Wheels and deals

Children in a Skoda car. See PA Feature MOTORING News. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Handout. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature MOTORING News.

Bad singing, nose picking and swearing are some of the habits mums and dads get up to in the car that drive their kids mad. A new survey by Ford shows these three habits are not only the most annoying for kids, but parents were also named the most disruptive in the car on long journeys.

More than a third of kids (39%) cited their parents’ singing as the worst thing they do in the car, while 61% said their parents became angry at other drivers and used ‘naughty’ words. Parents in France are the worst for swearing and getting angry, while Italy is the only country in Europe where less than half (39%) of parents are guilty of this.

British parents are most likely to offer a snack (29%) to get the kids to behave. The best behaved children are in Germany, where 38% claim their parents don’t need to make them behave in the car.

Dads are reckoned to be the better drivers by their children, especially by boys, while parents say the most irritating habit of children is asking ‘Are we nearly there yet?’ In the UK, 63% of parents note this as their children’s worst habit on a long journey.

Professional surfer and US Open Surfing Champion Kalani Robb, who designed the mini surf board. See PA Feature MOTORING News. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Handout. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature MOTORING News.

:: MINI has launched its own surfboard with help from surf experts Channel Islands Surfboards. The design aims to offer surfers all of the same attributes of a MINI car, but on the waves.

Called The Mini, the new surfboard has been developed with Kalani Robb, a professional surfer and US Open Surfing Champion.

Just like MINI’s car range, anyone buying The Mini surfboard can personalise it, thanks to a wide variety of colour choices and combinations.

MINI is working in partnership with the Croyde Bay Surf School to teach beginners about the sport and introduce them to its new surfboard, with prices starting from £580.

The Jaguar XJ12C featured in The New Avengers . See PA Feature MOTORING News. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Handout. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature MOTORING News.

Robb said: “To create the feeling of agility and speed, we’ve developed the board with a little extra tail volume. The board’s wider outline and low rocker really make it fly.”

Croyde Surf Academy Head Coach, Carlo Fusie-Ferrero said: “I absolutely love it, best board I’ve surfed in a very long time.”

:: THE Jaguar XJ12C driven by John Steed in The New Avengers is being sold at auction and expected to fetch £10,000.

Played by Patrick Macnee, John Steed was regularly seen on screen driving the modified Jaguar, which has a full Broadspeed body kit and extra wide wheels for the television show.

Broadspeed ran racing versions of the XJ12C, powered by a 5.3-litre V12 engine, and the roadgoing version was adopted by the programme’s makers as the ideal car for Steed’s suave character. This car was only the eighth example built.

Finished in Racing Green, the Jaguar is complete but in need of a full restoration after being stored in a barn for many years. It’s being sold at auction on October 14 by H&H.

Damian Jones, Sales Director of H&H, said: “Who remembers The New Avengers and did not at one time or another fancy ourselves at the wheel of this car?

“Now there is a chance to make that fantasy a reality for a very nominal amount. And who knows, maybe the chance to find a modern-day Purdey in the passenger seat?”