Motor Codes has revealed the top ten garages in the UK, as voted for by motorists up and down the country.

More than 8,000 drivers have voted in the Golden Garages competition, which aimed to find the best service and repair garages in the UK.

The competition will end completely on April 6th when the best garage in the UK will be named, after being judged by a panel of motor industry experts, who will independently assess each garage.

Research conducted by Motor Codes showed that more than 14 million motorists in the UK felt short-changed by their local repair and service garage.

However, those using garages approved by Motor Codes, which provide the best service and repair in the sector, were satisfied 90 per cent of the time.

Therefore, it launched the competition to restore consumer confidence in independent repair centres as well as giving good garages the recognition that they deserve.

Car manufacturers are expected to reduce new car prices in a bit to increase post-scrappage sales, according to Glass’s, which is the UK’s leading provider of used car valuations.

As the scrappage scheme comes to an end, manufacturers are keen to counteract a predicted fall in new car registrations.

Adrian Rushmore, managing editor at Glass’s, said the price realignment is most likely to affect company car buyers.

He said that carmakers are expecting market demand to move from retail to fleet and business users in 2010, partly because of the scrappage scheme ending but also because many business users deferred buying new fleets last year due to the recession.

Manufacturers are already beginning to launch new entry-level ranges, such as the ES and Expression models from Vauxhall, which undercut the list price of other cars in the brand’s range.

Mr Rushmore said that the low-cost models were unlikely to be popular because of their reduced specification list.

However, he said that manufacturers could emphasis the low costs of ownership as well as lower company tax bands, to promote the ranges.

This weekend marks the official start of British summertime, with the clocks going forward an hour to give an extra hour of daylight, however, losing an hour’s sleep could cause chaos on the roads, an association has advised.

GEM Motoring Assist (GEM), the UK’s leading driving based road safety association, has issued the warning to drivers to make them aware of the effects of fatigue while driving and to ensure they adapt their routine to allow for the loss of sleep.

Research suggests that up to 20 per cent of accidents on monotonous roads occur when motorists are fatigued, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).

David Williams MBE, GEM’s chief executive officer, said tiredness can reduce reaction times, alertness and concentration.

He advised drivers to take regular breaks as well as eating and drinking to maintain energy levels.

Taking a nap at a service station, if absolutely necessary, would also increase alertness, he said.

Honda has announced the introduction of a new sporty Si grade of its Jazz model, the brand’s popular supermini.

It is hoped that the enhanced looks and stylish extra features should appeal to a younger generation of drivers.

The Si option will be available on all models in the Jazz range with manual transmission.

Setting it apart from standard models, the Jazz Si has 16 inch Chronos alloys, as well as a chrome sports front grille and a rear spoiler.

Feedback from Honda customers showed that younger Jazz owners liked the bigger wheels on the Si model and the additional aesthetic changes.

The new Jazz has a fuel-sipping engine, which results in lower running costs and emissions, making it a value-for-money specification with C-sector space.

Until the end of March Honda still has cars available in the government scrappage scheme.

Car buyers can trade in cars at least ten years old for a new model, receiving savings of up to £2,000.

A smart electricity grid system is needed to cater for the successful mass uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) in UK, to smooth out power demand and any generation spikes, it has been reported.

For the mass adoption of EVs, smart grids will be essential for the UK, Rick Hanks, smart metering practice lead at global management consultant Accenture, which helps its clients become high-performance, told Reuters.

He said any slow-charging EVs would consume the same amount of power as ten plasma TV screens, whereas one charging quickly would place "unsustainable stress" on the existing grid.

If there were a smart grid, it could detect when there was high wind generation and take advantage of the excess power to charge EVs, according to the news provider.

By 2020, Britain intends to supply a quarter of all its required power by wind generation, which would complement EV batteries that were being charged overnight.

Skoda UK has received the manufacturer’s Human Touch and Customer Care award for the second year running.

It is the fourth time in five years that the award has gone to the UK operations of the brand, illustrating its commitment to customer service.

The director of Skoda UK, Robert Hazelwood, said that Skoda was "the manufacturer of happy drivers" and it hopes to improve its customer service reputation even more in 2010.

