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Graham Hill’s gadget of the week is an app for iPhone and iPad. It provides traffic updates. The app provides details of congestion on the roads for a one-off fee. It is called UK Traffic and it sells for less than £2. It covers the whole of the UK with a map, route checker, incident list and traffic radio. You can search for delays en route, see them on a map and get info on how long the queue is, the length of the delay and even the cause. Live traffic radio can be paused and rewound to take a call or left playing in the background. Amazing value for money. By Graham Hill

What is going on? After recently reporting that Bentley’s had to be recalled because of problems with the flying B badges on the bonnet Rolls are at it and having to recall 6,705 Rollers from around the world as a result of a wider recall of BMW’s. The problem relates to the brakes fitted on all V8 and V12 models which includes Rolls Royce Phantom models. Other cars affected are BMW 5, 6 and 7 Series. The problem is a possible leak in the power braking system – nice! It reduces the amount of Read more »

Multi story car parks go 21^st century in Birmingham. German creator, Wohr, has built a valet multi story car park, without a valet. Cars are driven in through one of four access points by residents and after activating the system with the use of a transponder fob, the car is taken away by the machinery and stored in bays spread over 3 floors, all automatically. When the driver retrieves his car it is returned on a dolly that even turns the car round to be driven straight out in about 2 minutes. UK MD Read more »

What are the two most dangerous things that a motorist can do that could result in injury or death? Most people would assume this to be the two things that the government, media and safety organisations obsess over. Speeding and drink driving. We are about to be hit with a campaign regarding drink driving as we run up to Christmas and there seems to be a year round campaign to demonise those that speed. Read more »

If you ever drive into London along the M4 past Heathrow you will know only too well the frustration of sitting in a queue of traffic whilst the red bus lane is empty waiting for the odd taxi or bus to come zooming by. Of course if you dare to put a wheel into the bus lane a million cameras will provide the evidence necessary for you to receive a hefty fine. If this causes you frustration I have some good news for you Read more »

Dealerships and garages are still failing which means that whether you are buying new or used from a dealer you need to use the credit card technique that I recently explained in order to protect yourself between paying for a car and taking delivery. According to Experian 35 garages and related businesses failed in July this year compared to 50 last year. So whilst it is an improvement it’s not worth taking the risk and don’t forget that using the credit card technique could help to increase your Read more »

Graham Hill’s in depth car review focuses on the new version of the Bug, or to give it the full name, VW Beetle. It’s one of those cars you either love or hate and, I have to say, I fall into the latter group. Like me, VW have found that the Bug appeals more to the ladies, so to try and balance things up they have made it look more butch(ish). To me it still looks like a Bug with about as much appeal as a breadstick. But what do I know, I’m sure this car of the people will have certain women and an Read more »

You’ll probably be pleased to hear that over the next 10 years there’s going to be a £32 billion programme of replacing ageing electricity cables and gas pipes across the UK. As a result the AA has proposed that the utility firms should be charged the moment they start digging up roads as a sort of lane rental in order to speed up the work and limit the inconvenience to road users. Edmund King, president of the AA said, ‘Governments have procrastinated for a quarter of a century. With £32 billion Read more »

I have mixed views over my next piece. You see over the years I have recommended to clients that they make use of the law wherever they can to save money. One area that I have heavily promoted is covered by sections 99 and 100 of the Consumer Credit Act, better known as Voluntary Termination, whereby once you have paid half the total cost of the finance, you can simply hand the car back to the HP provider and they have to stand any loss between what would normally be required to Read more »

Research by licence checking company, CFC solutions, revealed that whilst there is a common held belief that young drivers and older drivers have more points on their licences than those in their middle age, it’s not as simple as that. The theory held good and younger and older drivers (17 – 25 & 65+) certainly do have a higher frequency of points on their licences but it was found that those in the 25-34 and 35-44 age groups, when they had points, they were more than in the other age groups. Read more »