Having recently started researching many aspects of motoring, car insurance and auto trading, I was extremely interested to come across a website promising the motorist's holy grail - how to make money from your car.
Wow, I thought, my Astra could pay for itself, I could afford to put it through the car wash occasionally. My life is complete.
Vehicle wrapping - it's the future.
The website promised £200 a month and all I would have to do is drive around as normal.
One catch - I might have to turn my green family stalwart into a bright yellow piece of cheese.
You have probably seen this sort of thing already; SKY vans engulfed in the Simpsons, a four foot owl screeching towards you from the back of a long base panel van, a taxi cab drenched in Vimto. Some of these moveable hoardings look shiny and cool - a little bit funky and whacky even. I've always thought of myself as 'whacky'.
The website made it sound simple. I was required to fill out a simple online registration form and they would do the rest. I just had to fulfil a few requirements:
Ok, so I might have to buy a newer car, and move, but well, it still looked a really promising thing to think about for the future.
So, how did car wrapping start? Well, I guess in some form or another, it's been around for as long as plumbers have stuck their name and telephone number on the side of their Ford Transit. Vehicle wrapping, however, is a slightly bolder option for all sorts of companies.
The vehicle doesn't just bare a name and logo, when 'wrapped' it becomes part of the ad campaign itself.
Take, for instance, a Lindt Christmas chocolate campaign. They wanted to promote their chocolate reindeers and so 'wrapped' two Smart Cars in gold; complete with eyes, red collar and antlers - yes, antlers.
Imagine, turning up to get your kids from playschool in a gold reindeer car. Amazing!
Then again driving your reindeer into the car park before Mexican Nite at the Uni bar may not be such a thrill. And of-course, you could never be sure what you might find hanging from one of your antlers when you came back.
You'd have to think carefully about which campaign you might accept on your car.
The added security benefits are a definite plus, though. Who's going to steal a car plastered with a five foot Polly Pocket leaning over the back door. It does make your car conspicuous.
It could be said that a car wrap is not for the shrinking violets out there, but I suppose it's a great conversation starter if you're stationary on the M25. I can imagine it now;
"So, is your name Polly then?"
"No, it's Brian and I get paid to drive this!"
Still interested?
If you are, then take a visit to one of the car wrapping websites to check out the pictures and find out how to make your car insurance bill payable by just driving your car.