The Filter

RTE.ie 'Money' section has an article on 'ten things your should be buying online' to try and help consumers save some cash in 2009. It highlights some useful websites for furniture, clothes, food, electronics, contact lenses and yes, even car parts! RTE Money is a useful resource with a Currency Converter, Consumer Advice and personal finance News section.

Driving in the future will be far more relaxing, according to the 'cars of the future' exhibition in London at the moment. Among the cars on display is an armchair car (Toyota iREAL), with fingertip controls and which can drive on the road or pavements. The Nissan PIVO 2 can actually pivot on its wheels (hence the name), so say goodbye to reverse parking. It even has a pop up robot on the dash that reads the facial expressions of the driver and will offer advice if the driver appears confused or stressed - I'm not sure if the robot could cope with Irish roads then!

Top Gear rolls into town this week folks, promising four days of motoring mayhem and fun at the RDS. The promotional campaign behind it has certainly been impressive, so if it lives up to its billing, it promises to be a top class event. None of us in here are going, mainly because we were too stingy to front up the fee (which was quite high), but I know a few people going so i'll let you know how it went.

There's no point trying to get tickets for it now, because it sold out in .0012 of a second. Which basically means as you reached for the phone or mouse, it sold out (what recession??).

Sky News is reporting on a car dealer in the UK who has started selling cars in a 'buy one, get one free' deal - now that's what I call good value. It may not be long before we see such offers in the Irish market.

And fuel prices are finally dropping under one euro per litre, so at last a bit of good news for motorists! Check out www.pumps.ie for the best value fuel.

1.Definitely the Haynes Combustion Engine. From the christmassy box that it comes in, to the fact that it takes hours to build, to the fact that it can be enjoyed by both adults and children. For grown blokes it will bring back the images of christmas old, when lego and mechano were the toys of choice. And you actually have a working engine at the end of it...with spark plugs that light up...what more do I have to say.

2. A bit of reading for Xmas?? - Car Workshop Manual: I know it may sound a bit boring but having a workshop manual for your car can actually help you get to know your car and also save you a bit of cash in the long-run. So why not get your loved one a good book this Christmas by choosing a Haynes Workshop Manual as their Xmas pressie. Haynes is the premier publisher of car manuals so the quality is second to none.

3. Recession-busting car accessories: Okay so you can't afford to buy your loved one a new car in 2009. But you can get them a range of car accessories to spruce up their existing car. Seat covers, floor mats or hub caps can all make a huge different to the look and feel of a tired looking car. So why not cheer them up for the New Year by pimping their car...

So why not log onto our Christmas gifts page and check out these and the rest of our Christmas 2008 gift ideas.

Many of you may not be aware, but a few months ago we launched a 'Car Part Finder' service on our website. If somebody comes to our website now and we don't have the part they are looking for, they can simply fill out a 'Car Part Finder' form. Their request is then posted on an online forum, which is accessed each day by a host of our colleagues in the auto trade - car dismantlers, main dealers, engine specialists,  gearbox specialists, bodyshops, other specialists (you get the picture...) from around Ireland. If they have your requested part, then they simply reply directly to you, by email or phone, and quote you for the part. If you get sorted out with your part, you can simply deactivate your part request from the forum. Part requests are only stored on the forum for seven days anyway and then they are deleted.

We started it as a trial some months back to cope with the amount of part request e-mails we were receiving and it has really taken off. We have managed to hook people up with all sorts of parts that we dont sell ourselves, from engines to gearboxes to seats. And the feedback from customers tells us that they are getting some good bargains. So our motto for the future is: "if MicksGarage doesn't have your part, we'll try and find it for you". http://www.micksgarage.ie/Carpartfinder.aspx

A couple of radio controlled classic cars will be available on our website fairly shortly. They are manufactured by Haynes, who are the world's leading publisher of car DIY manuals. There's a nippy little Mini classic and a cool VW classic bus. Keep an eye on the website if you want one, they'll be added shortly to the gifts section.

I'm getting very tired of US election news but I decided to see if the internet could find out what kind of car President-elect Mr Obama drives. Newsweek had a story which said that Obama just has one car, a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid (below). Very responsible. The article however points out that prior to this he owned a gas-guzzling Chrysler 300C, which rapper 50Cent also drives. Apparently he was getting a bit of flack from the green segment, so he decided it wise to change.  According to the article, Senator McCain owns 13 different cars, although I suppose he'll have plenty of time to drive them all now! So Obama wins out on the environmental motoring vote.

There's great value to be had in cars these days, with a savage drop in car sales in October again. At MicksGarage we picked up this little run-around for a bargain the other day.

I bloody wish…

It happened to be parked outside our warehouse, I had to take a snap!