Did anyone else notice the Saturday Telegraph (Motoring) article last weekend about Andrew English laying up his Aston for the Winter?

He comments about putting the car on SORN then mentions it still needs an MOT during that period.

I hope not!

David Read more

DETROIT?With third-quarter sales sluggish and its share of the domestic market down 11 percent since 1993, General Motors unveiled a new instant-win airbag contest Monday.

The new airbags, which award fabulous prizes upon violent, high-speed impact with another car or stationary object, will come standard in all of the company's 2002 cars.

"Auto accidents have never been so exciting," said GM vice-president of marketing Roger Jenkins, who expects the contest to boost 2002 sales significantly. "When you play the new GM Instant Win Airbag Game, your next fatal collision could mean a trip for two to the Super Bowl. Or a year's worth of free Mobil gasoline."

Though it does not officially begin until Jan. 1, 2002, the airbag promotion is already being tested in select cities, with feedback overwhelmingly positive.

"As soon as my car started to skid out of control, I thought to myself, 'Oh, boy, this could be it?I could be a big winner!'" said Cincinnati's Martin Frelks, who lost his wife but won $50 Sunday when the Buick LeSabre they were driving hit an oil slick at 60 mph and slammed into an oncoming truck. "When the car stopped rolling down the embankment, I knew Ellen was dead, but all I could think about was getting the blood and glass out of my eyes so I could read that airbag!"

Hartford, CT, resident Jonathan Ryerson was killed Sunday when his 1997 Pontiac LeMans hit a freight train. Ryerson won $50 in the accident.

"It's really addictive," said Sacramento, CA, resident Marjorie Kamp, speaking from her hospital bed, where she is listed in critical condition with severe brain hemorrhaging and a punctured right lung. "I've already crashed four cars trying to win those Super Bowl tickets, but I still haven't won. I swear, I'm going to win those tickets?even if it kills me!"

Kamp said that as soon as she is well enough, she plans to buy a new Pontiac Bonneville and drive it into a tree.

GM officials are not surprised the airbag contest has been so well received. "In the past, nobody really liked car wrecks, and that's understandable. After all, they're scary and dangerous and, sometimes, even fatal," GM CEO Paul Offerman said. "But now, when you drive a new GM car or truck, your next serious crash could mean serious cash. Who wouldn't like that?"

Offerman added that in the event a motorist wins a prize but is killed, that prize will be awarded to the next of kin.

According to GM's official contest rules, odds of winning the grand prize, a brand-new 2002 Cutlass Supreme, are 1 in 43,000,000. Statistical experts, however, say the real chances of winning are significantly worse. "If you factor in the odds of getting in a serious car accident in the first place?approximately 1 in 720,000?the actual odds of winning a prize each time you step in your car are more like 1 in 31 trillion."

Further, even if one is in an accident, there is no guarantee the airbag will inflate. "I was recently broadsided by a drunk driver in my new Chevy Cavalier," said Erie, PA, resident Jerry Polaner. "My car was totaled, and because it was the side of my car that got hit, my airbag didn't even inflate. But what really gets me is the fact that the drunk driver, who rammed my side with the front of his 1997 Buick Regal, won a $100 Office Depot gift certificate. That's just wrong." Read more

Can anyone help?

My Volvo V40 has orange side marker lights at the front and rear.
(Supposed to aid visibility to other cars in a side on view).

One of these has a failed bulb and I want to change it. The manual gives detailed instructions for a number of other bulbs but says to refer to dealer for all other bulbs (including these).

The side marker lights are hidden inside the front and rear bumpers.

I would prefer to do the job myself if this is possible, any ideas? One lens is already cracked where somebody has tried levering it out with a screwdriver.

many thanks

Ian Read more

I have now owned my Audi for 9 months, and only this week have I discovered that it has heated wing mirrors. They run off the same switch as the heated rear window (which doesn't work terribly well, so I don't normally bother with it). I suppose I should have read the handbook when I bought the car - I wonder what other hidden toys it has?

Not as bad as my mother, who drove her new diesel Escort for six months before discovering that, unlike her previous 1100 Escort, it had a five speed gearbox... Read more

A bit disturbing, this. A neighbour of mine was burgled, recently, and another was a "near miss" - a suspicious person was seen sitting in and old Ford Sierra, using a mobile phone. She blew the horn and drove off when someone showed an interest in her.

The police arrived to investigate, and now it's all gone quiet. The police Soco who arrived to investigate the successful burglary told my neighbour that the suspect Sierra could have been a "community car". These are, apparently, low value cars that are left parked for anyone to use (keys under the seat, I suppose) - but they might be used for criminal purposes. I guess this must be in anonynous areas of cities etc.

They won't be taxed, of course, and probably not traceable to an "owner" - other than the last registered keeper (who sold it in a pub and forgot to send off the V5).

I wonder how widespread this sort of thing is. I'd never heard of it, but the police have. Any boys in blue in the back room care to comment?

Look after your prezzies!

Ian Read more