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AutoTrader
15-06-07, 14:00
AUTO TRADER LAUNCHES FIRST EVER USED CAR AWARDS

Auto Trader, the UK’s no 1 motoring website and magazine, has teamed up with ITV4’s Used Car Roadshow to launch the UK’s first live, televised Used Car Awards, in association with Warranty Direct.

Auto Trader’s website visitors and magazine readers, together with ITV4’s Used Car Roadshow viewers, will be invited to vote for their favourite used car by logging on to www.autotrader.co.uk/usedcarawards or by entry forms in the magazine.

The Auto Trader Used Car Awards will provide the definitive answers, consumer insight and views on the UK’s most popular used cars. The Auto Trader Used Car of the Year Awards are about the cars that the UK’s motorists really drive and it’s voted for by the people that drive them!

There are no panels of motoring journalists or ‘industry experts’ deciding the winners - its all down to the public vote. The vote is open to cars built between 1st January 2000 and 31st December 2005 and takes place in two stages.

The first stage is an open vote where motorists can choose from around 500 makes and models and cast their vote in the 6 categories, Family, Sports, Supermini, Hot Hatch, Luxury and 4x4.

Stage two of the voting is about understanding what the UK’s motorists like about cars. Motorists will be asked to rate their vehicles on comfort; practicality; reliability; running costs; image; and driving pleasure.

At the end of the voting it’s going to be the UK motorists’ decision that is final and every vote will count. Each category will have a winning vehicle, with an overall ‘Used Car of the Year’ award given to the car which has received the most votes, collected via the Auto Trader Used Car Awards website www.autotrader.co.uk/usedcarawards.

The Award’s ceremony will take place at Birmingham Metropole Hotel on the 24th October, and will be broadcast on Wednesday 7th November on ITV4 . The Auto Trader Used Car Awards will be hosted by the ITV’s Used Car Roadshow co-presenters Jason Dawe and Penny Mallory. Both Jason and Penny draw on their considerable experience and successful careers in presenting consumer motoring content.

Warranty Direct is the headline sponsor of the event. When Warranty Direct was established in 1997 its mission was to “offer warranties that are worth the paper they are written on and to make buying warranties quicker and simpler for the consumer.” Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, the business has grown to become the industry's leading provider of direct car warranties.

Founder and Managing Director Duncan McClure Fisher comments “Our long association with Auto Trader has been a major factor in our success and we are delighted to be the headline sponsor of these inaugural awards.”

Matt Thompson, Marketing Director at Auto Trader comments: “Over 9 million motorists buy a used car every year and for many, it is the largest household purchase they make. Our research shows that many motorists are passionate about their cars, so we are delighted to be launching the Auto Trader Used Car Awards. For the first time ever, the nation can vote for the best used cars. We have joined forces with Warranty Direct and ITV4 so TV viewers, online users and magazine readers can unite in a bid to celebrate the nation’s favourite used cars.”

- Ends -

Notes to Editor:

• AutoTrader.co.uk has been voted amongst the top 10 most trusted online brands, reliable websites and best websites to visit* according to The eSuperbrands Council – experts in marketing, managing, creating or reviewing Internet brands. (*Source: eSuperbrands 2006)

• With 13 regional Auto Trader magazines across the UK and the Republic of Ireland, the brand is building a competitive position across all effective channels including print, the web and WAP.

• Auto Trader is owned by Trader Media Group, which also publishes market leading niche titles such as Top Marques, Bike Trader, Truck & Plant Trader, Ad Trader, Motorhome and Caravan Trader, Boats and Yachts for Sale, Boat Trader , Farmers Trader, Auto Freeway, TNT magazine – all with the largest reach in their sectors, through magazine readership and web visitors.

• Trader Media Group publishes over 70 titles every week with a combined circulation of 1.5 million and has leading websites for its top titles.

• Trader Media Group, a division of Guardian Media Group, employs over 3,900 people across 40 locations in the UK, Ireland, Holland, Italy and South Africa. The Group is looking to expand on its winning formula - developing a car supermarket and one-stop-shop for motorists; giving trade customers the opportunity to choose all effective channels to market; building the service and relationship with dealers and manufacturers; and strengthening its portfolio of automotive and specialist classified titles.


For further information, please contact:
Caroline Burnell
The Drum Consultancy
Tel: 020 7025 8044
Fax: 020 7025 8100
Email: caroline@drumbeat.co.uk

michael
15-06-07, 14:05
Awesome

Gaz6002
15-06-07, 14:12
Do we win anything? Get any freebees?

mawby
15-06-07, 14:18
Oh dear, how did that poll get there? :innocent: :search:

Gaz6002
15-06-07, 14:21
PSML BanBANBan

Thorin
15-06-07, 14:22
I voted... then saw on the next screen you have to enter your e-mail address and agree to be spammed. No fcuk off.

Sharpie
15-06-07, 14:24
The vote is open to cars built between 1st January 2000 and 31st December 2005 and takes place in two stages.

When you say cars built, you actually mean new cars for sale in UK dealerships between those dates ?

F.Y.I.

The Supra was not officially sold between those dates in the UK ;)

Sharpie
15-06-07, 14:25
Can I have another vote please ?

Thorin
15-06-07, 14:27
Perhaps we could all kindly sign caroline@drumbeat.co.uk up (for this and anything else) and vote ;)

Is that the e-mail account used to register on here too?

Thorin
15-06-07, 14:30
Thank you for voting in the Auto Trader Used Car Awards

Now please check your email!



For your vote to be counted, please click the special link in the email we have just sent you. We'll use your email address to keep you advised on the Awards category finalists in August.

