The BA spokesperson also indicated that beef and pork are prohibited in some cultures and by some religions. As such, the carrier had to find meals that could be acceptable to all. Yet BA has not decided to scrap beef altogether. Despite the religious and cultural implications, those in Club World (business class) cabins will still get to enjoy beef for dinner, as fish pie will only replace this more traditional dish in economy. Some have also expressed criticism over BA’s decision, noting that beef remains Britain’s national dish and the country’s flag carrier should promote this on its flights.

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EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – It was almost like a bad country song – her labor started when her water broke in a car wreck on Mother’s Day during a police chase.

But 25-year-old Kelly Anne Fenley of Springfield gave birth to a healthy baby boy three hours later.

Fenley, her husband David, and her parents were heading home Sunday evening after a visit with David’s parents.

Their car was struck by a small sport utility vehicle driven by a woman who had failed to turn on her headlights and was being chased by police after she ran a red light.

Fortunately, the only serious injury was a broken arm suffered by David Fenley.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

From Hot Wheels to Eldon Racers to Barbie’s van, toy manufacturers probably put out more vehicles in a year than real automakers produce in a decade.

But while food companies are also quick to jump on whatever trends junior consumers seem keen on following, there’s been little in the way of car-related snacks, cereals and cookies.

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Font:****Kraft Foods gave it a try with its line of Trolli Road Kill gummy candies shaped like fruit-flavoured animal roadkill. The flattened animal candies were imprinted with tire treads, inspiring the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to complain.

“We understand that this product could be misunderstood,” said Kraft spokesman Larry Baumann after the product line itself was killed in 2005.

Far more successful were food product giveaways found in everything from boxes of pudding to tea bags and cereal. Some favourites:

Bran Flakes

Offering more than just a delicious way to gentle regularity, Kellogg’s 40% Bran Flakes also offered kids a free set of miniature road signs: “Hill,” “School,” and the ever-popular “Right Turn Ahead” topped off the exciting collection.

Cheerios

General Mills’ Cheerios was a particularly car-centric cereal offering everything from an actual Chevy Corvair to pint-sized models of real vehicles, including a 1973 Oldsmobile, an honest-to-goodness Flying Air Car and the Land and Water Rover, a reversible toy surprise!

Clackers

A long-forgotten General Mills’ graham cracker-flavoured cereal offered free TV series Wacky Racers cars inside, including Dastardly and Muttley’s Mean Machine, Penelope Pitstop’s Compact Pussycat and Peter Perfect’s Turbo Terrific.

Cocoa Puffs

Long before Sonny went Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, the cereal gave away big prizes – such as full-sized Pontiacs. A 1961 contest gave away a Tempest.

Freakies

“We are the Freakies, we are the Freakies, and this is the Freakies tree.”

Purina’s Freakies was a breakfast cereal with its feet firmly rooted in early 1970s psychedelia. The warty Freakies – Boss-Moss, Hamhose, Gargle, Cowmumble, Grumble, Goody-Goody and Snorkeldorf – were just ugly enough to make breakfast a chore. For those who couldn’t get enough of them, behold the Freakmobile, free inside every box. Environmentally friendly, the brilliant Freakies had invented a car that ran on air – you had to bang your fist on a rubber balloon to make it go.

General Mills’ Monster Cereals

Found inside boxes of General Mills’ Count Chocula, Franken Berry and Boo Berry cereals were Spooky Speedsters. Each featured a figure of one of the unlikely spokesmonsters. Count Chocula piloted a coffin, while Franken Berry lay stretched on a laboratory cart. Boo Berry drove … something blue.

Alas, no cars existed for the forgotten members of the cereal quintet, Fruit Brute, the werewolf or Yummy Mummy.

JELL-O Instant Puddings

Jell-O Puddings offered kids one of the most extensive collectors’ sets around, free inside each box. We called them Jell-O Wheels, but they came in such sets as Hockey Wheels, Animal Wheels and Famous Car Wheels. You could pry the cardboard centres off the plastic wheels and mount them in a collectors’ album, but that would destroy an enjoyable feature of the Jell-O Wheel – the ability to spin them at top speed so they’d look psychedelic.

