Free Friday today was an extension of the questions we've been asking all week around the stereotypical cars for different groups of people in the country. It kicked off with No.1 Hairdressers car and we finished it up today by asking the No.1 Taxi/Hackney Driver's car on the road. 

It was a close call between a Toyota Avensis and a Skoda Octavia - with the Avensis probably just edging it. We selected one winner from the entries today and that winner was:

Sinead Codd 

Congratulation Sinead, you told us that a Taxi driver typically drives an Avensis with automatic drive, good choice! Can you send your details into stuart@micksgarage.ie and we'll send you your prize next week!

Thanks to everyone for entering and for also providing us with endless entertainment all week, from farmers boots to boy/girl racer accessories - we've covered a lot!

Have a great weekend! If you're in a taxi, take note as to what make and model it is; if you're in a farmers car, beware of the shotgun and the ballin' twine and if you're in a gangster car.....well you're probably dead in the boot!!!!

See you all next week!  

Audi have confirmed the A1 Quattro will go on sale in the Uk, albeit in very limited numbers (20 to be precise) with only 333 units being made in total, and only in left hand drive. 

The A1 Quattro will pack a hefty punch from its 2 litre turbo, the same engine used in the S3. The A1 completes the 0-62mph sprint with a time of 5.7sec and can reach a top speed of 152mph. The hardcore A1 not only aims to land a knockout blow on the likes of the Renault Clio Cup and Ford Fiesta ST, but it will also eclipse hot hatches such as the Renault Mégane 250 and Ford Focus ST. The price for the UK market is still to be confirmed though. 

Spring break is nearly upon us. Over the coming weeks, families all around the land will be loading up the car with bikes, surf boards, kids and all the other paraphernalia needed for short holiday away. For many, the family car is the ultimate statement of mundane but practical motoring and there's nothing wrong with that. Some people however, haven't let the practicalities of family life get in the way style:

This Audi A4 Avant is a perfect, sensible, safe and practical family bus, but the matt grey paint, carbon fibre bonnet and roof box, the RS4 bumper and the bright green Rota wheels transform it from mundane to mad. Love it. 

Free Friday this week was all centred around sharing, and sharing in particular the amazing snap of Chris from the office doing a spot of modeling while sitting on this week's prize - an Irimo branded festival/beach chair. We also mixed it up a little in the afternoon when we asked you to tell us what you thought he was thinking about while in the chair, and we have to say you came pretty close with the comments. He tell's us that it was a mixture between the state of the Irish economy and whether he should go for pints this weekend!

Only one winner this week, as only one person can actually sit in the chair! We picked it at random as always and this week's winner is:

Hazel Delaney

Congrats to Hazel, a fantastic, foldable and multi purpose chair will be on it's way to you next week. Send in your details to stuart@micksgarage.ie and we'll have it sent out. 

For everyone else a big big thank you again for this week's Free Friday entries - have a super weekend!  

P.S. - Be sure to check out this week's competition we have on Irimo tools:  http://www.micksgarage.ie/tools-diy/

This week we decided to have a bit more fun on Facebook with Free Friday. We posted six photos and asked our followers to guess the car in the photo. The winner would be randomly selected from a list of entrants who guessed all of the cars correctly. The prize was a filter kit consisting of an oil, air and fuel filter for the winners car to celebrate this weeks special offer of 15% off Service Parts...

Firstly the correct answers:  

Replacing your standard headlamp bulbs with high quality upgraded bulbs is a really great, simple modification which anybody can do and has so many benefits. Chief among these being increased visibility, safety and driving comfort.

When I bought my car 4 years ago one of the first things I noticed was the dismal performance from the standard Audi headlamps. Within a few days I replaced the standard H4 bulbs which handled both dipped and main beam with Osram Nightbreakers. To be honest I wasn't expecting much and assumed the lack of performance was just down to poor design of the lamps, but the upgraded Osrams weren't that expensive so I thought i'd give them a go. I fitted them in about 5 minutes, it's a simple job albeit very fiddly. I went out straight away for a test drive and can honestly say I was not only surprised but impressed at how dramatic and immediately noticeable the difference was. 4 years later the same bulbs are still fitted and going strong!

At MicksGarage we stock OSRAM Nightbreaker PLUS bulbs. Hover over the graphic below to see the features of these amazing replacement bulbs.



Here’s a short video we made about the Nightbreaker Plus range, including a few tips and tricks:

In motorsport, the fastest way round a corner is to get as close to its apex as possible. This is as close as you're ever going to get!

Fancy winning a €100/£100 MicksGarage Gift Voucher? Well read on!

Here at MicksGarage we are constantly looking for ways to improve our website; be it the design, product offering, pricing or customer journey through-out the site. As a result we value the contribution of you, our customer, very highly, and we're always striving for improvements based on your feedback.

Based on this would like you to spend no more than 5 minutes filling out our latest survey - which will ask you a few simple questions, firstly about the servicing of your vehicle and then also about your interaction with the MicksGarage website. Please be 100% honest, do not be afraid to give us negative comments as well as any ideas, changes or upgrades you think would benefit us. The results of this survey will allow us to plan for the future, tweak any problems you maybe having and give you an improved experience on our website.

We'll pick one winner at random to win the voucher, which will be announced towards the end of January.

Thanks very much folks! 

CLICK HERE TO START THE SURVEY (Irish Users)

CLICK HERE TO START THE SURVEY (UK Users)

Irish motorists are to be hit with even more increases this month as the basic fee of getting your car tested in an NCT centre rises by 10%. The current fee of €50 will be replaced with a fee of €55, with the re-test fee of €28 remaining unchanged.

Transport minister Leo Varadkar has indicated that he wants to make the Road Safety Authority - which over-sees the running of the NCT tests - self-financing, and this move is thought to be just one in raft of measures to do so.

The extra charge has already been slammed by commentators, claiming that the move will cause 'significant difficulty' for drivers who are due to get their car tested. 

The new fees for the NCT are due to come into effect from February 1st.

The very first Free Friday of 2012 posed the simple question of 'What your New Year's resolution is' - and we had some pretty interesting entries thrown into the hat - everything from making sure you fill diesel into your diesel car to cutting down the smokes and from entering and winning all of our Free Fridays to just simply working less and playing more - sounds like a good plan to us!

We picked one name at random for this week's winner - and that person is:

Edel Dwane

Congrats Edel, not only on winning the very first Free Friday of 2012, but for so far keeping your New Year's resolution of keeping off the cigarettes. Send your address to stuart@micksgarage.ie and we'll send out your prize next week.

The very best of luck to everyone on keeping your resolutions this year. We're going to check back at the end of 2012, and anyone who can prove that they have kept there will win a prize!!! 

Have a great weekend folks, we'll be back again next week, same time, same place!