:innocent:

RobSheffield
15-06-07, 14:31
Why caroline@drumbeat.co.uk ... surely it would be Caroline@Autotrader.co.uk

ivan
15-06-07, 15:10
What's the point of spamming a Supra club when you don't even have the car in the flippin' list?

michael
15-06-07, 15:20
Seems to be hitting most of the car forums I'm on but it's a real person rather than a bot, she sent me a PM when I moaned on another ;)

Thanks Caroline!

Pete
15-06-07, 16:24
Mental note, don't ever use Drum Beat to push a promotion as they'll soil your name.

AutoTrader
25-06-07, 14:24
hello all,

firstly, apologies if i have come across as a spam bot - im not!

i was not aware that posting the official press release would cause offence, so please do remove my post if needs be.

i selected a lot of forum based car enthusiast sites to target, even if that particular car doesnt appear in the list for the Used Car Awards, as generally speaking, car enthusiasts may also own a second car which does appear in the list!

Drum is not part of Auto Trader - we handle the press office externally for Auto Trader only.

personally, i do not see how Auto Trader's name is being soiled. we are simply trying to spread the word about its Used Car Awards - my idea to post on forums may have upset some members, but it was not my intention to 'spam' any sites at all.

i took the time to read up on and register on several key sites, with the aim to reach car enthusiasts only.

with regards to the email as mentioned when voting in the Awards - a system has been put in place to verify email addresses so that only one entry is allowed per person to try and ensure a fair result.

i apologise if this was not made clear in the email reply that was sent out to you Thorin.

any other questions please let me know either by reply to this thread, or directly to my email address.

may i also point out that by putting down all of my contact details, i have put a degree of trust within the forum - if i was purely doing this for spam, firstly i wouldnt have been stupid enough to leave my contact details, and second of all, i wouldnt have come back to check the thread to see what people have been saying.

may i finally point out that other forums have said thanks for alerting them to the Awards, and are encouraging other members to click and vote for their particular car.

hope this has cleared the air abit, but like i said, please do contact me if you have further questions.

take care,

caroline

Havard
25-06-07, 14:29
Would this be a bad time to shout a well known make of bread!!:innocent:

H.

Sharpie
25-06-07, 14:32
Would this be a bad time to shout a well known make of bread!!:innocent:

H.

Nope - Don't be shy :)

AutoTrader
04-07-07, 13:47
NORTHERNERS CHERISH THEIR CAR MOST, ACCORDING TO NEW RESEARCH FROM AUTO TRADER

Motorists in the North East take better care of their cars than anywhere else in the UK according to new research from Auto Trader, the UK’s no 1 motoring website and magazine. The results, released today, show that nearly 80% of North East motorists say their car is strictly non smoking, compared to just 60% of the Republic of Ireland motorists, who appear to take the least care of the car.

The research, which was conducted amongst nearly 7,500 motorists nationwide, also shows that more than three quarters of North East motorists would rather pay extra to park their car in a secure car park overnight, rather than leave it on the street, compared to just 65% of London motorists.

According to respondents, nearly 80% of the West Midlands motorists would take their car immediately to a garage if the engine made a strange noise, whereas just 70% of the East Midlands motorists agreed. Infact, the East Midlands motorists admitted that they wouldn’t wipe birds’ mess off of their vehicle straight away (50%), 25% allow their car’s interior and boot to fill with rubbish allow smoking in their cars and just 20% bother to keep their car under cover!

Fig 1: Most Cherished Cars By Region:
1 North East
2 Scotland
3 West Midlands
4 Northern Ireland
5 London
6 East Anglia
7 North West
8 South West
9 Wales
10 South East
11 East Midlands

A quarter of London motorists keep their car under cover compared to just over 10% of North West drivers. Just 60% of Welsh motorists make sure their car is serviced exactly when it is due, whereas over 70% of North East motorists make sure they never miss the service date.

In fact, London motorists care about their cars so much that one in four has even given their vehicle a name, so if you are passionate about your car, make sure you vote for it to win in Auto Trader’s Used Car of the Year Awards!

The vote is open to cars built between 1st January 2000 and 31st December 2005. The first stage is an open vote where you can choose from around 500 makes and models and cast your vote in the 6 categories, Family, Sports, Super Mini, Hot Hatch, Luxury and 4x4.

Currently, the Volkswagen Golf is leading the Family Car category, the Mitsubishi Ralliart FTO Coupe is leading the Sports Car category, The Ford Focus RS is leading the Hot Hatch category, the Audi A2 is leading the Supermini category, the Jaguar V8 XJ Series is leading the Luxury Car category and the Land Rover Range Rover Sport is leading the SUV category.

However, this could all change with a few votes, so log on to www.autotrader.co.uk/usedcarawards for more info and to vote for your Used Car of the Year! All votes will be entered into a prize draw to win top-of-the-range Tom Tom sat nav’s!

michael
04-07-07, 14:03
Cheers

RobSheffield
04-07-07, 14:08
Gah....

Gaz6002
04-07-07, 14:13
However, this could all change with a few votes


So... you've only had a few votes then :)

Thorin
04-07-07, 14:13
NORTHERNERS CHERISH THEIR CAR MOST, ACCORDING TO NEW RESEARCH FROM AUTO TRADER

<spam snipped>

That may be so, but we've already established today that all northerners suck.


Oh, and :ban:

It's not like they're going to stick around and make a contribution to the forum after this "research".

Conrad
04-07-07, 14:15
Would this be a bad time to shout a well known make of bread!!:innocent:

H.

:d:d:d That made me laugh!