecture called iQ[Al], which stands for 'intelligent aluminium architecture'. 

The X760 is Jaguar's new saloon rival for the BMW 3-series, Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-class.

Jaguar design director Ian Callum has said that he had "finished design work" on the as-yet-unnamed model. 

He revealed that it would "follow the current design trends of Jaguar" rather than ushering in a change of direction for the firm.

The X760 saloon, is tipped to be revealed as a thinly veiled concept car at the Paris motor show next October before being displayed in final production form at the Geneva show in March 2015, with sales starting soon after.

Styling features of the new four-door saloon are expected to include a more powerful interpretation of the three-dimensional front end and trapezoidal grille design introduced on the F-type, a clamshell bonnet with twin power bulges, muscular haunches and a sporty yet graceful profile.

Callum confirmed that the saloon would follow the look established by the F-type and C-X17, to give the Jaguar range greater family resemblance.

"This is not a time to start changing direction," said Callum about the sub-XF model, which will be built in a new facility under construction at Jaguar Land Rover's Solihull plant.

"We've established a beautiful design and we need to start using it on a family, and this will be part of the family.

Thanks to ABP Club