I was driving home benignly last week when this large black peoplemover sized car pulled up beside me whilst I was waiting for the lights to change. Nothing strange about that, other than my driving radar suddenly sprang up in red alert. What was it that my subconscious had noticed that I hadn’t?

I quickly realised. Even though the vehicle was stationary, the wheels still appeared to be turning. On closer examination, the vehicle had large serrated spoke-like appendages that appeared to freewheel on the bearing, or were possibly even driven via some sort of motor assembly. (The front ones were sedate, the back ones were still going very quickly). They didn’t stick out like the Roman Chariot wheels of old (or the hot car in the movie “Grease!”) but you got the feeling that had the designer been able to have done so, he would have done so.

I eventually realised that this vehicle was a proverbial “Hummer”, & the Internet revealed that spinning wheels are a fashion item.

What purpose did it serve? Only to get noticed, as do little blue LEDs set into the bonnet, fluorescent tubes under the vehicle or indeed fluffy dice hanging from the rear view mirror. The other attributes don’;t make you check your handbrake is on though!