First Vehicle Leasing – Official Blog

Well, I say cheese and wine… anyone who actually knows me will know that it’s more likely to be beer and chips.

I woke up this morning to find my mail had arrived early.   Throwing aside the usual deluge of bills and notifications that I’ve been personally selected from a group of 10 trillion people to be entered into a prize draw to win £2.10 and a bag of crisps, I noticed an envelope of a slightly different shape.   It isn’t often people send me anything but bills and this wasn’t in a brown envelope so it couldn’t be bad news.   Then suddenly it stuck me… My tickets for Monaco have arrived!

That’s it, it’s official.   I’ll be in the stands (stand K to be precise) for this year’s Grand Prix and I can’t wait.   There can’t be anyone left in the office that hasn’t heard me rambling on about this since we booked the tickets a few months back.

Come the 24th of May 2012 I’ll be sat in casino square with a beer in one hand attempting to spot someone famous while desperately trying not to feel inadequate amongst the scattering of exotic super-cars and “well-heeled” gents that flock to the tiny principality each year by my favourite race of the F1 season  - the Monaco Grand Prix.

Like a kid at christmas I’m bound to get more excited about this as the event approaches – prepare to hear more about this!

A conversation at FVL towers started this morning as the winter snow arrived in the west of Scotland. It stemmed from me and two colleagues noticing drivers of 4WD cars who seemed to be driving with supreme confidence in the snow. We  concluded  briefly that they must be forgetting that their well endowed SUV’s, weigh the same as a small truck and have no more stopping capability than any average family saloon (with a fully grown hippo strapped to the roof!).

Anyway a little delving on the t’internet and it was found that a researcher (Fred Mannering) of Purdue University Indiana, has recently done a study on over 23’000 police car crash reports and we we’re right! To an extent – some of the details we’re surprising.

Young men you would expect would be the most hazardous in all situations. However, in the Snow and Ice,  men over 45 years and driving 4WD vehicles we’re more likely than anyone else to be involved in an accident. This was put down to over-confidence in their abilities and in their 4WD vehicles. Ultimately, the 4WD vehicles can get up to speed well in the slushy stuff, but can’t stop any quicker!

Women did well in the Snow, as they are aware of the danger, but not in the wet. Apparently not paying enough attention to the lack of traction caused by the rain.

Men under the age of 45, we’re worse than anyone else, mainly on dry tarmac this time over-confidence being to blame.

Interesting stuff.

The new 2012 Honda Civic will be on show for one night on 30th November.  Customers and Civic fans are invited to come along and experience the new Civic.  Learn about landmarks and milestones in Honda’s history. Guests will even be taken back in time with sweets and treats from a bygone age. Then they’ll be brought back up to date with the presentation of the new 2012 Civic by one of Honda’s product experts.

If you are interested please contact us as soon as possible to secure your place as there is limited availability. We will provide further details of the location over the phone.  This will be the first and only opportunity to view the New Civic ahead of its showroom launch in early 2012.

We should see lease contract hire pricing for the new 2012 Honda Civic arriving soon.  We will make them available on the First Vehicle Leasing Website as soon as we have them here

After having listened to the timeless classic Fleetwood Mac song “The Chain” on my usual commute this morning and finding the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end (follow this link to wet your appetite -http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/4800505/BBC-Formula-One-coverage-to-bring-back-Fleetwood-Macs-The-Chain.html) the question above begged to be answered.
Just for the record here is my top 5 -
1) Ayrton Senna
2) Michael Schumacher
3) Jim Clark
4) Nelson Piquet
5) Alain Prost
Feel free to resume slating me, what no Jackie Stewart, Fangio, Niki Lauda?!!
Opinions please…

Delighted to see Audi have once again subsidised another fantastic deal on the A6 2.0 Tdi 4dr Saloon S.E.

Refreshing to see one of the worlds great manufaturers adapating to the austerity which engulfs the global economy at the moment.

Contract hire rates from £229 a month, on lower mileages.

