Rules? In this rally there is only a few- first up each car entered in the rally must be of a capacity of 1000cc or less – no big sand buggies or off-roaders here! Secondly each team entering this rally must raise at least £1000 for charity – Team Zebra are choosing to raise this money for “Send a Cow” – a charity specialising in providing real, sustainable help to the people of Africa. They are still fund raising and you can show
your support by sponsoring them (and perhaps helping them send several cows!) at
www.wheels-near-u.co.uk/teamzebra.

See more in the Team Zebra 08 Gallery

Apart from these simple basics there is really very little guidance for Team Zebra on this adventure – part of the ideals behind ‘The Adventurists‘ is to provide as little support, guidance and absolutely no backup in order to make the experience as real and adventurous as possible.

Once they agreed they wanted to do this rally Jacob and Jay set about coming up with a name, opting for a suitably African themed one they became Team Zebra and began the hunt for the ideal Zebra-Mobile – something slick, fast and capable of dealing with all manner of terrain, protecting them from wild animals and dealing with the worlds harshest conditions, then they remembered the 1 litre restriction and threw that out of the window, opting for a reassuringly low mileage A Reg 997cc Ford Fiesta. While this old Ford Fiesta may not sound like the best Sub-Saharan rally car it has only travelled 25,000 miles so far and was a snap at £250.

See more in the Team Zebra 08 Gallery

“a kind of boot meets bed that allows the lads to sleep in the car without too much worrying about wild animals”

Since they picked up their blue Ford Fiesta they have spent a lot of time kitting it out, preparing it for the adventure to come this summer. They started by designing a back compartment that is fit for sleep and supplies – a kind of boot meets bed that allows the lads to sleep in the car without too much worrying about wild animals.

Next up they set about acquiring a few extras they needed to improve the old Fiesta. First up a roof-rack – a necessity if they are to fit everything for their journey they need onto/into the car. Their first purchase of a £1 roof-rack from eBay was never going to cut it and they soon tracked down a much more substantial roof-rack. A little angle-grinding and modification and the Team Zebra car has a ideal, custom fitted roof-rack!

See more in the Team Zebra 08 Gallery

With that sorted they set about getting some sounds for their journey – Jacob used his wiring and electrical know-how to set them up a fine sound system which should more than fit the bill! Some kind local donations of a CB Radio, Aerial and a battery along with some excellent spot lamps further kitted out the Zebra-mobile.

Safe in the knowledge that most of their intended modifications are now complete Jacob and Jay decided the paintwork of the A Reg Fiesta could do with a bit of livening up before the cars big trip. They decided that their best bet was to paint the car – something fitting.

See more in the Team Zebra 08 Gallery

As you can see they decided to stick with the heard and painted the car with black and white zebra stripes – now team zebra will definitely fit in on the plains of Africa.

Off on the 19th of July Team Zebra are nearly all set leaving from London’s Hyde Park their first stop will be the Adventurists African Rally European party in Prague, Czech Republic on the following day.

Wheels-Near-U has sponsored Team Zebra and wish them the best of luck and a safe journey through europe and Aftica!

Want to show your support for Team Zebra as they conquer the Sahara? - Please Sponsor them now at
www.wheels-near-u.co.uk/teamzebra

Part of or Classic Car’s series of t-shirts we have created three different artistic impressions of the classic VW Beetle.  You can choose which of the following designs you would prefer on your t-shirt:

There are a whole collection of Classic Car T shirts available in the Wheels-Near-U Shop - including the last classic car t-shirt of the week - the Triumphant.

To view some of our other motoring movie collections simply go to our Motoring Movies section or catch them on the Wheels-Near-U Blog!

View the Motorbike and Biking Video Collection 3 in a full video player

Want more motoring video clips?

Why not take a look at our latest Motorbike Video’s?

This weeks T shirt of the week is the ever classic MK2 Escort Rally Car t shirt. Still raced to this day, the Mark II Escort is heralded as one of the best rally cars in its class. Now you can have that perfect rally t shirt with your favourite rally car!

 Each of our car t shirts are produced within the uk using the latest processes to get the benefits of a long lasting washable shirt as well as maintaining full colour, original and artistic designs. We have over 20 different designs to choose from and each comes in different styles, some with a choice of text and all are available in a range of sizes and T shirt cuts. Our full range of motor t shirts are available in our online shop or by clicking any of the photo’s of tshirts!

Although usually seen being booked on the football pitch - this week David Beckham received a whole new type of red card. David Beckham often famed for his activities off the pitch as much as on the pitch was stopped in Los Angeles earlier this week and awarded a point on his American driving license and a £80 ($160 USD) on the spot fine (with the option to avoid the point should he spend a day in traffic school) for driving his large Cadillac Escalade irresponsibly, attempting to make a right hand turn from a left hand junction.

You do wonder whether Beckham will really notice the fine, having this year re-claimed his title as the world’s highest earning football star - collecting a fee of £24,700,000 for his endorsements, his own brand products and playing for LA Galaxy.

