News in Brief

Visor DVD player is a movie star!

Here’s a wacky invention that should help keep your car’s cabin clear of clutter. It’s a sun visor entertainment system! The new CL-888KSTV replaces the original visor, and tucks all the technology neatly away. It lets passengers play games or watch movies on a seven-inch screen. The 0 (£67) kit is available by logging on to the www.ipmart.com website.

Call for heavier phone penalties

Nearly all UK motorists know it’s an offence to use a mobile without a hands-free kit while driving. But more than two-thirds want the current penalty increased. Of 2,000 drivers quizzed in a study by hands-free kit specialist Jabra, 68 per cent wanted the maximum two-year jail sentence extended. More than half of the respondents to the survey argued that their lives had been endangered by offending drivers.

Cash is king as drivers feel pinch

More motorists are paying for fuel in cash, new figures show – and the trend is being blamed on a record number of credit cards being declined or withdrawn. Ray Holloway, boss of the Petrol Retailers Association, claims this is responsible for “an unprecedented five per cent rise in spend in cash at the pumps”. Finance comparison site www.moneysupermarket.com says there has been a 20 per cent hike in the number of people being denied plastic in the last six months.

Bargains up for grabs at Skoda

Fancy a bargain for the summer? Skoda is offering zero per cent APR finance on its latest Fabia supermini, plus there’s free air-conditioning with Estate models and a £1,000 saving on the company’s Roomster supermini-MPV. Finance chief Jacqui Rowley said: “We have put together a range of options to make buying a car more affordable.”