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British sports car manufacturer goes under

Iconic British sports car manufacturer, Bristol Cars, has gone into administration after 65 years in business.

The company which specialises in hand built luxury sports cars and has operated from its one show room in South Kensington for the last 65 years and counts Tina Turner, U2 front man Bono and Liam Gallagher amongst their previous clients.

The car manufacturing branch of the company has gone into administration, however the customer services and sales branch of the firm is still operating. The administrators say they are optimistic about the future of this British brand and believe it can be saved.

In an attempt to keep the company afloat, the firm has been gradually shedding jobs over the course of the last few months while holding out for last minute investment to keep the company out of administration.

Bristol sports car were famously very guarded about their brand, refusing to reveal their sales figures, and reportedly, only selling sports cars to people who the former boss approved of.

Based in Filton, Bristol came into existence off the back of the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and stayed true to its aviation roots with the design of its hand crafted sports cars. The Fighter and the Blenheim were two of Bristol’s most successful and famous sports cars.

by Andrew LloydMarch 7, 2011no comment

Car hire firm partners leading campervan rental company

Hertz have announced a partnership deal with leading campervan and motor home hire company, Apollo.

Apollo boasts a fleet of over 3,000 recreational vehicles for hire through 23 branches based throughout Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. The joint venture with Hertz will allow Apollo customers access to a wide range of vehicles for hire during their campervan or motor home holiday, ideal for excursions and days out during their trip.

The partnership between Hertz and Apollo will be officially launched on April 1^st, just in time for the summer and Easter holiday season.

Apollo is an Australian company, started by two brothers, Luke and Karl Trouchet in Brisbane in 1985. Since then the company has grown considerably and now boasts motor home and campervan rental facilities throughout their native Australia, as well as Canada, New Zealand and America.

Speaking about the new venture with Hertz car rentals, Apollo boss Luke Trouchet, described the deal as an “exciting business partnership” and a bold step forward in Apollo’s extensive expansion plans. The recreational vehicle hire firm is the largest of its kind in Australia and currently employs over 300 people across all of its branches.

Hertz offers a wide of cars and vans for hire in 145 countries across the world and boasts a workforce of over 29,000.

by Andrew LloydFebruary 24, 20111 comment

Are Tesco planning to sell second hand cars?

There’s mounting speculation in the press that the Supermarket giant, Tesco, are planning to move into the second hand car market with the launch of a new car sales website.

According to reports, Tesco have been in talks with Motability, which is the UK’s biggest ex-fleet car provider. Motability Operations is a not for profit organisation which works with disabled drivers to provide them with new cars from leading manufacturers at discounted rates.

Motability has access to some 560,000 cars every year, 200,000 of which are at the end of their lease term. Many of the latter are then passed onto second hand dealerships and car auctions to be sold. However the fear within the industry is that if a deal is struck between Motability and Tesco, the supermarket giant would have first pick of the ex-lease cars, which could lead to a shortage of cars for second hand dealers.

Motoring experts believe the Tesco car sales website would spell good news for the consumer as the supermarket chain is likely to offer very competitive deals. However there’s concern that this will add extra pressure to second hand dealerships across the country, who are already struggling to stay afloat in the current economic climate.

It’s understood that Tesco have already reserved the rights to the domain name TescoCars.com in preparation for the launch of their second hand cars sales arm, although the supermarket chain has refused to confirm the reports regarding the possible new scheme. Motability are also keeping tight lipped about a possible joint venture.

by Andrew LloydFebruary 23, 2011no comment

Electric Rolls Royce limo to be unveiled at The Geneva Motor Show

After months of speculation, the waiting is over, as Rolls Royce has confirmed that they will debut their experimental limo at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.

The Phantom Experimental Electric car, codenamed EXP 102, will make its first public appearance at the motor show, before being whisked off on a world tour taking in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

During its whistle-stop tour the electric limo will be given to Rolls Royce owners as well as media representatives who will test driver the vehicle. The luxury brand hopes to receive useful feedback from the planned test drives which will help to shape the finished product.

The electric Phantom is the first battery powered electric car designed for the ultra luxury market. The swanky limo can be recharged from a domestic mains electric power point, and produces zero emissions so it’s very environmentally friendly.

However all of this green power comes at a cost. While the fuel powered Phantom will set you back approximately £300,000 and achieves around 15 miles to the gallon, the experimental electric Phantom costs just 2p per mile to run, but its cost is likely to be closer to £1 million.

