Motoring Newsbriefs

Dec 24 2008 Steve Hughes

COVER UP FAMILIES are increasingly putting their insurance cover at risk by cheating to get a better deal, warns the Association of British Insurers. Insurers are uncovering a growing number of cases where the customer has lied or failed to disclose relevant information to get cheaper insurance.

Common deceptions exposed include 'Fronting' where parents add their son or daughter to their motor insurance policy as an occasional named driver when in fact they are the main driver.

Not disclosing motoring convictions, ranging from a speeding conviction to drink driving is another scam.

Failing to disclose previous claims such as car accidents and burglaries and under-estimating alcohol and tobacco consumption is another.

ABI director Nick Starling, says: 'Cheating to get cheaper insurance puts your cover in jeopardy with potentially disastrous consequences.'

FORD HYBRID THE Ford Fusion Hybrid will be the most fuel-efficient mid-size car on sale in America next spring.

It tops the Toyota Camry hybrid rating by eight mpg in the city and two mpg on the motorway and beats the smaller Honda Civic hybrid by one mpg in city driving.

The 2010 Ford Fusion's final fuel economy certification was completed at Ford's testing laboratories in America.

The Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids travel up to 47mph in electric mode, which is faster than all other hybrids currently on the road. In addition to the hybrid, the Fusion will be offered with three petrol engines, the Duratec 2.5-litre and enhanced 3.0-litre flex-fuel V6 plus the 3.5-litre V6 Duratec.

HYUNDAI SPEEDS UP HYUNDAI has completed the development of a new six-speed automatic transmission that it says will improve fuel economy by more than 12 per cent.

Despite the extra gear, the six-speed is lighter, shorter and has 62 fewer parts than the five-speed it replaces.

The transmission is filled with a fluid that will last the life of the vehicle and Hyundai says it has applied for almost 300 patents to protect it.

A total of 16 different Hyundai models will get the new transmission including a redesigned Santa Fe, which is due to arrive in early 2010.

STRICTLY FIAT 500 TELEVISION'S Strictly Come Dancing champion Tom Chambers has taken delivery of a new Fiat 500, which lines up alongside his 'collectors' item' original.

The former Holby City star, whose original Fiat 500 is in as-new condition, will use his new one to travel the country when he joins the Strictly Come Dancing live show early next year.

He says: 'I have always loved Fiat 500s and bought the old one two years ago for my wife Clare."

FEWER CARS ANALYSIS by industry experts EurotaxGlass's has revealed that the volume of nearly-new vehicles being offered for sale at the end of 2008 is about a third lower than it was during the same period last year when supply far exceeded demand.

A result of fewer dealers registering unsold cars, this should mean that values of younger used cars are less likely to continue to fall as heavily as had been the case a few months ago.

EurotaxGlass's editor Adrian Rushmore, says: 'In particular there are fewer ex-demonstrator vehicles to dispose of, meaning that values of cars of this age may finally begin to come under control after many months of severe falls.

"They are still likely to continue to decline, as with values of most second-hand vehicles, just at a more gradual rate.'

VIRTUAL VEHICLES FORD has launched a new version of its customer website at www.ford.co.uk.

Visitors to the site can research the price and specification of cars and vans and a vehicle configuration feature allows users to create the vehicle of their choice according to budget, body style, fuel type and number of seats.