BlogSpot.PK|The General Purpose Blog

Over the last couple of weeks the UK has been hit with some of the most extreme weather we’ve had in a long time. The first week of February brought the heaviest snowfall we’ve seen for 18 years, causing schools to close and leaving over 6 million people stranded unable to get to work. Most public transport was disrupted or cancelled completely, and many roads were deemed unsafe and closed off due to the icy conditions.

The continuing bad weather is a real worry for drivers, with an increased risk of accidents on the icy roads as well as other problems caused by the extreme conditions. There have been a number of incidents of sudden heavy snowfall trapping drivers in their cars, while in other parts of the country the melting snow has been replaced with heavy rains and severe flood warnings have been issued on the roads.

All this is bad news for car owners, not just because of the heightened personal risk of driving on the roads, but also because a damaged car is a costly business. With the recession, most people just couldn’t afford to splash out on a new car if something were to happen to theirs. And this is the real problem with owning a car. It’s brilliant until something goes wrong, then it can just become really expensive. You might think it won’t happen to you, that you’re a good driver who won’t get into that sort of situation. But as the last few weeks have proved you can’t always help what happens on the roads, and you certainly can’t predict it.

The problem is that once you have paid for a car it becomes entirely your responsibility. Then the car is more likely to go wrong the older it gets, especially in extreme weather conditions like those we have been experiencing, and the more money you’ll have to shell out when it does. And even when you do get it fixed, it still won’t be worth half what you paid for it in the first place as a car only ever decreases its value over time.

The people who manage to avoid these worries are those who opt for a car contract hire deal instead of buying a car outright. It doesn’t mean the car isn’t yours, it just means that you pay for it in regular monthly instalments and often you get extra benefits thrown in like road tax and servicing costs. So if something was to happen, you wouldn’t have to foot the whole bill yourself. And the best thing is that when the contract hire expires after a couple of years you can trade the car in for a new one, meaning you’ve always got the latest updated model. And as you’ll always be driving a new car, it won’t have had time to wear out, and is less likely to break down in the first place!

Ford Escape hybrid

When Earth Day arrives each year, everyone across the continent contributes their time to try and save the planet.  Although it’s only one day in the year, that one day can and does go some way towards changing attitudes and opinions to the environment and to the way in which we can minimize our impact and our carbon footprint.In order to help reduce the amount of energy consumed, several companies give away environmentally friendly products that conserves energy. 

While these celebrations are occurring all around the world, people are looking for more ways to make a permanent impact for the good to save the planet.  Each year, millions of cars are manufactured.  These additional cars add more smog to the air, as they continue to use outdated petrol engines and burn fossil fuels.  With all of the additional cars that are produced each year, there is also a surge in the number of hybrid minivans, which is leading to a revolution in the car market as more and more buyers turn to more environmentally appropriate methods of getting from A to B.

Each year this surge in Toyota Camry hybrid provides more drivers with the opportunity to do their part at cleaning up the environment.  While the ability to help reduce the amount of smog in the atmosphere is always a great incentive, the cost of the vehicles is also quite prohibitive for the average car purchaser. 

The government is already well known for dabbling into the mortgage industry by offering home mortgages that are insured by the government at special reduced rates to help families qualify to own their own homes.  If the government branched this idea of thinking to the automotive industry imaging the results that could be realized in a few short years, with increased production capacities of these greener vehicles ultimately leading to less pollution and less damage to our environment.

Meeting certain guidelines, government mortgages work in a way when the home bought is within a certain price range.  If a similar program was developed that offered special discounts in financing charges for those consumers looking to purchase a hybrid vehicle, it would inevitably make the purchase more affordable and more desirable for families on tight budgets and looking to improve the environment at the same time. 

Our government would be able to insure vehicle loans, and become more affordable for many drivers.  With programs looking to assist those in purchasing more environmentally friendly vehicles, it would make the dream of car ownership more affordable for many. 

By helping consumers purchase more energy efficient vehicles, there is a reduction in the amount of gasoline and oil consumed, as well as a decrease in the number of vehicles that are adding to the pollution problem.  To assist the program in starting it would be possible for the government to decide upon one specific day when the government subsidized loans for hybrid vehicles. 

Assuming the program is successful, which there is no reason to suggest wouldn’t be the case, then the government could expand the program to help more consumers purchase environmentally friendly vehicles, as well as help preserve the planet one car at a time.  Many people do not realize how long it takes to make up the difference in the expenses between a hybrid car, and the price of gas.  If often takes driving a hybrid car for 5 years or more in order to be able to break-even on the expense of the hybrid car, but by using subsidies we can help what is already a dire situation and start to actually improve the environment in which we live. It can be possible to see savings sooner by using government sponsored programs to reduce interest rates.