A new survey, commissioned by GEM, reveals that 52 per cent of motorists want to keep the current annual MOT system and do not agree with Government proposals to make it biennial. Only 26 per cent said they would want it to change and 22 per cent were unsure.

The survey of 3,000 UK motorists reveals that drivers would be worried about leaving a two year gap between MOT tests; with nearly 50 per cent being concerned about potential mechanical failure. The survey also shows that more than half of UK drivers believe that the change in the law would see car maintenance standards deteriorate and feel reassured of their car’s safety and roadworthiness with the current system.

GEM Chief Executive, David Williams MBE, comments: “The results prove that having such a regular service gives the public peace of mind when it comes to driving a safe and reliable vehicle. We know that drivers rarely check their cars themselves and leaving it two years will mean we will have unsafe and sub-standard cars on our roads. The proposed biennial MOT system will undoubtedly have a negative impact on road safety and put more lives at risk unnecessarily every year.”

The survey also shows that 44 per cent of drivers believe the MOT law change would have a negative impact on road safety in the UK.

“Road safety should never be compromised and we are fierce supporters of the ProMOTe campaign to lobby the government against these plans.” David concluded.

For more information on the ProMOTe campaign please visit www.pro-mote.org.uk and the GEM Motoring Assist website www.motoringassist.com.

Auto Express has highlighted that the Government’s own data has shown that buses outside of London are more polluting per passenger than the average car during the last decade. Not only is this is a shock but it’s a real disappointment.

If public transport providers cannot lower their emissions – per passenger – then they should be far more heavily taxed in the same way that the rest of us seem to suffer. Granted a full bus will probably be putting out less CO2 than every one of those people in a car, however I don’t see why we can’t see more hybrid buses that compensate for the times that buses are less full – which is, let’s face it, most of the time. Not good enough, public transport providers!

Auto Express has reported on the latest from Renault – five models are going to be axed from the UK line up. These include the Laguna hatch, Sport Tourer, Coupe, Espace, Grand Espace, Modus, Grand Modus, Wind and Kangoo. This is not a quiet drop by a manufacturer of a car that isn’t selling. This is a major move by Renault and one that may come as a shock to fans.

For my money? I’ve driven a Laguna hatchback and a Sport Tourer. I actually quite liked both. I think the Coupe variant is a handsome car. The others I’m less keen on, though the Wind (however terribly named) did have some appeal. I’m always sorry to see a car go. However, if you’re in the market for a car, you could just get one from Renault soon…

Auto Express has featured an article suggesting the Evoque may soon be available in a new form – as a soft top cabriolet!? Yes, I’m not at all convinced by it either, but take a look at the picture and see what you think. For me, it’s a love or hate job. I think it’ll seem strange riding high ‘topless’ as well, but hey. It certainly has a flavour of the Land Rover DC 100 Sport about it. It reminds me of a large scale Tonka toy that I had as a kid, so maybe after seeing one close up I’ll fall in love with it.

If you’ve never heard of it, here’s the skinny on this exciting new way to get in touch with other petrolheads:

Launched in October 2011, monkeyplate.com is a clever website that lets car fans connect in the real world and share online, with the innovative use of customised stickers displayed on members’ rides. An online first, monkeyplate has already been dubbed ‘Facebook for cars’ by a rapidly-growing global audience of petrolheads, with photo and video albums, messaging, chat, news and blogs all available now – and a host of other features in the pipeline.

The concept is simple. Anyone can sign up to monkeyplate.com for free, and create an online profile. Users then put a customised monkeyplate sticker on their ride. This tells the world how to find their profile online simply by entering the unique username from the sticker on the monkeyplate website.

Users can even open their profiles to the public so anyone can look them up online – whether it’s on the highway, at an event or on pit lane – and also share their news on Facebook and Twitter.

Customised monkeyplate stickers can be ordered directly from the monkeyplate website and delivered worldwide. Alternatively users can buy stickers from their local vehicle graphics shop, or scratch, scribble or spray a monkeyplate on their car – as long as the monkeyplate brand and individual username are visible it’s all good.