Red Rose Tea

Red Rose Tea offered a series of collector cards wrapped in cellophane inside each package. The colourful cards could be pasted inside an album that cost a quarter and you could buy a complete set – album and cards – for 75¢ when the next collection hit the shelves. The best set, issued in 1967, was called Transportation Through the Ages and featured lurid illustrations of automobiles, including the Model T Ford and the Bluebird racer.

Shreddies

Boxes of Shreddies on Canadian grocery store shelves offered FREE (GRATIS) toys to tie in with Walt Disney’s Love Bug movie. The action racers came complete with elastic band action launchers. Here’s the catch: You also stood a chance of finding one of Herbie’s nameless “friends,” ambassadors of various other car manufacturers, inside the cereal package, giving you only a one-in-12 chance of nabbing Herbie itself.

Sugar Frosted Flakes

Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger offered kids two personalized licence plates “for bikes, wagons, doors and dozens of other places” if they sent in a quarter with the cereal box top. They were, uh, gr-e-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-t!

Almost every new car dealership will drop the initial price they have listed on a car for sale. However, what you must be wary of are the scams, pressure tactics, twists, and turns that motorcar salespeople have up their sleeves. It is in the showroom, when you are ready to finalise the deal, where you shall be worn down by these machinations, if you don’t have your wits about you. This is when a great online site like OzFreeOnline.com comes in really handy. You can register, log in, search thousands of cars and refine your search by using the vehicle ‘keyword search’.

Car dealers will never give you a direct or exact quote because if they do, they know you will go to another dealer and have them better the price. And to check on prices and search for motor vehicles online is a great way to save a lot of footwork. I recently found two sites, which had thousands of Australian cars for sale. At carsguide.com.au, you will find new and used cars for sale as well as dealer specials.

If you do leave the dealership and tell the dealer you will ‘look around for other prices’, the dealer will most likely ask you to come back once the ‘best price’ has been obtained. Don’t be fooled by this because the dealer will then either match the price, or try to increase it slightly by taking advantage of the fact that you have had enough of shopping and are now really eager to buy the car. Smart and very familiar, this trick works very well for most dealers. It relies mainly on getting you, the customer to feel obliged to buy, because you have put the dealer to ‘so much trouble’.

A smart salesperson will urge you to commit to buying the car you really want, even before you get the final price. This is irksome and exasperating for customers, but reasonable from a dealer’s point of view. Now your car dealer has two choices: To give you a quote and watch you walk out the door, or entice you to negotiate. Perhaps you may be lucky when negotiating with the dealer; however, you may never know whether you have paid too much. If you feel uncomfortable about a car dealer, then go online at consumer.vic.gov.au where you can check that this trader of motor cars in Victoria is licensed and has Licensed Motor Car Traders (LMCT) number.

Most auto classifieds online give a price, which you can work with, but a regular trick, which is frustrating and time consuming for customers is this. A dealership will identify one or two cars of a particular model. These will be the ‘undesirable’ cars. The problems are common and may be simple. For instance, ‘the manufacture date is very old’, ‘the car has been in the showroom for a very long time’, perhaps they are ‘the least popular colour’ and of course ‘with no options’.

Next, the dealer will run a large advertising campaign based on these two cars, with the price ridiculously below cost. When the advertisement runs, the dealer waits for customers to flood through the doors. Of course, when they do arrive to get the best deal, they are usually told that the cars have been sold and are now waiting to be ‘delivered’ to the clients. Consequently, you will be invited to browse the showroom or customers are ‘switched’ to another car.

If you still insist on looking at the vehicle, if it is still on the floor, the salesperson just points out why this particular car is undesirable, and then persuades the customer to look at a better car, of course you will expect to pay more. To make sure you do not pay too much, log in to OzFreeOnline.com a site where you just register, log in, and search the thousands of vehicles available Australia wide. Not only can you search for a motor vehicle with a simple keyword search, but also when you are ready to sell a car you can use the free classifieds to do so.

