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Given the onset of cold weather more and more of us are experiencing misty car windows. The IAM’s chief examiner, Peter Rodger recommends drivers better prepare their cars before they travel.

Your windows will steam up when the air inside your car is warmer and is carrying more humidity. This air inside is cooled near the glass allowing the humidity to condense and form mist. Here are Peter’s top tips for coping better with misty windows:

1. Mist will often form quicker on dirty windows so it’s important you keep your windows clean throughout the winter. Both the outside and inside of your windows should be kept equally clean – free from dust, tar, tree sap and grime.
2. Newspaper can be used to polish glass once you’ve cleaned it. Wash the windows with some washing up liquid and water, then dry with a cloth ensuring you lift the windscreen wipers and clean the section of your windscreen beneath them. If you prefer the traditional method of using crumpled up newspaper, this works well too.
3. Don’t leave any damp clothing in your car overnight as this can also cause the windows to steam up.
4. Use the air conditioner to help lift any condensation from the inside of your car windows. You can adjust it accordingly to lower the setting once the moisture clears. And if your car has a button that sets the demister at the optimum for clearing the screen then use that.

Rodger said: “Your windows are your eyes when you get behind the wheel. It is foolhardy and downright dangerous to drive one inch if you can’t see clearly from your windows. Be five minutes late rather than venture down the road in this way.” Also read: Drink Driving/Excess Alcohol

Tesla opens its 20^th Supercharger station in the UK, continuing the rapid expansion of the fast-charging network to enable long-distance travel in Tesla’s all-electric vehicles. Tesla Superchargers span routes from Exeter to Edinburgh, allowing access to Europe. Today’s announcement puts Tesla on course for full UK coverage by the end of 2015.

Today, Supercharger stations are available at Sainsbury’s supermarkets in Winchester, Exeter and Bristol. Tesla also recently opened stations at Junction 15 of the M1 near Northampton and Brent Cross shopping centre in North London.

Model S is the world’s first premium electric sedan. It has a range of 312 miles per charge (according to its NEDC rating), which is more than enough to cover daily commutes and the majority of daily driving scenarios. Tesla Superchargers replenish half a charge in as little as 20 minutes and are conveniently placed along well-travelled routes to enable long-distance travel.

Figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that white was the most popular colour for new cars registered in the UK in 2014 for the second year running. Of the 2,476,435 new cars registered in 2014, 22.2% were white – representing the highest proportion of white cars registered in any year since records began in 1996.

The colour’s record-breaking popularity follows a strong upturn in the uptake of white cars, over the past decade. In 2010, white cars accounted for just under 10% of new car registrations, making it the sixth most popular car colour, with black and silver cars the best-selling. In 2005, less than 1% of the UK’s new car buyers chose white.

In 2014, black cars took second place followed by grey, taking 19% and 14% of the market respectively. Silver – the second most popular colour in 2010 with almost a quarter of registrations – has now slipped to sixth place, accounting for 13% of the total new car market

Buoyed by the success of Captur, Renault is continuing its offensive in the world of crossovers with the launch of Kadjar, the brand’s first C-segment crossover.

In a fast-growing and extremely popular area of the market, Kadjar will boost Renault’s ambitions on the international stage, as it is due to go on sale initially in Europe and in many African and Mediterranean Basin countries, followed by China.    

This sibling to Captur shakes up established thinking by bringing an innovative and attractive proposition to the crossover market. The Renault Kadjar stands out through its fluid, athletic exterior styling. Meanwhile, its interior is both sporty and refined, courtesy of the quality of the materials employed and the attention that has gone into its finish.

Available with either four- or two-wheel-drive transmission, the Renault Kadjar encourages adventure while at the same time delivering easy manoeuvrability in town thanks to its compact footprint (4.45 metres long x 1.84 metres wide).

The Renault Kadjar will be unveiled to the public at the 85^th Geneva Motor Show which opens to the public on 5^th March 2015.

It will go on sale in the summer in both Europe and a high number of countries in Africa and the Mediterranean Basin region and is scheduled to appear in RHD form in the UK in the Autumn.

Kia Motors continues to reel in awards for its outstanding design. Now the Kia Sorento, the brand’s flagship SUV, has received the prestigious ‘iF Design Award’ for the first time.

The judges of the globally-recognised design awards programme honoured the third generation of the Sorento, which goes on sale across Europe in March 2015, with an award in the ‘Product’ category. As well as awarding the car for the overall quality of its design, the jury rated the car on criteria such as finish, degree of innovation, environmental impact and safety.

The all-new Kia Sorento is the seventh Kia model to secure an iF Design Award. In every year since 2010, at least one of the coveted awards has been scooped by Kia Motors, with previous winners from the brand including the Kia Venga, Sportage, Optima, Picanto, pro_cee’d and Soul.