Founded in January 2011, monkeyplate.com is the invention of Oliver Thomas, a motoring journalist and professional driver. He says, “We wanted to make a direct link between enthusiasts, their rides and the internet. With monkeyplate, the car becomes a mobile billboard for whatever the user wants to show online. News, event pictures, track day videos… anything. It works 24/7, all year, anywhere.”

Lead developer Russell Cox emphasises the importance of privacy and security. “We have made it very easy for our users to access, understand and control their privacy settings. We do not trade our users’ personal details in any way, and actively protect that information.”

Whether you are a petrolhead, grease monkey or just a social animal, this unique website is the way to tell the human race how to find you online, anywhere in the world.

Courtesy of www.netcars.com, a poll has been conducted to find out which celebrity driver is favourite amongst men and women. The results may surprise you:

British women have voted Richard Hammond their favourite celebrity driver, while men prefer his Top Gear mate Jeremy Clarkson.

Pint sized star Hammond won the race to be crowned the housewives favourite, beating off stiff competition from his TV colleagues and much younger contenders, including Formula One heroes Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

Petrol head Hammond, also known as the Hamster because of his diminutive size, landed 30 per cent of the female vote, beating Jenson Button into second place with 26 per cent.

Button’s McClaren teammate, Lewis Hamilton, took the final podium position, with 18 per cent of females plumping for him.

Women told researchers for the poll commissioned by www.netcars.com, the UK’s fastest growing car sales website, that they loved Hammond’s sense of fun and his easy going nature.

However, less than one in ten said motormouth Clarkson was their favourite celebrity driver, with the majority of females dismissing him as arrogant and egotistical.

But all was not lost, as there was no shortage of man love for the outspoken star in the www.netcars.com poll. Almost a third of men (31%) voted Clarkson their top motoring personality, leaving his on screen colleagues in his wake, with housewives favourite Hammond only able to muster 17 per cent of male votes and James May even further behind with 14 per cent.

Speaking about the results of their ‘Star in a car’ survey of 3,000 people across the UK, Reg Rix, managing director of Netcars.com, said: “I am sure the results of our survey will lead to lots more banter between Hammond and Clarkson, as one is a clear favourite with the ladies and the other is top for men. Hammond has been unofficially known as the housewives favourite for a while, but at last he can officially claim the title. I am sure he will take great pride in getting one over on Clarkson. But all joking aside our results demonstrate extremely well just how popular these guys are and how Top Gear and motoring shows can be enjoyed by both men and women. In fact, women are taking more of an interest in cars and motoring in general than ever before and we have embraced this.”

As an online used car sales portal, Netcars.com offers motorists the opportunity to search for their ideal next car and also put their current vehicle up for sale for a flat fee of £10, for cars valued at less than £1,000. The car then stays on the site until it is sold; a completely new way of selling compared with existing formats, which demand payment on a bi-weekly or monthly basis to keep a car advertised online.

The website’s additional Car Advisor function also allows motorists to leave reviews of models they have previously driven and ask other reviewers questions or advice about future purchases.

For more information or to register your car for sale please visit www.netcars.com.

Auto Express has covered the comments made by Philip Hammond regarding the increasing fuel prices. His educated (cough) suggestion was “People should look to new technologies. Electric cars are very cheap to run and allow motorists to drive guilt free.”

Now, as everyone who is a regular reader of this blog will know, I’m not against any form of new technology. In fact, as a consumer, the more options you have the better life is. However, when it comes to buying a car, I could opt for a second hand diesel, say a VW Golf 1.9 TDI which I could buy at a very reasonable price of £6,000. Or I could do as the (former) transport secretary suggests and pay £30,000 for a new Nissan Leaf. I use this as the example as it won ‘Car of the Year 2011′ in the World Car Awards.

Now, even with the government ‘incentive’ of £5,000 off, I’ll still be paying £25,000 for a car that will be base spec, has an extremely limited range that’s significantly reduced by anything approaching enjoyable driving and a technology that’s flawed in that the precious batteries (made from hard to mine precious metals) have to be replaced at significant cost!

