JohnP

this is just my opinion but i dislike HID headlights, the generally tend to be set up wrong and often blind me when i pass other cars with them on.

if you think your cars headlights need to be mega bright then i think you need an eye test, when i used to ride my bike with a not very bright full beam i could see perfectly well, even on country roads at night. no need for hid's imo.

i'd say PS3, i much prefer it to the wii (which is why i traded that in) and i like the whole way it operates compared to the xbox. although to be fair the differences between the xbox and ps3 aren't that big and both are really good consoles, its just the newer slim line ps3s have big hard drives and the ability to play blu ray.

ouch, thats not good. glad your ok though and hope you get a new car sorrted out soon!

liking the pics! i took some of mine awhile ago, i really should post them up sometime!

snow/winter tyres are the way forward as MarkyR mentions. I've recently got back from Austria and in most regions it is law to have these tyres on, they are mega grippy. the hire car we had took a fair bit of effort to spin the wheels and it was only a SEAT Leon FWD. My girlfriends dad took his audi 4X4 over there with winter tyres and it was pretty much impossible to get the wheels spinning in the conditions on the ski resorts. it did help that the roads are cleared much more efficiently than over here but you could still notice the difference.

oh, and on the subject of snow chains, i saw a pillock in my village putting them on during that lightish snowfall before christmas. my fiesta was handling the roads fine and i can't think of any major routes with 10/15 miles that would possibly require them (and thats only if conditions are like the are now. or worse).