Packing for the holidays
IF you are still contemplating a motoring holiday or are about to head for the ferry port, read on.
Teaming up with Europe’s first certified KonMari Consultant, Aline Lau, SEAT has produced a handy set of tips for families preparing for their annual summer holiday, using the manufacturer’s compact SUV, the Arona, but can be applied to almost any car.
The KonMari MethodTM – an organisational technique developed by consultant and author Marie Kondo – follows simple rules that focus on de-cluttering and keeping only items that ‘spark joy’. The mindset has been used to help families pack the car for the holidays.
By de-cluttering items that don’t ‘spark joy’, ordering remaining items into categories and using assorted space-saving techniques, the Japanese discipline means that families can fit everything they need – from children’s toys to sports equipment – into even a modest-sized vehicle.
Three KonMari Method tips for packing the car this August
• De-clutter – Remove any item that you could actually do without – be ruthless with yourself and keep only items that make you happy
• Pack smart – Fold and roll clothing to save space in suitcases and put loose items into boxes before loading into the boot
• Categorise – Put your essentials within reach in the car and maximise boot space by packing cases vertically
Lau said: ‘Life in general is very cluttered in the modern world. We constantly have to go through a de-cluttering process in order to keep a peaceful mind.
‘Many people now adopt Marie Kondo’s mindset in their homes but this is the first time we have used it to pack a car. We will automatically try to take too much with us on vacation but, by separating each item and categorising what we really need, we can be more efficient instead of trying to take everything from our lives with us on holiday.”
To make the most of the Arona’s boot space of 400- litres, Lau lowered the depth of the floor and utilised features such as front passenger net pocket to stow essentials. Once fully loaded the boot included two suitcases, a box of beach toys, towels and sports equipment, box of shoes, kid’s rucksack, full- size pushchair, beach bag, beach mat and boogie board.
SEAT Passive Safety Engineer Javier Delgado advises that the heaviest suitcases should always go at the bottom and as far back as possible in the boot:’If we don’t place things correctly or securely, a slam on the brakes or a sudden manoeuvre could cause them to shift or fly forward and jeopardise safety. When driving at 62mph, if we brake suddenly, a package weighing 30kg turns into a 90kg projectile, multiplying its weight by three.’
For more information on Aline Lau and her organising consultancy company, go to www.tokimekie.com VEHICLE history and data expert Cartell.ie says that the buyer of a new private vehicle in Ireland is now purchasing a vehicle worth more than €30,000 on average for the first time since it started recording these statistics.
Cartell calculated the total value of new vehicles purchased in Ireland between the years 2006 and 2018 based on the recommended Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) for each vehicle and summing them up. The company divided the total value for each year by the number of new vehicles sold that year to establish the average value per buyer. Unsurprisingly, Cartell.ie found the average value of a new vehicle purchased fluctuated with the fortunes of the economy, so, in 2007 at the height of the boom the average value of a vehicle purchased was €28,106 which dropped to €24,758 in 2011 before increasing steadily every year since then as the economy improved. In 2016 the average value of a new vehicle was already back to boom time levels recording €28,385 while in 2017 the value had ticked up 4% to €29,481.
For the first 6 months of 2018 the average value has now hit €30,000 returning a figure of €30,130: the first 6 months of 2017 recorded €29,391 before ending the year on €29,481. This shows the average Irish buyer is now buying a vehicle worth €30,000 for the first time since Cartell started recording these statistics.
Cartell.ie considered several possible reasons for the increase in the average value of a private vehicle purchased in Ireland over the last several years:
Consumers may be opting for more expensive vehicles, or more expensive vehicle types like SUVs and Crossover vehicles, or MPV
Buyer has more cash to spend or more available lines of credit. Financial products such as Personal Contract Plans (PCPs) came to prominence in Ireland during the recession as manufacturers sought a means to provide direct lines of credit to potential buyers
Buyers may want larger cars. The country had a recorded population of 4.23 million in Census 2006 which increased to 4.76 million in Census 2016. This increase may have weighed on buyer decisions, for instance, buyers with younger children may need additional space
Vehicles are more expensive to manufacture, to comply with NCAP safety ratings, for example, this increases the cost of manufacture: the consumer now often expects certain higher specification items as standard too – larger wheels, alloys, on-board technology, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) features – which all increase the manufacture cost Increased consumer demand for hybrid vehicles (where technology is more expensive to implement) could be making an impact, along with changes in buyer habits to more environmentally friendly vehicles, and guided generally by the move to city-clean air policies.