Used Large Pick-Up & SUV Prices Tumble in the U.S.

As long as you don’t mind being best pals with your local gas station owners, now’s the time to buy a used large SUV or a pick-up truck. According to a report from Manheim Consulting, an Atlanta-based provider of used-vehicle data, wholesale auction prices for used large SUVs in July averaged $10,187, down a whopping 26% from year earlier and 1.7% from June. Likewise, wholesale auction prices for large pick-up trucks averaged $8,825, a 20% decline from last year and less than 1% from the previous month. Prices for all used vehicles in the U.S. in July averaged to $9,297, a 4.3% drop from a year earlier but about 1% up from June.

Via: Bloomberg

Parking Prices Study: London and Sydney Top the List

If you happen to own a car and for any reason decide to rent a parking space in the centre of London or Sydney, rising gas prices will be the least of your worries. According to a recent study performed by Colliers International, a property consultancy, London is the most expensive place in the world to park your car - the City topped the list at $1,167 (₤600 or €733) a month with the West End in second place at $1,136 (₤584 or €714). In third spot is Sydney, Australia at $775 (A$825 or €486).

Surprisingly, three more Australian cities made the top ten list with Brisbane at number five and Perth at number eight –Melbourne is eleventh. The most high-priced area to park in Asia is Hong Kong which takes fourth place at $742 (€467) a month while midtown New York City is ranked fifth most expensive at $585 (€367).

In terms of daily parking costs, London’s City submarket tops the list at $68 (₤35 or €43) followed by Amsterdam, London’s West End submarket, Moscow and The Hague. The cheapest city to park in the world is Delhi at a mere $1.75 (€1.1) for the whole day! See the complete Top 25 list along with analytical data on parking prices around the world after the jump. -Continued

Source: Colliers International

America’s Top 10 Most Stolen Vehicles: Japanese Carmakers Top the List…

Even thieves seem to prefer Japanese vehicles over their American counterparts. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s (NICB) theft report study that examines data reported to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the most reported stolen vehicle in 2007 in the States was the 1995 Honda Civic. The top-10 list comprises of 7 vehicles from Japanese carmakers and just three from the former “Big 3”–’97 Ford F-150, ’94 Chevy C/K 1500 and ’04 Dodge Ram.

On a side note, the FBI preliminary Uniform Crime Report (UCR) data reveals that motor vehicle theft in the U.S. is headed for an 8.9% decrease in 2007, with final data set to be released later this year. Follow the jump to see the complete list. -Continued

Most Stolen Vehicles in the U.S. in 2007

1. 1995 Honda Civic
2. 1991 Honda Accord
3. 1989 Toyota Camry
4. 1997 Ford F-150 Series Pick Up
5. 1994 Chevrolet C/K 1500 Pick Up
6. 1994 Acura Integra
7. 2004 Dodge Ram Pick Up
8. 1994 Nissan Sentra
9. 1988 Toyota Pickup
10. 2007 Toyota Corolla

Source: NICB

UK Drivers Slow Down as Fuel Prices Rise

While our fellow Texans are reacting to rising fuel prices by leaving their gas tanks empty (see report here), in the UK drivers are slowing down on motorways to conserve fuel, according to a study performed by “Keepmoving”, a traffic information organization that monitors the speed of 230,000 vehicles fitted with sensors.

The study revealed that the average speed in free flow conditions on the M6 highway from Birmingham to Carlisle was seen to have experienced a 0.9% decrease in the first part of June 2008 compared to the same period in 2007 while the M25 was seen to have decreased by 0.3%. The organization said that whilst the decrease appears modest, it portrays a consistent picture across the UK where a cross-section of motorists are driving more slowly in order to conserve fuel. -Continued

As well as a reduction in speed, the study also found that congestion had fallen by up to 12% in the past month because there were fewer cars occupying Britain's roads.

EU: New CO2 Study Reveals That German Carmakers Are Off Course

A new study conducted by the European Federation of Transport and Environment shows that French, Italian and Japanese carmakers have extended their lead over German rivals last year in the race to deliver fuel efficient and low emission vehicles..

From the major car producing countries in Europe (only car groups that sold over 200,000 vehicles in Europe in 2006 were included in the study), in 2006 German groups increased new car emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 0.6% on average compared to 2005 figures. On the other hand, French and Italian carmakers cut emissions by an average of 1.6%. -Continued after the jump

While BMW managed to reduce average emissions by 2.5%, the two largest German groups DaimlerChrysler (now called Daimler) and Volkswagen saw increases of 2.8% and 0.9% respectively.

Japanese car manufactures made significant progress in 2006, achieving 2.8% cuts on average with Toyota making the biggest improvement of any major car manufacturing group in 2006 with the average vehicle sold in 2006 emitting 5% less CO2 than the previous year.

PSA Peugeot Citroën (142 g/km), Fiat SpA (144 g/km) and Renault SA (147 g/km) sold Europe's lowest emitting cars in 2006 on average. Those companies took the top three places when ranked by average emissions of CO2 in grammes per kilometre. Toyota Motor Corp (153 g/km) and Honda Motor Company (154 g/km) took fourth and fifth place. DaimlerChrysler came bottom of the list of major carmakers with average emissions of 188 g/km.

Via: Motorpasion , Pic: Economist

Toyota Prius Loosing Out In the "Green" Game To Conventional Cars - Or They Say

A new study conducted by researchers at Cardiff University and Clifford Thames finds that the Prius isn’t the greenest of them all. But how did they come to this conclusion? Well, Cardiff University and Clifford Thames researchers devised an environmental rating system for vehicles (ERV) which takes into account cars’ overall environmental footprint (including raw materials, production and end-of-life costs - based on their length, width and weight).

According to the study, in terms of high-volume "city" cars, the Citroen C1 and Toyota Aygo are among the best, with ERV scores exceeding that of the Toyota Prius hybrid. Someone might point out that the Prius is a C-segment vehicle so the comparison is unjust. True, but Richard Barber, Clifford Thames Strategy and Business Development director believes that conventional petrol and diesel cars will quickly outpace Toyota’s Prius on environmental friendliness. -Continued after the jump

"While the Prius is presently the best among vehicles its size, we are seeing advances in traditional powertrain technology that will help other vehicles close the gap or even leapfrog existing hybrid solutions", said Barber.

Even though I’m not much of a Prius fan, I’ll have to disagree with Mr. Barber for the simple reason that the Prius uses multiple propulsion systems to provide power. In other words, the Prius combines a gasoline engine and an electric motor. Therefore, all Toyota needs to do is add a more frugal and environmentally friendly gasoline engine, and it will furthermore increase the distance from its competitors

Links: Cardiff University & Clifford Thames

Survey: Why don’t Americans prefer domestic brands?

Japanese firms are dangerously closing up the sales gap between them and the domestic car-makers in the US market, but that’s something we all know. We all probably know the main reasons why: poor quality and reliability. Still though it’s very interesting to see what “ticks” American consumers.

And that’s exactly what J.D. Power and Associates did as they conducted an exclusive study for The Detroit News providing answers to as why Americans avoid vehicles built by the former Big Three (General Motors., Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler AG). Check it out by clicking the following link (PDF file): Detnews Survey

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