Mr Money: £33,000 off a new car For the time being, my advice to would-be buyers is to be extremely cautious or, better still, give this allegedly "unbeatable offer" a wide berth because I reckon it definitely can be beaten - while paying hard cash simply in order to qualify for a price reduction seems like madness. Currently, plenty of potential new car buyers are automatically granted discounts without asking for them, never mind paying for them. Skoda, for example, is knocking 20-25 per cent off its already attractively-priced cars. Watch this space for more. A few days ago I heard on my car radio that the Highways Agency couldn't understand why so many motorists were out driving after being warned that the roads would be blanketed in snow and ice. Does the HA honestly think we drive around in circles for fun at tricky times such as this? Can't it understand that folk who would really rather not be often have to be on the road when conditions are poor because they have everything from hospital appointments to jobs to attend? Instead of complaining about this, perhaps the Highways Agency, in conjunction with local authorities and other agencies, might concentrate on doing a better job of clearing the roads and pavements. Who pays? We do - via the hundreds of billions of pounds we pay annually in motoring tax, council tax and various other forms of tax. I know from numerous winter driving expeditions to Sweden, Finland and Norway that at this time of year many Scandinavians stay at home and watch movies or resort to DIY work. While I'd never suggest trying the latter, I recommend that you catch up on your favourite car, road-trip or motorsport film - for free. You can do so by signing up for Blockbusters' free films for 14 days promotion, which allows consumers to grab an up-to-the minute freebie movie for up to 24 hours, before returning it the following day/night and grabbing another one, also for nothing. But you may first have to ask the Highways Agency if it's OK to drive to and from your local Blockbusters store between now and the end of February when winter, thankfully, comes to an end. Last week I stated that although some might deviously pretend otherwise, the truth is that the overwhelming majority of motoring offences (parking infringements, driving slightly over the posted speed limits, failing to spot fading road signs/markings etc) that take place in Britain are not criminal acts. The people responsible for these misdemeanours are not criminals. And it follows that they have not earned themselves criminal records which could impact on their employment prospects, ability to travel overseas and more. But serious motoring-related crimes such as passing on speeding points to a third party are in an entirely different league because perpetrators who are caught face charges of perverting the course of justice. If convicted they can lose licence, livelihood and liberty while earning genuine criminal status. After a long-running speeding points scandal which has seen him accused of covering up his wrongdoings, Chris Huhne will be hauled through the courts next week. He has already lost his job as Energy Secretary as well as his seat at the Cabinet table, although he rightly remains innocent unless proven guilty. Germany has more vehicles in the World Car of the Year and the related World Performance Car finals than the rest of the vehicle-producing nations put together. The Audi A6 and Q3, BMW 1- and 3-series, Porsche 911 and Volkswagen Up are shortlisted for the World Car of the Year along with the Vauxhall Ampera, Citroën DS5, Ford Focus and Range Rover Evoque. In the Performance Car finals, the Porsche 911, Audi RS3, BMW 1-series M and M5, Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG and C 63 Coupé AMG are cited. The other contenders are the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, Ferrari FF, Lamborghini Aventador and McLaren MP4-12C.