Category: News

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News Top Gear Toyota

DIY Top Gear Polar Special

Toyota HilUx - Arctic Trucks Experience

It’s now approaching three years since the Top Gear Polar Special first went to air and the company behind the cars from the episode are giving you the opportunity to fill Jeremy Clarkson’s shoes. Reykjavik-based Arctic Trucks Experience are now offering a variety of self-drive tours around Iceland. You can choose from daily trips, 2-5 day tours and longer tailored expeditions, all experience the amazing terrain and scenery that Iceland has to offer.

If you reckon the GFC is a minor inconvenience then you really should go to Iceland and do one of these tours. The poor buggers there got absolutely smashed by the financial doom and they need all the help they can get! Check out arctictrucks-experience.com for more.

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Ferrari News

Swiss motorist cops AU$316,000 speeding fine

Ferrari Testarossa

Swiss authorities are known for their intolerance of rule breaking, and so this has been proved with reports of a motorist being fined 299,000 Swiss francs (AU$316,000) for driving through the village of St Gallen at 100km/h. Wowsers, that’s a lot of moolah!

Behind the wheel of his Ferrari Testarossa at the time the driver has a vast fortune, estimated to be AU$24 million, as such the court ordered a fine commensurate with his wealth.

“The accused ignored elementary traffic rules with a powerful vehicle out of a pure desire for speed,” the court said in its judgment of the driver.

The previous record fine in Switzerland was a comparatively feeble AU$117,000 charged in 2008 to a Porsche driver in Zurich.

[Source: Reuters]

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Lamborghini News

Innocence lost (Update: Freedom gained)

Lamborghini Gallardo lost to dopey hoon laws

PerthNow brings us the absurd story of a Lamborghini Gallardo impounded under WA hoon laws. It has been alleged that the car was bring driven at speeds of up to 160km/h along the Reid Highway in Balcatta, Western Australia.

Not so much absurd about this story then, until you realise the driver of the car is not the owner. The Gallardo wasn’t stolen, either. The owner of the car had left it with his mechanic who it would now appear was unable to resist temptation while taking the 520hp supercar on a test drive.

As a result the car has been locked up for 28 days and WA Police say legislation prevents the car from being released, even though the car’s owner was not involved in the alleged offence. New anti-hooning laws came into play on new year’s day and these prevent release of impounded cars impounded unless they were stolen, are a hire car, were impounded unlawfully or if the car is needed by the owner for medical emergencies.

The owner of the Lamborghini has applied to have the car released, but it seems as though he will have a fight on his hands. WA Police Minister, Rob Johnson, has explained it is incumbent on car owners to know and trust who has access to their vehicle.

If we accept this story on face value, then these anti-hoon laws are a load of crap. If Minister Johnson has any semblance of justice he will be instructing his staff to amend the relevant Act as soon as possible.

UPDATE 8 January: The Herald Sun brings good news to Dr Patrick Nugawela, owner of the impounded Lamborghini Gallardo. Minister Rob Johnson has allowed Dr Nugawela’s car to be released saying, “You can never foresee every eventuality. I’ve listened to the community … I’ve listened to the talk back (radio).” Mr Johnson continued, “At the end of the day I want the community to support these anti-hoon laws. They are meant to protect people and save lives.”

[Source: PerthNow | Thanks to Dylan for the tip]

Categories
Formula 1 News

The Flav strikes back

Flavio Briatore

Flavio Briatore, named conspirator in the Renault F1 “Crashgate” scandal, has had his name cleared (sort of) thanks to a French court ruling. The finding states that the FIA’s decision to give Briatore a lifetime ban contained “irregularites” and therefore it “ruled the sanction illegal”. The court also told the FIA they had no right to ban the Flav because he was not an FIA licence holder.

As you can imagine after hearing this news the funny looking man with a Playboy lifestyle was ready to hit the dancefloor saying, “I would like to express my great joy.”

Great, he can now rejoin his beloved Mark Webber in a pitlane embrace, then?

Not so fast Flavio, the FIA are still gunning for you. They say “the FIA intends to consider appropriate actions to ensure that no persons who would engage, or who have engaged, in such dangerous activities or acts of intentional cheating will be allowed to participate in Formula One in the future.” Guess what Flav, that means you!

