Here’s a new competition that you’ll want to take a look at if you have what it takes to be a car reviewer and you fancy being sat behind the wheel of the Citroën DS5:

If you’ve watched the Top Gear presenters and thought you could do better; if you’ve always wanted to test drive a new car in an exotic location; if a cold January has you craving a luxury weekend in the South of France, then Citroën has the competition for you.

Yesterday, Citroën launched a new Facebook competition to reward five winners and a guest with a five-star weekend trip to St. Tropez in the south of France and the chance to be among one of the first to get behind the wheel of New Citroën DS5.

The five winners and their guests will enjoy a luxury weekend in the Riviera destination including flights and five-star hotel accommodation. The weekend will follow the theme of ‘The Refined, Redefined’ – New DS5’s promotional strapline – with the winners taking part in fun and distinctive experiences. The winners will also be filmed at various stages throughout the weekend so they can present their own video reviews of the car.

To enter the competition, users should visit the ‘DS5 Star Experience’ tab on Citroën UK’s official Facebook page (www.facebook.com/citroenuk) and write 50-100 words on why they deserve to be one of the first to drive the brand new Citroën DS5.

The competition closes on 31 January at 6pm and the five successful candidates will then be selected. The winners and their guests will fly out on Friday 10 February, returning on Sunday 12 February.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/citroenuk or http://www.ds5starexperience.info/.

With the introduction of the new ‘Stars and their Cars’ section in GEM’s Good Motoring magazine this year, the breakdown cover company has created a Christmas quiz to test the family’s knowledge on all things celebrity.

Guaranteed to spark debate and keep everyone entertained, the quiz is full of questions about well known celebrities and their vehicles, plus a variety of infamous fictional characters & cars. From James Bond’s notorious motor to Lord Sugar’s swanky ride, now is the time to swot up on your celebrity car knowledge to be in with a chance to win a year’s free joint breakdown cover. Simply submit your score into a prize draw and you may be a lucky winner.

David Williams, CEO of GEM Motoring Assist comments, “Every year we try and come up with a fun quiz for all the family to enjoy on Christmas Day. Our Stars and their Cars feature has proved a big hit with our members so we thought this type of quiz would not only be appealing to car enthusiasts, but also a much wider audience.”

The quiz is available to download from www.motoringassist.com/christmasquiz or you can request a hard copy by calling 01342 825676. The answers to the quiz can also be found at www.motoringassist.com/christmasquiz. The winner of the breakdown cover will be announced on 4th January 2011. And remember, no cheating.

The 2011 Citroën Créative Awards deadline has been extended to Sunday 15 January due to an increased volume of entries. Since it launched in October, entrants have been submitting an exciting range of ideas to impress the panel of judges, with many already featuring on the Créative Awards website. Visitors can score and comment on the projects online at www.citroencreativeawards.com/idea/shortlist. Make sure to head over and vote for what you think should be the winner.

For more information about the Citroën Créative Awards, visit www.citroencreativeawards.com.

A long time ago (sorry to the person that sent them!) I was sent 4 copies of this new book to give away as a competition prize. It’s not quite as new now but I want to still give the books away in a competition. All you need to do is leave your details and I’ll pick 4 winners at random. UK readers only since the books are hardback and I don’t want to spend a fortune on postage, sorry!

It should be of interest to anyone into cars, motor racing, legal drama or just looking for a good read.

Will Middleton lives for motor racing. More than just a sport, more than a hobby, it’s his first love, his livelihood, and the centre of all his dreams. Thatcher’s Britain is in meltdown, yet despite the deepening recession, Will’s new team, Trans-Atlantic Racing, has just pulled off a major coup and acquired two sleek and beautiful Lola Indy cars – sponsors are queuing up, nothing can go wrong now, surely.

The police raid comes out of the blue. Will is questioned under caution and charged with fraud, and finds himself in a Kafkaesque world where his guilt appears to have been decided in advance. How could a riding accident, an insurance claim, a bounced cheque and a brief moment of temptation all converge into such a nightmare? Even as his legal team fights for his acquittal, Will knows in his heart that there is a conspiracy, and the roots of it lie deep in the ancient secret society of the Masons. Trans-Atlantic becomes a distant memory as Will encounters a much darker side of life and leaves the glamorous world of motor racing far behind.

“The racing scenes are so real they put me right back in the cockpit of my own days as a professional driver – indeed, although not mentioned, I was actually in some of the races!” –Tiff Needell, Grand Prix and Le mans driver, Fifth Gear presenter

Children around the world have simply the best imaginations. They are not fettered by the chains of an adult existence and when it comes to imagining the future direction for cars, there is simply no stopping what they can come up with. It’s a pity more of us don’t look back at that to see solutions to problems – I’m convinced we’d all be more creative and successful! Toyota is launching another dream car competition which allows children to express themselves in whatever way they see fit when designing a car, whether they want it to fly, run only on water or even drive under water!

Young people around the world are invited to contribute paintings or drawings of their ultimate car, whether it’s one that’s kind to the environment, built for supersonic speed, or the last word in luxury. Winners of each national section of the competition will go forward to the World Contest and the chance to attend an awards ceremony in Japan in 2012.

