Fluxposure - The Adrian Flux Insurance Blog

Road Trains

2009-11-09T14:30:00.009Z

It's been in the news today that technology that will enable cars to travel in a 'road train', driving themselves. An EU project called SATRE (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) are set to develop and test a way of having up to eight vehicles travel together in a 'platoon'.

The platoon is controlled autonomously by a professional driver in the lead car, who will monitor the status of the road train. This will allow the driver to take their hands off the wheel, so they can read, watch tele or use the phone. The road trains will be active, so drivers can join and leave whenever they want. If a driver wants to leave the train, they signal their intention to the lead driver and a bigger gap will be made to allow the car to leave.

This shows the third car leaving the train, the back three move forward closing the gap.

SATRE are hoping this will be fairly inexpensive, vehicles will need to be equipped with a navigation system and a transmitter/receiver that will communicate with the lead vehicle, there will also need to be sensors linking up all the motorways. Road Trains are hoped to cut fuel consumption by up to 20%, journey times, congestion and reduce the amount of accidents.

A Load of Scrap!

2009-11-04T10:31:00.007Z

Although the scrappage scheme is mainly a good thing, people are buying new cars, there's plenty of scrap metal around... One problem is that I can see a lot of nice cars, and potential classics being scrapped in favour of shiny new models. I had a trawl through a certain well known private car selling site and looked for any cars I could buy for under £2000, the minimum you'll get on a scrappage deal. Here is a list of some of my favourite findings that could be in serious danger of becoming scrap metal:

1997 Alfa Romeo Spider ConvertibleThis car is simply beautiful! It has gorgeous curves, a good interior and a very reasonable 2.0 L engine with close to 150hp... and best of all, unlike the Alfa's you can buy today, the number plate is in a conventional and better looking place!

1996 Fiat Coupé
A stylish Italian sports coupé with a curvy body and a stylish Pininfarina interior, still looking great 16 years after its introduction. Power is very respectable throughout the range, with the top 2.0 L 20V turbo version excelling to a massive 220hp.

1991 Jaguar XJS
A great Jaguar despite being overshadowed by it's predecessor, the E-Type and it's successor, the XK8. It has a smooth flowing body, and the typical mix of wood and leather interior typical of a Jag. Although sales struggled initially, it has become ever more popular with age and has matured like a fine wine. Although the economy is poor to say the least, about 10mpg in the earlier models, this car should be treasured.

1998 Rover Mini
There isn't really much to say about saving the Rover Mini. This is one of the greatest stories in British engineering and it is sad to see the Mini being scrapped. A similar scheme in Italy saw thousands of Innocenti Mini's being scrapped, we've got to hope that doesn't happen here!

1990 BMW 3 Series (E30)
This is one of my favourites from the list, I love the E30. Altough there were plenty of E36's and a few E46's for under 2k, but I would be very sad if this car was scrapped. The M3 E30 is the real classic and anyone that scraps one of the those should be strung up, these great looking 3-Series also deserve to be savoured.

1992 Mitsubishi GTO
The GTO is a technically advanced Japanese sports coupe, and was created to rival the Nissan Skyline, Mazda RX-7 and Toyota Supra. With a 3.0 L V6 with 290hp in top spec and all-wheel drive, this car is undeniably fun. I would have thought that the only way this car would be scrapped is because it was wrapped around a tree, but there were loads of GTO's available for less than the 2k mark, sad isn't it?

1996 Mazda MX-5
My last choice is the MX-5, for simple reasons. It's fun, nippy, cheap to run and you can even feel the wind in your hair! A real contender to be a true classic in years to come, unless of course they all get turned into little metal cubes like that poor little car in the advert!

Feel free to give me some of your suggestions...

Pimp my Golf (Cart)

2009-10-16T08:26:00.006+01:00

Wired.com has a great podcast today covering elderly residents of Florida who have combined their passion for classic cars with their love of a spoilt walk. These geriatric motor fans have had their golf carts tricked out to look like their favourite historic automobiles.

Many of these carts have had seatbelts, wipers and other safety features added to make them street legal, and in theory there's nothing to stop anyone in this country doing the same (but if your grandad wants to do it, he'll want some custom car insurance from a company that offers affordable insurance for mature drivers).

There's not really much I can add other than to exhort you to check out the photo-gallery...

Car theft warning - Good or bad idea?

2009-10-07T17:19:00.002+01:00

Police in Kent have come under fire following their controversial scheme to stop car crime. Officers have been placing "fake" parking tickets on cars with visible valuables left inside the vehicle. When opened, the parking ticket actually advises the driver to be more aware next time they leave personal items on show in their car.

