NEXT weekend will see a predicted car-buying boom as the first Continental-style number plates hit the road.

"Females have long been a force to be reckoned with in vehicle retailing," states John Harris, managing director of Smith, Knight Fay which operate Toyota, Lexus and Mazda dealerships in the Greater Manchester area including Bolton.

"Up to a dozen years ago, though, it was mainly their influence on husbands, fathers, partners and boyfriends that counted.

"Now, as women account for nearly half of all British driving licence-holders, they are established customers in their own right -- and they are far more discerning than men, because they communicate better and are wiser shoppers."