The government, under pressure from the car industry, is allowing for a tax-payer funded incentive scheme to offer up to £2000 off the price of a new car in return for the scrapping of a car aged nine years or older.

Now this won't work as anyone driving a nine year old car is either doing so through choice, ie the enthusiast and classic car owners, or is doing so through financial necessity. The classic owners won't scrap their pride and joy and if someone can't afford a newer car then they are doubtful to have the extra £10,000 that the car industry wants them to spend.

There is also the thought that this scheme needs to be applied to British made cars only, something the government can't seem to make their minds up about.

And the fact that cars less than nine years old may be subjected to higher rates of road tax...

Trucking is a vital segment of the transportation system in the United States. The Commodity Flow Survey estimates that trucks carried about $4.6 trillion worth of goods over 900 billion ton-miles in 1993. This report presents new estimates of the movements of commodities by truck to, from, within, and through each state. These estimates show the magnitude of interstate commerce on the nation's highways, particularly on the traffic that travels through states.

Major patterns that emerge from the data include:

* Nationally, shipments crossing state boundaries accounted for 73 percent of the ton-miles and 55 percent of the value of commodity movements by truck. A small proportion of the shipments account for much of the ton-miles. Shipments of 1,000 miles or more account for 10 percent of the value, only 2 percent of the weight, and 25 percent of the ton-miles of shipments by truck.

* Interstate commerce accounted for at least half of trucking by value of shipments in all but three states. The same is true in terms of ton-miles.

* Shipments passing through states accounted for more than half of the value of commodity movements by truck in 25 states, and in 19 states, through shipments accounted for more than half of the state's ton-miles by truck.

* The largest shares of shipments within states tend to be in states that are geographically large with widely separated major cities, such as California and Texas, or in the corners of the country, such as Florida and Washington. The relatively large share of intrastate traffic in Michigan is overstated because imports from Canada are not included in the estimates.

* The large concentration of truck activity in the corridor from Illinois to Pennsylvania clearly shows that the nation's historic manufacturing belt remains vital.

Hybrid Cars offer drivers an innovativeefficient, and reasonable option. After years of 'on the road' development, gas-electric hybrid cars have become a realistic choice for consumers.

A hybrid car features a little fuel - efficient gas engine combined with an electric motor that assists the engine when accelerating. The electric motor is powered by batteries that recharge mechanically while you drive.

Hybrid cars also grow efficiency from:

Smaller and more efficient engine.

Regenerative braking - the electric motor that drives the hybrid can also slow the car. In this method, the electric motor acts as a generator and charges the batteries while the car is slowing down.

Periodic engine shut off - when a hybrid car is blocked in traffic, the engine is temporarily shut off. It restarts automatically when set back into gear.

Advanced aerodynamics - to reduce drag

Low-rolling resistance (LLR) tires - narrow, stiffer tires have less drag

Lightweight materials - increases the efficiency of hybrid cars.