Cars and the general love of all things auto is often seen as the preserve of the male species, yet there is a driving experience common to car-owners of both genders that provokes an interest in gadgets.

It tends to occur while sitting in the middle of a nasty traffic jam on an especially hot day - it's the 'If only this car could fly' moment. How often has one sat behind the wheel wishing for the power to press a button and soar across the traffic queues baking on the tarmac below. Of course, if everyone had that button there would be mid-air carnage. Yet still it does not stop us from fantasising of all the ways a car could be improved, if money and technology were no object, to ease the process of getting from A to B.

When it comes to development of in-car technology women are less concerned with style, wanting comfort, convenience and chocolate. London resident Bella Pagdin, who works in PR, would like more seating that is comfortable and a mini-snack machine to keep journeys interesting. "My car is a clapped out £700 G-reg Citroen AX and I would love to be more comfy when I am the passenger on a long journey," she says. "I'd also like a diet coke and chocolate machine in the front."

Pagdin would also have an expanding boot for when she overdoes the shopping, and, most practically, a shoe-shining machine that cleans whilst you drive. Her last suggestion is one that all female motorists would welcome, a car that can MOT itself. "So I would never have to go to another smelly garage full of rude, sexist car repair men," laughs Pagdin.

Vicky Sullivan, a sales executive from London, says top of her wish list is an anti-congestion charge device that would allow her to sail through the capital without paying a penny. "I would also have an anti-traffic warden device, possibly a windscreen which deflected parking tickets, and anti wheel-clamp technology - basically some kind of technology so that I can park where I want without having to pay out a small fortune."

Sullivan, who regularly visits family in Dorset, would also add in an unmarked police car detector to avoid being caught in speed traps. She rushes to assure that it's not because she's constantly speeding. "It's just that occasionally you tip over the limit on the motorway when you're in a hurry and that's when they sneak up on you," she says. "I would also work in an auto-pilot system and rear seats that convert to a flat bed so you can watch television on long journeys."

Becky Hodges, who works in publishing and currently lives in Denmark, agrees with the idea of comfortable seating - only she would add an in-built head massager for when she's stuck in traffic. "If money was no object, I'd have a state of the art stereo system that responded only to my voice so that it would be useless for thieves to try and steal the gadget," she says. "And for both me and my passengers I'd like a self-replenishing drinks and sweets dispenser."

The day may never come when cars compete for air space, but hopefully one manufacturer will invent the dashboard chocolate bar dispenser and make the day of female drivers across the UK.