Locals have complained that this actually attracts criminals to the car, despite the official figures indicating a 20% drop in car crime since the scheme went live.

So is this a good or bad idea? I am of the opinion it’s just another visual aid directing criminals to the Sat Nav left on a car seat!

We should all take more care when leaving the car, I always find myself moaning at friends and family when they leave bags and coats on show… the usual reply is “no-one will steal that”! It is better to be safe than sorry… but do we really need a huge yellow sticker on the windscreen advertising our stupidity?

Ich bin ein Frankfurter

2009-09-24T16:26:00.006+01:00

As you might know all the recent automotive news in coming from the Frankfurt motor show, so I thought I would share with you my highlights.

Maserati GranCabrio
I know I blogged about it not very long ago, but how good does it look in real life?

Citroën REVOLTe
This cool quirky looking concept bears more than a passing resemblance to the iconic 2CV. The interior is also very interesting with this concept, with woven black leather, crimson velvet and aluminium. Rumours are a toned down version of this baby town car is set for production.

Ferrari 458 Italia
One of the most hyped up cars has been the Ferrari 458 Italia. Personally I'm reserved about some styling points, I think the bonnet looks like it doesn't fit to the headlights properly and I'm not keen on the sticky out rear lights. There are two things I love about it however, the gorgeous shape, especially the rear, and this incredible video:

Audi R8 V10 5.2 V10Most cars look stupid with overuse of chrome, very few can get away with being totally chrome - although I think the Audi R8 pulls it off big time!

Lamborghini Reventon Roadster
Ok so you can't really see the Reventon, but I think this Lambo frauline offers way more in the way of eye-candy.

Thanks to autoblog for the pics!

Our favorite drifter, Ken Block, returns.... Again

2009-09-07T14:11:00.007+01:00

Ok, so we all remember Ken Block (he's the guy with a shiny WRX STi Subaru, flinging it superbly around an unused aircraft hanger somewhere in America)… well anyway, he is back, but this time he has a friend.

The video does all the talking… So take a peek! Incredible, and this time hilarious stuff. This guy is truly skilled.

Car Modding - 70s style

2009-09-03T09:19:00.009+01:00

Image by exfordy via Flickr

The people who make Max Power would probably encourage you to believe that car modifications took off in the 1990s, people have been customising their motors at least since Monsieur Renault decided he could improve on De Dion's handiwork back in 1898.

Back in the 70s and 80s, bad boys around town wouldn't be seen dead without a set of Cibiés. Other popular retro modifications included removing the bumpers, 'shaving' and 'frenching' (removing or recessing respectively anything that sticks out), adding racing stripes and decals

Image by rutthenut via Flickr

(perhaps even Martini or Gulf) and, if performance was your thing, sticking something like a Rover V8 into a Mk1 Escort, or a Porsche engine into a Beetle was a relatively painless exercise, although still not to be undertaken lightly.

But for people with only a passing interest in cars, two modifications from the age of the white dog poo tend to stick in the mind more than all of these, the Dixie Horn - soundtrack to my childhood - and the extra wide wheels, which became known as Carlos Fandango wheels, after a ludicrously exaggerated version of this mod was featured in this cigar ad:

I wonder, with the eighties revival in full swing, how many people will be doing these mods (at least the ones that haven't been banned by Brussels) to their cars again? One thing is for sure, as long as there are modified cars, people will need modified car insurance.

GranCabrio Set for Frankfurt

2009-08-27T09:19:00.007+01:00

Maserati have announced that the GranCabrio, the convertible version of the GranTurismo, will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show on September 15th.

The GranCabrio will be the third prong in the trident carmakers line-up, the first open top four-seater in Maserati's history. This car has breathtaking styling, developed by the well known Italian design firm Pininfarina, also responsible for the Ferrari Enzo, the Alfa Brera and the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti - need I say more!

If that wasn't enough for you, the GranCabrio will use the 433 hp 4.7 l V8 lump from the GranTurismo S, although might be slightly slower due to the added weight from the extra bracing. Although performance figures haven't been released yet, expect a 0-60 time of around 5.5 secs and a top speed of 180 mph.

The car will go on sale from early next year and unfortunately if I 've got you excited you will have to part with around £90,000 to own one!

Also debuting at Frankfurt will be another gorgeous Pininfarina designed Italian supercar.

