With winter just around the corner many drivers are now thinking of changing over to winter tyres. Accepted belief amongst motorists states that winter tyres have a higher rolling-resistance than summer tyres. However, according to German tyre giants Continental, this is not the case. They say that, courtesy of the materials utilized in modern winter tyres and their tread design and low weight, winter tyres are just as economical as their summer counterparts. Conti urges motorists to make the change to winter tyres as they give vastly superior braking capacity in cold conditions.

The company has been focusing on lowering rolling-resistance in its winter tyres since the introduction of the ContiEcoContact range, 15 years ago. Dr Burkhard Wies, vice-president of Tyre Line Development Worldwide, explained, “As a result of our continued development work, there is no longer any difference between summer and winter tyres in terms of rolling resistance. In some of our models, the rolling resistance coefficient of around 1.0 cr in winter tyres is even slightly lower than in their summer counterparts.”

The list of fashionable life-style accessories now includes hybrid cars. The Toyota Prius joined such style icons as the iPhone, iPlayer and Nintendo Wii following the announcement of the winners of the first British Technology Awards. The hybrid car won the Greenest Technology of the Year Award.

The key to the vehicle’s promotion to icon status lies in the development of an effective battery system. The life-span of the battery, and its limited range, has held back public acceptance of the new hybrid cars, but Toyota seem to be overcoming this obstacle. Their engineering team now claims that, correctly charged, the battery has a life-expectancy of between seven and ten years. The new, lighter battery has been tested and found capable of a lifetime mileage in the region of 150,000 miles.

The Prius seems to be leading the hybrid vehicles into the mainstream market, a million vehicles had been sold by May 2008. It is also attracting attention from celebrities. Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz love it, while Jeremy Clarkson, unsurprisingly, is not a fan. The Top Gear presenter had a Prius shot during a recent episode, claiming, “It’s not beautiful, it’s not fast, it’s not particularly economical, it’s not desperately safe, and now it turns out it isn’t even bullet-proof”.

A tyre blow-out in Magherafelt, Northern Ireland has resulted in the deaths of 7000 chickens. The tyre incident started a fire, which swept through the poultry farm, wreaking havoc. According to the Mid-Ulster Mail, the fire was brought under control by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, but they couldn’t save the 7000 resident poultry.

David Wilson, of the USPCA, praised the efforts of the fire service, saying, “The USPCA commends our colleagues in Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service for their efforts to contain the blaze and limit the losses. Whilst there were no survivors, their intervention relieved the suffering of many trapped birds. It was unfortunate that so many chickens were killed in this accident however I commend the quick action of the emergency services in ensuring that their suffering was minimal.”

As children my friends and I often used old tyres when messing about in rivers and lakes. They served as flotation aids and generally added to the fun, but it appears that the idea may be catching on with other species. Three holiday makers in Australia recently spotted a crocodile swimming along inside an old tyre. In fact there is a serious element to the story as it appears that the croc is trapped inside the tyre

The three friends spotted the reptile swimming near their houseboat on the Mary River, east of Darwin. The tyre doesn’t seem to affect the croc’s swimming ability, but it is making it impossible for it to hunt. Now Tom Nichols, a Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife ranger, plans to harpoon the afflicted creature in an attempt to free it of its handicap. Nichols said, “I’ll try to harpoon it during the day. If that doesn’t work, I’ll go after it at night”. Once it has been captured, the crocodile will be given a complete health check to decide whether it can be returned to the wild. Nichols said, “If the crocodile is in good condition, we’ll let it go. Otherwise I’ll bring it back to Darwin with me”.

The tyre, presumably, is beyond repair.

The stereo-typical image of garages as the sexist lairs of unreconstructed males is being challenged by a new web-site. Women who have been patronized, leered at or simply ripped-off when having their tyres changed or their car serviced can now seek out female-friendly suppliers via a website - foxychoice.com.

All the businesses recommended by Foxychoice have to sign a female-friendly pledge, promising never to patronize, overcharge or sell unnecessary services. In fact this is a pledge that would probably be equally welcomed by male motorists.

Foxy choice was founded in Sussex in 2004 by husband and wife couple Paul and Steph Savill after their student daughter had a bad experience with garage staff, and today it boasts a membership of some 10,000 female drivers. Steph Savill feels that most motorists lack the required knowledge to select a garage with any degree of confidence. She explains, “Choose one that has signed the female friendly Foxy Promise instead and you now know they are offering superior standards of customer care, compared to those who can’t commit to our promise”. She believes that women are leading the way in consumer rights, “Any garage or dealership that is getting things right for women drivers has raised its game because we know what we want, are used to getting it and go elsewhere if we aren’t happy”.

As I said, it might be of interest to male drivers as well.

