Reports of the death of the car dealer have been greatly exaggerated, according to a new study conducted by CitNOW

Its study revealed that are car buyers are more inclined to visit dealers than ever, with more than 55 percent of motorists entering a showroom as part of the buying journey.

This is despite the growth of online buying portals, with one in 10 (11 percent) of buyers taking the plunge without seeing the car. Modern consumers are more comfortable with buying valuable products online, happy to put their trust in respected brands.

The CitNOW study suggests that the car dealer has a future, with one in 10 buyers expecting to buy a car when they visit a retailer.

But while the over 55s are most likely to visit a dealer (69 percent), motorists aged 35-44 are the least likely, and many will need encouragement to visit a showroom.

Online videos, a large selection of photos and social media engagement could provide the motivation required to increase footfall.

The challenge for retailers

Carol Fairchild, commercial director of CitNOW, said: “Motorists clearly still covet that face-to-face customer experience and want the buying journey to be a personal one with the dealership.

“The challenge for retailers is standing out; making sure that they are using technology like video, which offers a personal, face-to-face experience remotely, to build customer engagement before they even set foot in the dealership.

“In doing so, dealerships can make sure customers are visiting their forecourt, rather than the one next door.”

Manufacturers must balance the demands of the modern customer with the needs of its dealer network, with brands keen to show that traditional avenues can co-exist with the digital highway.

Last year, Ford launched a new online sales service called Ford Buy Online, saying that the internet purchase tool is in response to growing customer demand to buy cars online.

“We have the most extensive dealership network, which will remain to serve the many customers wanting to visit a dealer and for specialist retail, van and service assistance,” said Ford of Britain chairman and MD Andy Barratt.

An electric vehicle charging network is today allowing free EV charging across its entire UK network of public charge points for Clean Air Day 2019.

Pod Point operates 2,000 public chargers in the UK, and each will be eligible for the free charging offer.

Founder and CEO Erik Fairbairn said he hoped it will “build understanding of the causes of air pollution and how EVs can be a part of the solution”.

The free EV charging offer started at midnight on 20 June and runs for a full 24 hours. Those using the company’s app will charge and pay as usual; they will be reimbursed a few days later.

“Initiatives like Clean Air Day are really important in raising awareness that dirty air affects every single one of us.”

Related: A beginner’s guide to electric car charge points

The firm points to a Friends of the Earth survey from back in February, stating that over 1,700 UK locations suffer air pollution in excess of safety limits.

Across Europe, road transport contributes 30 percent of NOx emissions, which is estimated to annually cost £6 billion.

Not only do electric vehicles emit zero exhaust emissions, said Fairbairn, but they also produce lower greenhouse gases over their whole lifecycle.

Own an EV and want to take advantage of Pod Point’s free charging offer? Use the company’s website to create an account and find a charger near you.

Do not check your calendar, this is not a late April Fools’ Day joke. Honda really has brought a classic Chevrolet pickup truck back to former glory.

Whilst the two companies may be strong competitors, and even fierce rivals on the IndyCar circuit, Honda is intrinsically linked to Chevy in the USA.

To understand the relationship, we need to head back to 1959, when Honda’s very first North American outpost was opened in Los Angeles.

Although originally founded by Soichiro Honda in 1946, it took 13 years for the company to make a move overseas to the American market.

American Honda was established on June 11 1959, with just three employees and an initial investment of $250,000 in capital.

Honda became the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer in 1959, but sales in Southern California started relatively slowly. Fewer than 2,000 bikes were sold in the first full year of operation, but the company had big plans for expansion.

Some of the initial capital investment by American Honda went on a fleet of three Chevrolet half-ton pickup trucks. Used to ferry bikes to dealerships to sell on consignment, these trucks wore a distinctive red and white livery.

It meant when deciding on how best to celebrate 60 years of Honda in America, recreating the original Chevrolet delivery vehicle would be a key element.

We imagine that recreating the classic livery on a modern Honda Ridgeline truck would not have had quite the same effect.

With a vintage photo from 1961 to work with, Honda employees tracked down the correct Chevrolet C/K 1500 Apache in need of restoration.

Once found, the chosen truck underwent a brief mechanical overhaul, followed by painting in the classic red and white paint scheme. Just like the original, the graphics on the doors and truck bed were all painted by hand.

In the back of the Chevy’s load bed sit a red 1965 Honda ‘Super Cub’ 50 on the left, whilst the right is occupied by a 1965 CB160.

The ultimate destiny for the restored delivery truck will be pride of place in the American Honda Collection Hall.

Located at the company’s current headquarters in Torrance, California, the Chevy will be displayed in front of a recreation of the first American Honda office.

Honda will also be taking the truck to this year’s SEMA show in Las Vegas, along with outings to other classic car events throughout Southern California.

The second Aston Martin co-developed with F1 tech legend Adrian Newey and Red Bull Advanced technologies is to be called Valhalla. 

It’s the official name for the AM-RB 003 concept (pictured below), first shown at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show.

Valhalla will be the slightly more attainable mid-engined sibling to the Aston Martin Valkyrie. Indeed, the firm is already describing it as ‘son of Valkyrie’. 

Made entirely from carbon fibre, just 500 coupe models will be built.

In choosing Valhalla, Aston Martin continues its tradition of using ‘V’ names for its high-performance road cars. This dates back to 1951, when the hot version of the DB2 was designated Vantage. 

“Aston Martin model names always attract a lot of attention,” said the firm’s president and CEO Andy Palmer.

“They do so because they invariably capture an emotion or tell a story.”

What does Valhalla mean?

Aston Martin has taken the name Valhalla from Norse mythology. It literally translates, we’re told, to ‘the hall of the fallen’. 

Which is? ‘An enormous and majestic hall in Asgard, one of the Nine Realms’. The souls of those who are slain in battle go there: it is ‘a warrior’s paradise’. 

The people who go to Valhalla are chosen by the Valkyries: they are ‘a group of warrior maidens who gather the fallen at the behest of Odin, All-Father of Nordic Gods’. 

Valkyrie is, of course, the name of Aston Martin’s halo hypercar, which it recently announced will race at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Aston Martin says the Valhalla, its third mid-engined hypercar, will be powered by a high-performance turbo V6 petrol engine and a battery-electric hybrid system.

It will also use F1-inspired technology and aerodynamics, “extending the trickle-down of genuine state-of-the-art F1 technology into a road-legal car”.

Aston Martin is even promising “next-generation aircraft morphing technology, to create a variable airfoil across the entirety of the rear wing”.

Palmer added that “For those fortunate enough to own one, I’m sure they will recognise and appreciate the name’s connotations of glory and happiness.

“There can be few more hallowed places than the driver’s seat of an Aston Martin Valhalla.”

Expected to cost from £1 million, production of the new Valhalla begins in 2021.

But while registrations are already open, those who want one may be disappointed: the order book is reportedly fully subscribed.