Archive for September, 2008

Customers have a voice 30th September, 2008

Here we will have our customer voices

VW To Pick Up New Customers 30th September, 2008

Volkswagen Present Pick-Up Concept

VW Concept Pickup

VW Concept Pickup

Vansdirect sell a lot of pickups!  Year-on-year the demand for these commercial vehicles has grown.  These vans provide the luxury of an executive saloon but the pulling power and load carrying capability of a regular van.  The Nissan Navara, Toyata Hilux, Mitsubishi L200 and the Ford Ranger have dominated the Vansdirect sales league in this class.  VW have not even entered the race…..until now!

Banking Crisis Forces Lease Merge 30th September, 2008

Lex & LloydsTSB Autolease Merge

LloydsTSB & Lex - Who will be in the driving seat?

LloydsTSB & Lex - Who will be in the driving seat?

In the wake of the world economic crisis, the £12bn acquisition of HBOS by LloydsTSB is set to create Britain’s largest leasing company.  If the deal passes shareholder and regulatory approval, the new venture, the culmination of HBOS’ Lex and LloydsTSB Autolease, will control approximately 280,000-400,000 fleet vehicles - depending on which story you read. 

Birmingham Brace Knocks Bluebirds 29th September, 2008

Cardiff 1-2 Birmingham

Cardiff City - Sponsored By Vansdirect.co.uk

Cardiff City - Sponsored By Vansdirect.co.uk

Alex McLeish’s Birmingham City walked away from Ninian Park with all three points on Saturday thanks to a great performance from Scottish striker James McFadden and a strong defensive performance. However, again the Bluebirds played some solid football but lacked the clinical finish.

McFadden opened up the scoring on 5 miutes, timing his run perfectly to meet the end of a Quincy Owusu-Abeyie cross.  Owusu-Abeyie turned scorer on 41 minutes with a 20 yard shot that went through a crowd of players at the amazement of City keeper Tom Heaton.

What’s In a Van? 26th September, 2008

Famous Vans

Get me in a famous van fool...... The A-Team GMC Van

Get me in a famous van fool...... The A-Team GMC Van

It’s another Friday in the Vansdirect office, and whilst we’re open 7 days a week, we still share in every van driver’s love of that Friday feeling! Last week Vansdirect brought you a crash course in languages all about the van.  This week, we thought we’d explore the world of famous vans.

Vans - The Four Wheel Type

Two Certainties - Death & Taxes 24th September, 2008

Fleet Managers Should Take Stock

A survey by Northgate suggests that the majority of van fleet managers are leaving themselves exposed to issues surrounding corporate manslaughter and benefit-in-kind tax issues.  Whilst the report speaks about fleet managers, any person running a fleet of vans (including small business owners) should take stock of the points raised.

                                             Corporate Manslaughter

Think Safety - Risk Assess, Risk Assess, Risk Assess

Think Safety - Risk Assess, Risk Assess, Risk Assess

Swans By A Feather 24th September, 2008

Swansea 1 - 0 Cardiff City

McPhail sees red for 2nd challenge

McPhail sees red for 2nd challenge

Cardiff City, sponsored by Vansdirect.co.uk, suffered their first defeat of the season to local rivals Swansea in the 3rd round of the Carling Cup.  Last night’s game, marred by the behaviour of some Swan fans after the match, was a hard fought encounter with both sets of fans providing for an electric atmosphere at Swansea’s Liberty Stadium.

The Bluebirds again dominated the match for large parts with all the early chances falling to to the lad’s adourning the blue Vansdirect strip.  Rae and Bothroyd had the best of the chances with Bothroyd being denied by Swansea keeper Dorus de Vries and indeed by the off-side flag.  

New Kangoo Finally Lands 23rd September, 2008

Renault Has Kangoo Attitude

What ever you want, it Kangoo!

What ever you want, it Kangoo!

What Van? has confirmed the introduction of the Renault’s new Kangoo to the roads of Britain. Despite making its debut last October (2007) at the European Road Transport Show, the new Kangoo will only go on sale in the UK next month!

The new Kangoo will be available with a choice of two wheelbases.  The SWB option, labelled as the “Compact,” will compete against the Citroen Nemo, Fiat Fiorino and Peugeot Bipper - Vansdirect think that many will find the label more appealing that the somewhat Disney names of its rivals.  In comparison, the larger model will go up against fierce competition from the Ford Transit Connect, Fiat Doblo Cargo, Citroen Berlingo, Vauxhall Combo and VW Caddy to name a few!

SAT NAV FOR VANS 23rd September, 2008

SPECIFIC UNIT FOR VANS & HGVs

Sat-Nav for your Van!

Sat-Nav for your Van!

ProNav has recently launched a Sat-Nav solution specifically targeted to the van driver and HGV driver market.  The unit, very much like a Tom-Tom One includes dynamic routing and navigation that takes account of your van’s dimensions!  

Vanatical About Emissions 22nd September, 2008

Council Targets the Idle

£20 Penalty For Those Who Idle

£20 Penalty For Those Who Idle

The next time you’re driving your van in West Sussex, be sure not to idle for too long.  Accoriding to the Times last week, West Sussex County Council will target motorists who unnecessarily leave their engines idling. Those idling in traffic jams, whilst parked and waiting at level crossings could face on-the-spot fines in a bid to combat exhaust emissions.

The pilot scheme is likely to start in January with everyones’ favourite traffic warden dishing out the fines. Penalty’s are not likely to exceed £20, but this could prove another unpopular decision with van drivers and other motorists.