This will be the new offering from Ferrari, the 458 Italia their F430 replacement. This mid-engined beast will have a direct-injected 4.5 l V8 that blasts out 562 horsepower!

Keep your eyes peeled to Influx this month as next week the Italia theme will be launched.

I'm now off to book a flight to Frankfurt... Ciao Bella!

Clunk, Click, Every Trip

2009-08-14T13:39:00.003+01:00

It's a date that may have passed you by, but yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the humble seat belt - or more precisely the three point safety belt - patented by Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin in 1958 and first fitted to a production Volvo PV544 on the 13th August 1959.

Before this date, seat belts had been fitted to cars since the 1930's , but all were of the two-point chest or lap-belt variety. It has been estimated that over 1 million lives have been saved by this innovation, and having spoken with members of the emergency services, it is clear that many more could still be saved if everyone made use of the belts fitted to their cars. In fact, one fireman told me that people not wearing seatbelts account for the majority of the fatalities he sees, a sobering thought, when you consider that only a hardcore 10% of motorists fail to buckle up.

RoSPA has an interesting potted history of seat belts, but people of a certain age will remember this classic piece of TV cheese masquerading as a safety film...

Flux support the 'Car Kraft' scheme for young drivers

2009-07-27T16:54:00.006+01:00

Northamptonshire Police have created a new driving experience scheme for young drivers between the age of 17 and 24.

‘Car Kraft’ give eager drivers the chance to practice ‘accident avoidance techniques’ on the Silverstone skidpan and track. Renault kindly supplied thirteen cars for the course and Adrian Flux covered their insurance – the rest was down to the Police and young participants!

The sessions are free and include:

· Practical skid recognition and avoidance techniques
· Practical ABS techniques
· A Hazard awareness and practical driving assessment with a highly trained Police officer
· A classroom session covering the dangers of drinks driving.

Check this video of the course in action…

Get Your Skates On...

2009-07-15T17:06:00.005+01:00

To promote the new Corsa, Vauxhall have announced a celebrity-fuelled roller disco called 'Vauxhall Skate'. Other than the high profile celebs, the attractions will include the Tigra mirrorball and Corsa skates (pictured below).

Vauxhall have got up-and-coming British designer and illustrator Kate Moross to design a Corsa in her own unique style, the car was covered in white vinyl and was decorated with paint and permanent markers.

The event is on the 29th July 2009, go the facebook group to find out how to get tickets.

I Want to "Pimp" My Bicycle...

2009-07-10T15:25:00.004+01:00

At Adrian Flux, we have a "thing" for modified vehicles... But after stumbling across these videos, I wonder if we should broaden our cover to bicycles as well as cars!

Check out this supercharged "cyclist"...

22" Spinners anyone?

This is not so much modified... But definitely the type of guy who spends way too much time on his push bike...

Finally, a video to rival Ken Block and his Subaru drifting...

Nutters!

Gymkhana 2 - A Different Kind of Painting

2009-06-30T15:42:00.007+01:00

As you may remember I blogged about the Subaru Gymkhana video a couple of weeks ago, well.. The second Gymkhana video from Ken Block, Subaru and DC Shoes has been released with the spanking new 09 Scooby WRX STi.

Although personally I don't think the driving is a good, it's been Hollywooded up with some cool explosions and water/paint stunts.

Enjoy...

"And it's Go, Go, Go"..... Kart

2009-06-23T16:21:00.007+01:00

Police in Shropshire have made a plea for information after a lethal ‘go-karter’ posted his kamikaze video online!

My guess is, he won't get insurance for that contraption!

If you need ideas for entertaining the kids this summer - please don't try that!

Adrian Flux French Car Show - Publicity Works [Flickr]

2009-06-23T02:17:33-07:00

fluxposure posted a photo:

Adrian Flux French Car Show - Publicity Works [Flickr]

2009-06-23T02:17:14-07:00

fluxposure posted a photo:

Adrian Flux French Car Show - Publicity Works [Flickr]

2009-06-23T02:16:57-07:00

fluxposure posted a photo:

Adrian Flux French Car Show - Publicity Works [Flickr]

2009-06-23T02:16:41-07:00

fluxposure posted a photo:

Adrian Flux French Car Show - Publicity Works [Flickr]

2009-06-23T02:16:25-07:00

fluxposure posted a photo:

Car Park Kitten! (Cat vs. 300 Cars)

2009-06-19T12:50:00.013+01:00

Recently, the talk of the town (well... office) has been about the small kitten that has been wandering around the Adrian Flux staff car park... amongst three-hundred cars!

