My local Mazda dealer upon seeing my red 1.6 told me of an import that cme into them for service complaining that the car has a burning smell on the motoway..high speed. They claim that the problem was due to Jap tyres having a 80 mile speed rating. Can this be true? (12/99)

As I've said before - they'll tell you 'owt!!!! Is there no limit to Roadster scare stories? A compendium of them would make hilarious reading! What next? (12/99)

Ha, sounds a classic. Eunos tyres are rated to at least 180 kph, which is when the speed limiter kicks in. Tiny Tokyo buzz boxes like the Cuores and Honda Beats are limited to 140 kph which is 80 mph-ish, but I severely doubt the tyres go pop when people in Japan hit this. One to add to the urban myths, alongside the different nose. (12/99)