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News

One, two, three, GO!

Eko Traffic Light

The best ideas are often the simplest, and this theory is proved by the Eko Traffic Light. Just by looking at the image above you can probably tell what it does and how to read it.

Just in case you haven’t worked it out the “ecological & economic traffic light concept” informs drivers how much time is remaining before the red light turns to green, through the use of a simple clockwise countdown system. In theory, this allows motorists to anticipate the change of lights so they can move away with better fuel efficiency. Ideally, people could turn their engines off thereby saving fuel and reducing emissions.

Pretty cool, huh. Apparently so, as the judges from the Red Dot Design Awards gave the Eko a rubber stamp in their 2009 round of back patting.

As with most good plans, though, the theory doesn’t always marry with practice. Sadly, anticipation and even basic awareness are characteristics missing by many drivers. Then, well, there’s the obvious isn’t there. It must have been the elephant in the room at Eko HQ.

Was the Eko Traffic Light really designed by someone who cares about reducing emissions and stress. Or was it just designed by a hoon who likes to zoom away at traffic lights grands prix?

Categories
BMW News

If you tolerate this then your children will be next

You may remember the earlier news that saw the worldwide BMW Z4 ‘art of driving’ television commercial pulled from Australian screens. I stated at the time that, as a sign of protest against this ludicrous decision, AUSmotive will be running the above footage, which is featured in the commercial, on the first day of every month for the rest of the year.

The fact that regulations are in place that deem this ad inappropriate is a sad indictment on the state of the road safety debate in this country. The fact that some members of society are unable separate entertainment from reality is equally disturbing. That they are given a voice is mind boggling.

Clearly, the title of this article is tongue in cheek and is designed to highlight the level of paranoia that exists in wowsers when presented with the notion that driving can be fun.

A reminder, too, that you can watch the ad in full on the BMW Australia website. Even better, check out BMW’s Expression of Joy Z4 microsite.

Being December this marks the end of my mini protest. Further heightening my discontent on this issue is the ad after the break for a flavoured milk that is, apparently, deemed acceptable for the simple fact that it is not advertising a car. Taking a churlish logical step, then, if you ever feel like burning some rubber on a public road, or breaking any road rules for that matter, just keep an Ice Break in your cup holder for immunity on all driving charges.*

Continue reading “If you tolerate this then your children will be next”
Categories
Fifth Gear News

Party on, Wayne!

Click here to buy Jonny Smith's AMC Pacer

Wow! What a totally amazing, excellent discovery! Jonny Smith, former Fifth Gear presenter, is trying to sell his 1975 AMC Pacer. You know the car, it’s like the one featured in Wayne’s World and, if my memory serves, is the only car ever made to have different sized driver and passenger doors. Yeah, odd, huh.

So, what’s not to like then? Here’s a chance to buy a genuinely odd ball car, from one of the best presenters to come out of Fifth Gear. It probably does help if you’re based in the UK, but Jonny’s ad says international bidders are welcome.

He’s just had his TV show cancelled, he’s already “sold” the car via eBay once—only to be cocked about by the time-wasting buyer—Jonny could do with a stroke of good fortune here. The online auction ends on Sunday, so help Jonny out—buy his Pacer today—it would be a most excellent thing to do.

[Source: eBay via twitter]

Categories
Formula 1 News

Dude, where’s my car?

Schumacher's 1994 Benetton-Ford

The eBay auction for Michael Schumacher’s 1994 B194 Benetton-Ford was due to end in a few hours. You may recall the bidding last week was as high as €2.6 million (AU$4.2m), but the listing on eBay.de has been down for over 24 hours now.

Hmm, it seems something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Or Canada (where the car was supposed to be), Germany (where the auction was being hosted), or even England (read on Macduff)!

It appears as though the motoring world has been taken for a ride, with at least one report suggesting the original listing was a hoax. No doubt the old chestnut “the fullness of time” shall reveal all on that one.

However, all is not lost. A new eBay listing, this time from the UK, has popped up offering, yes, you guessed it, a 1994 Benetton-Ford F1 car. Chassis B194-05 comes with a signed certificate of authenticity declaring the car was driven by Schumacher and JJ Lehto. Indeed, the car is said have won 46 of Schumacher’s 92 points in his maiden Championship year. This included wins at San Marino, Canada, Monaco and France.

