HARD SHOULDER:Almost 2,500 drivers have been fined £130 for using the Olympic Games Lanes. The 48km of lanes, used to transport athletes, officials and the media, were brought in on July 25th and for the first six days only warnings were issued while drivers became used to the system, Transport for London (TfL) said.
But 2,400 fines, totalling £312,000, have been issued since the start of the month, TfL figures show. Transport officials insisted the introduction of the lanes had “gone well”, with a 98 per cent compliance rate and 150 signs letting drivers know when they could and could not use the lanes.
Garrett Emmerson, TfL’s chief operating officer for surface transport, said: “Games Lanes are of vital importance to get athletes, officials and the world’s media to their events on time. We are using the lanes flexibly and keeping them open to general traffic wherever and whenever we can.”
He added: “We have no interest in unnecessarily penalising drivers and, with a very high compliance rate of around 98 per cent to date, the overwhelming majority are following the requirement to stay out of Games Lanes when they are in use. We are now issuing PCNs (penalty charge notices) to drivers who contravene the ORN (Olympic Route Network), but will continue to be proportionate and sensible; were seeking compliance from drivers, not income from fines.”
New Audi dealer to open in Galway
Audi is opening a new €1 million dealership in Galway next month, which the firm says will be one of the largest in the country.
It will be operated by brothers Neil and Kevin Connolly, who already have existing Audi dealerships in Ballina and Sligo.
The Galway outlet will create 25 new jobs over the next three months, according to Audi Ireland, and forms part of an overall plan for its dealer network that will see the German premium brand invest €80 million in their network over the coming years.
Hyundai's i20 supermini launches in Ireland
Hyundai has launched the face-lifted i20 supermini in Ireland, with prices starting at €15,495.
The main changes involve an update of the exterior design, featuring the car firm’s new grille that features on all its latest models.
Powered by a 1.1-litre diesel or a 1.2-litre petrol engine, the smaller diesel now means emissions of just 84g/km and an official fuel economy figure of 88mpg.
The petrol also has improved emissions of 114g/km and fuel economy of 57.7 mpg, with power output increased to 85bhp.
The number of standard features has also been improved with USB connections, rain sensing wipers, rear parking assist sensors, Bluetooth and 15” alloys all included in the basic package.
Italy's luxury car market feels the economic pinch
The Ferrari 458 Italia has never been a particularly common sight, even on the autostrada of its native Italy. Today it’s becoming even rarer as austerity measures spur Ferrari owners to export supercars by the truckload.
A crackdown on luxury goods combined with budget cuts that have pushed Italy deeper into its fourth recession since 2001 are souring demand for sporty cars and other symbols of the country’s lifestyle. The number of used high-performance cars exported from Italy nearly tripled to 13,633 vehicles in the first five months of 2012, from 4,923 a year earlier, according to auto industry group Unrae.
“Italy is one of the strongholds of supercars, and those vehicles are now disappearing from the streets,” said Giuliano Noci, associate dean of Milan Polytechnic’s business school. “This has a huge symbolic value and shows how deep the crisis is.”
The exodus reflects weaker overall demand for supercars in the home of Ferrari and Maserati, Fiat SpA’s most profitable brands. Sales of super-luxury cars in Italy are forecast to plunge 47 per cent to 593 vehicles this year from 1,116 in 2008, according to IHS Automotive, which predicts that sales won’t return to pre-crisis levels before 2016.