There are still spaces for delegates to attend the Car Dealer’s Lead Generation Event – in association with Razsor, which takes place at the Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon on 18 May 2012.

Speaker places are now all full – there will be seven speakers – however, there are still a number of delegate places still available.

Delegate spaces are free of charge and mean that you can attend the event and listen to some clever hints and tips to make the most out of your leads. You will not only get the chance to hear from the exciting group of speakers, but you will also be in with the chance to win an iPad on the day as part of the free prize draw. There will also be a fantastic buffet lunch and an amazing collection of cars on display in the museum.

Ensuring you track, utilise and find every single sales lead in your dealership is vital when times are tough – and delegates will hear some brilliant ideas on how to do just that. This event is extremely helpful for car dealers and it starts at 9.30am with coffee and then the speakers will being.

If you are a car dealer and are eager to hear some fantastic advice on leads then head to cardealermagazine.co.uk.

Picture: Etch 

The release of the Vauxhall Ampera is set to boost the uptake of electric cars, according to Vauxhall, who say that their new model will end fears over “range anxiety” due to limited battery life.

The Ampera was launched in the US last year and did very well and it is expected to do well in the UK too.

Last year, the then transport secretary Phillip Hammond said: “2011 could be remembered as the year the electric car took off”, as he launched the grant scheme that covers nine different models. But, according to The Guardian, only around 1,000 were sold last year, and figures for first quarter sales in 2012 show that registrations of new electric cars have largely flatlined, and only half of the allocated budget for the grant scheme is likely to be taken up.

Of the 563,556 cars sold in Q1, only 278 were pure electric models, up from 218 on the year before.However, Vauxhall is aiming to sell 3,500 units of the car, which is worth £30,000, this year, or a total of 5,000 in a full year. A spokeswoman told The Guardian its target of 10,000 sales across Europe in 2012 was “in our reach quite easily”.

The main selling point of the new Ampera is that when its battery runs out after 50 miles of electric power, a petrol engine provides back-up power for a further 310 miles. But because the petrol still drives the electric motor, the company says the vehicle should be considered a “range extender”, not a hybrid car like the Toyota Prius.

This week the car is sent to 24 dealers across the UK and the company are looking forward to seeing how well it does in its first year on the market.

Could this be the beginning of a new wave of people buying electric cars?

Why not take a look at other fuel-efficient cars on Friday Ad Motors now?

Picture: The Charging Point 

Drivers in the UK are increasingly choosing fuel-efficient cars with historically low carbon dioxide emissions.

According to the motor industry body SMMT, the demand for low-emission cars has risen as a result of rising fuel prices.

There are plenty of types of hybrid and electric cars on the market now and thanks to new technology the supply of these cars is continually increasing.

The SMMT said 46.8% of cars sold in 2011 emitted less than 130 grams per kilometre, up from 10.6% in 2007.

According to our users’ search habits the most searched for eco friendly cars are:

1) Toyota Prius
2) Kia Ceed
3) Smart Fortwo

The change in consumer behaviour has been closely linked with the rise in fuel prices, as well as the rises to tax and insurance costs. This are higher for powerful cars, cars that drink a lot more fuel and cars that generally emit more CO2 than smaller models.

The increase in purchases of fuel-efficient cars is good news, however, to achieve further improvements, the SMMT is lobbying for the government to adjust taxes to encourage investment in new technologies and to offer consumers incentives to encourage them to buy more fuel-efficient, less polluting cars.

Why not take a look at the fuel-efficient cars on Friday Ad Motors now?

Picture: Toyota Motors Europe 

Euro 2012 is on the horizon and it now seems that England have sorted their manager situation out and are ready to take on the best teams in Europe in an attempt to win their first major footballing trophy since 1966 and only their second of all time. But no matter which country you are supporting, the UEFA Euro 2012 in Ukraine and Poland is set to be a fantastic tournament.

Heading out to the pubs for the games is great way to experience the excitement of the tournament, but another fantastic way to watch the games is in the comfort of your own home with a group of mates.

So how can you make sure you maximise the enjoyment of watching the games at home and how can you make your living room as close to the pub atmosphere as possible? Well here are a few tips.

Get the TV right
This is the first step. If you are going to be able to persuade your mates to head over and watch the games at yours then you are going to need to be able to offer them a decent view. Owning a nice big TV is vital and you don’t need to panic as you still have time to head out and buy one before the first game kicks off.

