In this week’s motoring pages Michael Moroney gives you a round-up of what is new and worth watching out for in 2008. There are new models on the starting blocks at dealerships waiting for the 2008 off, and motor dealers are keen to do deals before the year is out for January 08 deliveries.

This year’s car sales figures show that new car sales are booming and the market is expected to grow even further in 2008. Up to the end of October over 184,000 new cars were registered in Ireland, that’s a 5% increase on the sales for 2006.

And with a host of new models on offer for 2008 car buyers will be tempted to upgrade their motors with style and more safety features on board. There were 42 new cars entered into the Semperit Irish Car of the Year Awards for 2008 and this give an idea of the range of new models out there to choose from.

There are even more new cars on the way, with new entries across all brands at some stage during 2008. In this week’s motoring pages we look at some of the new cars that are on the way for 2008 and provide details of recent introductions to tempt you for your New Year motoring choices.

There will obviously be more emphasis on cleaner engine cars and this is only right.

The key point is that engine size is not an indicator of engine cleanliness. Cars should be taxed on their CO2 rating rather than crudely on engine size and this fact needs to be factored into any changes in the tax legislation.

The growing 4x4 market is also important. This market is segmented in a number of ways. There are the traditional heavy hitters such as the Land Rover Defender and Discovery, Toyota Land Cruiser, Mitsubishi Pajero and Isuzu Trooper models. These are the strong 4x4’s that have a work function, with generally good off-road ability and towing power.

There is the new sector of 4x4’s that have been designed primarily for road use. They provide good a high driving position to give a feeling of relative security. This is a major attraction and they also have impressive road holding ability.

That perceived 4x4 ability should not be over estimated as the high driving position also brings with it stability issues. That’s why all 4x4’s should come with an Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) system as standard to ensure better on-road stability. The system has been shown to save lives.

Comments (0) »

Show/Hide comment form

Name

Email

Title

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment