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Our ‘gadget’ this week is an iPod App that finds parking spaces for you. A group of drivers, fed up with getting parking tickets, came up with the solution. They have joined forces with the AA to come up with parkopedia. The app asks where you want to park then gives details of  street, metered, covered and private parking spaces then uses google maps to find the exact location. It also provides cost of parking in each Read more »

Did you know that there is an engine of the year award? Well there is and this year it has gone to VW for its small size but big powered 1.4TSi petrol engine now fitted into not only the smaller cars such as Polo and Golf but also the Passat, 7 seater Touran and even the 4WD Tiguan. VW have received this award two years running and shows, according to the judging team, that engine downsizing is here to stay. VW have Read more »

A friend of mine was once clamped in a car park for not having a ticket displayed in her windscreen (she accidentally put it in her purse – daft as). As a result another friend came to the rescue at 2.00am with his tool box. After about 4 hours and several hacksaw blades later she was finally free to drive home. Not something I approve of, obviously, but it made me a little more cautious about where I park my car and I Read more »

We’ve all become addicted to sat navs and of course whilst the hand held units are far more practical, you can actually reach your destination, even on foot or in a bus, as long as the driver is prepared to follow your instructions from the 3^rd row of the bus, it’s a snob thing to have a built in, factory fitted unit costing ten times as much. But if you decide to buy a used car and you’re impressed with the factory Read more »

Just off on holiday abroad? Well if you are thinking of hiring a car you should arrange it before you leave according to Holiday Autos. They are reporting an increase of around £100 per week in some resorts as the rental companies attempt to offset the effects of the recession onto holidaying Brits. For example a 7 day hire in say Palma Majorca.now costs an average of £247 compared to £142 12 months ago and £93 in Read more »

To make congestion charges or not to make congestion charges – that is the question that the city council of York has been wrestling with and decided – no charge – at the moment. Not wishing to be a cynic but I feel it may have had something to do with the removal of millions of pounds of funding, introduced by the Labour government to encourage cities to make the charges. But whilst this, and other proposed Read more »

What a bloody surprise! After hiking up their prices last year, no less than 4 times, which coincidentally coincided with the £1,000 manufacturer’s scrappage scheme contribution, Ford are now dropping their list prices by between 6% and 15% across their smaller cars from August, after all the pipeline scrappage orders have totally washed out of the system. No wonder the biggest benefactors were the Read more »

One of the things that continues to amaze me is the lack of attention that some people pay to the new car they are about to order. Some of this is actually caused by me and my colleagues by occasionally coming up with a deal that you can’t refuse, making the decision a bit of a no brainer but it is still a good idea to get a test drive of a car that you are likely to order. It is also important to check for certain items that for Read more »

As most of you know the mortgage and financial services industry are regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), for the time being at least until the new structure, as announced by the Chancellor, takes over fully in 2012. Cases of fraud are dealt with by both the FSA and the Office of Fair Trading(OFT) in conjunction with the police. However, whilst the OFT keeps a watching brief over the activities of those Read more »

Thinking of getting an electric car? Many are but before you get too excited the institute of Engineering and Technology has calculated that you would need a battery weighing 1.5 tonnes and costing £100,000 fitted to a Ford Focus sized car to match the range of an equivalent diesel version (370 miles). This means that you would need a pack of lithium-ion batteries the weight of a mid sized hatchback to power – well – a mid sized hatchback for this distance. What do you think of electric cars? By Graham Hill

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