Andrew Lester has been appointed country manager of Alfa Romeo in the UK. He replaces Glyn Owen, who is leaving the company
Two pairs of tickets to the British Grand Prix on July 11 2004 at Silverstone are being auctioned online by fleet software specialist cfc solutions – with the proceeds going to motor industry charity BEN
The new Toyota Corolla Verso has achieved five stars for passenger crash protection in Euro NCAP testing
Franchise dealers need to acquire new skills to take advantage of rapid growth in Motability new car sales, according to Network Automotive Management
AA Business Services has been selected to provide breakdown assistance to Smart cars in the UK. All Smart cars up to two years old now come with two years AA breakdown cover under the new 'Smartmove assistance'
Showroom staff can now have their mental abilities assessed by a new psychometric test offered online
With a fourth record year for new car sales in succession likely, franchise dealers are being warned not to neglect their prospecting skills
Click on the links below to view pages from the April 2004 issue of Autortrade.
The Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI) has announced its new president. Colin Parlett, chief executive of independent repairer, CB Motors, succeeds Fred Maguire, chairman of Lookers, who stands down after two years in the post
The new BMW 1 Series will go on sale in September priced from £15,690 to £20,800
Growth in the number of vendors investing in vehicle valeting before putting them under the hammer has seen Manheim Auctions appoint PJM Valeting as its primary valeting supplier at 12 of its 18 sites
Broadspeed.com, a new and used car website, announced today it will not re-enter the imported new car market
The Blue Bell Mini dealership in Winslow has set up a website dedicated to sourcing, appraising and valuing used Minis
A new exterior and interior style for the latest MG ZR and Rover 25 has been announced today after the Rover enters its centenary year and MG starts its 80th year of production
Motaquip's 2004 filters catalogue will have more than 130 additions across its air, cabin, fuel and oil product groups
Parts supplier FAI has issued all official Goodyear fitting centres with stickers to be fitted under the engine bonnet to indicate the last time a cambelt was changed
Few global launches are scheduled for this year's version of the British international motor show, but Rolls-Royce, Suzuki, Fiat and Volkswagen – among others – will be rolling out a selection of crowd-pleasers
Dealers will now be able to add their used-car stock to The Times and The Sunday Times newspapers website, Times Online
Inchcape Retail has opened a new Toyota centre in Basingstoke, Hants, making it one of the carmaker's biggest dealers in the UK. The site, its tenth for Toyota, covers 1.6 acres and is located in the M3/M4 area
Richmond Motors Group's accident repair division, has won the ABS Regional Bodyshop of the Year award at the recent ABS repairer conference. The ceremony was attended by over two hundred representatives of the UK's leading accident repair centres
Bodyshops have welcomed Government support for a controversial deal that will fix hire rates for vehicle rentals in non-fault situations
Nationwide Autocentres has invested about £500,000 into a multi-franchise diagnostics system, which it is now trialling at five sites
A new parts programme for vans is being launched this month by one of the UK's biggest motor factors, the Factoring Services Group
Peugeot's 407 will pioneer a new internet-based fault-finding diagnostic system designed to cut service bay response times and more rapidly identify technical problems which are affecting vehicles in markets throughout the world
Helmut Panke, chairman of the BMW board of management, says the carmaker will achieve record sales and earnings this year
Springfield Honda has invested £20,000 in a streamlined parts system to provide its customers with a quicker, more efficient service
Major carmakers have agreed to lift servicing restrictions, the UK's trading watchdog has announced
A new series of free quarterly reports highlighting key price trends in the UK's car market have been launched by Glass's Information Services
LSUK has awarded its rotating electrics contract to Hella following completion of a review of its business
Mazda Motor Corporation has reported significant increases in profit levels for its financial year 2003. The Hiroshima-based company announced that 2003 operating profits represented the company's strongest performance in a decade