Mind, that letter of authenticity is signed by Pat Symonds, which is hardly the most credible name going in F1 at the minute. That said, this listing does look legit, with a purpose-built website to advertise the sale: benetton-auction.dinao.com

So, if you really do want to get yourself your very own F1 car, then the current bidding is at £1.8 million (AU$3.2m). The auction is due to end on Sunday evening.

[Source: eBay.co.uk]

UPDATE 19 November: There were two bids at the time of writing this article. These have now been removed and the starting price is at £1,150,000 with a note saying “reserve not met”. Start saving kids there less than four days to go.

UPDATE 22 November: I just checked out the eBay ad to how the sale went and it looks like the car didn’t attract a single bid.

Continue reading “Dude, where’s my car?”
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News

Tweet talkin’

Follow AUSmotive on twitter

A quick reminder to all AUSmotive readers that you can get updates and links to all new articles via twitter. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you might even get a sneak preview of what is coming up. AUSmotive has been tweeting since September and is yet to crack 100 followers, so if you’re already on twitter why not give AUSmotive a plug for #followfriday.

Categories
Formula 1 News

Stop Damon Hill from crushing this car

Schumacher-Hill crash - 1994 Adelaide GP

Further proof there isn’t anything you can’t buy on eBay is given with the current listing of the Benetton-Ford that Michael Schumacher used at the 1994 Adelaide Grand Prix to “win” his first F1 World Championship.

Here is a sample of the text from the listing:

“For sale is the F1 race car, with which Michael Schumacher won his first Formula One Driver’s Championship at the Adelaide GP of Australia.

Most remembered are the scenes were Michael Schumacher had a collision with Damon hill and his Williams-Renault ending up both had to retire the race and Michael Schumacher could use his one point advantage to be the 1994 F1-Driver’s Champion.”

People keep telling me that Schumacher is the greatest living human being of all time. Well, out of all the racing driver humans, that is. I guess. So, historic racing cars, with real significance, like Schumi’s first F1 title winning machine should be protected.

The current bid is at an astonishing AU$4.2 million. Looks like Damon is dead set on getting this car and sending it to the crushers. Stop him at once!

To encourage further discussion on this topic, make sure you watch the YouTube clip below so you can relive the glorious moments of Schumacher’s triumph!

[Source: eBay.de | Thanks to Tom for the tip]

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Categories
News

Up periscope

Google Street View car

Its been a bit over a year since Google launched Street View in Australia, but already they’re planning to update their images. Over the summer months Google Street View cars will be roaming the streets in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and parts of Tasmania.

With new and improved technology Google will be able to capture Australia’s streets at a higher resolution. They don’t have an exact date on when the new images will be ready to access, but they say it will be sometime in 2010.

So, if you see one of the Google daleks on the roads, don’t exterminate it, just smile and say ‘cheese!’

[Source: Google Australia Blog]

Categories
News

Google Maps enters Sat Nav free for all

Google Maps Navigation

Internet giant Google have recently entered the world of mobile phone satellite navigation with their new product Google Maps Navigation. Currently developed for use on Android 2.0 phones the system has pretty much every feature you could wish for in a sat nav product.

There’s live traffic updates, turn-by-turn directions, voice control and, of course, access to Google Maps and all its features, including Street View. Then there’s the price—it’s free!

That’s the good news. The catch is Google Maps Navigation relies on a mobile’s internet connection. The immediate questions that arise surround reliabilty and speed of access to Google’s data. There is the possibility of caching relevant maps to the phone, but that is not available just yet.

Whatever the current shortfalls you can bet the bottom dollar from the likes of Garmin and TomTom that Google is already working hard to resolve them. Mind, not really sure what the might of Google could do if the draconian Victorian Government gets its way and bans the use of mobile phones for in-car navigation.

There’s heaps more coverage on this product is available across the net, as you’d expect, here’s an article from the Telegraph.co.uk that gives a good introduction.

There’s also a cheesy video from Google available below that explains how the system works. Interestingly, you don’t actually hear any of the turn-by-turn directions that the phone is supposed to make. Oh, anyone who believes that Michael really is standing outside the front of the de Young Museum is easily fooled!

Continue reading “Google Maps enters Sat Nav free for all”