First, ask yourself what you really need in a car. Who will be driving it most of the time? Where will you be driving in? Over what sort of terrain? Do you need a lot of storage space and lots of seating? Are you going to be traveling back and forth over long distances?

What features are an absolute must? Air conditioning, adjustable controls, cruise control?

What safety features you are looking for? Anti-lock brake systems, head injury protection, or child protection equipment?

How much are you willing to spend?

What kind of down payment can you make?

Realistically, what can you afford to pay monthly?

It’s important to know this amount before you even start looking. Then do your research. Check websites, dealerships, and Consumer Reports magazine. Look for reliability and repair ratings as well as safety advice. The website www.edmunds.com offers pricing information and advice on buying a used car.

Go exploring for that perfect car. Gather as much info as you can on the different makes and models. Check out the retail value, available options, performance, and track record for repairs.

No matter where you buy your used car, be prepared to stand firm. There are a bazillion other cars you could fall in love with. Be willing to walk away from the car if the deal doesn’t meet the criteria you laid out earlier. Your ability to negotiate a great deal will increase by leaps and bounds.

Always know the market value of any car you’re considering and make your first offer lower. You want a little room to negotiate.

Ask for a detailed vehicle history report and service records from the seller. This report can identify major problems including past accidents, flood damage, and odometer discrepancies. When you decide to buy a car, make sure you get it checked out by a trusted mechanic before you hand over any money. That’s absolutely crucial.

Buying a used car can be one of the most exciting purchases you ever make. Following a few guidelines will ensure that it’s also one of the wisest!

Contributed by TheCarSites.com. Visit http://www.TheCarSites.com for auto articles and news pertaining to the auto industry.

Keeping your tires properly inflated ensures that they wear longer and can prevent accidents. Your car likely has a card or sticker attached to the door edge or the inside of the glove box door. The right amount of air your tires need is specified here. In case your car doesn’t have this sticker, you can check your owner’s manual.

Serious accidents can happen if your tires are under-inflated or overloaded. One of my tires blew-out on me and caused an accident. Luckily I was on a little traveled country road and was going slowly. I hate to think of what might have happened if I had been in major traffic.

Buy your own quality tire gauge. You can’t tell if tires are inflated properly just by looking. And the air meters at your service station may not be correct!

Ask your auto supply dealer for a tire gauge calibrated up to 80 PSI. They’ll know what you mean, even if you don’t.

Take a moment at the beginning of each month to check your tire pressure (don’t forget the spare! Uhm, you do have a spare tire, don’t you??) Check them before you get in the car to drive. Write down the actual under-inflation amount for each tire. Take this info with you to the service station.

Now measure the inflation again and record these numbers. (Don’t worry, this only takes a couple minutes.) Now inflate the tires to a level that equals the warm pressure (that you just took) plus the first under-inflation amount. (called the “cold” inflation pressure)

If the above instructions sound intimidating or confusing, take your car to a shop and give them the “cold” pressure numbers. They’ll put the correct amount of air in your tires for a minimum fee – sometimes they’ll not charge you at all.

The leading cause of tire failure is under-inflation. So make a habit to check them once a month.

Overloading your vehicle can lead to tire failure, too. Just because you have a pick-up truck doesn’t mean it can carry an infinite load.

Schedule a tire check into your calendar each month and you’ll save money, save fuel, and perhaps, even save your family from a car accident.

Terry Lowery

This article courtesy of http://www.mustang-owners-guide.com.

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Just as most people don�t get married or buy a house or go to a particular college based upon impulse, so too should car buying be treated with respect and given a proper amount of preparation.

There are things that people can do on the internet, through reading magazines, by asking friends, and other avenues to prepare for car shopping. Here, we will discuss the internal, primal, directionally focused process of digging deep and asking a few important questions before embarking on the automobile hunt.

1) How many people will be riding (NOT how many people are in the family)?

