Now for my 2008 resolutions...

5:58pm Friday 4th January 2008

First published January 4, 2008

HELLO and Happy New Year.

Having got everything I wanted for Christmas - except the Aston Martin DB9 which I never expected to fit in my stocking, anyway - I feel it's time to repay the favour by committing myself to some worthwhile motoring resolutions for 2008.

So here we go:

A clean(ish) car: It's my own fault for being too tight to use a car wash regularly, although I like to call it eco-friendly - think of all the water and detergent I'm saving. But to be honest, it had become so grubby the other week, the original colour was nothing more than a distant memory. I gave it a quick blast with a borrowed pressure washer but even that failed to remove most of the oily black power which stained the bodywork. Unfortunately, this resolution is a little bit like saying "I'll keep the Forth road bridge smelling of fresh paint all year round" because, with my car spending hours a month on the A12 and being parked on a busy road near our house, it never stays truly clean for more than 20 seconds. I'll do my best, though.

Say no to the toll: Every time I head up North, the M6 toll charge seems to have gone up another 50p. If Britain's rate of inflation was anywhere near the rate motorists who want a bit of clear motorway are facing, we'd be getting paid in toilet rolls or bags of sugar and queuing round the streets for a loaf of bread. So unless the M6 is completely blocked, I'm going to keep my money in my pocket and remind myself how patience is a virtue, even in ten-mile traffic jams.

Get to the bottom of pollution valves: Whenever I go on the M25, I notice little signs by the side of the road saying Pollution Control Valve. Intrigued, a few weeks ago I e-mailed what I thought was the Highways Agency's press enquiries address to ask what they were all about. I never heard back, so this year, I'm going to make the effort to e-mail again, give them a call and generally harass them into enlightening me. Unless an insider reading this can same me the bother...

EDITOR'S CHOICE