Inside the industry with Michael McAleer
• Among the winners of the Internet Golden Spider awards earlier this month was Nissan Ireland, which won the marketing excellence award for www.nissan.ie seeing off competition from such luminaries as www.myhome.ie, www.permanenttsb.ie and www.thewineroom.ie. The award goes to the site that consistently maintains the core brand values of the company online. Meanwhile, competition online has arrived from Universal Honda Ltd, the Irish distributor of Honda cars in Ireland, which has launched its new website, www.honda.ie. Honda's sales and marketing manager, Frank Kennedy, says the aim is to use the site as a convenient source of ready information for customers. The site offers full information on dealers, and customer support and will be central to Honda's marketing plans.
• Despite the beating of war drums by the oil-thirsty Americans, and resultant changes in the price of crude, adding a war premium of $2 a barrel, the latest survey by the AA claims that there has been no significant rise in the cost of fuel to the Irish consumer. According to the survey, unleaded petrol is now costing 89.3 cent, a rise of just 0.2 cent since August. Diesel costs an average of 78.5 cent. However, Motors has noticed some petrol stations, particularly in the Border counties popular with motorists from the North, charging over 91 cent and higher.
• Shell has marked 100 years in Ireland with the publication Down Many a Road, which traces the story of the oil giant in Ireland since 1902. Written by motoring historian and RIAC archivist Bob Montgomery, it is based on research and the personal reminiscences of former Shell staff. Among the interesting gems in the book are the fact that Shell fuelled the winner of the Gordon Bennett race in 1904, and also supplied the fuel that brought Alcock and Brown to Ireland.
• Fiat is set to shake up the diesel market with what is being billed as one of the most powerful common rail diesels to enter the market, considering it's only a 1.3 litre. Known as the 1.3 JTD 16v, it will be small enough to fit into small cars, yet offers up 70 bhp and an impressive 170 Nm of torque. We look forward to getting a chance to test it out, most probably in the Fiat Punto.
• Our Lady's Secondary School, Monaghan has won this year's Volvo Practical Environmental Projects for Schools (PEPS). The winning team is off to Sweden as part of their prize, where they will take part in the first international Volvo young environmental awards. The winning project looked at cutting down on waste production in the school and recycling waste in the local community.
• Grand Prix fans are advised to make their way to Donohue's car showroom in Kylemore Road Dublin 12, which is currently playing host to Michael Schumacher's 2001 championship winning car. But hurry, it is only there until Thursday.