"J. F. T. Rodgers, Rare Books", the last catalogue read, and below, in small type, "Prop Sir Tobias Rodgers Bt". It was not vainglory but his self-quizzical sense of irony, the ridiculousness of life, that prompted this last extravagance. In the world of books he made a small but distinct mark, unforgettable to all who knew him. To them, he was always Toby, handsome, witty, tirelessly and endlessly reading, learned in all sorts of recondite ways, a giver of parties, helpless somehow and au fond unhelpable, but always irresistible.

The "copy-cat" war between Citroen and Volkswagen rages on. Only weeks ago, the companies' respective agencies, Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper and BMP DDB, both launched press ads to promote in-car air-conditioning which parodied Sure deodorant commercials (sweating drivers retained a dry patch in the shape of the car's logo). VW fretted that this constituted a "nightmare situation", but Citroen and Euro RSCG joyfully followed up with a comparison of the Sure ads which claimed that Volkswagen's air-conditioning was pricey, with the strapline: "Who's sweating now?" Oddly, VW took a dim view of the comparison, and last week referred Citroen to the Advertising Standards Authority.

Will the sensible Saxo win more friends? John Simister decides: CITROEN SAXO 1.4 VSX

The Citroen Saxo, road-tested elsewhere on these pages, is one of the many NONO cars on sale today. NONO cars, despite the acronym, are not necessarily bad cars. They usually do the job reliably and painlessly. It's just that there's NOthing New Or interesting about them.

As Israel's most famous snake-charmer, Ya'acov Sela drew large audiences on television thanks to his deft handling of poisonous reptiles. But when his body turned up in a shallow grave in the Golan Heights at the end of last week, police found that he had not died from snake bite but had been shot to death with a pistol.

The ad campaign for the new Peugeot 406 might have been in for a bit of ridicule, but what of the car itself? The 406 is larger, tougher and more confident than the 405, which was the hot choice for the area sales manager in a hurry, because it was more fun to take through a series of corners than any of its rivals. You could almost forgive it for its rattles, squeaks and general fragility.

THE CITRON XANTIA 2.0 MULTIVALVE IN 0-60 SECONDS

TONY BARBER

Specifications

...a brand new Skoda. Or a BMW 7-series, a Jaguar XJS or a Porsche 944, second-hand. No contest, says James Ruppert (below), while (right) we test drive the Skoda Felicia

This is the most sought-after wing mirror in the world. It is made by Citroen, and is available from Citroen dealers for pounds 72.55. They cannot sell you a car to go with it, because the model for which it was made, the CX, went out of producti on in 1989. But you can buy a car with these wing mirrors: they are fitted to the McLaren F1 supercar, which costs pounds 634,500. If you want something cheaper, you'll find them on the Jaguar XJ220, the Aston Martin Vantage, the Lotus Esprit, the AC Ace , and the TVR Griffith and Chimaera.

John Simister is astonished at the Daewoo Espero's consumer-friendly sales package

Pilkington's operation in America has won a £500m six-year contract to supply glass for a new generation of cars being built by General Motors, which yesterday reported record profits for the first quarter.

A House of Commons half-filled with women would be changed beyond recog nition `Emily's List women are given £1,000 each. For my candidacy I bought myself a 2 CV'