Sunday, February 15th, 2009

Contract hire could be the answer for the car industry

The French government have announced a €6.5bn loan for the country’s struggling car industry. It is the latest in an long line of similar measures taken around the world to protect jobs and the economy through the recession. A huge worldwide slump in car sales has left even the most established car manufacturers struggling, and millions of workers in danger of losing their jobs.

In the UK there have already been a number of job losses despite the government lending large amounts of money to help keep business afloat. A number of factories have had to close temporarily and the Japanese carmaker Nissan has become the latest to announce that it will be cutting almost 10% of its global workforce, including 1200 positions in the UK.

In these difficult times of recession, it’s hard to see how the car industry can recover. With things as they are, most people are feeling the strain and need to keep a close eye on their finances. It’s safe to say that buying a car is the last thing on most people’s minds, and until the economy starts to improve the motoring industry can’t do much more than bide its time.

But direct sales are not necessarily the only option for car dealers. If the problem is that people don’t have enough money to buy cars upfront, the answer could be to offer more car contract hire deals where customers lease their car on a monthly basis until the cost has been paid off. The availability of these deals means that buyers have more choice when it comes to cars – they can choose a car that may normally be out of their price range, which means more money for the car manufacturers in the long run.

Contract hire is a great deal for the consumer too, not only does it mean you get a wider choice of more desirable cars but the payment is in manageable instalments and there are often loads of other benefits thrown in. The contract will often include extras like servicing costs and road tax in the monthly price, so there’s less to worry about. It really is a win win situation!

NASCAR Driving History

The first time NASCAR officially connected races with an overall championship was 1949 with the birth of the Strictly Stock Series which would later become the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.  A WW2 aviator translated his piloting skills to the front seat of a car as he took the honor of becoming the first Champion.Get your free auto insurance san diego Quote Today.

Like the ancient world as the time for gods, heroes and myths, many NASCAR heroes of mythic proportions emerged from the 1950’s, NASCAR’s ancient history.  Top stars of the time had their own share of accomplishments just as today’s drivers, such as Jeff Gordon, are making their own legacy in NASCAR. Receive competing chicago auto insurance Quotes Today.

NASCAR matured in the 1960’s as a whole new crop of champions emerged, taking the torch from the older drivers.  Richard Petty started in the 60’s, winning two of his seven championships in the decade on his way to the NASCAR history book, and David Pearson started his record breaking career on the way to becoming the second most winning driver in NASCAR Winston Cup Series history – at the time it was called NASCAR Grand National.

NASCAR enjoyed a historic ten years in the decade of the 70’s.  Cale Yarborough won not one, or two, but three straight Winston Cup Championships.  But even that achievement paled in comparison to Richard Petty’s five titles, including winning by an amazing 722 points in 1975.  He didn’t win three in a row, but he did win two years in a row twice in the 70’s.

The 80’s marked the birth of yet more NASCAR legends.  Dale Earnhardt and Darrel Waltrip dominated the decade with three championships each.  Thanks to their spectacular performances the sport gained many new fans and a reputation for mass appeal it had never before enjoyed.  Bobby Allison, who had been second for the championship many times, finally won his first title in 1983.

NASCAR saw itself vault into the major sport status in the 90’s.  NASCAR enjoyed stratospheric attendance and television ratings in this decade of closely contended races and series championships.

In the new millennium NASCAR entered a new era, and crowned a new NASCAR Winston Cup champion.  Bobby Lebonte did something no champion had ever before accomplished.  For the first time a NASCAR driver won championships in two premiere series – Winston Cup and Busch.  And he joined his brother, Terry, as the only siblings to win NASCAR championships. Compare san diego auto insurance Quotes for Free.

Hopefully now you have an idea of the legacy of NASCAR.