This ultimately led to a tidal wave of voluntary, Ace Ventureresque, vigilante cat rescuers... trying to "capture" the kitten and get him to safety...

All to no avail...

The small bundle of joy was obviously feline-fine in his dangerous surroundings (that was an awful pun, I apologise).

Rather extraordinarily, the tiny fluff-ball even got himself under and into a staff member's engine bay! A problem with the catalytic converter apparently - that too, was awful. I'm just clawing these jokes out of thin air.

The moral of the story is - get Pet Insurance - like our little Flux car park friend, all pets are only a whisker away from danger... and expensive vet bills!

I am happy to report however, that this story does have a happy ending. The thrill-seeking kitten survived his car park nightmare... The RSPCA were on hand to capture and care for him. They inform us after a good feed he will be back to purrrfect condition and given to a loving new family... awww.

Vive la France

2009-06-15T12:29:00.015+01:00

Last Sunday, thousands of French car fans descended on the Rockingham Racing Circuit for the Adrian Flux French Car Show 2009. The Show was a big hit, with the great weather and the large array of activities and live action on offer. This included Track and Rally racing, trade stands, car clubs, live stunt teams, the F1 pit stop challenge and the Rockingham virtual racing game.

Attracting the largest amount of attention though was the Flux Ba bes. Although they were having their pictures taken for most of the day, they found time to collect for charity, drift with Opposite Lock and have the OTT Stunt team jump over them.

A good day was had by all except the people who's cars got caked in brown dust from the rally circuit.

If you are interested in your French cars, then check out influx. This month influx has taken on a French theme, with some great articles on the monstrous R enaultsport Mégane R26R and one of the biggest fans of the iconic Citroën DS.

Although there isn't very many pictures a the moment here are some of the places I found some:

Flickr
106 Owners Club
Facebook Group
French Car Show Website

Fin

Gymkhana Subaru Style

2009-06-12T15:58:00.004+01:00

Here is a video of a truely mental man, Ken Block, in a truely mental car, Subaru WRX STi...

Truely amazing!

If you have an airfield, hangers and a friend with a Segway, please do not try this at home.

Is it a deer? Erm... no

2009-06-08T10:30:00.000+01:00

Generally as a society we're used to hearing how "Chris hit a deer yesterday, going to be expensive to repair", or "Jane nearly hit a pheasant last week", or even a call to your insurer "I hit another car at a roundabout..."

So would anybody believe you if you turned around and said "my car's been entrapped by a load of caterpillars"? Probably not, but I suspect you might have an open mind after seeing this pack!

I hope this doesn't happen to my Honda Civic...

Funny Van Drivers

2009-05-28T09:52:00.007+01:00

Image by DerekL via Flickr

Everyone has probably drawn a 'humourous' daubing onto the back of a dirty white van at some point in their lives. But gems such as "Clean Me" and "I wish my wife was this dirty" might have been funny once, but you rarely see anything truly original.

Fortunately, the drivers of these vans are keen to show that they have a sense of humour too, as these splendid examples of the signwriter's art go to show:

This drainage specialist in Surrey tells it how it is...

How's my driving? Don't tell anyone!

And this Essex builder seems to be fed up with his van...

Our commercial vehicle department have a wide range of top-notch van insurance policies, and they can help you insure your cool van... whether it's refrigerated or not.

The World's Smallest Car

2009-05-14T10:33:00.008+01:00

Perry Watkins, a sales director and car fanatic, has built the smallest car in the world. The 47 year old from Wingrave in Buckinghamshire has built a car that stands at just 39 inches tall and 26 inches wide. Surprisingly Perry can drive the vehicle despite being six foot tall.

Mr Watkins has constructed the world's smallest car from a Postman Pat children's ride. After obviously removing Pat and Jess, Perry reinforced the fibreglass shell with a steel frame and mounted it on the body of a mini quad bike. He then added a 150cc engine, lights, indicators, windscreen wipers and washers, making it completely road legal.

The car which has been christened 'Wind Up' is now on the road and insured with Adrian Flux as a modified quad. If you also have something weird and wonderful try Adrian Flux who will insure pretty much anything that is road legal.

The washing machine sized car is not Perry's only creation. He also holds the record for the world's lowest street legal car with the 'Flatmobile', a jet powered replica of the Batmobile that is 19 inches tall.

Bennett-Baggs an Aston

2009-05-06T11:57:00.011+01:00

Sarah Bennett-Baggs who you may remember from our previous post or the influx article, is a racing driver whom Adrian Flux sponsor... Well she is back for 09 with a brand new car, an Aston Martin N24.