Beckham although this time caught in the act, has not received any other motoring convictions since early in 1999 when he was convicted of speeding in Cheshire when driving his Ferrari. He managed to successfully appeal this conviction and an 8 month ban after claiming he was only speeding to get away from pursuing paparazzi.

Got something you think is bigger news? Want to have your say? Click here to contact us if you want to have a guess slot on this blog!

All of our car t-shirts are made in the uk using the most modern techniques to get the combined benefits of a long lasting washable shirt while still maintaining full colour artistic designs. We have over 20 different designs to choose from as well as different styles and cuts of tshirt. You can see our full range of motor t shirts in our online shop or by clicking any of the photo’s of tshirts!

Paypal
We now accept paypal as payment for items brought from our motoring shop (as well as all major credit and debit cards, cheques and postal orders.) This should make buying from the Wheels-Near-U shop even easier!

Local Motoring Directory
With the help of users from all over the country we are improving our directory day by day, if you think there’s a service or company missing from your local wheels-related directory you can let us know by contacting us or by simply finding the category you think they should be in and clicking “add to”. Filing out that form will let us know about the service!

Trade Tweaks
We are constantly making effort to simplify and enhance Wheels-Near-U for both customers and trade users, within the last few weeks we have improved the trade homepage and re-worked the addition process.

Shop gets Tshirts
We have began producing a series of motor related attire, ideal as a gift for anyone who likes cars or bikes. Available in all sizes, with varied and choose-able text, we have split our t-shirt designs into 3 series, Rally T shirts, Classic Car T shirts and Mud T shirts (Motorcross and Mountainbike.)

Future Developments

Technology Improvement
Wheels-Near-U is always looking for ways to make adding vehicle adverts and using our site easier, one of the common feedback points from our valued users of this site has been image uploading can take some time. We do acknowledge this as not-ideal and we are working to improve this drastically. At current the system for image upload and manipulation does work, you may just have to give it a little time at times when lots of people may be using the system – It should always get there in the end. The new system is largely completed and should make image uploading up to 1000% faster as well as more usable with upload progress meters and drag and drop functionality.

In the coming months we will also announce our new statistics engine which will let you see the number of views of your ad as at any point, with high quality back end statistics provided for trade users.

Local News - Wheels Near U Magazine
Work on the Wheels-Near-U localise magazine is continuing, with a test run expected this month on a small local scale. As well as this our localised system lets us show any specific county local news stories, so if you are a keen amateur photographer, writer or journalist please send us your stories, local or national and we will provide website and potentially magazine publication. You can email all stories to magazine [at] wheels-near-u.co.uk (replace the [at] with @) or give us a call to discuss on 01545 580 004. As well as full credit for your work we will also provide you with a free Tshirt!!

As well as radio controlled cars you can also find pit bikes - great little motorbikes - ideal for practising and playing on - available in 110cc and 125cc variants and starting from just £329.99!!

But our latest addition to our shop has been high quality motor orientated T shirts. We have split our newly designed t-shirts into several “series” of shirt - including Rally Tshirts, Classic Car Tshirts and Biking Tshirts (Mud Series).

Oldschool Rally Tshirt (Rally Series)

Rally Jump (Rally Series)

Triampfunt (Classic Car Series)

Classic (Classic Car Series )

Moto (Mud Series)

Jump Mountain Bike Tshirt (Mud Series)

 All of our tshirts are produced using the newest techniques to make them long lasting and vivid. They are not to be confused with inferior transfer t shirts and are all absolutely unique to Wheels-Near-U.

Go to the Wheels Near U Shop now and  get your own original Tshirt (Tshirts from just £9.99!!!!)

English Alan Hopkins is a third generation of motor mechanics that began serving the local community at Ty-Gwyn Garage over 60 years ago. John E Hopkins began by repairing agricultural machinery and welding work at the current site of the workshop and MOT Station during the war in 1944. He was renowned for his welding skills throughout the county. During the early years of the business he sold and repaired Elswick Bicycles. In 1958 he opened a petrol station and some years later with the help of his son an MOT station was authorised. In 1969 Ceredig was married to Tegwen and that saw the business being taken over mainly for MOTS, Services and Repairs – which was the main core for the next 20 years. Alan Hopkins left school in 1986 and took his apprentiship at Gravells of Kidwelly while attending Pibwrlwyd Technical College Carmarthen. Four years later Alan joined the family business and shortly after Dragon Service Station Llanon was purchased, which was an excellent addition to the existing premises as an ideal position (situated on the A487) for the sales of second hand vehicles. A new building was built at Ty Gwyn in the year 2000 which comprises of three service bays in addition to a drive through MOT facility of which is capable of testing classes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7. All preprations, service and after sales work is now done at the above premises while Dragon Service Station is a shop window for the sales of vehicles. In 2001 Alan was married to Carey who also plays an active part in the business being on the administration side whilst bringing up three young children- Trystan, Meleri and Steffan. Alan spends as much time as possible in the workshop carrying out repairs and servicing work and believes that the key to continued success and repeat business is the honest service their customers have received for nearly 70 years.

