IT'S always the simple things that are the most effective.

It's why the best pop songs have only three chords and a straightforward cup of tea solves everything.

So it was no surprise to hear that Peter Kay's Car Share captured the imagination of the TV viewing public.

It was a pleasingly simple concept - the audience got to follow the commute of supermarket workers John (Peter Kay) and Kayleigh (Sian Gibson) who were paired up as part of their work's car share scheme.

The six-part BBC sitcom, which ended last week, was set almost entirely in a red Fiat.

On paper it sounds boring but it was about the relationship between the two car sharers...and, of course, the comedian Kay was back on form.

It was a joy to watch the warm chemistry over the course of a few commutes.

It reminded me how great a car journey is.

As the series showed through its fictional radio station, Forever FM, all music sounds better in the car.

I have a friend who won't listen to a single note in the house - but when she gets in her VW Polo, music is blared out like she hasn't a care in the world.

I remember being desperate to take my new tapes - and later CDs - to go "out for a run" in the car with my dad on summer evenings.

There was nothing better.

Then there are longer journeys. When we drove to France on holiday we spent 24 hours in the car. I don't know how my parents stopped themselves from throwing my sister and I out the Ford Escort.

But the service station stops and sweeties were enough to make it one of the best things about the holiday.

I recall borrowing my mum's Fiat Punto on a whim to drive to Dundee with a friend for a gig just after I learned to drive.

The thrill of taking off late in the day and listening to music full blast along the dual carriageway, is a memory that sticks with me.

It still makes me laugh when I think about the time one of my other pals drove us to Glasgow for a screening of the Joy Division film Control and we accidentally took a detour through dozens of tiny towns and villages we'd never heard of.

How can you get lost when there's only one turn off? We did.

There are so many pleasant drives that punctuate life - accompanying my mum and grandma to the supermarket on Saturdays, going to the cinema with my sister on a Sunday night.

Everyone's eyes are on the road so you end up opening up a bit more.

Maybe we should all try car share schemes. Imagine what we'd learn about each other? I'll have Peter Kay as my partner, please.