Car rush slows to a trickle

Sep 13 2005 By Evening Gazette

The great rush for new cars used to be an annual tradition.

On August 1, thousands of drivers - including scores on Teesside - would vie to be among the first out of the garage showroom with a gleaming new motor bearing the latest registration plate.

I can remember when I was a kid, parents - as a way of keeping youngsters quiet on longer journeys at that time of year - playing a game with them involving spotting the new cars in the days following the big changeover.

Being one of the first on the road with the latest registration plate was an important status symbol for many motorists.

And you could not miss the large volume of brand new cars taking to the road on or around that particular date.

But these days that buzz associated with a new registration seems to have disappeared.

Registrations were changed to September and March a few years ago.

Looking back at old reports - when it was just August - around 25pc of new car registrations could be sold in that one month.

It was hoped the new system would boost the traditional car buying season.

But from what I have seen this year, that is not the case.

In the week or so after September 1 when the 55 number plate came into being, I had only clocked a handful of cars sporting the new registration.

No doubt the slowdown in consumer spending in general, which has hit a whole host of different types of retailer, has also impacted on the sale of cars.