For the 16th year in a row, Murcotts will be conducting the Xmas Safe Driving Clinics across the nation. The courses are principally targeted towards young drivers, but they are open to everyone and the course is modeled on our very successful Level 1 Defensive Driving Program. The official launch for the program is December 1 at Sandown and all profits of the launch day will be donated by Murcotts to The Brock Foundation. Murcotts welcomes again its major sponsors for the Safe Driving Workshops – Southern Cross Radio, Tyrepower and Holden.

Booking is easy – simply visit the Murcott website or click on this link. You can also check available dates at this page as well.

The Xmas Clinics are an ideal early Xmas present and are popular with parents and grandparents alike. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Thanks to our long term sponsors, Holden, Tyrepower and Southern Cross Radio.

Renowned motoring journalist, Wheels Car of the Year judge and Channel 9’s “The Car Show” presenter Samantha Stevens joins the Murcott team as a contributor to our online content. This month, Sam takes a look at car safety; investigating the true meaning of a five star crash rating - and what it means to the safety of your vehicle. In the coming months, we’ll have Sam cover critical safety features such as ABS, traction control, tyres, and other key areas to consider when buying a car for you or your kids. We’ll also be introducing our own vehicle tests, which will include video reviews and what each car is really like in the real world.

For the full article, titled “5 Stars For Safety”, just click here.

Murcotts today announces a strategic alliance with Volvo Cars, spearheaded by Melbourne’s leading Volvo retailer – Bilia Volvo. According to Simon Chen, Marketing Director of Murcotts, “The deal with Volvo Cars Australia and Bilia is an important step forward for the company. It aligns Murcotts with a brand that has transformed itself and one that is synonymous with safety”.

“We are delighted to partner with such a professional automotive retailer (Bilia) and one who pays more than lip service to the safety and well being of its customers. Rob Barber, Dealer Principal of Bilia has been the driving force behind this partnership and in our opinion, is one of the best operators around”

Murcotts will take delivery of 4 Volvo vehicles (the class leading XC90 and the popular XC70 wagon) and begin to provide Bilia customers with a range of safe driving programs, including our AWD program, reversing and towing course, and our standard Level 1 Defensive Driving Program. For a full review on the XC90 and XC70, click on the link to Bilia Volvo or read more about the XC90 and V70/XC70  by clicking on the respective links.

We’ll also be featuring both vehicles in our video reviews in the coming months.

Drive.com.au, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age are proud to announce the nominees for the inaugural Drive Car of the Year awards. The 2006 Drive Car of the Year awards celebrate automotive excellence across the broad spectrum of the Australian new car market, applauding outstanding vehicles in a manner intended to guide consumers.

Four vehicles have been nominated in each of the 12 categories as delivering the better real-world performance and value for money than their peers, both in terms of retail price and ownership cost.

Each nominee now enters the second phase of the awards; a six-day exhaustive testing procedure conducted by a panel of expert judges. At the end of the judging week one vehicle in each category will be crowned a Drive Car of the Year category winner.

But that's not all. Each of the 12 winners is then in the running for the ultimate accolade - the 2006 Drive Car of the Year.
Click here for more information

Murcotts are currently rolling out a comprehensive driver training initiative for Wyeth Australia. Wyeth has approximately 120 vehicles on the road. Says Dan Leslie, Murcotts Director, “Wyeth is well aware of their responsibility in regards to driver safety and education especially under the OH&S laws”. They have engaged Murcotts to conduct exclusive training sessions for all their drivers, followed up with individual competency on road assessments. The training covers topics including driver behaviour, vehicle familiarisation, fatigue, road law, assessing risk, carrying loads and defensive driving.

“Wyeth are to be congratulated for their commitment to putting the right procedures in place prior to undertaking the driver training and then following it up with individual on road coaching and evaluation” said Dan Leslie. Continuing he says, “Many organisations that undertake driver training see it as a quick fix but unfortunately unless the training is continual and backed up by strong company policy and procedures it has limited ongoing affect”.

The Wyeth Safe Driving Program has already commenced and will continue over the upcoming months. For more on Wyeth, visit their website here and to learn more about our Corporate Driver Training Programs, contact Murcotts on 1300.555.576

Following on from the successful debut year for Team Murcotts in 2006, we are delighted to announce an all female team for Team Murcotts in 2007. Welcome Stephanie Franklin and Melissa Vardy, both 19 and both on P-Plates.

Stephanie and Melissa will undergoe significant practical and theoretical training in their lead up to the national series of the Dutton Rally – Australia’s leading tarmac event. 2007 sees significant media exposure for the Dutton, due to the involvement of Channel 9’s “The Car Show”, plus significant coverage in regional press, car magazines (the 2006 series was covered by Motor all year) and other industry publications.

We also believe that Stephanie and Melissa are the only all girl team to be entered to compete in the entire national series.

Vehicle choice is yet to be decided, so if you are a vehicle manufacturer and would like to talk with us about being involved – please contact Simon Chen at Murcotts on 1300.555.576.

We’d like to thank the team sponsors, including APC Logistics, MarketMail, The Eight Black Group, Tyrepower and others.