Ford has decided to give away free fuel with its new cars too, with the offer being worth up to £1,200 on some models, such as the Galaxy people carrier – but the offer only applies to diesels.

In the case of a Fiesta diesel it’s worth up to £700, and for a Focus and Mondeo it represents a fuel cost saving of £900.

For what it’s worth, you also get 12,000 Nectar points as well as the free fuel with the models concerned.

Customers receive a fuel card, which enables them to dispense a year’s supply of BP Ultimate for the diesel model they choose.

In addition to the 12,000 Nectar points, they also get points as they fill up at a rate of one point per litre.

Peter Fleet, Ford’s marketing director, says: “The demand for diesel-powered cars has exploded in the last five years, creating a highly competitive and technology-led marketplace.”

So far this year more than 67,000 diesel Fords have been bought in the UK, with the Mondeo being the UK’s best selling diesel car.

Fiesta diesel sales have doubled this year and Focus C-MAX diesel sales are expected to account for more than a third of the total.

The free diesel offer applies to new cars bought before February 2004.

Retainagroup, a security marking and registration services firm for vehicle manufacturers, believes that the public is still largely unaware of this new kind of vehicle crime, and that understandably, even the police do not know the true scale of the problem.

Particularly frightening is that your vehicle might have already been cloned, or the used car that you recently bought could be a clone, without you being aware of it.

Cloning is the vehicle equivalent of identity theft. Criminals replace the number plates on a car – usually stolen – with the registration number of an almost identical car of the same make, model and even colour.

Owners of cloned cars often only become aware of the problem when they receive speeding or parking tickets from places they have never visited.

Wendy Rowe, of Retainagroup, says: “Cloned vehicles tend to come to light only when it’s too late, and by then, there could be several victims of the crime and a huge financial cost.

“The owner of a cloned car who receives fines, charges, penalty points or is accused of stealing fuel or involvement in more serious crimes has the difficult task of proving that he or she is innocent.”

A clone is not necessarily stolen or written-off. And there could be more than two vehicles of the same make, model and colour – all with the same registration number.

Retainagroup gives the following advice to minimize the chances of becoming a victim:

1. Secure registration plates with clutch-head screws to make them more difficult to steal. Look out for new types of anti-theft plates that are coming onto the market.

2. If your registration plates are stolen, report this to the police and obtain a crime reference number.

3. If you receive a fine or demand from somewhere you have never been, challenge it immediately with the appropriate authorities and the police.

4. If a vehicle has Retainagroup-marked glass, the unique code should correspond with the registration mark, VIN and other details. Use the 24-hour number etched on the glass to check the International Security Register.

5. Invest in a vehicle provenance check before buying any used vehicle and if possible, include a document check.

According to EurotaxGlass’s, the prolonged spells of heavy rainfall have led to a boom in sales of commercial vehicles.

‘As a direct result of the exceptionally wet weather, more new and used commercial vehicle sales have been generated over the past four months than would typically have been expected,’ says George Alexander, chief commercial vehicle spokesman at EurotaxGlass’s.

‘If any vehicle suffers damage following a flood it will be subject to an insurance claim and probably rapid replacement.

‘Where roads and fields were flooded, some owners will have seriously considered acquiring a more rugged commercial vehicle to cope with such conditions. Here, we have already seen a market improvement for double-cabbed 4x4s following an earlier period of price instability.’

Not all dealers have benefited though. Explains Alexander: ‘There were winners and losers amongst neighbouring dealers. As with the flooding itself, the consequences for dealers in either benefiting or suffering from the aftermath was extremely localised.

‘Put simply, if it was their customer who suffered the loss or decided to change or expand his business as a direct result, then that dealer was quids in.’

And he believes that any positive implications of the recent inclement weather conditions are likely to be short lived.

‘The improvement in sales activity is unlikely to have any lasting effect on values, as used prices for nearly all popular commercial vehicles were already pushing hard on the ceiling imposed by discounted prices on new. What this unexpected and extremely localised blip has done is to soak up any additional used stock that would have appeared during what is traditionally a slow sales period.’

Motability has worked with directenquiries.com the Nationwide Access Register, to publish online access information about each of the 4,000-plus car dealerships offering the Motability Scheme.

The search tool enables people thinking of getting a new car to prioritise the results depending on their requirements – for example, wheelchair access or induction loop.

Easy-to-follow icons depict additional services available from dealers such as onsite MOT’s, pick-up and return transfers, and if a wash and vac service is available.

