Summer is on its way – take the convertible!

With the summer sunshine well and truly on its way the demand for convertible hire cars has experienced unprecedented growth across the UK in recent weeks.

The unseasonably good weather has sparked incredible interest in the use of soft-top vehicles across Britain’s roads, with car rental provider Sixt reporting requests had increased in the last week alone by a whopping 370 per cent!

With the Easter break now upon families and children off school for the next fortnight the provider believes there could be even greater demand in the coming days.

Paul McLoughlin, managing director of Sixt UK, said: "What better way to enjoy the sunshine than cruising with the top down. With the recent spate of glorious weather, we’ve seen requests for convertibles increase nearly four-fold for the Easter period."

The most popular convertible model was said to be the Mercedes E-Class, as well as the Volkswagen Eos and Mercedes SLK.

Leading financial advice experts have advised convertible car owners and rentals to be aware of the increased risk involved with driving and leaving a convertible vehicle unattended in the summer. Car insurance bills may increase as a result; therefore drivers may prefer to look at the coupe-cabriolet models that are fitted with a folding hard top. These also retain their seasonal value in comparison to soft tops.

Many second hand car owners who put their vehicle through its MOT or service this and find it would simply cost too much to repair this summer can say to their friends "I’m going to scrap my car for cash!" thanks to us at ASM Auto Recycling.

Our careful car recycling methods are carried out in line with the European ELV Directive, providing our customers with some useful funds to put towards another vehicle – perhaps even a convertible run-around for the summer!

What’s your favourite soft top convertible? Do you own one yourself? Tell us your convertible stories today!

UK’s first refuelling station for hydrogen vehicles open in Swindon

The nation’s first public refuelling station for hydrogen vehicles opened its doors in Swindon in an effort to encourage a "hydrogen highway" along the M4 motorway.

The primary goal is to lead a nationwide scheme to represent hydrogen-powered vehicles as a genuine alternative to petrol-driven cars.

Hydrogen-powered cars are run off a fuel cell that takes oxygen from the air and combines it with hydrogen from the tank to create electricity.

Hydrogen and fuel cell experts believe hydrogen vehicles are much cleaner than the conventional petrol or diesel-powered cars, helping to clean up the nation’s towns and cities with no carbon emissions whatsoever.

Professor Kevin Kendall, from Birmingham University, is confident hydrogen-powered cars are the future of motoring.

He said: "Your electric battery car does 60 miles [100km], this does 300 miles. It fills in five minutes rather than five hours.

"This is the one for the future, there’s no doubt in my mind."

Major car manufacturers have discussed the future of so-called zero-emissions motoring. Dieter Zetsche, chief executive of Daimler, the owner of Mercedes and Smart cars, believes for long distance driving in particular, hydrogen fuel cells are "very promising".

The focus on greener motor transport has never been greater in the UK. With over 2 million end-of-life vehicles processed in line with the European ELV Directive, at ASM Auto Recycling we are also working hard to ensure we fulfil our end of the bargain.

Our modern car recycling yard ensures the safe and efficient recycling and cleaning of abandoned and end-of-life vehicles.

Mazda recycling end-of-life bumpers

Japanese motor manufacturers Mazda has become the world’s first car manufacturer to successfully recycle end-of-life bumpers from vehicles into raw materials used for brand new bumpers.

The initial idea behind the technology is to provide recycled rear bumpers for the new Mazda Biante mini-van. The end-of-life bumpers are processed into automobile shredder residue (ASR) and incinerated to recover heat energy – a method known as thermal recycling.

By using recycled end-of-life bumpers as material for new vehicle bumpers, the new technology aims to improve the material recycling ratio of Mazda vehicles ensuring a more effective use of its resources.

Processing end-of-life bumpers into new material has been notoriously difficult technically in the past, not to mention economically challenging.

In a bid to overcome this, in the 1990s Mazda started designing bumpers that could be easily recycled and it appears the number of end-of-life bumpers that can now be efficiently recycled is on the rise.

The recycling of used car parts is now big business and at ASM Auto Recycling we proudly supply almost any used car part for any vehicle on the market. At the time of writing we stock over 250,000 guaranteed, recycled car parts that are sure to give motorists peace of mind when fitting parts to their vehicle.

An increasing number of motorists see used car parts as a cost-effective solution to restoring their vehicle back to roadworthy condition. If you have a low-value vehicle it makes economic sense to avoid paying full price for a brand new part from a dealer.

Our modern vehicle dismantling facility makes the process of recycling used car parts so much easier, with state-of-the-art de-pollution rigs installed to process vehicles in accordance with the European ELV Directive.