Brits 'Get Their Kicks on Route 66' in Dream Driving Adventure
Monday, 21 June 2010
Brits would like to ‘get their kicks on Route 66’, according to research by travel and car insurance provider swiftcover.com revealing that 40% of people would choose to drive the fabled American coast-to-coast highway as their dream driving adventure.
The legendary Route 66, which runs from the East Coast to the West Coast of the USA, is by far and away the most popular motoring experience amongst UK drivers. By contrast, the second most popular motoring adventures were to drive a supercar or go off-road in a four-wheel drive vehicle, both chosen by 14% of people surveyed.
swiftcover.com’s research found:
- 40% of people would choose to drive Route 66 as their dream driving adventure
- 14% of people would love to drive a supercar like a Ferrari or Lamborghini
- 14% would like to have a 4x4 off-road adventure
- 8% would choose to drive the winding mountain roads of Switzerland or Italy
- 7% dream of being a passenger in an F1 car around a race track
- 5% would love to drive a rally car
- 4% would like to be chauffeured in a limousine
- 3% would choose an Easy Rider style motorcycle adventure
- 3% would like to drive a monster truck
The 2,500 mile Route 66 starts in Chicago on the East Coast of the US and runs through states including Kansas, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona before ending in Los Angeles on the West Coast. Established in 1926 and often referred to as the ‘Main Street of America’ or the ‘Mother Road’, Route 66 has been immortalised on film, TV and most famously in the blues song of the same name, which has been recorded by music stars including Chuck Berry and The Rolling Stones.
Rote 66 was removed from the US highways system in the 1980s and no longer exists on official maps, but many states still promote their stretch of ‘Historic Route 66’, whilst a whole industry has sprung up to support people wanting to relive the American driving dream with Route 66 guides, maps and even fly-drive holidays.
Tina Shortle, Marketing Director for swiftcover.com, says: “It might seem like a busman’s holiday to drive thousands of miles across America for a dream vacation when so many of us are stuck in our cars for hours every day whilst commuting to work, but the lure of the open roads and the free-wheeling romanticism of Route 66 has an obvious appeal to British motorists and petrol-heads.”
However, Shortle warned that motorists keen to indulge in other popular driving adventures, such as racing supercars or off-roading, shouldn’t try and replicate them in their ordinary cars. She continued: “Most people will not be insured to drive their vehicles at full-speed around a race track or rally circuit, or attempt a serious 4x4 obstacle course, so swiftcover.com recommends that people indulge in their motoring adventures by using a reputable experience provider.
“And although swiftcover.com customers will be covered if they take their cars to Switzerland and Italy*, we would advise caution when driving through the mountains. Driving off a cliff is likely to result in policyholders losing their no claims bonus.”
Research carried out amongst 1,110 people in May and June 2010
*Standard swiftcover.com policies cover drivers for three days foreign use
ENDS
Notes to Editors
For press enquiries please contact:
Paul Beadle or Joshua Van Raalte
Brazil (PR agency for swiftcover.com)
01865 556 000
swiftcover@agencybrazil.com
About swiftcover:
Based in Cobham, Surrey and employing over 800 people, www.swiftcover.com started trading in June 2005 and was born out of a desire to revolutionise the general insurance market.
swiftcover.com offers car, travel and pet insurance online, and is Britain's only insurance company without call centres, which means that the cost savings can be passed directly onto the customer and premiums are kept low. In 2008 swiftcover.com featured as the cheapest insurance quote on the comparison website moneysupermarket.com more often than any other insurer.
This powerful operating model combined with successful marketing and competitive pricing has proven to be a tremendous success. In 2008 swiftcover.com achieved over half a million live policies and in May 2009 sold their one millionth policy. They are considered to be the fastest-growing insurer in the UK.
In 2007, AXA UK acquired swiftcover.com. It is now a wholly owned subsidiary of AXA Insurance UK PLC which forms part of AXA Group.
About AXA:
AXA UK is a part of the AXA Group. AXA is a world leader in financial protection. AXA’s operations are diverse with major operations in Western Europe, North America and the Asia/Pacific area. AXA employs 120,000 staff and tied agents and, as of June 30 2006, had €1,091 billion in assets under management. AXA reported total IFRS revenues of €72 billion and IFRS underlying earnings of €3,258 million for the full year 2005. Our previous company performance is not a guide to how we may perform in the future.
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