Archive for the ‘van lease’ tag
Do we still hate White van man?
A new report claims that van drivers, once described as the ‘menace of the road’, are more likely to be polite and respectful.
‘White Van Man’ became a term for rude and reckless drivers of white transit vans after it was apparently coined by a radio presenter in 1997.
But a report prepared by the Socal Issues Research Centre from Oxford, makes an attempt at exploding the myth.
According to the authors of the report, like so many negative stereotypes, research shows that the way we perceive white van man it is a “gross caricature of reality”.
The radio presenter seemed to be presenting a popular perception that men in which vans are much more aggressive and rude than other drivers.
But lots of motorist said the so-called white van man still annoys them on the road.
‘Chauvanist pigs’
One driver told the BBC: “They come right up behind you from behind and flash at you if you don’t move out of the way.”
Another said: “They tend to be on the whole chauvanist pigs that don’t look out for cars and pull out in front of you without warning”.
Research was conducted amongst 200 van drivers in service stations, petrol stations and lay-bys around the entire country.
Warmth and humanity
The humble white van driver even wins approval it seems from those behind the wheel of emergency services’ vehicles. They supposedly feel that white van man is the most aware on the road, is are the first to make way when the emergency service sounds its siren.
The study also mentions – apparently as an indication of the drivers’ real warmth and humanity – that they are more likely than not to own and care for a pet.
More realistically, it adds, that because of the condition of the roads and the workloads “It is not much of a surprise that these van owners always seem to be in such a rush”.
If you wish to experience being a white van man, you can find some great van leasing deals, and learn more about the complexe issues of van finance.
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How the Renault Car was Born
Louis Renault was born in 1877. The youngest of five he had a very priviledged childhood and developed an interest in mechanics very early on in life. It was in a garden shed that the young Louis began his first workshop.
By the age of 20 he converted his tricycle into a four wheeled car and added his new invention, the very first gear box.
His 2 brothers Fernand and Marcel set up the Renault Brothers company in 1899.
It was through motor racing that the brothers became famous with Louis and Marcel doing the racing. They won several races one of the most important of which was the Paris to Vienna race won by Marcel in 1902.
Their sales in cars accelerated rapidly and they were sold at 3,000 francs each which is equal to 10 years average salary at that time. By 1902 they introduced the very first saloon car and later that year the first Renault engine with four cylinders and 24 horse power. Not long after this the very first turbo engine was patented.
In 1903 Marcel was tragically killed during a race from Paris to Madrid. He was only 31 years old. This spelt the end for Louis and it made him give up racing for good.
By 1919 the motor car in France was regarded as a great luxury and was massively taxed. Louis reorganised his business and started to manufacture everything that had an engine from cars, vans, light commercial vehicles, buses, trucks etc. He aquired his own foundries and ironworks which enabled him to reduce his dependence on other companies although he did buy components when they were cheaper than he could manufacture himself.
In 1998 Renault celebrated its centenary by the opening of two major sites.
The Renault Technocentre near Paris was to be the driving force accommodating Renaults 6500 engineering and design personnel.
The Scenic assembly plant based in Brazil is a huge complex including a powertrain plant and also a light vehicle assembly plant.
I wonder if Louis Renault could ever have imagined right at the start when he converted his tricycle that his company would grow into such a large industry. Nowadays it is often more viable to lease vans and indeed in years to come Renault van leasing companies would be spread worldwide.
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Are there too many vans on our roads?
The 2nd – 8th February is, apparently, National Van Week. Quite what this entails I’m not sure – as far as I can tell it’s a wonderful excuse for van manufacturers to unveil their new models and get themselves lots of new customers. For some people, their van is an essential part of their day to day life. Many businesses rely on using them to transport their staff and goods around the place, and there is no question of their usefulness.
In these difficult times many people with small businesses rely on their van for transport or even as their portable office. Buying is an option, but far more predictable, reliable and certainly less costly is looking at available van lease deals. You’ll get a modern van without any of the worries of paying upfront, and the chance to upgrade to the latest model every three years.
Even if it’s a top of the range, eco friendly van, they can still cause problems on the roads. Many would say it’s not unusual to find one blocking the road and that they cause problems when left parked on small streets or in residential areas. Those people forget that so many of the services they rely on depends on a man in a van.For people who need to use a van in their everyday business life it’s hard to imagine how they’d cope without it.
But for businesses that rely on vans every day maintenance and servicing costs can be a problem.It’s hardly surprising that most businesses that use vans don’t store them on site but ask drivers to take them home to save on costs. A far more viable option for these businesses would be to look at van lease contracts – if manageable monthly payments and always having the latest model wasn’t enough, many deals come with tax and servicing cost thrown in as well.
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