At this year’s Fleet Awards ceremony, which was held last week, Skoda picked up two awards.

The Czech brand won the Most Improved Fleet Manufacturer award and the manufacturer’s Superb model received the Best Upper-Medium car award.

Fleet News said that the brand had gone from "strength to strength" over the last and the awards were well-deserved as they represented the carmaker’s growing success.

Skoda also won three price point trophies in the What Car? 2010 awards, which showed the economical prices of the brand’s range of models, which are the most comprehensive and competitive to date.

Fuel prices of 120p per litre are only weeks away, according to experts from Autocar, which is the oldest car magazine.

The Budget, which will be announced this week, is not expected to affect fuel prices, as they will rise regardless as fuel duty fast approaches 70 per cent per litre.

Around £25 billion is currently raised for the Treasury through the 65 per cent tax charged per litre, according to the publication, which provides up-to-date automotive news to its readers.

The magazine ran investigations which revealed that oil companies only make four per cent profit on fuel as their production costs account for 31 per cent of the tax.

Autocar said people were wondering why, despite the constant rate of crude oil prices, fuel prices keep rising while the economy is recovering from the economic downturn.

It has called on the government to come up with a "fairer system of pricing" that does not penalise the motorist but continues to support the industry.

Micro-hybrid solutions to reduce CO2 emissions will be showcased at the international Green Vehicle Congress this week, by a specialist company.

Controlled Power Technology (CPT) will be showing its technologies, which are aimed at minimising additional costs for the consumer when compared to a fully hybrid model.

Nick Pascoe, chief executive of the CPT, which specialises in reducing carbon emissions in the automotive industry, said the new technology could lead to major fuel savings without the need to significantly change the vehicle or engine design.

CPT believes the best short-term solution to carbon emissions reduction is stop-start technology, which is most useful in urban areas where there is high congestion. The benefit to fuel and CO2 will be most significant there.

The company is currently involved in a number of new technology developments such as battery and fuel cell breakthroughs.

All new cars produced in Europe will have to meet 120g/km CO2 emission targets by 2012.

The target has been set by the European Union to help Europe get closer to adopting a low-carbon economy, which will reduce the impacts of climate change.

Kia’s dealership service is set to be boosted by its authorised departments using Superservice Menus by Infomedia, after the two companies signed a five-year deal.

Infomedia has endorsed the use of its company’s quote and selling system.

The Superservice Menus, which has been made by the leading provider of customer service information solutions to the automotive industry, will provide dealerships worldwide with an in-depth range of maintenance, repair and service menus.

This will enable customer quotes to be obtained more quickly and for them to be more accurate and detailed too.

Profitability, productivity and customer retention of the dealership should also be enhanced by use of the system.

Kia is already using the system in some of its dealerships, including ones in the UK, but the new agreement will extend its usage to all Kia distributors and dealers worldwide.

Recently, the manufacturer announced a new alternative scrappage scheme for its customers, to replace the government-funded scheme, which has already ended for the brand.

Old cars, aged between seven and ten years old, can be traded in for a brand new Kia with a seven-year warranty, saving buyers up to £2,000.

Drivers are more likely to buy part-worn tyres compared with a year ago, new research has found.

More than one in ten motorists will purchase part-worn tyres, according to a study from TyreSafe, a not-for-profit organisation that raises awareness of the dangers posed by defective and worn tyres.

It warned that the tyres could pose a significant safety risk to drivers as well as other road users.

On roads in 2008, illegal, under-inflated and defective tyres contributed to the deaths of 34 motorists and injuries of more than 900.

Stuart Jackson, chairman of the organisation, said tyres play a "critical role" in vehicle safety and that strict requirements exist with regards to the sale of part-worn tyres.

Motorists could be placing themselves in danger as well as other road users by buying their tyres from unreliable sources or purchasing ones that do not meet the required standards, he said.

Only one in every 20 drivers aged over 55 is likely to buy part-worn tyres, according to research from the organisation.

However, one in five young drivers, aged between 18 and 34, was likely to purchase the tyres, which could mean that price is a determining factor in the purchase decision.