Hopes are high for Britain’s junior designers to do well, following the example of Elisa Dawa and Amy Jackson who were among the 30 World Finalists in the 2011 contest.

Entries are being invited now, with a deadline for work to be submitted of 31 January 2012. Full details of how to take part, downloadable application packs and a gallery of some of last year’s entries can be found at www.toyota.co.uk/dreamcar.

Winning entries in each national contest will be announced in February 2012 and they will go forward to the World Contest in May. As well as gold, silver and bronze prizes, there will also be judges’ commendations and a special award-winner selected from the top three by Toyota’s President, Akio Toyoda.

I think that the Citroen DS4 is an absolutely cracking looking car. So I’ll certainly be entering the competition! Here is the latest from Citroen on how you could win yourself your very own brand spanking new crossover:

Citroën is launching the second round of ‘DS4SEEKERS’ on Tuesday 13 September, giving players another chance to win a brand new Citroën DS4 in the gigantic game of hide and seek.

DS4SEEKERS is accessible from Citroën’s official UK Facebook page – http://www.ds4seekers.citroen.co.uk – and will be playable over a 15 day period, either online or via a smartphone. Players both hide and seek virtual Citroën DS4s across the Google Maps and Google Streetview worlds, earning points for hiding and finding cars. Each point gains an entry into a draw to win a top of the range New Citroën DS4. The more points players collect, the more chances they have to win. Players are given more DS4s to hide each day.

The game uses an innovative combination of well known platforms – Facebook, Google Streetview & Google Mobile Maps. Players can move seamlessly between mobile and online thanks to real-time, back-end integration.

Wayne Roberts from Teignmouth in Devon was the winner of the first instalment of DS4SEEKERS in July. He was presented with a brand new Citroën DS4 DSport worth over £25,000 on his 40th birthday. Wayne successfully collected a total of 3,371 cars – 22 of which were ‘gold’ DS4s worth 50 points each. After receiving the keys Wayne commented; “This is just the best birthday present you could ask for. It looks great and I didn’t think I had a chance of winning, but I’m over the moon, I really am.”

Jules Tilstone, Citroën UK’s Marketing Director, commented; “The first round of DS4SEEKERS received a fantastic response. Over 300,000 cars were hidden during the 10 days the game was live, with a total of 163,488 points going to the top 50 players. I hope they’ll all be playing again with lots more getting involved. As we’re making the game five days longer, it gives even more people the chance to play along and win a stylish new DS4.”

Here’s the information direct from Proton about a competition that you simply cannot afford to miss:

To celebrate Proton’s collaboration with the Lotus Renault Grand Prix (LRGP) which is competing in the current season of the FIA Formula One World Championship, Malaysian car manufacturer has launched the ‘Grand Prix VIP Challenge’ – a global online competition to give away an all-expenses paid trip for two to watch the Brazilian Grand Prix in São Paulo between 25th and 27th November 2011.

With iconic sports car manufacturer Lotus, wholly-owned by Proton, being the title sponsor of the competing team, the competition is open to motorists who service a Proton between now and 15th October 2011.

In addition to the star prize, Proton is also giving away two iPad 2 plus 50 other attractive prizes each month between 15th July 2011 and 15th October 2011 for its existing and potential customers worldwide who participate in its global online contest.

To enter, motoring fans simply need to visit www.proton.com/grandprix and answer five random questions in the fastest time about Proton, Lotus or LRGP in order to become eligible to win the montly prizes. With over 90 dealerships based throughout the UK, customers who service their Proton during this period with an official dealer will receive a scratchcard that will award them with additional chances of winning, by improving their previous score.

The contest is being run in 21 countries: Australia, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Indonesia, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Mauritius, South Africa, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

“Our association with Lotus Renault Grand Prix (LRGP) provides us with a unique way of sharing our excitement with our existing and potential customers. Above all, it allows us to express our gratitude for the continued and growing support as well as acceptance the brand has received worldwide,” said PROTON Holdings Berhad Group Managing Director Dato’ Seri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.

LRGP is currently fifth in the Constructor Standings.

Log on now to www.proton.com/grandprix, for your chance to witness the adrenalin-packed action of Formula One racing at the final round of the 2011 championship in Brazil.

Win a personal breathalyser….read on

Close to 100,000 people lose their licences each year for drink-driving. Many may not even realise they are over the limit and endangering the lives of themselves, their passengers and the public.

Each year tens of thousands of drivers are caught drink driving the morning after an evening drinking unaware that they are still under the influence, after drinking as little as 3 or 4 drinks the night before. Figures sourced by AlcoSense Breathalysers from Government drink drive training centres show that 17.8% ¹ of all drink driving convictions effect people who are caught the ‘morning after’.

Few can judge when alcohol wears off

Many people simply are not able to accurately judge the time it takes for alcohol to wear off. A survey commissioned by AlcoSense of 1,800 UK drivers found 53% of drivers underestimated how long it takes to get under the drink drive limit again the morning after drinking the evening before.

