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Recent research conducted by an independent company in US uncovered a number of sports car owners who had claimed their flashy cars were for farm use in order to save money on their annual motor insurance.

The investigation found that owners of state of the art sports cars such as Porsche, Audi and Ferrari models were registered for farm use so as to benefit from a discount of up to 20% on their motor insurance policies.

However it’s believed this practice is costing the insurance industry in America $150 million a year and so the insurance providers have decided enough is enough and have called in outside companies to start verifying the data of their policy holders.

Vehicles which are registered for use as farm vehicles qualify for a discount on their annual insurance premium as they are deemed less of a risk as they are statistically less likely to be stolen or involved in a road traffic accident compared to cars kept and used predominantly in urban areas.

The investigation carried out by an independent San Francisco based firm uncovered a number of potential fraudsters who’d falsely claimed their sports cars were farm vehicles. One policyholder highlighted in the report had told his insurance provider that his Audi A4 car was used for farm work, however the vehicle was registered to an address in the built up city area of Brooklyn in New York where less than 1% of the population is engaged in agriculture.

Mercedes Benz have turned their attention to creating a number of new models with two wheels as opposed to four as the luxury car manufacturer has just unveiled a line in Benz bicycles.

The line of bicycles all bear the iconic Mercedes Benz logo helping to promote the brand amongst a new market of consumers. Mercedes have developed a mountain bike, called All Mountain, which features state of the art mechanisms such as SRAM 30 speed gearing, and also hydraulic disc brakes, while the Mercedes Benz fitness bike features a front suspension fork and comes in an eye catching bright white frame.

Mercedes have also developed a trekking bike which shares many similarities with the fitness bicycle however it has some extra features including a luggage rack and also a dynamo powered headlight.

A selection of junior bikes made especially for children aged 3-6years has also been created as part of the Mercedes Benz bicycle range.

Mercedes say that their Formula 1 drivers such as Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg use the bikes to train in between race seasons, adding further kudos to the new line of luxury bicycles.

However Mercedes are not the first car manufacturers to introduce a range of cycles, Audi BMW and also Maserati have all developed lines in bicycles most recently.

Only a small number of these bicycles will be available to buy, so if you want to ride a Benz bike, you’ll have to put your name on the waiting list now.