For the last 2 years there’s been mounting speculation that the luxury car maker was in the process of developing a secret electric limo.

Rolls Royce confirmed in a statement that the one-off electric limo will makes its debut at the Geneva Motor Show on March 1^st.

by Simon BerryFebruary 21, 2011no comment

Tearaway Granny appeals for live-in chauffeur

A tearaway granny has made an appeal during a radio interview for a live-in chauffeur to help her get out and about after the police took away her license.

82-year-old Judith Slade lost her license last summer after she was caught speeding at 102mph. Earlier this month, she was caught out again by the police, this time for drink-driving, and driving without a valid license.

To avoid another run-in with the law, Mrs Slade has resigned herself to the fact that she may need to employ a live-in chauffeur so she can still get out and about.

Speaking during a radio interview on Melbourne’s Nova 100 Radio Station, the octogenarian said she has a “serious offer” for anyone will to be her full time chauffeur. In exchange she is offering the would-be driver free accommodation at her home, and if things work out, she’s promised to even leave her house to the potential chauffeur once she dies.

Judith Slade has been dubbed a “hoon” by the press in Australia, a term usually used to describe young male boy racers, following her spate of driving offences. Talking in the radio interview, Mrs Slade said she’d never received a single driving conviction until being caught speeding last year. It’s been reported she was on her way to meet her lover at the time, a lover she’s since lost as a result of having her licence removed.

Despite her advancing age, the young at heart granny still wants to be out and about in the company of others. However Mrs Slade claims she’s unable to do this now, because the police have “made a criminal” out of her.

So if you’re an Australia based chauffeur looking for a job and accommodation, Mrs Slade has a proposition for you…

by Anita KumarFebruary 17, 2011no comment

Cars for Stars are seeking classic wedding car hire operators to join its network

Cars for Stars are seeking classic wedding car hire operators to join their successful national network of luxury transport providers. If you’re looking for a way to enhance your company’s business potential, joining forces with Cars for Stars will provide you with just the boost you need.

The vintage wedding car hire market is thriving right now with the vast majority of current Cars for Stars classic car hire agents already fully booked for peak wedding dates throughout 2001. For this reason, the luxury transport specialist is looking to recruit a number of new agents onto their books in order to cope with the high number of enquiries the company is currently receiving for classic wedding car hire.

Whether you are a long standing wedding car hire firm with a fleet of 20 cars and limousines, or a self-employed chauffeur with just one vintage Daimler limo, or if you’ve just set up a brand new company specialising in vintage wedding car hire, Cars for Stars wants to hear from you.

When you become an approved agent with Cars for Stars, you only pay commission for the work you receive via the company and nothing else. So for example, if one month you don’t get a single booking from Cars for Stars, you pay nothing in agency fees, so there’s really nothing to lose and a lot to gain from becoming an approved operator with this fast growing company.

Cars for Stars boasts a high web presence with a number of micro sites related to local areas throughout the UK, plus the company’s two main websites and a highly successful news website.

Last month Cars for Stars celebrate the debut of their first ever video viral showcasing limo hire for school proms, something which the firm is planning to build on with new professionally shot viral videos to advertise weddings cars amongst other things.

Cars for Stars operates throughout the UK so wherever you’re based whether it’s London or Glasgow, Cardiff or Gloucester, Liverpool or Birmingham, North Wales or Staffordshire, Bradford or Newcastle, Cars for Stars has an exciting business proposition for you.

For more information on the business opportunities available for vintage wedding car hire providers with Cars for Stars, get in touch today and we’ll be happy to discuss the matter further.

by Andrew LloydFebruary 8, 2011no comment

Cars for Stars limo hire agents triumph at the Transport Broker Awards

The limo hire agents for Cars for Stars who triumphed at the Transport Broker Awards can now be officially revealed after the high flying companies were presented with their trophies at this year’s glitzy awards bash held at the St David’s Hotel and Spa in Cardiff Bay over the weekend.

The awards show has become an annual event and is now in its third year. The event aims to celebrate the hard work of staff members and agents working across all three companies which make up the Transport Broker Group, namely Limo Broker, Cars for Stars and Coach Broker. This year’s event was especially significant as it was the first time Cars for Stars was involved in the celebration after they joined the Transport Broker Group last summer.

Kicking off with the regional awards, the Cars for Stars Agent of the Year for the North East and Scotland was named as LA Limos, with Millennium coming in second place. The award for Agent of the Year for the North West was presented to Star Limos with Bees Knees claiming the runner-up position.