Browsing through the latest brochure from Audi, it details the sensational S.E coming as standard with:

MMI Radio Plus including:
- MMI control panel operating the MMI display
(6.5-inch retractable colour display)
- 2 SDHC memory card readers (up to 32GB)
and single CD player that supports MP3,
WMA and AAC
- TP memo – automatically saves traffic news
when driving
MMI Navigation (SD card) including:
- 6.5-inch retractable MMI colour display
with high quality map display including 7-digit
postcode recognition
- Voice control using whole words
- Dynamic route guidance
- Additional display in the Driver’s
Information System

Mobile telephone preparation – Bluetooth
interface: Bluetooth-compatible mobile
phones can be connected to the vehicle via
the interface, allowing handsfree calls via
the microphone.

Interior equipment:
Dual-zone electronic climate control –
automatic air conditioning which electronically
regulates the air temperature, air flow rate
and distribution for the driver and front
passenger sides
4-spoke leather-trimmed multi-function
steering wheel (with paddles for
automatic transmissions)
Auto-dimming rear-view mirror – uses a
photocell to recognise when the headlights
behind are too bright and dims automatically
Front centre armrest for driver and front
passenger, movable and with adjustable angle
Cloth headlining
Luggage compartment mat
Luggage compartment system (Avant models
only). Comprising:
- Rail luggage fixing system
- Dirt-resistant tray
- Double cargo floor
- Lashing points, side restraining straps
and bag hooks
Inlays in aluminium trigon
Door sill trims with aluminium inlays
Front and rear floor mats coordinated with
the selected interior colour

If you havent submitted an enquiry on www.firstvehicleleasing.co.uk already then what are you waiting for?!

I’ve always wondered what was the best name for the big man. When I was a wee boy I prefered Santa claus but now I’m getting on a bit I prefer to refer to him as Father Xmas. Let me know your thoughts….

Oxford Street and Regent Street (London) have to be closed to traffic on the weekend of the 10th of December. This has been brought in for a number of reasons. One is to help Mayor Borris cut the cities emissions for Euro targets – if they don’t hit them it  could mean a fine of upto £300m. Another (and probably a bonus) is to bring a more pleasant environment to the Christmas shoppers. It has been running for a couple of years now and has helped boost retail sales, albeit it was only then for one day, but this year it will be for the whole weekend.

I think this is a great idea. I’ve only experienced something like this a couple of times. Once was in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park where they shut the main thoroughfare every Sunday to let people walk,cycle,roller blade, segway, ski-blade etc through without fear of being flattened by a yellow cab. It was great, and gave a really nice relaxed atmosphere. It must be said though, it is particularly handy that San Fran has fantastic public transport system, to actually get you to the park in the first place! It’s not so great when you have no means of getting to the traffic free Mecca in the first place! The second time was a bicycle sportive in Pittlochry in Scotland. 81 miles of closed roads for bikes to glide along for the day. I covered that distance in 4Hrs in 20 Mins – a reasonable if not blistering time, giving an average of roughly 18.5 MPH. Would this be too slow an average for your daily commute? How far do you live from your work place? In my car I can sometimes see a 9MPH average stuck on the M77 in the morning, and it’s costing me a fortune!!

This brings me to the question should we be giving cars up? If cars are really that bad for the environment (another question granted, you might want to wiki this  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_pollution#References) and also the pocket. Ok, so maybe not entirely, but even for one day week? It has been proven that if every one who owned a car, didn’t use it for one commuting day a week, it significantly reduces congestion and pollution. So, if you could pay less road tax, insurance, fuel, parking – would you be prepared to give up your car for just one working  day a week? I know I would.

Hi Everyone
I’m taking part in the 2011 Great Scottish Run Half Marathon on 04/09/2011 to raise money for Yorkhill Children’s Foundation and I’d really appreciate your support.
It’s easy to donate online with a credit or debit card – just go to my JustGiving page:

http://www.justgiving.com/Andrew-Watson7

JustGiving sends your donation straight to Yorkhill Children’s Foundation and automatically reclaims Gift Aid if you’re a UK taxpayer, so your donation is worth even more. I hope you’ll join me in supporting Yorkhill Children’s Foundation.

Its a great cause – look here for more details – http://www.yorkhill.org/page/Home.aspx
And feel free to pass this email on to anyone else you think might like to donate

Thanks in advance!
Andrew