The Bridgestone Eco-Rally 2010

The Bridgestone Eco Rally is a convoy of alternative-fuelled vehicles (cars, bikes, scooters, taxis and limousines) taking place on Wed 7th July 2010. It will start from Brighton’s seafront all the way to London’s Hyde Park.

This is the 4th year of the event and the convoy will be lead by F1’s Ross Brawn. Other celebrities confirmed so far include Eddie Irvine, Oliver Heath, Quentin Willson, Gail Porter, Lisa Rogers and F1's Patrick Head and Nico Hulkenberg.

Major manufacturers taking part in this year's event include Lotus, Tesla, TH!NK, MINI and Honda, who will be showcasing their new CR-Z said to be the the world’s first sporty hybrid.

Go to the Bridgestone Eco-Rally for more information.

How to reset the service indicator on the Volvo S40

I serviced my car a few weeks back at my favourite garage "MOT Centre Services" in Stoney Stanton Rd which was previously known as Taxi & Car Repairs.

I was about to drive away after the service when I noticed that the service indicator light was still on. This warning light comes on to indicate that it was time to service the car.

They told me that they had not been able to shut it off. Something about not have the proper software or something.

Seeing this warning every time I started the car was really irritating. I was tempted but didn't go to TMS Coventry, the official Volvo dealer in Coventry as I knew that they would charge me a nice "official" price just to reset it and I would probably have to leave the car there for a whole day.

I don't know why but it never occurred to me to look it up on the net. It was only this Monday I suddenly remembered my car and Googled "reset service indicator on volvo s40" and discovered that I could reset the service indicator in just 4 steps:

1. Turn Key to position I (Intermediate position)
2. Push in the tripmeter reset button while turning key to position II (Drive position).
3. Hold down the tripmeter reset button until service reminder starts flashing (about 30 seconds)
4. Release the tripmeter reset button.

I didn't get it to work the first time but after the third try, the indicator light just went off.

Prevent Misfuelling with FuelSure

Phil Cartwright, an inventor and RAC Patrol has invented an amazing device called the FuelSure which prevents misfuelling. It has never happedn to me myself but apparently more than 400 drivers every put petrol into their diesel vehicle by mistake. This translates into 150,000 misfuelling cases per year, 95 per cent are caused by drivers putting petrol into their diesel vehicles due to the wider diesel filler neck and narrower unleaded nozzle.

A very serious mistake indeed as it can cost between £300 upto £5000 to repair, not counting the environmental cost of disposal of this waste fuel, coupled with CO2 emissions generated by towing misfuelled vehicles.

FuelSure replaces the normal fuel cap and is easy to fit and can be used on over 80% of diesel cars and light commercial vehicles in the UK. The device costs £29.95 and is available from RAC Patrols and recovery specialists, as well as selected Halfords stores.

BMW 5 series scores high in pedestrian safety

Euro NCAP today released the test results for three new cars: the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, BMW 5-series and the Mazda CX-7.

The BMW 5 series achieved a high 78% in pedestrian protection. The car has an active bonnet, so that when a pedestrian is struck, the bonnet is lifted from its position as a result, creating more space to absorb the energy that usually results in injury. The car also scored 100% in Safety Assist as the car has electronic stability control fitted as standard, seatbelt reminders in the front and rear, as well as a driver set speed limitation device.

One of the most common injuries in the event of a rear impact are whiplash injuries.

The BMW seat and head restraint was found to offer good protection. The Alfa Romeo Giulietta is equipped with a reactive seat and head restraint offering good protection as well. However, the Mazda CX -7 was found to offer poor protection against whiplash.



For detailed ESC performance data on all cars tested in 2009 go to the Euro NCAP website www.euroncap.com. Besides English, the Euro NCAP website is now available in Dutch and French as well.