Carrying on with the regional awards category, Agent of the Year for the Midlands was named as The Limo Scene, with Midlands Limos in second place. The trophy for Agent of the Year for South West, South East and London was handed to Absolute Style, with Phantom Drophead claiming second place. The Agent of the Year Award for Wales and the West Country was presented to Awesome Limos with Stardust claiming the runner up spot.

Moving onto the National Awards for Cars for Stars, the gong for Best Fleet was awarded to Oasis Limos, while West 1 scooped the award for Best Customer Services. The trophy for Best Wedding Car/ Chauffer Car was presented to Top Marque for their Candy Apple C300, while the top award for Cars for Stars Agent of the Year was awarded to Essex Limos.

Exclusive pictures from The Transport Broker Awards 2010/11 will be available to view on Cars for Stars News by the end of the week.

by Anita KumarFebruary 1, 2011no comment

Rolls Royce’s latest model helps boost car sales

It seems the economic downturn is a distant memory for luxury car manufacturer Rolls Royce as they’ve recently reported record sales figures for the 2010.

The world renowned brand saw sales soar by 171% during 2010 selling a total of 2,711 luxury cars during the course of the last 12 months.

The previous record for Rolls Royce sales set in 2008 was blown out of the water by last year’s results as the 2010 figures are almost double the previous record.

The popularity of the latest model to be launched by Rolls Royce, the Ghost, is reported to have had an extremely positive impact on the brand as a whole as it’s responsible for attracting a lot of new customers to Rolls Royce. The figures revealed that 80% of those who bought the Ghost, which was launched last year, during 2010 had never owned a Rolls Royce before.

As well as extremely strong sales for the newly launched Ghost, Rolls Royce has also reported healthy sales for their flagship car, the Phantom.

In addition to strong vehicle sales figures, the West Sussex based car maker also revealed that a high percentage of their customers take advantage of their bespoke service which allows clients the opportunity to personalise their new vehicles and add special finishing touches.

According to recent reports, Rolls Royce are said to be developing green technology meaning eco-friendly Rolls Royce limos could be on sale in the near future.

by Tony RobertsJanuary 12, 2011no comment

Car hire is big business in Beijing

Car hire is currently one the fastest growing industries in China’s capital city of Beijing due to the recent restrictions put in place to limit car ownership to reduce traffic congestion in the city.

Over the course of the last 5 years the number of cars on Beijing roads has almost doubled, resulting in nightmare driving conditions with gridlocked roads, and also increased pollution levels within Beijing.

In an attempt to curb car ownership, Beijing has issued a month long ban on purchasing cars, after which a car plate lottery scheme will be put in place. Just 20,000 people picked at random from the lottery will be permitted by purchase a car in the city. A ban on car number plates from outside Beijing has been put in place during peak times to help further reduce congestion on city roads.

However the upshot of these stringent car ownership rules is that car hire in the capital is booming. Beijing residents are flocking to car rental dealers due the convenience car hire services offer.

Selected car hire providers have reported that over 90% of their fleet is regularly out on rentals at any given time. Due to the surge in demand for car hire, some operators are planning to double their fleet.

The good news for car hire customers is that the competition between providers in hotting up, which means that operators are continually coming up with great offers of up to 50% off rental rates in order to outdo their competitors and secure more customers.

by Simon BerryJanuary 11, 2011no comment

Hertz and Beverly Hills Rent a Car join forces to offer luxury car hire

Top name car rental company and leading California based luxury car hire operator Beverly Hills Rent a Car have joined forces in order to fulfil the growing demands for luxurious car hire in the state.

Beverly Hills Rent a Car has a vast array of top quality cars available for hire from world renowned brands such as Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Porsche and Mercedes which will allow Hertz to offer a different calibre of vehicle to their car rental customers.

Hertz is a world leader in the provision of car rentals for general use and airport car hire services, however the partnership with Beverly Hills Rent a Car will allow Hertz the opportunity to branch into a whole new market of luxurious travel.

Launching the new luxury car hire service in California is a shrewd move as there is a definite demand for the service in this area from film studios and celebrities either visiting or living in the state.

The joint venture will offer a range of services including complementary pick-up and drop-off to and from several Hertz car rental bases in California, plus VIP collection from airports, and the choice of a wide range of luxury and classic cars.

Hertz say the decision to partner Beverly Hills Rent a Car in this new venture was based on the growing interest in luxury travel in California.

by Anita KumarJanuary 7, 2011no comment

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