Our motorising correspondent Brian McDaid must be in the market for a new ‘yok’ as he spent last weekend browsing the car showrooms! He insists he wasn’t part of the syndicate who won the lotto this week. Here’s how he got on……
New car Sales
The best selling car in Donegal this year so far, the Tucson from Hyundai which were had a test drive in this week. Photo Brian McDaid
As we enter the second half of the year for 162 DL the news is great for the motor industry at the moment. Looking at the names of customers on the temporary number plates lined along the front of the Diver’s Hyundai Garage in Letterkenny, it brought me back to a story my father told me about a Ford Dealership in Letterkenny in the 70’s.
When McClean & McLaughlin were in the motor trade in Letterkenny, where Ben Sweeney’s Appliances are now, My father’s boss Mr. Ridge had ordered a new Ford, So all the workers were having a nosy around the four court to see if they could get a glimpse of their boss’s new car.
“Here she is here” one of the men called to his work mates, at the same time another man spotted another car, “look his name is on this one too”, He must have come up in the Sweeps being able to buy two new cars, They reckoned !
What both men spotted were cars with a plates that garage owners put on new cars, ready for registration “For Reg” which the workers thought was the short for.
“For Ridge” !
Buying a new car might not be as big a thing as it once was, but with PCP (Personal Contract Plan) more are going for new cars rather than buying second hand ones. The best selling car in Donegal this year is not a car ! but a jeep (SUV) ,162 Hyundai Tucson Jeeps were sold in Donegal this year already. Last Friday was the 1st of July and the offers are out for car buyers again.
It would do your heart good to walk in to Diver’s Garage on a Saturday morning and see the buzz of the showroom as families make the decision to go out and purchase a new car.
Saturday was the big shopping day in Letterkenny and that trend is back in Letterkenny if you’re in the market for buying a car.
On Saturday I went out for a run in one of the New Hyundai Tucson’s, Not alone are they the best selling car in Donegal but they are the best selling car in Ireland this years so far.
Hyundai have done some job with this new model in looks alone, In years past the badge on the bonnet was nearly enough to carry your street cred, but with the slump in the economy everything that might have lived on its name over the years is now called to question, The cars that once held their money are no longer doing that, That old saying in the motor trade of “The day you buy is the day you sell”, does not cut as much anymore.
Car Buyers don’t want to know about servicing or resale value , they want no fuss, The New Tucson is great to drive on the road, its hard to believe that it’s only a 1.7 litre diesel engine that is moving this SUV along with so much ease. This SUV has loads of torque and is quite happy to pull away from the slowest of speeds and any gear except 6th.
What other carmakers would have as extras the Tucson has standard. cruise control, revering cameras, stop start technology, Even the sat nav was standard on the model we drove.
The little touches like a pin drop to show where your nearest Hyundai Dealer is located all serve to build your confidence in the backup available for this brand. If I had one small issue with the Hyundai but this is probably more to do with my self, When I was driving the Tucson and seen someone I knew and want to flash the lights and say “Look at me I am driving the New Tucson” I ended up turning on the wipers and washing the windscreen, And then let on to myself that I intended to do that anyway.
Wipers and window washers and dip-switch and indicators are on the opposite side in European cars and Japanese or Korean Cars. It always takes me a while to get this right. The Hyundai Brand are doing everything right at the moment to make it easy for customers to make their mind up quickly. People that were always on the lookout for a good secondhand car are now opting for a new car for the 1st time instead.
On Saturday morning at the Hyundai Dealership in Letterkenny I was trying to find out how many cars did they sell for the 162 DL plate. The place was buzzing,its was a bit like looking for a drink at the bar at the height of the Old Letterkenny Folk Festival.
I was getting the nod from Terence Diver to say I will be with you in a minute, but every time he moved another customer would come in.
A young lad on reception asked if he could help. Ah just looking for sales figures I replied. The young lad listed out a couple of figures before Terence got my distance and he was in a ear’s shot when Terence was giving the data. The young lad was spot on with some of the figures, and the others were still to be published. Team effort is the key in Diver’s everyone is focused on sales and in the way customers are treated as they take ownership of their new Hyundai, Some may say it’s over the top, but the sales figures at end of every year is the one that counts.