Last year Sarah did really well coming second in class for the 2008 Porsche Club Championship. She managed to cause quite a stir with her bright pink 1978 911 SC and Flux Babe inspired overalls.

With the new car Sarah is competing in the GT Cup, and has already secured a cup with a 2nd in class finish at Brands hatch.

Well done Sarah, keep up the work at Snetterton in June and good luck for the rest of the season.

The AA, Nitrous & Bogus Stats

2009-04-08T14:44:00.009+01:00

You may have seen, all over the BBC, that The AA president, Edmund King, has been banging on about Nitrous Oxide (aka NOS) on the premise that "Modified cars 'could put lives at risk'".

It seems that Mr King would like to see legislation which would limit the ability of young drivers to carry out modifications to their cars.

He says:

If you then put [young drivers] in a modified car... then accidents are much more likely to happen.

There's just one problem with that - it's complete rubbish. You would have thought that an august institution with a history as proud as the AA would have checked their facts before spouting uninformed opinion to the press (why didn't they just AAsk us?)*.

Because, since modified car insurance is one of the things we know an awful lot about, and since we keep careful records of things like claims and accidents, we actually know the truth. And the truth of the matter is this:

Young drivers of modified cars are on average 20% less likely to have an accident and make a claim than young drivers in cars with a standard specification.

What are the reasons for this - well there are several:

Modders are enthusiasts, more knowledgable about cars than their peers
They love their cars and take special care of them.
The money spent on their cars is a significant proportion of their income, so they want to protect their investment.
Modified car owners have also invested a lot of time in their vehicle - the prospect of doing all that work again in the event of a crash is not what they want.
And in doing the modifications, the owners are getting a good understanding of mechanics, and are more likely to spot any maintenance issues too.

So perhaps, rather than calling for a ban, the AA should start campaigning to make modifications compulsory for young drivers - or more seriously for car maintenance to feature more heavily in the driving test. They should, at least, think before alienating many of the most enthusiastic of the motorists whom they claim to represent.

Good old The AA...

You can always rely on them...

*For that matter don't AA Insurance Services keep their own data on this sort of thing?

The Evolution of the Nissan Skyline

2009-04-07T11:42:00.003+01:00

It's all been kicking off over at influx, our online car magazine, where a post on the Nissan Skyline's evolution over the last 52 years.

After someone posted that, in his opinion, the Skyline's raison d'etre was to:

"flatter the below the belt aspirations of all those who might be challenged in that region"

the car's fans have been out in force defending the honour of the car which probably comes closer than any other to being the people's supercar. You can join the debate here, so whether you think the Skyline is the pinnacle of automotive excellence, or agree with Paris, let us know. You can also let us know which generation is your favourite. And if you need Nissan Skyline insurance, give us a call on 08000 83 88 33.

BMW Play the Fool

2009-04-02T11:26:00.003+01:00

BMW have become renowned in recent years for their annual April Fool's pranks. This year's is a classic. Yesterday saw adverts promoting their 'Magnetic Tow Technology,' the premise being that a strong magnet would 'lock on' to the car ahead and let it drag you along.

As they say "Why burn your fuel, when you can burn someone else's?". Click the picture to view a bigger version:

You can view BMWs archive of classic April Fool's day adverts here. This is where you can find out about previous 'innovations' like the "Canine Repellent Alloy Protection" and "Photo Reflective Aural Transmissions."

Flux Gives Lemon Zest

2009-03-25T09:27:00.006Z

At the beginning of January Peter Lemon, a Norfolk businessman, trekked to the South Pole to raise money for charity. Peter trekked from 89 degrees south to 90 degrees and the Geographic South Pole, around 60 miles. The conditions were very unforgiving and he had much to contend with, 24 hour daylight, the constant threat of frostbite and temperatures around -30°C and with wind chill getting down to -50°C.

Although having spent three weeks camping on the ice, Pete has returned with all his fingers and toes although was missing part of his nose for a short while, we're sure it was worth it though having raised nearly £20,000 for the Prince's Trust. Having been Chairman for the local fundraising group of the Prince's Trust, Peter has helped many young people who have struggled at school, have been in care, are long-term unemployed or have been in trouble with the law. This could well be Pete's last adventure after having also tackled the New York Marathon and Mount Kilimanjaro, both also to raise money for the Prince's Trust.

Peter lives just down the road from Adrian Flux and took a Flux Flag to wave high at the pole.