Are cars better than buses? Judge for yourself.

All of the environmental advantages of taking the bus to work are negated by two things:

First, hundreds of freeloading pensioners, who 'need' to get their shopping at rush hour, taking all of the seats.

Second, drivers like these:

Fast Car + Flux Babes = Our Hottest Video Ever

Since the Fast Car photoshoot at the office a couple of weeks ago, I've spent every spare moment (I don't get that many, which is why it has taken 2 weeks) looking at the hours of footage we took on the day and editing it down into something you might actually want to watch - here it is:

Worst Car Insurance Advert - Ever

If you thought the wall to wall car insurance adverts on daytime tv, were bad, wait till you see what our American cousins have to watch in their commercial breaks. This advert is worse - much worse - than anything Admiral, Confused, Elephant or even Hastings Direct have ever put out.

Having said that, for all that it is really, really bad, it is still, somehow, less annoying than Harry Hastings, the Admiral and their drama school reject chums who clutter up the British airwaves.



Weirdly, their website looks completely nondescript and corporate!

French Car Show Videos

With only 38 days left until the Adrian Flux French Car Show 2008, at Rockingham on June 22nd, we're working flat out to help make sure that this year's show is the best yet.

For us that means taking an unprecedented number of Flux Babes, getting an even bigger and better Scalextric circuit, and sorting out free popcorn and candy floss, plus loads more besides.

So we thought now might be a good time to take a look back at last year's show, so here, for your entertainment, are some video interviews we did at the 2007 show, including some of the owners whose cars were good enough for the Meguiars show car enclosure, as well as some of the club members, whose cars ranged from the sublime to the Tigger.

Can't wait for the next one...

Don't tut a woman driver...

According to the esteemed Asia Insurance Review, researchers at Queensland University in Australia have found that :

A woman who is chided or criticised by her husband or male companion while she is driving is more than twice as likely to have an accident.

Apparently, 168 female students underwent a computer simulated psychological driving test. Half of the group were informed that the test would find out why men were better drivers then women, the other half were simply told the researchers were exploring the mental processes in driving.

Almost half the former group struck a (computerised) pedestrian who appeared suddenly, but only a quarter of the second group did.

The result of this - if women are bad drivers, it's probably a bloke's fault, hence womens' car insurance is cheaper.

Yep, that must have been what happened here. After a quality attempt at parking, this lady is attempting to reverse out for another go.

Pimp My Paddy Wagon

Clearly Brunstrom's crew at the North Wales police have decided that if you can't beat them, you may as well join them, and have kitted out a police van with thousands of pounds worth of plod mods.

They reckon if they turn up at cruise events in their modified Ford Transit (resplendent in classic Martini race colours and recently retired from camera duty) they can talk to the participants about road safety. Presumably once the laughter has died down.

Predictably, many people are mocking the police for this, but I think they deserve some credit.

OK, so it's about as cool as your dad coming out clubbing with you, but at least they're making an effort to engage with a culture that most police forces don't even try to understand, much less care about.

The bottom line is, that if a single life is saved, the effort will have been worth it, and by running a modified motor themselves, they might even learn a thing or two.



If any plumbers out there feel inspired enough to kit out their transit van, you know where to come for modified van insurance.

Don't try this. Ever.

According to an Australian study male drivers are more easily distracted than women whilst driving, and their attention wanders from the road when they change CDs, or read maps. Billboards are also a problem.

Even so the chap in this clip must have a very complicated CD system to have missed the red lights so spectacularly. Either that or the Eva Herzigova Wonderbra ad has made a comeback.

"A Direct Line to your wallet"

That was the headline in the Guardian on Saturday, where Direct Line were lambasted for charging some fellow a much higher rate for his insurance renewal than they were quoting if he had been a new customer.

On the face of it, it looks quite bad by Direct Line. They quoted him a price of £551 when a new customer would have been offered £173. There's no getting away from the fact that Mr Robert King, 55, is paying too much for his home insurance.