End of the line
James O Donnell who missed only one of the 25 charity cycles from Sligo to Letterkenny pictured on the last journey through Barnesmore Gap on Sunday as the event comes to an end . Photo Brian McDaid
Sunday seen what may end up being the very last of the great charity cycle runs from Sligo to Letterkenny.
Local Letterkenny Newsagent Paddy Delap was the main mover for a quarter of a century, but he will always tell you, it never would have worked if he hadn’t the loyal support of friends years in and years out.
When Paddy started out to do the first cycle in memory of a friend the late Micky Toner. He probably never thought the event would last as long as it did. Now 25 years on and with over €600,000 raised for cancer research Paddy announced that this would be the last one. It’s ironic that as the great charity cycle comes to a close there never was a bigger interest in cycling ever in Donegal.
Could this be the time to plan for next year?! The amount of people over the last twenty five years who decided to get on the road on a bike, some for the first time, with a hope of being able to complete the 70 mile journey from Sligo to Letterkenny is amazing.
It also was a great community mobile get together. So here’s hoping that the model that Paddy Delap created 25 years ago can be used and adapted, if needed for something similar in the planning for this time next year.
Manus’ Big Night
The Donegal Greats watching the the big screen at Manus Kelly and Donall Barrett big night , included from left, Vincent Bonnar, Phonise McElwee, Cathal Curley and the man himself Seamus Mc Gettigan. Photo Brian McDaid
We had a great night for the King of the Mountains on Friday night last.
The Mulroy Woods Hotel was the venue for a special get together for the winner of this year’s Donegal International Rally. Glenswilly man Manus Kelly and Milford’s Donall Barrrett where honoured by a packed function room at the recently refurbished hotel.
Along with Manus and Donall and their team and supporters it was just class to see past winners of the Donegal there. Cathal Curley who was the first winner of the Donegal Rally and dominated the event in his Porsche in the early 70’s.
Phonsie McElwee one of the Founder Members of the Donegal Motor Club, Dungloe’s Vincent Bonnar and “the Burma’s” Seamus Mc Gettigan, who were the 1st Donegal Crew to win their home rally along with James Cullen who won the event twice, and not forgetting Rory Kennedy who who was a winner more than anyone else as navigator , it was on night like this that I think of Rory Kennedy’s father Jim who himself was a competitor with Fr. Willie Mc Memanin on the notes.
The winners cup is in memory of Jim Kennedy who was one of the unsung hero’s of the Donegal Rally, who promoted the event in his own professional way down through the years. How proud he would have been to see the crowd glued to the screen as they watch the man of the moment, Manus Kelly make his way through Fanad Head.
A drunk on the bus told me how to get rich
I was glad we weren’t going to far.
Euro Millions.
What’s that chances of getting 21 Dublin Busses parked up, probable the same chance as getting 21 Dublin Bus Drivers and a bus conductor winning the Euro Millions at the weekend. What a win.
Them lyrics from the hit from1980’s from Bagatelle, “A summer in Dublin” just keeps ringing in my ears as I listen to the updates of the Euro Millions winning Dublin Bus Team. Apparently 21 of them didn’t turn up for work on Monday, maybe a happy exit of a difference because of Europe, or at least its lottery.
But could you just imagine if one of them did land into work. he certainly would have brighten up his passengers Summer in Dublin. That’s if they would have believed him. And when he finished his run and if he happen to drive the 46A, like in the song, he could have headed out to Dun Laoghaire , stopping off on the way to pick up his guitar.
Just imagine 21 bus drivers, one of which is retired and a bus conductor will share 23.8 million Euros, “STAND CLEAR. LUGGAGE DOORS OPERATING !!”
Wings Clipped!
In last weeks column I got my wings clipped for assuming that the Ford Fiesta and Focus were made in England. Its great to see someone keeping me in check. I am happy to report on a bit of positive news from Britain for a change with the details emerging of the Ford’s big investment in their state of the art plant to make ultra efficient diesel engines at the refurbished Dagenham Plant. The engines will supply the home and European market and if a Ford is a diesel in the future no matter what model chances are its engine was made in Britain.
Happy Motoring Folks
