I know that Labour ministers maintain that they are far too grand to drive Mondeos, but I always thought ours smart as well as practical. There was plenty of room for two school trunks, and its dark-green paintwork wore mud well - the only drawback being that you had to put your hand on all that filth to close the boot. However, by last week the children were as keen as their father to see the back of it. When the man from Mercedes offered to take it in part exchange, they cheered, saying the Mondeo stank because they’d all been sick in it several times. I was more circumspect. The estate car might or might not stink, but it did its job and that Mercedes was no country-people carrier.

Awe-struck parents from the boys’ prep school had told me the Mercedes has a fridge. It does. The trouble is it doesn’t have room for anything else. The car looks like a burglar’s transit van, but even without half the seats, there’s no space for a dog or a trunk or even a fully reclined wellington boot. I rejected it.

But Peter and the children got their way in the end over a new car. We are poised to drive up to Scotland in a brand new Chrysler Voyager. It can take three children, drink, rods, suitcases and boots, but I suspect its popularity with country parents is, more than anything, based on a desire for change. Not that I don’t understand that. When we get home, I’m going to trade in my diesel hatchback for a nice twoseater sports car. I hope Peter won’t mind.

I am happy to confirm that this is true. The Honda didn’t break down or give any mechanical trouble. And no, it hasn’t been rebuilt. Honda assures me that the Insight was bought back from a “normal” owner, one Mike Partridge, and apart from new brakes and tyres, is pretty much original. It proves that the technology works in the long run, in normal conditions.

Sure, the thing looks, as Top Gear magazine puts it, like “a wheeled terrapin”; it has two seats only because the boot is full of batteries; and its handling, while reassuringly conventional is not exactly sporting. Small wonder only two were bought in the UK last year (it is available to order). None of that is to the point, however; the point is that it shows that you shouldn’t worry about having to replace all of the batteries, or something else, after a few years. A used Insight is a viable option. The good news, however, is that you don’t have to look weird to be green. You can look boring instead. The Honda Civic IMA, (integrated motor assist) deploys the same technology. A hybrid V6- engined Honda Accord has just been launched in the US. It joins the more celebrated Toyota Prius, and hybrid SUVs from the US makers, in an accelerating revolution. One day, 100,000-mile hybrids will be commonplace; but, I’d wager, 100,000- mile press cars will remain rare.

The report, Automotive Chips 2000, point outs that the basic design of cars is about to dramatically change. For example, in future cars, such as the Bentley Hunaudieres, the hydraulic system for brakes will disappear, to be replaced by electromechanical brakes controlled through a drive-by-wire system.

Among its finds, the report predicts that the global demand for vehicle electronics systems will climb from $46bn in 1998 to nearly $75bn in 2005. Semiconductor content in vehicle systems will grow from $7.9bn to nearly $18.9bn in the same period. Forward Concepts predicts that the total semiconductor content per vehicle will grow at an annual rate of 8.8% from 1998 through to 2005, increasing from $175 to $296. The semiconductor share of total vehicle electronics systems will grow by nearly 50% from 1999 to 2005.

Semiconductors in multimedia, safety/security and body electronics applications will grow at an 11 or 12% rate from 1998 through 2005 while engine and drive train electronics growth rate will be about 5%. By 2005, semiconductors in body electronics (40% market share) will surpass semiconductors in engine and drive train electronics (35% market share).

Usually, these leaders set a fine example that leads their younger employees to business success.In one area, though, this leadership is not quite so evident. Too often executives, their clients and associates stop off for a few drinks on the way home or, especially during this festive time of year, attend celebrations where alcohol and drugs are consumed, then they drive home. This is a no-no, especially in 1996. Police in most communities of central Oklahoma are stepping up traffic enforcement this year as a means to get drunk and drugged drivers off the road. Oklahoma County Sheriff-elect John Whetsel pledged his office’s support, including deputies making more routine traffic stops. “Enforcing our traffic laws leads to more than just safer highways, it leads to safer communities and helps solve a lot of crimes,” he said. “Who can forget that Timothy McVeigh, one ofthe most wanted men in the world after the April 19, 1995, bombing (of downtown Oklahoma City) was stopped because of a routine traffic violation? “Criminals use the city streets and state highways to go to and from a crime. We can stop these criminals by just enforcing our traffic laws.” Of course, Whetsel’s pledge of using deputies for traffic enforcement will not take affect until he assumes office in January. Until then, he will continue enforcing traffic laws through the Choctaw Police Department where he is chief. December has been designated as 3-D month in Oklahoma, that is preventing drunk and drugged driving, according to the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office. Mothers Against Drunk Driving also is stepping up its campaign to remove impaired drivers from the streets and highways. In its announcement of the stepped up campaign in December, MADD also released its latest rating of states’ efforts to eliminate drunken and drugged driving. Oklahoma has an overall grade of C+, up from a C- in the previous rating in 1993. This puts Oklahoma’s efforts, on both a public and private basis, smack in the middle of the states. While Oklahoma has improved its standing, that’s not enough, said Bernadette Huber, executive director of the Oklahoma affiliate of the national organization. “It is encouraging that Oklahoma’s grade has improved,” she said. “The strong partnership between law enforcement, state and federal agencies and concerned organizations have improved statistics and created better public awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving, but we have many challenges ahead. “The safety of the driving public is threatened by a complacent attitude toward drunk driving. Oklahoma must close the loopholes in our state laws and administrative polices which allow drunk driving offenders to continue to repeat their actions.” Oklahoma must pass stiffer laws, including lowering the blood alcohol content measure of drunkenness, restrictions on charge reductions and even vehicle confiscation, she said. Mothers Against Drunk Driving is not the only organization working with the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office to reduce the number of impaired drivers this year. The Oklahoma Restaurant Association and its members also are reviving its designated driver program, urging patrons to select a designated driver before drinking starts. The designated driver will agree to not consume alcohol during the night and ensure that all members of the party get home safely. Free non-alcoholic drinks will be provided to the designated driver. Another program, through the American Automobile Association of Oklahoma will allow any impaired driver to receive a free taxi ride and car towing within a 15-mile radius. This program is offered in the Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Lawton areas through Jan. 1. Bill May welcomes your comments and contributions. You may reach him by phone at (405) 278-2837, by fax at 278-6907, or by e-mail, dpage

That’s the date the Monterey Park-based Chinese-language newspaper and the Communications Workers of America have set for a second vote on whether the paper’s 150 employees should join the largest U.S. media union.

Although there are some signs of acrimony in the campaign leading up to the vote, the union and newspaper so far are declining to air their sides publicly. Both declined comment, other than to confirm the date of the election. That marks a change from the more aggressive posturing in the aftermath of the June 2001 election, in which workers narrowly voted to join the union but management alleged the election was tainted by a pro-union supervisor.

Each side charged the other with retaliation, and the union filed numerous complaints with the National Labor Relations Board.

The Sept. 22 election is likely to be closely watched, as the Communications Workers of America’s parent union, the AFL-CIO, has described the Chinese Daily News effort as a watershed in ethnic media unionization.