Michael McAleer answers questions and questions answers in this weekly roundup of readers queries.
LEFT-HAND WIPES: We have received a deluge of e-mails on the issue of left-hand wipers. It seems that Owen Smyth of Donegal with his Nissan Almera Tino is not the only person with blurred vision. Smyth wrote that his Almera seemed to have wipers intended for a left-hand drive car.
John Ryan of Ballsbridge voices similar concerns. "I've been putting up with this situation all my driving life. Following delivery of my current car, a BMW 520, I received a comprehensive questionnaire to fill out. All my responses and comments were favourable except for a comment on the wipers. These are fitted to accommodate a left-hand driver and were not redesigned for the right-hand driving market. I was surprised that a marque such as BMW had not attended to this matter."
Michael Nugent, of BMW's Irish importers Motor Import, says that Mr Ryan is correct in so far as the same set of wipers are used for both left- and right-hand cars, but says that these days only a minimal triangular area in the top-right of the windscreen is not covered by the wiper and this should not obscure driver's vision.
Nigel Somerfield suggests closer inspection of the Lights on Daytime campaign poster, which features a Clio with what seems to be left-hand wipers, where there is a triangle on the driver's side while the passenger side seems clearer.
SPARE TYRES: Nigel Averill from Malahide asks why his Audi A4 2.0, bought last October has a space-saver spare tyre, while a colleague in Britain, with the same spec car, got a full-sized alloy spare. "When I checked the boot I found the usual skinny space saver," says our reader. "I contacted my supplier to be told that Audi Ireland's policy is to fit the cheaper option, despite the massive extra cost difference." Mr Averill claims the policy is to simply boost profits.
An Audi Ireland spokesperson said that the standard spec originally envisaged for Ireland was a tyre mobility system whereby damaged tyres are repaired by way of an aerosol system. Such tyre mobility systems are the European norm. However, Audi Ireland decided to upgrade the Irish spec on A4s to the space-saver model.
"We made a decision that we should provide our customers with a spare wheel, albeit a space-saver. If we had provided a full-sized alloy wheel it would have pushed up the price of the car."
Audi Ireland said that prices in Ireland and Britian cannot really be compared, pointing to the thorny issue of Vehicle Registration Tax. "If VRT were lower or did not exist in this country, a cost that is not in the UK pricings, we would have the ability to improve our specs here."
TEMPERATURE GAUGE: "The external temperature is now 23 degrees centigrade" - so says your car's high-tech climate control system. But how can it realistically judge the outside temperature without being influenced by the wind whistling round the car as you hurtle down the motorway?
This is the query from James Pelow of Blackrock, Co Dublin, who asks just where the thermometer to measure outside temperatures is located on cars?
George Campbell, from DIT's transport department, tells us that in most cars it's low down below the bumper. Campbell says it has been proven to be quite accurate by the manufacturers and is well sheltered from wind chill.
IMPORTING VW AND VRT: James Lunn asks about a 1972 VW Beetle 1302 L convertible which he has just bought in England and brought over here last month. "I've had conflicting information from various sources as to whether or not VRT is to be paid - and, if so, how much - and what concessions are made for road tax if any. Could you clarify what I have to do, or let me know the ultimate authority on such matters."
We've spoken to a most helpful Revenue spokesperson, Marion Leavy, who tells us that, so long as the date of first registration was 30 years ago (in other words it was first registered before last month) no VRT due on the car.
More good news for Mr Lunn from the road tax office. If it passes the 30-year test and qualifies as a classic car, the tax is €36 as opposed to €248.
He may also qualify for cheaper insurance, given certain criteria.
For details on all VRT queries, simply go to the Revenue's website at www.revenue.ie and look under their publications section.
CALLING ALL MG FANS: In the year when the classic MGB, a popular entry point for classic ownership, celebrates its 40th birthday, the MG enthusiasts club in Ireland is celebrating its 21st anniversary. To mark the event it is organising a celebration on September 6th.
Robin McCullagh from the club has written for help in tracking down as many past members as possible. The club is quite active, he says, with over 250 members and about 20 events per year. A founder member, he has compiled a book to mark the anniversary.
His MG credentials can be traced to a 1966 MGB GT which he has restored from a wreck, and he is currently restoring a 1950 Y Tourer, one of only 688 ever built.
Former members can contact McCullagh at 01-289 6874.