You may have heard of the Big Mac Index, which uses the cost of the said burger in a country to ascertain purchasing power parity. It seems to work and is surprisingly respected. We car folk are not going to let a fast food comparison take all the glory. There must be something in the car industry that would do something similar.
As I look for and deal with car sales, I have noticed differences in how they are handled. Some by government departments, others by private associations, still others by automotive consulting firms. Either way, there are differences regarding access and usability for a private citizen such as you and me.
That sums up the openness and efficiency that exists in a country. To find out how open and efficient a country is, I broke it down to the four categories below. 'Make' and 'Model' columns refer to cars, 'CV' to commercial vehicles and the last 'Other'. Each of the four have sections that add up to the 'Max' figure you see in the chart below, the best possible is 30 points.
To clarify 'Other', it is made up firstly of 'User friendly', the finding and accessing the data (0-3 pts). Then there are up to seven points for promptness of the data being released. Then a single point for 'Language', whether it is available in at least English and one other language. Very few scored there. So here are the results.
One feature I didn't add was replying to contact made to those associations. Of the first three regions, only Denmark would be not as good, all the others excellent. Of South Europe, only Italy can be relied on to reply, the rest hopeless.
As I look for and deal with car sales, I have noticed differences in how they are handled. Some by government departments, others by private associations, still others by automotive consulting firms. Either way, there are differences regarding access and usability for a private citizen such as you and me.
To clarify 'Other', it is made up firstly of 'User friendly', the finding and accessing the data (0-3 pts). Then there are up to seven points for promptness of the data being released. Then a single point for 'Language', whether it is available in at least English and one other language. Very few scored there. So here are the results.
| Make | Model | CV | Other | Total | ||||
| Max | 7.0 | 7.0 | 5.0 | 11.0 | 30.0 | |||
| 1 | Netherlands | 7.0 | 7.0 | 3.0 | 10.0 | 27.0 | ||
| 2 | Sweden | 7.0 | 7.0 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 26.0 | Scandinavia | |
| 3 | Norway | 7.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 24.0 | 5 Nations | |
| 3 | Ireland | 6.5 | 6.5 | 1.5 | 9.5 | 24.0 | Av 22.50 | |
| 5 | Switzerland | 7.0 | 5.0 | 2.5 | 9.0 | 23.5 | ||
| 6 | UK | 6.5 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 22.5 | ||
| 7 | Spain | 7.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 22.0 | West Europe | |
| 8 | Italy | 6.5 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 21.5 | 5 Nations | |
| 9 | Denmark | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 21.0 | Av 20.50 | |
| 10 | Germany | 7.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 8.5 | 20.5 | ||
| 11 | Iceland | 3.0 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 8.5 | 20.0 | ||
| 12 | Finland | 6.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 9.5 | 19.5 | Central Europe | |
| 13 | Portugal | 7.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 10.0 | 18.5 | 4 Nations | |
| 13 | France | 6.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 5.5 | 18.5 | Av 18.25 | |
| 15 | Austria | 5.0 | 5.0 | 2.5 | 4.5 | 17.0 | ||
| 15 | Greece | 7.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 17.0 | ||
| 17 | Luxembourg | 5.0 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 8.0 | 15.5 | South Europe | |
| 18 | Belgium | 4.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 13.5 | 10 Nations | |
| 19 | Liechtenstein | 5.0 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 4.5 | 12.0 | Av 11.60 | |
| 20 | Cyprus | 5.0 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 10.0 | ||
| 21 | San Marino | 5.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 9.0 | ||
| 22 | Andorra | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||
| 22 | Malta | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||
| 22 | Monaco | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||
| Average | 5.2 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 6.8 | 16.8 |
One feature I didn't add was replying to contact made to those associations. Of the first three regions, only Denmark would be not as good, all the others excellent. Of South Europe, only Italy can be relied on to reply, the rest hopeless.
Summary: The list reflects the openness and efficiency of nations and regions of Western Europe. The total score is good as is the ability to get statistics from all but a few nations. I didn't know whether to add the tiny principalities, but I did and it didn't change much overall. This is how I have found things. If any association or individulal wanted to see a detailed breakdown, I would happily provide it and modify the score if there is anything I can improve in that area. After all, national pride is at stake here. In a peaceful way I mean.
I will do other regions in due course but it takes a bit of time to do it all. One thing we now know, the 'Big Mac PPP Index' has a rival, the 'Car Data O & E Index".
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