These figures suggest 53% of people may have unintentionally drink driven the morning after. This explains why 17.8% of drink drivers are caught the morning after – when the Police aren’t actively looking for drink drivers! This is not surprising as other studies have shown that up to 71% of people admit to not even knowing what the drink drive limit is. ²

Ignorance is no excuse!

It’s often stated that ignorance is no excuse in the eyes of the law so it is worrying how little people understand of the drink drive limits.

The legal limit for drink driving is 80mg of alcohol per litre of blood but according to one recent survey 9 out of 10 did not know how many drinks this equated to. Variations in body size, metabolism and consumption period mean that alcohol has a greater effect on some than on others, leading to the confusion among drinkers.

Even calculating the number of units of alcohol in a drink and knowing how many units it takes before you’re breaking the law is not easy. A standard (125ml) glass of wine at 11% ABV contains just over 1 unit yet a large (250ml) glass of wine at 13% ABV, typically served in pubs, could be as much as 3.2 units. The same applied to the difference between a pint of mild ale and a pint of strong lager that could easily contain 50% more units.

The only way to be sure of that you are not still over the limit the morning after an evening drinking is to use a personal breathalyser such as AlcoSense.

The AlcoSense Elite, as endorsed by Sir Stirling Moss, is a digital breathalyser which works on the same principle as Police breathalysers and will quickly and accurately tell your level of intoxication and if you are under or over the UK drink drive limit.

COMPETITION

To win an AlcoSense personal breathalyser answer the following question:

Which well-known TV car show reviewed the AlcoSense Elite breathalyser and found it to be the most accurate on the market?*

(* The answer can be found at www.alcosense.co.uk)

1. Source: the TTC Group
2. Survey by Confused.com December 2010

Competition submitted to ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions.

Here’s some information on a rather special competition from Honda Racing UK:

Honda (UK) has launched ‘The GRID’, the first web based predictions game for the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship where entrants will be in with a chance of winning a Honda Civic for a year and an ultimate Pioneer Home Entertainment Package.

Developed as part of Honda (UK)’s sponsorship of the Honda Racing team in association with Pioneer, one of the team’s main sponsors, the aim of The GRID is to predict what will happen at each BTCC race meeting throughout 2011. People can register to take part and be in with a chance of winning some fantastic prizes at http://thegrid.honda.co.uk/.

Entrants not only have the chance to win a Honda Civic for a year and an ultimate Pioneer Home Entertainment Package, but they will also receive special GRID member benefits including access to the exclusive GRID lounge. Located at each of the circuits during race weekends, the lounge is an inflatable chill out zone complete with wi-fi, live TV coverage of the racing action, free tea, coffee & soft drinks complete with a Pioneer DJ spinning the latest sounds.

Sarah Mayo, Partnerships Manager, Honda (UK), commented; “If the many unpredictable twists and turns of last weekend’s races at Donington Park are anything to go by, this is going to be a very exciting competition over the season! We encourage everyone to get involved and we look forward to welcoming fans and members to the exclusive GRID Lounge throughout the year.”

How The GRID works
There are 10 questions for each race meeting which require either a multiple choice or numerical answer, for example, guess the fastest lap time at the end of this weekend’s racing at Thruxton. Points are allocated based on how close the player gets to the correct answer. The first round is open now and is based on predicting what will happen at Thruxton over the 30 April/1 May.

There will be several opportunities for players to win a prize: there will be a prize for each round, one mid-season and one at the end of the season. Players only have to take part on three occasions throughout the season to be in with a chance of winning the ultimate prize, the Pioneer Home Entertainment Package and a Honda Civic for a year.

The GRID is open to all members of the public aged 17 years old and over. Terms and conditions do apply and are clearly displayed on the website http://thegrid.honda.co.uk

To celebrate the launch of the classic show season, specialist insurance broker Footman James is offering £5000 cash to the winner of its brand new competition ‘How will you spend yours?’

Classic enthusiasts can enter the competition at any one of the 40 shows, exhibitions and events that Footman James will be exhibiting at throughout the 2011 season. One lucky winner will win an amazing £5000 cash to spend on their very own classic dream or indeed, their dream classic!

Following in hot pursuit of the Easter and Spring Bank Holidays, Footman James named its EGGciting new competition ‘How will you spend yours?’ Every visitor that receives a quotation on the Footman James stand at any of the shows they are attending this year will be entered into the prize draw free of charge, all participants have to do is state how they would spend the £5000 to be in with a chance of winning!

“The classic show season is the main highlight in our annual calendar. Starting with the Bristol Classic Car Show and culminating with the Classic Motor Show at the NEC, the 40 exhibitions and events that Footman James will be supporting across the country this year, underpins our ongoing commitment to ensuring the classic vehicle industry continues to thrive.

“We are delighted to have launched the ‘How will you spend yours?’ competition, which has been well received with over half of the participants planning to spend the cash on their dream holiday and, not surprisingly, the other half have their eye on the classic of their dreams!” explained Footman James managing director Paul Matthews.