Seating
If you are looking to recreate the pub at home then bar stools would be a great addition and would add to the authenticity, however, they are not the most comfortable. If you are looking to attract a group over to watch the games then you will want nice comfy sofas and maybe even some bean bags for those who have to sit on the floor. Your main aim should be to make the viewing experience as comfortable as possible.

Drinks
Now, I do not want to be seen to be encouraging the mass consumption of alcohol, but if you want your viewing experience to be as close to watching the games at the pub as possible, then buying a few beers is a very good idea. There is no need to go mad and drink yourself into oblivion, but a few cans during the game won’t hurt you and your friends. Here is a good idea to keep things interesting, why not buy your drinks based on the nationality of the team England are facing? When England play France you could buy a crate of Kronenbourg 1664 or some lovely red wine and if we qualify and end up facing Holland then you could all drink Heineken.

Pub snacks
A crucial part of any visit to the pub to watch any sporting event is the much heralded pub snack. You should buy a wide variety of snacks including pork scratchings, peanuts and a range of crisps in order to please everyone’s specific tastes. When it comes to pub snacks, the more you buy the better.

Get behind the team
No matter where you are from, show some support for your country. Get some flags stuck up in your living room and put on that sacred replica shirt that you can only just squeeze into. If you get behind the team and get the atmosphere in your living room electric, as it will be in the pubs then your viewing experience will be as good as anyone’s. Well, as long as your team wins that is…

Picture: Elvert Barnes 

The Friday-Ad Motors website is all set to be revamped and soon it will look and feel very different. But what does that mean? Well this will hopefully make a great difference to users and also to the dealers selling on the site.

Users
The user experience will be vastly improved and the site will run smoother and be more enjoyable to browse. Users will be able to reach more relevant results more quickly than ever before, which will create a far more seamless browsing experience.

Dealers
Dealers will also see a huge benefit from these fantastic changes. The newer and smoother browsing process will encourage users to stay on the site for longer, which means that they will be spending more time browsing your stock. Users will also be able to reach your relevant stock far easier than ever before which will hopefully make it far easier for everyone involved.

These changes are intended to not only make the site far easier and far more enjoyable to browse, but also to help boost the site to becoming the marketing leader for user experience in the car-classified industry. Which means that we will hopefully be able to attract a larger audience of customers to the site.

Once the changes have been implemented and the new features are up and running we will then look into making further design improvements which will aim to improve the user experience further and will also look to improve the technology being utilised by Friday-Ad Motors.

So, keep an eye out for the new-look Friday-Ad Motors this May.

Friday-Ad Motors is proud to announce that in addition to the 120,000 or so weekly visits we get to our site, we are now gaining an additional 20,000 visits every week from mobile traffic.

This traffic is heading straight to the mobile optimised site, which gives people the ability to browse your cars on the move. It also gives our users greater choice and most importantly, it gives you, the dealer, a better response.

When you combine the main site’s audience and the mobile audience, the number of users visiting Friday-Ad Motors is now far greater than it was a year ago.

The combined total is now topping 140,000 visitors a week, which is over 20% greater than it was this time last year.

According to internet giant Google, there are around 23 million smartphones in the UK, which is around 50% of the mobile phones in the entire country. This means that more and more people are accessing the internet using their phones.

So by optimising our mobile site for smartphone users we are making their browsing experience easier and making it easier for them to purchase one of your vehicles.

Here at Friday-Ad Motors we will continue to explore options for further improving the site experience, and growing traffic to the site. Ultimately this should benefit you, the dealers, by providing you with increased leads.

Photo by The GameWay

Following last year’s fantastic success, Little Hearts Matter will be again holding their 5 or 10k On Your Marks for Little Hearts run in sunny Worthing. The run takes place on Sunday 13 May 2012 and is the 9th On Your Marks for Little Hearts event.

It truly is a great day out for the whole family and you can run, walk or even crawl the 5 or 10k race or the children’s fun run, which this year is on the flat course right by the sea.

The event will take place on Worthing Parade from Marine Crescent to the Beach Hotel and registration will open from 9am. Further details and times will be added closer to the event.

All On Your Marks for Little Hearts events offer you the chance to not only look after your own health whilst raising funds to help Little Hearts Matter continue its vital work, crucial to so many children and their families.

All participants to the run will be asked to pay a registration fee and are all being urged to raise around £100 in sponsorship from family, friends and colleagues. All of the money raised will go directly to support the children who are born with half a heart and their families who are coping with caring for their children. If you can’t raise the whole £100 then do not worry, this is just a suggested sponsorship target and any funds raised will be gratefully welcomed.