But looking more closely at the story, I can't help but feel that Mr King is at least partly responsible for his own misfortune here. He's been with the company for 10 years and in all that time has never compared his home insurance renewal quotes until now. Says he, "I know the advice is to shop around for the best quote," and so he should, being an accountant.

Funnily enough, on the way in this morning I saw a large billboard from Direct Line promising their renewal premiums for car insurance would not rise in year two. There is a rather vague disclaimer stating that ANY change to your details or your policy will invalidate the guarantee. So 3 speeding points, and a claim (both specifically mentioned) but remember that your guarantee is also worthless if you change cars, jobs, annual mileage, named drivers, postcode - anything really - and it doesn't matter if the risk goes up or down. I wonder what the percentage of drivers is where no details at all change year on year.

At least they've got happy customers supporting them all the way and making supportive videos. Oh, no wait a minute...

Apparently, Mr Daz feels a bit aggrieved with the way Direct Line have treated him.

Award Winning 'Hot Girl' video.

This video, made for a Lancaster District Community Safety Partnership has just scooped an award at the New York film festival.

The film initially looks like it might be a rather naughty romp in a car, but gradually reveals a very serious anti-drink drive message that really merits the 2.5 million views it already has on Youtube. Don't watch it if you're easily distressed.

How to park a van

If you're a van driver as skillful as this, we'd love to give you van insurance.

Otherwise don't try this at home:

Saudi Arabia legalises women drivers - are they sure?

Apparently Saudi Arabia is about to legalise women drivers - Saudi is the last country on earth where women are not allowed to drive.

I'm wondering whether they might reconsider if they see this?



Seriously, though - men are just as bad as we showed recently.

Flux babe blooper

Customer service boss and Flux Babe extraordinaire, Jenny, is probably going to kill me, so if I don't post for some time, you'll know why.

This happened at the French Car Show last year (I'm pleased to say we'll be there again this year) and I came across it when I was sorting through the videos for the flux babes website.

IT Department try their hand at modelling.

Having seen the photos from the flux babes photoshoot, the IT department here at Flux fancied their own shot at glamour modelling stardom.

Here is the video from their very own photoshoot!

Speed Camera fan Brunstrom Tasered in the line of duty.

Our old "friend" and speed camera enthusiast, the so called "mad mullah of the traffic Taliban" Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom (see previous posts "speed kills?" & plodcasting), has been up to his publicity tricks again. Not long after parading photos of a headless biker in front of the assembled press corps, he has now had himself tasered - supposedly to show the benefits of giving every policeman a taser.

Never mind that. For many people caught by Brunstrom's cameras over the years, the chance to see him writhing in agony after being zapped with 50,000 volts is too good to miss.

So here you are:



(more on Brunstrom's blog)

Floody Hell

As the Derbyshire police will tell you, you need to think twice before driving down a flooded street. And if there is a news crew present, perhaps think a third time as well. This young lady didn't and her predicament was broadcast live on Sky.

Expensive Mistake by careless Ferrari Driver

If you are lucky enough to own a powerful rear-wheel drive car, whether it be something as exclusive as a Ferrari or something just a little more down to earth, like a Lotus or TVR, you need to be careful that you don't lose control.

That's why we offer such a massive discount on performance car insurance to owners who have completed a course like Ride Drive.

So if you're lucky enough to have a dream car, think about improving your driving, or you'll end up looking like a big wally - just ask this guy:



And if he doesn't convince you, you could ask this Mustang driver.

Police, Stopped!

Many people have been caught out by the recent flooding around the country. But what should you do if you get stranded in your car in the rising water.

Well, I guess most people would suggest you call the police. After all, they'll know what to do.



On second thoughts, better leave it.

If on the other hand, your home is in an area at risk of flooding, you could do worse than get your flood risk home insurance from Adrian Flux - we can arrange cover when other companies run for the hills. Call us on 08080 77 22 66.

Bollards again

The infamous bollards of Manchester have featured here before. And more than once too!

Here are some of the local scallies treating the traffic calming with the usual amount of respect.

Car in a Half Pipe

From the file marked ads we wish we got here, check out this one for the somewhat foolishly named Nissan Qashqai.

