When looking into learning to drive many people choose to be taught by a professional driving instructor to help them successfully pass their driving test. There are many driving schools in Cardiff which offer a range of driving instructors, you can either take weekly lesson or take an intensive course which can have you driving after a week.

Many people prefer to have a professional teach them to drive rather than a family member, driving instructors are used to all calibres of driver no matter what experience you have and will not shout at you or get annoyed with you when you make a mistake unlike family members. So if you wish to successfully and competently learn how to drive go to your nearest driving school in Cardiff.

A recent survey has shown that private number plates are increasingly being given as gifts for every occasion. Interestingly most men are more likely than women to give a car number plate as a gift, perhaps because men have a bigger interest in cars than women do. Christmas is the most popular occasion for giving car number plates, which confounds researchers, as men tend not to plan ahead when it comes to gift-giving, shopping for Christmas gifts is usually a last minute affair for men.

Transferring a number plate can take up to three weeks, so it is a gift that needs to be planned for well in advance. The DVLA has issued over 30 million number plates over the past few decades, and it is very likely that you will be able to find a plate that offers a degree of personalisation, without being too expensive. Mother’s day is one of the easier occasions for which you can find personalised plates, because the suffix ‘MUM’ is readily available. It is a common plate and is usually not too expensive to purchase.

Having a unique plate with a meaningful connation is a great reminder of the relationship that exists between the giver and the recipient, since personalised number plates are gifts that ‘keep on giving’. Ownership of the plate can be transferred from one car to the next, so ‘MUM’ will always be remembered, assuming she enjoys driving her car, of course.

Leasing a Suzuki Splash gives you great value for your money, rather than buying a new one. This is because you are only going to pay a portion of the total value of the car. Therefore, you’ll have more savings if you lease a car rather than having to pay off a monthly car loan. This car is available at Academy Leasing Ltd. for only £120 per month.

The Suzuki Splash 1.2 GLS 5dr is a small car, offering a high seating position and an excellent view of the road ahead. The engine is designed to provide good performance. It has a seating capacity of five persons and the 1.2-litre engine runs on petrol. This eye-catching mini-MPV has an excellent exterior, equipped with flared wings, a flowing roof, and a bold nose. On the dashboard, you can find easy-to-access large buttons as well as an attractive central speedometer.

The car boasts refinement along with standard safety equipment, which includes six airbags and an Electronic Stability Program (ESP). Other features of this stylish car include electronic power steering, air conditioning, and a state-of-the-art sound system, which can play MP3 tracks. Moreover, the Splash has an excellent security system, which consists of an engine immobiliser and remote controlled central locking.

Moving into the interior, you’ll witness the live cabin environment with a touch of silver. This car won’t give you a hard time getting in or out because it offers a high seating position. In addition, there are many pockets located in the cabin to allow you to place all your possessions. Above all, the spacious boot can give you a hassle-free shopping weekend as you load up all those shopping and grocery bags.

Leasing a Suzuki Splash right now will give you great value for your money.

The new ’10’ series number plates have recently been released and this puts a whole new range of cherished number plates on the market, some of which will be virtually priceless. Top sellers are likely to include BE10 VED (Beloved), for those buying a car for that special someone, and LL10 YDS (Lloyds) which would suit the director of any company which has Lloyds in its name, of which there are many.

‘10’ series plates went on sale in December 2009, even though they are for cars registered from March 2010 onwards, as the DVLA attempts to maximise revenue from the new series. Strangely, a survey shows that even though the new plate series was introduced in 2001, few know how the date recognition system really works. The poll conducted by DVLA Personalised Registrations showed that only 17% of people polled, correctly identified that the 09 and 59 plates will be followed by the 10 and 60 plates. The current style consists of two letters, a figure age identifier, a space and three letters.

The confidence of the Swansea based authority is substantiated by the incredible demand from individuals who would like to own a cherished number plate. Retaining a popular number plate can also be an investment, as interest is likely to build over a period of time, since not everyone interested in buying a particular plate will be at the DVLA auction.

Before you start your driving lessons with an accredited driving school in Liverpool, you must first obtain a provisional driving licence. This can be done at any main post office throughout the country, but if you cannot get to a post office you can also apply for it online through the Directgov website.

