After 12 but before 14

I have started a bit of a study into a specific aspect of the behavioural habits of the British.

The outcome will not be known for some six to eight months but will, in my opinion, be worth the wait.

I do have a defined theory that will be tested between now, March, and the end of the year and I am quietly confident that the publically available statistics will in due course prove this to be the case.

The motorists of this country have a love affair with brand new cars.

Of course, the double dip recession, the credit crisis and associated factors have significantly lowered the volume of new car sales over the last 4 years and it has taken such Government incentivised schemes as the scrappage of old bangers to spark some life into the car sales sector. There have also been some unbelievable deals on offer by the larger motor manufacturers with heavily discounted List Prices, deferred payments, subsidised deposits, low cost contract hire, free servicing and fuel, guaranteed end values, lifetime warranties and even a free bicycle.

It is only just 4 days into the new registrations but I have already seen a good number of newbies.

This may be a bit of a distorted sampling in that I work on a Business Park where there is representation of sales showrooms for Toyota, Renault, Peugeot, Infiniti and with the extension to the Park having garages selling Jeep, Chrysler, Volvo, Mercedes Benz, Jaguar and Audi-VW. My impression of abundant sales may be attributable to the sales executives or mechanics out for a spin to loosen up the engine or fill up with fuel in readiness for the arrival and handover to the proud new owner.

I have disregarded my straw poll as being rigged in that my observations have included an Aston Martin, Maserati and Range Rover who do not have any sales outlets in this area.

A good proportion of the new number plates that I have clocked are on obvious company car makes and models, mass produced and boring or on small compacts likely to have been bought through a Motability Allowance. A further few are Hire Cars with small logo's on the boot lid denoting Hertz or Europcar short term rentals milling around the large Hotel just up the road from my office or driven by nervous motorists whose regular vehicles are in for major accident repairs or bodywork cosmetics.

Large shiny executive motors may be just a few days old on the road but have another popular fad amongst the British motorised public of a personalised number plate. These peaked with the 'H' registrations of some years ago which were crassly followed by the number '15' and then a series of three letters to depict a name, nickname, occupation or hobby. More recently and usually on oversized 4x4's can be seen a prefix of 'BO' followed by '55' to show entrepreneurial flair or just a wicked sense of humour by a spouse or close friend.

The crux of my theory and which is to form my experimental study over the coming months is however this;

Given that the newest registration is '13' will the natural superstitions of the British be overcome for the sake of owning and swanking about in brand new motor car?

Watch this space...........