In the current economic climate, nobody is going to pretend that driving is a cheap option. Extravagant advertising may still pull on the same synapses in our brains to conjure up images of car’s as extensions of our bodies, symbols of sexual prowess, icons of wealth: but in reality, such dreams which typified the automobile’s first big boom in the 1920s, are laughable delusions. Henry Ford, who believed that his first mass-produced car would provide social glue like no other, had no idea quite how instrumental the car would become in splitting and compartmentalising society, rather than uniting it. Nor did he foresee the environmental impact his production-line values would have: it is a damning indictment of our commercially-trained brains that we are able even to think of cars as ‘disposable’ items. Whether part of a pay-on-credit scheme which created the Volkswagen (itself emerging under spurious circumstances – the money paying for the cars actually went into arming Germany during World War II) or a blinged-out Chrysler on Pimp My Ride, cars seem to encourage us to spend like no other. And with petrol and diesel at all-time highs, and the analysts promising further fuel shortages before the supply runs out in the not too distant future, we might think that the entire situation is irreversible. Indeed, the decline of motor culture and the irreparable damage it has caused the environment is impossible to undo: but there still remains the possibility of reducing the destruction it might further wreak. Another of those extra costs involved with motor vehicles is car insurance. Ok, we all groan at the thought of it, but choosing the right insurer could help you give back to the environment and make some savings of your own. Companies such as the Co-operative, an organisation already strong thanks to its socialist roots and ethical reputation, can carbon off-set a percentage of your emissions. And by switching to online rather than face-to-face procedures, you could save on more than the advertised 10% on your car insurance: you can also reduce the amount of paper and energy used in communication and mail-outs. Whilst spending-to-save is a paradox which rarely seems to work, with a carefully chosen insurance policy for you car, you could at least make your money work for you, rather than the fat cats in skyscrapers rubbing their hands with glee.