Cymraeg Mae Alan Hopkins yn perthyn i’r drydedd genhedlaeth o fodurwyr a ddechreuodd wasanaethu’r gymuned leol yn Garej Ty Gwyn dros 60 mlynedd yn ol. Dechreuodd John E Hopkins (tadcu Alan) drwy drwsio peiriannau amaethyddol a gwneud gwaith weldio ar y safIe lle mae’r gweithdy a’r orsaf MOT presennol yn ystod y rhyfel yn 1944. Roedd yn adnabyddus i bobl y sir am ei sgiliau weldio. Yn ystod y blynyddoedd cynnar roedd yn gwerthu ac yn trwsio beiciau Elswick. Ym 1958, agorodd orsaf betrol a rhai blynyddoedd yn ddiweddarach, gyda chyrmorth ei fab, cafodd y busnes ei chymeradwyo fel gorsaf MOT. Ym 1969, priododd Ceredig (tad Alan) â Tegwen ac am yr ugain mlynedd nesaf roedd y prif bwyslais ar roi gwasanaethau i gerbydau a’u trwsio dan y drefn MOT. Gadawodd Alan yr ysgol ym 1986 a gwnaeth ei brentisiaeth yn Gravells, Cydweli tra hefyd yn mynychu Coleg Trydyddol Pibwrlwyd, Caerfyrddin. Bedair blynedd yn diweddarach, ymunodd Alan â’r busnes teuluol ac yn fuan wedyn, prynwyd Garej Dragon, Llanon, a oedd yn gaffaeliad rhagorol i’r busnes presennol fel safle a oedd ar y brif ffordd (A487) ac felly’n ddelfrydol ar gyfer gwerthu ceir ail law. Codwyd adeilad newydd yn Ty Gwyn yn y flwyddyn 2000 sy’n cynnwys lIe ar gyfer gwasanaethu tri char a chyfleusterau MOT lle gellir profi dosbarthiadau 1, 2, 3, 4, a 7. Caiff yr holl waith paratoi, trwsio a gwasanaethu ei wneud bellach ar y safle newydd yma tra bod Garej Dragon yn Llanon yn ffenestr siop ar gyfer gwerthu cerbydau. Ym 2001, priododd Alan â Carey, sydd hefyd yn chwarae rhan flaenllaw yn y busnes ar yr ochr weinyddol, tra hefyd yn magu tri phlentyn ifanc - Trystan, Meleri a Steffan. Mae Alan yn treulio cymaint o amser â phosib yn y gweithdy yn trwsio ac yn gwasanaethu ceir ac mae’n credu mai’r allwedd i fusnes hir a llwyddiannus yw’r gwasanaeth gonest y mae eu cwsmeriaid wedi’i derbyn ganddynt ers bron i 70 mlynedd .

You can visit Alan Hopkins Car Sales any time by stopping by their car showroom in Llanon or giving them a call on 01974 202 660.

Want to talk to us about motor trade solutions? Want your own car sales website? Give us a call on 01545 580 004.

This week we take a look at the new opel (vauxhall) Mevira and the Saab 9-4 x Biopower concept cars from the Geneva Motor show, a monstrous drag racer that does a quarter mile in 4.43 Seconds piloted by Tony Schumacher. Furthermore we have a ludicrously lucky driver who skips a red light, a clip of a rally lada, a video showing the AMG V12 BiTurbo in action, an Audi advert highlighting their tiptronic gearbox - all this and more in Motoring Digest 2:

Want more motor movie clips? Try one of our video collections!

Parking Gone Wrong

Some of the most catastrophic car parking ever, from a van parked in a wall to a police car in concrete! The world is apparently littered with people that haven’t yet learnt to park!

Mad Motors

Some people enjoy modifying there car, perhaps adding a spoiler, some alloy wheels and such. Others enjoy complete redesign of cars, making them into something completely different. Heres our slideshow of crazy one of cars!

This Ferari Tank is great if you need to drive your supercar into a warzone (from Comical Cars)

This is why taxi’s have a threshold for the number of people they can carry (from Comically Overpacked)

This naked car decal would make everyone look twice! (from Comedy Paint Jobs)

Not often seen in the uk, the Beware of Camels sign is more suited to desserts! (from Funny Motoring Signs)

This crazy invention shows a man acting as the body of a car, probably designed for a higher fuel efficiency but without a roll cage it seems a little dangerous! (from Random Motoring Comedy)

And last but by no means least the truck that managed to park in a tree - but check out our comedy parking photo’s section - there are some hilarious ways to park your cars! (from Comedy Parking Photo’s)

It will never cease to amaze how people manage to drive themselves into these predicaments, and the crazy ideas people have to modify thier Lamborghini to look like a tank or paint their VW Beetle with a brickwork design. But in the end these eccentric motoring photo’s are great to look at!