Perhaps the biggest reason Mr Hammond’s statement annoys me in the extreme is that it’s almost suggesting that everyone can afford to make the move, they are just choosing not to due to plain pig-headedness. Not everyone is on MP money. I know very few people that can afford to go out and sink £25,000 into a car that isn’t really suitable for every type of journey they will require it for.

Mr Hammond also stated ““The increase in fuel prices is a function of global oil prices, it’s not driven by policy.” I’ve written about this before and it’s palpable nonsense. It’s also extremely trite for a former transport secretary to say, when WE ALL KNOW that around 60%+ of the markup of the fuel you buy is tax and duty. It is not controlled by prices.

This is a good example of ministers having their heads in the clouds on their well above average salaries whilst the rest of us are galled by what they come up with.

Read the rest of the article at Auto Express.

Manheim Auctions, the world’s largest car auction company, recently completed a survey looking at whether people are moving to winter tyres this year. The results may surprise you:

Less that 5% of motorists are planning to buy winter tyres this year even though weather forecasters are already predicting another winter of chaos on the roads. A recent survey by Manheim Auctions has found that 95.5% of respondents are not planning to buy winter tyres despite the chaos caused by the snow last year. Reasons for not buying include: cost – 41% said they could not afford them; weather – 28% didn’t think the weather will be bad enough to justify winter tyres; and ignorance – 16% didn’t really know what winter tyres are.

The survey also revealed that 92% of respondents do drive differently in the snow. Of those that didn’t, 63% claimed they didn’t need to as the snow didn’t cause them any problems when driving and they were skilful enough to handle all weather conditions!

“Winter tyres are an investment in safety. They will help to keep you on the move and on the road, reduce the risk of accidents and can be used over several winters. The fact that 16% don’t really know what winter tyres are suggests that calling them cold weather tyres would be more helpful,” said Craig Mailey, Marketing Director, Manheim Auctions.

Here’s the latest research from GEM Motoring Assist, this time concerning the safety, or lack thereof, for our canine companions in cars:

A poll announced today by No. 1 for breakdown cover, GEM Motoring Assist reveals that more than 60 per cent of UK drivers believe it should be compulsory to restrain dogs in cars when driving.

The company, which also has a road safety arm, carried out the poll to find out driver’s views on dogs wearing seat belts/harnesses in cars, after the issue became a hot topic over the summer. Ex -Eastenders actor Todd Carty appeared on TV campaigning for a new law to be introduced to make dog seatbelts compulsory after he had a near tragic accident with his Labrador and the new poll reveals he is not alone.

David Williams, MBE, CEO of GEM Motoring Assist comments, “Not only are unnecessary accidents caused by unrestrained animals in the car but the consequences in a crash can be much more severe. If a motorist is travelling at just 30 miles per hour, in the case of impact, an unrestrained average sized dog weighing approximately 50lbs would be projected forward with a force equal to a baby elephant”.

GEM continues to support the cause for safety of pets in cars and fully backs the calls for a new seatbelt law. The potential danger to both pets and passengers should not to be ignored and the company urges drivers to be aware of the consequences.

David Williams MBE, GEM’s Chief Executive continues: “Dog harnesses are readily available for dogs of all sizes and we advise motorists to always consider their dog as well as the rest of the family when it comes to car safety. This new law, if implemented, would be a great step towards reducing the number of accidents caused by animals and any law that helps make the roads a safer place is definitely a good thing.”

For more information on animal safety in cars please visit the GEM website at www.motoringassist.com/Motoring-Advice.

Auto Express has a new article on how sales of petrol and diesel have slumped. The drop has been a total of £1.7 billion litres in the first six months of 2011. The biggest shock? A loss of £1 billion for the treasury. This just highlights exactly how much is taken by HMRC from fuel sales. It also means, for my money anyway, that fuel prices should be reduced which would encourage more buying. Of course, this would go against the ‘green’ policy of applying a higher levy to reduce use…

Read the full article at Auto Express.