Consider your driving habits and future driving plans. You may have a family of 5, in which case a mid-sized sedan should work. But do grandma and grandpa like to ride to school events with you instead of driving themselves? Does little Timmy need to take four of his soccer teammates to practice sometimes? Are we going to fit all of the family and luggage when we head to the Grand Canyon this summer?

2) Will it fit in the garage?

A Ford Excursion will not fit in 13% of the garages in the US. How big is yours?

3) How much can I really afford?

Do a true, honest, forward thinking budget. Can you really afford $300, plus the extra gas you�ll pay for in the new SUV, plus the full coverage insurance instead of your liability?

If a car stands out, could you stretch to $450 a month, even though you only want to spend $375?

People get credit problems through their car loans because of various reasons � divorce, loss of job, unexpected medical expenses, etc. Then there are others who simply bite off more than they can chew.

4) Who should I consult before shopping?

Just about everyone knows someone who knows something about cars. Whether they are or have been in the car business or if they have a lot of experience buying, they are assets. If you are not one of those people, there is no shame in asking advice or looking for recommendations on dealers, makes, models, or any other aspect.

There is also no shame in taking a “third base coach” with you. If Uncle Rick used to sell cars, he has an insight into the business and can help you sniff out tricks or scams at the dealership. Ask him to come along.

5) What options are “must-have” and what options are just nice?

This is something that seems pretty simple, but often people will fall in love with a car, then discover later that it didn�t have the side-curtain airbags that you swore 3 months ago you wanted to get. Make a list of what you need and what you want and bring it with you.

6) How long will I keep this vehicle?

If you are one of the millions who trades cars out every 2-3 years, you will need to do some research regarding depreciation. You will want to seriously consider whether it is better to get a new one or a low mile used one.

Those who keep their cars for 5 or more years need to worry less about depreciation and more about longevity and maintenance costs, thus their research will be completely different.

Also, length of ownership will help you decide whether to take the low interest rate or the cash back incentive when considering new cars. That zero percent financing is very tempting, but if you�ll be trading in 2 years, you probably won�t save as much money as you would if you take the cash rebate instead.

7) Will children be coming of age soon?

It isn�t a common consideration, but for those with 13-15 year-olds, it should be asked. Do you really want your child practicing with their learner�s permit on your Mustang GT?

Also, will you need to add a vehicle for that very reason? It is something to consider in budgeting � are you going to be buying your kid a car in the near future?

8) Will it fit every driver?

“That Mini Cooper sure would be nice, but will my 6�4″ husband enjoy it as much as me if he has to drive it?”

Again, not a common consideration, but it has to be taken into account if it applies.

9) What are my motivations?

Actors need to know their motivations before taking on a role. Car buyers need to know their motivations before buying.

If you get “the urge” to get a new sports car because your neighbor just parked her new Dodge Charger in the driveway, you should tread very carefully. Car buying can be an impulse decision. In many cases, these impulses lead us down the wrong path and create bad situations down the road (literally).

If your motivation is that your current vehicle has problems or is old enough to start having problems soon, that is a good motivation. If you are expecting a child and need something bigger, that is a good motivation. If you changed jobs and need better gas mileage to commute, that is a good motivation. If you have lots of money and darn it, you want a new car, that is a good motivation.

If your nemesis at work just bought a full ton diesel and you can�t let him have the biggest, baddest truck in the parking lot, you should probably wait a few days and see if the feeling wears off before heading to the Dodge dealership.

10) How soon do I want and/or need a new car?

From a money saving point of view, this is the most important question to ask yourself. Fight the society�s trend towards “we want what we want and we want it now”. If you want a new car, but you can wait a few months, order it. Most dealers and manufacturers will custom order one for you cheaper than if you buy it from the lot or have it located.

For used car buyers, if you have time, hold out for the best deal. Search the internet diligently through the various classified sites and dealer websites and wait for that great deal to come along. Be ready to hop on it, though, because great deals are there, and then they are gone.

There are many Car Dealer Web Design companies out there. Some are user friendly, while others are designed to confuse consumers, simply to get their contact information. For some that are more convenient, go to Knoxville Honda Dealers or Acton Toyota Dealers.

Happy car buying!