Things you always wanted to know the answer to [Vol. 3]
Discussion
MarshPhantom said:
Why has it become almost impossible to tell what engine, how powerful or fast most cars are these days? It used to be the case of seeing the badge on the back would tell you everything you need to know.
I think it's because most cars look fast these days.A non-motoring-enthusiast's view of a fast car is an overweight small diesel with an aggressive manufacturer's body-kit and a fast sounding name like "AMG Line". They look fast/flashy but would you really want to advertise that this is a 1.6 diesel with 134bhp and 0-60 in 10 seconds:
20 years ago, a car that looked that aggressive would have gone like a rocket. A more modest looking car like a Mondeo could have ranged anywhere from a sluggish 88bhp diesel to a nice 170bhp V6 while looking nearly identical on the outside. So the badges would have encouraged you to go for a more desirable engine. Now people pay for an AMG badge rather than a V6 badge.
I'm not saying it's dangerously slow. But perhaps some features are not essential on the 134bhp version - for example the front splitter (fake), rear diffuser, giant chrome dual exhausts (fake), 19" alloys...
You wouldn't want to put a "1.6d" badge on that and ruin the illusion.
A few years ago, a relative who worked for a car insurance company told me they had a drive in a client's C-Class AMG. I asked if it was a proper AMG or just a bodykit... "Proper AMG, it was a beast!"... I asked for full details but was disappointed when he started with "It was seriously fast for a diesel, you could really feel the power on the motorway"
He's not a petrolhead so can be forgiven, but has done a lot of his own maintenance and has owned a lot of cars. If he was so easily fooled by a bodykit and an extra word in the model name, then other people will be too.
Actually come to think of it... I took our TT Mk3 (diesel S-Line) through a McDonald's drive through and the very impressed-looking teenager at the window asked me if it was "one of those new RS's"
You wouldn't want to put a "1.6d" badge on that and ruin the illusion.
A few years ago, a relative who worked for a car insurance company told me they had a drive in a client's C-Class AMG. I asked if it was a proper AMG or just a bodykit... "Proper AMG, it was a beast!"... I asked for full details but was disappointed when he started with "It was seriously fast for a diesel, you could really feel the power on the motorway"
He's not a petrolhead so can be forgiven, but has done a lot of his own maintenance and has owned a lot of cars. If he was so easily fooled by a bodykit and an extra word in the model name, then other people will be too.
Actually come to think of it... I took our TT Mk3 (diesel S-Line) through a McDonald's drive through and the very impressed-looking teenager at the window asked me if it was "one of those new RS's"
R E S T E C P said:
melhookv12 said:
Driving past Aston Martin on the A40. Lots of very nice cars on display, got me thinking.
As a guestimate, how much stock of ( monetary value ) is held in England of new and used cars. It must be massive, all the way down to small traders with 3k cars on their forecourts.
With the bigger dealers who owns the cars. I know many dealers have access to stock of other dealers. So I guess the Motor group own the cars Jardine etc. Must be into the 100 million ? 1 billion ?
I was curious, so did the (very rough) maths, based on some population figures I got online so not sure how accurate (also population density might not equate to car sale density, but it's the best I could do).As a guestimate, how much stock of ( monetary value ) is held in England of new and used cars. It must be massive, all the way down to small traders with 3k cars on their forecourts.
With the bigger dealers who owns the cars. I know many dealers have access to stock of other dealers. So I guess the Motor group own the cars Jardine etc. Must be into the 100 million ? 1 billion ?
Average population density of Britain is 650 per square mile.
Redditch has approximately the same population density.
There are 336 trade cars for sale on AutoTrader within 1 mile of the centre of Redditch.
Getting an approximate amount for each of the 34 pages (10 cars per page, sorted by price, taking the 5th car's price and multiplying by 10), then adding all the pages together..... The value of cars within a 1 mile radius of Redditch is £8,581,300.
A circle with 1 mile radius has an area of 3.14 miles. Britain has 80,823 square miles.
80,823 / 3.14 = 25,740.
25,740 * £8,581,300 = £220,882,662,000.
Answer: 220 billion.
Look at Google Maps:
Britain in general is green = almost no people.
Redditch is grey = lots of people
SpeckledJim said:
The population density within a mile of the middle of Redditch will be MILES higher than the average for the country as a whole.
Look at Google Maps:
Britain in general is green = almost no people.
Redditch is grey = lots of people
yeah, Redditch is at 4,000 per square mile so just a bit over average!Look at Google Maps:
Britain in general is green = almost no people.