Browsers can also use the facility to see specific pieces of information such as whether the dealership features wheelchair access to all cars on the forecourt and in the showroom, if there is room for electric wheelchairs in key areas of the dealership and even if staff have completed disability equality training.

Mike Betts Motability Operations chief executive explains: “For the first time information on the accessibility levels and additional features of car dealerships is available in one place and at customers’ fingertips.

‘With the support of Direct Enquiries these details are now easy to view, making it simple for customers to choose the nearest dealership offering services that match their requirements. The great news is that car dealerships have seen the assessments as an incentive to upgrade their facilities in order to grow their Motability business.”

Direct Enquiries assessed the car dealerships offering the Motability Car Scheme to establish the facilities available such as accessible toilets, low payment counters, and where information is available in alternative formats.

Many dealerships have responded to the accessibility assessments by investing in better facilities. For example, one BMW and MINI dealership has made its showroom more user-friendly with assistance bells, new hearing induction loops and customer care kits for those with arthritis and visibility challenges.

In addition, both sales and aftersales staff have been booked onto Motability Operations’ disability confidence training courses.

Grant Kennedy, chief executive of Direct Enquiries, says: “Mobility is vital to everyday life, so providing people with information about their most convenient Motability dealership makes perfect sense.’

Back from work, the school run, then morphing into “home mode” – we can, and must, turn our hands to everything.

We are electricians, nurses, domestic goddesses, secretaries et al once inside the front door. But there is one area that remains, for most of us, a no-go zone – car mechanics.

Fret not, for I have been alerted to a group of people offering solace and help and they are the www.foxyladydrivers.com.

Set up by a husband and wife team in Sussex, they became disenchanted with the way women were treated when they took their cars in for a service and decided that the way forward was to set up a club offering more support and a better deal, no matter what age, or make, the car may be.

Annual membership costs just £30.00, plus a one off joining fee of £5.00, and is open to any lady driver resident in the UK.

Moreover, the team positively encourages use of its helpdesk and garage services to any other members of their family living at the same address.

One of the main benefits is that the club is linked into a network of garages in the UK and generally offers some 30 per cent off main dealer rates. That’s a huge plus considering we are often charged more than men for the same work.

I spoke to Steph Savill, one half of the founding team at Foxyladydrivers. She runs the sales and marketing side of the business and I asked her how she came up with the idea.

She says: “I wrote to local papers compiling information on local garages and invited female readers to write to me telling me of their experiences with them individually so that I could get an idea of who is reliable and trustworthy which set the ball rolling.”

Plenty of feedback came through and the club is now well serviced throughout the UK for garages and other motor support via their “who’s who” list – a directory of services listed for members.

The target membership for the first year – and the club has been running since December 2004 – was 1,000 members.

That box has been well and truly ticked and as the numbers grow, so does the influence.

Who says we can’t do our own thing when it comes to cars?

But this year’s upward charge has been consistently led by off-roaders, proving that a strong market still exists for such vehicles provided taxation and fuel costs are not seen as prohibitive by consumers.

Conversely, superminis and city cars, which were the only consistent performers during the downturn have seen relatively modest increases in value during 2009.

Motor market analysts CAP also believes price rises are slowing as the market becomes less volatile.

CAP’s Black Book spokesman Mark Bulmer said: ‘We are now expecting the market to stabilise over the next few weeks and there is already evidence to support such a view.

“Despite the clamour for stock, dealers are now reporting reduced showroom traffic and fewer retail sales. This will lead to reduced buying activity although large dealer groups are likely to stay in the market to buy in volume for a while yet.

‘This is because many have been unable to replenish stock during the first quarter that was deliberately depleted for financial reporting and risk mitigation reasons at the end of 2008. There is also some evidence that auction conversion rates are beginning to reduce. We believe that in general buying activity will reach a more stable level during April.’

RAC Financial Services managing director Jason Richards says: “Of the 25 million cars on the road in the UK, one million are un-taxed. Law-abiding motorists will suffer at the hands of these tax dodgers. The RAC Insure Motoring Index has already shown an increase in the cost of car tax in recent months. We predict this will continue in order to compensate for the £200 million lost through tax evasion.”

Incidents involving uninsured drivers, who are likely to also drive without an MOT, increase the cost of motoring for honest motorists. Insurance claims after an accident involving an uninsured driver cost £500 million a year. This adds £30 to the annual insurance premium of law-abiding motorists.

The RAC Insure Motoring Index recently revealed that owning and running a car costs around a quarter of the average disposable income, amounting to an average of £103 a week.

