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LANCASHIRE MOTORIST CROWNED BRITAIN'S CLEVEREST DRIVER
21 December, 2005
Natalie Walden (27) from Burnley in Lancashire has today been crowned the nation's cleverest driver in the UK's first ever motoring IQ test and will drive off with the perfect Christmas treat - a £3,000 prize fund. Natalie took pole position in the M-IQ test beating over 6,500 UK drivers, including F1 ace David Coulthard.
eBay Motors - the UK's leading online automotive site - teamed up with Mensa to devise the test and quiz the nation on all things motoring including driving trivia, mechanical know-how, driving regulations and Mensa-style motoring- questions on logic and mental arithmetic.
Natalie's love of driving started when she was given a car for her seventeenth birthday, and after enrolling on an intensive three week course, passed her driving test with flying colours. She has now been behind the wheel for ten years. The nation's cleverest driver picked up most of her mechanical know how from her step-father who has a passion for tinkering with engines.
"My Step-Dad is so proud of me, I whizzed through the mechanical know-how section of the test, so I must have learned something from watching him under the bonnet. He's thrilled with my win and plans to help me pick out the car I intend to buy with my winnings!" commented Natalie.
Lancashire hot-spot
And she finds herself in clever company hailing from Lancashire, the region which is home to the highest number of 'Motoring Genii' in the UK. The results of the eBay Motors M-IQ test show Oldham was the cleverest town in Britain with residents achieving an average score of 29, streets ahead of traditional brain box capitals such as Oxford (23) and Cambridge (22).
The top ten M-IQ scoring towns were: Oldham, Scarborough, Dover, Stroud, Solihull, Inverness, Sevenoaks, Poole, Gloucester, Wakefield.
The bottom ten were: Rochdale, Kingston-upon-Hull, Bangor, Doncaster, Barnsley, Derry, Middlesbrough, Colchester, Swansea, Aberystwyth
Money can't buy me M-IQ
When it comes to what you drive, the test showed that those driving exclusive cars such as Bentleys and Aston Martins are most likely to have a lower M-IQ. David Beckham's Aston Martin Vantage may actually act as a more negative status symbol than he had hoped! Those driving classic Triumphs secured pole position on the league table with an average score of 25. A Peugeot driver, Natalie did especially well to win as, nationwide, Peugeot drivers scored a low average of 21, placing them eleventh from the bottom.
The top ten models: Triumph, Dodge, Lexus, Jaguar, Seat, Subaru, Volvo, Saab, Audi, Mazda
The bottom ten models: Bentley, Aston Martin, Hyundai, Kia, Daihatsu, Chrysler, Lamborghini, Ford, Yamaha, Rover
Notes to Editors
Natalie Waldren was among 154 Brits to achieve the top score of 39, and was selected randomly from these top scorers.
David Coulthard is Britain's most successful F1 driver of all time. He's the world's 4th highest point scorer in F1 ever and is the highest British point scorer on record.
Mensa was founded in Oxford, England in 1946 by Roland Berrill and Dr Lance Ware. The original aims of this society for intelligent people were, as they are today, to create a society that is non-political and free from all racial or religious distinctions. The only requirement for joining Mensa is that an individual's IQ falls within the top two per cent of the population. Assessment is usually made through a standardised IQ test. The society currently has around 25,500 members in the British Isles.
Please note: An eBay M-IQ test score will not qualify you for membership of Mensa. For further information on Mensa membership go to www.mensa.org.uk
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