You must meet the following requirements to apply for a provisional driving licence online:

•    Be a minimum age of 17 years.
•    A resident of Great Britain.
•     Can prove you have the minimum eyesight requirements.
•    Are not prevented from driving for any reason medical or other.
•     Have a valid UK passport.
•    Give your current address and addresses you have lived at over the last three years.
•    Can pay the £50 application fee online via a credit card or bank card.

During the application process, the DVLA will check your identity for both security and pretection and if the DVLA cannot fully verify your application, then you will need to print it out, fill it in and send it off the standard way.

The DVLA aims to deliver provisional licences within 10 working days, so if you submit your application now then you will be able to book your lessons with a qualified driving school in Liverpool in little over a week!

This rather stately vehicle manages to look both solid and, if not exactly graceful, then distinguished and dignified. You can think for a moment that you’re looking at a Bentley or a Bristol, and it gives you a gloriously majestic cruise along the motorway. It is generously spacious with a massive boot and luxurious leg space all round, although children may find the relatively ‘high-up’ windows difficult to peer out of (which might lead to a little car sickness). There is, however, a downside to all this cabin space – it’s a huge car and can be a nightmare to park in confined, city settings. Multi-storey car parks may well have you breaking out in beads of sweat as you try not to scrape the paintwork.

The Chrysler 300C comes with three engine types – the 3.5 litre, 249 bhp V6 petrol, the 3.0CRD 218 bhp V6 diesel, and the monster 6.1 litre, 425 bhp V8. Of the V6s, the diesel model delivers better acceleration: 0-62 mph in 7.6 seconds compared to the petrol version’s 9 seconds (the V8 takes only 5 seconds). The diesel also yields appreciably more miles per gallon the petrol cars (35 mpg compared to the petrol V6’s 25 mpg; eye-wateringly, the V8’s mpg does not get beyond the teens). The diesel is also less heavily penalised in tax than the two petrol models. If you wish to combine comfort and good handling with a dash of regality, the 300C could well be the car for you.

Personalised car number plates; also known as vanity number plates, prestige number plates, cherished number plates, custom number plates or simply private number plates, are legally permissible types of vehicle registration plates. Typically, personalised number plates are privately paid for by the car owner, in contrast to the free state supplied car registration plates assigned to new cars. Personalised number plates often set out a series of letters and / or numbers to stand for something recognisable, such as a person’s name or initials.

In the US, there are an estimated 10 million cars carrying personalised number plates. In state-by-state surveys it was revealed that Virginia had the highest percentage of cars with personalised number plates (some sixteen per cent), followed by New Hampshire (fourteen per cent), Illinois (thirteen per cent), Nevada (thirteen per cent), Montana (ten per cent), Maine (ten per cent), Connecticut (eight per cent), New Jersey (seven per cent), North Dakota (seven per cent) and Vermont (six per cent).

There is a series of letter / number combinations which are prohibited for use across the US. Letter combinations spelling out such words as ‘God’ and any swear words are not allowed to be used. Some prohibitions are state specific: New York does not allow cars with number plates such as ‘NYPD’ and so on.

Personalised number plates are often collectible items to aficionados. Auctions are common, with highly idiosyncratic number plates being very popular. Rare number plates can also be sold on websites.

Smart Car models are now offered for leasing and contract hire. You can select from the Smart Fortwo Cabrio or Smart Fortwo Coupe at the lowest prices offered in the UK. You can look for the most competitive leasing and contract hire arrangements through top dealers, brokers and leasing companies in the UK that are advertising all Smart car offers.

Smart partnered with Brabus to improve its dynamic performance, and create a sportier car model in the form of the Cabrio and Coupe. Customers can select from the available 1.0 litre three-cylinder engines containing 61bhp (Brake Horse Power), 71bhp or a turbo charged version with 84bhp. Deliveries usually range from 7 to 14 days. Distribution of factory orders is based on the present lead times of the manufacturers for the chosen specification.

There are five models of the Smart Fortwo Cabrio and seven models of the Smart Fortwo Coupe available for leasing. Prices of each model are based on personal or business contract hire for up to a 36-month term, with three advance payments and 35 monthly installments. Rates are also based on annual mileage of 10,000 miles. Once the contract is finished, the car must be handed back to the company, or it can be purchased or the contract extended.