Car advertisements - indeed, all ads - have to follow set standards. Someone who feels that one does not can complain to the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland.

The authority is an independent self-regulatory body set up and financed by the advertising industry. It rules on complaints and can impose sanctions such as fines if offending advertisements are not changed or withdrawn.

Last year, for example, there was an investigation into a campaign for the Mitsubishi Lancer, a predominantly family car. A press advertisement showed a Lancer rally car with all four wheels off the ground under the caption "Wey-Hey-Hey".

The complainant said that the promotion of a family car by using this image was irresponsible and encouraged speeding. The complainant also felt that a radio advertisement in associating "awesome power" and rallying noises with a family car was encouraging the illegal use of the product.

The authority accepted Mitsubishi's argument that the press ad celebrated a double victory by Mitsubishi in the World Rally Championship in 1998 and the Rally of Great Britain.

As for the radio ad, the authority ruled that this "gave the impression that rally-style driving could be undertaken in the family version of the Lancer". This was against the authority's rule that "an advertisement should not encourage dangerous behaviour or show unsafe practices except in the context of promoting safety". The company had already agreed to withdraw the ad.

The above case is, however, something of an exception. "Most of the complaints we get are from people who feel they've been misled by advertising, where prices aren't what they seem or things like that," says Larry McCarthy, assistant chief executive of the Advertising Standards Authority. One such complaint concerned a radio commercial which contained the following sentence: "You mean that for £11,450 I can drive away in my own brand new Rover 211?" At the end of the commercial, a voice-over stated "delivery and related charges apply", but the authority still upheld the complaint.

The authority's judgment said the way the "drive away" phrase was placed in the main copy of the ad was misleading and went against the part of the authority's code which states: "An advertisement should not mislead by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise."