AutoTrader

NORTHERNERS CHERISH THEIR CAR MOST, ACCORDING TO NEW RESEARCH FROM AUTO TRADER Motorists in the North East take better care of their cars than anywhere else in the UK according to new research from Auto Trader, the UK’s no 1 motoring website and magazine. The results, released today, show that nearly 80% of North East motorists say their car is strictly non smoking, compared to just 60% of the Republic of Ireland motorists, who appear to take the least care of the car. The research, which was conducted amongst nearly 7,500 motorists nationwide, also shows that more than three quarters of North East motorists would rather pay extra to park their car in a secure car park overnight, rather than leave it on the street, compared to just 65% of London motorists. According to respondents, nearly 80% of the West Midlands motorists would take their car immediately to a garage if the engine made a strange noise, whereas just 70% of the East Midlands motorists agreed. Infact, the East Midlands motorists admitted that they wouldn’t wipe birds’ mess off of their vehicle straight away (50%), 25% allow their car’s interior and boot to fill with rubbish allow smoking in their cars and just 20% bother to keep their car under cover! Fig 1: Most Cherished Cars By Region: 1 North East 2 Scotland 3 West Midlands 4 Northern Ireland 5 London 6 East Anglia 7 North West 8 South West 9 Wales 10 South East 11 East Midlands A quarter of London motorists keep their car under cover compared to just over 10% of North West drivers. Just 60% of Welsh motorists make sure their car is serviced exactly when it is due, whereas over 70% of North East motorists make sure they never miss the service date. In fact, London motorists care about their cars so much that one in four has even given their vehicle a name, so if you are passionate about your car, make sure you vote for it to win in Auto Trader’s Used Car of the Year Awards! The vote is open to cars built between 1st January 2000 and 31st December 2005. The first stage is an open vote where you can choose from around 500 makes and models and cast your vote in the 6 categories, Family, Sports, Super Mini, Hot Hatch, Luxury and 4x4. Currently, the Volkswagen Golf is leading the Family Car category, the Mitsubishi Ralliart FTO Coupe is leading the Sports Car category, The Ford Focus RS is leading the Hot Hatch category, the Audi A2 is leading the Supermini category, the Jaguar V8 XJ Series is leading the Luxury Car category and the Land Rover Range Rover Sport is leading the SUV category. However, this could all change with a few votes, so log on to www.autotrader.co.uk/usedcarawards for more info and to vote for your Used Car of the Year! All votes will be entered into a prize draw to win top-of-the-range Tom Tom sat nav’s!

AUTO TRADER LAUNCHES FIRST EVER USED CAR AWARDS Auto Trader, the UK’s no 1 motoring website and magazine, has teamed up with ITV4’s Used Car Roadshow to launch the UK’s first live, televised Used Car Awards, in association with Warranty Direct. Auto Trader’s website visitors and magazine readers, together with ITV4’s Used Car Roadshow viewers, will be invited to vote for their favourite used car by logging on to www.autotrader.co.uk/usedcarawards or by entry forms in the magazine. The Auto Trader Used Car Awards will provide the definitive answers, consumer insight and views on the UK’s most popular used cars. The Auto Trader Used Car of the Year Awards are about the cars that the UK’s motorists really drive and it’s voted for by the people that drive them! There are no panels of motoring journalists or ‘industry experts’ deciding the winners - its all down to the public vote. The vote is open to cars built between 1st January 2000 and 31st December 2005 and takes place in two stages. The first stage is an open vote where motorists can choose from around 500 makes and models and cast their vote in the 6 categories, Family, Sports, Supermini, Hot Hatch, Luxury and 4x4. Stage two of the voting is about understanding what the UK’s motorists like about cars. Motorists will be asked to rate their vehicles on comfort; practicality; reliability; running costs; image; and driving pleasure. At the end of the voting it’s going to be the UK motorists’ decision that is final and every vote will count. Each category will have a winning vehicle, with an overall ‘Used Car of the Year’ award given to the car which has received the most votes, collected via the Auto Trader Used Car Awards website www.autotrader.co.uk/usedcarawards. The Award’s ceremony will take place at Birmingham Metropole Hotel on the 24th October, and will be broadcast on Wednesday 7th November on ITV4 . The Auto Trader Used Car Awards will be hosted by the ITV’s Used Car Roadshow co-presenters Jason Dawe and Penny Mallory. Both Jason and Penny draw on their considerable experience and successful careers in presenting consumer motoring content. Warranty Direct is the headline sponsor of the event. When Warranty Direct was established in 1997 its mission was to “offer warranties that are worth the paper they are written on and to make buying warranties quicker and simpler for the consumer.â€