While this could account for drivers choosing to cut corners and avoid high tax payments, the Index also revealed that the cost of motoring actually fell in the second quarter of 2003, by £1.83 a week.

Mr Richards added; “The overall saving of about £95 a year, could pay for six month’s car tax, so there is no excuse for drivers who act irresponsibly and illegally by not taxing their vehicle.”

IT looks like the kind of thing that could happen when a beach buggy meets a pile of scaffolding, but this, at least according to the UK importers, is going to be the car trendy young things will soon be clamouring for.

Car may be too strong a word. The importers – the same people who used to make the Reliant Robin – reckon it’s a cross between a car and a scooter; others might liken it more to a Meccano model or a Lego kit.

No matter, if you believe what you’re told, the new Be Up – yes, that’s what it’s called – will develop a new style of urban motoring in the 21st Century.

With its open, tubular construction and minimal panelling, this tiny two seater is aimed at trendy young urban professionals and teenagers.

The open doors are made of tubular steel and are more like hinged barriers; there’s no rear window, just a kind of fly-screen to reduce draughts, and the top can be removed to leave you virtually fully exposed to the elements.

Handily for anyone living in a climate like ours, the complete interior – including the seats – is made from weatherproof materials.

Priced at £5,995 it can be driven by anyone over 17 if they have a full motorcycle licence.

The Be Up is built in France by Ligier – a name famously associated with French Formula One and endurance racing.

But it’s a tad slower than the legendary French blue racers. Its tiny, 505cc, two cylinder, petrol engine pumps out a miniscule 21bhp at 4200 rpm. Driving through a CVT type automatic transmission that’s good for a maximum speed of 60mph.

Whose dream car?

Fresh air fiends with a second property on the Med or a set of oilskins.

Whose nightmare?

Any driver who gets stuck behind one on a B road.

IT looks like the kind of thing that could happen when a beach buggy meets a pile of scaffolding, but this, at least according to the UK importers, is going to be the car trendy young things will soon be clamouring for.

Car may be too strong a word. The importers – the same people who used to make the Reliant Robin – reckon it’s a cross between a car and a scooter; others might liken it more to a Meccano model or a Lego kit.

No matter, if you believe what you’re told, the new Be Up – yes, that’s what it’s called – will develop a new style of urban motoring in the 21st Century.

With its open, tubular construction and minimal panelling, this tiny two seater is aimed at trendy young urban professionals and teenagers.

The open doors are made of tubular steel and are more like hinged barriers; there’s no rear window, just a kind of fly-screen to reduce draughts, and the top can be removed to leave you virtually fully exposed to the elements.

Handily for anyone living in a climate like ours, the complete interior – including the seats – is made from weatherproof materials.

Priced at £5,995 it can be driven by anyone over 17 if they have a full motorcycle licence.

The Be Up is built in France by Ligier – a name famously associated with French Formula One and endurance racing.

But it’s a tad slower than the legendary French blue racers. Its tiny, 505cc, two cylinder, petrol engine pumps out a miniscule 21bhp at 4200 rpm. Driving through a CVT type automatic transmission that’s good for a maximum speed of 60mph.

Whose dream car?

Fresh air fiends with a second property on the Med or a set of oilskins.

Whose nightmare?

Any driver who gets stuck behind one on a B road.

Last April Fool’s Day, the breakdown organisation responded to about 5,000 stranded vehicles, with the majority due to driver error, neglect or poor vehicle maintenance and many could have been avoided.

Green Flag’s Melanie Denny says: “Becoming stranded at the roadside is no joke. Most drivers would consider a breakdown a major inconvenience yet many motorists do not maintain their vehicles properly by performing regular checks on tyres, brakes, lights, oil and water levels.”

More than 2,000 of the breakdowns were due to battery problems. Ms Denny says: “It is a good idea to have your car battery checked out regularly to ensure it is in good condition. Many local garages will do this for you free of charge so there really is no excuse.”

The second most common problem was accident damage, accounting for almost 500 calls for assistance.

In a survey of drivers:

To avoid accidents, Green Flag advises drivers not to drink any alcohol before driving, to get a good night’s sleep and to take regular breaks at least every two hours on long journeys.

The top five causes of callouts last April Fool’s Day were battery problems (2,000), accidents (500), punctures and wheel problems (400), lost or stolen keys (200) and engine cut-outs (200).

“Motorists who take care of their vehicles and think carefully before getting behind the wheel can prove they are nobody’s fool by reducing the number of breakdowns and accidents they have, ” says Ms Denny.