A day at the motor show

You're guaranteed at least three things at the British International Motor Show. A great day out. A comparatively inexpensive day out. And a day out that will be blighted by travel hassles.

Taking a bus to the Excel exhibition centre is an absolute no no for a variety of unprintable reasons. The train is a better option, but the familiar Underground/Tube system can’t take show goers to their desired destination although the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) can.

Driving to Excel and leaving your car in a nearby car park sounds logical enough. The threat from the organisers is that you will be directed to satellite car parks which could be miles away, horribly expensive and in an iffier part of town.

Your best bet if you're driving to the show this or next weekend is to head for the NCP car park at the dreaded Dome (now the 02) site on the south side of the Blackwall Tunnel, pay about a fiver to park all day, then walk a few yards to North Greenwich station before taking a) an underground train and b) a DLR rattler to Custom House, Excel’s very own station. It’s a fast, cost effective and safe option. But be warned: you can only use the Dome car park after 11am on weekdays - for a fee of £6.

Once at the Excel complex, job one is to grab your first freebie of the day "YOUR MAP OF THE UK'S BIGGEST MOTOR SHOW".

The Highways Agency is giving away road atlases too. Another Department for Transport booklet called Changing The Way We Learn to Drive spells out how we can, in theory, all have our say on this important subject.

Models of the cute-looking Mega Multitruck were available from the firm in the indoor Electric Vehicle Village, while potentially-life saving tyre-tread gauges were on offer on the What Van? stand outside.

Newcomers announced plans to give 30,000 young people who leave school "vocation-less" BTEC qualifications in Driving Science. At the same time, universities, colleges and auto industry organisations were queuing up to attract youngsters looking to work or be educated in the motor or motorsport fields.

Credit card companies with 17.9 per cent APRs are trying to sign-up punters with a promise that they'll get 6p a litre cash back...but only for 60 days. Even worse, I was accosted by a salesman from an energy firm who aggressively asked me if I’d be interested in committing myself to a new dual fuel deal.

Thankfully, there's no shortage of appropriate firms and organisations at the show. One of them, Let's Go Karting, which is part of the MSA is promising youngsters that they can enjoy the thrill of karting at a circuit near them for just a fiver.

Black and Decker launched a new automotive range, Dyson got in on the car vac act and Ferrari-engineered watches were selling from £8,900.

But for that sort of money, Excel has some great recently introduced or all-new cars on offer. The Mazda 2, the reigning World Car of the Year can now be had from £8,099 and the next generation Ford Fiesta and Ibiza SportCoupe are also starting at not much more than £8,000.

In terms of sheer good looks, value for money and real world credentials these not so small cars are right up there. You would not be embarrassed to be seen in any of them. And at under £9,000 a pop, they perfectly illustrate that, in real terms, cars have never been cheaper.