Hello and welcome to the February issue of Fleettorque, brought to you by Fleetcare!

Don’t get stressed out this Valentine’s Day! Think ahead and you can enjoy the day with the one you love – even if that’s yourself!

Hearts, flowers and chocolates never go out of fashion. How about ringing the changes with heart-shaped pancakes for a Valentine’s breakfast or brunch? Just pour the batter in the frying pan in a free-form heart shape and serve with strawberries and whipped cream. If you’re giving a box of choccies, skip the giant packs in the supermarket Valentine’s aisle and go instead for a modest-sized box from a specialist chocolatier. But, of course, the greatest gift you can give this Valentine’s Day is your time. How about tickets to the footy, a trip to the spa, or a special day out together for a Valentine’s treat that will be remembered for years to come.

If you’re not in a relationship, there’s no reason why you can’t spend some quality time with yourself on Valentine’s Day. Why not run a candlelit bubble bath, prepare a great meal and watch your favourite DVD? How about planning an activity-filled a day at the spa or the gym, or throwing a singles party and celebrating your freedom?

Don’t forget though that love isn’t just for couples – this is the ideal opportunity to remind friends, siblings, parents, and grandparents just how much they mean to you. So, whoever you’re sharing it with, spread some love this Valentine’s Day!

Audi fans will be anticipating the arrival later this year of a sporty convertible based on the popular A5 coupe.

Due to launch here in September, the new A5 cabrio will please convertible aficionados with a folding fabric roof, which will be available in a choice of four colours. The lightweight soft-top will be fully automatic and open in just 15 seconds and close in 17 seconds. An acoustic top will be offered as an option for drivers who prefer reduced wind noise.

Like its smaller A3 cabrio sibling, the A5 cabrio will have a split-fold rear seat backrest as well as automatic seat belt extenders and Mercedes-style neck-level heating will be optional for front seat occupants. Like BMW, Audi has coated the A5 cabrio's leather seats with a special layer to reduce solar heating when the roof is down.

To maintain structural rigidity Audi has used ultra-high-strength steels and a reinforced body to ensure crash safety. Under-the-bonnet specs have yet to be finalised but a 2.0-litre four cylinder, a 3.2-litre V6 and possibly a turbo-diesel are expected to be in the line-up and prices for the new Audi A5 cabriolet will start at under $90,000 for the entry-level 2.0-litre model.

It seems there's a lot of folklore attached to maintaining your car.

When it comes to keeping your car clean, received wisdom has it that you can't do better than sloshing kerosene under the chassis. It may not smell pleasant but it does the job when there's grease and grime to shift. Washing the car every weekend is more than just a suburban past time - it'll keep the car looking pristine, especially if you pay special attention to scraping off the bird droppings as soon as they appear. Ignore them and they'll start to damage the paintwork. But if your alloy wheels have seen better days, your best bet is to head for the bathroom. Toothpaste is said to be one of the most effective cleaning products for alloys and will make them sparkle.

Take notice of sensible advice to keep your engine well tuned if you want to conserve fuel and, if you have to wait in the car for any length of time, don't forget to turn off the ignition - idling uses more fuel than restarting the vehicle. And listen to your dad - careful driving really will keep fuel costs to a minimum.

But perhaps one of the most useful pieces of motoring folklore is to turn off the radio if you're driving on a potholed road. That's because when a suspension arm cracks, it produces a low-pitched sound that you won't hear if you're singing along to the Top 40.

If you take a look at a modern race car, you could be forgiven for thinking that all it has in common with a regular road vehicle is the air in their tyres. But you'd be wrong - even that's not the same. Most motor racing teams actually use nitrogen gas to inflate their tyres. That's because nitrogen molecules are around four times larger than oxygen molecules. Therefore, nitrogen doesn't leak as readily. Less leakage means tyre pressures are maintained - and that's good for performance.

Nitrogen inflation can also have benefits for everyday motoring as tyre pressures have a direct impact on fuel economy and on tyre wear. As tyre pressures decrease, fuel use increases - and lower tyre pressures can also have a negative impact on the durability of your tyres.

This tyre tip was proudly provided by Bridgestone.

There's no excuse for a boring car journey these days, with so many in-car entertainment gadgets now readily available to make travelling fun.

It was only 30 years ago that in-car entertainment meant the car radio picking up a crackly reception from the roof-mounted aeriel - or coat hanger in many cases. Then came the CD and now we have in-car MP3 players which connect, often wirelessly to your iPod so you can sing along to your favourite tune whilst travelling in your car.

If you want more than just listening pleasure though, the latest LCD TV screens can be mounted to the headrests or to the ceiling of the car to keep the little ones quiet in the back. It's even possible to have a surround sound cinema system fitted in the car and some multimedia systems have a television receiver so you don't have to miss your favourite programmes while you're on the road. And plug in an in-car games station and there won't be a peep from the backseat on even the longest drive.

However, time is money, and if you like to work on the move, you can now have an in-car personal computer installed in the car to make the most of your travelling time. Specialist installers can fit PCs running any Windows application so you can surf the net, finish that all-important presentation and keep in touch with the office. Remote networking allows you to connect to your desktop computer either at home or at work and there are systems that will even read your emails aloud if you're the one doing the driving. Mercedes has even hinted that it's working on a brand new all-encompassing 'infotainment' system that streams music, movies and the Internet direct to in-car screens so that you'll never again have to hear those dreaded words 'are we there yet?'.