It isn’t just the adults that can have fun racing, there will also be stalls and fun races for the children. So take the whole family to Worthing and cheer on all the runners, whilst enjoying yourself wandering around the stalls and soaking up the sun.

Head on over to the Little Hearts Matter official website – www.lhm.org.uk – for details on how to register for the race. Due to rising costs the charity are unable to include a free t-shirt with entry this year, but they are encouraging any entrants who have entered before, to wear one from a previous year.

For more events in your area head on over to Friday Ad’s ‘What’s On’ section, or to advertise your events why not place an ad now?

Picture: Martin Robson 

The 1066 Relay Race is drawing ever closer and time is running out to enter your team. The race takes place on 6 May 2012 and there is a maximum limit of 60 teams so if you are looking to enter you and some friends into the race you had better hurry up.

If you are not familiar with the 1066 Relay Race, let me explain. The race is a five stage, off-road, team relay which has been organised by Hastings Runners and it follows the route of the 1066 Country Walk from Pevensey to Rye.

It begins at Pevensey Castle and the route takes all of you keen runners past such iconic landmarks as Herstmonceux Castle and Battle Abbey (pictured) before crossing through Battle Great Wood towards Westfield.The final two stages take in some glorious countryside, in particular the views from Icklesham and Winchelsea over the Brede valley, before a fast, flat finish along National Cycle Network route 2 into Rye.

The total distance of the race is 33.05 miles and the stages vary from between 3 and 11.8 miles long. Due to road safety regulations there is an entry limit of 60 teams and there will be some great awards on offer.

There will be men’s and women’s senior teams as well as veterans teams along with a mixed team category. Each team must have five runners (one for each stage of the race), and there will be awards for the winners, and the the first non athletic team, along with the coveted ‘long distance trophy’ for the team that has travelled the furthest to take part in the race. The Minnesota Loons (at 4100 miles!) look set to retain their trophy!

This fantastic event has encouraged people into 1066 Country, it has raised the profile of Hastings Runners and it has also, in the past, raised over £1600 for local charities. Last year’s race was the first and it was well received so they are hoping for an even better event this time round.

If you don’t fancy lacing up your running shoes then why not come along and offer your support to the runners? It will be a great day out and you can soak in some lovely countryside whilst doing your bit for local charities.

There are currently 43 teams entered into the race, which means there are only 17 spaces left. So if you are interested in signing up for the event before all the spots get taken head over to the 1066 Relay Race’s official site.

Picture: Andrew and Annemarie 

So you are thinking of buying a used raft? I don’t blame you, who wouldn’t want a raft? Well luckily I am here to help with some advice on buying a used raft.

There are a number of aspects that you will need to to consider before you make the purchase. By carrying out a series of small tests on a raft for sale you can save yourself a lot of time and hassle and even money. You should always make sure that the raft you are looking to buy is in good condition and safe, so for a guide on buying a used raft, read our following tips.

• The first step you should take when you are looking at a raft for sale is to inflate it to its maximum hardness. You should fill it up with air and then ensure that once it is full there are no wrinkles. It is also advised that you ensure that it stays firm when pressed on.

• Next up you should check that the D-rings and other extra parts are attached solidly to the raft. If there are any parts that may need re-gluing you should consider whether that is something you are willing to do. It is not a serious issue and is relatively easy to solve, but it should also bring down the sale price.

• You should always check for any pinholes in used rafts. A good way to check for these is to spray soapy water over the entire raft. Then, any pinholes will be highlighted by a foamy bump that will form over the top of them. It is worth marking these out with a pencil.

• You should also inspect all the seams on a used raft. Older rafts for sale may have seams that have been glued together. If you think that the seams are going to need gluing, it may be worth steering clear as this can take quite a lot of effort and particular knowledge to be done properly. With the soapy water check there are no leaks at the seams.

• The fabric is another thing that should be checked before you make a purchase. Quite often the fabric may be worn out, particularly on the bottom side. Areas that looked rubbed down could eventually lead to cuts and leaks. These cuts can be patched over simply but it depends on whether you want to make repairs or not.

As long as you follow the advice above, then shopping for used rafts should be made a lot easier and you should also end up with a raft that won’t let you down.

To look into buying used rafts head on over to BoatsandOutboards.co.uk.

St George’s Day (23 April) is just around the corner so I am here to help enlighten those of you who aren’t familiar with his work. Basically, St George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina, who became the patron saint of England.