Do you know which is the world’s oldest family owned motor car maker still in production and which, for decades has had customers queuing up, often for years?

If your answer was Morgan, then it is pretty certain that you are a keen motoring enthusiast.

When HFS Morgan (known as HFS) built his first three-wheeler machine way back in 1910 he hit on precisely the right formula, keep it light, simple and with adequate power; something that applies to this day with the firm headed very effectively by the founder’s grandson, Charles Morgan.

Talk of CO2 emissions at just 80g/km and 83mpg on the combined cycle, would suggest I'd been driving the latest hi-tech economy model.

Other figures of note were 11 and 290,000: the former being the age of the car in years and the latter, its mileage.

The figures belong to a Honda Insight I drove recently – not to be confused with the Honda Insight five-door hatchback launched in 2009.

This is one of the original Insight coupés launched in 2000, and is being retained by Honda UK for promotional purposes to demonstrate the reliability and durability of hybrid technology.

I drove the car recently to remind me what the future used to be like.

Earlier this month I represented Wales in a demonstration run of high-tech low- or zero-emission vehicles from Brighton to central London.

Toyota had organised a 'cup of nations' between journalists from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales driving Auris Hybrids.

It was part of the RAC Future Car Challenge, which included more than 60 vehicles using conventional internal combustion engines, hybrids, battery electric or hydrogen fuel cells, and it would have been good to find out which of these power sources had the lowest environmental impact.

The first frosts of this winter experienced by many of us this month has perhaps done enough to remind us if the disruption caused by last winter’s snow.

Switching to cold weather tyres (merely calling them winter tyres doesn’t do justice to their breadth of ability) is high on the agenda of the tyre companies and fast-fit giants, even if it’s appearing much lower in the list of priorities of motorists.

I’ve decided to take the plunge on a car I’ve been running on long-term test since June for Fleet News, courtesy of ATS Euromaster.

Three new upper-medium cars made their debuts at the Paris Motor Show.
Highest profile, it being in France, was the Peugeot 508.

Then, perhaps more important in terms of volume, was the so-called ‘new’ Volkswagen Passat.

Finally, but arguably the most impressive of the three, was the Kia Optima.

The Peugeot 508 was shown as a four-door and SW estate. Peugeot has said the 508 saloon will sell more units in China than saloon and SW combined in Europe