Robo VW Passat struts its stuff

Obviously Herbie, the possessed Beetle, hasn't put Volkswagen of the idea of giving their cars a mind of their own. Yesterday a highly modified VW Passat went on show at the Science Museum. The advanced teutonic driving wizardry is part of the Team LUX entry into the DARPA Urban Challenge, a competition run by the US military with the aim of finding a car capable of driving itself through urban environments. Then they'll presumably build themselves an army of robotic tanks like something out of Robocop.

The LUX Passat cost a whopping £1m to put together, which is expensive, even for a VW, but the money will have been well spent if their technology is used for any commercial or military applications, and, who knows, perhaps your car will be driving itself within a few years.

Team Lux say:

Team-LUX has chosen a production car for the DARPA Urban Challenge – a VW Passat 2.0 TDI built in 2006. The autonomous control equipment is fully integrated into the vehicle. This makes the Team-LUX the first ever to enter the DARPA Challenge with a car that looks exactly like a standard road model, mostly without visible extensions such as sensors, antennas or processing systems.

The vehicle is equipped with three Ibeo laser sensors or “intelligent eyes”: two at the front of the vehicle and the third in the rear, giving the car 360° vision. No other sensors of any type are required!

We're not sure whether we could find an underwriter to accept a robot as a named driver, but we reckon it's got to be a pretty good risk. It will, presumably, need to pass a driving test before we have to worry about that, though.

Cars are definitely getting more and more advanced, but, thankfully, there's nothing quite like the Dancing / Ice Skating Citroen Robots just yet.

What old people do for fun.

Amid all the bad press that younger drivers get and the column inches filled with their problems getting car insurance, it's easy to forget that elderly drivers often have trouble getting cover at a reasonable rate. It seems as though some insurance companies decide that any driver over 'a certain age' is a danger to the bottom line, despite the fact that everyone knows older drivers tend to drive safely and sedately for the most part.

Well, Adrian Flux can find older drivers insurance policies that offer a high level of cover, but don't punish you for being mature in years.

Just as long as they don't make a habit of doing this...

What does your car sound like?

Honda are well known for spending millions on their breathtaking commercials. One of their most impressive recently has been the "Honda Civic Choir" where a classical choir replicate the sounds of the latest Civic. [If you haven't seen it, watch it here]

Well inevitably someone on Youtube decided to spoof it.
But, for a change, they did it really quite well. Enjoy.

Great value Motorhome Insurance - but not for this!

What's the shortest runway in the world? An aircraft carrier maybe?

Think again!

The shortest runway in the world is the one on the top of this motorhome!



Here at Adrian Flux we can cover all kinds of motorhomes, from the humble VW Camper or Ford Transit conversion, right the way through to the highest spec US RV and Winnebago type motorhomes, and all at fantastic rates. Get your motorhome insurance here, or call free on 08000 83 88 33, but remember that deliberately landing an aeroplane on your roof may invalidate your cover!

Taking your car for a service?

Then don't do this!




And don't be tempted to save money on a carwash either...

Spare tyre?

This is the show off's method for stacking tyres.

Paris takes two up the rear...

Ooer Missus... We spend enough time bigging up other peoples funny vids on here, so here's one of our own. Let us know what you think, or better still rate it on YouTube.

Fill her up.

Well, I asked for some men doing stupid things with cars. Oh, well. Here is a teutonic maiden showing us how to fill up the tank of a Bimmer... or not.

How not to exit a car park

This is a perfect demonstration of how not to drive if you want to keep your no-claims bonus intact. If you're going to do this, perhaps you should check for CCTV cameras first, as the police will have no trouble tracking you down if you put on a show like this...

And, oh yes, it's a woman! If anyone has a video of a man behaving this badly in a car, please, please, please send it to me.

Hit in the Bollards

Councils across the land are installing rising bollards in an attempt to keep motorists away from routes they're not supposed to use. You would think placing a solid obstacle in way of the forbidden route would be more effective than just signs.

Clearly the designers reckoned without the British public.

I feel a claim or two coming on.