Michelin is displaying a revolutionary new wheel at the Paris Motorshow. The tyre manufacturer’s revolutionary new product is known as the “Active Wheel”, and it does away with the normal engine, suspension and transmission fittings.

The wheel is fitted with an integral electric motor, which is powered by battery, a fuel cell or a super-capacitor. At the Paris Motorshow the wheel is fitted to a new concept car, the Venturi Volage, which has been developed in conjunction with Heuliez and Orange. The Volage is an electric car that can compete with traditional vehicles while addressing issues such as pollution, energy conservation and safety.

The engines are fitted to the two front wheels, making the cars handling very responsive. It also delivers exceptional acceleration and a very smooth ride. The vehicles suspension system is electronic rather than mechanical. Its response time is 3/1000ths of a second, and it eliminates rolling and pitching motion.

The Michelin Active Wheel is the result of 12 years of research and development, and, together with their championing of fuel-efficient tyres, is a reflection of the company’s determination to see tyre production improve and evolve.

The World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) moves to Monza, Italy, for the last European races, and presents a challenge to sole tyre supplier Yokohama. The Monza circuit, with its long straights and slow corners, represents a big problem for the drivers, who will need to gain maximum traction from their Yokohama Advan tyres.

Yokohama’s tyre engineer, Mr S Watanabe, explained, “In order to be competitive on the long straights, single-seaters rely on a low downforce set-up. This means that in slow corners the tyres have to work harder than usual to generate grip as they are receiving less help from the car’s aerodynamics. Touring cars run a simpler aerodynamic package so their grip levels will not be affected as much, but the track’s slow corners mean that there is a high traction demand on the rear tyres regardless. In addition, the circuit’s surface is also challenging; the older areas of the track are quite rough whilst other parts have been resurfaced recently and are much smoother”.

Monza will host the last two European races of the season before the WTCC circus moves on to Japan and Macau for the penultimate and final races of the year. These races will decide the winner of the drivers’ title, which is being contested by Chris van der Drift and Michael Ammermuller.

According to the National Tyre Distributors Association the increasing number of unregistered foreign vehicles is creating a tyre safety “black hole”. The NTDA claims that there are around 140,000 foreign registered cars on our roads and they, together with the 3 million foreign vehicles that visit our shores each year, are not bound by the UK’s registration and MOT systems.

Peter Gaster, chairman of the NTDA, said, “Our concern is that foreign-registered cars often come from countries which have less stringent testing and maintenance standards than the UK. Once they’re in the country they can drive around with little risk of detection and without having to take an MOT test or even re-register with the DVLA”.

Cars that stay in the UK for more than six months should be re-registered, but many of these vehicles are untraceable and never find their way onto the system. The problem is compounded by the growing black market sales of unregistered cars.

Gaster went on to explain, “Tyre condition and good maintenance are absolutely crucial factors in road safety and our fear is that thousands of cars could be driving around with sub-standard tyres that are not being picked-up by MOTs or regular servicing. In addition to tread depth and inflation pressures we are concerned about tyre ageing, in which older tyres can fail, despite appearing to be sound at first glance. Our members have already identified this issue in some foreign registered vehicles they have checked, so we know there is a potential problem that needs to be highlighted”.

The magnitude of the problem is further underlined by the statistic that reveals a 47 percent increase in the number of foreign drivers involved in accidents in Britain. Polish drivers head the table of foreigners involved in crashes. Over the last five years the number of Poles involved in crashes has risen from 361 in 2001 to 3,132 in 2006. It would seem that at least the Poles are registering their vehicles. They represent 36 percent of foreign vehicle registrations.

Over 70 firefighters spent most of Thursday struggling to control a tyre blaze in Crosby on Eden, near Carlisle. The fire, at the premises of FC Tyre Services, destroyed hundreds of tyres, and was described by Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service as one of the largest conflagrations seen in Cumbria for years.

A number of tests, held across Europe, have praised Continental tyres, awarding the company’s tyres the highest scores in a number of categories. The German motoring magazine, AutoBild, tested the ContiWinterContact TS 800, TS 810 and TS 830 tyres against sixty of their competitors. The testers concluded that the TS 830 was very well balanced, and gave it top marks on wet roads, on ice and on snow.

The TS810 was praised for its good traction, short braking distances on snow and its excellent handling properties on both wet and dry roads. The tyre was awarded the top rating of “exemplary”.

The ContiWinterContact TS 800 also came out top in the tests run by Europe’s biggest motoring club. The Stiftung Warentest showed it to be the top performer on wet roads, and awarded it the highest ratings on snow and ice.

All of the tests also paid tribute to the Continental tyres’ performance with regard to safety, especially under wet conditions.