Winter daily drivers

Come the dark evenings, come the morning frosts. Friday I saw the first game of car skittles this winter, with a bright yellow Punto parked on its roof. All the stickers, dustbin exhaust, hairgelled owner standing in the road on his phone. He'll learn, we all do.

So what to do, to preserve your pride and joy for another spring? TB friend and Ferrari nut Neil W used to borrow his other half's Golf, but realised that's no way to carry on. Now Neil's not your typically Fezzer nerd -his 355 Spiders a tasteful deep blue, and I've never seen him in Ferrari branded clobber. So I expected him to buy something like TB's Fiat 500 or maybe a Mito as a daily driver, especially on a budget of under £10k.

Hooo no - he's bought an Alfa 156 GTA, with flappy paddle gearbox. 250 bhp through the front wheels in a car that weighs less than some diesel hatchbacks. Good man - but Neil, please keep an eye on the outside temperature