Scourge of litter louts; Skoda to beat ‘Beast’; diesel blow; exhaust problems; stolen Mercs

I STOPPED for a cup of tea and a muffin at a wellknown establishment on the outskirts of Dublin.

The staff were brilliant and the cuppa warmed the old heart, but the behaviour of some customers when they got back into their cars was appalling.

I sat in my test car for a few minutes on the phone and could not believe what I was seeing: people throwing their fast-food paper and disposables out onto the ground through their car windows.

There were several rubbish bins and many ways of keeping the environs tidy, but three car occupants could not be bothered.

Making it worse was the sight of seagulls and crows trying to shake the food remnants from the crumpled and crunched-up paper, cardboard and plastic packaging.

An absolute disgrace. The same applies at most lay-by or stop-off points you care, or have the courage, to visit.

A few weeks back I said we were losing our manners. This week I’ll correct myself. Some drivers have never had them–at the wheel or at the table.

• Skoda says there will be an increase rise in demand for their 4x4 range – due to the ‘Beast from the East’ this week.

That’s if trends after severe winter snow in 2010 and 2011 are anything to go by.

Skoda says 4x4 sales increased fivefold the following year.

The thing to remember about 4x4 and AWD is that they benefit you all year round in terms of traction and grip – not just during a big freeze.

• Automotive giant Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plans to eliminate diesel engines from all its passenger vehicles by 2022.

It’s a major development, especially as FIAT in days gone by did so much to develop turbodiesel technology. The Financial Times reports that the plan will be officially announced in June.

As you know, Toyota has already announced it is unlikely to unveil another new model with a diesel engine.

• A Which? survey has found that exhaust or emission control systems come tops for new-car problems (5pc).

Second (and I’m not surprised) is sat nav failure (4pc).

Car battery problems (3pc) came next, followed by mechanical brake system difficulties and suspension components.

• The Mercedes C Class was the most stolen, and recovered, car last year, according to TRACKER.

It knocked the BMW X5 from the top of the 2017 league table of Top 10 Most Stolen and Recovered Vehicles.

The Volkswagen Golf ranked ninth – a first entry for the car as this league is normally the exclusive refuge of posh marques.

The Mercedes E-Class took fourth place, followed by the BMW 3 Series, with the Land Rover Discovery coming in sixth. The Audi RS4 took tenth.

It makes for interesting reading and I like the bit about the recovery of these vehicles.

However, it is chilling to discover that 80pc of vehicles stolen and recovered by TRACKER last year were taken without the owner’s keys being used.

That’s a significant increase on the 66pc stolen that way in 2016.

Be careful out there.