The official presentation ceremony for the 2015 iF Design Awards will take place on 27 February 2015 in Munich, during the Munich Creative Business Week. A selection of the winning products will also go on display at the iF design exhibition in Hamburg's HafenCity.

Additionally, all winners can be seen on the iF website, www.ifdesign.de, and can also be viewed on the ‘iF design’ smartphone app.

Nearly two thirds of car buyers rank reliability as the most important quality when buying a new or used car, according to a new What Car? Motoring Panel survey*.

The level of the finish and a car’s reputation for quality were the next most important factors that determined the choice of their current car. 

Relatively unimportant were the nationality of the brand and, perhaps surprisingly, the CO₂ emissions.

The unique What Car? Motoring Panel, consisting of more than 4,000 respondents, was asked to rank the importance of 29 factors which influenced its last car purchase.

Surprisingly, just 11% of private buyers considered flexible finance to be an important factor in their buying decision.

Ford has started production of its all-new Ford Mondeo Hybrid – the first hybrid electric car built and sold by Ford in Europe.

The Mondeo Hybrid combines a specially-developed 2.0-litre petrol engine with an electric motor and 1.4 kWh lithium-ion battery for 67.3 mpg (combined), reaching 100.9 mpg for urban driving and 99 g/km CO₂emissions.

In the U.S., Ford is the second largest manufacturer of hybrids, having already produced a total of 400,000 vehicles since their introduction.

The all-new Ford Mondeo Hybrid is available in the UK from December a four-door saloon from only £24,995 - the same as its 2.0-litre diesel Mondeo Titanium Powershift five-door equivalent.

Full details of the all-new Ford Mondeo can be found at http://mondeo.fordpresskits.com

Stuck for gift ideas for the loved one that has everything this Christmas? Road Angel Group and Halfords may well have the answer with a Gem that doesn’t break the bank. 

Available through selected Halfords Stores, the Road Angel Gem + is the ultimate in-car safety device, aimed at educating drivers with advance warnings of accident black spots, speed limits and temporary restrictions.

Effectively a plug and play system, the Gem + communicates via GPS from your dashboard, communicating vital information to drivers via its clear LCD screen.  Thanks to Road Angel Group’s established database, the Gem + keeps drivers constantly informed of speed limits and blackspots and even calculates actual speed through variable speed limit zones too.

In addition to its pushed warning features, Gem + also offers users the unique SpeedShareTM system through its built in sim, that allows drivers to feedback information directly to the central database, enabling Gem + owners to play a part in keeping their community updated 24/7. 

Another great safety feature for lone drivers is  eAssist, enabling users to contact the emergency services in the event of accident with the touch of just one button and even speak via the unit’s built-in microphone.

The standard Road Angel Gem + retails for £159.99, with an special exclusive Gem + Deluxe available only from Halfords for £179.99. The Gem + Deluxe features a hardwire kit, protective pouch, alternative mounting option and a longer USB lead.

For more information on your nearest stockist or to buy online, visit www.halfords.com or for technical information please visit our website www.roadangelgroup.com

The ultimate expression of British automotive luxury is imagined with the Bentley Grand Convertible, the most sophisticated open-top car ever created by Bentley. Iconic yet understated in style and fashioned entirely by hand from the very finest materials, this unrivalled flagship of luxury represents the ultimate in powerful, sensuous roofless motoring.

Bentley Chairman and CEO, Wolfgang Dürheimer, who unveiled the car in Los Angeles, commented: 

“This concept demonstrates Bentley’s ability to create a pinnacle convertible Grand Tourer, while embodying elegance beyond compare. With this car we combine the opulent Mulsanne experience with the full sensory indulgence of open-air touring, continuing to unite luxury and performance in new ways.           

“We are eagerly awaiting the response of our customers to this car. We will ensure that this car - if it reaches the roads – will be a highly exclusive, extremely limited collector’s piece.”

The Bentley Grand Convertible will be on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show from 19^th November 2014.

www.bentleymotors.com

UK drivers cause nearly three quarters of a billion pounds of damage annually simply parking their cars, according to research by Accident Exchange. 

Costing £1,428 on average to repair vehicle damage, car park prangs are second only to rear-end shunts as the most common kind of car accident.

Up nearly four per cent since 2010, it is estimated that there are 500,000** car parking collisions of this type annually, or an eye-watering 1,373 every day.

The replacement vehicle provider to the motor industry found most parking incidents take place at slow speeds but that does not stop motorists damaging doors, wheels, bumpers and other parts of the bodywork.

A possible contributing factor is that today’s larger vehicles are now squeezing into parking spaces of only 237.5cm in width – the average car park space size – leaving drivers of the latest Golf for instance, at 203cm wide, with only 17.25cm either side.   

In comparison, the original Golf MK1 was just 171cm wide.