IS this the mightiest motor in York? Former cabbie Tom Sweeney has been flying around our streets in his Nissan Bluebird for years.

The 1987 D-reg car has done a whopping 229,000 miles and has hardly troubled the mechanics in all that time.

During the best part of eight years as a taxi driver, Tom did hundreds of miles a week in the driving seat, and bounced over thousands of speed humps. And his Nissan just keeps going.

"It's been excellent," says Tom. "I have always maintained it and I've been fortunate that the people in the garage have always been conscientious."

The Bluebird had a piston ring changed a year ago, but that is the only major part replaced.

So the Diary is laying down a challenge. Is anyone driving a car with more miles on the clock?

Meanwhile, a top tip for buying a motor from a man who knows.

Tom says: "Mine was almost certainly made in Sunderland. They used to say it was best to buy a car made on a Wednesday.

"On a Monday the lads at the factory are recovering from the weekend and on a Friday they're all heading off out again."

On a different subject, Tom is looking for information and pictures of the Deuces Glass Factory, on Percys Lane, where Herbert Todd's stands today. His grandad worked there. If you can help, please contact the Diary.

STILL with things Japanese, the Diary's Tokyo correspondent has shed more light on KitKat mania in his homeland.

Kentaro Saito has read on Japanese web sites about students snapping up the York snack. The reason, as we reported last week, is because it's exam time over there and one phrase for good luck is "kitto katsu".

Ken translates this as either "You shall win!" or "I shall win!" (kitto = surely, katsu = win). It is the sort of thing sports players say before big matches, he told us.

The Japanese sound even more superstitious than Brits. "We have eight million gods in Japan," says Ken. "Some of them specialise in study, and students buy amulets with their marking on before exams."

This tough time for Japanese students is routinely referred to as "exam war" or "exam hell".

Ken has his own exam hell coming up soon: he is reading philosophy, politics and economics at York University and finals beckon.

He is now considering scoffing a few KitKats for luck. (If anyone from Nestl Rowntree is reading this, and would like to send him a box, he prefers the Chunky version.)

Meanwhile, the man best known as Karaoke Ken is continuing his quest to croon 100 different songs before leaving York. He was due to sing three more at Alcuin College last Friday, taking his total to 73.

WHAT a wonderful place is the world wide web. Our attention has been drawn to the site thespanishbuilder.com, where Brits can buy new homes in the sun.

If you click "Build to order", the message comes up: "This page is currently under construction".

Updated: 09:01 Monday, February 07, 2005