Redditch is grey = lots of people
SpeckledJim said:
The population density within a mile of the middle of Redditch will be MILES higher than the average for the country as a whole.
Look at Google Maps:
Britain in general is green = almost no people.
Redditch is grey = lots of people
Population density of the UK is approx 650 per square mile on average. Obviously there are areas with less (like 23 per square mile in the Highlands) but don't forget there are some seriously crowded areas too... Over 15,000 per square mile in Islington (the same as Monaco, or nearly 3 times as much as Hong Kong!)Look at Google Maps:
Britain in general is green = almost no people.
Redditch is grey = lots of people
Redditch was the closest I found to 650 per square mile.
All numbers based on Google findings so may or may not be accurate
R E S T E C P said:
SpeckledJim said:
The population density within a mile of the middle of Redditch will be MILES higher than the average for the country as a whole.
Look at Google Maps:
Britain in general is green = almost no people.
Redditch is grey = lots of people
Population density of the UK is approx 650 per square mile on average. Obviously there are areas with less (like 23 per square mile in the Highlands) but don't forget there are some seriously crowded areas too... Over 15,000 per square mile in Islington (the same as Monaco, or nearly 3 times as much as Hong Kong!)Look at Google Maps:
Britain in general is green = almost no people.
Redditch is grey = lots of people
Redditch was the closest I found to 650 per square mile.
All numbers based on Google findings so may or may not be accurate
Your numbers imply that the average price of a used car in Redditch is £25.5k which is obviously absurdly high. (£8,581,300/336)
If you take the answer (£220bn) and then divide by that absurdly high number you STILL end up with 8.6m cars. That 8.6m is your esimate for the total number of cars for sale in the UK on Autotrader.
A number that is freely available on their homepage. Literally the very first page of their website!
Right now it is 480k.
So your estimate was off by a factor of 18x in order to guess at a number that is right there already and requires no work at all!
R E S T E C P said:
SpeckledJim said:
The population density within a mile of the middle of Redditch will be MILES higher than the average for the country as a whole.
Look at Google Maps:
Britain in general is green = almost no people.
Redditch is grey = lots of people
Population density of the UK is approx 650 per square mile on average. Obviously there are areas with less (like 23 per square mile in the Highlands) but don't forget there are some seriously crowded areas too... Over 15,000 per square mile in Islington (the same as Monaco, or nearly 3 times as much as Hong Kong!)Look at Google Maps:
Britain in general is green = almost no people.
Redditch is grey = lots of people
Redditch was the closest I found to 650 per square mile.
All numbers based on Google findings so may or may not be accurate
I have a simpler method for working this out. It's called Googling:
> BCA Used Car Market Report reveals an evolving landscape of the UK car market, as used car sales figures exceed £45 billion.
and
> The overall value of the UK new and used car markets jumped to £88.5 billion in 2014 – up from £79.4 billion in 2013, with used vehicles accounting for 51% of the total market value.
Older numbers but a 5% growth YoY is probably to be expected
> BCA Used Car Market Report reveals an evolving landscape of the UK car market, as used car sales figures exceed £45 billion.
and
> The overall value of the UK new and used car markets jumped to £88.5 billion in 2014 – up from £79.4 billion in 2013, with used vehicles accounting for 51% of the total market value.
Older numbers but a 5% growth YoY is probably to be expected
R E S T E C P said:
MarshPhantom said:
Why has it become almost impossible to tell what engine, how powerful or fast most cars are these days? It used to be the case of seeing the badge on the back would tell you everything you need to know.
I think it's because most cars look fast these days.A non-motoring-enthusiast's view of a fast car is an overweight small diesel with an aggressive manufacturer's body-kit and a fast sounding name like "AMG Line". They look fast/flashy but would you really want to advertise that this is a 1.6 diesel with 134bhp and 0-60 in 10 seconds:
20 years ago, a car that looked that aggressive would have gone like a rocket. A more modest looking car like a Mondeo could have ranged anywhere from a sluggish 88bhp diesel to a nice 170bhp V6 while looking nearly identical on the outside. So the badges would have encouraged you to go for a more desirable engine. Now people pay for an AMG badge rather than a V6 badge.
gowmonster said:
but you have a smartphone and the reg yes? https://www.gov.uk/get-vehicle-information-from-dv...
there is a golf that is parked up the street, twin exhaust like an R but the brake discs arn't that big, no badges, that website plus the reg and manufacturer tells me it's a 1.2
So now if you saw a Golf with 2.0 on the back how many horses?there is a golf that is parked up the street, twin exhaust like an R but the brake discs arn't that big, no badges, that website plus the reg and manufacturer tells me it's a 1.2
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